She was grateful to him for his kind manner of appropriating her possessions, she was greatly interested in his society,--for he was a man of culture and information,--and in less than three days she found herself very much in love with him.

There was not a man in the whole town who, in her opinion, could compare with this gallant commander of buccaneers.
It was not very long before de Lussan became conscious of the favor he had found in the eyes of this lady; for as a buccaneer could not be expected to remain very long in one place, it was necessary, if this lady wished the captor of her money and treasure to know that he had also captured her heart, that she must not be slow in letting him know the state of her affections, and being a young person of a very practical mind she promptly informed de Lussan that she loved him and desired him to marry her.
The gallant Frenchman was very much amazed when this proposition was made to him, which was in the highest degree complimentary.

It was very attractive to him--but he could not understand it.

The lady's husband had been dead but a few days--he had assisted in having the unfortunate gentleman properly buried--and it seemed to him very unnatural that the young widow should be in such an extraordinary hurry to prepare a marriage feast before the funeral baked meats had been cleared from the table.
There was but one way in which he could explain to himself this remarkable transition from grief to a new affection.

He believed that the people of this country were like their fruits and their flowers.