A Romance of the West Indies   By: Eugène Sue (1804-1857)

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF

EUGENE SUE.

BY

MARIAN LONGFELLOW.

F. TENNYSON NEELY,

PUBLISHER. LONDON. NEW YORK.

Copyright, 1898,

by

F. TENNYSON NEELY,

in

United States

and

Great Britain.

All Rights Reserved.

TO THE MEMORY OF WILKIE COLLINS, AUTHOR AND ARTIST, WHO FIRST DIRECTED MY ATTENTION TO THIS WORK AND SUGGESTED ITS TRANSLATION INTO ENGLISH, I DEDICATE THIS BOOK IN KINDLY REMEMBRANCE. THE TRANSLATOR.

CONTENTS.

PART I.

I. The Passenger

II. A Female Blue Beard

III. The Arrival

IV. The Priest's House

V. The Surprise

VI. The Warning

VII. The Cavern

VIII. The Devil's Cliff

IX. Night

X. A Buccaneer

XI. Master Rend Your Soul

PART II.

XII. The Marriage

XIII. Supper

XIV. True Love

XV. The Envoy from France

XVI. The Storm

XVII. The Surprise

XVIII. My Lord the Duke

XIX. A Second Surprise

XX. The Departure

XXI. The Betrayal

PART III.

XXII. The Viceroy of Ireland and Scotland

XXIII. The Arrest

XXIV. The Interview

XXV. Revelations

XXVI. Devotion

XXVII. The Martyr

XXVIII. The Duke Relates the Sacrifice to which He Owes his Life

XXIX. The Departure

PART IV.

XXX. Regrets

XXXI. Croustillac Departs

XXXII. The Frigate

XXXIII. The Judgment

XXXIV. The Chase

XXXV. The Return

EPILOGUE.

XXXVI. The Abbey

XXXVII. Reunited

A ROMANCE OF THE WEST INDIES.

PART I.

CHAPTER I.

THE PASSENGER.

Toward the latter part of May, 1690, the three masted schooner the Unicorn sailed from Rochelle for the island of Martinique.

A Captain Daniel commanded this vessel, which was armed with a dozen pieces of medium sized ordnance, a defensive precaution necessary at that period. France was at that time at war with England, and the Spanish pirates would often cross to the windward of the Antilles, in spite of the frequent pursuit of filibusters.

Among the passengers of the Unicorn, few in number, was the Reverend Father Griffen, of the Order of the Preaching Brothers. He was returning to Martinique to resume his parish duties at Macouba, where he had occupied the curacy for some years to the satisfaction of the inhabitants and the slaves of that locality.

The exceptional life of the colonies, then almost continually in a state of open hostility against the English, the Spanish, and the natives of the Antilles, placed the priests of the latter in a peculiar position. They were called upon not only to preach, to hear confessions, to administer the sacraments to their flocks, but also to aid in defending themselves during the frequent inroads of their enemies of all nations and all colors.

The priest's house was, as other habitations, alike isolated and exposed to deadly surprises. More than once had Father Griffen, assisted by his two slaves, intrenched himself securely behind a large gateway of mahogany, after having repulsed their assailants by a lively fire.

Formerly a professor of geometry and mathematics, and possessed of considerable theoretical knowledge of military architecture, Father Griffen had given most excellent advice to the successive governors of Martinique on the construction of works of defense.

This priest knew thoroughly the stonecutter's and carpenter's trades; learned in agriculture, an excellent gardener, of an inventive spirit, full of resources, of rare energy, a determined courage, he was a valuable man to the colony, and, above all, to the quarter he inhabited.