ummoned from Gallinas for my rescue. From thence I sailed to Cuba,
and was the first to apprise our owners of the piratical onslaught by
which the factory had been destroyed.

"After this, I made several successful voyages to the coast; and, at
last, sauntering one evening along the _paseo_ at Havana, I met Don
Miguel's brother, who, after a sorrowful chat about the tragedy,
offered me a quarter-master's berth in a brig he was fitting out for
Africa. It was accepted on the spot.

"In a month we were off Mesurado, and cruised for several days from
the cape to Grand Bassa, avoiding every square-rigged vessel that
loomed above the horizon. At length, we espied a small craft beating
down the coast. We bore the stranger company for several hours, till,
suddenly taking advantage of her long tack out to sea, we gave chase
and cut off her return towards land.

"It was a fine afternoon, and the sun was yet an hour in the sky when
we intercepted the schooner. As we ran alongside, I thought I
recognized the faces of several who, in days of old, wore familiar in
our factory,--but what was my surprise, when T---- himself came to
the gangway, and hailed us in Spanish!

"I pointed out the miscreant to my comrade, and, in an instant, he was
in our clutches. We let the sun go down before we contrived a proper
death for the felon. His five companions, double-ironed, were nailed
beneath the hatches in the hold. After this, we riveted the murderer,
in chains, to the mainmast, and, for better security, fastened his
spread arms to the deck by spikes through his hands. Every sail was
then set on the craft, two barrels of tar were poured over the planks,
and a brand was thrown in the midst of the combustible materials. For
a while, the schooner was held by a hawser till we saw the flames
spread from stern to cut-water, and then, with a cheer, _adios_! It
was a beautiful sight,--that _auto-da-fe_, on the sea, in the
darkness!

"My confession, Don Teodor, is over. From that day, I have never been
within a church or alongside a _padre_; but I could not die without
sending the gold to my sister, and begging a mass in some parish for
the rest of my soul!"

I felt very conscious that I was by no means the person to afford
ghostly consolation to a dying man under such circumstances, but while
I promised to fulfil his request carefully, I could not help inquiring
whether he sincerely repented these atrocious deeds?

"Ah! yes, Don Teodor, a th