I saw poor Le Compte disappear from sight with
regret, and remembered his recent hopes, his generous treatment, his
admiration of Emily, and all that he had so lately thought and felt,
as a warning of the fragile nature of life, and that which life can
bestow. Thus terminated an acquaintance of a month; but a month that
had been pregnant with incidents of great importance to myself.
It now became necessary to decide on our future course. I had the
ship, just as the French got her from us, with the addition of those
portions of their own cargo with which they had intended to trade on
the coast of South America. These consisted of silks and various
fancy articles, with a little wine, and would be nearly as valuable at
home as they were in Spanish America. I was strongly averse to
smuggling, and the ship having already followed out her original
instructions on this point, I saw no necessity for pursuing the
ungrateful trade any further. Could I return to the island, and get
the articles of value left on it by the French, such as the copper
they had not used, and divers pales received from the Bombay ship,
which had been abandoned by us all under a tent, more profit would
accrue to my owners than by any illicit commerce we could now possibly
carry into effect on the coast.
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