“You must have observed, that the events of this little excursion on the water, have been rather of a domestic than of a public character;” he said.  “Thy father was a very ancient and much-esteemed friend of mine, and I am far from certain that there is not some affinity between us, in the way of intermarriages.  Thy worthy mother, who is a thrifty woman, and a small talker, had some of the blood of my own stock.  It would grieve me to see the good understanding, which these recollections have created, in any manner interrupted.  I admit, Sir, that revenue is to the state what the soul is to the body—­the moving and governing principle; and that, as the last would be a tenantless house without its inhabitants, so the first would be an exacting and troublesome master without its proper products.  But there is no need of pushing a principle to extremities!  If this brigantine be, as you appear to suspect, and indeed as we have some reason from various causes to infer, the vessel called the Water-Witch she might have been a legal prize had she fallen into your power; bait now that she has escaped, I cannot say what may be your intentions; but were thy excellent father, the worthy member of the King’s Council, living, so discreet a man would think much before he opened his lips, to say more than is discreet, on this or any other subject.”

“Whatever course I may believe my duty dictates, you may safely rely on my discretion concerning the—­the remarkable—­the very decided step which your niece has seen proper to take;” returned the young man, who did not make this allusion to Alida without betraying, by the tremor of his voice, how great was her influence still over him.  “I see no necessity of violating the domestic feelings to which you allude, by aiding to feed the ears of the idly curious, with the narrative of her errors.”

Ludlow stopped suddenly, leaving the uncle to infer what he would wish to add.

“This is generous, and manly, and like a loyal—­lover, Captain Ludlow,” returned the Alderman; “though it is not exactly what I intended to suggest.  We will not, however, multiply words in the night air—­ha! when the cat is asleep, the mice are seen to play!  Those night-riding, horse-racing blacks have taken possession of Alida’s pavilion; and we may be thankful the poor girl’s rooms are not as large as Harlaem Common, or we should hear the feet of some hard-driven beast galloping about in them.”

The Alderman, in his turn, cut short his speech, and started as if one of the spukes of the colony had suddenly presented itself to his eyes.  His language had drawn the look of his companion towards la Cour des Fees; and Ludlow had, at the same moment as the uncle, caught an unequivocal view of la belle Barberie, as she moved before the open window of her apartment.  The latter was about to rush forward, but the hand of Myndert arrested the impetuous movement.