The Boy Soldier; Or, Garibaldi's Young Captain — page 281: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE BOY SOLDIER; OR, GARIBALDI’S YOUNG CAPTAIN. old rogue. But I also came on another errand,” said Joel, ‘and one that concerns you deeply,” “Indeed !” “Yes ; but I hope you will not be surprised or annoyed ?” ‘Oh, certainly not,’’ * Did you ever know in Leghorn an English youth named Joel Flint ?” “Yes, certainly I did.” “ What was his general character 2” “An impostor, sir! a rascal! if not more; one who for a time played on my good nature, and actually had the audacity to make half proposals to my only daughter.” ** Indeed |” “Yes, and more than that; I am sorry to say that he took passage, under an assumed name, in the same vessel I did,”’ * What was the name of the vessel ?” ; ‘The barque ‘ Dolphin ;’ it was wrecked on the Cornish coast, and we were saved by a miracle, and lost all our valuables and baggage.” “You say you were sorry he sailed in the same vessel with you? Was he saved likewise?” “No; thank goodness, the young iascal was drowned. Unknown to me we had two detectives on board, who discovered what he was, and would have had him hung at Newgate only that he perished with the wreck in the storm.” wee ‘“A most happy deliverance for society,” said Joel, “for I have information from’ Tomasso, an officer at Leghorn, that the same Joel Flint was suspected of murder.” ‘‘ Horrible ! horrible !” said the old man, “But my business on the present ocedsion, Mr. Laneaster, is not so much to speak of this young rascal Flint as to restore what he has from time to time stolen from you.” : : Indeed, sir !” “Yes, truly, Did you not miss articles'of value, such as diamonds and the like, during his visits to you at Leghorn ?” Ba ‘“We did, papa,” said Nelly; “but I never sus- pected that he could have stolen them.” “He did so, and some of my noble friends ‘traced them to several old Jews, who purchased them for a small amount,” ' “You astonish me !” “T have brought one or two of the articles with me,”’ said the would-be count, presenting a likeness of Nelly Lancaster to her father, the borders of which were set with diamonds. | “T never saw this before, Nelly,” said old Lan- caster, looking in astonishment at his daughter, “Who gave you this?” | “ By touching that small spring yon will see, sir,” said the count, with a fiendish grin, Old Lancaster touched the spring, and beheld the likenesses of Captain Frank Ford and Nelly Lan- caster sitting lovingly side by side with their hands locked, Under the portraits were the words— “Wear this for me, Nelly, and let not our hearts be ever sundered.” - Old Lancaster turned all manner of colours, and would haye broken out into a terrible rage, except for the presence of the Count, whom he wished to please, Two diamond rings and a bracelet were also handed over to old Laneaster by the Count, all of which the enraged father knew, from certain marks and mottoes on them, came from the generous hand of the Boy Captain he hated so mvch. Nelly was astounded at the recovery of her lost presents, and would have claimed them ‘on the spot ee 275 but an angry look from old Lancaster caused deep blushes to suffuse her cheeks, and she left the draw- ing-room endeayouring to conceal the tear drops which trickled down her cheeks. ““T have the game in my own hands now,” thought Joel, ‘‘ and will persecute them both by every means that cunning and money can deyise.’’ For some time the pretended “‘ Count ” continued to converse with the banker, and so far won upon the old man’s good opinion, that he was inyited to eall again, and it was hoped that he would make himself at home on all occasions, and consider him- gelf a frequent and welcome guest; for, from his mode of speaking, the Count left the impression that he was not only immensely. rich, but one of the leaders of fashion, and a person who might prove of great weight in political and banking circles, When he left the house, Joel could not but chuckle at the success of lis; deceit, and as he went home, thought again and again, ‘ T will work upon bothfather and daughter, and if Lam not mueh mistaken, I shall be able to make Nelly my wife.” . He had not gone fat down the street, however, before he perceived two suspicious-looking persons approaching him, , They were well dressed, but evidently not gentle- men ; and whenthey came within a few feet, one of them inquired the number of Mr. Lancaster’s house. Joel told them, and they went hurriedly towards the banker’s residence, and knocked loudly. ‘Who can they be, and what business can take them to the old banker’s atthis unseasonable hour? ” He thought thus, and when turning the corner of the street, he heard one policeman say to another— ‘““ What’s up now, I wonder?” “ Why, sergeant ?” “T saw Gale and another ‘plain clothes man go into old Lancaster’s house.” A cold thrill passed throngh Joel. He shuddered,-and hurried away through the dark and silent streets, CHAPTER: CVII. CAPTAIN FRANK WRITES TO HIS BROTHER TOM AND. HIS BOY FRIENDS SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FRENCH, INVASION OF MEXICO AND OF THE SIEGE OF PUBBLA—AWEFUL AND STIRRING SCENES, “DEAR BROTHER,—In my last letter I promised to give some account of our doings with the Mexican army, which promise I now proceed to comply with. “You know that, in the first place, the French had really no just cause for making war upon the Mexicans, but because the republic owed them some large sums of money, and, as.a great war was raging in the United States, they thought it was a favour- able time to carry out their long-designed project for conquest. ‘ ‘The poor Mexicans were very badly prepared for the visit of their plundering visitors, but, never- theless, they were fully aroused to the danger which threatened them, and resolved to leave no stone unturned to prevent the French marshal and his army from marching on to the capital city of Mexico. “The chief town which lay in the proposed French route to Mexico city was Puebla. “The Mexican forces, poorly clad, badly armed, and, for the most part, raw conscripts, made very eae ee —— QO S1CO —-+ -++_ comllcooo