and the good cause.  In what way, therefore, shall I injure her?  On the contrary.”  And Ramsay walked down stairs to find Wilhelmina.  Such were the arguments used by the young cavalier, and with which he fully satisfied himself that he was doing rightly; had he argued the other side of the question, he would have been equally convinced, as most people are, when they argue without any opponent; but we must leave him to follow Vanslyperken.

Mr Vanslyperken walked away from the syndic’s house with the comfortable idea that one side of him was heavier than the other by one hundred guineas.  He also ruminated; he had already obtained three hundred pounds, no small sum, in those days, for a lieutenant.  It is true that he had lost the chance of thousands by the barking of Snarleyyow, and he had lost the fair Portsmouth widow; but then he was again on good terms with the Frau Vandersloosh, and was in a fair way of making his fortune, and, as he considered, with small risk.  His mother, too, attracted a share of his reminiscences; the old woman would soon die, and then he would have all that she had saved.  Smallbones occasionally intruded himself, but that was but for a moment.  And Mr Vanslyperken walked away very well satisfied, upon the whole, with his esse and posse.  He wound up by flattering himself that he should wind up with the savings of his mother, his half-pay, the widow’s guilders, and his own property,—­altogether it would be pretty comfortable.  But we leave him and return to Corporal Van Spitter.

Corporal Van Spitter had had wisdom enough to dupe Vanslyperken, and persuade him that he was very much in love with Babette; and Vanslyperken, who was not at all averse to this amour, permitted the corporal to go on shore and make love.  As Vanslyperken did not like the cutter and Snarleyyow to be left without the corporal or himself, he always remained on board when the corporal went, so that the widow had enough on hand—­pretending love all the morning with the lieutenant, and indemnifying herself by real love with the corporal after dusk.  Her fat hand was kissed and slobbered from morning to night, but it was half for love and half for revenge.

But we must leave the corporal, and return to Jemmy Ducks.  Jemmy was two days in the cave before the arrival of the boat, during which he made himself a great favourite, particularly with Lilly, who sat down and listened to his fiddle and his singing.  It was a novelty in the cave, anything like amusement.  On the third night, however, Sir R. Barclay came back from Cherbourg, and as he only remained one hour, Jemmy was hastened on board, taking leave of his wife, but not parting with his fiddle.  He took his berth as steersman, in lieu of Ramsay, and gave perfect satisfaction.  The intelligence brought over by Sir Robert rendered an immediate messenger to Portsmouth necessary, and, as it would create less suspicion, Moggy was the party now entrusted in lieu of Nancy,