r made no further objection, but indicated his readiness to proceed.
The other led the way to the bulkhead which separated the principal cabin
from the quarter-deck of the ship; and, pointing to a door, he rather
whispered than said aloud,--

"Tap twice; if he answer, go in."

Wilder did as he was directed. His first summons was either unheard or
disregarded. On repeating it, he was bid to enter. The young seaman opened
the door, with a crowd of sensations, that will find their solution in the
succeeding parts of our narrative and instantly stood, under the light of
a powerful lamp, in the presence of the stranger in green.

Chapter VI.

----"The good old plan,
That they should get, who have the power,
And they should keep, who can."--_Wordsworth._

The apartment, in which our adventurer now found himself, afforded no bad
illustration of the character of its occupant. In its form, and
proportions it was a cabin of the usual size and arrangements; but, in its
furniture and equipments, it exhibited a singular admixture of luxury and
martial preparation. The lamp, which swung from the upper deck, was of
solid silver; and, though adapted to its present situation by mechanical
ingenuity, there was that, in its shape and ornaments, which betrayed it
had once been used before some shrine of a far more sacred character.
Massive candlesticks of the same precious metal, and which partook of the
same ecclesiastical formation, were on a venerable table, whose mahogany
was glittering with the polish of half a century, and whose gilded claws,
and carved supporters, bespoke an original destination very different from
the ordinary service of a ship. A couch, covered with cut velvet, stood
along the transom; while a divan, of blue silk, lay against the bulkhead
opposite, manifesting, by its fashion, its materials, and its piles of
pillows, that even Asia had been made to contribute to the ease of its
luxurious owner. In addition to these prominent articles, there were cut
glass, mirrors, plate, and even hangings; each of which, by something
peculiar in its fashion or materials, bespoke an origin different from
that of its neighbour. In short, splendour and elegance seemed to have
been much more consulted than propriety, or conformity in taste, in the
selection of most of those articles, which had been, oddly enough, made to
contribute to the caprice or to the comfort of their singular possessor.

In the mi