n charges
against Orford, one of fourteen against Somers. The court is said to have
dealt hardly with him, but courts of justice were not very tender to any
criminals in those days, and the jury did not hesitate to acquit three of
those tried with him. Criminals were not allowed the aid of counsel,
except on a point of law. Kidd did raise a legal point, and was allowed
the aid of a counsel to argue it. His intention was clear from the day he
left New York. The four pirates named in his commission were then on the
American coast; he made no effort to look for them, but steered at once
for the Cape. If he could not control his crew, he could have invoked
Warren's help; instead of which he stole away in the night. His threats to
the _Sidney_ at Johanna, his attack, after three weeks' waiting, on the
Mocha fleet, his detention of Parker, to say nothing of his dealings with
Culliford, can only be interpreted in one way. During his whole cruise he
never put into Surat, Bombay, or Goa, but cruised like any other pirate.

The legend of his buried treasure has survived to our own day, owing to
the fact that he had buried some of his booty before putting himself in
Bellamont's hands; but the record of his trial shows that, beyond what was
obtained from the _Quedah Merchant_, his plunder consisted mostly of
merchandise. That some of his ill-gotten gains were recovered at the time
seems clear from an Act of Parliament passed in 1705, enabling the Crown
to "dispose of the effects of William Kidd, a notorious pirate, to the use
of Greenwich Hospital"; which institution received accordingly 6472-1.

The scandal caused by Kidd's piratical doings under a commission from the
Crown, the political use made of it in Parliament, and the legend of a
vast hoard of buried treasure, have conferred on him a celebrity not
justified by his exploits. As he appears in the Company's records, he
showed none of the picturesque daredevilry that distinguished many of the
sea rovers whose names are less known. No desperate adventure or
hard-fought action stand to his credit. Wherever we get a glimpse of his
character it shows nothing but mean, calculating cunning; and to the end
he posed as the simple, innocent man who was shamefully misjudged. His
crew were always discontented and ready to desert. He had none of the
lavish open-handedness that made the fraternity welcome in so many ports.
Every, Teach, England, and a dozen others in his place, would have t