success, and at last he
unwillingly shaped his course for England, much puzzled and perplexed,
as now he had no one to act as his steward to whom he could confide, or
by whose arrangements he could continue to defraud the ship's company;
and, further, he was obliged to put off for the present all idea of
punishing Jemmy Ducks, for, without the corporal, the marines were
afraid to move a step in defiance of the ship's company. The
consequence was, that the three days that they were at sea Mr
Vanslyperken confined himself altogether to his cabin, for he was not
without some fears for his own safety. On his arrival at Portsmouth, he
delivered his letters to the admiral, and received orders to return to
his cruising ground after the smugglers as soon as he had replaced his
lost boat.

We have observed that Mr Vanslyperken had no relations on this side of
the water; but in saying that, we referred to the epoch that he was in
the service previous to the accession of King William. Since that, and
about a year from the time we are now writing about, he had brought over
his mother, whom he had not, till the peace, seen for years, and had
established her in a small apartment in that part of the town now known
by the name of the Halfway Houses. The old woman lived upon a small
pension allowed by the Dutch court, having been employed for many years
in a subordinate capacity in the king's household. She was said to have
once been handsome, and when young prodigal of her favours; at present
she was a palsied old woman, bent double with age and infirmity, but
with all her faculties as complete as if she was in her prime. Nothing
could escape her little twinkling bloodshot eyes or her acute ear; she
could scarcely hobble fifty yards, but she kept no servant to assist
her, for, like her son, she was avaricious in the extreme. What crime
she had committed was not known, but that something lay heavy on her
conscience was certain; but if there was guilt, there was no repentance,
only fear of future punishment. Cornelius Vanslyperken was her only
living child; she had been twice married. The old woman did not appear
to be very fond of him, although she treated him still as a child, and
executed her parental authority as if he were still in petticoats. Her
coming over was a sort of mutual convenience. She had saved money, and
Vanslyperken wished to secure that, and also have a home and a person to
whom he could trust; and she was