I leave worthy
Tiller to settle balances between us; and so, I take my leave. Master
Alderman--a word at parting Does the Viscount Cornbury still tarry in the
Provinces?"
"Like a fixture. There is not a mercantile house in the colony more firmly
established."
"There are unsettled affairs between us.--A small premium would buy the
obligations----"
"Heaven keep thee, Master Seadrift, and pleasant voyages, back and forth!
As for the Viscount's responsibility--the Queen may trust him with another
Province, but Myndert Van Beverout would not give him credit for the tail
of a marten; and so, again, Heaven preserve thee!"
The dealer in contraband appeared to tear himself from the sight of all
the little elegancies that adorned the apartment of la belle Barberie,
with reluctance. His adieus to the Alderman were rather cavalier, for he
still maintained a cold and abstracted air; but as the other scarcely
observed the forms of decorum, in his evident desire to get rid of his
guest, the latter was finally obliged to depart. He disappeared by the low
balcony, where he had entered.
When Myndert Van Beverout was alone, he shut the windows of the pavilion
of his niece, and retired to his own part of the dwelling. Here the
thrifty burgher first busied himself in making sundry calculations, with a
zeal that proved how much his mind was engrossed by the occupation. After
this preliminary step, he gave a short but secret conference to the
mariner of the India-shawl, during which there was much clinking of gold
pieces.
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