been watched. Moggy was not sorry to receive her instructions, which
were, to remain at Portsmouth until Lazarus the Jew should give her
further orders; for there was one point which Moggy was most anxious to
accomplish, now that she could do it without risking a retaliation upon
her husband, which was, to use her own expression, to pay off that
snivelling old rascal, Vanslyperken.

But we must leave Moggy and the movements of individuals, and return to
our general history. The _Yungfrau_ was detained a fortnight at
Amsterdam, and then received the despatches of the States General and
those of Ramsay, with which Vanslyperken returned to Portsmouth. On his
arrival, he went through his usual routine at the admiral's and the
Jew's, received his douceur, and hastened to his mother's house, when he
found the old woman, as she constantly prophesied, not dead yet.

"Well, child, what have you brought--more gold?"

"Yes," replied Vanslyperken, laying down the one hundred and fifty
guineas which he had received.

"Bless thee, my son--bless thee!" said the old woman, laying her palsied
hand upon Vanslyperken's head. "It is not often I bless--I never did
bless as I can recollect--I like cursing better. My blessing must be
worth something, if it's only for its scarcity; and do you know why I
bless thee, my Cornelius? Because--ha, ha, ha! because you are a
murderer and a traitor, and you love gold."

Even Vanslyperken shuddered at the hag's address.

"What do you ever gain by doing good in this world? nothing but laughter