maritime excursions brought him to the coasts of the old or new world
he spoke English with remarkable facility, and with so slight an
accent as to scarcely betray his foreign origin.

None could have told anything about his past, nor even about his
present life, nor from what source he derived his fortune,--obviously
a large one, inasmuch as he was able to gratify his every whim and
lived in the greatest luxury whenever he visited America,--nor where
he resided when at home, nor where was the port from which his
schooner hailed, and none would have ventured to question him upon any
of these points so little disposed was he to be communicative. He was
not the kind of man to give anything away or compromise himself in the
slightest degree, even when interviewed by American reporters.

All that was known about him was what was published in the papers when
the arrival of the _Ebba_ was reported in some port, and particularly
in the ports of the east coast of the United States, where the
schooner was accustomed to put in at regular periods to lay in
provisions and stores for a lengthy voyage. She would take on board
not only flour, biscuits, preserves, fresh and dried meat, live stock,
wines, beers, and spirits, but also clothing, household utensils, and
objects of luxury--all of the finest quality and highest price, and
which were paid for either in dollars, guineas, or other coins of
various countries and denominations.

Consequently, if no one knew anything about the private life of Count
d'Artigas, he was nevertheless very well known in the various ports of
the United States from the Florida peninsula to New England.

It is therefore in no way surprising that the director of Healthful