, we
concealed our rank; afterwards I made known to you the rank of my friend
on shore; but did not think it worth while to say anything about his
situation on board of the vessel. The fact is, as you may well suppose
of a person of his dignity, he was owner of the fine ship which was lost
through the intervention of that one-eyed wretch; but of that by-and-by.
Now for the story. About ten years ago there was a great miser in
Amsterdam; he lived in the most miserable way that a man could live in;
wore nothing but rags; and having been formerly a seaman, his attire was
generally of the description common to his class. He had one son, to
whom he denied the necessaries of life, and whom he treated most
cruelly. After vain attempts to possess a portion of his father's
wealth, the devil instigated the son to murder the old man, who was one
day found dead in his bed; but as there were no marks of violence which
could be sworn to, although suspicion fell upon the son, the affair was
hushed up, and the young man took possession of his father's wealth. It
was fully expected that there would now be rioting and squandering on
the part of the heir, as is usually the case; but, on the contrary, he
never spent anything, but appeared to be as poor--even poorer--than he
ever was. Instead of being gay and merry, he was, in appearance, the
most miserable, downcast person in the world; and he wandered about,
seeking a crust of bread wherever he could find it. Some said that he
had been inoculated by his father, and was as great a miser as his
father had been; others shook their heads, and said that all was not
right. At last, after pining away for six or seven years, the young man
died at an early age, without confession or absolution; in fact, he was
found dead in his bed. Beside the bed there was a paper addressed to
the authorities, in which he acknowledged that he had murdered his
father for the sake of his wealth; and that when he went to take some of
it for his expenses on the day afterwards, he found his father's spirit
sitting on the bags of money, and menacing him with instant death, if he
touched one piece. He returned again and again, and found his father a
sentinel as before. At last, he gave up attempting to obtain it: his
crime made him miserable, and he continued in possession, without daring
to expend one sixpence of all the money. He requested that, as his end
was approaching, the money should be given to the ch