Old Virginia and her neighbours

THE GOLDEN AGE OF PIRATES. 351to the maxims ofhonour among thieves that it isa wonder he should have retained his leadershipthrough several expeditions.One of Morgan's early exploits was the captureof Puerto del Principe, in Cuba. Then with 500men he attacked Porto Bello, on the Istlimus ofDarien. Having taken a convent, he forced thenuns to carry scaling ladders and plant themagainst the walls of the citadel, perhaps in thehope that Spaniards would not fire upon SjDanishwomen ; but many of the poor nuns were killed.After the garrison had surrendered, Morgan setfire to the magazine and blew into fragments thefort with its defenders. The scenes that followedmust have won Satan's approval. With greedunsatisfied by the enormous booty, the monsterdevised horrible tortures for the discovery of secrethoards that doubtless existed only in his fancy.Many victims died under the infliction.Soon afterward Morgan met in the CaribbeanSea a powerful French pirate ship and invited herto join him. On the French captain's refusal,Morgan, with an air of supreme cordiality, invitedhim to come over to dinner with all his officers.No sooner had these guests arrived than they wereseized and put in irons, while Morgan attackedtheir ship and captured it. Then came a strangeretribution. Morgan put some of his o^ti officerswith 350 of his crew into the French ship ;presentlythe officers got drunk, and through accidentor carelessness the ship was blown up with allthe English crew and the French prisoners.Thisstory is told by a pious and literary Dutch bucca-