This individual was immediately escorted from the forward part of the vessel, and placed in the space reserved within the two lines of pirates, and face to face with the captain.
The prisoner was a man somewhat above the ordinary height, of a demeanour which might have once been, to a great extent, commanding, but which seemed to have parted with whatever of native dignity it possessed, in proportion, as the spirit of excellence and elegance, which usually imparts character to the exterior, gave place to thoughts either of sordid pursuits, or to mean and selfish cares. He was now slightly bent, more, perhaps, from carelessness to his gait than with age: for his years could not have been very many. His hair, that still grew thick and bushy, was only just beginning to show a silvery tinge. His features were marked and manly, and must have been, at one time, very handsome, though now they were stamped with a disagreeable appearance of coldness and selfishness, which was calculated to arouse, at once, in a stranger’s mind, a strong prejudice against the individual; while his sharp, twinkling, cozening eyes, in particular, that shone from under a veil of shaggy eyebrows, that flew from object to object, that rested on no man for a moment, nor dared meet the glances that they encountered, conveyed immediately an idea of the lack of that firm, unequivocating honor which is essentially necessary in the constitution of a proper character.
When the prisoner was placed before him, the captain fixed upon him a deep, penetrating, and earnest look, that made him cower, and then slowly and solemnly pronounced these words:—
“James Willmington, before God, and in the presence of these men, and in the name of Nature, I accuse you of having violated one of the most sacred and most binding of her laws; of having abandoned your offspring; of having neglected the being whose existence sprang from yours, and for whom you were bound by a holy obligation to care and provide.”
The captain paused for a moment, and still kept his penetrating and unaltering eye fixed on the prisoner. The latter, on hearing this charge, raised his eyes in affrighted surprise, but quickly looked down as he met those of the pirate captain, while his color came and went.
“You shall be witness against yourself: because, although I lately took proper measures to make myself certain, that you were the individual who was indicated as the person that was my father; still, not having ever known you, and not possessing any tender instincts to guide me with regard to you, I should have always felt some slight doubt about your identity, if your fear, and miscalculating cunning had not, the day before yesterday, unwarily betrayed you into an avowal which, I must admit, I was not ready to hear from your lips. These men shall be your judges. You will be permitted full liberty to express yourself, at the proper time, as freely as you may think proper, omitting nothing that you may believe to be conducive to your safety. I shall reserve to myself the part of passing sentence upon you and of directing its execution; and I promise you, that whatever defence you may be able to make shall weigh as heavily as lead in your favour: for I should be loath to punish you if even you can contrive to justify yourself.”
“But what is the meaning—?” the prisoner began to inquire.
The captain pressed his finger firmly on his lips, and Willmington was daunted into silence. The pirate captain then went on: