Yule-Tide Yarns

The baron, who might have been offended by it, paid no attention to what was happening around him. His presence acted instead as a damper upon his visitor’s high spirits, but when alone with the girls and their mother, he was free to say and do what he liked, and they felt their life, which was now an anxious one, brightened by his visits. When Peter Vignerolles was appointed to the command of the newly captured schooner, the captain of the Tartar said to him: “As a senior midshipman, I should, in any case, have given you the command of the Alert, but I know that you will be especially pleased to be in command of her now.

There can be no question that the position of your friends at the château is a most precarious one, and the baron himself must be mad to compel his family to run such a frightful risk. If he likes to throw away his own life, well and good, but he has no right to expose his family to such frightful dangers, and he has not the excuse of ignorance, for scores of noble ladies have been murdered by this bloodthirsty mob. It may be that at the last moment, there will be a chance for them to escape, and if you can assist them to do so without running too much risk, I think you will be justified in acting. “I do not authorize you to take any action because I know nothing of the circumstances, but our general instructions always have been to give shelter to French royalists and to carry them to the nearest port where they can be landed with safety to themselves, and I certainly should not myself hesitate to send a boat ashore to take them off.

You know, the first time that you visited them after we came out here, you brought the baroness and her two daughters to see the frigate, and I feel, therefore, personally interested in them and shall be glad to hear that they have made their escape; so that if you get a message saying that they will come down to the shore, you will be more than justified in sending a boat for them, and even in running a certain amount of risk. However, I must leave the matter to your discretion.” “Thank you, sir, but I am afraid that the baron will neither take any step for his safety nor permit them to leave the château without him; still, I shall do anything I can to look after them.” “I shall send young Harding and the boatswain’s mate with you. If you capture any prizes, best turn the crews adrift in their boats with a couple of oars; we don’t want to cumber ourselves with prisoners.