man he
showed himself to be a master; matrimony was his strong suit, domesticity
his trump card. He gave one valuable hint to his guest, which was this:
"Never take more than two wives with you on a voyage, _and choose 'em with
care_."

One is apt to disassociate serious matrimony, and still less responsible
paternity, with the calling of piracy, but with Captain Pease this was far
from being the case. Every one of his wives--for he had others on
shore--contributed her mite, or two, to the growing family, and the
Captain really could not say which of his offspring he was most proud of.
It seems at first strange that a man of Captain Pease's appearance,
figure, and settled habits, almost humdrum, should have been such an
undoubted success with the ladies; but that he was a success there can be
no doubt. Perhaps his calling had a good deal to do with this attraction
he had for them.

Before bringing this Preface to a conclusion, there is one other aspect of
piracy upon which I will touch.

Death, portrayed by a skeleton, was the device on the flag beneath which
they fought; and a skeleton was for ever threatening to emerge from its
cupboard aboard every pirate vessel.

The end of most of the pirates and a large proportion of the buccaneers
was a sudden and violent one, and few of them died in their beds. Many
were killed in battle, numbers of them were drowned. Not a few drank
themselves to death with strong Jamaica rum, while many of the buccaneers
died of malaria and yellow fever contracted in the jungles of Central
America, and most of the pirates who survived these perils lived only to
be hanged.

It is recorded of a certain ex-prizefighter and pirate, Dennis McCarthy,
who was about to be hanged at New Providence Island in 1718, that, as he
stood on the gallows, all bedecked with coloured ribbons, as became a
boxer, he told his admiring audience that his friends had often, in joke,
told him he would die in his shoes; and so, to prove them liars, he kicked
off his shoes amongst the crowd, and so died without them.

The trial of a pirate was usually a rough and ready business, and the
culprit seldom received the benefit of any doubt that might exist.

If he made any defence at all, it was usually to plead that he had been
forced to join the pirates against his wish, and that he had long been
waiting for an opportunity to escape.

Once condemned to death, and the date of execution decided, the prisoner,
if at