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diff --git a/27913.txt b/27913.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0d61ec1 --- /dev/null +++ b/27913.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14272 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Quadroon, by Mayne Reid + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Quadroon + Adventures in the Far West + +Author: Mayne Reid + +Release Date: January 27, 2009 [EBook #27913] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE QUADROON *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +The Quadroon, by Captain Mayne Reid. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +THE FATHER OF WATERS. + +Father of Waters! I worship thy mighty stream! As the Hindoo by the +shores of his sacred river, I kneel upon thy banks, and pour forth my +soul in wild adoration! + +Far different are the springs of our devotion. To him, the waters of +his yellow Ganges are the symbols of a superstitious awe, commingled +with dark fears for the mystic future; to me, thy golden wares are the +souvenirs of joy, binding the present to the known and happy past. Yes, +mighty river! I worship thee in the past. My heart fills with joy at +the very mention of thy name! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Father of Waters! I know thee well. In the land of a thousand lakes, +on the summit of the "_Hauteur de terre_," I have leaped thy tiny +stream. Upon the bosom of the blue lakelet, the fountain of thy life, I +have launched my birchen boat; and yielding to thy current, have floated +softly southward. I have passed the meadows where the wild rice ripens +on thy banks, where the white birch mirrors its silvery stem, and tall +_coniferae_ fling their pyramid shapes, on thy surface. I have seen the +red Chippewa cleave thy crystal waters in his bark canoe--the giant +moose lave his flanks in thy cooling flood--and the stately wapiti bound +gracefully along thy banks. I have listened to the music of thy +shores--the call of the cacawee, the laugh of the wa-wa goose, and the +trumpet-note of the great northern swan. Yes, mighty river! Even in +that far northern land, thy wilderness home, have I worshipped thee! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Onward through many parallels of latitude--through many degrees of the +thermal line! + +I stand upon thy banks where thou leapest the rocks of Saint Antoine, +and with bold frothing current cleavest thy way to the south. Already I +note a change in the aspect of thy shores. The _coniferae_ have +disappeared, and thou art draped with a deciduous foliage of livelier +hue. Oaks, elms, and maples, mingle their frondage, and stretch their +broad arms over thee. Though I still look upon woods that seem +illimitable, I feel that the wilderness is past. My eyes are greeted by +the signs of civilisation--its sounds fall upon my ear. The hewn +cabin--picturesque in its rudeness--stands among prostrate trunks; and +the ring of the lumberer's axe is heard in the far depths of the forest. +The silken blades of the maize wave in triumph over fallen trees, its +golden tassels giving promise of a rich return. The spire of the church +peers above the green spray of the woods, and the prayer of the +Christian ascends to heaven sublimely mingling with the roar of thy +waters! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I launch my boat once more on thy buoyant wave; and, with heart as +buoyant, glide onward and southward. I pass between bold bluffs that +hem thy surging waves, and trace with pleasant wonder their singular and +varied outlines--now soaring abruptly upward, now carried in gentle +undulations along the blue horizon. I behold the towering form of that +noted landmark "_La montaigne qui trempe a l'eau_," and the swelling +cone on whose summit the soldier-traveller pitched his tent. I glide +over the mirrored bosom of Pepin's lake, regarding with admiration its +turreted shores. I gaze with deeper interest upon that precipitous +escarpment, the "Lover's Leap," whose rocky wall has oft echoed back the +joyous chaunt of the light-hearted voyageur, and once a sadder strain-- +the death-song of Wanona--beautiful Wanona, who sacrificed life to love! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Onward I glide, where the boundless prairies of the West impinge upon +thy stream; and my eye wanders with delight over their fadeless green. + +I linger a moment to gaze upon the painted warrior spurring his wild +steed along thy banks--to gaze upon the Dacotah girls bathing their +lithe limbs in thy crystal wave--then on again past the "Cornice +Rocks"--the metalliferous shores of Galena and Dubuque--the aerial tomb +of the adventurous miner. + +I reach the point where the turbid Missouri rushes rudely upon thee, as +though he would force thee from thy onward course. Poised in my light +canoe, I watch the struggle. Fierce but short it is, for thou +triumphest, and thy conquered rival is compelled to pay his golden +tribute to thy flood that rolls majestically onward! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Upon thy victorious wave I am borne still southward. I behold huge +green mounds--the sole monuments of an ancient people--who once trod thy +shores. Near at hand I look upon the dwellings of a far different race. +I behold tall spires soaring to the sky; domes, and cupolas glittering +in the sun; palaces standing upon thy banks, and palaces floating upon +thy wave. I behold a great city--a metropolis! + +I linger not here. I long for the sunny South; and trusting myself once +more to thy current I glide onward. + +I pass the sea-like estuary of the Ohio, and the embouchure of another +of thy mightiest tributaries, the famed river of the plains. How +changed the aspect of thy shores! I no longer look upon bold bluffs and +beetling cliffs. Thou hast broken from the hills that enchained thee, +and now rollest far and free, cleaving a wide way through thine own +alluvion. Thy very banks are the creation of thine own fancy--the slime +thou hast flung from thee in thy moments of wanton play--and thou canst +break through their barriers at will. Forests again fringe thee-- +forests of giant trees--the spreading _platanus_, the tall tulip-tree, +and the yellow-green cotton-wood rising in terraced groves from the +margin of thy waters. Forests stand upon thy banks, and the wreck of +forests is borne upon thy bubbling bosom! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I pass thy last great affluent, whose crimson flood just tinges the hue +of thy waters. Down thy delta I glide, amid scenes rendered classic by +the sufferings of De Soto--by the adventurous daring of Iberville and La +Salle. + +And here my soul reaches the acme of its admiration. Dead to beauty +must be heart and eye that could behold thee here, in this thy southern +land, without a thrill of sublimest emotion! + +I gaze upon lovely landscapes ever changing, like scenes of enchantment, +or the pictures of a panorama. They are the loveliest upon earth--for +where are views to compare with thine? Not upon the Rhine, with its +castled rocks--not upon the shores of that ancient inland sea--not among +the Isles of the Ind. No. In no part of the world are scenes like +these; nowhere is soft beauty blended so harmoniously with wild +picturesqueness. + +And yet not a mountain meets the eye--not even a hill--but the dark +_cyprieres_, draped with the silvery _tillandsia_, form a background to +the picture with all the grandeur of the pyrogenous granite! + +The forest no longer fringes thee here. It has long since fallen before +the planter's axe; and the golden sugar-cane, the silvery rice, and the +snowy cotton-plant, flourish in its stead. Forest enough has been left +to adorn the picture. I behold vegetable forms of tropic aspect, with +broad shining foliage--the _Sabal_ palm, the anona, the water-loving +tupelo, the catalpa with its large trumpet flowers, the melting +_liquidambar_, and the wax-leaved mangolia. Blending their foliage with +these fair _indigenes_ are an hundred lovely exotics--the orange, lemon, +and fig; the Indian-lilac and tamarind; olives, myrtles, and bromelias; +while the Babylonian willow contrasts its drooping fronds with the erect +reeds of the giant cane, or the lance-like blades of the _yucca +gloriosa_. + +Embowered amidst these beautiful forms I behold villas and mansions; of +grand and varied aspect--varied as the races of men who dwell beneath +their roofs. And varied are they; for the nations of the world dwell +together upon thy banks--each having sent its tribute to adorn thee with +the emblems of a glorious and universal civilisation. Father of Waters, +farewell! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Though not born in this fair southern land, I have long lingered there; +and I love it _even better than the land of my birth_. I have there +spent the hours of bright youth, of adventurous manhood; and the +retrospect of these hours is fraught with a thousand memories tinged +with a romance that can never die. There my young heart yielded to the +influence of Love--a first and virgin love. No wonder the spot should +be to me the most hallowed on earth! + +Reader! listen to the story of that love! + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +SIX MONTHS IN THE CRESCENT CITY. + +Like other striplings escaped from college, I was no longer happy _at +home_. The yearning for travel was upon me; and I longed to make +acquaintance with that world, as yet only known to me through the medium +of books. + +My longing was soon to be gratified; and without a sigh I beheld the +hills of my native land sink behind the black waves--not much caring +whether I should ever see them again. + +Though emerging from the walls of a classic college, I was far from +being tinctured with classic sympathies. Ten years spent in pondering +over the wild hyperbole of Homer, the mechanical verse-work of Virgil, +and the dry indelicacies of Horatius Flaccus, had failed to imbue me +with a perception of that classic beauty felt, or pretended to be felt, +by the spectacled _savant_. My mind was not formed to live on the +ideal, or dream over the past. I delight rather in the real, the +positive, and the present. Don Quixotes may play the troubadour among +ruined castles, and mincing misses cover the ground of the guide-books. +For my part I have no belief in the romance of old-world life. In the +modern Tell I behold a hireling, ready to barter his brawny limbs to the +use of whatever tyrant; and the picturesque Mazzaroni, upon closer +acquaintance, dwindles down to the standard of a hen-roost thief. Amid +the crumbling walls of Athens and the ruins of Rome I encounter +inhospitality and hunger. I am not a believer in the picturesqueness of +poverty. I have no relish for the romance of rags. + +And yet it was a yearning for the romantic that called me from home. I +longed for the poetic and picturesque, for I was just at that age when +the mind is imbued with its strongest faith in their reality. Ha! mine +is not yet disabused of this belief. I am older now, but the hour of +disenchantment has not yet come upon me--nor ever will. There is a +romance in life, that is no illusion. It lives not in the effete forms +and childish ceremonies of the fashionable drawing-room--it has no +illustration in the tinsel trappings and gaudy puerilities of a Court. +Stars, garters, and titles are its antidotes; red cloth and plush the +upas-trees of its existence. + +Its home is elsewhere, amid the grand and sublime scenes of Nature-- +though these are not necessary accompaniments. It is no more incidental +to field and forest, rock, river, and mountain, than to the well-trodden +ways of the trading-town. Its home is in human hearts--hearts that +throb with high aspirations--bosoms that burn with the noble passions of +Liberty and Love! + +My steps then were not directed towards classic shores, but to lands of +newer and more vigorous life. Westward went I in search of romance. I +found it in its most attractive form under the glowing skies of +Louisiana. + +In the month of January, 18--, I set foot upon the soil of the +New-World--upon a spot stained with English blood. The polite skipper, +who had carried me across the Atlantic, landed me in his gig. I was +curious to examine the field of this decisive action; for at that period +of my life I had an inclination for martial affairs. But something more +than mere curiosity prompted me to visit the battle-ground of New +Orleans. I then held an opinion deemed heterodox--namely, that the +_improvised_ soldier is under certain circumstances quite equal to the +professional hireling, and that long military drill is not essential to +victory. The story of war, superficially studied, would seem to +antagonise this theory, which conflicts also with the testimony of all +military men. But the testimony of mere military men on such a matter +is without value. Who ever heard of a military man who did not desire +to have his art considered as mythical as possible? Moreover, the +rulers of the world have spared no pains to imbue their people with +false ideas upon this point. It is necessary to put forward some excuse +for that terrible incubus upon the nations, the "standing army." + +My desire to view the battle-ground upon the banks of the Mississippi +had chiefly reference to this question. The action itself had been one +of my strong arguments in favour of my belief; for upon this spot some +six thousand men--who had never heard the absurd command, "Eyes +right!"--out-generalled, "whipped," in fact nearly annihilated, a +well-equipped and veteran army of twice their number! + +Since standing upon that battle-ground I have carried a sword in more +than one field of action. What I then held only as a theory, I have +since proved as an experience. The "drill" is a delusion. The standing +army a cheat. + +In another hour I was wandering through the streets of the Crescent +City, no longer thinking of military affairs. My reflections were +turned into a far different channel. The social life of the New-World, +with all its freshness and vigour, was moving before my eyes, like a +panorama; and despite of my assumption of the _nil admirari_, I could +not help _wondering as I went_. + +And one of my earliest surprises--one that met me on the very threshold +of Transatlantic existence--was the discovery of my own utter +uselessness. I could point to my desk and say, "There lie the proofs of +my erudition--the highest prizes of my college class." But of what use +they? The dry theories I had been taught had no application to the +purposes of real life. My logic was the prattle of the parrot. My +classic lore lay upon my mind like lumber; and I was altogether about as +well prepared to struggle with life--to benefit either my fellow-man or +myself--as if I had graduated in Chinese mnemonics. + +And oh! ye pale professors, who drilled me in syntax and scansion, ye +would deem me ungrateful indeed were I to give utterance to the contempt +and indignation which I then felt for ye--then, when I looked back upon +ten years of wasted existence spent under your tutelage--then, when, +after believing myself an educated man, the illusion vanished, and I +awoke to the knowledge that I _knew nothing_! + +With some money in my purse, and very little knowledge in my head, I +wandered through the Streets of New Orleans, wondering as I went. + +Six months later, and I was traversing the same streets, with very +little money in my purse, but with my stock of knowledge vastly +augmented. During this six months I had acquired an experience of the +world more extensive, than in any six years of my previous life. + +I had paid somewhat dearly for this experience. My travelling fund had +melted away in the alembic of cafes, theatres, masquerades, and +"quadroon" balls. Some of it had been deposited in that bank (faro) +which returns neither principal nor interest! + +I was almost afraid to "take stock" of my affairs. At length with an +effort I did so; and found, after paying my hotel bills, a balance in my +favour of exactly twenty-five dollars! Twenty-five dollars to live upon +until I could write home, and receive an answer--a period of three +months at the least--for I am talking of a time antecedent to the +introduction of Atlantic steamers. + +For six months I had been sinning bravely. I was now all repentance, +and desirous of making amends. I was even willing to engage in some +employment. But my cold classic training, that had not enabled me to +protect my purse, was not likely to aid me in replenishing it; and in +all that busy city I could find no office that I was fitted to fill! + +Friendless--dispirited--a little disgusted--not a little anxious in +regard to my immediate future, I sauntered about the streets. My +acquaintances were becoming scarcer every day. I missed them from their +usual haunts--the haunts of pleasure. "Whither had they gone?" + +There was no mystery in their disappearance. It was now mid-June. The +weather had become intensely hot, and every day the mercury mounted +higher upon the scale. It was already dancing in the neighbourhood of +100 degrees of Fahrenheit. In a week or two might be expected that +annual but unwelcome visitor known by the soubriquet of "Yellow Jack," +whose presence is alike dreaded by young and old; and it was the terror +inspired by him that was driving the fashionable world of New Orleans, +like birds of passage, to a northern clime. + +I am not more courageous than the rest of mankind. + +I had no inclination to make the acquaintance of this dreaded demon of +the swamps; and it occurred to me, that I, too, had better get out of +his way. To do this, it was only necessary to step on board a +steamboat, and be carried to one of the up-river towns, beyond the reach +of that tropical malaria in which the _vomito_ delights to dwell. + +Saint Louis was at this time the place of most attractive name; and I +resolved to go thither; though how I was to live there I could not +tell--since my funds would just avail to land me on the spot. + +Upon reflection, it could scarce be "out of the frying-pan into the +fire," and my resolution to go to Saint Louis became fixed. So, packing +up my _impedimenta_, I stepped on board the steamboat "Belle of the +West," bound for the far "City of the Mounds." + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +THE "BELLE OF THE WEST." + +I was on board at the advertised time; but punctuality on a Mississippi +steamboat must not be expected; and I found myself too early, by a +couple of hours at least. + +The time was not thrown away. I spent it to some profit in examining +the peculiar craft in which I had embarked. I say, _peculiar_; for the +steamers employed upon the Mississippi and its tributary waters are +unlike those of any other country--even unlike those in use in the +Atlantic or Eastern States. + +They are strictly "river-boats," and could not live in anything like a +rough sea; though the reckless owners of some of them have occasionally +risked them along the coast from Mobile to Galveston, Texas! + +The hull is built like that of a sea boat, but differs materially from +the latter in depth of hold. So shallow is it, that there is but little +stowage-room allowed; and the surface of the main deck is but a few +inches above the water-line. Indeed, when the boat is heavily laden, +the waves lip over the gunwales. Upon the deck is placed the machinery; +and there rest the huge cast-iron boilers, and the grates or "furnaces," +necessarily large, because the propelling power is produced from logs of +wood. There, also, most of the freight is stowed, on account of the +light capacity of the hold; and on every part, not occupied by the +machinery and boilers, may be seen piles of cotton-bales, hogsheads of +tobacco, or bags of corn, rising to the height of many feet. This is +the freight of a down-river-boat. On the return trip, of course, the +commodities are of a different character, and consist of boxes of Yankee +furniture, farming implements, and "notions," brought round by ship from +Boston; coffee in bags from the West Indies, rice, sugar, oranges, and +other products of the tropical South. + +On the after-part of this deck is a space allotted to the humbler class +of travellers known as "deck passengers." These are never Americans. +Some are labouring Irish--some poor German emigrants on their way to the +far North-West; the rest are negroes--free, or more generally slaves. + +I dismiss the hull by observing that there is a good reason why it is +built with so little depth of hold. It is to allow the boats to pass +the shoal water in many parts of the river, and particularly during the +season of drought. For such purpose the lighter the draught, the +greater the advantage; and a Mississippi captain, boasting of the +capacity of his boat in this respect, declared, that all he wanted was +_a heavy dew upon, the grass, to enable him to propel her across the +prairies_! + +If there is but little of a Mississippi steamboat under the water, the +reverse is true of what may be seen above its surface. Fancy a +two-story house some two hundred feet in length, built of plank, and +painted to the whiteness of snow; fancy along the upper story a row of +green-latticed windows, or rather doors, thickly set, and opening out +upon a narrow balcony; fancy a flattish or slightly rounded roof covered +with tarred canvas, and in the centre a range of sky-lights like glass +forcing-pits; fancy, towering above all, two enormous black cylinders of +sheet-iron, each ten feet in diameter, and nearly ten times as high, the +"funnels" of the boat; a smaller cylinder to one side, the +"'scape-pipe;" a tall flag-staff standing up from the extreme end of the +bow, with the "star-spangled banner" flying from its peak;--fancy all +these, and you may form some idea of the characteristic features of a +steamboat on the Mississippi. + +Enter the cabin, and for the first time you will be struck with the +novelty of the scene. You will there observe a splendid saloon, perhaps +a hundred feet in length, richly carpeted and adorned throughout. You +will note the elegance of the furniture,--costly chairs, sofas, tables, +and lounges; you will note the walls, richly gilded and adorned with +appropriate designs; the crystal chandeliers suspended from the ceiling; +the hundred doors that lead to the "state-rooms" on each side, and the +immense folding-door of stained or ornamental glass, which shuts in the +sacred precinct of the "ladies' saloon." In short, you will note all +around you a style and luxuriance to which you, as a European traveller, +have not been accustomed. You have only read of such a scene in some +Oriental tale--in Mary Montagu, or the "Arabian Nights." + +And yet all this magnificence is sometimes sadly at variance with the +style of the company that occupies it--for this splendid saloon is as +much the property of the coarse "rowdy" as of the refined gentleman. +You are startled by the apparition of a rough horse-skin boot elevated +along the edge of the shining mahogany; and a dash of brown nicotian +juice may have somewhat altered the pattern of the carpet! But these +things are exceptional--more exceptional now than in the times of which +I write. + +Having satisfied myself with examining the interior structure of the +"Belle of the West," I sauntered out in front of the cabin. Here a +large open space, usually known as the "awning," forms an excellent +lounging-place for the male passengers. It is simply the continuation +of the "cabin-deck," projected forward and supported by pillars that +rest upon the main deck below. The roof, or "hurricane-deck," also +carried forward to the same point, and resting on slight wooden props, +screens this part from sun or rain, and a low guard-rail running around +it renders it safe. Being open in front and at both sides, it affords +the best view; and having the advantage of a cool breeze, brought about +by the motion of the boat, is usually a favourite resort. A number of +chairs are here placed to accommodate the passengers, and smoking is +permitted. + +He must take very little interest in the movements of human life, who +cannot kill an hour by observing it upon the "Levee" of New Orleans; and +having seated myself and lighted my cigar, I proceeded to spend an hour +in that interesting occupation. + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +THE RIVAL BOATS. + +The part of the "Levee" under my eyes was that known as the "Steamboat +Landing." Some twenty or thirty boats lay along a series of wooden +wharves that projected slightly into the river. Some had just arrived +from up-river towns, and were discharging their freight and passengers, +at this season a scanty list. Others, surrounded by a bustling swarm, +were getting up steam; while still others appeared to be abandoned by +both officers and crew--who were no doubt at the time enjoying +themselves in the brilliant cafes and restaurants. Occasionally might +be seen a jauntily-dressed clerk, with blue cottonade trowsers, white +linen coat, costly Panama hat, shirt with cambric ruffles, and diamond +studs. This stylish gentleman would appear for a few minutes by one of +the deserted boats--perhaps transact a little business with some one-- +and then hurry off again to his more pleasant haunts in the city. + +There were two points upon the Levee where the bustle of active life was +more especially observable. These were the spaces in front of two large +boats. One was that on which I had taken passage. The other, as I +could read upon her wheel-house, was the "Magnolia." The latter was +also upon the eve of starting, as I could tell by the movements of her +people, by the red fires seen in her furnaces, and the hissing of steam, +that every now and then screamed sharply from the direction of her +boilers. + +On the Levee directly in front of her "drays" were depositing their last +loads, passengers were hurrying forward hat-box in hand, in fear they +might be too late; trunks, boxes, bags, and barrels were being rudely +pushed or rolled over the staging-planks; the gaily-dressed clerks, +armed with book and pencil, were checking them off; and everything +denoted the intention of a speedy departure. A scene exactly similar +was being enacted in front of the "Belle of the West." + +I had not been regarding these movements very long, before I observed +that there was something unusual "in the wind." The boats lay at no +great distance from each other, and their crews, by a slight elevation +of voice, could converse. This they were freely doing; and from some +expressions that reached me, coupled with a certain tone of defiance in +which they were uttered, I could perceive that the "Magnolia" and the +"Belle of the West" were "rival boats." I soon gathered the further +information, that they were about to start at the same time, and that a +"race" was in contemplation! + +I knew that this was no unusual occurrence among what are termed "crack" +boats, and both the "Belle" and her rival came under that category. +Both were of the first-class in size and magnificence of fitting; both +ran in the same "trade," that is, from New Orleans to Saint Louis; and +both were commanded by well-known and popular river "captains." They +could not be otherwise than rivals; and this feeling was shared in by +the crews of both, from captain to cabin-slave. + +As regards the owners and officers in such cases, there is a substantial +_money motive_ at the bottom of this rivalry. The boat that "whips" in +one of these races, wins also the future patronage of the public. The +"fast boat" becomes the fashionable boat, and is ever afterwards sure of +a strong list of passengers at a high rate of fare--for there is this +peculiarity among Americans: many of them will spend their last dollar +to be able to say at the end of his journey that he came upon the +fashionable boat, just as in England you find many people desirous of +making it known that they travelled "first-class." Snobbery is peculiar +to no country--it appears to be universal. + +With regard to the contemplated trial of speed between the "Belle of the +West" and the "Magnolia," the feeling of rivalry pervaded not only the +crews of both boats, but I soon discovered that the passengers were +affected with it. Most of these seemed as eager for the race as an +English blackleg for the Derby. Some no doubt looked forward to the +sport and excitement, but I soon perceived that the greater number were +betting upon the result! + +"The Belle's boun' to win!" cried a gold-studded vulgar-looking fellow +at my shoulder. "I'll go twenty dollars on the Belle. Will you bet, +stranger?" + +"No," I replied, somewhat angrily, as the fellow had taken a liberty by +laying his hand on my shoulder. + +"Well," retorted he, "jest as you like 'bout that;" and addressing +himself to some one else he continued, "the Belle's the conquering boat +for twenty dollars! Twenty dollars on the Belle!" + +I confess I had no very pleasant reflections at that moment. It was my +first trip upon an American steamboat, and my memory was brimful of +stories of "boiler burstings", "snaggings", "blowings up," and boats on +fire. I had heard that these races not infrequently resulted in one or +other of the above-named catastrophes, and I had reason to know that my +information was correct. + +Many of the passengers--the more sober and respectable ones--shared my +feelings; and some talked of appealing to the Captain not to allow the +race. But they knew they were in the minority, and held their peace. + +I had made up my mind at least to ask the Captain "his intentions." I +was prompted rather by curiosity than by any other motive. + +I left my seat, therefore, and having crossed the staging, walked toward +the top of the wharf, where this gentleman was standing. + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +A DESIRABLE FELLOW-PASSENGER. + +Before I had entered into conversation with the Captain, I saw a +barouche approaching on the opposite side, apparently coming from the +French quarter of the city. It was a handsome equipage, driven by a +well-clad and evidently well-fed black, and as it drew near, I could +perceive that it was occupied by a young and elegantly-attired lady. + +I cannot say why, but I felt a presentiment, accompanied perhaps by a +silent wish, that the occupant of the barouche was about to be a +fellow-passenger. It was not long before I learnt that such was her +intention. + +The barouche drew up on the crest of the Levee, and I saw the lady +directing some inquiry to a bystander, who immediately pointed to our +Captain. The latter, perceiving that he was the object inquired after, +stepped up to the side of the carriage, and bowed to the lady. I was +close to the spot, and every word reached me. + +"Monsieur! are you the captain of the Belle of the West?" + +The lady spoke in French, a smattering of which the Captain in his +intercourse with the Creoles had picked up. + +"Yes, madame," was the reply. + +"I wish to take passage with you." + +"I shall be most happy to accommodate you, madame. There is still one +state-room disengaged, I believe, Mr Shirley?" + +Here the Captain appealed to the clerk, in order to ascertain if such +was the case. + +"Never mind!" said the lady, interrupting him, "for the matter of a +state-room it is of no importance! You will reach my plantation before +midnight, and therefore I shall not require to sleep aboard." + +The phrase, "my plantation," evidently had an effect upon the Captain. +Naturally not a rude man, it seemed to render him still more attentive +and polite. The proprietor of a Louisiana plantation is a somebody not +to be treated with nonchalance; but, when that proprietor chances to be +a young and charming lady, who could be otherwise than amiable? Not +Captain B., commander of the "Belle of the West!" The very name of his +boat negatived the presumption! + +Smiling blandly, he inquired where he was to land his fair charge. + +"At Bringiers," replied the lady. "My residence is a little below, but +our landing is not a good one; besides, there is some freight which it +would be better to put ashore at Bringiers." + +Here the occupant of the barouche pointed to a train of drays, loaded +with barrels and boxes, that had just driven up, and halted in the rear +of the carriage. + +The sight of the freight had a still further pleasant effect on the +Captain, who was himself _part owner_ of his boat. He became profuse in +offers of service, and expressed his willingness to accommodate his new +passenger in every way she might desire. + +"Monsieur Capitaine," continued this handsome lady, still remaining +seated in her carriage, and speaking in a tone of good-natured +seriousness, "I must make one condition with you." + +"Please to name it, madame." + +"Well then! It is reported that your boat is likely to have a race with +some other one. If that be so, I cannot become your passenger." The +Captain looked somewhat disconcerted. "The fact is," continued she, "I +had a narrow escape once before, and I am determined to run no such risk +in future." + +"Madame--," stammered the Captain--then hesitating-- + +"Oh, then!" interrupted the lady, "if you cannot give me the assurance +that you will not race, I must wait for some other boat." + +The Captain hung his head for some seconds. He was evidently reflecting +upon his answer. To be thus denied the anticipated excitement and +pleasure of the race--the victory which he confidently expected, and its +grand consequences; to appear, as it were, afraid of trying the speed of +his boat; afraid that she would be beaten; would give his rival a large +opportunity for future bragging, and would place himself in no enviable +light in the eyes of his crew and passengers--all of whom had already +made up their minds for a race. On the other hand, to refuse the +request of the lady--not very unreasonable when properly viewed--and +still more reasonable when it was considered that that lady was the +proprietress of several dray-loads of freight, and when still further +considered that that lady was a rich _plantress_ of the "French coast," +and might see fit next fall to send several hundred casks of sugar and +as many hogsheads of tobacco down on his (the Captain's) boat;--these +considerations, I say, made the request quite reasonable. And so we +suppose, upon reflection, it must have appeared to Captain B--, for +after a little hesitation he granted it. Not with the best grace, +however. It evidently cost him a struggle; but interest prevailed, and +he granted it. + +"I accept your conditions, madame. The boat shall _not_ run. I give +you my promise to that effect." + +"_Assez_! thanks! Monsieur le Capitaine; I am greatly obliged to you. +If you will be so good as to have my freight taken aboard. The carriage +goes along. This gentleman is my steward. Here, Antoine! He will look +to everything. And now pray, Capitaine, when do you contemplate +starting?" + +"In fifteen minutes, madame, at the latest." + +"Are you sure of that, mon Capitaine?" she inquired, with a significant +laugh, which told she was no stranger to the want of punctuality of the +boats. + +"Quite sure, madame," replied the Captain; "you may depend on the time." + +"Ah! then, I shall go aboard at once!" And, so saying, she lightly +tripped down the steps of the barouche, and giving her arm to the +Captain, who had gallantly proffered himself, was conducted to the +ladies' cabin, and of course for a time lost to the admiring eyes, not +only of myself, but of a goodly number of others who had already been +attracted to gaze upon this beautiful apparition. + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +ANTOINE THE STEWARD. + +I had been very much struck by the appearance of this dame. Not so much +on account of her physical beauty--though that was of a rare kind--as by +the air that characterised her. I should feel a difficulty in +describing this, which consisted in a certain _braverie_ that bespoke +courage and self-possession. There was no coarseness of manner--only +the levity of a heart gay as summer, and light as gossamer, but capable, +when occasion required, of exhibiting a wonderful boldness and strength. +She was a woman that would be termed beautiful in any country; but with +her beauty there was combined elegance, both in dress and manner, that +told you at once she was a lady accustomed to society and the world. +And this, although still young--she certainly could not have been much +over twenty. Louisiana has a precocious climate, however; and a Creole +of twenty will count for an Englishwoman of ten years older. + +Was she married? I could not bring myself to think so; besides the +expressions, "my plantation" and "my steward," would scarcely have been +used by a lady who had "somebody" at home, unless, indeed, that somebody +were held in very low estimation--in short, considered a "nobody." A +widow she might be--a very young widow--but even that did not seem to me +probable. She had not the "cut" of a widow in my eyes, and there was +not the semblance of a "weed" either about her dress or her looks. The +Captain had styled her _Madame_, but he was evidently unacquainted with +her, and also with the French idiom. In a doubtful case such as this, +it should have been "Mademoiselle." + +Inexperienced as I was at the time--"green," as the Americans have it--I +was not without some curiosity in regard to women, especially when these +chanced to be beautiful. My curiosity in the present case had been +stimulated by several circumstances. First, by the attractive +loveliness of the lady herself; second, by the style of her conversation +and the facts it had revealed; third, by the circumstance that the lady +was, or I fancied her to be, a "Creole." + +I had as yet had but little intercourse with people of this peculiar +race, and was somewhat curious to know more about them. I had found +them by no means ready to open their doors to the Saxon stranger-- +especially the old "Creole _noblesse_," who even to this hour regard +their Anglo-American fellow-citizens somewhat in the light of invaders +and usurpers! This feeling was at one time deeply rooted. With time, +however, it is dying out. + +A fourth spur to my curiosity was found in the fact, that the lady in +passing had eyed me with a glance of more than ordinary inquisitiveness. +Do not be too hasty in blaming me for this declaration. Hear me first. +I did not for a moment fancy that that glance was one of admiration. I +had no such thoughts. I was too young at the time to flatter myself +with such fancies. Besides, at that precise moment I was far from being +"in my zenith." With scarce five dollars in my purse, I felt rather +forlorn; and how could I have fancied that a brilliant beauty such as +she--a star of first magnitude--a rich proprietress--the owner of a +plantation, a steward, and a host of slaves--would condescend to look +admiringly on such a friendless wretch as I? + +In truth, I did not flatter myself with such thoughts. I supposed that +it was simple curiosity on her part--and no more. She saw that I was +not of her own race. My complexion--the colour of my eyes--the cut of +my garments--perhaps something _gauche_ in my manner--told her I was a +stranger to the soil, and that had excited her interest for a passing +moment. A mere ethnological reflection--nothing more. + +The act, however, had helped to pique my curiosity; and I felt desirous +of knowing at least the name of this distinguished creature. + +The "steward," thought I, may serve my purpose, and I turned towards +that individual. + +He was a tall, grey-haired, lathy, old Frenchman, well-dressed, and +sufficiently respectable-looking to have passed for the lady's father. +His aspect, too, was quite venerable, giving you the idea of long +service and a very old family. + +I saw, as I approached him, that my chances were but indifferent. I +found him as "close as a clam." Our conversation was very brief; his +answers laconic. + +"Monsieur, may I ask who is your mistress?" + +"A lady." + +"True: any one may tell that who has the good fortune of looking at her. +It was her name I asked for." + +"It does not concern you to know it." + +"Not if it be of so much importance to keep it a secret!" + +"_Sacr-r-re_!" + +This exclamation, muttered, rather than spoken aloud, ended the +dialogue; and the old fellow turned away on giving expression to it--no +doubt cursing me in his heart as a meddling Yankee. + +I applied myself to the sable Jehu of the barouche, but with no better +success. He was getting his horses aboard, and not liking to give +direct answers to my questions, he "dodged" them by dodging around his +horses, and appearing to be very busy on the offside. Even the _name_ I +was unable to get out of him, and I also gave _him_ up in despair. + +The name, however, was furnished me shortly after from an unexpected +source. I had returned to the boat, and had seated myself once more +under the awning, watching the boatmen, with rolled-up red shirts, use +their brawny arms in getting their freight aboard. I saw it was the +same which had been delivered from the drays--the property of the lady. +It consisted, for the most part, of barrels of pork and flour, with a +quantity of dried hams, and some bags of coffee. + +"Provisions for her large establishment," soliloquised I. + +Just then some packages of a different character were pushed upon the +staging. These were leathern trunks, travelling bags, rosewood cases, +bonnet-boxes, and the like. + +"Ha! her personal luggage," I again reflected, and continued to puff my +cigar. Regarding the transfer of the trunks, my eye was suddenly +attracted to some lettering that appeared upon one of the packages--a +leathern portmanteau. I sprang from my seat, and as the article was +carried up the gangway stair I met it halfway. I glanced my eye over +the lettering, and read-- + +"_Mademoiselle Eugenie Besancon_." + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +THE STARTING. + +The last bell rings--the "can't-get-away" folks rush ashore--the +staging-plank is drawn in--some heedless wight has to jump for it--the +cable is pulled aboard and coiled--the engineer's bell tinkles--the +great wheels revolve, lashing the brown water into foam--the steam +"whistles" and screams at the boilers, and booms from the 'scape-pipe in +regular repetitions--neighbouring boats are pressed out of their +places--their planks cringe and crackle--guards are broken, or the +slight timbers of wheel-houses, causing a cross-fire of curses between +the crews--and after some minutes of this pandemoniac confusion, the +huge craft clears herself, and rides out upon the broad bosom of the +river. + +She heads up-stream; a few strokes of the revolving paddles and the +current is mastered; and the noble boat yielding to the mighty +propulsion, cleaves her liquid way, "walking the water like a thing of +life!" + +Perchance the boom of a cannon announces her departure; perchance it is +animated by the harmonious swell of brazen instruments; or still more +appropriate, some old "boatman's song," with its lively chorus, is heard +issuing from the rude, though not unmusical throats of the "hands" +below. + +Lafayette and Carrolton are soon passed; the humbler roofs of stores and +dwellings sink out of sight; and the noble dome of Saint Charles, the +spires of churches, and the towers of the great cathedral, are all of +the Crescent City that remain above the horizon. These, at length, go +down; and the "floating palace" moves on in stately grandeur between the +picturesque shores of the Mississippi. + +I have said "picturesque." This word does not satisfy me, nor can I +think of one that will delineate my idea. I must make use of a phrase, +"picturesquely beautiful," to express my admiration of the scenery of +those shores. I have no hesitation in pronouncing it the finest in the +world. + +I am not gazing upon it with a mere cold eye-glance. I cannot separate +scenery from its associations--not its associations of the past, but +with the present. I look upon the ruined castles of the Rhine, and +their story impresses me with a feeling of disgust for what _has been_. +I look upon its modern homes and their dwellers; I am equally filled +with disgust for what _is_. In the Bay of Naples I experience a similar +feeling, and roaming "around" the lordly parks of England, I see them +through an enclosure of wretchedness and rags, till their loveliness +seems an illusion! + +Here alone, upon the banks of this majestic river, do I behold wealth +widely diffused, intelligence broadcast, and comfort for all. Here, in +almost every house, do I meet the refined taste of high civilisation-- +the hospitality of generous hearts combined with the power to dispense +it. Here can I converse with men by thousands, whose souls are free-- +not politically alone, but free from vulgar error and fanatic +superstition; here, in short, have I witnessed, not the perfectedness-- +for that belongs to a far future time--but the most advanced stage of +civilisation yet reached upon the globe. + +A dark shadow crosses my eye-glance, and my heart is stung with sudden +pain. It is the shadow of a human being with a black skin. _He is a +slave_! + +For a moment or two the scene looks black! What is there to admire +here--in these fields of golden sugar-cane, of waving maize, of +snow-white cotton? What to admire in those grand mansions, with their +orangeries, their flowery gardens, their drooping shade-trees, and their +soft arbours? All this is but the sweat of the slave! + +For a while I behold without admiring. The scene has lost its _couleur +de rose_; and a gloomy wilderness is before me! I reflect. Slowly and +gradually the cloud passes away, and the brightness returns. I reflect +and compare. + +True, he with the black skin is a slave--but not a _voluntary_ slave. +That is a difference in his favour at least. + +In other lands--mine own among them--I see around me slaves as well, and +far more numerous. Not the slaves of an individual, but of an +association of individuals--a class--an oligarchy. Not slaves of the +corvee--serfs of the feud--but victims of its modern representative the +tax, which is simply its commutation, and equally baneful in its +effects. + +On my soul, I hold that the slavery of the Louisiana black is less +degrading than that of the white pleb of England. The poor, +woolly-headed helot is the victim of conquest, and may claim to place +himself in the honourable category of a prisoner of war. He has not +willed his own bondage; while you, my grocer, and butcher, and baker-- +ay, and you, my fine city merchant, who fondly fancy yourself a +freeman--ye are voluntary in your serfdom; ye are loyal to a political +juggle that annually robs ye of half your year's industry; that annually +requires some hundred thousands of your class to be sloughed off into +exile, lest your whole body should gangrene and die. And all this +without even a protest. Nay, worse--you are ever ready to cry "crucify" +to him who would attempt to counteract this condition--ever ready to +glorify the man and the motion that would fix another rivet in your +fetters! + +Even while I write, the man who loves you least; he who for forty +years--for all his life, in fact--has been your systematic enemy, is the +most popular of your rulers! Even while I write the Roman wheel is +revolving before your eyes, squibs and crackers sound sweetly in your +ears, and you are screaming forth your rejoicings over the acts of a +convention that had for its sole object the strengthening of your +chains! But a short twelve months ago, you were just as enthusiastic +for a war that was equally antagonistic to your interests, equally +hostile to the liberties of your kind! Miserable delusion! + +I repeat what I have uttered with a feeling of solemnity. On my soul, I +hold that the slavery of the Louisiana black is less degrading than that +of the white pleb of England. + +True, this black man is a _slave_, and there are three millions of his +race in the same condition. Painful thought! but less painful when +accompanied by the reflection that the same broad land is trodden by +_twenty millions of free and sovereign men_. Three millions of slaves +to twenty millions of masters! In mine own land the proportion is +exactly reversed! + +The truth may be obscure. For all that, I dare say there are some who +will understand it. + +Ah! how pleasant to turn from these heart-stirring but painful thoughts +to the calmer contemplation of themes furnished by science and nature. +How sweet was it to study the many novel forms that presented themselves +to my eyes on the shores of that magnificent stream! There is a +pleasaunce even in the retrospect; and as I now sit dreaming over them +far away--perhaps never more to behold them with mortal eye--I am +consoled by a fond and faithful memory, whose magic power enables me to +recall them before the eye of my mind in all their vivid colouring of +green and gold! + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +THE "COAST" OF THE MISSISSIPPI. + +As soon as we had fairly started, I ascended to the "hurricane-deck," in +order to obtain a better view of the scenery through which we were +passing. In this place I was alone; for the silent pilot, boxed up in +his little tower of glass, could hardly be called a companion. + +I make the following observations: + +The breadth of the Mississippi river has been much exaggerated. It is +here about half a mile wide. Sometimes more, occasionally less. (This +average width it preserves for more than a thousand miles from its +mouth.) Its waters run at the rate of three or four miles to the hour, +and are of a yellowish cast, with a slight tincture of "red." The +yellow colour it derives from the Missouri, while the deeper tint is +obtained by the influx of the "Red." + +Driftwood floats thickly upon its surface; here in single logs, there in +raft-like clusters. To run a boat against one of these is attended with +danger, and the pilot avoids them. Sometimes one swimming below the +surface escapes his eye; and then a heavy bumping against the bows +shakes the boat, and startles the equanimity of the less experienced +passengers. The "snag" is most dreaded. That is a dead tree with heavy +roots still adhering. These, from their weight, have settled upon the +bottom, and the _debris_ gathering around holds them firmly imbedded. +The lighter top, riven of its branches, rises towards the surface; but +the pressure of the current prevents it from attaining to the +perpendicular, and it is held in a slanting position. When its top +rises above the water, the danger is but trifling--unless in a very dark +night--it is when the top is hidden a foot or two below the surface that +the snag is feared. Then a boat running upon it up-stream, is lost to a +certainty. The roots firmly imbedded in the bottom mud, prevent the +pile from yielding; and the top, usually a spiky one, penetrates the bow +timbers of the boat, sinking her almost instantly. A boat properly +"snagged" will go down in a few minutes. + +The "sawyer" is a log fixed in the water similarly to the snag, but kept +bobbing up and down by the current, thus suggesting the idea of a sawyer +engaged at his work--hence the name. A boat getting aground upon a +sunken log _crosswise_, is sometimes snagged upon its branches, and +sometimes broken into two pieces by the pressure of her own weight. + +Among the drift, I notice odd matters that interest me. Stalks of +sugar-cane that have been crushed in the press-mill (a hundred miles +farther up I should not meet these), leaves and stems of the maize +plant, corn-cobs, pieces of broken gourd-shell, tufts of raw cotton, +split fence-rails, now and then the carcase of some animal, with a +buzzard or black vulture (_Cathartes aura_ and _atratus_) perched upon +it, or hovering above. + +I am within the geographical range of the alligator but here the great +Saurian is seldom seen. He prefers the more sluggish _bayous_, or the +streams whose shores are still wild. In the rapid current of the +Mississippi, and along its well-cultivated banks, he is but rarely +observed by the passing traveller. + +Alternately the boat approaches both shores of the river ("coasts" they +are called). The land is an alluvion of no very ancient formation. It +is a mere strip of _terra firma_, varying in breadth from a few hundred +yards to several miles, and gradually declining from the banks, so that +the river is actually running along the top of a ridge! Beyond this +strip commences the "Swamp," a tract that is annually inundated, and +consists of a series of lagoons and marshes covered with coarse grass +and reeds. This extends in some places for a score of miles, or even +farther--a complete wilderness of morass. Some portions of this--where +the inundation is only annual--are covered with dark and almost +impenetrable forests. Between the cultivated strip on the immediate +bank of the river, and the "Swamp" in the rear, runs a belt of this +forest, which forms a kind of background to the picture, answering to +the mountain-ranges in other lands. It is a high, dark forest, +principally composed of cypress-trees (_Cupressus disticka_). But there +are other kinds peculiar to this soil, such as the sweet-gum +(_Liquidambar styraciflua_), the live-oak (_Quercus vivens_), the tupelo +(_Nyssa aquatica_), the water-locust (_Gleditschia aquatica_), the +cotton-wood (_Populus angulata_), with _carya, celtis_, and various +species of _acer, cornus, juglans, magnolia_, and oaks. Here an +underwood of palmettoes (_Sabal_ palms), _smilax, llianes_, and various +species of _vitis_; there thick brakes of cane (_Arundo gigantea_), grow +among the trees; while from their branches is suspended in long festoons +that singular parasite, the "Spanish moss" (_Tillandsia usneoides_), +imparting a sombre character to the forest. + +Between this dank forest and the river-banks lie the cultivated fields. +The river current is often several feet above their level; but they are +protected by the "Levee," an artificial embankment which has been formed +on both sides of the river, to a distance of several hundred miles from +its mouth. + +In these fields I observe the culture of the sugar-cane, of the +rice-plant, of tobacco and cotton, of indigo and maize. I see the +"gangs" of black slaves at their work, in their cotton dresses of +striped and gaudy colours, in which sky-blue predominates. I see huge +waggons drawn by mules or oxen returning from the cane-fields, or slowly +toiling along the banks. I see the light-bodied Creole, in "cottonade" +jacket and trousers of bright blue, mounted upon his small Spanish +horse, and galloping along the Levee road. I see the grand mansion of +the planter, with its orange-groves and gardens, its green Venetians, +cool verandahs, and pretty palings. I see the huge sugar-house, or +tobacco-shed, or cotton "pickery;" and there, too, are the neat +"cabins," clustering together or running in a row, like the +bathing-boxes at a fashionable watering-place. + +Now we are passing a plantation where they are making merry--a _fete +champetre_. Many horses stand under the trees, "hitched" in the shade +with saddles on, not a few of which are "ladies' saddles." In the +verandah, the lawn, and through the orange shrubbery, may be seen moving +about gentlemen and ladies richly attired. Music is heard, and there is +dancing in the open air. One cannot help envying these happy Creoles +the enjoyment of their Arcadian life. + +Scenes varied and lovely were passing panorama-like before my eyes. +Lost in admiration of them, I had for the moment forgotten _Eugenie +Besancon_. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +EUGENIE BESANCON. + +No, Eugenie Besancon was not forgotten. Every now and then her +sylph-like form flitted before my imagination, and I could not help +associating it with the scenery through which we were passing, and +amidst which, no doubt, she was born and nurtured--its fair _indigene_. +The glimpse of the _fete champetre_, where several Creole-like girls +were conspicuous, brought her more forcibly into my thoughts; and, +descending from the hurricane-deck, I entered the cabin with some +curiosity, once more to look upon this interesting lady. + +For some time I dreaded disappointment. The great glass folding-door of +the ladies' cabin was closed; and although there were several ladies +outside in the main saloon, the Creole was not among the number. The +ladies' cabin, which occupies the after-part of the boat, is a sacred +precinct, into which bachelors are admitted only when they enjoy the +privilege of having a friend inside--then only at certain hours. + +I was not one of the privileged. Out of the hundred and odd passengers +on board, I did not know a soul, male or female; and I had the happiness +or misfortune of being equally unknown to them. Under these +circumstances my entry into the ladies' cabin would have been deemed an +intrusion; and I sat down in the main saloon, and occupied myself in +studying the physiognomy and noting the movements of my +fellow-passengers. + +They were a mixed throng. Some were wealthy merchants, bankers, money +or commission brokers from New Orleans, with their wives and daughters, +on their annual migration to the north, to escape from the yellow fever, +and indulge in the more pleasant epidemic of life at a fashionable +watering-place. There were corn and cotton-planters from the +up-country, on their return home, and storekeepers from the up-river +towns; boatmen who, in jean trousers and red flannel shirts, had pushed +a "flat" two thousand miles down stream, and who were now making the +back trip in shining broadcloth and snow-white linen. What "lions" +would these be on getting back to their homes about the sources of Salt +River, the Cumberland, the Licking, or the Miami! There were Creoles, +too--old wine-merchants of the French quarter--and their families; the +men distinguished by a superabundance of ruffles, plaited pantaloons, +shining jewellery, and light-coloured cloth boots. + +There was a sprinkling of jauntily-dressed clerks, privileged to leave +New Orleans in the dull season; and there were some still more +richly-dressed gentlemen, with the finest of cloth in their coats, the +whitest of linen and raffles, the brightest of diamonds in their studs, +and the most massive of finger-rings. These last were "sportsmen." +They had already fathered around a table in the "smoking-saloon," and +were fingering a span new pack of cards--the implements of their +peculiar industry. + +Among these I observed the fellow who had so loudly challenged me to bet +upon the boat-race. He had passed me several times, regarding me with a +glance that appeared anything but friendly. + +Our close friend the steward was seated in the saloon. You must not +suppose that his holding the office of steward, or overseer, disentitled +him to the privileges of the first-class cabin. There is no "second +saloon" on board an American steamer. Such a distinction is not known +so far west as the Mississippi. + +The overseers of plantations are usually men of rude and brutal +dispositions. The very nature of their calling makes them so. This +Frenchman, however, seemed to be an exception. He appeared a most +respectable old gentleman. I rather liked his looks, and began to feel +quite an interest in him, though he by no means appeared to reciprocate +the feeling. + +Some one complained of the mosquitoes, and suggested the opening of the +folding-doors of the ladies' cabin. This suggestion was backed up by +several others--ladies and gentlemen. The clerk of the boat is the man +charged with such responsibilities. He was at length appealed to. The +appeal was reasonable--it was successful; and the great gates of the +steamboat Paradise were thrown open. The result was a current of air +which swept through the long saloon from stem to stern; and in less than +five minutes not a mosquito remained on board, except such as had +escaped the blast by taking shelter in the state-rooms. This was +certainly a great relief. + +The folding-doors were permitted to remain open--an arrangement quite +satisfactory to all, but particularly to a number of the gaily-dressed +young clerks, who could now command a full view of the interior of the +harem. Several of them might be observed taking advantage of the new +arrangement--not staring broadly, as that would be accounted rude and +noted against them. They only appealed to the sacred shrine by +side-glances, or over books which they pretended to read, or pacing up +and down approached the favoured limit, glancing in at intervals, as if +undesignedly. Some appeared to have acquaintances inside, though not +upon terms of sufficient familiarity to give them the right of entry. +Others were in hopes of making acquaintances, should opportunity offer. +I could detect expressive looks, and occasionally a smile that seemed to +denote a mutual intelligence. Many a pleasant thought is conveyed +without words. The tongue is often a sad disenchanter. I have known it +to spoil many a nice love-plot silently conceived, and almost ripe for +being carried out. + +I was amused at this speechless pantomime, and sat for some minutes +regarding it. My eyes wandered at intervals towards the interior of the +ladies' saloon, guided thither partly by a common curiosity. I have an +observant habit. Anything new interests me, and this cabin-life on an +American steamboat was entirely new, and not a little _piquante_. I +desired to study it. Perhaps I was somewhat interested in another way-- +desirous of having one more look at the young Creole, Besancon. + +My desire, then, was gratified. I saw the lady at last. She had come +out of her state-room, and was moving around the saloon, graceful and +gay. She was now unbonneted, and her rich golden tresses were arranged +_a la Chinoise_--a Creole fashion as well. The thick masses, coiled +into a large "club" at the back of the head, denoted the luxuriance of +her hair: and the style of coiffure, displaying her noble forehead and +finely-formed neck, became her well. Fair hair with blonde complexion, +although rare among the Creoles, is sometimes met with. Dark hair with +a brunette skin is the rule, to which Eugenie Besancon was a remarkable +exception. + +Her features expressed gaiety, approaching to volatility; yet one could +not help feeling that there was firmness of character _en perdu_. Her +figure was beyond criticism; and the face, if not strikingly beautiful +was one that you could not look upon without emotions of pleasure. + +She appeared to know some of her fellow-passengers--at least she was +conversing with them in a style of easy freedom. Women, however, rarely +exhibit embarrassment among themselves; women of French race, never. + +One thing I observed--her cabin companions appeared to regard her with +deference. Perhaps they had already learnt that the handsome carriage +and horses belonged to her. That was very, very likely! + +I continued to gaze upon this interesting lady. Girl I cannot call her, +for although young enough, she had the air of a woman--a woman of +experience. She appeared quite at ease; seemed mistress of herself, and +indeed of everything else. + +"What an air of _insouciance_," thought I. "That woman is not in love!" + +I cannot tell why I should have made these reflections, or why the +thought pleased me; but certainly it did. Why? She was nothing to me-- +she was far above me. I dared scarce look upon her. I regarded her as +some superior being, and with timid stolen glances, as I would regard +beauty in a church. Ho! she was nothing to me. In another hour it +would be night, and she was to land in the night; I should never see her +again! I should think of her though for an hour or two, perhaps for a +day--the longer that was now foolish enough to sit gazing upon her! I +was weaving a net for myself--a little agony that might last for some +time after she was gone. + +I had formed a resolution to withdraw from the fascinating influence, +and return to my meditation on the hurricane-deck. A last look at the +fair Creole, and I should depart. + +Just at that moment she flung herself into a chair. + +It was of the kind known as a "rocking-chair," and its motions displayed +the fine proportion and outlines of her form. As she now sat she was +facing the door, and her eye for the first time rested upon me. By +Heavens! she was gazing on me just as before! What meant that strange +glance? those burning eyes? + +Stedfast and fixed, they remained bent upon mine--and mine trembled to +answer them! + +Thus for some moments her eyes dwelt upon me, without motion or change +of direction. I was too young at that time to understand the expression +that was in them. I could translate such an one afterwards, but not +then. + +At length she rose from her seat with an air of uneasiness, as if +displeased either with herself or me; and, turning away her head, she +opened the latticed door and passed into her state-room. + +Had I done anything to give offence? No! not by word, nor look, nor +gesture. I had not spoken--I had not moved, and my timid glance could +not have been construed into one of rudeness. + +I was somewhat bewildered by the conduct of Mademoiselle Besancon; and, +in the full belief that I should never see her again, I hurried away +from the saloon, and once more climbed up to the hurricane-deck. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +A NEW MODE OF RAISING THE STEAM. + +It was near sunset--the fiery disc was going down behind the dark +outline of cypress forest that belted the western horizon, and a yellow +light fell upon the river. Promenading back and forward upon the +canvas-covered roof, I was gazing upon the scene, wrapt in admiration of +its glowing beauty. + +My reverie was interrupted. On looking down the river I saw that a +large boat was in our wake, and coming rapidly after us. The volume of +smoke rolling up out of her tall funnels, and the red glowing of her +fires, showed that she was moving under a full head of steam. Her size, +as well as the loud reports of her 'scape-pipe, told that she was a boat +of the first-class. She was the "Magnolia." She was moving with great +velocity, and I had not watched her long, before I perceived that she +was fast gaining upon us. + +At this moment my ears were assailed by a variety of sounds coming from +below. Loud voices in earnest tones, the stamping and pattering of +feet, as of men rushing over the wooden decks and along the guard-ways. +The voices of women, too, were mingled in the medley. + +I surmised what all this meant. The approach of the rival boat was the +cause of the excitement. + +Up to this time the boat-race seemed to have been nearly forgotten. It +had got abroad among both "hands" and passengers that the Captain did +not intend to "run;" and although this backing-out had been loudly +censured at first, the feeling of disappointment had partially subsided. +The crew had been busy at their work of stowage--the firemen with their +huge billets of cord-wood--the gamblers with their cards--and the +passengers, in general, with their portmanteaus, or the journal of the +day. The other boat not starting at the same time, had been out of +sight until now, and the feeling of rivalry almost "out of mind." + +The appearance of the rival produced a sudden change. The gamblers +flung down the half-dealt pack, in hopes of having something more +exciting to bet upon; the readers hastily closed their books, and tossed +aside their newspapers; the rummagers of trunks banged down the lids; +the fair occupants of rocking-chairs suddenly sprang to their feet; and +all ran out of the cabins, and pressed towards the after-part of the +boat. + +My position on the hurricane-deck was the best possible for a good view +of the rival boat, and I was soon joined by a number of my +fellow-passengers. I wished, however, to witness the scene on the +cabin-deck, and went below. + +On reaching the main saloon, I found it quite forsaken. All the +passengers, both male and female, had gone out upon the guard-way; and +leaning against the guards were anxiously watching the approach of the +Magnolia. + +I found the Captain under the front-cabin awning. He was surrounded by +a crowd of gentlemen-passengers, all of whom appeared to be in a high +state of excitement. One after the other was proffering speech to him. +They were urging him to "raise the steam." + +The Captain, evidently wishing to escape from these importunities, kept +passing from place to place. It was to no purpose. Wherever he went he +was met or followed by a knot of individuals, all with the same request +in their mouths--some even begging him for "God's sake" not to let the +Magnolia pass him! + +"Wal, Cap!" cried one, "if the Belle don't run, I guess she'll never be +heerd of on these waters agin, she won't." + +"You're right!" added another. "For my part the next trip I make I'll +try the Magnolia." + +"She's a fast boat that 'ere Magnolia!" remarked a third. + +"She ain't anything else," rejoined the first speaker: "she's got her +steam on a few, I reckon." + +I walked out on the guard-way in the direction of the ladies' cabin. +The inmates of the latter were clustered along the guards, and seemingly +as much interested in the boat-race as the men. I could hear several of +them expressing their wishes aloud that the boats would run. All idea +of risk or fear of consequences had departed; and I believe that if the +company had been "polled" at the moment in favour of the race, there +would not have been three dissentient voices. I confess that I, myself, +would have voted for running,--I had caught the infection, and no longer +thought of "snags", "sawyers," or bursting boilers. + +As the Magnolia drew near the excitement increased. It was evident that +in a few minutes more she would be alongside, and then pass us. The +idea was unsupportable to some of the passengers; and loud words could +be heard, now and then interspersed with an angry oath. The poor +Captain had to bear all this--for it was known that the rest of the +officers were well disposed for a trial of speed. It was the Captain +only who "showed the white feather." + +The Magnolia was close in our wake; her head bearing a little to one +side. She was evidently preparing to pass us! + +Her officers and crew were moving actively about; both pilots were seen +above at the wheel-house; the firemen were all at work upon the deck; +the furnace-doors were glowing red-hot; and the bright blaze stood +several feet above the tops of her tall funnels! One might have fancied +she was on fire! + +"They are burning bacon hams!" shouted a voice. + +"They are by--!" exclaimed another. "See, yonder's a pile of them in +front of the furnace!" + +I turned my eyes in that direction. It was quite true. A +pyramidal-shaped mass of dark-brown objects lay upon the deck in front +of the fires. Their size, shape, and colour told what they were--dried +hams of bacon. The firemen were seen taking them from the pile, and +thrusting them one after another up the red tunnels of the furnace! + +The Magnolia was still gaining upon us. Already her head was even with +the wheel-house of the Belle. On the latter boat the excitement +increased, and the noise along with it. An occasional taunt from the +passengers of the rival boat added fuel to the flame; and the Captain +was once more abjured to run. Men almost threatened him with violence! + +The Magnolia continued to advance. She was now head for head with us. +Another minute passed--a minute of deep silence--the crews and +passengers of both boats watched their progress with hearts too full for +utterance. Another minute, and the Magnolia had shot ahead! + +A triumphant cheer rang along her decks, mingled with taunting shouts +and expressions of insult. + +"Throw us a line, and we'll tow you!" cried one. + +"Whar's yer old ark now?" shouted another. + +"Hurraw for the Magnolia! Three groans for the Belle of the West! +Three groans for the old dugout!" vociferated a third, amidst jeers and +shouts of laughter. + +I can hardly describe the mortification felt by those on board the +Belle. It was not confined to the officers and crew. The passengers, +one and all, seemed to partake of the feeling. I shared it myself, more +than I could have believed to be possible. + +One dislikes to be among the conquered, even on any terms of +association. Besides, one involuntarily catches the impulse of the +moment. The sentiment that surrounds you--perhaps by physical laws +which you cannot resist--for the moment becomes your own; and even when +you know the object of exultation to be worthless or absurd, you are +controlled by the electric current to join in the enthusiasm. I +remember once being thus carried away, and mingled my voice with the +rude throats that cheered the passing cortege of royalty. The moment it +was past, however, my heart fell, abashed at its own meanness and +wickedness. + +Both his crew and passengers seemed to think our Captain imprudent in +his prudence: and a general clamour, mingled with cries of "Shame!" was +heard all over the boat. + +The poor Captain! I had my eyes upon him all this while. I really +pitied him. I was perhaps the only passenger on board, beside the fair +Creole, who knew his secret; and I could not help admiring the chivalric +fortitude with which he kept it to himself. I saw his cheek glow, and +his eye sparkle with vexation; and I felt satisfied, that had he been +called upon to make that promise then, he would not have done so for the +privilege of carrying all the freight upon the river. + +Just then, as if to escape the importunities that beset him, I saw him +steal back and pass through the ladies' cabin. There he was at once +recognised, and a general onset was made upon him by his fair +passengers, who were almost as noisy in their petitions as the men. +Several threatened him, laughingly, that they would never travel by his +boat again; while others accused him of a want of gallantry. Surely it +was impossible to resist such banterings; and I watched the Captain +closely, expecting a crisis one way or the other. The crisis was at +hand. + +Drawing himself up in the midst of a knot of these importunates, he thus +addressed them:-- + +"Ladies! Nothing would give me more pleasure than to gratify you, but +before leaving New Orleans I gave my promise--in fact, passed my word of +honour to a lady--" Here the gallant speech was interrupted by a young +lady, who, rushing up from another part of the boat, cried out-- + +"Oh, Capitaine! cher Capitaine! do not let that wicked boat get ahead of +us! do put on more steam, and pass her--that is a dear Captain!" + +"Why, Mademoiselle!" replied the Captain, in astonishment, "it was to +you I gave the promise not to run--it was--" + +"Pardieu!" exclaimed Mademoiselle Besancon, for it was she. "So you +did. I had quite forgotten it. Oh, cher Capitaine, I release you from +that promise. _Helas_! I hope it is not too late. For Heaven's sake, +try to pass her! _Ecoutez! les polissons_! how they taunt us!" + +The Captain's face brightened up for a moment, and then suddenly resumed +its vexed expression. He replied-- + +"Mademoiselle, although grateful to you, I regret to say that under the +circumstances I cannot hope to run successfully against the Magnolia. +We are not on equal terms. _She is burning bacon hams_, of which she +has a large supply. I should have had the same, but after promising you +not to run, I, of course, did not take any on board. It would be +useless to attempt a race with only common cord-wood--unless indeed the +Belle be much the faster boat, which we do not yet know, as we have +never tried her speed." + +Here appeared to be a dilemma, and some of the ladies regarded +Mademoiselle Besancon with looks of displeasure. + +"Bacon hams!" she exclaimed; "bacon hams did you say, cher Capitaine? +How many would be enough? Would two hundred be enough?" + +"Oh! less than that," replied the Captain. + +"Here! Antoine! Antoine!" continued she, calling to the old steward. +"How many bacon hams have you on board?" + +"Ten barrels of them, Mademoiselle," answered the steward, bowing +respectfully. + +"Ten barrels! that will do, I suppose? Cher Capitaine, they are at your +service!" + +"Mademoiselle, I shall pay you for them," said the Captain, brightening +up, and becoming imbued with the general enthusiasm. + +"No--no--no! Let the expense be mine. I have hindered you. They were +for my plantation people, but they are not in want. We shall send down +for more. Go, Antoine! go to the firemen. Knock in the heads of the +barrels! Use them as you please, but do not let us be beaten by that +wicked Magnolia! Hark! how they cheer! Ha! we shall pass them yet." + +So saying, the fiery Creole rushed back to the guard-way, followed by a +group of admirers. + +The Captain's "dander" was now fairly up; and the story of the bacon +hams soon spreading over the boat, still further heightened the +enthusiasm of both passengers and crew. Three loud cheers were given +for the young lady, which seemed to mystify the Magnolians, who had now +been for some time in the enjoyment of their triumph, and had forged a +considerable distance ahead. + +All hands went to work with a will--the barrels were rolled-up, their +heads knocked in, and part of their contents "chucked" up the blazing +furnace. The iron walls soon grew red--the steam rose--the boat +trembled under the increased action of the engine--the bells of the +engineers tinkled their signals--the wheels revolved more rapidly, and +an increase of velocity was soon perceptible. + +Hope had stifled clamour--comparative silence was restored. There was +heard only an occasional utterance--the expression of an opinion upon +the speed of the rival boats--the fixing the conditions of a bet--and +now and then some allusion to the story of the bacon hams. + +At intervals, all eyes were bent upon the water eagerly glancing along +the line that separated the rival steamers. + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +A BOAT-RACE UPON THE MISSISSIPPI. + +It had now become quite dark. There was no moon in the sky--not a speck +of a star. A clear heaven over the lower region of the Mississippi, at +night, is rather rare than otherwise. The film of the swamp too often +obscures it. + +There was light enough for the race. The yellow water shone clear. It +was easily distinguishable from the land. The track was a wide one; and +the pilots of both boats--old hands--knew every "shute" and sand-bar of +the river. + +The rival steamers were quite visible to one another. No lamps needed +to be hung out, although the gaff over the bow of each boat carried its +coloured signal. The cabin windows of both were full of light, and the +blaze of the bacon fires flung a vermilion glare far over the water. + +Upon each boat the spectators could be seen from the other in their +state-room windows, or leaning against the guards, in attitudes that +betokened their interest. + +By the time the Belle had fairly got up steam, the Magnolia was a full +half-mile in advance of her. This distance, though nothing where there +is a large difference of speed, is not so easily overtaken where the +swiftness of the boats approximates to anything like an equality. It +was a long while, therefore, before the people of the Belle could be +certain as to whether she was gaining upon her rival; for it is somewhat +difficult to tell this when one vessel is running in the wake of the +other. Questions were put by passengers to the various officials and to +one another, and "guesses" were continually being made on this +interesting point. + +At length an assurance was derived from the Captain, that several +hundred yards had been already taken up. This produced general joy, +though not _universal_; for there were some "unpatriotic" individuals on +board the Belle who had risked their dollars on the Magnolia. + +In another hour, however, it was clear to all that our boat was fast +gaining upon the Magnolia, as she was now within less than a quarter of +a mile of her. A quarter of a mile on smooth water appears but a short +distance, and the people of the two boats could hold converse at will. +The opportunity was not neglected by those of the Belle to pay back the +boasts of the Magnolians. Shouts of banter reached their ears, and +their former taunts were now returned with interest. + +"Have you any message for Saint Louis? We're going up there, and will +be happy to carry it for you," shouted one from the Belle. + +"Hurraw for the bully-boat Belle!" vociferated another. + +"How are you off for bacon hams?" asked a third. "We can lend you a +few, if you're out." + +"Where shall we say we left you?" inquired a fourth. "In Shirt-tail +Bend?" And loud peals of laughter followed this joking allusion to a +point in the river well-known to the boatmen. + +It had now approached the hour of midnight, and not a soul on either +boat had thought of retiring to rest. The interest in the race +precluded the idea of sleep, and both men and women stood outside the +cabins, or glided out and in at short intervals to note the progress. +The excitement had led to drinking, and I noticed that several of the +passengers were already half intoxicated. The officers, too, led on by +those, were indulging too freely, and even the Captain showed symptoms +of a similar condition. No one thought of censure--prudence had fled +from the boat. + +It is near midnight, and amidst the growling and grinding of the +machinery, the boats are moving on! There is deep darkness upon the +water, but this is no impediment. The red fires glow; the blaze stands +high above the tall funnels; steam booms from the iron pipes; the huge +paddles lash the water into foam; the timbers creak and tremble under +the fierce pressure, and the boats move on! + +It is near midnight. A space of two hundred yards alone separates the +steamers--the Belle is bounding upon the waves of the Magnolia. In less +than ten minutes her head will overlap the stern of her rival. In less +than twenty, and the cheer of victory rising from her deck will peal +from shore to shore! + +I was standing by the Captain of our boat, regarding him not without a +feeling of solicitude. I regretted to see him pass so often to the +"bar." He was drinking deeply. + +He had returned to his station by the wheel-house, and was gazing ahead. +Some straggling lights were gleaming on the right bank of the river, a +mile farther up. The sight of these caused him to start, and utter a +wild exclamation:-- + +"By Heavens! it is _Bringiers_!" + +"Ye-e-s," drawled the pilot at his elbow. "We've reached it in quick +time, I reckon." + +"Great God! I must lose the race!" + +"How?" said the other, not comprehending him; "what has that got to do +with it?" + +"I must land there. I must--I must--the lady who gave us the hams--I +must land her!" + +"Oh! _that_," replied the phlegmatic pilot; "a darned pity it is," he +added; "but if you must, you must. Darn the luck! We'd a-beat them +into shucks in another quarter, I reckon. Darn the luck!" + +"We must give it up," said the Captain. "Turn her head in." + +Saying this, he hurried below; and, observing his excited manner, I +followed him. + +A group of ladies stood upon the guard-way where the Captain descended +over the wheel-house. The Creole was among them. + +"Mademoiselle," said the Captain, addressing himself to this lady, "we +must lose the race after all." + +"Why?" asked she in surprise; "are there not enough? Antoine! have you +delivered them all?" + +"No, Mademoiselle," replied the Captain, "it is not that, thanks to your +generosity. You see those lights?" + +"Yes--well?" + +"That is _Bringiers_." + +"Oh! it is, is it?" + +"Yes;--and of course you must be landed there." + +"And that would lose you the race?" + +"Certainly." + +"Then, of course, I must _not_ be landed there. What care I for a day? +I am not so old but that I can spare one. Ha! ha! ha! You shall not +lose your race, and the reputation of your fine boat, on my account. +Think not of landing, cher Capitaine! Take me on to Baton Rouge. I can +get back in the morning!" + +A cheer rose from the auditory; and the Captain, rushing back to the +pilot, countermanded his late order. + +The Belle again stands in the wake of the Magnolia, and again scarce two +hundred yards of the river lie between. The rumbling of their +machinery--the booming of their steam--the plashing of their paddles-- +the creaking of their planks--the shouts of those on board, mingle in +rude concert. + +Up forges the Belle--up--up--gaining in spite of the throes of her +antagonist. Up, nearer still--nearer, till her head laps upon the +stern, then the wheel-house, then the foredeck of the Magnolia! Now the +lights of both cross each other--their fires glow together upon the +water--they are head and head! + +Another foot is gained--the Captain waves his hat--and the cheer of +triumph peals forth! + +That cheer was never finished. Its first notes had scarce broke upon +the midnight air, when it was interrupted by an explosion like the +bursting of some vast magazine--an explosion that shook the air, the +earth, and the water! Timbers crashed and flew upward--men shouted as +their bodies were projected to the heavens--smoke and vapour filled the +air--and one wild cry of agony arose upon the night! + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +THE LIFE-PRESERVER. + +The concussion, unlike anything I had ever heard, was, nevertheless, +significant of the nature of the catastrophe. I felt an instantaneous +conviction that the boilers had burst, and such in reality was the fact. + +At the moment, I chanced to be on the balcony in rear of my state-room. +I was holding by the guard-rail,--else the shock and the sudden lurch of +the boat would have flung me headlong. + +Scarce knowing what I did, I staggered into my state-room, and through +the opposite door into the main saloon. + +Here I paused and looked around me. The whole forward part of the boat +was shrouded in steam and smoke, and already a portion of the hot +scalding vapour floated through the cabin. + +Dreading the contact of this, I rushed aft; but by a fortunate chance +the lurch of the boat had brought her stern to windward, and the breeze +blew the dangerous element away. + +The engine was now silent--the wheels had ceased to move--the +'scape-pipe no longer gave out its booming notes; but instead of these +sounds, others of terrible import fell upon the ear. The shouts of men, +mingled with oaths--wild, awful imprecations--the more shrill piercing +shrieks of women--the groans of rounded from the deck below--the +agonised cry of those blown into the water and drowning--all rang upon +the ear with terrible emphasis! + +How changed the tones from those that, but a moment before, pealed from +the self-same lips! + +The smoky vapour was soon partially blown off, and I could catch a +glimpse of the forward part of the boat. There a complete chaos met the +eye. The smoking-saloon, the bar with its contents, the front awning, +and part of the starboard wheel-house, were completely carried away-- +blown up as if a mine had been sprung beneath them--and the huge +sheet-iron funnels had fallen forward upon the deck! At a glance I was +convinced that captain, pilots, all who had been upon that part of the +boat, must have perished! + +Of course such reflections passed with the rapidity of thought itself, +and occupied me not a moment of time. I felt that _I_ was still unhurt, +and my first natural thought was that of preserving my life. I had +sufficient presence of mind to know there was no danger of a second +explosion; but I perceived that the boat was badly injured, and already +leaning to one side. How long would she swim? + +I had hardly asked myself the question when it was answered by a voice +that, in terrified accents, shouted out:-- + +"Good God! she is sinking! she is sinking!" + +This announcement was almost simultaneous with the cry of "Fire!" and at +the same moment flames were seen bursting forth and shooting up to the +height of the hurricane-deck! Whether by burning up or going down, it +was evident the wreck would afford us but short refuge. + +The thoughts of the survivors were now turned to the Magnolia. I looked +in the direction of that boat. I perceived that she was doing her best +to back, and put round toward us; but she was still several hundred +yards off! In consequence of the Belle having steered a while towards +the Bringiers landing, the boats no longer ran in the same track; and, +although they were head and head at the moment of the explosion, they +were separated from each other by a wide stretch of the river. A full +quarter of a mile distant appeared the Magnolia; and it was evident that +a considerable time must elapse before she could get alongside. Would +the wreck of the Belle keep afloat so long? + +At a glance I was convinced it would not. I felt it settling down under +my feet inch by inch; and the blaze already threatened the after-part of +the boat, licking the light wood-work of the gaudy saloon as if it had +been flax! Not a moment was to be lost: we must take voluntarily to the +water, be drawn in by the sinking wreck, or driven to it by the fire. +One of the three was inevitable! + +You will fancy me to have been in a state of extreme terror at this +moment. Such, however, was not the case. I had not the slightest fear +for my own safety: not that I was redeemed from the common lot by any +superior courage, but simply that I had confidence _in my resources_. +Though sufficiently reckless in my temperament, I have never been a +fatalist. I have saved my life more than once by acts of volition--by +presence of mind and adroitness. The knowledge of this has freed me +from the superstitions of fore-ordination and fatalism; and therefore, +when not too indolent, I take precautions against danger. + +I had done so on the occasion of which I am writing. In my portmanteau +I carried--I do so habitually--a very simple contrivance, a +life-preserver. I always carry it in such a position as to be ready to +the hand. It is but the work of a moment to adjust this, and with it +around my body I feel no fear of being plunged into the broadest river, +or even a channel of the sea. It was the knowledge of this, and not any +superior courage, that supported me. + +I ran back to my state-room--the portmanteau was open--and in another +moment I held the piece of quilted cork in my hands. In a few seconds +its strap was over my head, and the strings securely knotted around my +waist. + +Thus accoutred, I stood _inside_ the state-room, intending to remain +there till the wreck should sink nearer the surface of the water. +Settling rapidly as it was, I was convinced I should not have long to +wait. I closed the inner door of the room, and turned the bolt. The +outer one I held slightly ajar, my hand firmly clutching the handle. + +I had my object in thus shutting myself up. I should be less exposed to +the view of the terror-stricken wretches that ran to and fro like +spectres--for any fear I now had was of _them_--not of the water. I +knew that, should the life-preserver be discovered, I should have a +crowd around me in a moment--in fact, that escape by such means would be +hopeless. Dozens would follow me into the water--would cling to my +limbs--would drag me, in their despairing grasp, to the bottom! + +I knew this; and, clutching the Venetian door with firmer grasp, I stood +peering through the apertures in stealthy silence. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +"BLESSE." + +I had not been in this position more than a few seconds, when some +figures appeared in front of the door, and voices fell upon my ear that +I thought I recognised. Another glance revealed the speakers. They +were the young Creole and her steward. + +The conversation passing between them was not a dialogue, but a series +of exclamations--the hurried language of terror. The old man had got +together a few cabin chairs; and with trembling hands was endeavouring +to bind them together, with the design of forming a raft. He had no +other cord than a handkerchief, and some strips of silk, which his young +mistress was tearing from her dress! It would have been but a feeble +raft, had it been completed--not fit to have floated a cat. It was but +the effort of the drowning man "catching at straws." I saw at a glance +that it would afford to neither of them the respite of a minute's life. +The chairs were of heavy rosewood; and, perchance, would have gone to +the bottom of themselves! + +The scene produced upon me an impression indescribably strange. I felt +myself standing upon a crisis. I felt called upon to choose between +self and self-sacrifice. Had the choice left no chance of saving my own +life, I fear I should have obeyed the "first law of nature;" but, as +already stated, of my own life I felt secure; the question was, whether +it would be possible for me also to save the lady? + +I reasoned rapidly, and as follows;--The life-preserver--a very small +one--will not sustain us both! What if I fasten it upon her, and swim +alongside? A little help from it now and then will be sufficient to +keep me afloat. I am a good swimmer. How far is it to the shore? + +I looked in that direction. The glare of the blazing boat lit up the +water to a wide circumference. I could see the brown bank distinctly. +It was full a quarter of a mile distant, with a sharp cross-current +running between it and the wreck. + +"Surely I can swim it?" thought I: "sink or swim, I shall make the +attempt to save her!" + +I will not deny that other reflections passed through my mind as I was +forming this resolve. I will not deny that there was a little _French_ +gallantry mixed up with better motives. Instead of being young and +lovely, had Mademoiselle Besancon been old and plain, I think--that is-- +I--I fear--she would have been left to Antoine and his raft of chairs! +As it was, my resolve was made; and I had no time to reflect upon +motives. + +"Mademoiselle Besancon!" I called out of the door. + +"Ha! Some one calls me;" said she, turning suddenly. "Mon Dieu! who is +there?" + +"One who, Mademoiselle--" + +"_Peste_!" muttered the old steward, angrily, as his eyes fell upon my +face. He was under the belief that I wished to share his raft. + +"_Peste_!" he repeated; "'twill not carry two, monsieur." + +"Nor one," I replied. "Mademoiselle," I continued, addressing myself to +the lady; "those chairs will not serve,--they will rather be the means +of drowning you,--here--take this! it will save your life." + +As I spoke I had pulled off the preserver, and held it towards her. + +"What is this?" she inquired hastily; and then, comprehending all, she +continued, "No--no--no, Monsieur! Yourself--yourself!" + +"I believe I can swim ashore without it. Take it, Mademoiselle! Quick! +quick! there is no time to be lost. In three minutes the boat will go +down. The other is not near yet: besides, she may fear to approach the +fire! See the flames! they come this way! Quick! Permit me to fasten +it for you?" + +"My God!--my God! generous stranger--!" + +"No words; now--now it is on! Now to the water! Have no fear! plunge +in, and strike out from the wreck! fear not! I shall follow and guide +you! Away!" + +The girl, partly influenced by terror, and partly yielding to my +remonstrances, sprang off into the water; and the next moment I saw her +body afloat, distinguishable by the whitish drapery of her dress, that +still kept above the surface. + +At that instant I felt some one grasping me by the hand. I turned +round. It was Antoine. + +"Forgive me, noble youth! forgive me!" he cried, while the tears ran +down his cheeks. + +I would have replied, but at the moment I perceived a man rush forward +to the guards, over which the girl had just passed. I could see that +his eye was fixed upon her, and that he had marked the life-preserver! +His intention was evident--he had mounted the guard-rail, and was just +springing off as I reached the spot. I caught him by the collar, and +drew him back. As I did so his face came under the blaze, and I +recognised my betting bully. "Not so fast, Sir!" said I, still holding +him. He uttered but one word in reply--and that was a fearful oath--but +at the moment I saw in his uplifted hand the shining blade of a +bowie-knife! So unexpectedly did this weapon appear, that I had no +chance of evading the blow; and the next moment I felt the cold steel +passing through my arm. It was not a fatal stab, however; and before +the brute could repeat it, I had, in the phraseology of the ring, +"planted" a blow upon his chin, that sent him sprawling over the chairs, +while at the same time the knife flew out of his grasp. This I caught +up, and hesitated for a moment whether to use it upon the ruffian; but +my better feelings overcame my passion, and I flung the weapon into the +river. + +Almost instantaneously I plunged after. I had no time to tarry. The +blaze had reached the wheel-house, close to which we were, and the heat +was no longer to be borne. My last glance at the spot showed me Antoine +and my antagonist struggling among the chairs! + +The white drapery served me for a beacon, and I swam after it. The +current had already carried it some distance from the boat, and directly +down stream. + +I had hurriedly divested myself of coat and boots, and as my other +garments were of light material they did not impede me. After a few +strokes I swam perfectly free; and, keeping the white dress before my +eyes, I continued on down the river. + +Now and then I raised my head above the surface and looked back. I +still had fears that the ruffian might follow; and I had nerved myself +for a struggle in the water! + +In a few minutes I was alongside my _protegee_; and, after half-a-dozen +hurried words of encouragement, I laid hold of her with one hand, and +with the other endeavoured to direct our course towards the shore. + +In this way the current carried us in a diagonal line, but we still +floated down stream at a rapid rate. A long and weary swim it seemed to +me. Had it been much longer I never should have reached the end of it. + +At length we appeared to be near the bank; but as we approached it my +strokes became feebler, and my left hand grasped my companion with a +sort of convulsive effort. + +I remember reaching land, however; I remember crawling up the bank with +great difficulty, my companion assisting me! I remember seeing a large +house directly in front of where we had come ashore; I remember hearing +the words-- + +"_C'est drole! c'est ma maison_--_ma maison veritable_!" + +I remember staggering across a road, led by a soft hand, and entering a +gate, and a garden where there were benches, and statues, and +sweet-smelling flowers--I remember seeing servants come from the house +with lights, and that my arms were red, and my sleeves dripping with +blood! I remember from a female voice the cry-- + +"_Blesse_!" followed by a wild shriek; and of that scene I remember no +more! + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +WHERE AM I? + +When I awoke to consciousness, it was day. A bright sun was pouring his +yellow light across the floor of my chamber; and from the diagonal +slanting of the beam, I could perceive that it was either very early in +the morning, or near sunset. + +But birds were singing without. It must be morning, reasoned I. + +I perceived that I was upon a low couch of elegant construction--without +curtains--but in their stead a mosquito-netting spread its gauzy meshes +above and around me. The snow-white colour and fineness of the linen, +the silken gloss of the counterpane, and the soft yielding mattress +beneath, imparted to me the knowledge that I lay upon a luxurious bed. +But for its extreme elegance and fineness, I might not have noticed +this; for I awoke to a sense of severe bodily pain. + +The incidents of the preceding night soon came into my memory, and +passed rapidly one by one as they had occurred. Up to our reaching the +bank of the river, and climbing out of the water, they were all clear +enough. Beyond that time I could recall nothing distinctly. A house, a +large gateway, a garden, trees, flowers, statues, lights, black +servants, were all jumbled together on my memory. + +There was an impression on my mind of having beheld amid this confusion +a face of extraordinary beauty--the face of a lovely girl! Something +angelic it seemed; but whether it had been a real face that I had seen, +or only the vision of a dream, I could not now tell. And yet its +lineaments were still before me, so plainly visible to the eye of my +mind, so clearly outlined, that, had I been an artist, I could have +portrayed them! The face alone I could remember nothing else. I +remembered it as the opium-eater his dream, or as one remembers a +beautiful face seen during an hour of intoxication, when all else is +forgotten! Strange to say, I did not associate this face with my +companion of the night; and my remembrance painted it not at all like +that of Eugenie Besancon! + +Was there any one besides--any one on board the boat that my dream +resembled? No, not one--I could not think of one. There was none in +whom I had taken even a momentary interest--with the exception of the +Creole--but the lineaments my fancy, or memory, now conjured up were +entirely unlike to hers: in fact, of quite an opposite character! + +Before my mind's eye hung masses of glossy black hair, waving along the +brows and falling over the shoulders in curling clusters. Within this +ebon framework were features to mock the sculptor's chisel. The mouth, +with its delicate rose-coloured ellipse; the nose, with smooth straight +outline, and small recurvant nostril; the arching brows of jet; the long +fringes upon the eyelids; all were vividly before me, and all unlike the +features of Eugenie Besancon. The colour of the skin, too--even that +was different. It was not that Circassian white that characterised the +complexion of the Creole, but a colour equally clear, though tinged with +a blending of brown and olive, which gave to the red upon the cheeks a +tint of crimson. The eye I fancied, or remembered well--better than +aught else. It was large, rounded, and of dark-brown colour; but its +peculiarity consisted in a certain expression, strange but lovely. Its +brilliance was extreme, but it neither flashed nor sparkled. It was +more like a gorgeous gem viewed by the spectator while at rest. Its +light did not blaze--it seemed rather to burn. + +Despite some pain which I felt, I lay for many minutes pondering over +this lovely portrait, and wondering whether it was a memory or a dream. +A singular reflection crossed my mind. I could not help thinking, that +if such a face were real, I could forget Mademoiselle Besancon, despite +the romantic incident that had attended our introduction! + +The pain of my arm at length dissipated the beautiful vision, and +recalled me to my present situation. On throwing back the counterpane, +I observed with surprise that the wound had been dressed, and evidently +by a surgeon! Satisfied on this head, I cast my eye abroad to make a +reconnoissance of my quarters. + +The room I occupied was small, but notwithstanding the obstruction of +the mosquito bar, I could see that it was furnished with taste and +elegance. The furniture was light--mostly cane-work--and the floor was +covered with a matting of sea-grass finely woven, and stained into +various colours. The windows were garnished with curtains of silk +damask and muslin, corresponding to the colour of the wood-work. A +table richly inlaid was near the centre of the floor, another, with +_portefeuille_, pens, and ornamental ink stand, stood by the wall, and +over this last was a collection of books ranged upon shelves of red +cedar-wood. A handsome clock adorned the mantelpiece; and in the open +fireplace was a pair of small "andirons," with silver knobs, cast after +a fanciful device, and richly chased. Of course, there was no fire at +that season of the year. Even the heat caused by the mosquito bar would +have been annoying, but that the large glass-door on one side, and the +window on the other, both standing open, gave passage to the breeze that +penetrated through the nettings of my couch. + +Along with this breeze came the most delicious fragrance--the essence of +flowers. Through both door and window I could see their thousand +clustering corollas--roses, red, pink, and white--the rare camelia-- +azaleas, and jessamines--the sweet-scented China-tree--and farther off a +little I could distinguish the waxen leaves and huge lily-like blossoms +of the great American laurel--the _Magnolia grandiflora_. I could hear +the voices of many singing-birds, and a low monotonous hum that I +supposed to be the noise of falling water. These were the only sounds +that reached my ears. + +Was I alone? I looked inquiringly around the chamber. It appeared so-- +no living thing met my glance. + +I was struck with a peculiarity in the apartment I occupied. It +appeared to stand by itself, and did not communicate with any other! +The only door I could see, opened directly to the outside. So did the +window, reaching door-like to the ground. Both appeared to lead into a +garden filled with shrubs and flowers. Excepting the chimney, I could +perceive no other inlet or outlet to the apartment! + +This at first seemed odd; but a moment's reflection explained it. It is +not uncommon upon American plantations to have a kind of office or +summer-house apart from the main building, and often fitted up in a +style of comfort and luxuriance. This becomes upon occasions the +"stranger's room." Perhaps I was in such an apartment. + +At all events, I was under an hospitable roof, and in good hands; that +was evident. The manner in which I was encouched, along with certain +preparations,--the signs of a projected _dejeuner_ that appeared upon +the table, attested this. But who was my host? or was it a hostess? +Was it Eugenie Besancon? Did she not say something of her house--"_ma +maison_?" or did I only dream it? + +I lay guessing and reflecting over a mass of confused memories; but I +could not from these arrive at any knowledge of whose guest I was. +Nevertheless, I had a sort of belief that I was in the house of my last +night's companion. + +I became anxious, and in my weakness perhaps felt a little vexed at +being left alone. I would have rung, but no bell was within reach. At +that moment, however, I heard the sound of approaching footsteps. + +Romantic miss! you will fancy that those footsteps were light and soft, +made by a small satin slipper, scarcely discomposing the loosest, +tiniest pebble--stealthily drawing near lest their sound might awake the +sleeping invalid--and then, in the midst of bird-music, and humming +waters, and the sweet perfume of flowers, a fair form appeared in the +doorway, and I saw a gentle face, with a pair of soft, lovely eyes, in a +timid inquiring glance, gazing upon me. You will fancy all this, no +doubt; but your fancy is entirely at fault, and not at all like the +reality. + +The footsteps I heard were made by a pair of thick "brogans" of +alligator leather, and full thirteen inches in length; which brogans the +next moment rested upon the sill of the door directly before my eyes. + +On raising my glance a little higher, I perceived a pair of legs, in +wide copper-coloured "jeans," pantaloons; and carrying my eye still +higher, I perceived a broad, heavy chest, covered with a striped cotton +shirt; a pair of massive arms and huge shoulders, surmounted by the +shining face and woolly head of a jet black negro! + +The face and head came under my observation last; but on these my eyes +dwelt longest, scanning them over and over, until I at length, despite +the pain I was suffering, burst out into a sonorous laugh! If I had +been dying, I could not have helped it; there was something so comic, so +irresistibly ludicrous, in the physiognomy of this sable intruder. + +He was a full-grown and rather large negro, as black as charcoal, with a +splendid tier of "ivories;" and with eyeballs, pupil and irides +excepted, as white as his teeth. But it was not these that had tickled +my fancy. It was the peculiar contour of his head, and the set and size +of his ears. The former was as round as a globe, and thickly covered +with small kinky curlets of black wool, so closely set that they seemed +to root at both ends, and form a "nap!" From the sides of this sable +sphere stood out a pair of enormous ears, suggesting the idea of wings, +and giving to the head a singularly ludicrous appearance. + +It was this peculiarity that had set me laughing; and, indecorous though +it was, for the life of me I could not help it. + +My visitor, however, did not seem to take it amiss. On the contrary, he +at once opened his thick lips, and displaying the splendid armature of +his mouth in a broad and good-natured grin, began laughing as loudly as +myself! + +Good-natured was he. His bat-like ears had infused nothing of the +vampire into his character. No--the very type of jollity and fun was +the broad black face of "Scipio Besancon," for such was the cognomen of +my visitor. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +"OLE ZIP." + +Scipio opened the dialogue:-- + +"Gollies, young mass'r! Ole Zip 'joiced to see um well 'gain--daat he +be." + +"Scipio is it?" + +"Ye', mass'r--daat same ole nigger. Doctor told um to nuss de white +genl'um. Won't young missa be glad haself!--white folks, black folks-- +all be glad, Wugh!" + +The finishing exclamation was one of those thoracic efforts peculiar to +the American negro, and bearing a strong resemblance to the snort of a +hippopotamus. Its utterance signified that my companion had finished +his sentence, and waited for me to speak. + +"And who is `young missa'?" I inquired. + +"Gorramighty! don't mass'r know? Why, de young lady you fotch from de +boat, when twar all ober a blaze. Lor! what a swum you make--half cross +de riber! Wugh!" + +"And am I in her house?" + +"Ob sartin, mass'r--daat ar in de summer-house--for de big house am on +oder side ob de garden--all de same, mass'r." + +"And how did I get here?" + +"Golly! don't mass'r 'member how? Why, ole Zip carried 'im in yar in +dese berry arms. Mass'r an young missa come 'shore on de Lebee, down +dar jes by de gate. Missa shout--black folks come out an find um--white +genl'um all blood--he faint, an missa have him carried in yar." + +"And after?" + +"Zip he mount fastest hoss--ole White Fox--an gallop for de doctor-- +gallop like de debil, too. Ob course de doctor he come back along and +dress up mass'r's arm. + +"But," continued Scipio, turning upon me an inquiring look, "how'd young +mass'r come by de big ugly cut? Dat's jes wha de Doc wanted to know, an +dat's jes wha young missa didn't know nuffin 'tall 'bout." + +For certain reasons I forbore satisfying the curiosity of my sable +nurse, but lay for a moment reflecting. True, the lady knew nothing of +my encounter with the bully. Ha! Antoine--then. Had he not come +ashore? Was he--? Scipio anticipated the question I was about to put. +His face became sad as he recommenced speaking. + +"Ah! young mass'r, Mamselle 'Genie be in great 'stress dis mornin--all +de folks be in great 'stress. Mass'r Toney! Poor Mass'r Toney." + +"The steward, Antoine? What of him? Tell me, has he not come home?" + +"No, mass'r--I'se afeerd he nebber, nebber will--ebberybody 'feerd he be +drownded--folks a been to de village--up an down de Lebee--ebery wha. +No Toney. Captain ob de boat blowed clar into de sky, an fifty +passengers gone to de bottom. Oder boat save some; some, like young +mass'r, swam 'shore: but no Toney--no Mass'r Toney!" + +"Do you know if he could swim?" I asked. + +"No, mass'r, ne'er a stroke. I knows daat, 'kase he once falled into de +bayou, and Ole Zip pull 'im out. No--he nebber swim--nebber." + +"Then I fear he is lost indeed." + +I remembered that the wreck went down before the Magnolia had got close +alongside. I had noticed this on looking around. Those who could not +swim, therefore, must have perished. + +"Poor Pierre, too. We hab lost Pierre." + +"Pierre? Who was he?" + +"De coachman, mass'r, he war." + +"Oh! I remember. You think he is drowned, also?" + +"I'se afeerd so, mass'r. Ole Zip sorry, too, for Pierre. A good nigger +war daat Pierre. But, Mass'r Toney, Mass'r Toney, ebberybody sorry for +Mass'r Toney." + +"He was a favourite among you?" + +"Ebberybody like 'im--black folks, white folks, all lub 'im. Missa +'Genie lub 'im. He live wi' ole Mass'r Sancon all him life. I believe +war one ob Missy 'Genie gardiums, or whatever you call 'em. +Gorramighty! what will young Missa do now? She hab no friends leff; and +daat ole fox Gayarre--he no good--" + +Here the speaker suddenly interrupted himself, as if he feared that his +tongue was going too freely. + +The name he had pronounced and the expression by which it was qualified, +at once awakened my curiosity--the name more than the qualification. + +"If it be the same," thought I, "Scipio has characterised him not +otherwise than justly. Can it be the same?" + +"You mean Monsieur Dominique Gayarre, the _avocat_?" I asked, after a +pause. + +Scipio's great white eyeballs rolled about with an expression of mingled +surprise and apprehension, and rather stammeringly he replied:-- + +"Daat am de genl'um's name. Know 'im, young mass'r?" + +"Only very slightly," I answered, and this answer seemed to set my +companion at his ease again. + +The truth is, I had no _personal_ acquaintance with the individual +mentioned; but during my stay in New Orleans, accident had brought me in +contact with the name. A little adventure had befallen me, in which the +bearer of it figured--not to advantage. On the contrary, I had +conceived a strong dislike for the man, who, as already stated, was a +lawyer, or _avocat_ of the New Orleans bar. Scipio's man was no doubt +the same. The name was too rare a one to be borne by two individuals; +besides, I had heard that he was owner of a plantation somewhere up the +coast--at Bringiers, I remembered. The probabilities were it was he. +If so, and Mademoiselle Besancon had no other friend, then, indeed, had +Scipio spoken truly when he said, "She hab no friends leff." + +Scipio's observation had not only roused my curiosity, but had imparted +to me a vague feeling of uneasiness. It is needless to say that I was +now deeply interested in this young Creole. A man who has saved a +life--the life of a beautiful woman--and under such peculiar +circumstances, could not well be indifferent to the after-fate of her he +has rescued. + +Was it a lover's interest that had been awakened within me? + +My heart answered, No! To my own astonishment, it gave this answer. On +the boat I had fancied myself half in love with this young lady; and +now, after a romantic incident--one that might appear a very provocative +to the sublime passion--I lay on my couch contemplating the whole affair +with a coolness that surprised even myself! I felt that I had lost much +blood--had my incipient passion flowed out of my veins at the same time? + +I endeavoured to find some explanation for this rare psychological fact; +but at that time I was but an indifferent student of the mind. The land +of love was to me a _terre inconnue_. + +One thing was odd enough. Whenever I essayed to recall the features of +the Creole, the dream-face rose up before me more palpable than ever! + +"Strange!" thought I, "this lovely vision! this dream of my diseased +brain! Oh! what would I not give to embody this fair spectral form!" + +I had no longer a doubt about it. I was certain I did not love +Mademoiselle Besancon, and yet I was far from feeling indifferent +towards her. Friendship was the feeling that now actuated me. The +interest, I felt for her was that of a friend. Strong enough was it to +render me anxious on her account--to make me desirous of knowing more +both of herself and her affairs. + +Scipio was not of secretive habit; and in less than half an hour I was +the confidant of all he knew. + +Eugenie Besancon was the daughter and only child of a Creole planter, +who had died some two years before, as some thought wealthy, while +others believed that his affairs were embarrassed. Monsieur Dominique +Gayarre had been left joint-administrator of the estate with the steward +Antoine, both being "guardiums" (sic Scipio) of the young lady. Gayarre +had been the lawyer of Besancon, and Antoine his faithful servitor. +Hence the trust reposed in the old steward, who in latter years stood in +the relation of friend and companion rather than of servant to Besancon +himself. + +In a few months mademoiselle would be of age; but whether her +inheritance was large, Scipio could not tell. He only knew that since +her father's death, Monsieur Dominique, the principal executor, had +furnished her with ample funds whenever called upon; that she had not +been restricted in any way; that she was generous; that she was profuse +in her expenditure, or, as Scipio described it, "berry wasteful, an +flung about de shinin dollars as ef dey war _donicks_!" + +The black gave some glowing details of many a grand ball and _fete +champetre_ that had taken place on the plantation, and hinted at the +expensive life which "young missa" led while in the city, where she +usually resided during most part of the winter. All this I could easily +credit. From what had occurred on the boat, and other circumstances, I +was impressed with the belief that Eugenie Besancon was just the person +to answer to the description of Scipio. Ardent of soul--full of warm +impulses--generous to a fault--reckless in expenditure--living +altogether in the present--and not caring to make any calculation for +the future. Just such an heiress as would exactly suit the purposes of +an unprincipled administrator. + +I could see that poor Scipio had a great regard for his young mistress; +but, even ignorant as he was, he had some suspicion that all this +profuse outlay boded no good. He shook his head as he talked of these +matters, adding-- + +"I'se afeerd, young mass'r, it'll nebber, nebber last. De Planters' +bank hisseff would be broke by such a constant drawin ob money." + +When Scipio came to speak of Gayarre he shook his head still more +significantly. He had evidently some strange suspicions about this +individual, though he was unwilling, just then, to declare them. + +I learnt enough to identify Monsieur Dominique Gayarre with my _avocat_ +of the Rue --, New Orleans. No doubt remained on my mind that it was +the same. A lawyer by profession, but more of a speculator in stocks--a +money-lender, in other words, usurer. In the country a planter, owning +the plantation adjoining that of Besancon, with more than a hundred +slaves, whom he treats with the utmost severity. All this is in +correspondence with the calling and character of my Monsieur Dominique. +They are the same. + +Scipio gives me some additional details of him. He was the law adviser +and the companion of Monsieur Besancon--Scipio says, "Too often for ole +mass'r's good," and believes that the latter suffered much from his +acquaintance: or, as Scipio phrases it, "Mass'r Gayarre humbug ole +mass'r; he cheat 'im many an many a time, I'se certain." + +Furthermore, I learn from my attendant, that Gayarre resides upon his +plantation during the summer months; that he is a daily visitor at the +"big house"--the residence of Mademoiselle Besancon--where he makes +himself quite at home; acting, says Scipio, "as ef de place 'longed to +him, and he war de boss ob de plantation." + +I fancied Scipio knew something more about this man--some definite +matter that he did not like to talk about. It was natural enough, +considering our recent acquaintance. I could see that he had a strong +dislike towards Gayarre. Did he found it on some actual knowledge of +the latter, or was it instinct--a principle strongly developed in these +poor slaves, who are not permitted to _reason_? + +His information, however, comprised too many facts to be the product of +mere instinct: it savoured of actual knowledge. He must have learnt +these things from some quarter. Where could he have gathered them? + +"Who told you all this, Scipio?" + +"Aurore, mass'r." + +"Aurore!" + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +MONSIEUR DOMINIQUE GAYARRE. + +I felt a sudden desire, amounting almost to anxiety, to learn who was +"Aurore." Why? Was it the singularity and beauty of the name,--for +novel and beautiful it sounded in my Saxon ears? No. Was it the mere +euphony of the word; its mythic associations; its less ideal application +to the rosy hours of the Orient, or the shining phosphorescence of the +North? Was it any of these associate thoughts that awoke within me this +mysterious interest in the name "Aurore?" + +I was not allowed time to reflect, or question Scipio farther. At that +moment the door was darkened by the entrance of two men; who, without +saying a word, stepped inside the apartment. + +"Da doctor, mass'r," whispered Scipio, falling back, and permitting the +gentlemen to approach. + +Of the two it was not difficult to tell which was the "doctor." The +professional face was unmistakeable: and I knew that the tall pale man, +who regarded me with interrogative glance, was a disciple of Esculapius, +as certainly as if he had carried his diploma in one hand and his +door-plate in the other. + +He was a man of forty, not ill-featured, though the face was not one +that would be termed handsome. It was, however, interesting, from a +quiet intellectuality that characterised it, as well as an habitual +expression of kind feeling. It had been a German face some two or three +generations before, but an American climate,--political, I mean,--had +tamed down the rude lines produced by ages of European despotism, and +had almost restored it to its primitive nobility of feature. +Afterwards, when better acquainted with American types, I should have +known it as a Pennsylvanian face, and such in reality it was. I saw +before me a graduate of one of the great medical schools of +Philadelphia, Dr Edward Reigart. The name confirmed my suspicion of +German origin. + +Altogether my medical attendant made a pleasing impression upon me at +first sight. + +How different was that I received on glancing toward his companion-- +antagonism, hatred, contempt, disgust! A face purely French;--not that +noble French face we see in the Duguesclins, the Jean Barts, and among +many of the old Huguenot heroes; and in modern days in a Rollin, a Hugo, +an Arago, or a Pyat;--but such an one as you may see any day by hundreds +sneaking around the Bourse or the _coulisses_ of the Opera, or in +thousands scowling from under a shako in the ranks of a ruffian +soldiery. A countenance that I cannot describe better than by saying +that its features forcibly reminded me of those of a fox. I am not in +jest. I observed this resemblance plainly. I observed the same +obliquity of eyes, the same sharp quick glance that betokened the +presence of deep dissimulation, of utter selfishness, of cruel +inhumanity. + +In the Doctor's companion I beheld a type of this face,--the fox in +human form, and with all the attributes of this animal highly developed. + +My instincts chimed with Scipio's, for I had not the slightest doubt +that before me stood Monsieur Dominique Gayarre. It was he. + +A man of small stature he was, and thinly built, but evidently one who +could endure a great deal before parting with life. He had all the +subtle wiry look of the _carnivora_, as well as their disposition. The +eyes, as already observed, obliqued strongly downwards. The balls were +not globe-shaped, but rather obtuse cones, of which the pupil was the +apex. Both pupils and irides were black, and glistened like the eyes of +a weasel. They seemed to sparkle in a sort of habitual smile; but this +smile was purely cynical and deceptive. If any one knew themselves +guilty of a weakness or a crime they felt certain that Dominique Gayarre +knew it, and it was at this he was laughing. When a case of misfortune +did really present itself to his knowledge, his smile became more +intensely satirical, and his small prominent eyes sparkled with evident +delight. He was a lover of himself and a hater of his kind. + +For the rest, he had black hair, thin and limp--shaggy dark brows, set +obliquely--face without beard, of pale cadaverous hue, and surmounted by +a parrot-beak nose of large dimensions. His dress had somewhat of a +professional cut, and consisted of dark broadcloth, with vest of black +satin; and around his neck, instead of cravat, he wore a broad black +ribbon. In age he looked fifty. + +The doctor felt my pulse, asked me how I had slept, looked at my tongue, +felt my pulse a second time, and then in a kindly way desired me to keep +myself "as quiet as possible." As an inducement to do so he told me I +was still very weak, that I had lost a good deal of blood, but hoped +that a few days would restore me to my strength. Scipio was charged +with my diet, and was ordered to prepare tea, toast, and broiled +chicken, for my breakfast. + +The doctor did not inquire how I came by my wound. This I thought +somewhat strange, but ascribed it to his desire that I should remain +quiet. He fancied, no doubt, that any allusion to the circumstances of +the preceding night might cause me unnecessary excitement. I was too +anxious about Antoine to remain silent, and inquired the news. Nothing +more had been heard of him. He was certainly lost. + +I recounted the circumstances under which I had parted with him, and of +course described my encounter with the bully, and how I had received the +wound. I could not help remarking a strange expression that marked the +features of Gayarre as I spoke. He was all attention, and when I told +of the raft of chairs, and expressed my conviction that they would not +support the steward a single moment, I fancied I saw the dark eyes of +the _avocat_ flashing with delight! There certainly was an expression +in them of ill-concealed satisfaction that was hideous to behold. I +might not have noticed this, or at all events not have understood it, +but for what Scipio had already told me. Now its meaning was +unmistakeable, and notwithstanding the "poor Monsieur Antoine!" to which +the hypocrite repeatedly gave utterance, I saw plainly that he was +secretly delighted at the idea of the old steward's having gone to the +bottom! + +When I had finished my narrative, Gayarre drew the doctor aside; and the +two conversed for some moments in a low tone. I could hear part of what +passed between them. The doctor seemed not to care whether I overheard +him, while the other appeared equally anxious that their conversation +should not reach me. From the replies of the doctor I could make out +that the wily lawyer wished to have me removed from my present quarters, +and taken to an hotel in the village. He urged the peculiar position in +which the young lady (Mademoiselle Besancon) would be placed--alone in +her house with a stranger--a young man, etcetera, etcetera. + +The doctor did not see the necessity of my removal on such grounds. The +lady herself did not wish it--in fact, would not hear of it; he +pooh-poohed the "peculiarity" of the "situation," good Doctor Reigart!-- +the accommodation of the hotel was none of the best; besides, it was +already crowded with other sufferers; and here the speaker's voice sank +so low I could only catch odd phrases, as "stranger,", "not an +American", "lost everything", "friends far away", "the hotel no place +for a man without money." Gayarre's reply to this last objection was +that _he_ would be responsible for my hotel bill. + +This was intentionally spoken loud enough for me to hear it; and I +should have felt grateful for such an offer, had I not suspected some +sinister motive for the lawyer's generosity. The doctor met the +proposal with still further objections. + +"Impossible," said he; "bring on fever", "great risk", "would not take +the responsibility", "bad wound", "much loss of blood", "must remain +where he is for the present at least", "might be taken to the hotel in a +day or two when stronger." + +The promise of my removal in a day or two appeared to satisfy the weasel +Gayarre, or rather he became satisfied that such was the only course +that could be taken with me, and the consultation ended. + +Gayarre now approached the bed to take leave, and I could trace that +ironical expression playing in the pupils of his little eyes as he +pronounced some pretended phrases of consolation. He little knew to +whom he was speaking. Had I uttered my name it would perhaps have +brought the colour to his pale cheek, and caused him to make an abrupt +exit. Prudence prevented me from declaring it; and when the doctor +requested to know upon whom he had the honour of attending, I adopted +the pardonable strategy, in use among distinguished travellers, of +giving a _nom du voyage_. I assumed my maternal patronymic of +Rutherford,--Edward Rutherford. + +Recommending me to keep myself quiet, not to attempt leaving my bed, to +take certain prescriptions at certain hours, etcetera, etcetera, the +doctor took his leave; Gayarre having already gone out before him. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +"AURORE." + +I was for the moment alone, Scipio having betaken himself to the kitchen +in search of the tea, toast, and chicken "fixings." I lay reflecting +upon the interview just ended, and especially upon the conversation +between the doctor and Gayarre, in which had occurred several points +that suggested singular ideas. The conduct of the doctor was natural +enough, indeed betokened the true gentleman; but for the other there was +a sinister design--I could not doubt it. + +Why the desire--an anxiety, in fact--to have me removed to the hotel? +Evidently there was some strong motive, since he proposed to pay the +expenses; for from my slight knowledge of the man I knew him to be the +very opposite to generous! + +"What can be his motive for my removal?" I asked myself. + +"Ha! I have it--I have the explanation! I see through his designs +clearly! This fox, this cunning _avocat_, this guardian, is no doubt in +love with his own ward! She is young, rich, beautiful, a belle, and he +old, ugly, mean, and contemptible; but what of that? He does not think +himself either one or the other; and she--bah!--he may even hope: far +less reasonable hopes have been crowned with success. He knows the +world; he is a lawyer; he knows at least her world. He is her +solicitor; holds her affairs entirely in his hands; he is guardian, +executor, agent--all; has perfect and complete control. With such +advantages, what can he not effect? All that he may desire--her +marriage, or her ruin. Poor lady! I pity her!" + +Strange to say, it was only _pity_. That it was not another feeling was +a mystery I could not comprehend. + +The entrance of Scipio interrupted my reflections. A young girl +assisted him with the plates and dishes. This was "Chloe," his +daughter, a child of thirteen, or thereabouts, but not black like the +father! She was a "yellow girl," with rather handsome features. Scipio +explained this. The mother of his "leettle Chlo," as he called her, was +a mulatta, and "`Chlo' hab taken arter de ole 'oman. Hya! hya!" + +The tone of Scipio's laugh showed that he was more than satisfied-- +proud, in fact--of being the father of so light-skinned and pretty a +little creature as Chloe! + +Chloe, like all her kind, was brimful of curiosity, and in rolling about +the whites of her eyes to get a peep at the buckra stranger who had +saved her mistress' life, she came near breaking cups, plates, and +dishes; for which negligence Scipio would have boxed her ears, but for +my intercession. The odd expressions and gestures, the novel behaviour +of both father and daughter, the peculiarity of this slave-life, +interested me. + +I had a keen appetite, notwithstanding my weakness. I had eaten nothing +on the boat; in the excitement of the race, supper had been forgotten by +most of the passengers, myself among the number. Scipio's preparations +now put my palate in tune, and I did ample justice to the skill of +Chloe's mother, who, as Scipio informed me, was "de boss in de kitchen." +The tea strengthened me; the chicken, delicately fricasseed and +garnished upon rice, seemed to refill my veins with fresh blood. With +the exception of the slight pain of my wound, I already felt quite +restored. + +My attendants removed the breakfast things, and after a while Scipio +returned to remain in the room with me, for such were his orders. + +"And now, Scipio," I said, as soon as we were alone, "tell me of +Aurore!" + +"'Rore, mass'r!" + +"Yes--Who is Aurore?" + +"Poor slave, mass'r; jes like Ole Zip heamseff." + +The vague interest I had begun to feel in "Aurore" vanished at once. + +"A slave!" repeated I, involuntarily, and in a tone of disappointment. + +"She Missa 'Genie's maid," continued Scipio; "dress missa's hair--wait +on her--sit wi' her--read to her--do ebbery ting--" + +"Read to her! what!--a slave?" + +My interest in Aurore began to return. + +"Ye, mass'r--daat do 'Rore. But I 'splain to you. Ole Mass'r 'Sancon +berry good to de coloured people--teach many ob um read de +books--'specially 'Rore. 'Rore he 'struckt read, write, many, many +tings, and young Missa 'Genie she teach her de music. 'Rore she +'complish gal--berry 'complish gal. Know many ting; jes like de white +folks. Plays on de peany--plays on de guitar--guitar jes like banjo, an +Ole Zip play on daat heamseff--he do. Wugh!" + +"And withal, Aurore is a poor slave just like the rest of you, Scipio?" + +"Oh! no, mass'r; she be berry different from de rest. She lib different +life from de other nigga--she no hard work--she berry vallyble--she +fetch two thousand dollar!" + +"Fetch two thousand dollars!" + +"Ye, mass'r, ebbery cent--ebbery cent ob daat." + +"How know you?" + +"'Case daat much war bid for her. Mass'r Marigny want buy 'Rore, an +Mass'r Crozat, and de American Colonel on de oder side ob ribber--dey +all bid two thousand dollar--ole mass'r he only larf at um, and say he +won't sell de gal for no money." + +"This was in old master's time?" + +"Ye--ye--but one bid since--one boss ob ribber-boat--he say he want +'Rore for de lady cabin. He talk rough to her. Missa she angry--tell +'im go. Mass'r Toney he angry, tell 'im go; and de boat captain he go +angry like de rest. Hya! hya! hya!" + +"And why should Aurore command such a price?" + +"Oh! she berry good gal--berry good gal--but--" + +Scipio hesitated a moment--"but--" + +"Well?" + +"I don't b'lieve, mass'r, daat's de reason." + +"What, then?" + +"Why, mass'r, to tell de troof, I b'lieve dar all bad men daat wanted to +buy de gal." + +Delicately as it was conveyed, I understood the insinuation. + +"Ho! Aurore must be beautiful, then? Is it so, friend Scipio?" + +"Mass'r, 'taint for dis ole nigger to judge 'bout daat; but folks dey +say--bof white folks an black folks--daat she am de best-lookin' an +hansomest quaderoom in all Loozyanna." + +"Ha! a _quadroon_?" + +"Daat are a fact, mass'r, daat same--she be a gal ob colour--nebber +mind--she white as young missa herseff. Missa larf and say so many, +many time, but fr'all daat dar am great difference--one rich lady-- +t'other poor slave--jes like Ole Zip--ay, jes like Ole Zip--buy 'em, +sell 'em, all de same." + +"Could you describe Aurore, Scipio?" + +It was not idle curiosity that prompted me to put this question. A +stronger motive impelled me. The dream-face still haunted me--those +features of strange type--its strangely-beautiful expression, not +Caucasian, not Indian, not Asiatic. Was it possible--probable-- + +"Could you describe her, Scipio?" I repeated. + +"'Scribe her, mass'r; daat what you mean? ye--yes." + +I had no hope of a very lucid painting, but perhaps a few "points" would +serve to identify the likeness of my vision. In my mind the portrait +was as plainly drawn as if the real face were before my eyes. I should +easily tell if Aurore and my dream were one. I began to think it was no +dream, but a reality. + +"Well, mass'r, some folks says she am proud, case de common niggers envy +ob her--daat's de troof. She nebber proud to Ole Zip, daat I knows--she +talk to 'im, an tell 'im many tings--she help teach Ole Zip read, and de +ole Chloe, and de leettle Chloe, an she--" + +"It is a description of her person I ask for, Scipio." + +"Oh! a 'scription ob her person--ye--daat is, what am she like?" + +"So. What sort of hair, for instance? What colour is it?" + +"Brack, mass'r; brack as a boot." + +"Is it straight hair?" + +"No, mass'r--ob course not--Aurore am a quaderoom." + +"It curls?" + +"Well, not dzactly like this hyar;" here Scipio pointed to his own kinky +head-covering; "but for all daat, mass'r, it curls--what folks call de +wave." + +"I understand; it falls down to her shoulders?" + +"Daat it do, mass'r, down to de berry small ob her back." + +"Luxuriant?" + +"What am dat, mass'r?" + +"Thick--bushy." + +"Golly! it am as bushy as de ole coon's tail." + +"Now the eyes?" + +Scipio's description of the quadroon's eyes was rather a confused one. +He was happy in a simile, however, which I felt satisfied with: "Dey am +big an round--dey shine like de eyes of a deer." The nose puzzled him, +but after some elaborate questioning, I could make out that it was +straight and small. The eyebrows--the teeth--the complexion--were all +faithfully pictured--that of the cheeks by a simile, "like de red ob a +Georgium peach." + +Comic as was the description given, I had no inclination to be amused +with it. I was too much interested in the result, and listened to every +detail with an anxiety I could not account for. + +The portrait was finished at length, and I felt certain it must be that +of the lovely apparition. When Scipio had ended speaking, I lay upon my +couch burning with an intense desire to see this fair--this priceless +quadroon. Just then a bell rang from the house. + +"Scipio wanted, mass'r--daat him bell--be back, 'gain in a minute, +mass'r." + +So saying, the negro left me, and ran towards the house. + +I lay reflecting on the singular--somewhat romantic--situation in which +circumstances had suddenly placed me. But yesterday--but the night +before--a traveller, without a dollar in my purse, and not knowing what +roof would next shelter me--to-day the guest of a lady, young, rich, +unmarried--the invalid guest--laid up for an indefinite period; well +cared for and well attended. + +These thoughts soon gave way to others. The dream-face drove them out +of my mind, and I found myself comparing it with Scipio's picture of the +quadroon. The more I did so, the more I was struck with their +correspondence. How could I have dreamt a thing so palpable? Scarce +probable. Surely I must have seen it? Why not? Forms and faces were +around me when I fainted and was carried in; why not hers among the +rest? This was, indeed, probable, and would explain all. But was she +among them? I should ask Scipio on his return. + +The long conversation I had held with my attendant had wearied me, weak +and exhausted as I was. The bright sun shining across my chamber did +not prevent me from feeling drowsy; and after a few minutes I sank back +upon my pillow, and fell asleep. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +THE CREOLE AND QUADROON. + +I slept for perhaps an hour soundly. Then something awoke me, and I lay +for some moments only half sensible to outward impressions. + +Pleasant impressions they were. Sweet perfumes floated around me; and I +could distinguish a soft, silky rustling, such as betokens the presence +of well-dressed women. + +"He wakes, ma'amselle!" half whispered a sweet voice. + +My eyes, now open, rested upon the speaker. For some moments I thought +it was but the continuation of my dream. There was the dream-face, the +black profuse hair, the brilliant orbs, the arching brows, the small, +curving lips, the damask cheek--all before me! + +"Is it a dream? No--she breathes; she moves; she speaks!" + +"See! ma'amselle--he looks at us! Surely he is awake!" + +"It is no dream, then--no vision; it is she--it is Aurore!" + +Up to this moment I was still but half conscious. The thought had +passed from my lips; but, perhaps, only the last phrase was uttered loud +enough to be heard. An ejaculation that followed fully awoke me, and I +now saw two female forms close by the side of my couch. They stood +regarding each other with looks of surprise. One was Eugenie; beyond +doubt the other was Aurore! + +"Your name!" said the astonished mistress. + +"My name!" repeated the equally astonished slave. + +"But how?--he knows your name--how?" + +"I cannot tell, ma'amselle." + +"Have you been here before?" + +"No; not till this moment." + +"'Tis very strange!" said the young lady, turning towards me with an +inquiring glance. + +I was now awake, and in full possession of my senses--enough to perceive +that I had been talking too loud. My knowledge of the quadroon's name +would require an explanation, and for the life of me I knew not what to +say. To tell what I had been thinking--to account for the expressions I +had uttered--would have placed me in a very absurd position; and yet to +maintain silence might leave Ma'amselle Besancon busy with some strange +thoughts. Something must be said--a little deceit was absolutely +necessary. + +In hopes she would speak first, and, perchance, give me a key to what I +should say, I remained for some moments without opening my lips. I +pretended to feel pain from my wound, and turned uneasily on the bed. +She seemed not to notice this, but remained in her attitude of surprise, +simply repeating the words-- + +"'Tis very strange he should know your name!" + +My imprudent speech had made an impression. I could remain silent no +longer; and, turning my face once more, I pretended now for the first +time to be aware of Mademoiselle's presence, at the same time offering +my congratulations, and expressing my joy at seeing her. + +After one or two anxious inquiries in relation to my wound, she asked-- + +"But how came you to name Aurore?" + +"Aurore!" I replied. "Oh! you think it strange that I should know her +name? Thanks to Scipio's faithful portraiture, I knew at the first +glance that this was Aurore." + +I pointed to the quadroon, who had retired a pace or two, and stood +silent and evidently astonished. + +"Oh! Scipio has been speaking of her?" + +"Yes, ma'amselle. He and I have had a busy morning of it. I have drawn +largely on Scipio's knowledge of plantation affairs. I am already +acquainted with Aunt Chloe, and little Chloe, and a whole host of your +people. These things interest me who am strange to your Louisiana +life." + +"Monsieur," replied the lady, seemingly satisfied with my explanation, +"I am glad you are so well. The doctor has given me the assurance you +will soon recover. Noble stranger! I have heard how you received your +wound. For me it was--in my defence. Oh! how shall I ever repay you?-- +how thank you for my life?" + +"No thanks, ma'amselle, are necessary. It was the fulfilment of a +simple duty on my part. I ran no great risk in saving you." + +"No risk, monsieur! Every risk--from the knife of an assassin--from the +waves. No risk! But, monsieur, I can assure you my gratitude shall be +in proportion to your generous gallantry. My heart tells me so;--alas, +poor heart! it is filled at once with gratitude and grief." + +"Yes, ma'amselle, I understand you have much to lament, in the loss of a +faithful servant." + +"Faithful servant, monsieur, say, rather, friend. Faithful, indeed! +Since my poor father's death, he has been my father. All my cares were +his; all my affairs in his hands. I knew not trouble. But now, alas! +I know not what is before me." + +Suddenly changing her manner, she eagerly inquired-- + +"When you last saw him, monsieur, you say he was struggling with the +ruffian who wounded you?" + +"He was.--It was the last I saw of either. There is no hope--none--the +boat went down a few moments after. Poor Antoine! poor Antoine!" + +Again she burst into tears, for she had evidently been weeping before. +I could offer no consolation. I did not attempt it. It was better she +should weep. Tears alone could relieve her. + +"The coachman, Pierre, too--one of the most devoted of my people--he, +too, is lost. I grieve for him as well; but Antoine was my father's +friend--he was mine--Oh! the loss--the loss;--friendless; and yet, +perhaps, I _may soon need friends. Pauvre Antoine_!" + +She wept as she uttered these phrases. Aurore was also in tears. I +could not restrain myself--the eyes of childhood returned, and I too +wept. + +This solemn scene was at length brought to a termination by Eugenie, who +appearing suddenly to gain the mastery over her grief, approached the +bedside. + +"Monsieur," said she, "I fear for some time you will find in me a sad +host. I cannot easily forget my friend, but I know you will pardon me +for thus indulging in a moment of sorrow. For the present, adieu! I +shall return soon, and see that you are properly waited upon. I have +lodged you in this little place, that you might be out of reach of +noises that would disturb you. Indeed I am to blame for this present +intrusion. The doctor has ordered you not to be visited, but--I--I +could not rest till I had seen the preserver of my life, and offered him +my thanks. Adieu, adieu! Come, Aurore!" + +I was left alone, and lay reflecting upon the interview. It had +impressed me with a profound feeling of friendship for Eugenie +Besancon;--more than friendship--sympathy: for I could not resist the +belief that, somehow or other, she was in peril--that over that young +heart, late so light and gay, a cloud was gathering. + +I felt for her regard, friendship, sympathy,--nothing more. And why +nothing more? Why did I not love her, young, rich, beautiful? Why? + +Because I loved another--_I loved Aurore_! + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN. + +A LOUISIAN LANDSCAPE. + +Life in the chamber of an invalid--who cares to listen to its details? +They can interest no one--scarce the invalid himself. Mine was a daily +routine of trifling acts, and consequent reflections--a monotony, +broken, however, at intervals, by the life-giving presence of the being +I loved. At such moments I was no longer _ennuye_; my spirit escaped +from its death-like lassitude; and the sick chamber for the time seemed +an Elysium. + +Alas! these scenes were but of a few minutes' duration, while the +intervals between them were hours--long hours--so long, I fancied them +days. Twice every day I was visited by my fair host and her companion. +Neither ever came alone! + +There was constraint on my part, often bordering upon perplexity. My +conversation was with the _Creole_, my thoughts dwelt upon the +_Quadroon_. With the latter I dare but exchange glances. Etiquette +restrained the tongue, though all the conventionalities of the world +could not hinder the eyes from speaking in their own silent but +expressive language. + +Even in this there was constraint. My love-glances were given by +stealth. They were guided by a double dread. On one hand, the fear +that their expression should not be understood and reciprocated by the +Quadroon. On the other, that they might be too well understood by the +Creole, who would regard me with scorn and contempt. I never dreamt +that they might awaken jealousy--I thought not of such a thing. Eugenie +was sad, grateful, and friendly, but in her calm demeanour and firm tone +of voice there was no sign of love. Indeed the terrible shock +occasioned by the tragic occurrence, appeared to have produced a +complete change in her character. The sylph-like elasticity of her +mind, formerly a characteristic, seemed to have quite forsaken her. +From a gay girl she had all at once become a serious woman. She was not +the less beautiful, but her beauty impressed me only as that of the +statue. It failed to enter my heart, already filled with beauty of a +still rarer and more glowing kind. The Creole loved me not; and, +strange to say, the reflection, instead of piquing my vanity, rather +gratified me! + +How different when my thoughts dwelt upon the Quadroon! Did _she_ love +me? This was the question, for whose answer my heart yearned with fond +eagerness. She always attended upon Mademoiselle during her visits; but +not a word dare I exchange with _her_, although my heart was longing to +yield up its secret. I even feared that my burning glances might betray +me. Oh! if Mademoiselle but knew of my love, she would scorn and +despise me. What! in love with a slave! her slave! + +I understood this feeling well--this black crime of her nation. What +was it to me? Why should I care for customs and conventionalities which +I at heart despised, even outside the levelling influence of love? But +under that influence, less did I care to respect them. In the eyes of +Love, rank loses its fictitious charm--titles seem trivial things. For +me, Beauty wears the crown. + +So far as regarded my feelings, I would not have cared a straw if the +whole world had known of my love--not a straw for its scorn. But there +were other considerations--the courtesy due to hospitality--to +friendship; and there were considerations of a less delicate but still +graver nature--the promptings of _prudence_. The situation in which I +was placed was most peculiar, and I knew it. I knew that my passion, +even if reciprocated, must be secret and silent. Talk of making love to +a young miss closely watched by governess or guardian--a ward in +Chancery--an heiress of expectant thousands! It is but "child's play" +to break through the _entourage_ that surrounds one of such. To +scribble sonnets and scale walls is but an easy task, compared with the +bold effrontery that challenges the passions and prejudices of a people! + +My wooing promised to be anything but easy; my love-path was likely to +be a rugged one. + +Notwithstanding the monotony of confinement to my chamber, the hours of +my convalescence passed pleasantly enough. Everything was furnished me +that could contribute to my comfort or recovery. Ices, delicious +drinks, flowers, rare and costly fruits, were constantly supplied to me. +For my dishes I was indebted to the skill of Scipio's helpmate, Chloe, +and through her I became acquainted with the Creole delicacies of +"gumbo", "fish chowder," fricasseed frogs, hot "waffles," stewed +tomatoes, and many other dainties of the Louisiana _cuisine_. From the +hands of Scipio himself I did not refuse a slice of "roasted 'possum," +and went even so far as to taste a "'coon steak,"--but only once, and I +regarded it as once too often. Scipio, however, had no scruples about +eating this fox-like creature, and could demolish the greater part of +one at a single sitting! + +By degrees I became initiated into the little habitudes and customs of +life upon a Louisiana plantation. "Ole Zip" was my instructor, as he +continued to be my constant attendant. When Scipio's talk tired me, I +had recourse to books, of which a good stock (mostly French authors,) +filled the little book-case in my apartment. I found among them nearly +every work that related to Louisiana--a proof of rare judgment on the +part of whoever had made the collection. Among others, I read the +graceful romance of Chateaubriand, and the history of Du Pratz. In the +former I could not help remarking that want of _vraisemblance_ which, in +my opinion, forms the great charm of a novel; and which must ever be +absent where an author attempts the painting of scenes or costumes not +known to him by actual observation. + +With regard to the historian, he indulges largely in those childish +exaggerations so characteristic of the writers of the time. This remark +applies, without exception, to all the old writers on American +subjects--whether English, Spanish, or French--the chroniclers of +two-headed snakes, crocodiles twenty yards long, and was big enough to +swallow both horse and rider! Indeed, it is difficult to conceive how +these old authors gained credence for their incongruous stories; but it +must be remembered that science was not then sufficiently advanced "to +audit their accounts." + +More than in anything else was I interested in the adventures and +melancholy fate of La Salle; and I could not help wondering that +American writers have done so little to illustrate the life of the brave +chevalier--surely the most picturesque passage in their early history-- +the story and the scene equally inviting. + +"The scene! Ah! lovely indeed!" + +With such an exclamation did I hail it, when, for the first time, I sat +at my window and gazed out upon a Louisiana landscape. + +The windows, as in all Creole houses, reached down to the floor; and +seated in my lounge-chair, with the sashes wide open, with the beautiful +French curtains thrown back, I commanded an extended view of the +country. + +A gorgeous picture it presented. The pencil of the painter could +scarcely exaggerate its vivid colouring. + +My window faces westward, and the great river rolls its yellow flood +before my face, its ripples glittering like gold. On its farther shore +I can see cultivated fields, where wave the tall graceful culms of the +sugar-cane, easily distinguished from the tobacco-plant, of darker hue. +Upon the bank of the river, and nearly opposite, stands a noble mansion, +something in the style of an Italian villa, with green Venetians and +verandah. It is embowered in groves of orange and lemon-trees, whose +frondage of yellowish green glistens gaily in the distance. No +mountains meet the view--there is not a mountain in all Louisiana; but +the tall dark wall of cypress, rising against the western rim of the +sky, produces an effect very similar to a mountain background. + +On my own side of the river the view is more gardenesque, as it consists +principally of the enclosed pleasure-ground of the plantation Besancon. +Here I study objects more in detail, and am able to note the species of +trees that form the shrubbery. I observe the _Magnolia_, with large +white wax-like flowers, somewhat resembling the giant _nympha_ of +Guiana. Some of these have already disappeared, and in their stead are +seen the coral-red seed-cones, scarce less ornamental than the flowers +themselves. + +Side by side with this western-forest queen, almost rivalling her in +beauty and fragrance, and almost rivalling her in fame, is a lovely +exotic, a native of Orient climes--though here long naturalised. Its +large doubly-pinnate leaves of dark and lighter green,--for both shades +are observed on the same tree; its lavender-coloured flowers hanging in +axillary clusters from the extremities of the shoots; its yellow +cherry-like fruits--some of which are already formed,--all point out its +species. It is one of the _meliaceae_, or honey-trees,--the +"Indian-lilac," or "Pride of China" (_Melia azedarach_). The +nomenclature bestowed upon this fine tree by different nations indicates +the estimation in which it is held. "Tree of Pre-eminence," lays the +poetic Persian, of whose land it is a native; "Tree of Paradise" (_Arbor +de Paraiso_), echoes the Spaniard, of whose land it is an exotic. Such +are its titles. + +Many other trees, both natives and exotics, meet my gaze. Among the +former I behold the "catalpa," with its silvery bark and trumpet-shaped +blossoms; the "Osage orange," with its dark shining leaves; and the red +mulberry, with thick shady foliage, and long crimson calkin-like fruits. +Of exotics I note the orange, the lime, the West Indian guava (_Psidium +pyriferum_), and the guava of Florida, with its boxwood leaves; the +tamarisk, with its spreading minute foliage, and splendid panicles of +pale rose-coloured flowers; the pomegranate, symbol of democracy--"the +queen who carries her crown upon her bosom"--and the legendary but +flowerless fig-tree, here not supported against the wall, but rising as +a standard to the height of thirty feet. + +Scarcely exotic are the _yuccas_, with their spherical heads of sharp +radiating blades; scarcely exotic the _cactacea_, of varied forms--for +species of both are indigenous to the soil, and both are found among the +flora of a not far-distant region. + +The scene before my window is not one of still life. Over the shrubbery +I can see the white-painted gates leading to the mansion, and outside of +these runs the Levee road. Although the foliage hinders me from a full +view of the road itself, I see at intervals the people passing along it. +In the dress of the Creoles the sky-blue colour predominates, and the +hats are usually palmetto, or "grass," or the costlier Panama, with +broad sun-protecting brims. Now and then a negro gallops past, turbaned +like a Turk; for the chequered Madras "toque" has much the appearance of +the Turkish head-dress, but is lighter and even more picturesque. Now +and then an open carriage rolls by, and I catch a glimpse of ladies in +their gossamer summer-dresses. I hear their clear ringing laughter; and +I know they are on their way to some gay festive scene. The travellers +upon the road--the labourers in the distant cane-field, chanting their +chorus songs--occasionally a boat booming past on the river--more +frequently a flat silently floating downward--a "keel," or a raft with +its red-shirted crew--are all before my eyes, emblems of active life. + +Nearer still are the winged creatures that live and move around my +window. The mock-bird (_Turdus polyglotta_) pipes from the top of the +tallest magnolia; and his cousin, the red-breast (_Turdus migratorius_), +half intoxicated with the berries of the _melia_, rivals him in his +sweet song. The oriole hops among the orange-trees, and the bold red +cardinal spreads his scarlet wings amidst the spray of the lower +shrubbery. + +Now and then I catch a glimpse of the "ruby-throat," coming and going +like the sparkle of a gem. Its favourite haunt is among the red and +scentless flowers of the buck-eye, or the large trumpet-shaped blossoms +of the _bignonia_. + +Such was the view from the window of my chamber. I thought I never +beheld so fair a scene. Perhaps I was not looking upon it with an +impartial eye. The love-light was in my glance, and that may have +imparted to it a portion of its _couleur de rose_. I could not look +upon the scene without thinking of that fair being, whose presence alone +was wanted to make the picture perfect. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY. + +MY JOURNAL. + +I varied the monotony of my invalid existence by keeping a journal. + +The journal of a sick chamber must naturally be barren of incident. +Mine was a diary of reflections rather than acts. I transcribe a few +passages from it--not on account of any remarkable interest which they +possess--but because, dotted down at the time, they represent more +faithfully some of the thoughts and incidents that occurred to me during +the remainder of my stay on the plantation Besancon. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +_July 12th_.--To-day I am able to sit up and write a little. The +weather is intensely hot. It would be intolerable were it not for the +breeze which sweeps across my apartment, charged with the delicious +perfume of the flowers. This breeze blows from the Gulf of Mexico, by +Lakes Borgne, Pontchartrain, and Maauepas. I am more than one hundred +miles from the Gulf itself--that is, following the direction of the +river--but these great inland seas deeply penetrate the delta of the +Mississippi, and through them the tidal wave approaches within a few +miles of New Orleans, and still farther to the north. Sea-water might +be reached through the swamps at a short distance to the rear of +Bringiers. + +This sea-breeze is a great benefit to the inhabitants of Lower +Louisiana. Without its cooling influence New Orleans during the summer +months would hardly be habitable. + +Scipio tells me that a new "overseer" has arrived on the plantation, and +thinks that he has been appointed through the agency of Mass'r Dominick. +He brought a letter from the _avocat_. It is therefore probable +enough. + +My attendant does not seem very favourably impressed with the new comer, +whom he represents as a "poor white man from de norf, an a Yankee at +daat." + +Among the blacks I find existing an antipathy towards what they are +pleased to call "poor white men"--individuals who do not possess slave +or landed property. The phrase itself expresses this antipathy; and +when applied by a negro to a white man is regarded by the latter as a +dire insult, and usually procures for the imprudent black a scoring with +the "cowskin," or a slight "rubbing down" with the "oil of hickory." + +Among the slaves there is a general impression that their most +tyrannical "overseers" are from the New England States, or "Yankees," as +they are called in the South. This term, which foreigners apply +contemptuously to all Americans, in the United States has a restricted +meaning; and when used reproachfully it is only applied to natives of +New England. At other times it is used jocularly in a patriotic spirit; +and in this sense every American is proud to call himself a Yankee. +Among the southern blacks, "Yankee" is a term of reproach, associated in +their minds with poverty of fortune, meanness of spirit, wooden nutmegs, +cypress hams, and such-like chicanes. Sad and strange to say, it is +also associated with the whip, the shackle, and the cowhide. Strange, +because these men are the natives of a land peculiarly distinguished for +its Puritanism! A land where the purest religion and strictest morality +are professed. + +This would seem an anomaly, and yet perhaps it is not so much an anomaly +after all. I had it explained to me by a Southerner, who spoke thus:-- + +"The countries where Puritan principles prevail are those which produce +vice, and particularly the smaller vices, in greatest abundance. The +villages of New England--the foci of blue laws and Puritanism.--furnish +the greatest number of the _nymphes du pave_ of New York, Philadelphia, +Baltimore, and New Orleans; and even furnish a large export of them to +the Catholic capital of Cuba! From the same prolific soil spring most +of the sharpers, quacks, and cheating traders, who disgrace the American +name. This is not an anomaly. It is but the inexorable result of a +pseudo-religion. Outward observance, worship, Sabbath-keeping, and the +various forms, are engrafted in the mind; and thus, by complicating the +true duties which man owes to his fellow-man, obscure or take precedence +of them. The latter grow to be esteemed as only of secondary +importance, and are consequently neglected." + +The explanation was at least ingenious. + +_July 14th_.--To-day, twice visited by Mademoiselle; who, as usual, was +accompanied by Aurore. + +Our conversation does not flow easily or freely, nor is it of long +continuance. She (Mademoiselle) is still evidently suffering, and there +is a tone of sadness in everything she says. At first I attributed this +to her sorrow for Antoine, but it has now continued too long to be thus +explained. Some other grief presses upon her spirit. I suffer from +restraint. The presence of Aurore restrains me; and I can ill give +utterance to those common-places required in an ordinary conversation. +She (Aurore) takes no part in the dialogue; but lingers by the door, or +stands behind her mistress, respectfully listening. When I regard her +steadfastly, her fringed eyelids droop, and shut out all communion with +her soul. _Oh that I could make her understand me_! + +_July 15th_.--Scipio is confirmed in his dislike for the new overseer. +His first impressions were correct. From two or three little matters +which I have heard about this gentleman, I am satisfied that he is a bad +successor to the good Antoine. + +_A propos_ of poor Antoine, it was reported that his body had been +washed up among some drift-timber below the plantation; but the report +proved incorrect. A body _was_ found, but not that of the steward. +Some other unfortunate, who had met with a similar fate. I wonder if +the wretch who wounded me is yet above water! + +There are still many of the sufferers at Bringiers. Some have died of +the injuries they received on board the boat. A terrible death is this +scalding by steam. Many who fancied themselves scarce injured, are now +in their last agonies. The doctor has given me some details that are +horrifying. + +One of the men, a "fireman," whose nose is nearly gone, and who is +conscious that he has but a short while to live, requested to see his +face in a looking-glass. Upon the request being granted, he broke into +a diabolical laugh, crying out at the same time, in a loud voice, "What +a damned ugly corpse I'll make." + +This reckless indifference to life is a characteristic of these wild +boatmen. The race of "Mike Fink" is not extinct: many true +representatives of this demi-savage still navigate the great rivers of +the West. + +_July 20th_. Much better to-day. The doctor tells me that in a week I +may leave my room. This is cheering; and yet a week seems a long while +to one not used to being caged in this way. The books enable me to kill +time famously. All honour to the men who make books! + +_July 21st_.--Scipio's opinion of the new overseer is not improved. His +name is "Larkin." Scipio says that he is well-known in the village as +"Bully Bill Larkin"--a soubriquet which may serve as a key to his +character. Several of the "field-hands" complain (to Scipio) of his +severity, which they say is daily on the increase. He goes about +constantly armed with a "cowhide," and has already, once or twice, made +use of it in a barbarous manner. + +To-day is Sunday, and I can tell from the "hum" that reaches me from the +negro "quarters," that it is a day of rejoicing. I can see the blacks +passing the Levee road, dressed in their gayest attire--the men in white +_beaver_ hats, blue long-tailed coats, and shirts with enormous ruffles; +the women in gaudy patterns of cotton, and not a few in silks brilliant +enough for a ball-room! Many carry silk parasols, of course of the +brightest colours. One would almost be tempted to believe that in this +slave-life there was no great hardship, after all; but the sight of Mr +Larkin's cowhide must produce a very opposite impression. + +_July 24th_.--I noticed to-day more than ever the melancholy that seems +to press upon the spirit of Mademoiselle. I am now convinced that +Antoine's death is not the cause of it. There is some _present_ source +of distraction, which renders her ill at ease. I have again observed +that singular glance with which she at first regarded me; but it was so +transitory, I could not read its meaning, and my heart and eyes were +searching elsewhere. Aurore gazes upon me less timidly, and seems to be +interested in my conversation, though it is not addressed to her. Would +that it were! Converse with her would perhaps relieve my heart, which +burns all the more fiercely under the restraint of silence. + +_July 25th_.--Several of the "field-hands" indulged too freely on +yesternight. They had "passes" to the town, and came back late. "Bully +Bill" has flogged them all this morning, and very severely--so as to +draw the blood from their backs. This is rough enough for a _new_ +overseer; but Scipio learns that he is an "old hand" at the business. +Surely Mademoiselle does not know of these barbarities! + +_July 26th_.--The doctor promises to let me out in three days. I have +grown to esteem this man--particularly since I made the discovery that +he is _not_ a friend of Gayarre. He is not his medical attendant +either. There is another _medico_ in the village, who has charge of +Monsieur Dominique and his blacks, as also the slaves of the Besancon +plantation. The latter chanced to be out of the way, and so Reigart was +called to me. Professional etiquette partly, and partly my own +interference, forbade any change in this arrangement; and the latter +continued to attend me. I have seen the other gentleman, who came once +in Reigart's company, and he appears much more suited to be the friend +of the _avocat_. + +Reigart is a stranger in Bringiers, but seems to be rapidly rising in +the esteem of the neighbouring planters. Indeed, many of these--the +"grandees" among them--keep physicians of their own, and pay them +handsomely, too! It would be an unprofitable speculation to neglect the +health of the slave; and on this account it is better looked after than +that of the "poor white folks" in many a European state. + +I have endeavoured to draw from the doctor some facts, regarding the +connexion existing between Gayarre and the family of Besancon. I could +only make distant allusion to such a subject. I obtained no very +satisfactory information. The doctor is what might be termed a "close +man," and too much talking would not make one of his profession very +popular in Louisiana. He either knows but little of their affairs, or +affects not to know; and yet, from some expressions that dropped from +him, I suspect the latter to be the more probable. + +"Poor young lady!" said he; "quite alone in the world. I believe there +is an aunt, or something of the kind, who lives in New Orleans, but she +has no male relation to look after her affairs. Gayarre seems to have +everything in his hands." + +I gathered from the doctor that Eugenie's father had been much richer at +one period--one of the most extensive planters on the coast; that he had +kept a sort of "open house," and dispensed hospitality in princely +style. "Fetes" on a grand scale had been given, and this more +particularly of late years. Even since his death profuse hospitality +has been carried on, and Mademoiselle continues to receive her father's +guests after her father's fashion. Suitors she has in plenty, but the +doctor has heard of no one who is regarded in the light of a "lover." + +Gayarre had been the intimate friend of Besancon. Why, no one could +tell; for their natures were as opposite as the poles. It was thought +by some that their friendship had a little of the character of that +which usually exists between _debtor_ and _creditor_. + +The information thus imparted by the doctor confirms what Scipio has +already told me. It confirms, too, my suspicions in regard to the young +Creole, that there is a cloud upon the horizon of her future, darker +than any that has shadowed her past--darker even than that produced by +the memory of Antoine! + +_July 28th_.--Gayarre has been here to-day--at the house, I mean. In +fact, he visits Mademoiselle nearly every day; but Scipio tells me +something new and strange. It appears that some of the slaves who had +been flogged, complained of the overseer to their young mistress; and +she in her turn spoke to Gayarre on the subject. His reply was that the +"black rascals deserved all they had got, and more," and somewhat rudely +upheld the ruffian Larkin, who is beyond a doubt his _protege_. The +lady was silent. + +Scipio learns these facts from Aurore. There is something ominous in +all this. + +Poor Scipio has made me the confidant of another, and a private grief. +He suspects that the overseer is looking too kindly upon "him kettle +Chloe." The brute! if this be so!--My blood boils at the thought--oh! +slavery! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +_August 2nd_.--I hear of Gayarre again. He has been to the house, and +made a longer stay with Mademoiselle than usual. What can he have to do +with her? Can his society be agreeable to her? Surely that is +impossible! And yet such frequent visits--such long conferences! If +she marry such a man as this I pity her, poor victim!--for victim will +she be. He must have some power over her to act as he is doing. He +seems master of the plantation, says Scipio, and issues his orders to +every one with the air of its owner. All fear him and his +"nigger-driver," as the ruffian Larkin is called. The latter is more +feared by Scipio, who has noticed some further rude conduct on the part +of the overseer towards "him leettle Chloe." Poor fellow! he is greatly +distressed; and no wonder, when even the law does not allow him to +protect the honour of his own child! + +I have promised to speak to Mademoiselle about the affair; but I fear, +from what reaches my ears, that she is almost as powerless as Scipio +himself! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +_August 3rd_.--To-day, for the first time, I am able to go out of my +room. I have taken a walk through the shrubbery and garden. I +encountered Aurore among the orange-trees, gathering the golden fruit; +but she was accompanied by little Chloe, who held the basket. What +would I not have given to have found her alone! A word or two only was +I able to exchange with her, and she was gone. + +She expressed her pleasure at seeing me able to be abroad. She _seemed_ +pleased; I fancied she felt so, I never saw her look so lovely. The +exercise of shaking down the oranges had brought out the rich crimson +bloom upon her cheeks, and her large brown eyes were shining like +sapphires. Her full bosom rose and fell with her excited breathing, and +the light wrapper she wore enabled me to trace the noble outlines of her +form. + +I was struck with the gracefulness of her gait as she walked away. It +exhibited an undulating motion, produced by a peculiarity of figure--a +certain _embonpoint_ characteristic of her race. She was large and +womanly, yet of perfect proportion and fine delicate outlines. Her +hands were small and slender, and her little feet seemed hardly to press +upon the pebbles. My eyes followed her in a delirium of admiration. +The fire in my heart burned fiercer as I returned to my solitary +chamber. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. + +A CHANGE OF QUARTERS. + +I was thinking over my short interview with Aurore--congratulating +myself upon some expressions she had dropped--happy in the anticipation +that such encounters would recur frequently, now that I was able to be +abroad--when in the midst of my pleasant reverie the door of my +apartment became darkened. I looked up, and beheld the hated face of +Monsieur Dominique Gayarre. + +It was his first visit since the morning after my arrival upon the +plantation. What could _he_ want with _me_? + +I was not kept long in suspense, for my visitor, without even +apologising for his intrusion, opened his business abruptly and at once. + +"Monsieur," began he, "I have made arrangements for your removal to the +hotel at Bringiers." + +"You have?" said I, interrupting him in a tone as abrupt and something +more indignant than his own. "And who, sir, may I ask, has commissioned +_you_ to take this trouble?" + +"Ah--oh!" stammered he, somewhat tamed down by his brusque reception, "I +beg pardon, Monsieur. Perhaps you are not aware that I am the agent-- +the friend--in fact, the guardian of Mademoiselle Besancon--and--and--" + +"Is it Mademoiselle Besancon's wish that I go to Bringiers?" + +"Well--the truth is--not exactly her wish; but you see, my dear sir, it +is a delicate affair--your remaining here, now that you are almost quite +recovered, upon which I congratulate you--and--and--" + +"Go on, sir!" + +"Your remaining here any longer--under the circumstances--would be--you +can judge for yourself, sir--would be, in fact, a thing that would be +talked about in the neighbourhood--in fact, considered highly improper." + +"Hold, Monsieur Gayarre! I am old enough not to require lessons in +etiquette from you, sir." + +"I beg pardon, sir. I do not mean that but--I--you will observe--I, as +the lawful guardian of the young lady--" + +"Enough, sir. I understand you perfectly. For _your purposes, whatever +they be_, you do not wish me to remain any longer on this plantation. +Your desire shall be gratified. I shall leave the place, though +certainly not with any intention of accommodating you. I shall go hence +this very evening." + +The words upon which I had placed emphasis, startled the coward like a +galvanic shock. I saw him turn pale as they were uttered, and the +wrinkles deepened about his eyes. I had touched a chord, which he +deemed a secret one, and its music sounded harsh to him. Lawyer-like, +however, he commanded himself, and without taking notice of my +insinuation, replied in a tone of whining hypocrisy-- + +"My dear monsieur! I regret this necessity; but the fact is, you see-- +the world--the busy, meddling world--" + +"Spare your homilies, sir! Your business, I fancy, is ended; at all +events your company is no longer desired." + +"Humph!" muttered he. "I regret you should take it in this way--I am +sorry--" + +And with a string of similar incoherent phrases he made his exit. + +I stepped up to the door and looked after, to see which way he would +take. He walked direct to the house! I saw him go in! + +This visit and its object had taken me by surprise, though I had not +been without some anticipation of such an event. The conversation I had +overheard between him and the doctor rendered it probable that such +would be the result; though I hardly expected being obliged to change my +quarters so soon. For another week or two I had intended to stay where +I was. When quite recovered, I should have moved to the hotel of my own +accord. + +I felt vexed, and for several reasons. It chagrined me to think that +this wretch possessed such a controlling influence; for I did not +believe that Mademoiselle Besancon had anything to do with my removal. +Quite the contrary. She had visited me but a few hours before, and not +a word had been said of the matter. Perhaps she might have thought of +it, and did not desire to mention it? But no. This could hardly be. I +noticed no change in her manner during the interview. The same +kindness--the same interest in my recovery--the same solicitude about +the little arrangements of my food and attendance, were shown by her up +to the last moment. She evidently contemplated no change so sudden as +that proposed by Gayarre. Reflection convinced me that the proposal had +been made without any previous communication with _her_. + +What must be the influence of this man, that he dare thus step between +her and the rites of hospitality? It was a painful thought to me, to +see this fair creature in the power of such a villain. + +But another thought was still more painful--the thought of parting with +Aurore. Though I did not fancy that parting was to be for ever. No! +Had I believed that, I should not have yielded so easily. I should have +put Monsieur Dominique to the necessity of a positive expulsion. Of +course, I had no apprehension that by removing to the village I should +be debarred from visiting the plantation as often as I felt inclined. +Had that been the condition, my reflections would have been painful +indeed. + +After all, the change would signify little. I should return as a +visitor, and in that character be more independent than as a guest--more +free, perhaps, to approach the object of my love! I could come as often +as I pleased. The same opportunities of seeing her would still be open +to me. I wanted but one--one moment alone with Aurore--and then bliss +or blighted hopes! + +But there were other considerations that troubled me at this moment. +How was I to live at the hotel? Would the proprietor believe in +promises, and wait until my letters, already sent off, could be +answered? Already I had been provided with suitable apparel, +mysteriously indeed. I awoke one morning and found it by my bedside. I +made no inquiry as to how it came there. That would be an +after-consideration; but with regard to money, how was that to be +obtained? Must I become _her_ debtor? Or am I to be under obligations +to Gayarre? Cruel dilemma! + +At this juncture I thought of Reigart. His calm, kind face came up +before me. + +"An alternative!" soliloquised I; "he will help me!" + +The thought seemed to have summoned him; for at that moment the good +doctor entered the room, and became the confidant of my wishes. + +I had not misjudged him. His purse lay open upon the table; and I +became his debtor for as much of its contents as I stood in need of. + +"Very strange!" said he, "this desire of hurrying you off on the part of +Monsieur Gayarre. There is something more in it than solicitude for the +character of the lady. Something more: what can it all mean?" + +The doctor said this partly in soliloquy, and as if searching his own +thoughts for an answer. + +"I am almost a stranger to Mademoiselle Besancon," he continued, "else I +should deem it my duty to know more of this matter. But Monsieur +Gayarre is her guardian; and if he desire you to leave, it will perhaps +be wiser to do so. _She may not be her own mistress entirely_. Poor +thing! I fear there is debt at the bottom of the mystery; and if so, +she will be more a slave than any of her own people. Poor young lady!" + +Reigart was right. My remaining longer might add to her embarrassments. +I felt satisfied of this. + +"I am desirous to go at once, doctor." + +"My barouche is at the gate, then. You can have a seat in it. I can +set you down at the hotel." + +"Thanks, thanks! the very thing I should have asked of you, and I accept +your offer. I have but few preparations to make, and will be ready for +you in a moment." + +"Shall I step over to the house, and prepare Mademoiselle for your +departure?" + +"Be so kind. I believe Gayarre is now there?" + +"No. I met him near the gate of his own plantation, returning home. I +think she is alone. I shall see her and return for you." + +The doctor left me, and walked over to the house. He was absent but a +few minutes, when he returned to make his report. He was still further +perplexed at what he had learnt. + +Mademoiselle had heard from Gayarre, just an hour before, that _I had +expressed my intention_ of removing to the hotel! She had been +surprised at this, as I had said nothing about it at our late interview. +She would not hear of it at first, but Gayarre had used _arguments_ to +convince her of the policy of such a step; and the doctor, on my part, +had also urged it. She had at length, though reluctantly, consented. +Such was the report of the doctor, who further informed me that she was +waiting to receive me. + +Guided by Scipio, I made my way to the drawing-room. I found her +seated; but upon my entrance she rose, and came forward to meet me with +both hands extended. I saw that _she was in tears_! + +"Is it true you intend leaving us, Monsieur?" + +"Yes, Mademoiselle; I am now quite strong again. I have come to thank +you for your kind hospitality, and say adieu." + +"Hospitality!--ah, Monsieur, you have reason to think it cold +hospitality since I permit you to leave us so soon. I would you had +remained; but--" Here she became embarrassed: "but--you are not to be a +stranger, although you go to the hotel. Bringiers is near; promise that +you will visit us often--in fact, every day?" + +I need not say that the promise was freely and joyfully given. + +"Now," said she, "since you have given that promise, with less regret I +can say adieu!" + +She extended her hand for a parting salute. I took her fingers in mine, +and respectfully kissed them. I saw the tears freshly filling in her +eyes, as she turned away to conceal them. + +I was convinced she was acting under constraint, and against her +inclination, else I should not have been allowed to depart. Hers was +not the spirit to fear gossip or scandal. Some other _pressure_ was +upon her. + +I was passing out through the hall, my eyes eagerly turning in every +direction. Where was _she_? Was I not to have _even a parting word_! + +At that moment a side-door was gently opened. My heart beat wildly as +it turned upon its hinge. Aurore! + +I dare not trust myself to speak aloud. It would have been overheard in +the drawing-room. A look, a whisper, a silent pressure of the hand, and +I hurried away; but the return of that pressure, slight and almost +imperceptible as it was, fired my veins with delight; and I walked on +towards the gate with the proud step of a conqueror. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. + +AURORE LOVES ME. + +"_Aurore loves me_!" + +The thought thus expressed was of younger date than the day of my +removing to Bringiers from the plantation. A month had elapsed since +that day. + +The details of my life during that month would possess but little +interest for you, reader; though to me every hour was fraught with hopes +or fears that still hold a vivid place in my memory. When the heart is +charged with love, every trifle connected with that love assumes the +magnitude of an important matter; and thoughts or incidents that +otherwise would soon be forgotten, hold a firm place in the memory. I +could write a volume about my affairs of that month, every line of which +would be deeply interesting to _me_, but not to _you_. Therefore I +write it not; I shall not even present you with the journal that holds +its history. + +I continued to live in the hotel at Bringiers. I grew rapidly stronger. +I spent most of my time in rambling through the fields and along the +Levee--boating upon the river--fishing in the bayous--hunting through +the cane-breaks and cypress-swamps, and occasionally killing time at a +game of billiards, for every Louisiana village has its billiard salon. + +The society of Reigart, whom I now called friend, I enjoyed--when his +professional engagements permitted. + +His books, too, were my friends; and from these I drew my first lessons +in botany. I studied the _sylva_ of the surrounding woods, till at a +glance I could distinguish every tree and its kind--the giant cypress, +emblem of sorrow, with tall shaft shooting out of the apex of its +pyramidal base, and crowned with its full head of sad dark foliage,-- +sadder from its drapery of _tillandsia_; the "tupelo" (_Nyssa +aquatica_), that nymph that loves the water, with long delicate leaves +and olive-like fruit--the "persimmon," or "American lotus" (_Diospyros +Virginiana_), with its beautiful green foliage and red date-plums--the +gorgeous magnolia grandiflora, and its congener, the tall tulip-tree +(_Liriodendron tulipifera_)--the water-locust (_Gleditschia +monosperma_); and, of the same genus, the three-thorned honey-locust +(_triacanthos_), whose light pinnated leaves scarce veil the sun--the +sycamore (_platanus_), with its smooth trunk and wide-reaching limbs of +silvery hue--the sweet-gum (_Liquidambar styraciflua_), exuding its +golden drops--the aromatic but sanitary "sassafras" (_Laurus +sassafras_)--the "red-bay" (_Laurus Caroliniensis_), of cinnamon-like +aroma--the oaks of many species, at the head of which might be placed +that majestic evergreen of the southern forests, the "live-oak" +(_Quercus virens_)--the "red ash," with its hanging bunches of +_samarce_--the shady nettle-tree (_Celtis crassifolia_), with its large +cordate leaves and black drupes--and last, though not least interesting, +the water-loving cotton-wood (_Populus angulata_). Such is the sylva +that covers the alluvion of Louisiana. + +It is a region beyond the limits of the true palm-tree; but this has its +representative in the palmetto--"latanier" of the French--the _Sabal_ +palm of the botanist, of more than one species, forming in many places +the underwood, and giving a tropical character to the forest. + +I studied the parasites--the huge llianas, with branches like +tree-trunks, black and gnarled; the cane-vines, with pretty star-like +flowers; the muscadine grape-vines, with their dark purple clusters; the +_bignonias_, with trumpet-shaped corollas; the _smilacae_, among which +are conspicuous the _Smilax rotundifolia_, the thick bamboo-briar, and +the balsamic sarsaparilla. + +Not less interesting were the vegetable forms of cultivation--the +"staples" from which are drawn the wealth of the land. These were the +sugar-cane, the rice-reed, the maize and tobacco-plants, the cotton +shrub, and the indigo. All were new to me, and I studied their +propagation and culture with interest. + +Though a month apparently passed in idleness, it was, perhaps, one of +the most profitably employed of my life. In that short month I acquired +more real knowledge than I had done during years of classic study. + +But I had learnt one fact that I prized above all, and that was, that _I +was beloved by Aurore_! + +I learnt it not from her lips--no words had given me the assurance--and +yet I was certain that it _was_ so; certain as that I lived. Not all +the knowledge in the world could have given me the pleasure of that one +thought! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +"_Aurora loves me_!" + +This was my exclamation, as one morning I emerged from the village upon +the road leading to the plantation. Three times a week--sometimes even +more frequently--I had made this journey. Sometimes I encountered +strangers at the house--friends of Mademoiselle. Sometimes I found her +alone, or in company with Aurore. The latter I could never find alone! +Oh! how I longed for that opportunity! + +My visits, of course, were ostensibly to Mademoiselle. I dared not seek +an interflow with the slave. + +Eugenie still preserved the air of melancholy, that now appeared to have +settled upon her. Sometimes she was even sad,--at no time cheerful. As +I was not made the confidant of her sorrows, I could only guess at the +cause. Gayarre, of course, I believed to be the fiend. + +Of him I had learnt little. He shunned me on the road, or in the +fields; and upon _his_ grounds I never trespassed. I found that he was +held in but little respect, except among those who worshipped his +wealth. How he was prospering in his suit with Eugenie I knew not. The +world talked of such a thing as among the "probabilities"--though one of +the strange ones, it was deemed. I had sympathy for the young Creole, +but I might have felt it more profoundly under other circumstances. As +it was, my whole soul was under the influence of a stronger passion--my +love for Aurore. + +"Yes--Aurore loves me!" I repeated to myself as I passed out from the +village, and faced down the Levee road. + +I was mounted. Reigart, in his generous hospitality, had even made me +master of a horse--a fine animal that rose buoyantly under me, as though +he was also imbued by some noble passion. + +My well-trained steed followed the path without need of guidance, and +dropping the bridle upon his neck, I left him to go at will, and pursued +the train of my reflections. + +I loved this young girl--passionately and devotedly I loved her. She +loved me. She had not declared it in words, but her looks; and now and +then a slight incident--scarce more than a fleeting glance or gesture-- +had convinced me that it was so. + +Love taught me its own language. I needed no interpreter--no tongue to +tell I was beloved. + +These reflections were pleasant, far more than pleasant; but others +followed them of a very different nature. + +With whom was I in love? A slave! True, a beautiful slave--but still a +slave! How the world would laugh! how Louisiana would laugh--nay, scorn +and persecute! The very proposal to make her my wife would subject me +to derision and abuse. "What! marry a slave! 'Tis contrary to the laws +of the land!" Dared I to marry her--even were she free?--she, a +_quadroon_!--I should be hunted from the land, or shut up in one of its +prisons! + +All this I knew, but not one straw cared I for it. The world's obloquy +in one scale, my love for Aurore in the other--the former weighed but a +feather. + +True, I had deep regret that Aurore was a slave, but it sprang not from +that consideration. Far different was the reason of my regret. _How +was I to obtain her freedom_? That was the question that troubled me. + +Up to this time I had made light of the matter. Before I knew that I +was beloved it seemed a sequence very remote. But it was now brought +nearer, and all the faculties of my mind became concentrated on that one +thought--"How was I to obtain her freedom?" Had she been an ordinary +slave, the answer would have been easy enough; for though not rich, my +fortune was still equal to the _price of a human being_! + +In my eyes Aurore was priceless. Would she also appear so in the eyes +of her young mistress? Was my bride for sale on any terms? But even if +money should be deemed an equivalent, would Mademoiselle _sell_ her to +_me_? An odd proposal, that of buying _her_ slave for my wife! What +would Eugenie Besancon think of it? + +The very idea of this proposal awed me; but the time to make it had not +yet arrived. + +I must first have an interview with Aurore, demand a confession of her +love, and then, if she consent to become mine,--_my wife_,--the rest may +be arranged. I see not clearly the way, but a love like mine will +triumph over everything. My passion nerves me with power, with courage, +with energy. Obstacles must yield; opposing wills be coaxed or crushed; +everything must give way that stands between myself and my love! +"Aurore! I come! I come!" + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. + +A SURPRISE. + +My reflections were interrupted by the neighing of my horse. I glanced +forward to ascertain the cause. I was opposite the plantation Besancon. +A carriage was just wheeling out from the gate. The horses were headed +down the Levee road, and going off at a trot, were soon lost behind the +cloud of dust raised by the hoofs and wheels. + +I recognised the carriage. It was the barouche of Mademoiselle +Besancon. I could not tell who were its occupants, though, from the +slight glimpse I had got of them, I saw there were ladies in it. + +"Mademoiselle herself, accompanied by Aurore, no doubt." + +I believed that they had not observed me, as the high fence concealed +all but my head, and the carriage had turned abruptly on passing out of +the gate. + +I felt disappointed. I had had my ride for nothing, and might now ride +back again to Bringiers. + +I had drawn bridle with this intent, when it occurred to me I could +still overtake the carriage and change words with its occupants. With +_her_, even the interchange of a glance was worth such a gallop. + +I laid the spur to the ribs of my horse and sprang him forward. + +As I came opposite the house I saw Scipio by the gate. He was just +closing it after the carriage. + +"Oh!" thought I, "I may as well be sure as to whom I am galloping +after." + +With this idea I inclined my horse's head a little, and drew up in front +of Scipio. + +"Gollies! how young mass'r ride! Ef he don't do daat business jes up to +de hub! Daat 'im do. Wugh!" + +Without taking notice of his complimentary speech, I inquired hastily if +Mademoiselle was at home. + +"No, mass'r, she jes dis moment gone out--she drive to Mass'r Marigny." + +"Alone?" + +"Ye, mass'r." + +"Of course Aurore is with her?" + +"No, mass'r; she gone out by harseff. 'Rore, she 'tay at home." + +If the negro had been observant he might have noticed the effect of this +announcement upon me, for I am sure it must have been sufficiently +apparent. I felt it in the instant upheaving of my heart, and the +flushing that suddenly fevered my cheeks. + +"Aurore at home, and alone!" + +It was the first time during all the course of my wooing that such a +"chance" had offered; and I almost gave expression to my agreeable +surprise. + +Fortunately I did not; for even the faithful Scipio was not to be +trusted with such a secret. + +With an effort I collected myself, and tamed down my horse, now chafing +to continue his gallop. In doing so his head was turned in the +direction of the village. Scipio thought I was going to ride back. + +"Sure mass'r not go till he rest a bit? Missa 'Genie not home, but dar +am 'Rore. 'Rore get mass'r glass ob claret; Ole Zip make um sangaree. +Day berry, berry hot. Wugh!" + +"You are about right, Scipio," I replied, pretending to yield to his +persuasion. "Take my horse round to the stable. I shall rest a few +minutes." + +I dismounted, and, passing the bridle to Scipio, stepped inside the +gate. + +It was about a hundred paces to the house, by the direct walk that led +from the gate to the front door. But there were two other paths, that +wound around the sides of the shrubbery, through copses of low trees-- +laurels, myrtles, and oranges. A person approaching by either of these +could not be seen from the house until close to the very windows. From +each of these paths the low verandah could be reached without going by +the front. There were steps leading into it--into the interior of the +house as well--for the windows that fronted upon the verandah were, +after the Creole fashion, glass folding-doors, that opened to the +bottom, so that the floors of the rooms and verandah-platform were upon +the same level. + +On passing through the gate, I turned into one of these side-paths (for +certain reasons giving it the preference), and walked silently on +towards the house. + +I had taken the longer way, and advanced slowly for the purpose of +composing myself. I could hear the beating of my own heart, and feel +its quick nervous throbs, quicker than my steps, as I approached the +long-desired interview. I believe I should have been more collected in +going up to the muzzle of an antagonist's pistol! + +The long yearning for such an opportunity--the well-known difficulty of +obtaining it--the anticipation of that sweetest pleasure on earth--the +pleasure of being alone with her I loved--all blended in my thoughts. +No wonder they were wild and somewhat bewildered. + +I should now meet Aurore face to face alone, with but Love's god as a +witness. I should speak unrestrainedly and free. I should hear _her_ +voice, listen to the soft confession that she loved me. I should fold +her in my arms--against my bosom! I should drink love from her swimming +eyes, taste it on her crimson cheek, her coral lips! Oh, I should speak +love, and hear it spoken! I should listen to its delirious ravings! + +A heaven of happiness was before me. No wonder my thoughts were wild-- +no wonder I vainly strove to calm them. + +I reached the house, and mounted the two or three steps that led up into +the verandah. The latter was carpeted with a mat of sea-grass, and my +_chaussure_ was light, so that my tread was as silent as that of a girl. +It could scarce have been heard within the chamber whose windows I was +passing. + +I proceeded on toward the drawing-room, which opened to the front by two +of the large door-windows already mentioned. I turned the angle, and +the next moment would have passed the first of these windows, had a +sound not reached me that caused me to arrest my steps. The sound was a +voice that came from the drawing-room, whose windows stood open. I +listened--it was the voice of Aurore! + +"In conversation with some one! with whom? Perhaps little Chloe? her +mother? some one of the domestics?" + +I listened. + +"By Heaven! it is the voice of a man! Who can he be? Scipio? No; +Scipio cannot yet have left the stable. It cannot be he. Some other of +the plantation people? Jules, the wood-chopper? the errand-boy, +Baptiste? Ha! it is not a negro's voice. No, it is the voice of a +white man! the overseer?" + +As this idea came into my head, a pang at the same time shot through my +heart--a pang, not of jealousy, but something like it. I was angry at +_him_ rather than jealous with _her_. As yet I had heard nothing to +make me jealous. His being present with her, and in conversation, was +no cause. + +"So, my bold nigger-driver," thought I, "you have got over your +predilection for the little Chloe. Not to be wondered at! Who would +waste time gazing at stars when there is such a moon in the sky? Brute +that you are, you are not blind. I see you, too, have an eye to +opportunities, and know when to enter the drawing-room." + +"Hush!" + +Again I listened. When I had first halted, it was through motives of +delicacy. I did not wish to appear too suddenly before the open window, +which would have given me a full view of the interior of the apartment. +I had paused, intending to herald my approach by some noise--a feigned +cough, or a stroke of my foot against the floor. My motives had +undergone a change. I now listened with a design. I could not help it. + +Aurore was speaking. + +I bent my ear close to the window. The voice was at too great a +distance, or uttered too low, for me to hear what was said. I could +hear the silvery tones, but could not distinguish the words. She must +be at the further end of the room, thought I. _Perhaps, upon the sofa_. +This conjecture led me to painful imaginings, till the throbbings of my +heart drowned the murmur that was causing them. + +At length Aurore's speech was ended. I waited for the reply. Perhaps I +might gather from that what _she_ had said. The tones of the male voice +would be loud enough to enable me-- + +Hush! hark! + +I listened--I caught the sound of a voice, but not the words. The sound +was enough. It caused me to start as if stung by an adder. _It was the +voice of Monsieur Dominique Gayarre_! + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. + +A RIVAL. + +I cannot describe the effect produced upon me by this discovery. It was +like a shock of paralysis. It nailed me to the spot, and for some +moments I felt as rigid as a statue, and almost as senseless. Even had +the words uttered by Gayarre been loud enough to reach me, I should +scarce have heard them. My surprise for the moment had rendered me +deaf. + +The antagonism I had conceived towards the speaker, so long as I +believed it to be the brute Larkin, was of a gentle character compared +with that which agitated me now. Larkin might be young and handsome; by +Scipio's account, the latter he certainly was _not_: but even so, I had +little fear of _his_ rivalry. I felt confident that I held the heart of +Aurore, and I knew that the overseer had no power over _her person_. He +was overseer of the field-hands, and other slaves of the plantation-- +their master, with full licence of tongue and lash; but with all that, I +knew that he had no authority over Aurore. For reasons I could not +fathom, the treatment of the quadroon was, and had always been, +different from the other slaves of the plantation. It was not the +whiteness of her skin--her beauty neither--that had gained her this +distinction. These, it is true, often modify the hard lot of the female +slave, sometimes detailing upon her a still more cruel fate; but in the +case of Aurore, there was some very different reason for the kindness +shown her, though _I_ could only _guess_ at it. She had been tenderly +reared alongside her young mistress, had received almost as good an +education, and, in fact, was treated rather as a _sister_ than a +_slave_. Except from Mademoiselle, she received no commands. The +"nigger-driver" had nothing to do with her. I had therefore no dread of +any unlawful influence on his part. + +Far different were my suspicions when I found the voice belonged to +Gayarre. _He_ had power not only over the slave, but the mistress as +well. Though suitor,--as I still believed him,--of Mademoiselle, he +could not be blind to the superior charms of Aurore. Hideous wretch as +I thought him, he might for all be sensible to love. The plainest may +have a passion for the fairest. The Beast loved Beauty. + +The hour he had chosen for his visit, too! that was suspicious of +itself. Just as Mademoiselle had driven out! Had he been there before +she went out and been left by her in the house? Not likely. Scipio +know nothing of his being there, else he would have told me. The black +was aware of my antipathy to Gayarre, and that I did not desire to meet +him. He would certainly have told me. + +"No doubt," thought I, "the visit is a stolen one--the lawyer has come +the back way from his own plantation, has watched till the carriage +drove off, and then skulked in for the very purpose of finding the +quadroon alone!" + +All this flashed upon my mind with the force of conviction, I no longer +doubted that his presence there was the result of design, and not a mere +accident. He was _after_ Aurore. My thoughts took this homely shape. + +When the first shock of my surprise had passed away, my senses returned, +fuller and more vigorous than ever. My nerves seemed freshly strung, +and my ears new set. I placed them as close to the open window as +prudence would allow, and listened. It was not _honourable_, I own, but +in dealing with this wretch I seemed to lose all sense of honour. By +the peculiar circumstances of that moment I was tempted from the strict +path, but it was the "eavesdropping" of a jealous lover, and I cry you +mercy for the act. + +I listened. With an effort I stifled the feverish throbbings of my +heart, and listened. + +And I heard every word that from that moment was said. The voices had +become louder, or rather the speakers had approached nearer. They were +but a few feet from the window! Gayarre was speaking. + +"And does this young fellow dare to make love to your mistress?" + +"Monsieur Dominique, how should I know? I am sure I never saw aught of +the kind. He is very modest, and so Mademoiselle thinks him. I never +knew him to speak one word of love,--not he." + +I fancied I heard a sigh. + +"If he dare," rejoined Gayarre in a tone of bravado; "if he dare hint at +such a thing to Mademoiselle--ay, or _even to you_, Aurore--I shall make +the place too hot for him. He shall visit here no more, the naked +adventurer! On that I am resolved." + +"Oh, Monsieur Gayarre! I'm sure that would vex Mademoiselle very much. +Remember! he saved her life. She is full of gratitude to him. She +continually talks of it, and it would grieve her if Monsieur Edouard was +to come no more. I am sure it would grieve her." + +There was an earnestness, a half-entreaty, in the tone of the speaker +that sounded pleasant to my ears. It suggested the idea that _she, too, +might be grieved_ if Monsieur Edouard were to come no more. + +A like thought seemed to occur to Gayarre, upon whom, however, it made a +very different sort of impression. There was irony mixed with anger in +his reply, which was half interrogative. + +"Perhaps it would grieve _some one else_? Perhaps you? All, indeed! +Is it so? You love him? _Sacr-r-r-r_!" + +There was a hissing emphasis upon the concluding word, that expressed +anger and pain,--the pain of bitter jealousy. + +"Oh monsieur!" replied the quadroon, "how can you speak thus? _I_ love! +I,--a poor slave! Alas! alas!" + +Neither the tone nor substance of this speech exactly pleased me. I +felt a hope, however, that it was but one of the little stratagems of +love: a species of deceit I could easily pardon. It seemed to produce a +pleasant effect on Gayarre, for all at once his voice changed to a +lighter and gayer tone. + +"You a _slave_, beautiful Aurore! No, in my eyes you are a _queen_, +Aurore. Slave! It is your fault if you remain so. You know who has +the power to make you free: ay, and the will too,--the will,--Aurore!" + +"Please not to talk thus, Monsieur Dominique! I have said before I +cannot listen to such speech. I repeat I cannot, and _will_ not!" + +The firm tone was grateful to my ears. + +"Nay, lovely Aurore!" replied Gayarre, entreatingly, "don't be angry +with me! I cannot help it. I cannot help thinking of your welfare. +You _shall_ be free;--no longer the slave of a capricious mistress--" + +"Monsieur Gayarre!" exclaimed the quadroon, interrupting him, "speak not +so of Mademoiselle! You wrong her, Monsieur. She is not capricious. +What if she heard--" + +"_Peste_!" cried Gayarre, interrupting in his turn, and again assuming +his tone of bravado. "What care I if she did? Think you I trouble my +head about her? The world thinks so! ha! ha! ha! Let them!--the fools! +ha! ha! One day they may find it different! ha! ha! They think my +visits here are on _her_ account! ha! ha! ha! No, Aurore,--lovely +Aurore! it is not Mademoiselle I come to see, but _you_,--you, Aurore,-- +whom I _love_,--ay, love with all--" + +"Monsieur Dominique! I repeat--" + +"Dearest Aurore! say you will but love me; say but the word! Oh, speak +it! you shall be no longer a slave,--you shall be free as your mistress +is;--you shall have everything,--every pleasure,--dresses, jewels, at +will; my house shall be under your control,--you shall command in it, +_as if you were my wife_." + +"Enough, Monsieur! enough! Your insult--I hear no more!" + +The voice was firm and indignant. Hurrah! + +"Nay, dearest, loveliest Aurore! do not go yet,--hear me--" + +"I hear no more, Sir,--Mademoiselle shall know--" + +"A word, a word! one kiss, Aurore! on my knees, I beg--" + +I heard the knocking of a pair of knees on the floor, followed by a +struggling sound, and loud angry exclamations on the part of Aurore. + +This I considered to be my cue, and three steps brought me within the +room, and within as many feet of the kneeling gallant. The wretch was +actually on his "marrow-bones," holding the girl by the wrist, and +endeavouring to draw her towards him. She, on the contrary, was +exerting all her women's strength to get away; which, not being so +inconsiderable, resulted in the ludicrous spectacle of the kneeling +suitor being dragged somewhat rapidly across the carpet! + +His back was toward me as I entered, and the first intimation he had of +my presence was a boisterous laugh, which for the life of me I could not +restrain. It lasted until long after he had released his captive, and +gathered his limbs into an upright position; and, indeed, so loud did it +sound in my own ears, that I did not hear the threats of vengeance he +was muttering in return. + +"What business have _you_ here, Sir?" was his first intelligible +question. + +"I need not ask the same of you, Monsieur Dominique Gayarre. _Your_ +business I can tell well enough ha! ha! ha!" + +"I ask you, Sir," he repeated, in a still angrier tone, "what's your +business here?" + +"I did not come here on _business_, Monsieur," said I, still keeping up +the tone of levity. "I did not come here on business, _any more than +yourself_." + +The emphasis on the last words seemed to render him furious. + +"The sooner you go the better, then," he shouted, with a bullying frown. + +"For whom?" I inquired. + +"For yourself, Sir," was the reply. + +I had now also lost temper, though not altogether command of myself. + +"Monsieur," said I, advancing and confronting him, "I have yet to learn +that the house of Mademoiselle Besancon is the property of Monsieur +Dominique Gayarre. If it were so, I would be less disposed to respect +the sanctity of its roof. You, Sir, have not respected it. You have +acted infamously towards this young girl--this young _lady_, for she +merits the title as much as the best blood in your land. I have +witnessed your dastardly conduct, and heard your insulting proposals--" + +Here Gayarre started, but said nothing. I continued-- + +"You are not a gentleman, Sir; and therefore not worthy to stand before +my pistol. The owner of this house is not at home. At present it is as +much mine as yours; and I promise you, that if you are not out of it in +ten seconds you shall have my whip laid with severity upon your +shoulders." + +I said all this in a tone sufficiently moderate, and in cool blood. +Gayarre must have seen that I meant it, for I _did_ mean it. + +"You shall pay dearly for this," he hissed out. "You shall find that +this is not the country for a _spy_." + +"Go, Sir!" + +"And you, my fine pattern of quadroon virtue," he added, bending a +malicious glance upon Aurore, "there may come a day when you'll be less +prudish: a day when you'll not find such a gallant protector." + +"Another word, and--" + +The uplifted whip would have fallen on his shoulders. He did not wait +for that, but gliding through the door, shuffled off over the verandah. + +I stopped outside to make sure that he was gone. Advancing to the end +of the platform I looked over the paling. The chattering of the birds +told me that some one was passing through the shrubbery. + +I watched till I saw the gate open. I could just distinguish a head +above the palings moving along the road. I easily recognised it as that +of the disappointed seducer. + +As I turned back, towards the drawing-room I forgot that such a creature +existed! + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. + +AN HOUR OF BLISS. + +Sweet is gratitude under any circumstances; how much sweeter when +expressed in the eyes and uttered by the lips of those we love! + +I re-entered the room, my heart swelling with delightful emotions. +Gratitude was poured forth in, lavish yet graceful expressions. Before +I could utter a word, or stretch out a hand to hinder, the beautiful +girl had glided across the room, and fallen into a kneeling posture at +my feet! Her thanks came from her heart. + +"Rise, lovely Aurore!" said I, taking her unresisting hand, and leading +her to a seat. "What I have done is scarce worth thanks like thine. +Who would have acted otherwise?" + +"Ah, Monsieur!--many, many. You know not this land. There are few to +protect the poor slave. The chivalry, so much boasted here, extends not +to _us_. We, in whose veins runs the accursed blood, are beyond the +pale both of honour and protection. Ah me, noble stranger! you know not +for how much I am your debtor!" + +"Call me not _stranger_, Aurore. It is true we have had but slight +opportunity of conversing, but our acquaintance is old enough to render +that title no longer applicable. I would you would speak to me by one +more _endearing_." + +"Endearing! Monsieur, I do not understand you!" + +Her large brown eyes were fixed upon me in a gaze of wonder, but they +also interrogated me. + +"Yes, endearing--I mean, Aurore--that you will not shun me--that you +will give me your confidence--that you will regard me as a friend--a-- +a--brother." + +"You, Monsieur! you as my brother--a white--a gentleman, high-born and +educated! I--I--oh Heavens! what am I? A slave--a slave--whom men love +only to _ruin_. O God!--why is my destiny so hard? O God!" + +"Aurore!" I cried, gathering courage from her agony, "Aurore, listen to +me! to me, your friend, your--" + +She removed her hands that had been clasped across her face, and looked +up. Her swimming eyes were bent steadfastly upon mine, and regarded me +with a look of interrogation. + +At that moment a train of thought crossed my mind. In words it was +thus: "How long may we be alone? We may be interrupted? So fair an +opportunity may not offer again. There is no time to waste in idle +converse. I must at once to the object of my visit." + +"Aurore!" I said, "it is the first time we have met alone. I have +longed for this interview. I have a word that can only be spoken to you +alone." + +"To me alone, Monsieur! What is it?" + +"_Aurore, I love you_!" + +"Love _me_! Oh, Monsieur, it is not possible!" + +"Ah! more than possible--it is _true_. Listen, Aurore! From the first +hour I beheld you--I might almost say before that hour, for you were in +my heart before I was conscious of having seen you--from, that first +hour I loved you--not with a villain's love, such as you have this +moment spurned, but with a pure and honest passion. And passion I may +well call it, for it absorbs every other feeling of my soul. Morning +and night, Aurore, I think but of you. You are in my dreams, and +equally the companion of my waking hours. Do not fancy my love so calm, +because I am now speaking so calmly about it. Circumstances render me +so. I have approached you with a determined purpose--one long resolved +upon--and that, perhaps, gives me this firmness in declaring my love. I +have said, Aurore, that I love you. I repeat it again--_with my heart +and soul, I love you_!" + +"Love _me_! poor girl!" + +There was something so ambiguous in the utterance of the last phrase, +that I paused a moment in my reply. It seemed as though the sympathetic +interjection had been meant for some third person rather than herself! + +"Aurore," I continued, after a pause, "I have told you all. I have been +candid. I only ask equal candour in return. _Do you love me_?" + +I should have put this question less calmly, but that I felt already +half-assured of the answer. + +We were seated on the sofa, and near each other. Before I had finished +speaking, I felt her soft fingers touch mine--close upon them, and press +them gently together. When the question was delivered, her head fell +forward on my breast, and I heard murmuring from her lips the simple +words--"_I too from the first hour_!" + +My arms, hitherto restrained, were now twined around the yielding form, +and for some moments neither uttered a word. Love's paroxysm is best +enjoyed in silence. The wild intoxicating kiss, the deep mutual glance, +the pressure of hands and arms and burning lips, all these need no +tongue to make them intelligible. For long moments ejaculations of +delight, phrases of tender endearment, were the only words that escaped +us. We were too happy to converse. Our lips paid respect to the +solemnity of our hearts. + +It was neither the place nor time for Love to go blind, and prudence +soon recalled me to myself. There was still much to be said, and many +plans to be discussed before our new-sprung happiness should be secured +to us. Both were aware of the abyss that still yawned between us. Both +were aware that a thorny path must be trodden before we could reach the +elysium of our hopes. Notwithstanding our present bliss, the future was +dark and dangerous; and the thought of this soon startled us from our +short sweet dream. + +Aurora had no longer any _fear_ of my love. She did not even wrong me +with suspicion. She doubted not my purpose to make her my _wife_. Love +and gratitude stifled every doubt, and we now conversed with a mutual +confidence which years of friendship could scarce have established. + +But we talked with hurried words. We knew not the moment we might be +interrupted. We knew not when again we might meet alone. We had need +to be brief. + +I explained to her my circumstances--that in a few days I expected a sum +of money--enough, I believed, for the purpose. What purpose? _The +purchase of my bride_! + +"Then," added I, "nothing remains but to get married, Aurore!" + +"Alas!" replied she with a sigh, "even were I free, we could not be +married _here_. Is it not a wicked law that persecutes us even when +pretending to give us freedom?" + +I assented. + +"We could not get married," she continued, evidently suffering under +painful emotion, "we could not unless you could swear there was African +blood in your veins! Only think of such a law in a Christian land!" + +"Think _not_ of it, Aurore," said I, wishing to cheer her. "There shall +be no difficulty about swearing that. I shall take this gold pin from +your hair, open this beautiful blue vein in your arm, drink from it, and +take the oath!" + +The quadroon smiled, but the moment after her look of sadness returned. + +"Come, dearest Aurore! chase away such thoughts! What care we to be +married here? We shall go elsewhere. There are lands as fair as +Louisiana, and churches as fine as Saint Gabriel to be married in. We +shall go northward--to England--to France--anywhere. Let not that +grieve you!" + +"It is not that which grieves me." + +"What then, dearest?" + +"Oh! It is--I fear--" + +"Tear not to tell me." + +"That you will not be able--" + +"Declare it, Aurore." + +"To become _my master_--_to_--_to buy me_!" + +Here the poor girl hung her head, as if ashamed to speak of such +conditions. I saw the hot tears springing from her eyes. + +"And why do you fear." I inquired. + +"Others have tried. Large sums they offered--larger even than that you +have named, and they could not. They failed in their intentions, and +oh! how grateful was I to Mademoiselle! That was my only protection. +She would not part with me. How glad was I then! but now--now how +different!--the very opposite!" + +"But I shall give more--my whole fortune. Surely that will suffice. +The offers you speak of were infamous proposals, like that of Monsieur +Gayarre. Mademoiselle knew it; she was too good to accept them." + +"That is true, but she will equally refuse yours. I fear it, alas! +alas!" + +"Nay, I shall confess all to Mademoiselle. I shall declare to her my +honourable design. I shall implore her consent. Surely she will not +refuse. Surely she feels gratitude--" + +"Oh, Monsieur!" cried Aurore, interrupting me, "she _is_ grateful--you +know not how grateful; but never, never will she--You know not all-- +alas! alas!" + +With a fresh burst of tears filling her eyes, the beautiful girl sank +down on the sofa, hiding her face under the folds of her luxuriant hair. + +I was puzzled by these expressions, and about to ask for an explanation, +when the noise of carriage-wheels fell upon my ear. I sprang forward to +the open window, and looked over the tops of the orange-trees. I could +just see the head of a man, whom I recognised as the coachman of +Mademoiselle Besancon. The carriage was approaching the gate. + +In the then tumult of my feelings I could not trust myself to meet the +lady, and, bidding a hurried adieu to Aurore, I rushed from the +apartment. + +When outside I saw that, if I went by the front gate I should risk an +encounter. I knew there was a small side-wicket that led to the +stables, and a road ran thence to the woods. This would carry me to +Bringiers by a back way, and stepping off from the verandah, I passed +through the wicket, and directed myself towards the stables in the rear. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. + +THE "NIGGER QUARTER." + +I soon reached the stables, where I was welcomed by a low whimper from +my horse. Scipio was not there. + +"He is gone upon some other business," thought I; "perhaps to meet the +carriage. No matter, I shall not summon him. The saddle is on, and I +can bridle the steed myself--only poor Scipio loses his quarter-dollar." + +I soon had my steed bitted and bridled; and, leading the animal outside, +I sprang into the saddle, and rode off. + +The path I was taking led past the "negro quarters," and then through +some fields to the dark cypress and tupelo woods in the rear. From +these led a cross-way that would bring me out again upon the Levee road. +I had travelled this path many a time, and knew it well enough. + +The "nigger quarter" was distant some two hundred yards from the "grande +maison," or "big house," of the plantation. It consisted of some fifty +or sixty little "cabins," neatly built, and standing in a double row, +with a broad way between. Each cabin was a facsimile of its neighbour, +and in front of each grew a magnolia or a beautiful China-tree, under +the shade of whose green leaves and sweet-scented flowers little negroes +might be seen all the livelong day, disporting their bodies in the dust. +These, of all sizes, from the "piccaninny" to the "good-sized chunk of +a boy," and of every shade of slave-colour, from the fair-skinned +quadroon to the black Bambarra, on whom, by an American witticism of +doubtful truthfulness; "charcoal would make a white mark!" Divesting +them of dust, you would have no difficulty in determining their +complexion. Their little plump bodies were nude, from the top of their +woolly heads to their long projecting heels. There roll they, black and +yellow urchins, all the day, playing with pieces of sugar-cane, or +melon-rind, or corn-cobs--cheerful and happy as any little lords could +be in their well-carpeted nurseries in the midst of the costliest toys +of the German bazaar! + +On entering the negro quarter, you cannot fail to observe tall papaw +poles or cane-reeds stuck up in front of many of the cabins, and +carrying upon their tops large, yellow gourd-shells, each perforated +with a hole in the side. These are the dwellings of the purple martin, +(_Hirundo purpurea_)--the most beautiful of American swallows, and a +great favourite among the simple negroes, as it had been, long before +their time, among the red aborigines of the soil. You will notice, too, +hanging in festoons along the walls of the cabins, strings of red and +green pepper-pods (species of capsicum); and here and there a bunch of +some dried herb of medicinal virtue, belonging to the negro +_pharmacopoeia_. All these are the property of "aunt Phoebe," or "aunty +Cleopatra," or "ole aunt Phillis;" and the delicious "pepper pot" that +any one of those "aunts" can make out of the aforesaid green and red +capsicums, assisted by a few other ingredients from the little garden +"patch" in the rear of the cabin, would bring water to the teeth of an +epicure. + +Perhaps on the cabin walls you will see suspended representatives of the +animal kingdom--perhaps the skin of a rabbit, a raccoon, an opossum, or +the grey fox--perhaps also that of the musk-rat (_Fiber zibethicus_), +or, rarer still, the swamp wild-cat (bay lynx--_Lynx rufus_). The owner +of the cabin upon which hangs the lynx-skin will be the Nimrod of the +hour, for the cat is among the rarest and noblest game of the +Mississippi _fauna_. The skin of the panther (_cougar_) or deer you +will not see, for although both inhabit the neighbouring forest, they +are too high game for the negro hunter, who is not permitted the use of +a gun. The smaller "varmints" already enumerated can be captured +without such aid, and the pelts you see hanging upon the cabins are the +produce of many a moonlight hunt undertaken by "Caesar," or "Scipio," or +"Hannibal," or "Pompey." Judging by the nomenclature of the negro +quarter, you might fancy yourself in ancient Rome or Carthage! + +The great men above-named, however, are never trusted with such a +dangerous weapon as a rifle. To their _skill_ alone do they owe their +success in the chase; and their weapons are only a stick, an axe, and a +"'coon-dog" of mongrel race. Several of these last you may see rolling +about in the dust among the "piccaninnies," and apparently as happy as +they. But the hunting trophies that adorn the walls do not hang there +as mere ornaments. No, they are spread out to dry, and will soon give +place to others--for there is a constant export going on. When uncle +Ceez, or Zip, or Hanny, or Pomp, get on their Sunday finery, and repair +to the village, each carries with him his stock of small pelts. There +the storekeeper has a talk with them, and a "pic" (picayune) for the +"mussrat," a "bit" (Spanish real) for the "'coon," and a "quarter" for +the fox or "cat," enable these four avuncular hunters to lay in a great +variety of small luxuries for the four "aunties" at home; which little +comforts are most likely excluded from the regular rice-and-pork rations +of the plantation. + +So much is a little bit of the domestic economy of the negro quarter. + +On entering the little village,--for the negro quarter of a grand +plantation merits the title,--you cannot fail to observe all of these +little matters. They are the salient points of the picture. + +You will observe, too, the house of the "overseer" standing apart; or, +as in the case of the plantation Besancon, at the end of the double row, +and fronting the main avenue. This, of course, is of a more pretentious +style of architecture; can boast of Venetian blinds to the windows, two +stories of height, and a "porch." It is enclosed with a paling to keep +off the intrusion of the children, but the dread of the painted cowhide +renders the paling almost superfluous. + +As I approached the "quarter," I was struck with the peculiar character +of the picture it presented,--the overseer's house towering above the +humbler cabins, seeming to protect and watch over them, suggesting the +similarity of a hen with her brood of chickens. + +Here and there the great purple swallows boldly cleft the air, or, +poised on wing by the entrance of their gourd-shell dwellings, uttered +their cheerful "tweet--tweet--tweet;" while the fragrant odour of the +China-trees and magnolias scented the atmosphere to a long distance +around. + +When nearer still, I could distinguish the hum of human voices--of men, +women, and children--in that peculiar tone which characterises the voice +of the African. I fancied the little community as I had before seen +it--the men and women engaged in various occupations--some resting from +their labour, (for it was now after field hours,) seated in front of +their tent-like cabins, under the shade-tree, or standing in little +groups gaily chatting with each other--some by the door mending their +fishing-nets and tackle, by which they intended to capture the great +"cat" and "buffalo fish" of the bayous--some "chopping" firewood at the +common "wood-pile," which half-grown urchins were "toating," to the +cabins, so that "aunty" might prepare the evening-meal. + +I was musing on the patriarchal character of such a picture, +half-inclined towards the "one-man power"--if not in the shape of a +slaveholder, yet something after the style of Rapp and his "social +economists." + +"What a saving of state machinery," soliloquised I, "in this patriarchal +form! How charmingly simple! and yet how complete and efficient!" + +Just so, but I had overlooked one thing, and that was the imperfectness +of human nature--the possibility--the probability--nay, the almost +certainty, that the _patriarch_ will pass into the _tyrant_. + +Hark! a voice louder than common! It is a cry! + +Of cheerful import? No--on the contrary, it sounds like the utterance +of some one in pain. It is a cry of agony! The murmur of other voices, +too, heard at short intervals, carries to my ear that deep portentous +sound which accompanies some unnatural occurrence. + +Again I hear the cry of agony--deeper and louder than before! It comes +from the direction of the negro quarter. What is causing it? + +I gave the spur to my horse, and galloped in the direction of the +cabins. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. + +THE DEVIL'S DOUCHE. + +In a few seconds I entered the wide avenue between the cabins, and +drawing bridle, sat glancing around me. + +My patriarchal dreams vanished at the sight that met my eyes. Before me +was a scene of tyranny, of torture--a scene from the tragedy of +slave-life! + +At the upper end of the quarter, and on one side of the overseer's +house, was an enclosure. It was the enclosure of the sugar-mill--a +large building which stood a little further back. Inside the fence was +a tall pump, rising full ten feet in height, with the spout near its +top. The purpose of this pump was to yield a stream of water, which was +conducted to the sugar-house by means of a slender trough, that served +as an aqueduct. + +A platform was raised a few feet above the ground, so as to enable the +person working the pump to reach its handle. + +To this spot my attention was directed by seeing that the negroes of the +quarter were grouped around it, while the women and children, clinging +along the fence, had their eyes bent in the same direction. + +The faces of all--men, women, and children--wore an ominous and gloomy +expression; and the attitudes in which they stood betokened terror and +alarm. Murmurs I could hear--now and then ejaculations--and sobs that +bespoke sympathy with some one who suffered. I saw scowling brows, as +if knit by thoughts of vengeance. But these last were few--the more +general expression was one of terror and submission. + +It was not difficult to tell that the cry I had heard proceeded from the +neighbourhood of the pump, and a glance unfolded the cause. Some poor +slave was undergoing punishment! + +A group of negroes hid the unfortunate from my view, but over their +heads I could see the slave Gabriel, his body naked to the breech, +mounted upon the platform and working the pump with all his might. + +This Gabriel was a Bambarra negro, of huge size and strength, branded on +both shoulders with the _fleur-de-lis_. He was a man of fierce aspect, +and, as I had heard, of fierce and brutal habit--feared not only by the +other negroes, but by the whites with whom he came in contact. It was +not he that was undergoing punishment. On the contrary, he was the +instrument of torture. + +And torture it was--I knew the punishment well. + +The trough or aqueduct had been removed; and the victim was placed at +the bottom of the pump, directly under the spout. He was fast bound in +a species of stocks; and in such a position that he could not move his +head, which _received the continuous jet in the very centre of the +crown_! + +Torture? No doubt, you are incredulous? You fancy there can be no +great torture in that. A simple shock--a shower-bath--nothing more! + +You are right. For the first half-minute or so it is but a shock, a +shower-bath, but then-- + +Believe me when I declare to you--that a stream of molten lead--an axe +continually crashing through the skull--would not be more painful than +the falling of this cold-water jet! It is torture beyond endurance-- +agony indescribable. Well may it be called the "devil's douche." + +Again the agonised cry came from the pump, almost curdling my blood. + +As I have said, I could not see the sufferer at first. A row of bodies +was interposed between him and me. The negroes, however, seeing me ride +up, eagerly opened their ranks and fell back a pace, as if desiring I +should be a witness to what was going forward. They all knew me, and +all had some impression that I _sympathised_ with their unfortunate +race. + +This opening gave me a full view of the horrid spectacle, disclosing a +group that made me start in the saddle. Under the torture was the +victim--a man of sable hue. Close by him, a large mulatto woman and a +young girl of the same complexion--mother and daughter--stood folded in +each other's arms, both weeping bitterly. I could hear their sobs and +ejaculations, even at the distance of a score of yards, and above the +plashing sound of the falling water. I recognised at a glance who these +were--they were the little Chloe and her mother! + +Quick as lightning my eyes were directed towards the sufferer. The +water, as it bounded from his crown, spread into a glassy sheet, that +completely concealed his head, but the huge, fin-like, projecting ears +told me who was the victim. It was Scipio! + +Again his cry of agony pealed upon my ears, deep and prolonged, as +though it issued from the innermost recesses of his soul! + +I did not wait till that cry was ended. A fence of six rails separated +me from the sufferer; but what of that? I did not hesitate a moment, +but winding my horse round to give him the run, I headed him at the +leap, and with a touch of the spur lifted him into the inclosure. I did +not even stay to dismount, but galloping up to the platform, laid my +whip across the naked shoulders of the Bambarra with all the force that +lay in my arm. The astonished savage dropped the pump-handle as if it +had been iron at a white heat; and leaping from the platform, ran off +howling to his cabin! + +Exclamations and loud murmurings of applause followed; but my horse, +brought so suddenly to this exciting work, snorted and plunged, and it +was some time before I could quiet him. While thus engaged, I observed +that the exclamations were suddenly discontinued; and the murmurs of +applause were succeeded by a dead, ominous silence! I could hear +several of the negroes nearest me muttering some words of caution, as +though meant for me; among others the cry of-- + +"De oberseer! de oberseer! Look out, mass'r! Dar he kum!" + +At that moment an abominable oath, uttered in a loud voice, reached my +ears. I looked in the direction whence it came. As I anticipated, it +was the overseer. + +He was just issuing from the back-door of his house, from a window of +which he had been all the while a spectator of Scipio's torture! + +I had not come in contact with this person before; and I now saw +approaching a man of fierce and brutal aspect, somewhat flashily +dressed, and carrying in his hand a thick waggon-whip. I could see that +his face was livid with rage, and that he was directing himself to +attack me. I had no weapon but my riding-whip, and with this I prepared +to receive his assault. + +He came on at a run, all the while venting the most diabolical curses. + +When he had got nearly up to my horse's head, he stopped a moment, and +thundered out-- + +"Who the Hell are you, meddling with my affairs? Who the damn are--" + +He suddenly paused in his speech, and stood staring in astonishment. I +reciprocated that astonishment, for I had now recognised in the brutal +overseer my antagonist of the boat! the hero of the bowie-knife! At the +same instant he recognised me. + +The pause which was the result of our mutual surprise, lasted but a +moment. + +"Hell and furies!" cried the ruffian, changing his former tone only into +one more horribly furious-- + +"It's _you_, is it? Whip be damned! I've something else for _you_." + +And as he said this he drew a pistol from his coat, and hastily cocking +it, aimed it at my breast. + +I was still on horseback and in motion, else he would no doubt have +delivered his fire at once; but my horse reared up at the gleam of the +pistol, and his body was thus interposed between mine and its muzzle. + +As I have said, I had no weapon but the whip. Fortunately it was a +stout hunting-whip, with loaded butt. I hastily turned it in my hand, +and just as the hoofs of my horse came back to the earth, I drove the +spur so deeply into his ribs that he sprang forward more than his own +length. This placed me in the very spot I wanted to be--alongside my +ruffian antagonist, who, taken aback by my sudden change of position, +hesitated a moment before taking fresh aim. Before he could pull +trigger, the butt of my whip descended upon his skull, and doubled him +up in the dust! His pistol went off as he fell, and the bullet ploughed +up the ground between my horse's hoofs, but fortunately hit no one. The +weapon itself new out of his hand, and lay beside him where he had +fallen. + +It was a mere lucky hit--all owing to the spur being touched, and my +horse having sprung forward in good time. Had I missed the blow, I +should not likely have had a second chance. The pistol was +double-barrelled, and on examination I found he carried another of a +similar kind. + +He was now lying as still as if asleep, and I began to fear I had killed +him. This would have been a serious matter. Although perfectly +justifiable in me to have done so, who was to show that? The evidence +of those around me--the whole of them together--was not worth the +asseveration of one white man; and under the circumstances not worth a +straw. Indeed, considering what had immediately led to the rencontre, +such testimony would have been more likely to _damage_ my case than +otherwise! I felt myself in an awkward situation. + +I now dismounted, and approached the prostrate form, around which the +blacks were congregating. They made way for me. + +I knelt down and examined the head. It was cut and bleeding, but the +skull was still sound! + +The knowledge of this fact set my mind at rest, and before I rose to my +feet I had the satisfaction to see that the fellow was coming to his +senses, under the influence of a douche of cold-water. The butt of the +second pistol came under my eye, as it stuck out from the breast of his +coat. I drew it forth, and along with its fellow took them into my own +keeping. + +"Tell him," said I, "as soon as he comes to himself, that when he next +attacks me, I shall have pistols as well as he!" + +Having ordered him to be carried into the house, I now turned my +attention to his victim. Poor Scipio! he had been most cruelly +tortured, and it was some time before he recovered his faculties, so as +to be able to tell me why he had been thus punished. + +The relation he at length gave, and it made the blood boil afresh within +my veins. He had surprised the overseer in some of the outbuildings +with little Chloe in his arms, the child crying out and struggling to +get free. Natural indignation on the part of the father led to a blow-- +an offence for which Scipio might have lost an arm; but the white +wretch, knowing that he dare not, for his own sake, expose the motive, +had commuted Scipio's legal punishment to a little private torture under +the pump! + +My first impulse on hearing this sad story was to return to the house, +report what had occurred to Mademoiselle, and urge upon her the +necessity of getting rid of this savage overseer at all risk. + +After a little reflection I changed my mind. I purposed to return upon +the morrow, on business of--to me--much greater importance. To-morrow +it was my intention to _bid for Aurore_! + +"I can then," thought I, "introduce the case of poor Scipio. Perhaps it +may be an introduction to the `graver theme?'" + +Having promised this much to my old attendant, I mounted my horse, and +rode off, amidst a shower of blessings. + +As I passed through the avenue at a walk, women and half-grown girls +hurried from their doors, and kissed my feet as they hung in the +stirrups! + +The burning love which so late filled my heart was for a moment unfelt. +Its place was occupied by a calm, sweet happiness--the happiness that +springs from benefaction! + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. + +GAYARRE AND "BULLY BILL." + +On riding out from the quarter I changed my intention of taking the back +road. My visit would no doubt become known to Mademoiselle, and it +differed not if I should now be seen from the house. My blood was up-- +so was that of my horse. A rail-fence was nothing to either of us now; +so heading round, I cleared a couple of palings; and then striking +across a cotton-field arrived once more on the Levee road. + +After a while, as soon as I had cooled down my horse, I rode slowly, +reflecting upon what had just happened. + +It was evident that this ruffian had been put upon the plantation by +Gayarre for some secret purpose. Whether he and the lawyer had had +previous acquaintance I could not guess; but such men have a sort of +instinctive knowledge of one another, and he might be only a waif that +the latter had picked up since the night of the wreck. On the boat I +had supposed him to be some rough gambler, by the propensity he +exhibited for betting; and possibly he might have been playing that +_role_ of late. It was evident, however, that "negro-driving" was his +trade; at all events it was not new to him. + +Strange that he had been all this time on the plantation without knowing +of me! But that could be easily accounted for. He had never seen me +during my stay at the house. Moreover, he may have been ignorant that +Mademoiselle was the lady with whom he intended to have shared the +life-preserver. This last hypothesis was probable enough, for there +were other ladies who escaped by means of rafts, and sofas, and +life-preservers. I fancied he had not seen Mademoiselle until she was +springing over the guards, and would therefore scarce recognise her +again. + +The cause of my being an invalid was only known to Mademoiselle, Aurore, +and Scipio; and the latter had been charged not to carry this knowledge +to the negro quarter. Then the fellow was but new on the plantation, +and had but little intercourse with its mistress, as he received most of +his orders from Gayarre; besides, he was but a dull brute after all. + +It was just like enough that, up to the moment of our late encounter, he +had no suspicion either that I was his former antagonist on the boat, or +Eugenie Besancon the lady who had escaped him. He must have known of my +presence on the plantation, but only as one of the survivors of the +wreck, badly wounded,--scalded, perhaps,--but there had been a number of +others, picked up,--scarce a house for some distance along the coast but +had given shelter to some wounded or half-drowned unfortunate. He had +been busy with his own affairs; or rather, perhaps, those of Gayarre: +for I had no doubt there was some conspiracy between them in which this +fellow was to play a part. Dull as he was, he had something which his +employer might regard of more value than intellect; something, too, +which the latter himself lacked,--brute strength and brute courage. +Gayarre no doubt had a use for him, else he would not have been there. + +He knew me now, and was not likely soon to forget me. Would he seek +revenge? Beyond doubt he would, but I fancied it would be by some base +underhand means. I had no fear that he would again attack me openly, at +least by himself. I felt quite sure that I had conquered, and +encowardiced him. I had encountered his like before. I know that his +courage was not of that character to outlive defeat. It was the courage +of the bravo. + +I had no fear of an open attack. All I had to apprehend was some, +secret revenge, or perhaps the law! + +You will wonder that any thought or dread of the latter should have +occurred to me: but it did; and I had my reasons. + +The knowledge of Gayarre's designs, the detection of his villainous +purpose with Aurore, and my rencontre with Larkin, had brought matters +to a crisis. I was filled with anxiety, and convinced of the necessity +of a speedy interview with Mademoiselle, in relation to what was nearest +to my heart, _the purchase of the quadroon_. There was no reason why a +single hour should be wasted, now that Aurore and I understood each +other, and had, in fact, _betrothed_ ourselves. + +I even thought of riding back at once, and had turned my horse for the +purpose. I hesitated. My resolution wavered. I wheeled round again, +and kept on to Bringiers, with the determination to return to the +plantation at an early hour in the morning. + +I entered the village and proceeded straight to the hotel. On my table +I found a letter containing a cheque for two hundred pounds on the +Bringiers bank. It was from my banking agent in New Orleans, who had +received it from England. The letter also contained the information +that five hundred more would reach me in a few days. The sum received +was a pleasant relief, and would enable me to discharge my pecuniary +obligations to Reigart; which in the next hour I had the pleasure of +doing. + +I passed a night of great anxiety,--almost a sleepless night. No +wonder. To-morrow was to be a crisis. For me, happiness or misery was +in the womb of to-morrow. A thousand hopes and fears hung suspended on +the result of my interview with Eugenie Besancon. I actually looked +forward to this interview with more anxiety than I had done but a few +hours ago to that with Aurore! Perhaps, because I had less confidence +in a favourable result. + +As early as etiquette would allow of a morning visit, I was in the +saddle, and heading towards the plantation Besancon. + +As I rode out of the village I noticed that men regarded me with glances +that bespoke an unusual interest. + +"My affair with the overseer is already known," thought I. "No doubt +the negroes have spread the report of it. Such matters soon become +public." + +I was unpleasantly impressed with an idea that the expression on +people's faces was anything but a friendly one. Had I committed an +unpopular act in protecting myself? Usually the conqueror in such an +encounter is rather popular than otherwise, in the chivalric land of +Louisiana. Why, then, did men look scowling upon me? What had I done +to merit reproach? I had "whipped" a rude fellow, whom men esteemed a +"bully;" and in self-defence had I acted. The act should have gained me +applause, according to the code of the country. Why then,--ha! stay! I +had interfered between _white_ and _black_. I had _protected a slave +from punishment_. Perhaps that might account for the disagreeable +expression I had observed! + +I could just guess at another cause, of a very different and somewhat +ludicrous character. It had got rumoured abroad that I "was upon good +terms with Mademoiselle Besancon," and that it was not unlikely that one +of these fine days the adventurer, whom nobody knew anything about, +would carry off the rich plantress! + +There is no part of the world where such a _bonne fortune_ is not +regarded with envy. The United States is no exception to the rule; and +I had reason to know that on account of this absurd rumour I was not +very favourably regarded by some of the young planters and dandy +storekeepers who loitered about the streets of Bringiers. + +I rode on without heeding the "black looks" that were cast upon me, and +indeed soon ceased thinking of them. My mind was too full of anxiety +about the approaching interview to be impressed with minor cares. + +Of course Eugenie would have heard all about the affair of yesterday. +What would be her feelings in relation to it? I felt certain that this +ruffian was forced upon, her by Gayarre. She would have no sympathy +with _him_. The question was, would she have the courage--nay, the +_power_ to discharge him from her service? Even on hearing _who_ he +was? It was doubtful enough! + +I was overwhelmed with sympathy for this poor girl. I felt satisfied +that Gayarre must be her creditor to a large amount, and in that way had +her in his power. What he had said to Aurore convinced me that such was +the case. Indeed, Reigart had heard some whisper that his debt had +already been proved before the courts in New Orleans; that no opposition +had been made; that he had obtained a verdict, and could seize upon her +property, or as much of it as would satisfy his demands, at any moment! +It was only the night before Reigart had told me this, and the +information had rendered me all the more anxious to hasten my business +in relation to Aurore. + +I spurred into a gallop, and soon came in sight of the plantation. +Having arrived at the gate, I dismounted. There was no one to hold my +horse, but that is a slight matter in America, where a gate-post or a +branch of a tree often serves as a groom. + +Bethinking me of this ready expedient I tossed my rein over one of the +palings, and walked toward the house. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY NINE. + +"ELLE T'AIME!" + +It was natural I should have thoughts about my yesterday's antagonist. +Would I encounter him? Not likely. The butt of my whip had no doubt +given him a headache that would confine him for some days to his +quarters. But I was prepared for any event. Under my waistcoat were +his own double-barrelled pistols, which I intended to use, if attacked. +It was my first essay at carrying "concealed weapons," but it was the +fashion of the country at the time--a fashion followed by nineteen out +of every twenty persons you met--by planters, merchants, lawyers, +doctors, and even divines! So prepared, I had no fear of an encounter +with "Bully Bill." If my pulse beat quick and my step was nervous, it +was on account of the anticipated interview with his mistress. + +With all the coolness I could command, I entered the house. + +I found Mademoiselle in the drawing-room. She received me without +reserve or embarrassment. To my surprise as well as gratification she +appeared more cheerful than usual. I could even detect a significant +smile! I fancied she was pleased at what had occurred; for of course +she was aware of it all. I could understand this well enough. + +Aurore was not present. I was glad she was not. I hoped she would not +come into the room--_at least for a time_. I was embarrassed. I scarce +knew how to open the conversation, much less to break to Mademoiselle +the matter that was nearest my heart. A few ordinary phrases passed +between us, and then our conversation turned upon the affair of +yesterday. I told her all--everything--except the scene with Aurore. +That was omitted. + +I hesitated for some time whether I should let her know _who_ her +overseer was. When she should ascertain that he was the fellow who had +wounded me on the boat, and who but for me would have taken away her +chances of safety, I felt certain she would insist upon getting rid of +him at all risks. + +For a moment I reflected upon the consequences. "She will never be +safe," thought I, "with such a ruffian at her side. Better for her to +make stand at once." Under this belief I boldly came out with the +information. + +She seemed astounded, and clasping her hands, remained for some moments +in an attitude of mute agony. At length she cried out-- + +"Gayarre--Gayarre! it is you, Monsieur Gayarre! Oh! _mon Dieu! mon +Dieu_! Where is my father? where is Antoine? God have mercy upon me!" + +The expression of grief upon her lovely countenance went to my heart. +She looked an angel of sorrow, sad but beautiful. + +I interrupted her with consolatory phrases of the ordinary kind. Though +I could only guess the nature of her sorrow, she listened to me +patiently, and I fancied that what I said gave her pleasure. + +Taking courage from this, I proceeded to inquire more particularly the +cause of her grief. "Mademoiselle," said I, "you will pardon the +liberty I am taking; but for some time I have observed, or fancied, that +you have a cause of--of--unhappiness--" + +She fixed her eyes upon me in a gaze of silent wonder. I hesitated a +moment under this strange regard, and then continued-- + +"Pardon me, Mademoiselle, if I speak too boldly; I assure you my +motive--" + +"Speak on, Monsieur!" she said, in a calm sad voice. + +"I noticed this the more, because when I first had the pleasure of +seeing you, your manner was so very different--in fact, quite the +reverse--" + +A sigh and a sad smile were the only reply. These interrupted me for +but a moment, and I proceeded:-- + +"When first observing this change, Mademoiselle, I attributed it to +grief for the loss of your faithful servitor and friend." + +Another melancholy smile. + +"But the period of sorrowing for such a cause is surely past, and yet--" + +"And yet you observe that I am still sad?" + +"Just so, Mademoiselle." + +"True, Monsieur; it is even so." + +"I have ceased therefore to regard that as the cause of your melancholy; +and have been forced to think of some other--" + +The gaze of half surprise, half interrogation, that now met mine, caused +me for a moment to suspend my speech. After a pause, I resumed it, +determined to come at once to the point, "You will pardon me, +Mademoiselle, for this free interest in your affairs--you will pardon me +for asking. Do I not recognise in Monsieur Gayarre the cause of your +unhappiness?" + +She started at the question, and turned visibly paler. In a moment, +however, she seemed to recover herself, and replied calmly, but with a +look of strange significance:-- + +"Helas! Monsieur, your suspicions are but _partially_ correct. Helas! +Oh! God, support me!" she added, in a tone that sounded like despair. +Then, as if by an effort, her manner seemed to undergo a sudden +alteration, and she continued:-- + +"Please, Monsieur, let us change the subject? I owe you life and +gratitude. Would I knew how to repay you for your generous gallantry-- +your--your--_friendship_. Perhaps some day you may know all. I would +tell you now, but--but--Monsieur--there are--I cannot--" + +"Mademoiselle Besancon, I entreat you, do not for a moment let the +questions I have asked have any consideration. They were not put from +idle curiosity. I need not tell you, Mademoiselle, that my motive was +of a higher kind--" + +"I know it, Monsieur--I know it; but no more of it now, I pray you--let +us speak on some other subject." + +Some other subject! I had no longer the choice of one. I had no longer +control of my tongue. The subject which was nearest my heart sprang +spontaneously to my lips; and in hurried words I declared my love for +Aurore. + +I detailed the whole course of my passion, from the hour of my dreamlike +vision up to that when we had plighted our mutual troth. + +My listener was seated upon the low ottoman directly before me; but from +motives of bashfulness I had kept my eyes averted during the time I was +speaking. She heard me without interruption, and I augured well from +this silence. + +I concluded at length, and with trembling heart was awaiting her reply; +when a deep sigh, followed by a rustling sound, caused me suddenly to +turn. _Eugenie had fallen upon the floor_! + +With a glance I saw she had fainted. I flung my arms around her, and +carried her to the sofa. + +I was about to call for assistance when the door opened, and a form +glided into the room. _It was Aurore_! + +"_Mon Dieu_!" exclaimed the latter; "_vous l'avez faire mourir! Elle +t'aime--Elle t'aime_!" + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY. + +THOUGHTS. + +That night I passed without repose. How was it with Eugenie? How with +Aurore? + +Mine was a night of reflections, in which pleasure and pain were +singularly blended. The love of the quadroon was my source of pleasure; +but, alas! pain predominated as my thoughts dwelt upon the Creole! That +the latter loved me I no longer doubted; and this assurance, so far from +giving me joy, filled me with keen regret. Accursed vanity, that can +enjoy such a triumph,--vile heart, that can revel in a love it is unable +to return! Mine did not: it grieved instead. + +In thought I reviewed the short hours of intercourse that had passed +between us--Eugenie Besancon and myself. I communed with my conscience, +asking myself the question, Was I innocent? Had I done aught, either by +word, or look, or gesture, to occasion this love?--to produce the first +delicate impression, that upon a heart susceptible as hers soon becomes +a fixed and vivid picture? Upon the boat? Or afterwards? I remembered +that at first sight I had gazed upon her with admiring eyes. I +remembered that in hers I had beheld that strange expression of interest +which I had attributed to curiosity or some other cause--I knew not +what. Vanity, of which no doubt I possess my share, had not interpreted +those tender glances aright--had not even whispered me they were the +flowers of love, easily ripened to its fruits. Had I been instrumental +in nurturing those flowers of the heart?--had I done aught to beguile +them to their fatal blooming? + +I examined the whole course of my conduct, and pondered over all that +had passed between us. I thought of all that had occurred during our +passage upon the boat--during the tragic scene that followed. I could +not remember aught, either of word, look, or gesture, by which I might +condemn myself. I gave full play to my conscience, and it declared me +innocent. + +Afterwards--after that terrible night--after those burning eyes and that +strange face had passed dreamlike before my disordered senses--after +that moment I could not have been guilty of aught that was trivial. +During the hours of my convalescence--during the whole period of my stay +upon the plantation--I could remember nothing in my intercourse with +Eugenie Besancon to give me cause for regret. Towards her I had +observed a studied respect--nothing more. Secretly I felt friendship +and sympathy; more especially after I had noted the change in her +manner, and feared that some cloud was shadowing her fortune. Alas, +poor Eugenie! Little did I guess the nature of that cloud! Little did +I dream how dark it was! + +Notwithstanding my self-exculpation, I still felt pain. Had Eugenie +Besancon been a woman of ordinary character I might have borne my +reflections more lightly. But to a heart so highly attuned, so noble, +so passionate, what would be the shock of an unrequited love? Terrible +it must be; perhaps the more so at thus finding her rival in her own +slave! + +Strange confidante had I chosen for my secret! Strange ear into which I +had poured the tale of my love! Oh that I had not made my confession! +What suffering had I caused this fair, this unfortunate lady! + +Such painful reflections coursed through my mind; but there were others +equally bitter, and with bitterness springing from a far different +source. What would be the effect of the disclosure? How would it +affect our future--the future of myself and Aurore? How would Eugenie +act? Towards me? towards Aurore--_her slave_? + +My confession had received no response. The mute lips murmured neither +reply nor adieu. I had gazed but a moment on the insensible form. +Aurore had beckoned me away, and I had left the room in a state of +embarrassment and confusion--I scarce remembered how. + +What would be the result? I trembled to think. Bitterness, hostility, +revenge? + +Surely a soul so pure, so noble, could not harbour such passions as +these? + +"No," thought I; "Eugenie Besancon is too gentle, too womanly, to give +way to them. Is there a hope that she may have pity on _me_, as I pity +_her_? Or is there not? She is a Creole--she inherits the fiery +passions of her race. Should these be aroused to jealousy, to revenge, +her gratitude will soon pass away--her love be changed to scorn. _Her +own slave_!" + +Ah! I well understood the meaning of this relationship, though I cannot +make it plain to you. You can ill comprehend the horrid feeling. Talk +of a _mesalliance_ of the aristocratic lord with the daughter of his +peasant retainer, of the high-born dame with her plebeian groom--talk of +the scandal and scorn to which such rare events give rise! All this is +little--is mild, when compared with the positive disgust and horror felt +for the "white" who would ally himself _in marriage_ with a _slave_! No +matter how white _she_ be, no matter how beautiful--even lovely as +Aurore--he who would make her his _wife_ must bear her away from her +native land, far from the scenes where she has hitherto been known! His +_mistress_--all! that is another affair. An alliance of this nature is +pardonable. The "society" of the South is satisfied with the +_slave-mistress_; but the _slave-wife_--that is an impossibility, an +incongruity not to be borne! + +I knew that the gifted Eugenie was above the common prejudices of her +class; but I should have expected too much to suppose that she was above +this one. No; noble, indeed, must be the soul that could have thrown +off this chain, coiled around it by education, by habit, by example, by +every form of social life. Notwithstanding all--notwithstanding the +relations that existed between herself and Aurore, I could not expect +this much. Aurore was her companion, her friend; but still Aurore was +_her slave_! + +I trembled for the result. I trembled for our next interview. In the +future I saw darkness and danger. I had but one hope, one joy--the love +of Aurore! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I rose from my sleepless couch. I dressed and ate my breakfast +hurriedly, mechanically. + +That finished, I was at a loss what to do next. Should I return to the +plantation, and seek another interview with Eugenie. No--not then. I +had not the courage. It would be better, I reflected, to permit some +time to pass--a day or two--before going back. Perhaps Mademoiselle +would send for me? + +Perhaps--At all events, it would be better to allow some days to elapse. +Long days they would be to me! + +I could not bear the society of any one. I shunned conversation; +although I observed, as on the preceding day, that I was the object of +scrutiny--the subject of comment among the loungers of the "bar," and my +acquaintances of the billiard-room. To avoid them, I remained inside my +room, and endeavoured to kill time by reading. + +I soon grew tired of this chamber-life; and upon the third morning I +seized my gun, and plunged into the depth of the forest. + +I moved amidst the huge pyramidal trunks of the cypresses, whose thick +umbellated foliage, meeting overhead, shut out both sun and sky. The +very gloom occasioned by their shade was congenial to my thoughts; and I +wandered on, my steps guided rather by accident than design. + +I did not search for game. I was not thinking of sport. My gun rested +idly in the hollow of my arm. The raccoon, which in the more open woods +is nocturnal, is here abroad by day. I saw the creature plunging his +food into the waters of the bayou, and skulking around the trunks of the +cypresses. I saw the opossum gliding along the fallen log, and the red +squirrel, like a stream of fire, brushing up the bark of the tall +tulip-tree. I saw the large "swamp-hare" leap from her form by the +selvage of the cane-brake; and, still more tempting game, the +fallow-deer twice bounded before me, roused from its covert in the shady +thickets of the pawpaw-trees. The wild turkey, too, in all the glitter +of his metallic plumage, crossed my path; and upon the bayou, whose bank +I for some time followed, I had ample opportunity of discharging my +piece at the blue heron or the egret, the summer duck or the snake-bird, +the slender ibis or the stately crane. Even the king of winged +creatures, the white-headed eagle, was more than once within range of my +gun, screaming his maniac note among the tops of the tall taxodiums. + +And still the brown tubes rested idly across my arm; nor did I once +think of casting my eye along their sights. No ordinary game could have +tempted me to interrupt the current, of my thoughts, that were dwelling +upon a theme to me the most interesting in the world--Aurore the +quadroon! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. + +DREAMS. + +Yielding up my soul to its sweet love-dream, I wandered on--where and +how long I cannot tell, for I had taken no note either of distance or +direction. + +I was roused from my reverie by observing a brighter light gleaming +before me; and soon after I emerged from the darker shadow of the +forest. My steps, chance-directed, had guided me into a pretty glade, +where the sun shone warmly, and the ground was gay with flowers. It was +a little wild garden, enamelled by blossoms of many colours, among +which, bignonias and the showy corollas of the cotton-rose were +conspicuous. Even the forest that bordered and enclosed this little +parterre was a forest of flowering-trees. They were magnolias of +several kinds; on some of which the large liliaceous blossoms had given +place to the scarcely less conspicuous seed-cones of glowing red, whose +powerful but pleasant odour filled the atmosphere around. Other +beautiful trees grew alongside, mingling their perfume with that of the +magnolias. Scarce less interesting were the "honey-locusts" +(_gleditschias_), with their pretty pinnate leaves, and long +purple-brown legumes; the Virginian lotus, with its oval amber-coloured +drupes, and the singular bow-wood tree (_madura_), with its large +orange-like pericarps, reminding one of the _flora_ of the tropics. The +Autumn was just beginning to paint the forest, and already some touches +from his glowing palette appeared among the leaves of the sassafras +laurel, the sumach (_rhus_), the persimmon (_diospyros_), the +nymph-named tupelo, and those other species of the American _sylva_ that +love to array themselves so gorgeously before parting with their +deciduous foliage. Yellow, orange, scarlet, crimson, with many an +intermediate tint, met the eye; and all these colours, flashing under +the brilliant beams of a noonday sun, produced an indescribable +_coup-d'oeil_. The scene resembled the gaudy picture-work of a theatre, +more than the sober reality of a natural landscape. + +I stood for some minutes wrapt in admiration. The dream of love in +which I had been indulging became heightened in its effect; and I could +not help thinking that if Aurore were but present to enjoy that lovely +scene--to wander with me over that flowery glade--to sit by my side +under the shade of the magnolia laurel--then, indeed, would my happiness +be complete. Earth itself had no fairer scene than this. A very +love-bower it appeared! + +Nor was it unoccupied by lovers; for two pretty doves--birds emblematic +of the tender passion--sat side by side upon the bough of a tulip-tree, +their bronzed throats swelling at intervals with soft amorous notes. + +Oh, how I envied those little creatures! How I should have rejoiced in +a destiny like theirs! Thus mated and happy--amidst bright flowers and +sweet perfumes, loving the livelong day--loving through all their lives! + +They deemed me an intruder, and rose on whirring wing at my approach. +Perchance they feared my glittering gun. They had not need. I had no +intention of harming them. Far was it from my heart to spoil their +perfect bliss. + +But no--they feared me not--else their flight would have been more +distant. They only flitted to the next tree; and there again, seated +side by side, resumed their love-converse. Absorbed in mutual fondness, +they had already forgotten my presence! + +I followed to watch these pretty creatures--the types of gentleness and +love. I flung me on the grass, and gazed upon thorn, tenderly kissing +and cooing. I envied their delight. + +My nerves, that for days had been dancing with more than ordinary +excitement, were now experiencing the natural reaction, and I felt +weary. There was a drowsiness in the air--a narcotic influence produced +by the combined action of the sun's rays and the perfume of the flowers. +It acted upon my spirit, and I fell asleep. + +I slept only about an hour, but it was a sleep of dreams; and during +that short period I passed through many scenes. Many a visionary +tableau appeared before the eye of my slumbering soul, and then melted +away. There were more or less characters in each; but in all of them +two were constant, both well defined in form and features. They were +Eugenie and Aurore. + +Gayarre, too, was in my dreams; and the ruffian overseer, and Scipio, +and the mild face of Reigart, and what I could remember of the good +Antoine. Even the unfortunate Captain of the boat, the boat herself, +the Magnolia, and the scene of the wreck--all were reproduced with a +painful distinctness! + +But my visions were not all of a painful character. Some were the very +opposite--scenes of bliss. In company with Aurore, I was wandering +through flowery glades, and exchanging the sweet converse of mutual +love. The very spot where I lay--the scene around me--was pictured in +the dream. + +Strangest of all, I thought that Eugenie was with us, and that she, too, +was happy; that she had consented to my marrying Aurore, and had even +assisted us in bringing about this happy consummation! + +In this vision Gayarre was the fiend; and I thought that after a while +he endeavoured to drag Aurore from me. A struggle followed, and then +the scene ended with confused abruptness. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +A new tableau arose--a new vision. In this _Eugenie_ played the part of +the evil genius. I thought she had refused my requests--refused to +_sell Aurore_. I fancied her jealous, hostile, vengeful. I thought she +was loading me with imprecations, my betrothed with threats. Aurore was +weeping. It was a painful vision. + +The scene changed again. Aurore and I were happy--she was free--she was +now mine, and we were married. But there was a cloud upon our +happiness. _Eugenie was dead_. + +Yes, dead. I thought I was bending over her, and had taken her hand. +Suddenly her fingers closed upon mine, and held them with a firm +pressure. I thought that the contact was disagreeable; and I +endeavoured to withdraw my hand, but could not. My fingers remained +bound within that cold clammy grasp; and with all my strength I was +unable to release them! Suddenly I was stung; and at the same instant +the chill hand relaxed its grasp, and set me free. + +The stinging sensation, however, awoke me; and my eyes mechanically +turned towards the hand, where I still felt pain. + +Sure enough my wrist was punctured and bleeding! + +A feeling of horror ran through my veins, as the "sker-r-rr" of the +_crotalus_ sounded in my ear; and, looking around, I saw the glittering +body of the reptile extended along the grass, and gliding rapidly away! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY TWO. + +STUNG BY A SNAKE. + +The pain was not a dream; the blood upon my wrist was no illusion. Both +were real. I was bitten by a _rattlesnake_! + +Terror-stricken I sprang to my feet; and, with an action altogether +mechanical, passed my hand over the wound, and wiped away the blood. It +was but a trifling puncture, such as might have been made by the point +of a lancet, and only a few drops of blood oozed from it. + +Such a wound need not have terrified a child, so far as appearance went; +but I, a man, _was_ terrified, for I knew that that little incision had +been made by a dread instrument--by the envenomed fang of a serpent--and +_in one hour I might be dead_! + +My first impulse was to pursue the snake and destroy it; but before I +could act upon that impulse the reptile had escaped beyond my reach. A +hollow log lay near--the trunk of a large tulip-tree, with the +heart-wood decayed and gone. The snake had made for this--no doubt its +haunt--and before I could come up with it, I saw the long slimy body, +with its rhomboid spots, disappear within the dark cavity. Another +"sker-r-rr" reached my ears as it glided out of sight. It seemed a note +of triumph, as if uttered to tantalise me! + +The reptile was now beyond my reach, but its destruction would not have +availed me. Its death could not counteract the effect of its poison +already in my veins. I knew that well enough, but for all I would have +killed it, had it been in my power to do so. I felt angry and vengeful. + +This was but my first impulse. It suddenly became changed to a feeling +of terror. There was something so weird in the look of the reptile, +something so strange in the manner of its attack and subsequent escape, +that, on losing sight of it, I became suddenly impressed with a sort of +supernatural awe--a belief that the creature was possessed of a fiendish +intelligence! + +Under this impression I remained for some moments in a state of +bewilderment. + +The sight of the blood, and the stinging sensation of the wound, soon +brought me to my senses again, and admonished me of the necessity of +taking immediate steps to procure an antidote to the poison. But what +antidote? + +What knew I of such things? I was but a classical scholar. True, I had +lately given some attention to botanical studies; but my new knowledge +extended only to the _trees_ of the forest, and none of these with which +I was acquainted possessed alexipharmic virtues. I knew nothing of the +herbaceous plants, the milk-worts, and _aristolochias_, that would now +have served me. The woods might have been filled with antidotal +remedies, and I have died in their midst. Yes, I might have lain down +upon a bed of Seneca root, and, amidst terrible convulsions, have +breathed my last breath, without knowing that the rhizome of the humble +plant crushed beneath my body would, in a few short hours, have expelled +the venom from my veins, and given me life and health. + +I lost no time in speculating upon such a means of safety. I had but +one thought--and that was to reach Bringiers at the earliest possible +moment. My hopes rested upon Reigart. + +I hastily took up my gun; and, plunging once more under the dark shadows +of the cypress-trees, I hurried on with nervous strides. I ran as fast +as my limbs would carry me; but the shock of terror I had experienced +seemed to have enfeebled my whole frame, and my knees knocked against +each other as I went. + +On I struggled, regardless of my weakness, regardless of everything but +the thought of reaching Bringiers and Reigart. Over fallen trees, +through dense cane-brakes, through clumps of palmettoes and pawpaw +thickets, I passed, dashing the branches from my path, and lacerating my +skin at every step. Onward, through sluggish rivulets of water, through +tough miry mud, through slimy pools, filled with horrid newts, and the +spawn of the huge _rana pipiens_, whose hoarse loud croak at every step +sounded ominous in my ear. Onward! + +"Ho! whither am I going? Where is the path? where the tracks of my +former footsteps? Not here--not there. Good God! I have lost them!-- +lost! lost!" + +Quick as lightning came these thoughts. I looked around with eager +glances. On every side I scanned the ground. I saw no path, no tracks, +but those I had just made. I saw no marks that I could remember. I had +lost my way. Beyond a doubt I was lost! + +A thrill of despair ran through me--the blood curdled cold in my veins +at the thought of my peril. + +No wonder. If lost in the forest, then was I lost indeed. A single +hour might be enough. In that time the poison would do its work. I +should be found only by the wolves and vultures. O God! + +As if to make my horrid fate appear more certain, I now remembered to +have heard that it was the very season of the year--the hot autumn--when +the venom of the _crotalus_ is most virulent, and does its work in the +shortest period of time. Cases are recorded where in a single hour its +bite has proved fatal. + +"Merciful heaven!" thought I, "in another hour I shall be no more!" and +the thought was followed by a groan. + +The danger nerved me to renewed efforts. I turned back on my tracks. +It seemed the best thing I could do; for in the gloomy circle around, +there was no point that indicated my approach to the open ground of the +plantations. Not a bit of sky could I discover,--that welcome beacon to +the wood-ranger, denoting the proximity of the clearings. Even the +heaven above was curtained from my view; and when I appealed to it in +prayer, my eyes rested only upon the thick black foliage of the +cypress-trees, with their mournful drapery of _tillandsia_. + +I had no choice but to go back, and endeavour to find the path I had +lost, or wander on trusting to mere chance. + +I chose the former alternative. Again I broke through the cane-brakes +and palmetto-thickets--again I forded sluggish bayous, and waded across +muddy pools. + +I had not proceeded more than a hundred yards on the back track, when +that also became doubtful. I had passed over a reach of ground higher +and drier than the rest. Here no footprints appeared, and I knew not +which way I had taken. I tried in several directions, but could not +discover my way. I became confused, and at length completely +bewildered. Again was I lost! + +To have been lost in the forest under ordinary circumstances would have +mattered little,--an hour or two of wandering--perhaps a night spent +under the shade of some tree, with the slight inconvenience of a hungry +stomach. But how very different was my prospect then, with the fearful +thoughts that were pressing upon me! The poison was fast inoculating my +blood. I fancied I already felt it crawling through my veins! + +One more struggle to find the clearings! + +I rushed on, now guided by chance. I endeavoured to keep in a straight +line, but to no purpose. The huge pyramidal buttresses of the trees, so +characteristic of these _coniferae_, barred my way; and, in passing +around them, I soon lost all knowledge of my direction. + +I wandered on, now dragging wearily across the dull ditches, now +floundering through tracts of swamp, or climbing over huge prostrate +logs. In my passage I startled the thousand denizens of the dank +forest, who greeted me with their cries. The qua-bird screamed; the +swamp-owl hooted; the bullfrog uttered his trumpet-note; and the hideous +alligator, horribly bellowing from his gaunt jaws, crawled sulkily out +of my way, at times appearing as if he would turn and assail me! + +"Ho! yonder is light!--the sky!" + +It was but a small patch of the blue heaven--a disc, not larger than a +dining-plate. But, oh! you cannot understand with what joy I greeted +that bright spot. It was the lighthouse to the lost mariner. + +It must be the clearings? Yes, I could see the sun shining through the +trees, and the horizon open as I advanced. No doubt the plantations +were before me. Once there I should soon cross the fields, and reach +the town. I should yet be safe. Reigart would surely know how to +extract the poison, or apply some antidote? + +I kept on with bounding heart and straining eyes--on, for the bright +meteor before me. + +The blue spot grew larger--other pieces of sky appeared--the forest grew +thinner as I advanced--I was drawing nearer to its verge. + +The ground became firmer and drier at every step, and the timber of a +lighter growth. The shapeless cypress "knees" no longer impeded my +progress. I now passed among tulip-trees, dogwoods, and magnolias. +Less densely grew the trunks, lighter and less shadowy became the +foliage above; until at length I pushed through the last selvage of the +underwood, and stood in the open sunshine. + +A cry of agony rose upon my lips. It was wrung from me by despair. I +had arrived at my point of starting--I was once more within the glade! + +I sought not to go farther. Fatigue, disappointment, and chagrin, had +for the moment paralysed my strength. I staggered forward to a +prostrate trunk,--the very one which sheltered my reptile assassin!--and +sat down in a state of irresolution and bewilderment. + +It seemed as though I were destined to die in that lovely glade--amidst +those bright flowers--in the midst of that scene I had so lately +admired, and upon the very spot where I had received my fatal wound! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. + +THE RUNAWAY. + +Man rarely yields up his life without an extreme effort to preserve it. +Despair is a strong feeling, but there are those whose spirit it cannot +prostrate. In later life mine own would not have given way to such +circumstances as surrounded me at that time; but I was then young, and +little experienced in peril. + +The paralysis of my thoughts did not continue long. My senses returned +again; and I resolved to make a new effort for the salvation of my life. + +I had conceived no plan, further than to endeavour once more to escape +out of the labyrinth of woods and morass in which I had become +entangled, and make as before for the village. I thought I knew the +direction in which it lay, by observing the side at which I had first +entered the glade. But, after all, there was no certainty in this. It +was mere conjecture. I had entered the glade with negligent steps. I +had strayed all around it before lying down to sleep. Perhaps I had +gone around its sides before entering it--for I had been wandering all +the morning. + +While these reflections were passing rapidly through my mind, and +despair once more taking possession of my spirits, I all at once +remembered having heard that tobacco is a powerful antidote to +snake-poison. Strange the idea had not occurred to me before. But, +indeed, there was nothing wonderful that it did not, as up to that +moment I had only thought of making my way to Bringiers. With no +reliance upon my own knowledge, I had thought only of a doctor. It was +only when I became apprehensive of not being able to get to _him_, that +I began to think of what resources lay within my reach. I now +remembered the tobacco. + +Quick as the thought my cigar-case was in my fingers. To my joy one +cigar still remained, and drawing it out I proceeded to macerate the +tobacco by chewing. This I had heard was the mode of applying it to the +snakebite. + +Dry as was my mouth at first, the bitter weed soon supplied me with +saliva, and in a few moments I had reduced the leaves to a pulp, though +nauseated--almost poisoned by the powerful _nicotine_. + +I laid the moistened mass upon my wrist, and at the same time rubbed it +forcibly into the wound. I now perceived that my arm was sensibly +swollen--even up to the elbow--and a singular pain began to be felt +throughout its whole length! O God! the poison was spreading, surely +and rapidly spreading! I fancied I could feel it like liquid fire +crawling and filtering through my veins! + +Though I had made application of the nicotine, I had but little faith in +it. I had only heard it casually talked of as a remedy. It might, +thought I, be one of the thousand fancies that people love to indulge +in; and I had only used it as a "forlorn hope." + +I bound the mass to my wrist--a torn sleeve serving for lint; and then, +turning my face in the direction I intended to take, I started off +afresh. + +I had scarce made three strides when my steps were suddenly arrested. I +stopped on observing a man on the edge of the glade, and directly in +front of me. + +He had just come out of the underwood, towards which I was advancing, +and, on perceiving me, had suddenly halted--perhaps surprised at the +sight of one of his own kind in such a wild place. + +I hailed his appearance with a shout of joy. "A guide!--a deliverer!" +thought I. + +What was my astonishment--my chagrin--my indignation--when the man +suddenly turned his back upon me; and, plunging into the bushes, +disappeared from my sight! + +I was astounded at this strange conduct. I had just caught a glimpse of +the man's face as he turned away. I had seen that he was a negro, and I +had noticed that he appeared to be frightened. But what was there about +me to terrify him? + +I called out to him to stop--to come back. I shouted in tones of +entreaty--of command--of menace. In vain. He made neither stop nor +stay. I heard the branches crackle as he broke through the thicket-- +each moment the noise appearing more distant. + +It was my only chance for a guide. I must not lose it; and, bracing +myself for a run, I started after him. + +If I possess any physical accomplishment in which I have confidence it +is my fleetness of foot. At that time an Indian runner could not have +escaped me, much less a clumsy, long-heeled negro. I knew that if I +could once more got my eyes upon the black, I would soon overhaul him; +but therein lay the difficulty. In my hesitation I had given him a long +start; and he was now out of sight in the depth of the thicket. + +But I could hear him breaking through the bushes like a hog; and, +guiding myself by the sound, I kept up the pursuit. + +I was already somewhat jaded by my previous exertions; but the +conviction that _my life depended on overtaking the negro_ kindled my +energies afresh, and I ran like a greyhound. Unfortunately it was not a +question of simple speed, else the chase would soon have been brought to +an end. It was in getting through the bushes, and dodging round the +trunks of the trees, that the hindrance lay; and I had many a struggle +among the branches, and many a zigzag turn to make, before I could get +my eyes upon the object I was in pursuit of. + +However, I at length succeeded in doing so. The underwood came to an +end. The misshapen cypress trunks alone stood up out of the miry, black +soil; and far off, down one of their dark aisles, I caught sight of the +negro, still running at the top of his speed. Fortunately his garments +were light-coloured, else under the sombre shadow I could not have made +him out. As it was, I had only a glimpse of him, and at a good distance +off. + +But I had cleared the thicket, and could run freely. Swiftness had now +everything to do with the race; and in less than five minutes after I +was close upon the heels of the black, and calling to him to halt. + +"Stop!" I shouted. "For God's sake, stop!" + +No notice was taken of my appeals. The negro did not even turn his +head, but ran on, floundering through the mud. + +"Stop!" I repeated, as loudly as my exhausted breath would permit. +"Stop, man! why do you run from me? I mean you no harm." + +Neither did this speech produce any effect. No reply was given. If +anything, I fancied that he increased his speed; or rather, perhaps, he +had got through the quagmire, and was running upon firm ground while I +was just entering upon the former. + +I fancied that the distance between us was again widening; and began to +fear he might still elude me. I felt that my life was on the result. +Without him to guide me from the forest, I would miserably perish. He +_must_ guide me. Willing or unwilling, I should force him to the +office. + +"Stop," I again cried out; "halt, or I fire!" + +I had raised my gun. Both barrels were loaded. I had spoken in all +seriousness. I should in reality have fired--not to kill, but to detain +him. The shot might injure him, but I could not help it. I had no +choice--no other means of saving my own life. + +I repeated the awful summons:-- + +"Stop--or I fire!" + +This time my tone was earnest. It left no doubt of my intention; and +this seemed to be the impression it produced upon the black; for, +suddenly halting in his tracks, he wheeled about, and stood facing me. + +"Fire! and be dam!" cried he; "have a care, white man--don't you miss. +By Gor-amighty! if ya do, your life's mine. See dis knife! fire now and +be dam!" + +As he spoke he stood full fronting me, his broad chest thrown out as if +courageously to receive the shot, and in his uplifted hand I saw the +shining blade of a knife! + +A few steps brought me close up; and in the man that stood before me I +recognised the form, and ferocious aspect of _Gabriel the Bambarra_! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. + +GABRIEL THE BAMBARRA. + +The huge stature of the black--his determined attitude--the sullen glare +of his lurid bloodshot eyes, set in a look of desperate resolve--the +white gleaming file-pointed teeth--rendered him a terrible object to +behold. Under other circumstances I might have dreaded an encounter +with such a hideous-looking adversary--for an _adversary_ I deemed him. +I remembered the flogging I had given him with my whip, and I had no +doubt that _he_ remembered it too. I had no doubt that he was now upon +his errand of revenge instigated partly by the insult I had put upon +him, and partly set on by his cowardly master. He had been dogging me +through the forest--all the day, perhaps--waiting for an opportunity to +execute his purpose. + +But why had he run away from me? Was it because he feared to attack me +openly. Certainly it was--he feared my double-barrelled gun! + +But I had been asleep. He might have approached me then--he might +have--Ha! + +This ejaculation escaped my lips, as a singular thought flashed into my +mind. The Bambarra was a "snake-charmer"--I had heard so--could handle +the most venomous serpents at rail--could guide and direct them! Was it +not he who had guided the _crotalus_ to where I lay--who had caused me +to be bitten? + +Strange as it may appear, this supposition at that moment crossed my +mind, and seemed probable; nay, more--I actually _believed it_. I +remembered that I had been struck with a peculiarity about the reptile-- +its weird look--the superior cunning exhibited in its mode of escape-- +and not less peculiar the fact of its having stung me unprovoked--a rare +thing for the rattlesnake to do! All these points rushing +simultaneously into my mind, produced the conviction that for the fatal +wound on my wrist I was indebted, not to chance, but to Gabriel the +snake-charmer! + +Not half the time I have been telling you of it--not the tenth nor the +hundredth part of the time, was I in forming this horrid conviction. It +was done with the rapidity of thought--the more rapid that every +circumstance guiding to such a conclusion was fresh in my memory. In +fact the black had not changed his attitude of menace, nor I mine of +surprise at recognising him, until all these thoughts had passed through +my mind! + +Almost with equal rapidity was I disabused of the singular delusion. In +another minute I became aware that my suspicions were unjust. I had +been wronging the man who stood before me. + +All at once his attitude changed. His uplifted arm fell by his side; +the expression of fierce menace disappeared; and in as mild a tone as +his rough voice was capable of giving utterance to, he said-- + +"Oh! you mass'--brack man's friend! Dam! thought 'twar da cussed Yankee +driber!" + +"And was that why you ran from me?" + +"Ye, mass'; ob course it war." + +"Then you are--" + +"Am runaway; ye, mass', jes so--runaway. Don't mind tell you. Gabr'el +truss you--He know you am poor nigga's friend. Look-ee-dar." + +As he uttered this last phrase, he pulled off the scanty copper-coloured +rag of a shirt that covered his shoulders, and bared his back before my +eyes! + +A horrid sight it was. Besides the _fleur-de-lis_ and many other old +brands, there were sears of more recent date. Long wales, purple-red +and swollen, traversed the brown skin in every direction, forming +perfect network. Here they were traceable by the darker colour of the +extravasatod blood, while there the flesh itself lay bare, where it had +been exposed to some prominent fold of the spirally-twisted cowskin. +The old shirt itself was stained with black blotches that had once been +red--the blood that had oozed out during the infliction! The sight +sickened me, and called forth the involuntary utterance-- + +"Poor fellow!" + +This expression of sympathy evidently touched the rude heart of the +Bambarra. + +"Ah, mass'!" he continued, "you flog me with hoss-whip--dat nuff'n! +Gabr'l bress you for dat. He pump water on ole Zip _'gainst him will_-- +glad when young mass' druv im way from de pump." + +"Ha! you were forced to it, then?" + +"Ye, mass', forced by da Yankee driber. Try make me do so odder time. +I 'fuse punish Zip odder time--dat's why you see dis yeer--dam!" + +"You were flogged for refusing to punish Scipio?" + +"Jes so, mass' Edwad; 'bused, as you see; but--" here the speaker +hesitated, while his face resumed its fierce expression; "but," +continued he, "I'se had rebenge on de Yankee--dam!" + +"What?--revenge? What have you done to him?" + +"Oh, not much, mass'. Knock im down; he drop like a beef to de axe. +Dat's some rebenge to poor nigga. Beside, I'se a runaway, _an' dat's +rebenge_! Ha! ha! Dey lose good nigga--good hand in de cotton-feel-- +good hand among de cane. Ha! ha!" + +The hoarse laugh with which the "runaway" expressed his satisfaction +sounded strangely on my ear. + +"And you have run away from the plantation?" + +"Jes so, mass' Edward--nebber go back." After a pause, he added, with +increased emphasis, "_Nebber go back 'live_!" + +As he uttered these words he raised his hand to his broad chest, at the +same time throwing his body into an attitude of earnest determination. + +I saw at once that I had mistaken the character of this man. I had had +it from his enemies, the whites, who feared him. With all the ferocity +of expression that characterised his features, there was evidently +something noble in his heart. He had been flogged for refusing to flog +a fellow-slave. He had resented the punishment, and struck down his +brutal oppressor. By so doing he had risked a far more terrible +punishment--even life itself! + +It required courage to do all this. A spirit of liberty alone could +have inspired him with that courage--the same spirit which impelled the +Swiss patriot to strike down the cap of Gessler. + +As the negro stood with his thick muscular fingers spread over his +brawny chest, with form erect, with head thrown back, and eyes fixed in +stern resolve, I was impressed with an air of grandeur about him, and +could not help thinking that in the black form before me, scantily clad +in coarse cotton, there was the soul and spirit of a man! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE. + +THE SNAKE-DOCTOR. + +With admiring eyes I looked for some moments on this bold black man-- +this slave-hero. I might have gazed longer, but the burning sensation +in my arm reminded me of my perilous situation. + +"You will guide me to Bringiers?" was my hurried interrogatory. + +"Daren't, mass'." + +"Daren't! Why?" + +"Mass' forgot I'se a runaway. White folk cotch Gabr'l--cut off him +arm." + +"What? Cut off your arm?" + +"Saten sure, mass'--dats da law of Loozyaney. White man strike nigga, +folk laugh, folk cry out, `Lap de dam nigga! lap him!' Nigga strike +white man, cut off nigga's arm. Like berry much to 'bleege mass' Edwad, +but daren't go to de clearins. White men after Gabr'l last two days. +Cuss'd blood-dogs and nigga-hunters out on im track. Thought young +mass' war one o' dem folks; dat's why um run." + +"If you do not guide me, then I must die." + +"Die!--die! why for mass' say dat?" + +"Because I am lost. I cannot find my way out of the forest. If I do +not reach the doctor in less than twenty minutes, there is no hope. O +God!" + +"Doctor!--mass' Edwad sick? What ail um? Tell Gabr'l. If dat's da +case, him guide de brack man's friend at risk ob life. What young mass' +ail?" + +"See! I have been bitten by a rattlesnake." + +I bared my arm, and showed the wound and the swelling. + +"Ho! dat indeed! sure 'nuff--it are da bite ob de rattlesnake. Doctor +no good for dat. Tobacc'-juice no good. Gabr'l best doctor for de +rattlesnake. Come 'long, young mass'!" + +"What! you are going to guide me, then?" + +"I'se a gwine to _cure_ you, mass'." + +"You?" + +"Ye, mass'! tell you doctor no good--know nuffin' 't all 'bout it--he +kill you--truss Ole Gabe--he cure you. Come 'long, mass', no time t' be +loss." + +I had for the moment forgotten the peculiar reputation which the black +enjoyed--that of a snake-charmer and snake-doctor as well, although I +had so late been thinking of it. The remembrance of this fact now +returned, accompanied by a very different train of reflections. + +"No doubt," thought I, "he possesses the requisite knowledge--knows the +antidote, and how to apply it. No doubt he is the very man. The +doctor, as he says, may not understand how to treat me." + +I had no very great confidence that the doctor could cure me. I was +only running to him as a sort of _dernier ressort_. + +"This Gabriel--this snake-charmer, is the very man. How fortunate I +should have met with him!" + +After a moment's hesitation--during the time these reflections were +passing through my mind--I called out to the black-- + +"Lead on! I follow you!" + +Whither did he intend to guide me? What was he going to do? Where was +_he_ to find an antidote? How was he to cure me? + +To these questions, hurriedly put, I received no reply. + +"You truss me, mass' Edward; you foller me!" were all the words the +black would utter as he strode off among the trees. + +I had no choice but to follow him. + +After proceeding several hundred yards through the cypress swamp, I saw +some spots of sky in front of us. This indicated an opening in the +woods, and for that I saw my guide was heading. I was not surprised on +reaching this opening to find that it was the glade--again the fatal +glade! + +To my eyes how changed its aspect! I could not bear the bright sun that +gleamed into it. The sheen of its flowers wearied my sight--their +perfume made me sick! + +Maybe I only fancied this. I was sick, but from a very different cause. +The poison was mingling with my blood. It was setting my veins on +fire. I was tortured by a choking sensation of thirst, and already felt +that spasmodic compression of the chest, and difficulty of breathing-- +the well-known symptoms experienced by the victims of snake-poison. + +It may be that I only fancied most of this. I knew that a venomous +serpent had bitten me; and that knowledge may have excited my +imagination to an extreme susceptibility. Whether the symptoms did in +reality exist, I suffered them all the same. My fancy had all the +painfulness of reality! + +My companion directed me to be seated. Moving about, he said, was not +good. He desired me to be calm and patient, once more begging me to +"truss Gabr'l." + +I resolved to be quiet, though patient I could not be. My peril was too +great. + +Physically I obeyed him. I sat down upon a log--that same log of the +liriodendron--and under the shade of a spreading dogwood-tree. With all +the patience I could command, I sat awaiting the orders of the +snake-doctor. He had gone off a little way, and was now wandering +around the glade with eyes bent upon the ground. He appeared to be +searching for something. + +"Some plant," thought I, "he expects to find growing there." + +I watched his movements with more than ordinary interest. I need hardly +have said this. It would have been sufficient to say that I felt my +life depended on the result of his search. His success or his failure +were life or death to me. + +How my heart leaped when I saw him bend forward, and then stoop still +lower, as if clutching something upon the ground! An exclamation of joy +that escaped his lips was echoed in a louder key from my own; and, +forgetting his directions to remain quiet, I sprang up from the log, and +ran towards him. + +As I approached he was upon his knees, and with his knife-blade was +digging around a plant, as if to raise it by the roots. It was a small +herbaceous plant, with erect simple stem, oblong lanceolate leaves, and +a terminal spike of not very conspicuous white flowers. Though I knew +it not then, it was the famed "snake-root" (_Polygala senega_). + +In a few moments he had removed the earth, and then, drawing out the +plant, shook its roots free of the mould. I noticed that a mass of +woody contorted rhizomes, somewhat thicker than those of the +sarsaparilla briar, adhered to the stem. They were covered with +ash-coloured bark, and quite inodorous. Amid the fibres of these roots +lay the antidote to the snake-poison--in their sap was the saviour of my +rife! + +Not a moment was lost in preparing them. There were no hieroglyphics +nor Latinic phraseology employed in the prescription of the +snake-charmer. It was comprised in the phrase, "_Chaw it_!" and, along +with this simple direction, a piece of the root scraped clear of the +bark was put into my hand. I did as I was desired, and in a moment I +had reduced the root to a pulp, and was swallowing its sanitary juices. + +The taste was at first rather sweetish, and engendered a slight feeling +of nausea; but, as I continued to chew, it became hot and pungent, +producing a peculiar tingling sensation in the fauces and throat. + +The black now ran to the nearest brook, filled one of his "brogans" with +water, and, returning, washed my wrist until the tobacco juice was all +removed from the wound. Having himself chewed a number of the leaves of +the plant into a pulpy mass, he placed it directly upon the bitten part, +and then bound up the wound as before. + +Everything was now done that could be done. I was instructed to abide +the result patiently and without fear. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +In a very short time a profuse perspiration broke out over my whole +body, and I began to expectorate freely. I felt, moreover, a strong +inclination to vomit--which I should have done had I swallowed any more +of the juice, for, taken in large doses, the seneca root is a powerful +emetic. + +But of the feelings I experienced at that moment, the most agreeable was +the belief that _I was cured_! + +Strange to say, this belief almost at once impressed my mind with the +force of a conviction. I no longer doubted the skill of the +snake-doctor. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY SIX. + +CHARMING THE CROTALUS. + +I was destined to witness still further proofs of the wonderful +capabilities of my new acquaintance. + +I felt the natural joy of one whose life has been, saved from +destruction--singularly, almost miraculously saved. Like one who has +escaped from drowning, from the field of slaughter, from the very jaws +of death. The reaction was delightful. I felt gratitude, too, for him +who had saved me. I could have embraced my sable companion, black and +fierce as he was, like a brother. + +We sat side by side upon the log, and chatted gaily;--gaily as men may +whose future is dark and unsettled. Alas! it was so with both of us. +Mine had been dark for days past; and his--what was his, poor helot? + +But even in the gloom of sadness the mind has its moments of joy. +Nature has not allowed that grief may be continuous, and at intervals +the spirit must soar above its sorrows. Such an interval was upon me +then. Joy and gratitude were in my heart. I had grown fond of this +slave,--this runaway slave,--and was for the moment happy in his +companionship. + +It was natural our conversation should be of snakes and snake-roots, and +many a strange fact he imparted to me relating to reptile life. A +herpetologist might have envied me the hour I spent upon that log in the +company of Gabriel the Bambarra. + +In the midst of our conversation my companion abruptly asked the +question, whether I had killed the snake that had bitten me. + +"No," I replied. "It escaped." + +"'Scaped, mass'! whar did um go?" + +"It took shelter in a hollow log,--the very one on which we are seated." + +The eyes of the negro sparkled with delight. + +"Dam!" exclaimed he, starting to his feet; "mass' say snake in dis yeer +log? Dam!" he repeated, "if do varmint yeer in dis log, Gabr'l soon +fetch 'im out." + +"What! you have no axe?" + +"Dis nigga axe no want for dat." + +"How, then, can you get at the snake? Do you intend to set fire to the +log?" + +"Ho! fire no good. Dat log burn whole month. Fire no good: smoke white +men see,--b'lieve 'im runaway,--den come de blood-dogs. Dis nigga +daren't make no fire." + +"How, then?" + +"Wait a bit, mass' Edwad, you see. Dis nigga fetch de rattlesnake right +out ob 'im boots. Please, young mass', keep still; don't speak 'bove de +breff: ole varmint, he hear ebbery word." + +The black now talked in whispers, as he glided stealthily around the +log. I followed his directions, and remained perfectly "still," +watching every movement of my singular companion. + +Some young reeds of the American bamboo (_Arundo gigantea_) were growing +near. A number of these he cut down with his knife; and then, +sharpening their lower ends, stuck them into the ground, near the end of +the log. He arranged the reeds in such a manner that they stood side by +side, like the strings of a harp, only closer together. He next chose a +small sapling from the thicket, and trimmed it so that nothing remained +but a straight wand with a forked end. With this in one hand, and a +piece of split cane in the other, he placed himself flat along the log, +in such a position that his face was directly over the entrance to the +cavity. He was also close to the row of canes, so that with his +outstretched hand he could conveniently reach them. His arrangements +were now completed, and the "charm" commenced. + +Laying aside the forked sapling ready to his hand, he took the piece of +split reed, and drew it backward and forward across the row of upright +canes. This produced a sound which was an exact imitation of the +"skerr" of the rattlesnake; go like, that a person hearing it, without +knowing what caused it, would undoubtedly have mistaken it for the +latter; so like, that the black knew the reptile itself would be +deceived by it! He did not, however, trust to this alone to allure his +victim. Aided by an instrument which he had hastily constructed out of +the lanceolate leaves of the cane, he at the same time imitated the +scream and chatter of the red cardinal (_Loxia cardinalis_), just as +when that bird is engaged in battle, either with a serpent, an opossum, +or some other of its habitual enemies. + +The sounds produced were exactly similar to those often heard in the +depths of the American forest, when the dread _crotalus_ plunders the +nest of the Virginian nightingale. + +The stratagem proved successful. In a few moments the lozenge-shaped +head of the reptile appeared outside the cavity. Its forking tongue was +protruded at short intervals, and its small dark eyes glittered with +rage. Its rattle could be heard, announcing its determination to take +part in the fray--which it supposed was going on outside. + +It had glided out nearly the full length of its body, and seemed to have +discovered the deception, for it was turning round to retreat. But the +_crotalus_ is one of the most sluggish of snakes; and, before it could +get back within the log, the forked sapling descended upon its neck, and +pinned it fast to the ground! + +Its body now writhed over the grass in helpless contortions--a +formidable creature to behold. It was a snake of the largest size for +its species, being nearly eight feet in length, and as thick as the +wrist of the Bambarra himself. Even he was astonished at its +proportions; and assured me it was the largest of its kind he had ever +encountered. + +I expected to see the black put an end to its struggles at once by +killing it; and I essayed to help him with my gun. + +"No, mass'," cried he, in a tone of entreaty, "for luv ob de Ormighty! +don't fire de gun. Mass' forget dat dis poor nigga am runaway." + +I understood his meaning, and lowered the piece. + +"B'side," continued he, "I'se got somethin' show mass' yet--he like see +curious thing--he like see de big snake trick?" + +I replied in the affirmative. + +"Well, den, please, mass', hold dis stick. I for something go. Jes now +berry curious plant I see--berry curious--berry scace dat plant. I seed +it in de cane-brake. Catch 'old, mass', while I go get um." + +I took hold of the sapling, and held it as desired, though not without +some apprehension of the hideous reptile that curled and writhed at my +feet. I had no need to fear, however. The fork was exactly across the +small of the creature's neck, and it could not raise its head to strike +me. Large as it was, there was no danger from anything but its fangs; +for the _crotalus_, unlike serpents of the genus _constrictor_, +possesses but a very feeble power of compression. + +Gabriel had gone off among the bushes, and in a few minutes I saw him +returning. He carried in his hand a plant which, as before, he had +pulled up by the roots. Like the former, it was a herbaceous plant, but +of a very different appearance. The leaves of this one were +heart-shaped and acuminate, its stem sinuous, and its flowers of a dark +purple colour. + +As the black approached, I saw that he was chewing some parts both of +the leaves and root. What did he mean to do? + +I was not left long in suspense. As soon as he had arrived upon the +ground, he stooped down, and spat a quantity of the juice over the head +of the snake. Then, taking the sapling out of my hand, he plucked it up +and flung it away. + +To my dismay, the snake was now set free; and I lost no time in +springing backward, and mounting upon the log. + +Not so my companion, who once more stooped down, caught hold of the +hideous reptile, fearlessly raised it from the ground, and flung it +around his neck as coolly as if it had been a piece of rope! + +The snake made no effort to bite him. Neither did it seem desirous of +escaping from his grasp. It appeared rather to be stupefied, and +without the power of doing injury! + +After playing with it for some moments, the Bambarra threw it back to +the ground. Even there it made no effort to escape! + +The charmer now turned to me, and said, in a tone of triumph, "Now, +mass' Edward, you shall hab rebenge. Look at dis!" + +As he spoke he pressed his thumb against the fauces of the serpent, +until its mouth stood wide open. I could plainly see its terrible fangs +and poison glands. Then, holding its head close up to his lips, he +injected the dark saliva into its throat, and once more flung it to the +ground. Up to this time he had used no violence--nothing that would +have killed a creature so retentive of life as a snake; and I still +expected to see the reptile make its escape. Not so, however. It made +no effort to move from the spot, but lay stretched out in loose +irregular folds, without any perceptible motion beyond a slight +quivering of the body. In less than two minutes after, this motion +ceased and the snake had all the appearance of being dead! + +"It am dead, mass'," replied the black to my inquiring glance, "dead as +Julium Caesar." + +"And what is this plant, Gabriel?" + +"Ah, dat is a great yerb, mass'; dat is a scace plant--a berry scace +plant. Eat some ob dat--no snake bite you, as you jes seed. Dat is de +plant ob de _snake-charmer_." + +The botanical knowledge of my sable companion went no farther. In after +years, however, I was enabled to classify his "charm," which was no +other than the _Aristolochia serpentaria_--a species closely allied to +the "bejuco de guaco," that alexipharmic rendered so celebrated by the +pens of Mutis and Humboldt. + +My companion now desired me to chew some of the roots; for though he had +every confidence in the other remedy, he deemed it no harm to make +assurance doubly sure. He extolled the virtues of the new-found plant, +and told me he should have administered it instead of the seneca root, +but he had despaired of finding it--as it was of much more rare +occurrence in that part of the country. + +I eagerly complied with his request, and swallowed some of the juice. +Like the seneca root, it tasted hot and pungent, with something of the +flavour of spirits of camphor. But the polygala is quite inodorous, +while the guaco gives forth a strong aromatic smell, resembling +valerian. + +I had already experienced relief--this would have given it to me almost +instantaneously. In a very short time time the swelling completely +subsided; and had it not been for the binding around my wrist, I should +have forgotten that I had been wounded. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN. + +KILLING A TRAIL. + +An hour or more we had spent since entering the glade--now no longer +terrible. Once more its flowers looked bright, and their perfume had +recovered its sweetness. Once more the singing of the birds and the hum +of the insect-world fell soothingly upon my ears; and there, as before, +sat the pretty doves, still repeating their soft "co-co-a"--the +endearing expression of their loves. + +I could have lingered long in the midst of this fair scene--long have +enjoyed its sylvan beauty; but the intellectual must over yield to the +physical. I felt sensations of hunger, and soon the appetite began to +distress me. Where was I to obtain relief from this pain--where obtain +food? I could not ask my companion to guide me to the plantations, now +that I knew the risk he would run in so doing. I knew that it really +was as he had stated--_the loss of an arm, perhaps of life, should he be +caught_. There was but little hope of mercy for him--the less so as he +had no master with power to protect him, and who might be _interested_ +in his not being thus crippled! + +By approaching the open country on the edge of the clearings, he would +not only run the hazard of being seen, but, what he feared still more, +being _tracked by hounds_! This mode of searching for "runaways" was +not uncommon, and there were even white men base enough to follow it as +a calling! So learnt I from my companion. His information was +afterwards confirmed _by my own experience_! + +I was hungry--what was to be done? I could not find my way alone. I +might again get lost, and have to spend the night in the swamp. What +had I best do? + +I appealed to my companion. He had been silent for some time--busy with +his thoughts. They were running on the same subject as my own. The +brave fellow had not forgotten me. + +"Jes what dis nigga am thinkin' 'bout," replied he. "Well, mass'," he +continued, "when sun go down, den I guide you safe--no fear den. Gabr'l +take you close to de Lebee road. Mass' must wait till sun go down." + +"But--" + +"Mass' hungry?" inquired he, interrupting me. + +I assented. + +"Jes thot so. Dar's nuffin' yeer to eat 'cept dis ole snake. Mass' no +care to eat snake: dis nigga eat 'im. Cook 'im at night, when smoke ob +de fire not seen ober de woods. Got place to cook 'im, mass' see. +Gabr'l truss mass' Edwad. He take him to caboose ob de runaway." + +He had already cut off the head of the reptile while he was talking; and +having pinned neck and tail together with a sharp stick, he lifted the +glittering body, and flinging it over his shoulders, stood ready to +depart. + +"Come, now, mass'," continued he, "come 'long wi' Ole Gabe; he find you +somethin' to eat." + +So saying, he turned round and walked off into the bushes. + +I took up my gun and followed. I could not do better. To have +attempted to find my own way back to the clearings might again have +resulted in failure, since I had twice failed. I had nothing to hurry +me back. It would be quite as well if I returned to the village after +night--the more prudent course, in fact--as then my mud-bedaubed and +blood-stained habiliments would be less likely to attract attention; and +this I desired to avoid. I was contented, therefore, to follow the +runaway to his "lair," and share it with him till after sunset. + +For some hundred yards he led on in silence. His eyes wandered around +the forest, as though he was seeking for something. They were not +directed upon the ground, but upward to the trees; and, therefore, I +know it was not the path he was in search of. + +A slight exclamation escaped him, and, suddenly turning in his tracks, +he struck off in a direction different to that we had been following. I +walked after; and now saw that he had halted by a tall tree, and was +looking up among its branches. + +The tree was the frankincense, or loblolly pine (_Pinus toeda_). That +much of botany I knew. I could tell the species by the large spinous +cones and light-green needles. Why had he stopped there? + +"Mass' Edwad soon see," he said, in answer to my interrogatory. +"Please, mass'," he continued, "hold de snake a bit--don't let um touch +de groun'--dam dogs dey smell um!" + +I relieved him of his burden; and, holding it as he desired, stood +watching him in silence. + +The loblolly pine grows with a straight, naked shaft and pyramidal head, +often without branches, to the height of fifty feet. In this case, +however, several fronds stood out from the trunk, at less than twenty +feet from the ground. These were loaded with large green cones, full +five inches in length; and it appeared to be these that my companion +desired to obtain--though for what purpose I had not the remotest idea. + +After a while he procured a long pole; and with the end of this knocked +down several of the cones, along with pieces of the branchlets to which +they adhered. + +As soon as he believed he had a sufficient quantity for his purpose, he +desisted, and flung the pole away. + +What next? I watched with increasing interest. + +He now gathered up both the cones and the adhering spray; but to my +surprise he flung the former away. It was not the cones, then, he +wanted, but the young shoots that grew on the very tops of the branches. +These were of a brownish-red colour, and thickly coated with resin--for +the _Pinus taeda_ is more resinous than any tree of its kind--emitting a +strong aromatic odour, which has given to it one of its trivial names. + +Having collected the shoots until he had both hands full, my guide now +bent down, and rubbed the resin over both the soles and upper surface of +his coarse brogans. He then advanced to where I stood, stooped down +again, and treated my boots to a similar polishing! + +"Now, mass', all right--de dam, blood-dogs no scent Ole Gabe now--dat +_hill de trail_. Come, mass' Edwad, come 'long." + +Saying this, he again shouldered the snake and started off, leaving me +to follow in his tracks. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT. + +THE PIROGUE. + +We soon after entered the _cypriere_. There the surface was mostly +without underwood. The black taxodiums, standing thickly, usurped the +ground, their umbellated crowns covered with hoary epiphytes, whose +pendulous drapery shut out the sun, that would otherwise have nourished +on that rich soil a luxuriant herbaceous vegetation. But we were now +within the limits of the annual inundation; and but few plants can +thrive there. + +After a while I could see we were approaching a stagnant water. There +was no perceptible descent, but the dank damp odour of the swamp, the +noise of the piping frogs, the occasional scream of some wading bird, or +the bellowing of the alligator, admonished me that some constant water-- +some lake or pond--was near. + +We were soon upon its margin. It was a large pond, though only a small +portion of it came under the eye; for, as far as I could see, the +cypress-trees grew up out of the water, their huge buttresses spreading +out so as almost to touch each other! Here and there the black "knees" +protruded above the surface, their fantastic shapes suggesting the idea +of horrid water-demons, and lending a supernatural character to the +scene. Thus canopied over, the water looked black as ink, and the +atmosphere felt heavy and oppressive. The picture was one from which +Dante might have drawn ideas for his "Inferno." + +On arriving near this gloomy pond, my guide came to a stop. A huge tree +that had once stood near the edge had fallen, and in such a position +that its top extended far out into the water. Its branches were yet +undecayed, and the parasites still clung to them in thick tufts, giving +the whole the appearance of a mass of hay loosely thrown together. Part +of this was under water, but a still larger portion remained above the +surface, high and dry. It was at the root of this fallen tree that my +guide had halted. + +He remained but a moment, waiting only till I came up. + +As soon as I had reached the spot, he mounted upon the trunk; and, +beckoning me to follow him, walked along the log in the direction of its +top. I climbed up, and balancing myself as well as I could, followed +him out into the water. + +On reaching the head of the tree, we entered among the thick limbs; and, +winding around these, kept still farther towards the top branches. I +expected that there we should reach our resting-place. + +At length my companion came to a stop, and I now saw, to my +astonishment, a small "pirogue" resting upon the water, and hidden under +the moss! So completely was it concealed, that it was not possible to +have seen it from any point except that where we now stood. + +"This, then," thought I, "is the object for which we have crawled out +upon the tree." + +The sight of the pirogue led me to conjecture that we had farther to go. +The black now loosed the canoe from its moorings, and beckoned me to +get in. + +I stepped into the frail craft and sat down. My companion followed, +and, laying hold of the branches, impelled the vessel outward till it +was clear of the tops of the tree. Then, seizing the paddle, under its +repeated strokes we passed silently over the gloomy surface of the +water. + +For the first two or three hundred yards our progress was but slow. The +cypress knees, and huge "buttocks" of the trees, stood thickly in the +way, and it was necessary to observe some caution in working the pirogue +through among them. But I saw that my companion well understood the +_manege_ of his craft, and wielded a "paddle" with the skill of a +Chippewa. He had the reputation of being a great "'coon-hunter" and +"bayou fisherman;" and in these pursuits no doubt he had picked up his +canoe-craft. + +It was the most singular voyage I had ever made. The pirogue floated in +an element that more resembled ink than water. Not a ray of sun glanced +across our path. The darkness of twilight was above and around us. + +We glided along shadowy aisles, and amidst huge black trunks that rose +like columns supporting a canopy of close-woven fronds. From this +vegetable root hung the mournful _bromelia_, sometimes drooping down to +the very surface of the water, so as to sweep our faces and shoulders as +we passed under it. + +We were not the only living things. Even this hideous place had its +denizens. It was the haunt and secure abode of the great _saurian_, +whose horrid form could be distinguished in the gloom, now crawling +along some prostrate trunk, now half mounted upon the protruding knees +of the cypresses, or swimming with slow and stealthy stroke through the +black liquid. Huge water-snakes could be seen, causing a tiny ripple as +they passed from tree to tree, or lying coiled upon the projecting +buttocks. The swamp-owl hovered on silent wing, and large brown bats +pursued their insect prey. Sometimes these came near, fluttering in our +very faces, so that we could perceive the mephitic odour of their +bodies, while their horny jaws gave forth a noise like the clinking of +castanets. + +The novelty of the scene interested me; but I could not help being +impressed with a slight feeling of awe. Classic memories, too, stirred +within me. The fancies of the Roman poet were here realised. I was +upon the Styx, and in my rower I recognised the redoubtable Charon. + +Suddenly a light broke through the gloom. A few more strokes of the +paddle, and the pirogue shot out into the bright sunlight. What a +relief! + +I now beheld a space of open water,--a sort of circular lake. It was in +reality the lake, for what we had been passing over was but the +inundation; and at certain seasons this portion covered with forest +became almost dry. The open water, on the contrary, was constant, and +too deep even for the swamp-loving cypress to grow in it. + +The space thus clear of timber was not of very large extent,--a surface +of half-a-mile or so. On all sides it was enclosed by the moss-draped +forest that rose around it, like a grey wall; and in the very centre +grew a clump of the same character, that in the distance appeared to be +an island. + +This solitary tarn was far from being silent. On the contrary, it was a +scene of stirring life. It seemed the rendezvous for the many species +of wild winged creatures that people the great _marais_ of Louisiana. +There were the egrets, the ibises--both white and scarlet--the various +species of _Ardeidae_, the cranes, and the red flamingoes. There, too, +was the singular and rare darter, swimming with body immersed, and +snake-like head just appearing above the water; and there were the white +unwieldy forms of the tyrant pelicans standing on the watch for their +finny prey. Swimming birds speckled the surface; various species of +_Anatidae_--swans, geese, and ducks,--while the air was filled with +flights of gulls and curlews, or was cut by the strong whistling wings +of the mallards. + +Other than waterfowl had chosen this secluded spot for their favourite +dwelling-place. The osprey could be seen wheeling about in the air, now +shooting down like a star upon the unfortunate fish that had approached +too near the surface, and anon yielding up his prey to the tyrant +_Haliaetus_. Such were the varied forms of feathered creatures that +presented themselves to my eye on entering this lonely lake of the +woods. + +I looked with interest upon the scene. It was a true scene of nature, +and made a vivid impression upon me at the moment. Not so with my +companion, to whom it was neither novel nor interesting. It was an old +picture to his eyes, and he saw it from a different point of view. He +did not stay to look at it, but, lightly dipping his paddle, pressed the +pirogue on in the direction of the island. + +A few strokes carried us across the open water, and the canoe once more +entered under the shadow of trees. But to my surprise, _there was no +island_! What I had taken for an island was but a single cypress-tree, +that grew upon a spot where the lake was shallow. Its branches +extending on every side were loaded with the hoary parasites that +drooped down to the very surface of the water, and shadowed a space of +half an acre in extent. Its trunk rested upon a base of enormous +dimensions. Huge buttresses flanked it on every side, slanting out into +the water and rising along its stem to a height of many yards, the whole +mass appearing as large as an ordinary cabin. Its sides were indented +with deep bays; and, as we approached under the screen, I could perceive +a dark cavity which showed that this singular "buttock" was hollow +within. + +The bow of the pirogue was directed into one of the bays, and soon +struck against the tree. I saw several steps cut into the wood, and +leading to the cavity above. My companion pointed to these steps. The +screaming of the startled birds prevented me from hearing what he said, +but I saw that it was a sign for me to mount upward. I hastened to obey +his direction; and, climbing out of the canoe, sprawled up the sloping +ridge. + +At the top was the entrance, just large enough to admit the body of a +man; and, pressing through this, I stood inside the hollow tree. + +We had reached our destination--I was in the _lair of the runaway_! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY NINE. + +THE TREE-CAVERN. + +The interior was dark, and it was some time before I could distinguish +any object. Presently my eyes became accustomed to the sombre light, +and I was enabled to trace the outlines of this singular tree-cavern. + +Its dimensions somewhat astonished me. A dozen men could have been +accommodated in it, and there was ample room for that number either +sitting or standing. In fact, the whole pyramidal mass which supported +the tree was nothing more than a thin shell, all the heart having +perished by decay. The floor, by the falling of this _debris_ of rotten +wood, was raised above the level of the water, and felt firm and dry +underfoot. Near its centre I could perceive the ashes and half-burnt +embers of an extinct fire; and along one side was strewed a thick +covering of dry _tillandsia_, that had evidently been used as a bed. An +old blanket lying upon the moss gave further testimony that this was its +purpose. + +There was no furniture. A rude block,--a cypress knee that had been +carried there--formed, the only substitute for a chair, and there was +nothing to serve for a table. He who had made this singular cave his +residence required no luxuries to sustain him. Necessaries, however, he +had provided. As my eyes grew more accustomed to the light, I could +make out a number of objects I had not at first seen. An earthen +cooking-pot, a large water gourd, a tin cup, an old axe, some +fishing-tackle, and one or two coarse rags of clothing. What interested +me more than all these was the sight of several articles that were +_eatable_. There was a good-sized "chunk" of cooked pork, a gigantic +"pone" of corn-bread, several boiled ears of maize, and the better half +of a roast fowl. All these lay together upon a large wooden dish, +rudely carved from the wood of the tulip-tree--of such a fashion as I +had often observed about the cabins of the negro quarter. Beside this +dish lay several immense egg-shaped bodies of dark-green colour, with +other smaller ones of a yellow hue. These were water and musk melons,-- +not a bad prospect for a dessert. + +I had made this reconnoissance while my companion was engaged in +fastening his pirogue to the tree. I had finished my survey as he +entered. + +"Now, mass'," said he, "dis am ole Gabe's nest; de dam man-hunter no +found 'im yeer." + +"Why, you are quite at home here, Gabriel! How did you ever find such a +place?" + +"Lor', mass', knowd it long time. He not de fust darkie who hid in dis +old cypress,--nor de fust time for Gabr'l neider. He runaway afore,-- +dat war when he libbed with Mass' Hicks, 'fore ole mass' bought him. He +nebber had 'casion to run away from old Mass 'Sancon. He good to de +brack folks, and so war Mass Antoine--he good too, but now de poor nigga +can't stan no longer; de new oberseer, he flog hard,--he flog till do +blood come,--he use de cobbin board, an dat pump, an de red cowhide, an +de wagon whip,--ebberything he use,--dam! I nebber go back,--nebber!" + +"But how do you intend to live? you can't always exist in this way. +Where will you get your provisions?" + +"Nebber fear, mass' Edwad, always get nuff to eat; no fear for dat. Da +poor runaway hab some friend on de plantations. Beside he steal nuff to +keep 'im 'live--hya! hya!" + +"Oh!" + +"Gabr'l no need steal now, 'ceptin' de roasting yeers and de millyuns. +See! what Zip fetch im! Zip come las night to de edge ob de woods an' +fetch all dat plunder. But, mass', you 'skoose me. Forgot you am +hungry. Hab some pork some chicken. Chloe cook 'em--is good--you eat." + +So saying he set the wooden platter with its contents before me; and the +conversation was now interrupted, as both myself and my companion +attacked the viands with right good-will. + +The "millyuns" constituted a delicious dessert, and for a full half-hour +we continued to fight against the appetite of hunger. We conquered it +at length, but not until the store of the runaway had been greatly +reduced in bulk. + +After dinner we sat conversing for a long time. We were not without the +soothing nicotian weed. My companion had several bunches of dry +tobacco-leaf among his stores; and a corn-cob with a piece of cane-joint +served for a pipe, through which the smoke was inhaled with all the +aromatic fragrance of the costliest Havanna. + +Partly from gratitude for the saving of my life, I had grown to feel a +strong interest in the runaway, and his future prospects became the +subject of our converse. He had formed no plan of escape--though some +thoughts of an attempt to reach Canada or Mexico, or to get off in a +ship by New Orleans, had passed through his mind. + +A plan occurred to me, though I did not communicate it to him, as I +might never be able to carry it out. I begged of him, however, not to +leave his present abode until I could see him again, promising that I +should do what I could to find him a kinder master. + +He readily agreed to my proposal; and as it was now sunset, I made +preparations for my departure from the lake. + +A signal was agreed upon, so that when I should return to visit him, he +could bring the pirogue to ferry me across; and this being arranged, we +once more entered the canoe, and set out for the plantations. + +We soon recrossed the lake; and, leaving the little boat safely moored +by the fallen tree, started off through the woods. The path, with +Gabriel for my guide, was now easy; and at intervals, as we went along, +he directed my attention to certain blazes upon the trees, and other +marks by which I should know it again. + +In less than an hour after, we parted on the edge of the clearings--he +going to some rendezvous already appointed--whilst I kept on to the +village, the road to which now ran between parallel fences that rendered +it impossible for me to go astray. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY. + +HOTEL GOSSIP. + +It was yet early when I entered the village. I glided stealthily +through the streets, desirous to avoid observation. Unfortunately I had +to pass through the bar of the hotel in order to reach my room. It was +just before the hour of supper, and the guests had assembled in the bar +saloon and around the porch. + +My tattered habiliments, in places stained with blood, and profusely +soiled with mud, could not escape notice; nor did they. Men turned and +gazed after me. Loiterers looked with eyes that expressed their +astonishment. Some in the portico, and others in the bar, hailed me as +I passed, asking me where I had been to. One cried out: "Hillow, +mister! you've had a tussle with the cats: hain't you?" + +I did not make reply. I pushed on up-stairs, and found relief in the +privacy of my chamber. + +I had been badly torn by the bushes. My wounds needed dressing. I +despatched a messenger for Reigart. Fortunately he was at home, and in +a few minutes followed my messenger to the hotel. He entered my room, +and stood staring at me with a look of surprise. + +"My dear R--, where have you been?" he inquired at length. + +"To the swamp." + +"And those wounds--your clothes torn--blood?" + +"Thorn-scratches--that's all." + +"But where have you been?" + +"In the swamp." + +"In the swamp! but how came you to get such a mauling?" + +"I have been bitten by a rattlesnake." + +"What! bitten by a rattlesnake? Do you speak seriously?" + +"Quite true it is--but I have taken the antidote. I am cured." + +"Antidote! Cured! And what cure? who gave you an antidote?" + +"A friend whom I met in the swamp!" + +"A friend in the swamp!" exclaimed Reigart, his astonishment increasing. + +I had almost forgotten the necessity of keeping my secret. I saw that I +had spoken imprudently. Inquisitive eyes were peeping in at the door. +Ears were listening to catch every sound. + +Although the inhabitant of the Mississippi is by no means of a curious +disposition--_malgre_ the statements of gossiping tourists--the +unexplained and forlorn appearance I presented on my return was enough +to excite a degree of interest even among the most apathetic people; and +a number of the guests of the hotel had gathered in the lobby around the +door of my chamber, and were eagerly asking each other what had happened +to me. I could overhear their conversation, though they did not know +it. + +"He's been fightin' a painter?" said one, interrogatively. + +"A painter or a bar," answered another. + +"'Twur some desprit varmint anyhow--it hez left its mark on him,--that +it hez." + +"It's the same fellow that laid out Bully Bill: ain't it?" + +"The same," replied some one. + +"English, ain't he?" + +"Don't know. He's a Britisher, I believe. English, Irish, or Scotch, +he's a hull team an' a cross dog under the wagon. By God! he laid out +Bully Bill straight as a fence-rail, wi' nothin' but a bit o' a whup, +and then tuk Bill's pistols away from him! Ha! ha! ha!" + +"Jehosophat!" + +"He's jest a feller to whip his weight in wild-cats. He's killed the +catamount, I reckon." + +"No doubt he's done that." + +I had supposed that my encounter with Bully Bill had made me enemies +among his class. It was evident from the tone and tenor of their +conversation that such was not the case. Though, perhaps, a little +piqued that a stranger--a mere youth as I then was--should have +conquered one of their bullies, these backwoodsmen are not intensely +clannish, and Bully Bill was no favourite. Had I "whipped" him on any +other grounds, I should have gained a positive popularity by the act. +But in defence of a slave--and I a foreigner--a Britisher, too--that was +a presumption not to be pardoned. That was the drawback on my victory, +and henceforth I was likely to be a "marked man" in the neighbourhood. + +These observations had served to amuse me while I was awaiting the +arrival of Reigart, though, up to a certain point, I took but little +interest in them. A remark that now reached my ears, however, suddenly +changed the nature of my thoughts. It was this:-- + +"_He's after Miss Besancon, they say_." + +I was now interested. I stepped to the door, and, placing my ear close +to the keyhole, listened. + +"I guess he's arter _the plantation_," said another; and the remark was +followed by a significant laugh. + +"Well, then," rejoined a voice, in a more solemn and emphatic tone, +"he's after what he won't get." + +"How? how?" demanded several. + +"He may get _thee_ lady, preehaps," continued the same voice, in the +same measured tones; "but not _thee_ plantation." + +"How? What do you mean, Mr Moxley?" again demanded the chorus of +voices. + +"I mean what I say, gentlemen," replied the solemn speaker; and then +repeated again his former words in a like measured drawl. "He may get +the lady, _pree_haps, but not _thee_ plantation." + +"Oh! the report's true, then?" said another voice, interrogatively. +"Insolvent? Eh? Old Gayarre--" + +"Owns _thee_ plantation." + +"And niggers?" + +"Every skin o' them; the sheriff will take possession to-morrow." + +A murmur of astonishment reached my ears. It was mingled with +expressions of disapprobation or sympathy. + +"Poor girl! it's a pity o' _her_!" + +"Well, it's no wonder. She made the money fly since the old 'un died." + +"Some say he didn't leave so much after all. 'Twar most part mortgaged +before--" + +The entrance of the doctor interrupted this conversation, and relieved +me for the moment from the torture which it was inflicting upon me. + +"A friend in the swamp, did you say?" again interrogated Reigart. + +I had hesitated to reply, thinking of the crowd by the door. I said to +the doctor in a low earnest voice-- + +"My dear friend, I have met with an adventure; am badly scratched, as +you see. Dress my wounds, but do not press me for details. I have my +reasons for being silent. You will one day learn all, but not now. +Therefore--" + +"Enough, enough!" said the doctor, interrupting me; "do not be uneasy. +Let me look at your scratches." + +The good doctor became silent, and proceeded to the dressing of my +wounds. + +Under other circumstances the manipulation of my wounds, for they now +felt painful, might have caused me annoyance. It did not then. What I +had just heard had produced a feeling within that neutralised the +external pain, and I felt it not. + +I was really in mental agony. + +I burned with impatience to question Reigart about the affairs of the +plantation,--about Eugenie and Aurore. I could not,--we were not alone. +The landlord of the hotel and a negro attendant had entered the room, +and were assisting the doctor in his operations. I could not trust +myself to speak on such a subject in their presence. I was forced to +nurse my impatience until all was over, and both landlord and servant +had left us. + +"Now, doctor, this news of Mademoiselle Besancon?" + +"Do _you_ not know all?" + +"Only what I have heard this moment from those gossips outside the +room." + +I detailed to Reigart the remarks that had been made. + +"Really I thought you must have been acquainted with the whole matter. +I had fancied that to be the cause of your long absence to-day; though I +did not even conjecture how you might be engaged in the matter." + +"I know nothing more than what I have thus accidentally overheard. For +heaven's sake tell me all! Is it true?" + +"Substantially true, I grieve to say." + +"Poor Eugenie!" + +"The estate was heavily mortgaged to Gayarre. I have long suspected +this, and fear there has been some foul play. Gayarre has foreclosed +the mortgage, and, indeed, it is said, is already in possession. +Everything is now his." + +"Everything?" + +"Everything upon the plantation." + +"The slaves?" + +"Certainly." + +"All--all--and--and--Aurore?" + +I hesitated as I put the interrogatory, Reigart had no knowledge of my +attachment to Aurore. + +"The quadroon girl, you mean?--of course, she with the others. She is +but a slave like the rest. She will be sold." + +"_But a slave! sold with the rest_!" + +This reflection was not uttered aloud. + +I cannot describe the tumult of my feelings as I listened. The blood +was boiling within my veins, and I could scarce restrain myself from +some wild expression. I strove to the utmost to hide my thoughts, but +scarce succeeded; for I noticed that the usually cold eye of Reigart was +kindled in surprise at my manner. If he divined my secret he was +generous, for he asked no explanation. + +"The slaves are all to be sold then?" I faltered out. + +"No doubt,--everything will be sold,--that is the law in such cases. It +is likely Gayarre will buy in the whole estate, as the plantation lies +contiguous to his own." + +"Gayarre! villain! oh! And Mademoiselle Besancon, what will become of +her? Has she no friends?" + +"I have heard something of an aunt who has some, though not much, +property. She lives in the city. It is likely that Mademoiselle will +live with her in future. I believe the aunt has no children of her own, +and Eugenie will inherit. This, however, I cannot vouch for. I know it +only as a rumour." + +Reigart spoke these words in a cautious and reserved manner. I noticed +something peculiar in the tone in which he uttered them; but I knew his +reason for being cautious. He was under a mistaken impression as to the +feelings with which I regarded Eugenie! I did not undeceive him. + +"Poor Eugenie! a double sorrow,--no wonder at the change I had observed +of late,--no wonder she appeared sad!" + +All this was but my own silent reflections. + +"Doctor!" said I, elevating my voice; "I must go to the plantation." + +"Not to-night!" + +"To-night,--now!" + +"My dear Mr E., you must not." + +"Why?" + +"It is impossible,--I cannot permit it,--you will have a fever; it may +cost you your life!" + +"But--" + +"I cannot hear you. I assure you, you are now on the verge of a fever. +You must remain in your room--at least, until to-morrow. Perhaps then +you may go out with safety. Now it is impossible." + +I was compelled to acquiesce, though I am not certain but that had I +taken my own way it would have been better for my "fever." Within me +was a _cause of fever_ much stronger than any exposure to the night air. +My throbbing heart and wildly-coursing blood soon acted upon my brain. + +"Aurore the slave of Gayarre! Ha! ha! ha! His slave! Gayarre! +Aurore! ha! ha! ha! Is it his throat I clutch? ha, no! It is the +serpent! here--help--help! Water! water! I am choking. No, Gayarre +is! I have him now! Again it is the serpent! O God! it coils around +my throat--it strangles me! Help! Aurore! lovely Aurore! do not yield +to him!" + +"I will die rather than yield!" + +"I thought so, noble girl! I come to release you! How she struggles in +his grasp! Fiend! off--off, fiend! Aurore, you are free--free! Angels +of heaven!" + +Such was my dream,--the dream of a fevered brain. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY ONE. + +THE LETTER. + +During all the night my sleep was broken at intervals, and the hours +divided between dreaming and half delirium. + +I awoke in the morning not much refreshed with my night's rest. I lay +for some time passing over in my mind the occurrences of yesterday, and +considering what course I should pursue. + +After a time I determined upon going direct to the plantation, and +learning for myself how matters stood there. + +I arose with this intention. As I was dressing, my eye fell upon a +letter that lay upon the table. It bore no postmark, but the writing +was in a female hand, and I guessed whence it came. + +I tore open the seal, and read:-- + +"_Monsieur_! + +"_To-day, by the laws of Louisiana, I am a woman,--and none more unhappy +in all the land. The same sun that has risen upon the natal day of my +majority looks down upon the ruin of my fortune_! + +"_It was my design to have made_ you _happy: to have proved that I am +not ungrateful. Alas! it is no longer in my power. I am, no more the +proprietor of the plantation Besancon_,--_no more the mistress of +Aurore! All is gone from me, and Eugenie Besancon is now a beggar. Ah, +Monsieur! it is a sad tale, and I know not what will be its end_. + +"_Alas! there are griefs harder to hear than the loss of fortune. That +may in time be repaired, but the anguish of unrequited love_,--_love +strong, and single, and pure, as mine is_,--_must long endure, perchance +for ever_! + +"_Know, Monsieur, that in the bitter cup it is my destiny to drink, +there is not one drop of jealousy or reproach. I alone have made the +misery that is my portion_. + +"_Adieu, Monsieur! adieu, and farewell! It is better we should never +meet again. O be happy! no plaint of mine shall ever reach your ear, to +cloud the sunshine of your happiness. Henceforth the walls of_ Sacre +Coeur _shall alone witness the sorrows of the unfortunate but grateful_. + +"Eugenie." + +The letter was dated the day before. I knew that that was the birthday +of the writer; in common parlance, the day on which she was "of age." + +"Poor Eugenie!" reflected I. "Her happiness has ended with her +girlhood. Poor Eugenie!" + +The tears ran fast over my cheeks as I finished reading. I swept them +hastily away, and ringing the bell I ordered my horse to be saddled. I +hurried through with my toilet; the horse was soon brought to the door; +and, mounting him, I rode rapidly for the plantation. + +Shortly after leaving the village, I passed two men, who were also on +horseback--going in the same direction as myself, but riding at a slower +pace than I. They were dressed in the customary style of planters, and +a casual observer might have taken them for such. There was something +about them, however, that led me to think they were not planters, nor +merchants, nor men whose calling relates to any of the ordinary +industries of life. It was not in their dress I saw this something, but +in a certain expression of countenance. This expression I cannot well +describe, but I have ever noticed it in the faces and features of men +who have anything to do with the execution of the laws. Even in +America, where distinctive costume and badge are absent, I have been +struck with this peculiarity,--so much so that I believe I could detect +a detective in the plainest clothes. + +The two men in question had this expression strongly marked. I had no +doubt they were in some way connected with the execution of the laws. I +had no doubt they were constables or sheriff's officers. With such a +slight glance as I gave to them in passing, I might not have troubled +myself with this conjecture, had it not been for other circumstances +then in my thoughts. + +I had not saluted these men; but as I passed, I could perceive that my +presence was not without interest to them. On glancing back, I saw that +one of them had ridden close up to the other, that they were conversing +earnestly; and from their gestures I could tell that I was the subject +of their talk. + +I had soon ridden far ahead, and ceased to think any more about them. + +I had hurried forward without any preconceived plan of action. I had +acted altogether on the impulse of the moment, and thought only of +reaching the house, and ascertaining the state of affairs, either from +Eugenie or Aurore herself. + +Thus _impromptu_ I had reached the borders of the plantation. + +It now occurred to me to ride more slowly, in oder to gain a few moments +to manage my thoughts. I even halted awhile. There was a slight bend +in the river-bank, and the road crossed this like a chord to its arc. +The part cut off was a piece of waste--a common--and as there was no +fence I forsook the road, and walked my horse out on the river-bank. +There I drew up, but remained seated in my saddle. + +I endeavoured to sketch out some plan of action. What should I say to +Eugenie? what to Aurore? Would the former see me after what she had +written? In her note she had said "farewell," but it was not a time to +stand upon punctilious ceremony. And if not, should I find an +opportunity to speak with Aurore? I _must_ see _her_. Who should +prevent me? I had much to say to her; my heart was full. Nothing but +an interview with my betrothed could relieve it. + +Still without any definite plan, I once more turned my horse's head down +the river, used the spur, and galloped onward. + +On arriving near the gate I was somewhat surprised to see two saddled +horses standing there. I instantly recognised them as the horses I had +passed on the road. They had overtaken me again while I was halted by +the bend of the river, and had arrived at the gate before me. The +saddles were now empty. The riders had gone into the house. + +A black man was holding the horses. It was my old friend "Zip." + +I rode up, and without dismounting addressed myself to Scipio. Who were +they who had gone in? + +I was hardly surprised at the answer. My conjecture was right. They +were men of the law,--the deputy sheriff of the _parish_ and his +assistant. + +It was scarce necessary to inquire their _business_. I guessed that. + +I only asked Scipio the details. + +Briefly Scipio gave them; at least so far as I allowed him to proceed +without interruption. A sheriff's officer was in charge of the house +and all its contents; Larkin still ruled the negro quarter, but the +slaves were all to be sold; Gayarre was back and forward; and "_Missa +'Genie am gone away_." + +"Gone away! and whither?" + +"Don't know, mass'r. B'lieve she gone to de city. She leab last night +in de night-time." + +"And--" + +I hesitated a moment till my heart should still its heavy throbbings. + +"Aurore?" I interrogated with an effort. + +"'Rore gone too, mass'r;--she gone long wi' Missa 'Genie." + +"Aurore gone!" + +"Yes, mass'r, she gone; daat's de troof." + +I was astounded by the information, as well as puzzled by this +mysterious departure. Eugenie gone and in the night! Aurore gone with +her! What could it mean? Whither had they gone? + +My reiterated appeal to the black threw no light upon the subject. He +was ignorant of all their movements,--ignorant of everything but what +related to the negro quarter. He had heard that himself, his wife, his +daughter,--"the leetle Chloe,"--with all their fellow-slaves, were to be +carried down to the city, and to be sold in the slave-market by auction. +They were to be taken the following day. They were already advertised. +That was all he knew. No, not all,--one other piece of information he +had in store for me. It was authentic: he had heard the "white folks" +talk of it to one another:--Larkin, Gayarre, and a "negro-trader," who +was to be concerned in this sale. It regarded the quadroon. _She was +to be sold among the rest_! + +The blood boiled in my veins as the black imparted this information. It +was authentic. Scipio's statement of what he had heard, minutely +detailed, bore the internal evidence of authenticity. I could not doubt +the report. I felt the conviction that it was true. + +The plantation Besancon had no more attractions. I had no longer any +business at Bringiers. New Orleans was now the scene of action for me! + +With a kind word to Scipio, I wheeled my horse and galloped away from +the gate. The fiery animal caught my excitement, and sprang wildly +along the road. It required all his buoyant spirit to keep pace with +the quick dancing of my nerves. + +In a few minutes I had consigned him to his groom; and, climbing to my +chamber, commenced preparing for my departure. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY TWO. + +THE WHARF-BOAT. + +I now only waited a boat to convey me to New Orleans. I knew that I +should not have long to wait. The annual epidemic was on the decline, +and the season of business and pleasure in the "Crescent City" was about +commencing. Already the up-river steamers were afloat on all the +tributary streams of the mighty Mississippi, laden with the produce of +its almost limitless valley, and converging towards the great Southern +entrepot of American commerce. I might expect a "down-boat" every day, +or rather indeed every hour. + +I resolved to take the first boat that came along. + +The hotel in which I dwelt, as well as the whole village, stood at a +considerable distance from the boat landing. It had been built so from +precaution. The banks of the Mississippi at this place, and for a +thousand miles above and below, are elevated but a few feet above the +surface level of its water; and, in consequence of the continuous +detrition, it is no uncommon occurrence for large slips to give way, and +be swept off in the red whirling current. It might be supposed that in +time this never-ceasing action of the water would widen the stream to +unnatural dimensions. But, no. For every encroachment on one bank +there is a corresponding formation against the opposite,--a deposit +caused by the eddy which the new curve has produced, so that the river +thus preserves its original breadth. This remarkable action may be +noted from the _embouchure_ of the Ohio to the mouth of the Mississippi +itself, though at certain points the extent of the encroachment and the +formation that neutralises it is much greater than at others. In some +places the "wearing away" of the bank operates so rapidly that in a few +days the whole site of a village, or even a plantation, may disappear. +Not unfrequently, too, during the high spring-floods this eccentric +stream takes a "near cut" across the neck of one of its own "bends," and +in a few hours a channel is formed, through which pours the whole +current of the river. Perhaps a plantation may have been established in +the concavity of this bend,--perhaps three or four of them,--and the +planter who has gone to sleep under the full belief that he had built +his house upon a _continent_, awakes in the morning to find himself the +inhabitant of an island! With dismay he beholds the vast volume of +red-brown water rolling past, and cutting off his communication with the +mainland. He can no longer ride to his neighbouring village without the +aid of an expensive ferry. His wagons will no longer serve him to +"haul" to market his huge cotton-bales or hogsheads of sugar and +tobacco; and, prompted by a feeling of insecurity--lest the next wild +sweep of the current may carry himself, his house, and his several +hundred half-naked negroes along with it--he flees from his home, and +retires to some other part of the stream, where he may deem the land in +less danger of such unwelcome intrusion. + +In consequence of these eccentricities a safe site for a town is +extremely rare upon the Lower Mississippi. There are but few points in +the last five hundred miles of its course where natural elevations offer +this advantage. The artificial embankment, known as the "Levee," has in +some measure remedied the deficiency, and rendered the towns and +plantations _comparatively_ secure. + +As already stated, my hotel was somewhat out of the way. A boat might +touch at the landing and be off again without my being warned of it. A +down-river-boat, already laden, and not caring to obtain further +freight, would not stop long; and in a "tavern" upon the Mississippi you +must not confide in the punctuality of "Boots," as you would in a London +hotel. Your chances of being waked by Sambo, ten times sleepier than +yourself, are scarcely one in a hundred. + +I had ample experience of this; and, fearing that the boat might pass if +I remained at the hotel, I came to the resolve to settle my affairs in +that quarter and at once transport myself and my _impedimenta_ to the +landing. + +I should not be entirely without shelter. There was no house; but an +old steamboat, long since condemned as not "river-worthy," lay at the +landing. This hulk, moored by strong cables to the bank, formed an +excellent floating wharf; while its spacious deck, cabins, and saloons, +served as a storehouse for all sorts of merchandise. It was, in fact, +used both as a landing and warehouse, and was known as the "wharf-boat." + +It was late,--nearly midnight,--as I stepped aboard the wharf-boat. +Stragglers from the town, who may have had business there, had all gone +away, and the owner of the store-boat was himself absent. A drowsy +negro, his _locum tenens_, was the only human thing that offered itself +to my eyes. The lower deck of the boat was tenanted by this individual, +who sat behind a counter that enclosed one corner of the apartment. +Upon this counter stood a pair of scales, with weights, a large ball of +coarse twine, a rude knife, and such other implements as may be seen in +a country "store;" and upon shelves at the back were ranged bottles of +coloured liquors, glasses, boxes of hard biscuit, "Western reserve" +cheeses, kegs of rancid butter, plugs of tobacco, and bundles of +inferior cigars,--in short, all the etceteras of a regular "grocery." +The remaining portion of the ample room was littered with merchandise, +packed in various forms. There were boxes, barrels, bags, and bales; +some on their way up-stream, that had come by New Orleans from distant +lands, while others were destined downward: the rich product of the +soil, to be borne thousands of miles over the wide Atlantic. With these +various packages every part of the floor was occupied, and I looked in +vain for a spot on which to stretch myself. A better light might have +enabled me to discover such a place; but the tallow candle, guttering +down the sides of an empty champagne-bottle, but dimly lit up the +confusion. It just sufficed to guide me to the only occupant of the +place, upon whose sombre face the light faintly flickered. + +"Asleep, uncle?" I said, approaching him. + +A gruff reply from an American negro is indeed a rarity, and never given +to a question politely put. The familiar style of my address touched a +sympathetic chord in the bosom of the "darkie," and a smile of +satisfaction gleamed upon his features as he made answer. Of course he +was _not_ asleep. But my idle question was only meant as the prelude to +further discourse. + +"Ah, Gollys! it be massa Edward. Uncle Sam know'd you, massa Edward. +You good to brack folk. Wat can do uncle Sam for massa?" + +"I am going down to the city, and have come here to wait for a boat. Is +it likely one will pass to-night?" + +"Sure, massa--sure be a boat dis night. Bossy 'spect a boat from de Red +ribber dis berry night--either de Houma or de Choctuma." + +"Good! and now, uncle Sam, if you will find me six feet of level plank, +and promise to rouse me when the boat comes in sight, I shall not grudge +you this half dollar." + +The sudden enlargement of the whites of undo Sam's eyes showed the +satisfaction he experienced at the sight of the shining piece of metal. +Without more ado he seized the champagne-bottle that hold the candle; +and, gliding among the boxes and bales, conducted me to a stairway that +led to the second or cabin-deck of the boat. We climbed up, and entered +the saloon. + +"Dar, massa, plenty of room--uncle Sam he sorry dar's ne'er a bed, but +if massa could sleep on these yeer coffee-bags, he berry welcome--berry +welcome. I leave dis light wi' massa. I can get anoder for self b'low. +Good night, massa Edward--don't fear I wake you--no fear ob dat." + +And so saying, the kind-hearted black set the bottle-candlestick upon +the floor; and, passing down the stair again, left me to my reflections. + +With such poor light as the candle afforded, I took a careless survey of +my apartment. There was plenty of room, as uncle Sam had said. It was +the cabin of the old steamboat; and as the partition-doors had been +broken off and carried away, the ladies' cabin, main saloon, and front, +were now all in one. Together they formed a hall of more than a hundred +feet in length, and from where I stood, near the centre, both ends were +lost to my view in the darkness. The state-rooms on each side were +still there, with their green Venetian doors. Some of these were shut, +while others stood ajar, or quite open. The gilding and ornaments, dim +from age and use, adorned the sides and ceiling of the hall; and over +the arched entrance of the main saloon the word "Sultana," in gold +letters that still glittered brightly, informed me that I was now inside +the "carcase" of one of the most famous boats that ever cleft the waters +of the Mississippi. + +Strange thoughts came into my mind as I stood regarding this desolate +saloon. Silent and solitary it seemed--even more so I thought than +would some lonely spot in the midst of a forest. The very absence of +those sounds that one is accustomed to hear in such a place--the +grinding of the machinery--the hoarse detonations of the 'scape-pipe-- +the voices of men--the busy hum of conversation, or the ringing laugh-- +the absence of the sights, too--the brilliant chandeliers--the long +tables sparkling with crystal--the absence of these, and yet the +presence of the scene associated with such sights and sounds--gave to +the place an air of indescribable desolation. I felt as one within the +ruins of some old convent, or amidst the tombs of an antique cemetery. + +No furniture of any kind relieved the monotony of the place. The only +visible objects were the coarse gunny-bags strewed over the floor, and +upon which uncle Sam had made me welcome to repose myself. + +After surveying my odd chamber, and giving way to some singular +reflections, I began to think of disposing of myself for sleep. I was +wearied. My health was not yet restored. The clean bast of the +coffee-bags looked inviting. I dragged half-a-dozen of them together, +placed them side by side, and then, throwing myself upon my back, drew +my cloak over me. The coffee-berries yielded to the weight of my body, +giving me a comfortable position, and in less than five minutes I fell +asleep. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY THREE. + +THE NORWAY RAT. + +I must have slept an hour or more. I did not think of consulting my +watch before going to sleep, and I had little thought about such a thing +after I awoke. But that I had slept at least an hour, I could tell by +the length of my candle. + +A fearful hour that was, as any I can remember to have spent--an hour of +horrid dreaming. But I am wrong to call it so. It was no dream, though +at the time I thought it one. + +Listen! + +As I have said, I lay down upon my back, covering myself with my ample +cloak from the chin to the ankles. My face and feet were alone free. I +had placed one of the bags for a pillow, and thus raised my head in such +a position, that I had a full view of the rest of my person. The light, +set just a little way beyond my heels, was right before my eyes; and I +could see the floor in that direction to the distance of several yards. +I have said that in five minutes I was asleep. I thought that I was +asleep, and to this hour I think so, and yet my eyes were open, and I +plainly saw the candle before them and that portion of the floor +illumined by its rays. I thought that I endeavoured to close my eyes, +but could not; nor could I change my position, but lay regarding the +light and the surface of the floor around it. Presently a strange sight +was presented to me. A number of small shining objects began to dance +and scintillate in the darkness beyond. At first I took them for +"lightning-bugs," but although these were plenty enough without, it was +not usual to find them inside an enclosed apartment. Moreover, those I +saw were low down upon the floor of the saloon, and not suspended in the +air, as they should have been. + +Gradually the number of these shining objects increased. There were now +some dozens of them, and, what was singular, they seemed to move in +pairs. They were _not_ fire-flies! + +I began to experience a sensation of alarm. I began to feel that there +was danger in these fiery spots, that sparkled in such numbers along the +floor. What on earth could they be? + +I had scarce asked myself the question, when I was enabled to answer it +to the satisfaction of my senses, but not to the tranquillising of my +fears. The horrid truth now flashed upon me--each pair of sparkling +points was a _pair of eyes_! + +It was no relief to me to know they were the eyes of rats. You may +smile at my fears; but I tell you in all seriousness that I would not +have been more frightened had I awaked and found a panther crouching to +spring upon me. I had heard such tales of these Norway rats--had, in +fact, been witness to their bold and ferocious feats in New Orleans, +where at that time they swarmed in countless numbers--that the sight of +them filled me with disgust and horror. But what was most horrible of +all--I saw that they were approaching me--that they were each moment +coming nearer and nearer, and that _I was unable to get out of their +way_! + +Yes. I could not move. My arms and limbs felt like solid blocks of +stone, and my muscular power was quite gone! I _now_ thought that I was +_dreaming_! + +"Yes!" reflected I, for I still possessed the power of reflection. +"Yes--I am only dreaming! A horrid dream though--horrid--would I could +wake myself--'tis nightmare! I know it--if I could but move something-- +my toes--my fingers--oh!" + +These reflections actually passed through my mind. They have done so at +other times when I have been under the influence of nightmare; and I now +no longer dread this incubus, since I have learnt how to throw it off. +_Then_ I could not. I lay like one dead, whose eyelids have been left +unclosed; and I thought I was dreaming. + +Dreaming or awake, my soul had not yet reached its climax of horror. As +I continued to gaze, I perceived that the number of the hideous animals +increased every moment. I could now see their brown hairy bodies--for +they had approached close to the candle, and were full under its light. +They were _thick upon the floor_. It appeared to be alive with them, +and in motion like water under a gale. Hideous sight to behold! + +Still nearer they came. I could distinguish their sharp teeth--the long +grey bristles upon their snouts--the spiteful expression in their small +penetrating eyes. + +Nearer still! They climb upon the coffee-bags--they crawl along my legs +and body--they chase each other over the folds of my cloak--they are +gnawing at my boots!--Horror! horror! they will devour me! + +They are around me in myriads. I cannot see on either side, but I know +that they are all around. I can hear their shrill screaming, the air is +loaded with the odour of their filthy bodies. I feel as though it will +suffocate me. Horror! horror! oh! merciful God! arouse me from this +terrible dream! + +Such were my thoughts--such my feelings at that moment. I had a perfect +consciousness of all that was passing--so perfect that I believed it a +dream. + +I made every effort to awake myself--to move hand and limb. It was all +in vain. I could not move a muscle. Every nerve of my body was asleep. +My blood lay stagnant within my veins! + +I lay suffering this monstrous pain for a long, long while. I lay in +fear of being eaten up piecemeal! + +The fierce animals had only attacked my boots and my cloak, but my +terror was complete. I waited to feel them at my throat! + +Was it my face and my eyes staring open that kept them off? I am +certain my eyes were open all the while. Was it that that deterred them +from attacking me? No doubt it was. They scrambled over all parts of +my body, even up to my breast, but they seemed to avoid my head and +face! + +Whether they would have continued under the restraint of this salutary +fear, I know not, for a sudden termination was put to the horrid scene. + +The candle had burnt to its end, and the remnant fell with a hissing +sound through the neck of the bottle, thus extinguishing the light. + +Frightened by the sudden transition from light to darkness, the hideous +animals uttered their terrible squeaking, and broke off in every +direction. I could hear the pattering of their feet upon the planks as +they scampered away. + +The light seemed to have been the spell that bound me in the iron chain +of the nightmare. The moment it went out, I found myself again in +possession of muscular strength; and, springing to my feet, I caught up +my cloak and swept it wildly around me, shouting at the top of my voice. + +The cold perspiration was running from every pore in my skin, and my +hair felt as if on end. I still believed I was dreaming; and it was not +until the astonished negro appeared with a light, and I had evidence of +the presence of my hairy visitors in the condition of my cloak and +boots, that I was convinced the terrible episode was a reality. + +I remained no longer in the "saloon," but, wrapping my cloak around me, +betook myself to the open air. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY FOUR. + +THE HOUMA. + +I had not much longer to remain on the wharf-boat. The hoarse barking +of a 'scape-pipe fell upon my ear and shortly after the fires of a +steamboat furnace appeared, glittering red upon the stream. Then was +heard the crashing plunging sound of the paddle-wheels as they beat the +brown water, and then the ringing of the bell, and the shouts of command +passing from captain to mate, and from mate to "deck hands," and in five +minutes after, the "Houma"--Red River-boat,--lay side by side with the +old "Sultana." + +I stepped aboard, threw my luggage over the guard, and, climbing +up-stairs, seated myself under the awning. + +Ten minutes of apparent confusion--the quick trampling of feet over the +decks and staging--half-a-dozen passengers hastening ashore--others +hurrying in the opposite direction--the screeching of the steam--the +rattling of huge fire-logs thrust endways up the furnace--at intervals +the loud words of command--a peal of laughter at some rude jest, or the +murmur of voices in the sadder accents of adieu. Ten minutes of these +sights and sounds, and again was heard the ringing of the large bell-- +the signal that the boat was about to continue her course. + +I had flung myself into a chair that stood beside one of the +awning-posts, and close to the guards. From my position I commanded a +view of the gangway, the staging-plank, and the contiguous wharf-boat, +which I had just left. + +I was looking listlessly on what was passing below, taking note of +nothing in particular. If I had a special thought in my mind the +subject of it was not there, and the thought itself caused me to turn my +eyes away from the busy groups and bend them downward along the left +bank of the river. Perhaps a sigh was the concomitant of these +occasional glances; but in the intervals between, my mind dwelt upon +nothing in particular, and the forms that hurried to and fro impressed +me only as shadows. + +This apathy was suddenly interrupted. My eyes, by pure accident, fell +upon two figures whose movements at once excited my attention. They +stood upon the deck of the wharf-boat--not near the stage-plank, where +the torch cast its glare over the hurrying passengers, but in a remote +corner under the shadow of the awning. I could see them only in an +obscure light,--in fact, could scarce make out their forms, shrouded as +they were in dark cloaks--but the attitudes in which they stood, the +fact of their keeping thus apart in the most obscure quarter of the +boat, the apparent earnestness with which they were conversing--all led +me to conjecture that they were lovers. My heart, guided by the sweet +instinct of love, at once accepted this explanation, and looked for no +other. + +"Yes--lovers! how happy! No--perhaps not so happy--it is a _parting_! +Some youth who makes a trip down to the city--perhaps some young clerk +or merchant, who goes to spend his winter there. What of that? He will +return in spring, again to press those delicate fingers, again to fold +that fair form in his arms, again to speak those tender words that will +sound all the sweeter after the long interval of silence. + +"Happy youth! happy girl! Light is the misery of a parting like yours! +How easy to endure when compared with that violent separation which I +have experienced! Aurore!--Aurore!--Would that you were free! Would +that you were some high-born dame! Not that I should love you the +more--impossible--but then might I boldly woo, and freely win. Then I +might hope--but now, alas! this horrid gulf--this social abyss that +yawns between us. Well! it cannot separate souls. Our love shall +bridge it--Ha!" + +"Hilloa, Mister! What's gwine wrong? Anybody fell overboard!" + +I heeded not the rude interrogatory. A deeper pang absorbed my soul, +forcing from me the wild exclamation that had given the speaker cause. + +The two forms parted--with a mutual pressure of the hand, with a kiss +they parted! The young man hastened across the staging. I did not +observe his face, as he passed under the light. I had taken no notice +of _him_, my eyes by some strange fascination remaining fixed upon +_her_. I was curious to observe how _she_ would act in this final +moment of leave-taking. + +The planks were drawn aboard. The signal-bell sounded. I could +perceive that we were moving away. + +At this moment the shrouded form of the lady glided forward into the +light. She was advancing to catch a farewell glance of her lover. A +few steps brought her to the edge of the wharf-boat, where the torch was +glaring. Her hood-like gun-bonnet was thrown back. The light fell full +upon her face, glistened along the undulating masses of black hair that +shrouded her temples, and danced in her glorious eyes. Good God! they +were the eyes of _Aurore_! + +No wonder I uttered the wild ejaculation-- + +"It is she!" + +"What?--a female! overboard, do you say? Where? Where?" + +The man was evidently in earnest. My soliloquy had been loud enough to +reach his ears. + +He believed it to be a reply to his previous question, and my excited +manner confirmed him in the belief that a woman had actually fallen into +the river! + +His questions and exclamations were overheard and repeated in the voices +of others who stood near. Like wildfire an alarm ran through the boat. +Passengers rushed from the cabins, along the guards, and out to the +front awning, and mingled their hurried interrogatories, "Who? What? +Where?" A loud voice cried out-- + +"Some one overboard! A woman! it's a woman!" + +Knowing the cause of this ridiculous alarm, I gave no heed to it. My +mind was occupied with a far different matter. The first shock of a +hideous passion absorbed my whole soul, and I paid no attention to what +was going on around me. + +I had scarce recognised the face, when the boat rounding up-stream +brought the angle of the cabin between it and me. I rushed forward, as +far as the gangway. I was too late:--the wheel-house obstructed the +view. I did not halt, but ran on, directing myself towards the top of +the wheel-house. Passengers in their excitement were rushing along the +guards. They hindered my progress, and it was some time before I could +climb up the wheel-house, and stand upon its rounded roof. I did so at +length, but too late. The boat had forged several hundred yards into +the stream. I could see the wharf-boat with its glaring lights. I +could even see human forms standing along its deck, but I could no +longer distinguish that one that my eyes were in search of. + +Disappointed I stepped on to the hurricane-deck, which was almost a +continuation of the roof of the wheel-house. There I could be alone, +and commune with my now bitter thoughts. + +I was not to have that luxury just then. Shouts, the trampling of heavy +boots bounding over the planks, and the pattering of lighter feet, +sounded in my ears; and next moment a stream of passengers, male and +female, came pouring up the sides of the wheel-house. + +"That's the gentleman--that's him!" cried a voice. + +In another instant the excited throng was around me, several inquiring +at once-- + +"Who's overboard? Who? Where?" + +Of course I saw that these interrogatories were meant for me. I saw, +too, that an answer was necessary to allay their ludicrous alarm. + +"Ladies and gentlemen!" I said, "there is no one overboard that I am +aware of. Why do you ask _me_?" + +"Hilloa, Mister!" cried the cause of all this confusion, "didn't you +tell me--?" + +"I told you nothing." + +"But didn't I ask you if thar wan't some one overboard?" + +"You did." + +"And you said in reply--" + +"I said nothing in reply." + +"Darned if you didn't! you said `Thar she is!' or, `It was she!' or +something o' that sort." + +I turned towards the speaker, who I perceived was rather losing credit +with his auditory. + +"Mister!" said I, imitating his tone, "it is evident you have never +heard of the man who grew immensely rich by minding his own business." + +My remark settled the affair. It was received by a yell of laughter, +that completely discomfited my meddling antagonist, who, after some +little swaggering and loud talk, at length went below to the "bar" to +soothe his mortified spirit with a "gin-sling." + +The others dropped away one by one, and dispersed themselves through the +various cabins and saloons; and I found myself once more the sole +occupant of the hurricane-deck. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY FIVE. + +JEALOUSY. + +Have you ever loved in humble life? some fair young girl, whose lot was +among the lowly, but whose brilliant beauty in your eyes annihilated all +social inequalities? Love levels all distinctions, is an adage old as +the hills. It brings down the proud heart, and teaches condescension to +the haughty spirit; but its tendency is to elevate, to ennoble. It does +not make a peasant of the prince, but a prince of the peasant. + +Behold the object of your adoration engaged in her ordinary duties! She +fetches a jar of water from the well. Barefoot she treads the +well-known path. Those nude pellucid feet are fairer in their nakedness +than the most delicate _chaussure_ of silk and satin. The wreaths and +pearl circlets, the pins of gold and drupes of coral, the costliest +_coiffures_ of the dress circle,--all seem plain and poor compared with +the glossy _neglige_ of those bright tresses. The earthen jar sits upon +her head with the grace of a golden coronet--every attitude is the +_pose_ of a statue, a study for a sculptor; and the coarse garment that +drapes that form is in your eyes more becoming than a robe of richest +velvet. You care not for that. You are not thinking of the casket, but +of the pearl it conceals. + +She disappears within the cottage--her humble home. Humble? In your +eyes no longer humble; that little kitchen, with its wooden chairs, and +scoured dresser, its deal shelf, with mugs, cups, and willow-pattern +plates, its lime-washed walls and cheap prints of the red soldier and +the blue sailor--that little museum of the _penates_ of the poor, is now +filled with a light that renders it more brilliant than the gilded +saloons of wealth and fashion. That cottage with its low roof, and +woodbine trellis, has become a palace. The light of love has +transformed it! A paradise you are forbidden to enter. Yes, with all +your wealth and power, your fine looks and your titles of distinction, +your superfine cloth and bright lacquered boots, mayhap you dare not +enter there. + +And oh! how you envy those who dare!--how you envy the spruce +apprentice, and the lout in the smock who cracks his whip, and whistles +with as much _nonchalance_ as if he was between the handles of his +plough! as though the awe of that fair presence should not freeze his +lips to stone! _Gauche_ that he is, how you envy him his +_opportunities_! how you could slaughter him for those sweet smiles that +appear to be lavished upon him! + +There maybe no meaning in those smiles. They may be the expressions of +good-nature of simple friendship, perhaps of a little coquetry. For all +that, you cannot behold them without envy--without _suspicion_ If there +be a meaning--if they be the smiles of love--if the heart of that simple +girl has made its lodgement either upon the young apprentice or him of +the smock--then are you fated to the bitterest pang that human breast +can know. It is not jealousy of the ordinary kind. It is far more +painful. Wounded vanity adds a poison to the sting. Oh! it is hard to +bear! + +A pang of this nature I suffered, as I paced that high platform. +Fortunately they had left me alone. The feelings that worked within me +could not be concealed. My looks and wild gestures must have betrayed +them. I should have been a subject for satire and laughter. But I was +alone. The pilot in his glass-box did not notice me. His back was +towards me, and his keen eye, bent steadily upon the water, was too busy +with logs and sand-bars, and snags and sawyers, to take note of my +delirium. + +It _was_ Aurore! Of that I had no doubt whatever. Her face was not to +be mistaken for any other. There was none like it--none so lovely-- +alas! too fatally fair. + +Who could _he_ be? Some young spark of the town? Some clerk in one of +the stores? a young planter? who? Maybe--and with this thought came +that bitter pang--one of her own proscribed race--a young man of +"colour"--a mulatto--a quadroon--a slave! Ha! to be rivalled by a +slave!--worse than rivalled.--Infamous coquette! Why had I yielded to +her fascinations? Why had I mistaken her craft for _naivete_?--her +falsehood for truth? + +Who could _he_ be? I should search the boat till I found him. +Unfortunately I had taken no marks, either of his face or his dress. My +eyes had remained fixed upon her after their parting. In the shadow I +had seen him only indistinctly; and as he passed under the lights I saw +him not. How preposterous then to think of looking for him! I could +not recognise him in such a crowd. + +I went below, and wandered through the cabins, under the front awning, +and along the guard-ways. I scanned every face with an eagerness that +to some must have appeared impertinence. Wherever one was young and +handsome, he was an object of my scrutiny and jealousy. There were +several such among the male passengers; and I endeavoured to distinguish +those who had come aboard at Bringiers. There were some young men who +appeared as if they had lately shipped, themselves, but I had no clue to +guide me, and I failed to find my rival. + +In the chagrin of disappointment I returned once more to the roof; but I +had hardly reached it, when a new thought came into my mind. I +remembered that the slaves of the plantation were to be sent down to the +city by the first boat. Were they not travelling by that very one? I +had seen a crowd of blacks--men, women, and children--hastily driven +aboard. I had paid but little heed to such a common spectacle--one that +may be witnessed daily, hourly. I had not thought of it, that those +might be the slaves of the plantation Besancon! + +If they were, then indeed there might still be hope; Aurore had not gone +with them--but what of that? Though, like them, only a slave, it was +not probable she would have been forced to herd with them upon the deck. +But she had not come aboard! The staging had been already taken in, as +I recognised her on the wharf-boat. On the supposition that the slaves +of Besancon were aboard, my heart felt relieved. I was filled with a +hope that all might yet be well. + +Why? you may ask. I answer--simply because the thought occurred to me, +that the youth, who so tenderly parted from Aurore, _might be a brother, +or some near relative_. I had not heard of such relationship. It might +be so, however; and my heart, reacting from its hour of keen anguish, +was eager to relieve itself by any hypothesis. + +I could not endure doubt longer; and turning on my heel, I hastened +below. Down the kleets of the wheel-house, along the guard-way, then +down the main stairs to the boiler-deck. Threading my way among bags of +maize and hogsheads of sugar, now stooping under the great axle, now +climbing over huge cotton-bales, I reached the after-part of the lower +deck, usually appropriated to the "deck passengers"--the poor immigrants +of Ireland and Germany, who here huddle miscellaneously with the swarthy +bondsmen of the South. + +As I had hoped, there were they,--those black but friendly faces,--every +one of them. Old Zip, and Aunt Chloe, and the little Chloe; Hannibal, +the new coachman, and Caesar and Pompey, and all,--all on their way to +the dreaded mart. + +I had halted a second or two before approaching them. The light was in +my favour, and I saw them before discovering my presence. There were no +signs of mirth in that sable group. I heard no laughter, no light +revelry, as was their wont to indulge in in days gone by, among their +little cabins in the quarter. A deep melancholy had taken possession of +the features of all. Gloom was in every glance. Even the children, +usually reckless of the unknown future, seemed impressed with the same +sentiment. They rolled not about, tumbling over each other. They +played not at all. They sat without stirring, and silent. Even they, +poor infant helots, knew enough to fear for their dark future,--to +shudder at the prospect of the slave-market. + +All were downcast. No wonder. They had been used to kind treatment. +They might pass to a hard taskmaster. Not one of them knew where in +another day should be his home--what sort of tyrant should be his lord. +But that was not all. Still worse. Friends, they were going to be +parted; relatives, they would be torn asunder--perhaps never to meet +more. Husband looked upon wife, brother upon sister, father upon child, +mother upon infant, with dread in the heart and agony in the eye. + +It was painful to gaze upon this sorrowing group, to contemplate the +suffering, the mental anguish that spoke plainly in every face; to think +of the wrongs which one man can legally put upon another--the deep +sinful wrongs, the outrage of every human principle. Oh, it was +terribly painful to look on that picture! + +It was some relief to me to know that my presence threw at least a +momentary light over its shade. Smiles chased away the sombre shadows +as I appeared, and joyous exclamations hailed me. Had I been their +saviour, I could not have met a more eager welcome. + +Amidst their fervid ejaculations I could distinguish earnest appeals +that I would buy them--that I would become their master--mingled with +zealous protestations of service and devotion. Alas! they knew not how +heavily at that moment the price of one of their number lay upon my +heart. + +I strove to be gay, to cheer them with words of consolation. I rather +needed to be myself consoled. + +During this while my eyes were busy. I scanned the faces of all. There +was light enough glimmering from two oil-lamps to enable me to do so. +Several were young mulattoes. Upon these my glance rested, one after +the other. How my heart throbbed in this examination! It triumphed at +length. Surely there was no face there that _she_ could love? Were +they all present? Yes, all--so Scipio said; all but Aurore. + +"And Aurore?" I asked; "have you heard any more of her?" + +"No, mass'; 'blieve 'Rore gone to de city. She go by de road in a +carriage--not by de boat, some ob de folks say daat, I b'lieve." + +This was strange enough. Taking the black aside-- + +"Tell me, Scipio," I asked, "has Aurore any relative among you?--any +brother, or sister, or cousin?" + +"No, mass', ne'er a one. Golly, mass'! 'Rore she near white as missa +'Genie all de rest be black, or leas'wise yeller! 'Rore she quaderoom, +yeller folks all mulatto--no kin to 'Rore--no." + +I was perplexed and puzzled. My former doubts came crowding back upon +me. My jealousy returned. + +Scipio could not clear up the mystery. His answer to other questions +which I put to him gave me no solution to it; and I returned up-stairs +with a heart that suffered under the pressure of disappointment. + +The only reflection from which I drew comfort was, that I might have +been mistaken. Perhaps, after all, it was _not_ Aurore! + + + +CHAPTER FORTY SIX. + +A SCIENTIFIC JULEP. + +To drown care and sorrow men drink. The spirit of wine freely quaffed +will master either bodily pain or mental suffering--for a time. There +is no form of the one or phase of the other so difficult to subdue as +the pang of jealousy. Wine must be deeply quaffed before that corroding +poison can be washed free from the heart. + +But there is a partial relief in the wine-cup, and I sought it. I knew +it to be only temporary, and that the sorrow would soon return. But +even so--even a short respite was to be desired. I could bear my +thoughts no longer. + +I am not brave in bearing pain. I have more than once intoxicated +myself to deaden the pitiful pain of a toothache. By the same means I +resolved to relieve the dire aching of my heart. + +The spirit of wine was nigh at hand, and might be imbibed in many forms. + +In one corner of the "smoking-saloon" was the "bar," with its elegant +adornments--its rows of decanters and bottles, with silver stoppers and +labels its glasses, and lemons, and sugar-crushers--its bouquet of +aromatic mint and fragrant pines--its bunches of straw tubes for +"sucking" the "mint-julep," the "sherry-cobbler," or the "claret +sangaree." + +In the midst of this _entourage_ stood the "bar-keeper," and in this +individual do not picture to yourself some seedy personage of the waiter +class, with bloodless cheeks and clammy skin, such as those +monstrosities of an English hotel who give you a very _degout_ for your +dinner. On the contrary, behold an _elegant_ of latest fashion--that +is, the fashion of his country and class, the men of the river. He +wears neither coat nor vest while in the exercise of his office, but his +shirt will merit an observation. It is of the finest fabric of the +Irish loom--too fine to be worn by those who have woven it--and no Bond +Street furnishing-house could equal its "make up." + +Gold buttons glance at the sleeves, and diamonds sparkle amid the +profuse ruffles on the bosom. The collar is turned down over a black +silk riband, knotted _a la Byron_; but a tropic sun has more to do with +this fashion than any desire to imitate the sailor-poet. Over this +shirt stretch silk braces elaborately needle-worked, and still further +adorned by buckles of pure gold. A hat of the costly grass from the +shores of the South Sea crowns his well-oiled locks, and thus you have +the "bar-keeper of the boat." His nether man need not be described. +That is the unseen portion of his person, which is below the level of +the bar. No cringing, smirking, obsequious counter-jumper he, but a +dashing sprig, who, perhaps, _owns_ his bar and all its contents, and +who holds his head as high as either the clerk or captain. + +As I approached this gentleman, he placed a glass upon the counter, and +threw into it some broken fragments of ice. All this was done without a +word having passed between us. + +I had no need to give an order. He saw in my eye the determination to +drink. + +"Cobbler?" + +"No," said I; "a mint-julep." + +"Very well, I'll mix you a julep that'll set your teeth for you." + +"Thank you. Just what I want." + +The gentleman now placed side by side two glasses--tumblers of large +size. Into one he put, first, a spoonful of crushed white sugar--then a +slice of lemon--ditto of orange--next a few sprigs of green mint--after +that a handful of broken ice, a gill of water, and, lastly, a large +glass measure of cognac. This done, he lifted the glasses one in each +hand, and poured the contents from one to the other so rapidly that ice, +brandy, lemons, and all, seemed to be constantly suspended in the air, +and oscillating between the glasses. The tumblers themselves at no time +approached nearer than two feet from each other! This adroitness, +peculiar to his craft, and only obtained after long practice, was +evidently a source of professional pride. After some half-score of +these revolutions the drink was permitted to rest in one glass, and was +then set down upon the counter. + +There yet remained to be given the "finishing touch." A thin slice of +pine-apple was cut freshly from the fruit. This held between the finger +and thumb was doubled over the edge of the glass, and then passed with +an adroit sweep round the circumference. + +"That's the latest Orleans touch," remarked the bar-keeper with a smile, +as he completed the manoeuvre. + +There was a double purpose in this little operation. The pine-apple not +only cleared the glass of the grains of sugar and broken leaves of mint, +but left its fragrant juice to mingle its aroma with the beverage. + +"The latest Orleans touch," he repeated; "scientific style." + +I nodded my assent. + +The julep was now "mixed"--which fact was made known to me by the glass +being pushed a little nearer, across the marble surface of the counter. + +"Have a straw?" was the laconic inquiry. + +"Yes; thank you." + +A joint of wheaten straw was plunged into the glass, and taking this +between my lips I drew in large draughts of perhaps the most delicious +of all intoxicating drinks--the mint-julep. + +The aromatic liquid had scarce passed my lips when I began to feel its +effects. My pulse ceased its wild throbbing. My blood became cool, and +flowed in a more gentle current through my veins, and my heart seemed to +be bathing in the waters of Lethe. The relief was almost instantaneous, +and I only wondered I had not thought of it before. Though still far +from happy, I felt that I held in my hands what would soon make me so. +Transitory that happiness might be, yet the reaction was welcome at the +moment, and the prospect of it pleasant to my soul. I eagerly swallowed +the inspiring beverage--swallowed it in large draughts, till the straw +tube, rattling among the fragments of ice at the bottom of the glass, +admonished me that the fluid was all gone. + +"Another, if you please!" + +"You liked it, I guess?" + +"Most excellent!" + +"Said so. I reckon, stranger, we can get up a mint-julep on board this +here boat equal to either Saint Charles or Verandah, if not a leetle +superior to either." + +"A superb drink!" + +"We can mix a sherry-cobbler too, that ain't hard to take." + +"I have no doubt of it, but I'm not fond of sherry. I prefer this." + +"You're right. So do I. The pine-apple's a new idea, but an +improvement, I think." + +"I think so too." + +"Have a fresh straw?" + +"Thank you." + +This young fellow was unusually civil. I fancied that his civility +proceeded from my having eulogised his mint-juleps. It was not that, as +I afterwards ascertained. These Western people are little accessible to +cheap flattery. I owed his good opinion of me to a far different +cause--_the discomfiture I had put on the meddling passenger_! I +believe he had also learnt, that it was I who had chastised the Bully +Larkin! Such "feats of arms" soon become known in the region of the +Mississippi Valley, where strength and courage are qualities of high +esteem. Hence, in the bar-keeper's view, I was one who deserved a civil +word; and thus talking together on the best of terms, I swallowed my +second julep, and called upon him for a third, Aurore was for the moment +forgotten, or when remembered, it was with less of bitterness. Now and +then that parting scene came uppermost in my thoughts; but the pang that +rose with it was each moment growing feebler, and easier to be endured. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN. + +A GAME OF WHIST. + +In the centre of the smoking-saloon, there was a table, and around it +some half-dozen men were seated. Other half-dozen stood behind these, +looking over their shoulders. The attitudes of all, and their eager +glances, suggested the nature of their occupation. The flouting of +pasteboard, the chink of dollars, and the oft-recurring words of "ace," +"jack," and "trump," put it beyond a doubt that that occupation was +gaming. "Euchre" was the game. + +Curious to observe this popular American game, I stepped up and stood +watching the players. My friend who had raised the false alarm was one +of them; but his back was towards me, and I remained for some time +unseen by him. + +Some two or three of those who played were elegantly-dressed men. Their +coats were of the finest cloth, their ruffles of the costliest cambric, +and jewels sparkled in their shirt bosoms and glittered upon their +fingers. These fingers, however, told a tale. They told plainly as +words, that they to whom they belonged had not always been accustomed to +such elegant adornment. Toilet soap had failed to soften the corrugated +skin, and obliterate the abrasions--the souvenirs of toil. + +This was nothing. They might be gentlemen for all that. Birth is of +slight consequence in the Far West. The plough-boy may become the +President. + +Still there was an air about these men--an air I cannot describe, but +which led me at the moment to doubt their _gentility_. It was not from +any swagger or assumption on their part. On the contrary, they appeared +the _most gentlemanly_ individuals around the table! + +They were certainly the most sedate and quiet. Perhaps it was this very +sedateness--this polished reserve--that formed the spring of my +suspicion. True gentlemen, bloods from Tennessee or Kentucky, young +planters of the Mississippi coast, or French Creoles of Orleans, would +have offered different characteristics. The cool complacency with which +these individuals spoke and acted--no symptoms of perturbation as the +trump was turned, no signs of ruffled temper when luck went against +them--told two things; first, that they were men of the world, and, +secondly, that they were not now playing their maiden game of "Euchre." +Beyond that I could form no judgment about them. They might be doctors, +lawyers, or "gentlemen of elegant leisure"--a class by no means uncommon +in the work-a-day world of America. + +At that time I was still too new to Far West society, to be able to +distinguish its features. Besides, in the United States, and +particularly in the western portion of the country, those peculiarities +of dress and habit, which in the Old-World form, as it were, the +landmarks of the professions, do not exist. You may meet the preacher +wearing a blue coat and bright buttons; the judge with a green one; the +doctor in a white linen jacket; and the baker in glossy black broadcloth +from top to toe! + +Where every man assumes the right to be a gentleman, the costumes and +badges of trade are studiously avoided. Even the tailor is +undistinguishable in the mass of his "fellow-citizens." The land of +character-dresses lies farther to the south-west--Mexico is that land. + +I stood for some time watching the gamesters and the game. Had I not +known something of the banking peculiarities of the West, I should have +believed that they were gambling for enormous sums. At each man's right +elbow lay a huge pile of bank-notes, flanked by a few pieces of silver-- +dollars, halves, and quarters. Accustomed as my eyes had been to +bank-notes of five pounds in value, the table would have presented to me +a rich appearance, had I not known that these showy parallelograms of +copper-plate and banking-paper, were mere "shin-plasters," representing +amounts that varied from the value of one dollar to that of six and a +quarter cents! Notwithstanding, the bets were far from being low. +Twenty, fifty, and even a hundred dollars, frequently changed hands in a +single game. + +I perceived that the hero of the false alarm was one of the players. +His back was towards me where I stood, and he was too much engrossed +with his game to look around. + +In dress and general appearance he differed altogether from the rest. +He wore a white beaver hat with broad brim, and a coat of great "jeans," +wide-sleeved and loose-bodied. He had the look of a well-to-do +corn-farmer from Indiana or a pork-merchant from Cincinnati. Yet there +was something in his manner that told you river-travelling was not new +to him. It was not his first trip "down South." Most probably the +second supposition was the correct one--he was a dealer in hog-meat. + +One of the fine gentlemen I have described sat opposite to where I was +standing. He appeared to be losing considerable sums, which the farmer +or pork-merchant was winning. It proved that the luck of the cards was +not in favour of the smartest-looking players--an inducement to other +plain people to try a hand. + +I began to feel sympathy for the elegant gentleman, his losses were so +severe. I could not help admiring the composure with which he bore +them. + +At length he looked up, and scanned the faces of those who stood around. +He seemed desirous of giving up the play. His eye met mine. He said, +in a careless way-- + +"Perhaps, stranger, _you_ wish to take a hand? You may have my place if +you do. I have no luck. I could not win under any circumstances +to-night. I shall give up playing." + +This appeal caused the rest of the players to turn their faces towards +me, and among others the pork-dealer. I expected an ebullition of anger +from this individual. I was disappointed. On the contrary, he hailed +me in a friendly tone. + +"Hilloa, mister!" cried he, "I hope you an't miffed at me?" + +"Not in the least," I replied. + +"Fact, I meant no offence. Did think thar war a some 'un overboard. +Dog-gone me, if I didn't!" + +"Oh! I have taken no offence," rejoined I; "to prove it, I ask you now +to drink with me." + +The juleps and the late reaction from bitter thought had rendered me of +a jovial disposition. The free apology at once won my forgiveness. + +"Good as wheat!" assented the pork-dealer. "I'm your man; but, +stranger, you must allow me to pay. You see, I've won a trifle here. +_My_ right to pay for the drinks." + +"Oh! I have no objection." + +"Well, then, let's all licker! _I_ stand drinks all round. What say +you, fellars?" A murmur of assent answered the interrogatory. + +"Good!" continued the speaker. "Hyar, bar-keeper! drinks for the +crowd!" + +And so saying, he of the white-hat and jeans coat stepped forward to the +bar, and placed a couple of dollars upon the counter. All who were near +followed him, shouting each out the name of the beverage most to his +liking in the various calls of "gin-sling", "cocktail", "cobbler," +"julep", "brandy-smash," and such-like interesting mixtures. + +In America men do not sit and sip their liquor, but drink standing. +_Running_, one might say--for, be it hot or cold, mixed or "neat," it is +gone in a gulp, and then the drinkers retire to their chairs to smoke, +chew, and wait for the fresh invitation, "Let's all licker!" + +In a few seconds we had all liquored, and the players once more took +their seats around the table. + +The gentleman who had proposed to me to become his successor did not +return to his place. He had no luck, he again said, and would not play +any more that night. + +Who would accept his place and his partner? I was appealed to. + +I thanked my new acquaintances, but the thing was impossible, as I had +never played Euchre, and therefore knew nothing about the game, beyond +the few points I had picked up while watching them. + +"That ar awkward," said the pork-dealer. "Ain't we nohow able to get up +a set? Come, Mr Chorley--I believe that's your name, sir?" (This was +addressed to the gentleman who had risen.) "You ain't a-goin' to desart +us that away? We can't make up a game if you do?" + +"I should only lose if I played longer," reiterated Chorley. "No," +continued he, "I won't risk it." + +"Perhaps this gentleman plays `whist,'" suggested another, alluding to +me. "You're an Englishman, sir, I believe. I never knew one of your +countrymen who was not a good whist-player." + +"True, I can play whist," I replied carelessly. + +"Well, then, what say you all to a game of whist?" inquired the last +speaker, glancing around the table. + +"Don't know much about the game," bluntly answered the pork-dealer. +"Mout play it on a pinch rayther than spoil sport; but whoever hez me +for a partner 'll have to keep a sharp look-out for himself, I reckon." + +"I guess you know the game as well as I do," replied the one who had +proposed it. + +"I hain't played a rubber o' whist for many a year, but if we can't make +up the set at Euchre, let's try one." + +"Oh! if you're goin' to play whist," interposed the gentleman who had +seceded from the game of Euchre--"if you're going to play whist, I don't +mind taking a hand at _that_--it may change my luck--and if this +gentleman has no objection, I'd like him for my partner. As you say, +sir, Englishmen are good whist-players. It's their national game, I +believe." + +"Won't be a fair match, Mr Chorley," said the dealer in hog-meat; "but +since you propose it, if Mr Hatcher here--your name, sir, I believe?" + +"Hatcher is my name," replied the person addressed, the same who +suggested whist. + +"If Mr Hatcher here," continued white-hat, "has no objection to the +arrangement, I'll not back out. Doggoned, if I do!" + +"Oh! I don't care," said Hatcher, in a tone of reckless indifference, +"anything to get up a game." + +Now, I was never fond of gambling, either amateur or otherwise, but +circumstances had made me a tolerable whist-player, and I knew there +were few who could beat me at it. If my partner knew the game as well, +I felt certain we could not be badly damaged; and according to all +accounts he understood it well. This was the opinion of one or two of +the bystanders, who whispered in my ear that he was a "whole team" at +whist. + +Partly from the reckless mood I was in--partly that a secret purpose +urged me on--a purpose which developed itself more strongly afterwards-- +and partly that I had been bantered, and, as it were, "cornered" into +the thing, I consented to play--Chorley and I _versus_ Hatcher and the +pork-merchant. + +We took our seats--partners _vis-a-vis_--the cards were shuffled, cut, +dealt, and the game began. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT. + +THE GAME INTERRUPTED. + +We played the first two or three games for low stakes--a dollar each. +This was agreeable to the desire of Hatcher and the pork-merchant--who +did not like to risk much as they had nearly forgotten the game. Both, +however, made "hedge bets" freely against my partner, Chorley, and +against any one who chose to take them up. These bets were on the +turn-up, the colour, the "honours," or the "odd trick." + +My partner and I won the two first games, and rapidly. I noted several +instances of bad play on the part of our opponent. I began to believe +that they really were not a match for us. Chorley said so with an air +of triumph, as though we were playing merely for the honour of the +thing, and the stakes were of no consequence. After a while, as we won +another game, he repeated the boast. + +The pork-dealer and his partner seemed to get a little nettled. + +"It's the cards," said the latter, with an air of pique. + +"Of coorse it's the cards," repeated white-hat. "Had nothing but darned +rubbish since the game begun. Thar again!" + +"Bad cards again?" inquired his partner with a sombre countenance. + +"Bad as blazes! couldn't win corn-shucks with 'em." + +"Come, gentlemen!" cried my partner, Chorley; "not exactly fair that--no +hints." + +"Bah!" ejaculated the dealer. "Mout show you my hand, for that matter. +Thar ain't a trick in it." + +We won again! + +Our adversaries, getting still more nettled at our success, now proposed +doubling the stakes. This was agreed to, and another game played. + +Again Chorley and I were winners, and the pork-man asked his partner if +he would double again. The latter consented after a little hesitation, +as though he thought the amount too high. Of course we, the winners, +could not object, and once more we "swept the shin-plasters," as Chorley +euphoniously expressed it. + +The stakes were again doubled, and possibly would have increased in the +same ratio again and again had I not made a positive objection. I +remembered the amount of cash I carried in my pocket, and knew that at +such a rate, should fortune go against us, my purse would not hold out. +I consented, however, to a stake of ten dollars each, and at this amount +we continued the play. + +It was well we had not gone higher, for from this time fortune seemed to +desert us. We lost almost every time, and at the rate of ten dollars a +game. I felt my purse grow sensibly lighter. I was in a fair way of +being "cleared out." + +My partner, hitherto so cool, seemed to lose patience, at intervals +anathematising the cards, and wishing he had never consented to a game +of "nasty whist." Whether it was this excitement that caused it I could +not tell, but certainly he played badly--much worse than at the +beginning. Several times he flung down his cards without thought or +caution. It seemed as if his temper, ruffled at our repeated losses, +rendered him careless, and even reckless, about the result. I was the +more surprised at this, as but an hour before at Euchre I had seen him +lose sums of double the amount apparently with the utmost indifference. + +We had not bad luck neither. Each hand our cards were good; and several +times I felt certain we should have won, had my partner played his hand +more skilfully. As it was, we continued to lose, until I felt satisfied +that nearly half of my money was in the pockets of Hatcher and the +pork-dealer. + +No doubt the whole of it would soon have found its way into the same +receptacles, had not our game been suddenly, and somewhat mysteriously, +interrupted. + +Some loud words were heard--apparently from the lower deck--followed by +a double report, as of two pistols discharged in rapid succession, and +the moment after a voice called out, "Great God! there's a man shot!" + +The cards fell from our fingers--each seized his share of the stakes, +springing to his feet as he did so; and then players, backers, +lookers-on, and all, making for front and side entrances, rushed +_pell-mell_ out of the saloon. + +Some ran down stairs--some sprang up to the hurricane-deck--some took +aft, others forward, all crying out "Who is it?" "Where is he?" "Who +fired?" "Is he killed?" and a dozen like interrogatories, interrupted +at intervals by the screams of the ladies in their cabins. The alarm of +the "woman overboard" was nothing to this new scene of excitement and +confusion. But what was most mysterious was the fact that no killed or +wounded individual could be found, nor any one who had either fired a +pistol or had seen one fired! no man had been shot, nor had any man shot +him! + +What the deuce could it mean? Who had cried out that some one was shot? +That no one could tell! Mystery, indeed. Lights were carried round +into all the dark corners of the boat, but neither dead nor wounded, nor +trace of blood, could be discovered; and at length men broke out in +laughter, and stated their belief that the "hul thing was a hoax." So +declared the dealer in hog-meat, who seemed rather gratified that he no +longer stood alone as a contriver of false alarms. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY NINE. + +THE SPORTSMEN OF THE MISSISSIPPI. + +Before things had reached this point, I had gained an explanation of the +mysterious alarm. I alone knew it, along with the individual who had +caused it. + +On hearing the shots, I had run forward under the front awning, and +stood looking over the guards. I was looking down upon the +boiler-deck--for it appeared to me that the loud words that preceded the +reports had issued thence, though I also thought that the shots had been +fired at some point nearer. + +Most of the people had gone out by the side entrances, and were standing +over the gangways, so that I was alone in the darkness, or nearly so. + +I had not been many seconds in this situation, when some one glided +alongside of me, and touched me on the arm. I turned and inquired who +it was, and what was wanted. A voice answered me in French-- + +"A friend, Monsieur, who wishes to do you a service." + +"Ha, that voice! It was you, then, who called out--" + +"It was." + +"And--" + +"I who fired the shots--precisely." + +"There is no one killed, then?" + +"Not that I know of. My pistol was pointed to the sky--besides it was +loaded blank." + +"I'm glad of that, Monsieur; but for what purpose, may I ask, have +you--" + +"Simply to do _you_ a service, as I have said." + +"But how do you contemplate serving me by firing off pistols, and +frightening the passengers of the boat out of their senses?" + +"Oh! as to that, there's no harm done. They'll soon got over their +little alarm. I wanted to speak with you alone. I could think of no +other device to separate you from your new acquaintances. The firing of +my pistol was only a _ruse_ to effect that purpose. It has succeeded, +you perceive." + +"Ha! Monsieur, it was you then who whispered the word in my ear as I +sat down to play?" + +"Yes; have I not prophesied truly?" + +"So far you have. It was you who stood opposite me in the corner of the +saloon?" + +"It was I." + +Let me explain these two last interrogatories. As I was about +consenting to the game of whist, some one plucked my sleeve, and +whispered in French-- + +"Don't play, Monsieur; you are certain to lose." + +I turned in the direction of the speaker, and saw a young man just +leaving my side; but was not certain whether it was he who had given +this prudent counsel. As is known, I did not heed it. + +Again, while engaged in the game, I noticed this same young man standing +in front of me, but in a distant and somewhat dark corner of the saloon. +Notwithstanding the darkness, I saw that his eyes were bent upon me, as +I played. This fact would have drawn my attention of itself, but there +was also an expression in the face that at once fixed my interest; and, +each time, while the cards were being dealt, I took the opportunity to +turn my eyes upon this strange individual. + +He was a slender youth, under the medium height, and apparently scarce +twenty years of age, but a melancholy tone that pervaded his countenance +made him look a little older. His features were small, but finely +chiselled--the nose and lips resembling more those of a woman. His +cheek was almost colourless, and dark silky hair fell in profuse curls +over his neck and shoulders; for such at that time was the Creole +fashion. I felt certain the youth was a Creole, partly from his French +cast of countenance, partly from the fashion and material of his dress, +and partly because he spoke French--for I was under the impression it +was he who had spoken to me. His costume was altogether of Creole +fashion. He wore a blouse of brown linen--not after the mode of that +famous garment as known in France--but as the Creole "hunting-shirt," +with plaited body and gracefully-gathered skirt. Its material, +moreover,--the fine unbleached linen,--showed that the style was one of +choice, not a mere necessary covering. His pantaloons were of the +finest sky-blue _cottonade_--the produce of the looms of Opelousas. +They were plaited very full below the waist, and open at the bottoms +with rows of buttons to close them around the ankles when occasion +required. There was no vest. Its place was supplied by ample frills of +cambric lace, that puffed out over the breast. The _chaussure_ +consisted of gaiter-bootees of drab lasting-cloth, tipped with patent +leather, and fastened over the front with a silk lace. A broad-brimmed +Panama hat completed the dress, and gave the finishing touch to this +truly Southern costume. + +There was nothing _outre_ about either the shirt, the pantaloons, the +head-dress, or foot-gear. All were in keeping--all were in a style that +at that period was the _mode_ upon the lower Mississippi. It was not, +therefore, the dress of this youth that had arrested my attention. I +had been in the habit of seeing such, every day. It could not be that. +No--the dress had nothing to do with the interest which he had excited. +Perhaps my regarding him as the author of the brief counsel that had +been uttered in my ear had a little to do with it--but not all. +Independent of that, there was something in the face itself that +forcibly attracted my regard--so forcibly that I began to ponder whether +I had ever seen it before. If there had been a better light, I might +have resolved the doubt, but he stood in shadow, and I could not get a +fair view of him. + +It was just about this time that I missed him from his station in the +corner of the saloon, and a minute or two later were heard the shouts +and shots from without. + +"And now, Monsieur, may I inquire why you wish to speak to me, and what +you have to say?" + +I was beginning to feel annoyed at the interference of this young +fellow. A man does not relish being suddenly pulled up from a game of +whist; and not a bit the more that he has been losing at it. + +"Why I wish to speak to you is, because I feel an interest in you. What +I have to say you shall hear." + +"An interest in me! And pray, Sir, to what am I indebted for this +interest?" + +"Is it not enough that you are a stranger likely to be plundered of your +purse?--a _green-horn_--" + +"How, Monsieur?" + +"Nay, do not be angry with me. That is the phrase which I have heard +applied to you to-night by more than one of your new acquaintances. If +you return to play with them, I think you will merit the title." + +"Come, Monsieur, this is too bad: you interfere in a matter that does +not concern you." + +"True, it does not; but it concerns _you_, and yet--ah!" + +I was about to leave this meddling youth, and hurry back to the game, +when the strange melancholy tone of his voice caused me to hesitate, and +remain by him a little longer. + +"Well," I said, "you have not yet told me what you wished to say." + +"Indeed, I have said already. I have told you not to play--that you +would lose if you did. I repeat that counsel." + +"True, I have lost a little, but it does not follow that fortune will be +always on one side. It is rather my partner's fault, who seems a bad +player." + +"Your partner, if I mistake not, is one of the best players on the +river. I think I have seen that gentleman before." + +"Ha! you know him them?" + +"Something of him--not much, but that much I know. Do _you_ know him?" + +"Never saw him before to-night." + +"Nor any of the others?" + +"They are all equally strangers to me." + +"You are not aware, then, that you are playing with _sportsmen_?" + +"No, but I am very glad to hear it. I am something of a sportsman +myself--as fond of dogs, horses, and guns, as any of the three, I +warrant." + +"Ha! Monsieur, you misapprehend. A sportsman in your country, and a +sportsman in a Mississippi steamboat, are two very distinct things. +Foxes, hares, and partridges, are the game of your sportsman. +Greenhorns and their purses are the game of gentry like these." + +"The men with whom I am playing, then, are--" + +"Professional gamblers--steamboat sharpers." + +"Are you sure of this, Monsieur?" + +"Quite sure of it. Oh! I often travel up and down to New Orleans. I +have seen them all before." + +"But one of them has the look of a farmer or a merchant, as I thought--a +pork-merchant from Cincinnati--his talk ran that way." + +"Farmer--merchant, ha! ha! ha! a farmer without acres--a merchant +without trade! Monsieur, that simply-dressed old fellow is said to be +the `smartest'--that is the Yankee word--the smartest sportsman in the +Mississippi valley, and such are not scarce, I trow." + +"After all, they are strangers to each other, and one of them is my +partner--I do not see how they can--" + +"Strangers to each other!" interrupted my new friend. "Since when have +they become acquainted? I myself have seen the three in company, and at +the same business, almost every time I have journeyed on the river. +True, they talk to each other as if they had accidentally met. That is +part of their arrangement for cheating such as you." + +"So you believe they have actually been cheating me?" + +"Since the stakes have been raised to ten dollars they have." + +"But how?" + +"Oh, it is very simple. Sometimes your partner designedly played the +wrong card--" + +"Ha! I see now; I believe it." + +"It did not need that though. Even had you had an honest partner, it +would have been all the same in the end. Your opponents have a system +of signals by which they can communicate to each other many facts--the +sort of cards they hold,--the colour of the cards, their value, and so +forth. You did not observe how they placed their fingers upon the edge +of the table. _I_ did. One finger laid horizontally denoted one +trump--two fingers placed in a similar manner, two trumps--three for +three, and so on. A slight curving of the fingers told: how many of the +trumps were honours; a certain movement of the thumbs bespoke an ace; +and in this way each of your adversaries knew almost to a card what his +partner had got. It needed not the third to bring about the desired +result. As it was, there were seven knaves about the table--four in the +cards, and three among the players." + +"This is infamous!" + +"True, I would have admonished you of it sooner; but, of course, I could +not find an opportunity. It would have been no slight danger for me to +have told you openly, and exposed the rascals. Hence, the _ruse_ I have +been compelled to adopt. These are no common swindlers. Any of the +three would resent the slightest imputation upon their honour. Two of +them are noted duellists. Most likely I should have been called out +to-morrow and shot, and you would scarce have thanked me for my +`interference.'" + +"My dear sir, I am exceedingly grateful to you. I am convinced that +what you say is true. How would you have me act?" + +"Simply give up the game--let your losses go--you cannot recover them." + +"But I am not disposed to be thus outraged and plundered with impunity. +I shall try another game, watch them, and--" + +"No, you would be foolish to do so. I tell you, Monsieur, these men are +noted duellists as well as black-legs, and possess courage. One of +them, your partner, has given proof of it by having travelled over three +hundred miles to fight with a gentleman who had slandered him, or rather +had spoken the truth about him! He succeeded, moreover, in killing his +man. I tell you, Monsieur, you can gain nothing by quarrelling with +such men, except a fair chance of having a bullet through you. I know +you are a stranger in our country. Be advised, then, and act as I have +said. Leave them to their gains. It is late: Retire to your +state-room, and think no more on what you have lost." + +Whether it was the late excitement consequent upon the false alarm, or +whether it was the strange development I had just listened to, aided by +the cool river breeze, I know not; but the intoxication passed away, and +my brain became clear. I doubted not for a moment that the young Creole +had told me the truth. His manner as well as words, connected with the +circumstances that had just transpired, produced full conviction. + +I felt impressed with a deep sense of gratitude to him for the service +he had rendered, and at such risk to himself--for even the _ruse_ he had +adopted might have had an awkward ending for him, had any one seen him +fire off his pistols. + +Why had he acted thus? Why this interest in my affairs? Had he +assigned the true reason? Was it a feeling of pure chivalry that had +prompted him? I had heard of just such instances of noble nature among +the Creole-French of Louisiana. Was this another illustration of that +character? + +I say I was impressed with a deep sense of gratitude, and resolved to +follow his advice. + +"I shall do as you say," I replied, "on one condition." + +"Name it, Monsieur." + +"That you will give me your address, so that when we arrive in New +Orleans, I may have the opportunity of renewing your acquaintance, and +proving to you my gratitude." + +"Alas, Monsieur! I have no address." + +I felt embarrassed. The melancholy tone in which these words were +uttered was not to be mistaken; some grief pressed heavily on that young +and generous heart. + +It was not for me to inquire into its cause, least of all at that time; +but my own secret sorrow enabled me to sympathise the more deeply with +others, and I felt I stood beside one whose sky was far from serene. I +felt embarrassed by his answer. It left me in a delicate position to +make reply. I said at length-- + +"Perhaps you will do me the favour to call upon me? I live at the Hotel +Saint Luis." + +"I shall do so with pleasure." + +"To-morrow?" + +"To-morrow night." + +"I shall stay at home for you. _Bon soir_, Monsieur." + +We parted, each taking the way to his state-room. + +In ten minutes after I lay in my shelf-like bed, asleep; and in ten +hours after I was drinking my _cafe_ in the Hotel Saint Luis. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY. + +THE CITY. + +I am strongly in favour of a country life. I am a lover of the chase +and the angle. + +Perhaps if I were to analyse the feeling, I might find that these +predilections have their source in a purer fountain--the love of Nature +herself. I follow the deer in his tracks, because they lead me into the +wildest solitudes of the forest--I follow the trout in its stream, +because I am guided into still retreats, by the margin of shady pools, +where human foot rarely treads. Once in the haunts of the fish and the +game, my sporting energy dies within me. My rod-spear pierces the turf, +my gun lies neglected by my side, and I yield up my soul to a diviner +dalliance with the beauties of Nature. Oh, I am a rare lover of the +sylvan scene! + +And yet, for all this, I freely admit that the first hours spent in a +great city have for me a peculiar fascination. A world of new pleasures +is suddenly placed within reach--a world of luxury opened up. The soul +is charmed with rare joys. Beauty and song, wine and the dance, vary +their allurements. Love, or it may be passion, beguiles you into many +an incident of romantic adventure; for romance may be found within the +walled city. The human heart is its home, and they are but Quixotic +dreamers who fancy that steam and civilisation are antagonistic to the +purest aspirations of poetry. A sophism, indeed, is the chivalry of the +savage. His rags, so picturesque, often cover a shivering form and a +hungry stomach. Soldier though I may claim to be, I prefer the cheering +roll of the busy mill to the thunder of the cannon--I regard the tall +chimney, with its banner of black smoke, a far nobler sight than the +fortress turret with its flouting and fickle flag. I hear sweet music +in the plashing of the paddle-wheel; and in my ears a nobler sound is +the scream of the iron horse than the neigh of the pampered war-steed. +A nation of monkeys may manage the business of gunpowder: they must be +men to control the more powerful element of steam. + +These ideas will not suit the puling sentimentalism of the boudoir and +the boarding-school. The Quixotism of the modern time will be angry +with the rough writer who thus rudely lays his hand upon the helm of the +mailed knight, and would deflower it of its glory and glossy plumes. It +is hard to yield up prejudices and preconceptions, however false; and +the writer himself in doing so confesses to the cost of a struggle of no +ordinary violence. It was hard to give up the Homeric illusion, and +believe that Greeks were men, not demigods--hard to recognise in the +organ-man and the opera-singer the descendants of those heroes portrayed +in the poetic pictures of a Virgil; and yet in the days of my dreamy +youth, when I turned my face to the West, I did so under the full +conviction that the land of prose was before me and the land of poetry +behind my back! + +Thanks to Saint Hubert and the golden ring of the word "Mexico," I did +turn my face in that direction: and no sooner had I set foot on those +glorious shores, trodden by a Columbus and a Cortez, than I recognised +the home both of the poetic and the picturesque. In that very land, +called prosaic--the land of dollars--I inhaled the very acme of the +poetic spirit; not from the rhythm of books, but expressed in the most +beautiful types of the human form, in the noblest impulses of the human +soul, in rock and stream, in bird, and leaf and flower. In that very +city, which, thanks to perjured and prejudiced travellers, I had been +taught to regard as a sort of outcast camp, I found humanity in its +fairest forms--progress blended with pleasure--civilisation adorned with +the spirit of chivalry as with a wreath. Prosaic indeed! a +dollar-loving people! I make bold to assert, that in the concave of +that little crescent where lies the city of New Orleans will be found a +psychological _melange_ of greater variety and interest than exists in +any space of equal extent on the globe's surface. There the passions, +favoured by the clime, reach their fullest, highest development, Love +and hate, joy and grief, avarice, ambition--all attain to perfect +vigour. There, too, the moral virtues are met with in full purity. +Cant has there no home, hypocrisy must be deep indeed to avoid exposure +and punishment. Genius is almost universal--universal, too, is +activity. The stupid and the slothful cannot exist in this moving world +of busy life and enjoyment. + +An ethnological _melange_ as well this singular city presents. Perhaps +no other city exhibits so great a variety of nationalities as in its +streets. Founded by the French, held by the Spaniards, "annexed" by the +Americans, these three nations form the elements of its population. But +you may, nevertheless, there meet with representatives of most other +civilised, and of many "savage" people. The Turk in his turban, the +Arab in his burnouse, the Chinaman with shaven scalp and queue, the +black son of Africa, the red Indian, the swarthy Mestize, yellow +Mulatto, the olive Malay, the light graceful Creole, and the not less +graceful Quadroon, jostle each other in its streets, and jostle with the +red-blooded races of the North, the German and Gael, the Russ and Swede, +the Fleming, the Yankee, and the Englishman. An odd human mosaic--a +mottled piebald mixture is the population of the Crescent City. + +In truth, New Orleans is a great metropolis, more of a city than places +of much greater population either in Europe or America. In passing +through its streets you feel that you are not in a provincial town. Its +shops exhibit the richest goods, of best workmanship. Palace-like +hotels appear in every street. Luxurious _cafes_ invite you into their +elegant saloons. Theatres are there--grand architectural temples--in +which you may witness the drama well performed in French, and German, +and English, and in its season you may listen to the soul-moving music +of the Italian opera. If you are a lover of the Terpsichorean art, you +will fold New Orleans, _par excellence_, the town to your taste. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I knew the capacities of New Orleans to afford pleasure. I was +acquainted with the sources of enjoyment, yet I sought them not. After +a long interval of country life I entered the city without a thought of +its gaieties--a rare event in the life even of the most sedate. The +masquerades, the quadroon-balls, the drama, the sweet strains of the +Opera, had lost their attractions for me. No amusement could amuse me +at that moment. One thought alone had possession of my heart--Aurore! +There was room for no other. + +I pondered as to how I should act. + +Place yourself in my position, and you will surely acknowledge it a +difficult one. First, I was in love with this beautiful quadroon--in +love beyond redemption. Secondly, she, the object of my passion, was +for _sale_, and by _public auction_! Thirdly, I was jealous--ay +jealous, of that which might be sold and bought like a bale of cotton,-- +a barrel of sugar! Fourthly, I was still uncertain whether I should +have it in my power to become the purchaser. I was still uncertain +whether my banker's letter had yet reached New Orleans. Ocean steamers +were not known at this period, and the date of a European mail could not +be relied upon with any degree of certainty. Should that not come to +hand in due time, then indeed should my misery reach its culminating +point. Some one else would become possessed of all I held dear on +earth--would be her lord and master--with power to do aught--oh God! the +idea was fearful. I could not bear to dwell upon it. + +Again, even should my letter reach me in time, would the amount I +expected be enough? Five hundred pounds sterling--five times five-- +twenty-five hundred dollars! Would twenty-five hundred be the price of +that which was priceless? + +I even doubted whether it would. I knew that a thousand dollars was at +that time the "average value" of a slave, and it was rare when one +yielded twice that amount. It must be a strong-bodied man--a skilful +mechanic, a good blacksmith, an expert barber, to be worth such a sum! + +But for Aurore. Oh! I had heard strange tales of "fancy prices," for +such a "lot"--of brisk competition in the bidding--of men with long +purses and lustful thoughts eagerly contending for such a prize. + +Such thoughts might harrow the soul even under the most ordinary +circumstances! what was their effect upon me? I cannot describe the +feelings I experienced. + +Should the sum reach me in time--should it prove enough--should I even +succeed in becoming the _owner_ of Aurore, what then? What if my +jealousy were well founded? What if she loved me not? Worse dilemma +than ever. I should only have her body--then her heart and soul would +be another's. I should live in exquisite torture--the slave of a slave! + +Why should I attempt to purchase her at all? Why not make a bold +effort, and free myself from this delirious passion? She is not worthy +of the sacrifice I would make for her. No--she has deceived me--surely +she has deceived me. Why not break my promise, plighted though it be in +words of fervid love? Why not flee from the spot, and endeavour to +escape the torture that is maddening both my heart and brain? Oh! why +not? + +In calmer moments, such questions might be thought worthy of an answer. +I could not answer them. I did not even entertain them,--though, like +shadows, they flitted across my mind. In the then state of my feelings, +prudence was unknown. Expediency had no place. I would not have +listened to its cold counsels. You who have passionately loved can +alone understand me. I was resolved to risk fortune, fame, life--all-- +to possess the object I so deeply adored. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY ONE. + +VENTE IMPORTANTE DES NEGRES. + +"_L'abeille_, Monsieur?" + +The _garcon_ who helped me to the fragrant cup, at the same time handed +me a newspaper fresh from the press. + +It was a large sheet, headed upon one side "L'Abeille", on the reverse +its synonyme in English, "The Bee." Half of its contents were in +French, half in English: each half was a counterpart--a translation of +the other. + +I mechanically took the journal from the hand of the waiter, but without +either the design or inclination to read it. Mechanically my eyes +wandered over its broad-sheet--scarce heeding the contents. + +All at once, the heading of an advertisement fixed my gaze and my +attention. It was on the "French side" of the paper. + +"Annoncement." + +"_Vente importante des Negres_!" Yes--it was they. The announcement +was no surprise to me. I expected as much. + +I turned to the translation on the reverse page, in order to comprehend +it more clearly. There it was in all its broad black meaning:-- + +"_Important Sale of Negroes_!" I read on:--"_Estate in Bankruptcy. +Plantation Besancon_!" + +"Poor Eugenie!" + +Farther:-- + +"_Forty able-bodied field-hands, of different ages. Several first-rate +domestic servants, coachman, cooks, chamber-maids, wagon-drivers. A +number of likely mulatto boys and girls, from ten to twenty_," etcetera, +etcetera. + +The list followed _in extenso_. I read-- + +"Lot 1. _Scipio, 48. Able-bodied black, 5 foot 11 inches, understands +house-work, and the management of horses. Sound and without blemish_. + +"Lot 2. _Hannibal, 40. Dark mulatto, 5 foot 9 inches, good coachman, +sound and steady_. + +"Lot 3. _Cesar, 43. Black field-hand. Sound_," etcetera, etcetera. + +My eyes could not wait for the disgusting details. They ran down the +column in search of that name. They would have lit upon it sooner, but +that my hands trembled, and the vibratory motion of the sheet almost +prevented me from reading. It was there at length--_last upon the +list_! "Why last?" No matter--her "description" was there. + +Can I trust myself to read it? Down, burning heart, still your wild +throbbings! + +"Lot 65. _Aurore. 19. Quadroon. Likely_--_good housekeeper, and +sempstress_." + +Portrait sketched by refined pen--brief and graphic. + +"Likely," ha! ha! ha! "Likely," ha! ha! The brute who wrote that +paragraph would have described Venus as a likely gal. + +'Sdeath! I cannot jest--this desecration of all that is lovely--all +that is sacred--all that is dear to my heart, is torture itself. The +blood is boiling in my veins--my bosom is wrung with dire emotions! + +The journal fell from my hands, and I bent forward over the table, my +fingers clutching each other. I could have groaned aloud had I been +alone. But I was not. I sat in the great refectory of the hotel. Men +were near who would have jeered at my agony had they but known its +cause. + +Some minutes elapsed before I could reflect on what I had read. I sat +in a kind of stupor, brought on by the violence of my emotions. + +Reflection came at length, and my first thought was of action. More +than ever did I now desire to become the purchaser of the beautiful +slave--to redeem her from this hideous bondage. I should buy her. I +should set her free. True or false to me, I should accomplish this all +the same. I should make no claim for gratitude. She should choose for +herself. She should be free, if not in the disposal of her gratitude, +at least in that of her love. A love based only on gratitude would not +content me. Such could not last. Her heart should freely bestow +itself. If I had already won it, well. If not, and it had fixed its +affection upon another--mine be the grief. Aurore, at all events, shall +be happy. + +My love had elevated my soul--had filled it with such noble resolves. + +And now to set her free. + +When was this hideous exhibition--this "Important Sale," to come off? +When was my betrothed to be sold, and I to assist at the spectacle? + +I took up the paper again to ascertain the time and place. The place I +knew well--the Rotundo of the Saint Louis exchange--adjoining the hotel, +and within twenty yards of where I sat. That was the slave-market. But +the time--it was of more importance--indeed of all importance. Strange +I did not think of this before! Should it be at an early date, and my +letter not have arrived! I dared not trust myself with such a +supposition. Surely it would be a week--several days, at the least-- +before a sale of so much importance would take place. Ha! it may have +been advertised for some days. The negroes may have been brought down +only at the last moment! + +My hands trembled, as my eyes sought the paragraph. At length they +rested upon it. I read with painful surprise:-- + +"_To-morrow at twelve_!" + +I looked to the date of the journal. All correct. It was the issue of +that morning. I looked to the dial on the wall. The clock was on the +stroke of _twelve_! Just one day to elapse. + +"O God! if my letter should not have arrived!" + +I drew forth my purse, and mechanically told over its contents. I knew +not why I did so. I knew it contained but a hundred dollars. The +"sportsmen" had reduced it in bulk. When I had finished counting it, I +could not help smiling at the absurdity of the thing. "A hundred +dollars _for the quadroon! Likely_--_good housekeeper, etcetera! a +hundred dollars bid_!" The auctioneer would not be likely to repeat the +bid. + +All now depended on the English mail. If it had not arrived already, or +did not before the morning, I would be helpless. Without the letter on +my New Orleans banker, I could not raise fifty pounds--watch, jewels, +and all. As to borrowing, I did not think of such a thing. Who was to +lend me money? Who to an almost perfect stranger would advance such a +sum as I required? No one I felt certain. Reigart could not have +helped me to so large an amount, even had there been time to communicate +with him. No--there was no one who _would_, that _could_ have favoured +me. No one I could think of. + +"Stop:"--the banker himself! Happy thought, the banker Brown! Good, +generous Brown, of the English house, Brown and Co., who, with smiling +face, has already cashed my drafts for me. He will do it! The very +man! Why did I not think of him sooner? Yes; if the letter have not +reached him I shall tell him that I expect it every day, and its amount. +He will advance the money. + +"Twelve o'clock gone. There is no time to be lost. He's in his +counting-house by this. I shall at once apply to him." + +I seized my hat, and hastening out of the hotel, took my way through the +streets towards the banking-house of Brown and Co. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY TWO. + +BROWN AND CO. + +The banking-house of Brown and Co. was in Canal Street. From the Saint +Louis Exchange, Canal Street may be approached by the Rue Conti, or the +parallel street of the Rue Royale. The latter is the favourite +promenade of the gay Creole-French, as Saint Charles Street is for the +fashionable Americans. + +You will wonder at this _melange_ of French and English in the +nomenclature of streets. The truth is, that New Orleans has a +peculiarity somewhat rare. It is composed of two distinct cities--a +French and an American one. I might even say _three_, for there is a +Spanish quarter with a character distinct from either, and where you may +see on the corner the Spanish designation "Calle," as the _Calle de +Casacalvo, Calle del Obispo_, etcetera. This peculiarity is explained +by referring to the history of Louisiana. It was colonised by the +French in the early part of the eighteenth century, New Orleans being +founded in 1717. The French held Louisiana till 1762, when it was ceded +to Spain, and remained in her possession for a period of nearly fifty +years--till 1798, when France once more became its master. Five years +after, in 1803, Napoleon sold this valuable country to the American +government for 15,000,000 of dollars--the best bargain which Brother +Jonathan has ever made, and apparently a slack one on the part of +Napoleon. After all, Napoleon was right. The sagacious Corsican, no +doubt, foresaw that it could not have long remained the property of +France. Sooner or later the American flag would wave over the Crescent +City, and Napoleon's easy bargain has no doubt saved America a war, and +France a humiliation. + +This change of masters will explain the peculiarity of the population of +New Orleans. The characteristics of all three nations are visible in +its streets, in its houses, in the features, habits, and dress of its +citizens. In nothing are the national traces more distinctly marked +than in the different styles of architecture. In the American quarter +you have tall brick dwellings, several stories in height, their shining +fronts half occupied with rows of windows, combining the light and +ornamental with the substantial and useful. This is typical of the +Anglo-American. Equally typical of the French character are the light +wooden one-storey houses, painted in gay colours, with green verandah +palings; windows that open as doors, and a profusion of gauzy curtains +hanging behind them. + +Equally a type of the grand solemn character of the Spaniard, are the +massive sombre structures of stone and lime, of the imposing Moorish +style, that is still seen in many of the streets of New Orleans. Of +these, the Great Cathedral is a fine specimen--that will stand as a +monument of Spanish occupancy, long after both the Spanish and French +population has been absorbed and melted down in the alembic of the +Anglo-American propagandism. The American part of New Orleans is that +which is highest on the river--known as the Faubourgs Saint Mary and +Annunciation. Canal Street separates it from the French quarter--which +last is the old city, chiefly inhabited by Creole-French and Spaniards. + +A few years ago, the French and American populations were about equal. +Now the Saxon element predominates, and rapidly absorbs all the others. +In time the indolent Creole must yield to the more energetic American-- +in other words, New Orleans will be Americanised. Progress and +civilisation will gain by this, at the expense--according to the +sentimental school--of the poetic and picturesque. + +Two distinct cities, then, are there in New Orleans. Each has its +Exchange distinct from the other--a distinct municipal court and public +offices--each has its centre of fashionable resort--its favourite +promenade for the _flaneurs_, of which the South-western metropolis can +boast a large crowd--its own theatres, ballrooms, hotels, and cafes. In +fact, a walk of a few paces transports one into quite a different world. +The crossing of Canal Street is like being transferred from Broadway to +the Boulevards. + +In their occupations there is a wide difference between the inhabitants +of the two quarters. The Americans deal in the strong staples of human +life. The great depots of provisions, of cotton, of tobacco, of lumber, +and the various sorts of raw produce, will be found among them. On the +other hand, the finer fabrics, the laces, the jewels, the modes and +modistes, the silks and satins, and all articles of _bijouterie_ and +_virtu_, pass through the lighter fingers of the Creoles--for these +inherit both the skill and taste of their Parisian progenitors. Fine +old rich wine-merchants, too, will be found in the French part, who have +made fortunes by importing the wines of Bordeaux and Champagne--for +claret and champagne are the wines that flow most freely on the banks of +the Mississippi. + +A feeling of jealousy is not wanting between the two races. The strong +energetic Kentuckian affects to despise the gay pleasure-loving +Frenchman, while the latter--particularly the old Creole noblesse-- +regard with contempt the _bizarrerie_ of the Northern, so that feuds and +collisions between them are not infrequent. New Orleans is, _par +excellence_, the city of the duello. In all matters of this kind the +Kentuckian finds the Creole quite his equal--his full match in spirit, +courage, and skill. I know many Creoles who are notorious for the +number of their duels. An opera-singer or _danseuse_ frequently causes +half a score or more--according to her merits, or mayhap her demerits. +The masqued and quadroon-balls are also frequent scenes of quarrel among +the wine-heated bloods who frequent them. Let no one fancy that life in +New Orleans is without incident or adventure. A less prosaic city it +would be hard to find. + +These subjects did _not_ come before my mind as I walked towards the +banking-house of Brown and Co. My thoughts were occupied with a far +different theme--one that caused me to press on with an agitated heart +and hurried steps. + +The walk was long enough to give me time for many a hypothetic +calculation. Should my letter and the bill of exchange have arrived, I +should be put in possession of funds at once,--enough, as I supposed, +for my purpose--enough to buy my slave-bride! If not yet arrived, how +then? Would Brown advance the money? My heart throbbed audibly as I +asked myself this question. Its answer, affirmative or negative, would +be to me like the pronouncement of a sentence of life or death. + +And yet I felt more than half certain that Brown would do so. I could +not fancy his smiling generous John-Bull face clouded with the +seriousness of a refusal. Its great importance to me at that moment-- +the certainty of its being repaid, and in a few days, or hours at the +farthest--surely he would not deny me! What to him, a man of millions, +could be the inconvenience of advancing five hundred pounds? Oh! he +would do it to a certainty. No fear but he would do it! + +I crossed the threshold of the man of money, my spirits buoyant with +sweet anticipation. When I recrossed it my soul was saddened with +bitter disappointment. My letter had not yet arrived--Brown refused the +advance! + +I was too inexperienced in business to comprehend its sordid +calculations--its cold courtesy. What cared the banker for my pressing +wants? What to him was my ardent appeal? Even had I told him my +motives, my object, it would have been all the same. That game cold +denying smile would have been the reply--ay, even had my life depended +upon it. + +I need not detail the interview. It was brief enough. I was told, with +a bland smile, that my letter had not yet come to hand. To my proposal +for the advance the answer was blunt enough. The kind generous smile +blanked off Brown's ruddy face. It was not business. It could not be +done. There was no sign thrown out--no invitation to talk farther. I +might have appealed in a more fervent strain. I might have confessed +the purpose for which I wanted the money, but Brown's face gave me no +encouragement. Perhaps it was as well I did not. Brown would have +chuckled over my delicate secret. The town, over its tea-table, would +have relished it as a rich joke. + +Enough--my letter had not arrived--Brown refused the advance. With Hope +behind me and Despair in front, I hurried back to the hotel. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY THREE. + +EUGENE D'HAUTEVILLE. + +The remainder of the day I was occupied in searching for Aurore. I +could learn nothing of her--not even whether she had yet reached the +city! + +In search of her I went to the quarters where the others had their +temporary lodgment. She was not these. She had either not yet arrived, +or was kept at some other place. They had not seen her! They knew +nothing about her. + +Disappointed and wearied with running through the hot and dusty streets, +I returned to the hotel. + +I waited for night. I waited for the coming of Eugene d'Hauteville, for +such was the name of my new acquaintance. + +I was strangely interested in this young man. Our short interview had +inspired me with a singular confidence in him. He had given proof of a +friendly design towards me; and still more had impressed me with a high +idea of his knowledge of the world. Young as he was, I could not help +fancying him a being possessed of some mysterious power. I could not +help thinking that in some way he might aid me. There was nothing +remarkable in his being so young and still _au-fait_ to all the +mysteries of life. Precocity is the privilege of the American, +especially the native of New Orleans. A Creole at fifteen is a man. + +I felt satisfied that D'Hauteville--about my own age--knew far more of +the world than I, who had been half my life cloistered within the walls +of an antique university. + +I had an instinct that he both _could_ and _would_ serve me. + +How? you may ask. By lending me the money I required? + +It could not be thus. I believed that he was himself without funds, or +possessed of but little--far too little to be of use to me. My reason +for thinking so was the reply he had made when I asked for his address. +There was something in the tone of his answer that led me to the thought +that he was without fortune--even without a home. Perhaps a clerk out +of place, thought I; or a poor artist. His dress was rich enough--but +dress is no criterion on a Mississippi steamboat. + +With these reflections it was strange I should have been impressed with +the idea _he_ could serve me! But I was so, and had therefore resolved +to make him the confidant of my secret--the secret of my love--the +secret of my misery. + +Perhaps another impulse acted upon me, and aided in bringing me to this +determination. He whose heart has been charged with a deep grief must +know the relief which sympathy can afford. The sympathy of friendship +is sweet and soothing. There is balm in the counsel of a kind +companion. + +My sorrow had been long pent up within my own bosom, and yearned to find +expression. Stranger among strangers, I had no one to share it with me. +Even to the good Reigart I had not confessed myself. With the +exception of Aurore herself, Eugenie--poor Eugenie--was alone mistress +of my secret. Would that she of all had never known it! + +Now to this youth Eugene--strange coincidence of name!--I was resolved +to impart it--resolved to unburden my heart. Perhaps, in so doing I +might find consolation or relief. + +I waited for the night. It was at night he had promised to come. I +waited with impatience--with my eyes bent almost continuously on the +index finger of time, and chafing at the slow measured strokes of the +pendulum. + +I was not disappointed. He came at length. His silvery voice rang in +my ears, and he stood before me. + +As he entered my room, I was once more struck with the melancholy +expression of his countenance--the pale cheek--the resemblance to some +face I had met before. + +The room was close and hot. The summer had not yet quite departed. I +proposed a walk. We could converse as freely in the open air, and there +was a lovely moon to light us on our way. + +As we sallied forth, I offered my visitor a cigar. This he declined, +giving his reason. He did not smoke. + +Strange, thought I, for one of a race, who almost universally indulge in +the habit. Another peculiarity in the character of my new acquaintance! + +We passed up the Rue Royale, and turned along Canal Street in the +direction of the "Swamp." Presently we crossed the Rue des Rampartes, +and soon found ourselves outside the limits of the city. + +Some buildings appeared beyond, but they were not houses--at least not +dwelling-places for the living. The numerous cupolas crowned with +crosses--the broken columns--the monuments of white marble, gleaming +under the moon, told us that we looked upon a city of the dead. It was +the great cemetery of New Orleans--that cemetery where the poor after +death are _drowned_, and the rich fare no better, for they are _baked_! + +The gate stood open--the scene within invited me--its solemn character +was in unison with my spirit. My companion made no objection, and we +entered. + +After wending our way among tombs, and statues, and monuments; miniature +temples, columns, obelisks, sarcophagi carved in snow-white marble-- +passing graves that spoke of recent affliction--others of older date, +but garnished with fresh flowers--the symbols of lore or affection that +still lingered--we seated ourselves upon a moss-grown slab, with the +fronds of the Babylonian willow waving above our heads, and drooping +mournfully around us. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR. + +PITY FOR LOVE. + +Along the way we had conversed upon several topics indifferently--of my +gambling adventure on the boat--of the "sportsmen" of New Orleans--of +the fine moonlight. + +Until after entering the cemetery, and taking our seats upon the tomb, I +had disclosed nothing of that which altogether engrossed my thoughts. +The time had now arrived for unbosoming myself, and half-an-hour after +Eugene D'Hauteville knew the story of my love. + +I confided to him all that had occurred from the time of my leaving New +Orleans, up to the period of our meeting upon the Houma. My interview +with the banker Brown, and my fruitless search that day for Aurore, were +also detailed. + +From first to last he listened without interrupting me; only once, when +I described the scene of my confession to Eugenie, and its painful +ending. The details of this seemed to interest him exceedingly--in +fact, to give him pain. More than once I was interrupted by his sobs, +and by the light of the moon I could see that he was in tears! + +"Noble youth!" thought I, "thus to be affected by the sufferings of a +stranger!" + +"Poor Eugenie!" murmured he, "is _she_ not to be pitied?" + +"Pitied! ah, Monsieur; you know not how much I pity her! That scene +will never be effaced from my memory. If pity--friendship--any +sacrifice could make amends, how willingly would I bestow it upon her-- +all but that which is not in my power to give--my love. Deeply, +Monsieur D'Hauteville--deeply do I grieve for that noble lady. Oh, that +I could pluck the sting from her heart which I have been the innocent +cause of placing there. But surely she will recover from this +unfortunate passion? Surely in time--" + +"Ah! never! never!" interrupted D'Hauteville, with an earnestness of +manner that surprised me. + +"Why say you so, Monsieur?" + +"Why?--because I have some skill in such affairs; young as you think me, +_I_ have experienced a similar misfortune. Poor Eugenie! _Such a wound +is hard to heal_; she will not recover from it. Ah--never!" + +"Indeed, I pity her--with my whole soul I pity her." + +"You should seek her and say so." + +"Why?" I asked, somewhat astonished at the suggestion. + +"Perhaps your pity expressed to her might give consolation." + +"Impossible. It would have the contrary effect." + +"You misjudge, Monsieur. Unrequited love is far less hard to bear when +it meets with sympathy. It is only haughty contempt and heartless +triumph that wring blood-drops from the heart. Sympathy is balm to the +wounds of love. Believe me it is so. _I feel it to be so. Oh! I feel +it to be_ so!" + +The last two phrases he spoke with an earnestness that sounded strangely +in my ears. + +"Mysterious youth!" thought I. "So gentle, so compassionate, and yet so +worldly-wise!" + +I felt as though I conversed with some spiritual being--some superior +mind, who comprehended all. + +His doctrine was new to me, and quite contrary to the general belief. +At a later period of my life I became convinced of its truth. + +"If I thought my sympathy would have such an effect," replied I, "I +should seek Eugenie--I should offer her--" + +"There will be a time for that afterward," said D'Hauteville, +interrupting me; "your present business is more pressing. You purpose +to _buy this quadroon_?" + +"I did so this morning. Alas! I have no longer a hope. It will not be +in my power." + +"How much money have these sharpers left you?" + +"Not much over one hundred dollars." + +"Ha! that will not do. From your description of her she will bring ten +times the amount. A misfortune, indeed! My own purse is still lighter +than yours. I have not a hundred dollars. _Pardieu_! it is a sad +affair." + +D'Hauteville pressed his head between his hands, and remained for some +moments silent, apparently in deep meditation. From his manner I could +not help believing that he really sympathised with me, and that he was +thinking of some plan to assist me. + +"After all," he muttered to himself, just loud enough for me to hear +what was said, "if she should not succeed--if she should not find the +papers--then she, too, must be a sacrifice. Oh! it is a terrible risk. +It might be better not--it might be--" + +"Monsieur!" I said, interrupting him, "of what are you speaking?" + +"Oh!--ah! pardon me: it is an affair I was thinking of--_n'importe_. We +had better return, Monsieur. It is cold. The atmosphere of this solemn +place chills me." + +He said all this with an air of embarrassment, as though he had been +speaking his thoughts unintentionally. + +Though astonished at what he had uttered, I could not press him for an +explanation; but, yielding to his wish, I rose up to depart. I had lost +hope. Plainly he had it not in his power to serve me. + +At this moment a resource suggested itself to my mind, or rather the +forlorn hope of a resource. + +I communicated it to my companion. + +"I have still these two hundred dollars," said I, "They are of no more +service to me for the purchase of Aurore than if they were so many +pebbles. Suppose I try to increase the amount at the gaming-table?" + +"Oh, I fear it would be an idle attempt. You would lose as before." + +"That is not so certain, Monsieur. The chances at least are equal. I +need not play with men of skill, like those upon the boat. Here in New +Orleans there are gaming-houses, plenty of them, where _games of chance_ +are carried on. These are of various kinds--as _faro, craps, loto_, and +_roulette_. I can choose some one of these, where bets are made on the +tossing of a die or the turning of a card. It is just as likely I may +win as lose. What say you, Monsieur? Give me your counsel." + +"You speak truly," replied he. "There is a chance in the game. It +offers a hope of your winning. If you lose, you will be no worse off as +regards your intentions for to-morrow. If you win--" + +"True, true--if I win--" + +"You must not lose time, then. It is growing late. These gaming-houses +should be open at this hour: no doubt, they are now in the very tide of +their business. Let us find one." + +"You will go with me? Thanks, Monsieur D'Hauteville! +Thanks--_allons_!" + +We hastily traversed the walk that led to the entrance of the cemetery; +and, issuing from the gate, took our way back into the town. + +We headed for our point of departure--the Rue Saint Louis; for I knew +that in that neighbourhood lay the principal gambling hells. + +It was not difficult to find them. At that period there was no +concealment required in such matters. The gambling passion among the +Creoles, inherited from the original possessors of the city, was too +rife among all classes to be put down by a police. The municipal +authorities in the American quarter had taken some steps toward the +suppression of this vice; but their laws had no force on the French side +of Canal Street; and Creole police had far different ideas, as well as +different instructions. In the French faubourgs gaming was not +considered so hideous a crime, and the houses appropriated to it were +open and avowed. + +As you passed along Rue Conti, or Saint Louis, or the Rue Bourbon, you +could not fail to notice several large gilded lamps, upon which you +might read "faro" and "craps", "loto" or "roulette,"--odd words to the +eyes of the uninitiated, but well enough understood by those whose +business it was to traverse the streets of the "First Municipality." + +Our hurrying stops soon brought us in front of one of these +establishments, whose lamp told us in plain letters that "faro" was +played inside. + +It was the first that offered; and, without hesitating a moment, I +entered, followed by D'Hauteville. + +We had to climb a wide stairway, at the top of which we were received by +a whiskered and moustached fellow in waiting. I supposed that he was +about to demand some fee for admission. I was mistaken in my +conjecture. Admission was perfectly free. The purpose of this +individual in staying us was to divest us of arms, for which he handed +us a ticket, that we might reclaim them in going out. That he had +disarmed a goodly number before our turn came, was evident from the +numerous butts of pistols, hafts of bowie-knives, and handles of +daggers, that protruded from the pigeon-holes of a shelf-like structure +standing in one corner of the passage. + +The whole proceeding reminded me of the scenes I had often witnessed-- +the surrender of canes, umbrellas, and parasols, on entering a +picture-gallery or a museum. No doubt it was a necessary precaution-- +the non-observance of which would have led to many a scene of blood over +the gaming-table. + +We yielded up our weapons--I a pair of pistols, and my companion a small +silver dagger. These were ticketed, duplicates delivered to us, and we +were allowed to pass on into the "_saloon_." + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE. + +ON GAMES AND GAMBLING. + +The passion of gaming is universal amongst men. Every nation indulges +in it to a greater or less extent. Every nation, civilised or savage, +has its game, from whist and cribbage at Almacks to "chuck-a-luck" and +"poke-stick" upon the prairies. + +Moral England fancies herself clear of the stain. Her gossiping +traveller rarely fails to fling a stone at the foreigner on this head. +French, German, Spaniard, and Mexican, are in turn accused of an undue +propensity for this vice. Cant--all cant! There is more gambling in +moral England than in any country of my knowing. I do not speak of +card-playing about the purlieus of Piccadilly. Go to Epsom races on a +"Derby day," and there you may form an idea of the scale upon which +English gaming is carried on--for gaming it is in the very lowest sense +of the word. Talk of "noble sport,"--of an admiration for that fine +animal--the horse. Bah! Noble, indeed! Fancy those seedy scamps, who +in thousands and tens of thousands flock upon every race-course,--fancy +them and their harlotic companions possessed with the idea of anything +fine or noble! Of all who crowd there the horse alone is noble--naught +could be more ignoble than his _entourage_. + +No, moral England! You are no pattern for the nations in this respect. +You are not free from the stain, as you imagine yourself. You have a +larger population of gamblers,--_horse-gamblers_ if you will, than any +other people; and, however noble be your game, I make bold to affirm +that your gamesters are the seediest, snobbiest, and most revolting of +the tribe. There is something indescribably mean in the life and habits +of those hungry-looking vultures who hang about the corners of Coventry +Street and the Haymarket, out at elbows, out at heels, sneaking from +tavern to betting-house, and from betting-house to tavern. There is a +meanness, a positive cowardice in the very nature of their game,--their +small ventures and timid "hedging" of bets. In comparison, the bold +ringer of dice has something _almost_ noble in him. Your apathetic Don, +who stakes his gold onzas on a single throw of the ivory--your Mexican +monte-player, who risks his doubloons on each turn of the cards,--are, +to some extent, dignified by the very boldness of their venture. With +them gambling is a passion--its excitement their lure; but Brown, and +Smith, and Jones, cannot even plead _the passion_. Even _that_ would +exalt them. + +Of all gamblers by profession the "sportsman" of the Mississippi Valley +is perhaps the most picturesque. I have already alluded to their +elegant style of attire, but, independent of that, there is a dash of +the gentleman--a certain _chivalresqueness_ of character which +distinguishes them from all others of their calling. During the wilder +episodes of my life I have been _honoured_ with the acquaintance of more +than one of these _gentlemen_, and I cannot help bearing a somewhat high +testimony in their favour. Several have I met of excellent moral +character,--though, perhaps, not quite up to the standard of Exeter +Hall. Some I have known of noble and generous hearts--doers of noble +actions--who, though outcasts in society, were not outcasts to their own +natures; men who would bravely resent the slightest insult that might be +put upon them. Of course there were others, as the Chorleys and +Hatchers, who would scarce answer to this description of Western +"sportsmen"--but I really believe that such are rather the exception +than the rule. A word about the "games of America." The true national +game of the United States is the "election." The local or state +elections afford so many opportunities of betting, just as the minor +horse-races do in England; while the great quadrennial, the Presidential +election, is the "Derby day" of America. The enormous sums that change +hands upon such occasions, and the enormous number of them, would be +incredible. A statistic of these bets, could such be given, and their +amount, would surprise even the most "enlightened citizen" of the States +themselves. Foreigners cannot understand the intense excitement which +is felt during an election time throughout the United States. It would +be difficult to explain it, in a country where men generally know that +the fate of the particular candidate has, after all, but a slight +influence on their material interests. True, party spirit and the great +stake of all--the "spoils" of office--will account for some of the +interest taken in the result, but not for all. I am of opinion that the +"balance" of the excitement may be set down to the credit of the gaming +passion. Nearly every second man you meet has a bet, or rather a +"book," upon the Presidential election! + +Election, therefore, is the true national game, indulged in by high, +low, rich, and poor. + +To bet upon an election, however, is not considered _infra dig_. It is +not _professional_ gambling. + +The games for that purpose are of various kinds--in most of which cards +are relied upon to furnish the chances. Dice and billiards are also in +vogue--billiards to a considerable extent. It is a very mean village in +the United States--particularly in the South and West--that does not +furnish one or more public billiard-tables; and among Americans may be +found some of the most expert (crack) players in the world. The +"Creoles" of Louisiana are distinguished at this game. + +"Ten-pins" is also a very general game, and every town has its "ten-pin +alley." But "billiards" and "ten-pins" are not true "gambling games." +The first is patronised rather as an elegant amusement, and the latter +as an excellent exercise. Cards and dice are the real weapons of the +"sportsman," but particularly the former. Besides the English games of +whist and cribbage, and the French games of "vingt-un", "rouge-et-noir," +etcetera, the American gambler plays "poker", "euchre", "seven-up," and +a variety of others. In New Orleans there is a favourite of the Creoles +called "craps," a dice game, and "keno," and "loto," and "roulette," +played with balls and a revolving wheel. Farther to the South, among +the Spano-Mexicans, you meet the game of "monte,"--a card game, distinct +from all the others. Monte is the national game of Mexico. + +To all other modes of getting at your money, the South-Western sportsman +prefers "faro." It is a game of Spanish origin, as its name imports; +indeed, it differs but little from monte, and was no doubt obtained from +the Spaniards of New Orleans. Whether native or exotic to the towns of +the Mississippi Valley, in all of them it has become perfectly +naturalised; and there is no sportsman of the West who does not +understand and practise it. + +The game of faro is simple enough. The following are its leading +features:-- + +A green cloth or baize covers the table. Upon this the thirteen cards +of a suite are laid out in two rows, with their faces turned up. They +are usually attached to the cloth by gum, to prevent them from getting +out of place. + +A square box, like an overgrown snuff-box, is next produced. It is of +the exact size and shape to hold two packs of cards. It is of solid +silver. Any other metal would serve as well; but a professed "faro +dealer" would scorn to carry a mean implement of his calling. The +object of this box is to hold the cards to be dealt, and to assist in +dealing them. I cannot explain the internal mechanism of this +mysterious box; but I can say that it is without a lid, open at one +edge--where the cards are pressed in--and contains an interior spring, +which, touched by the finger of the dealer, pushes out the cards one by +one as they lie in the pack. This contrivance is not at all essential +to the game, which may be played without the box. Its object is to +insure a fair deal, as no card can be recognised by any mark on its +back, since up to the moment of drawing they are all invisible within +the box. A stylish "faro box" is the ambition of every "faro dealer"-- +the specific title of all "sportsmen" whose game is faro. + +Two packs of cards, well shuffled, are first put into the box; and the +dealer, resting the left hand upon it, and holding the right in +readiness, with the thumb extended, pauses a moment until some bets are +made. The "dealer" is in reality your antagonist in the game; he is the +"banker" who pays all your gains, and pockets all your losses. As many +may bet as can sit or stand around the table; but all are betting +against the dealer himself. Of course, in this case, the faro dealer +must be something of a proprietor to play the game at all; and the "faro +bank" has usually a capital of several thousands of dollars--often +hundreds of thousands to back it! Not unfrequently, after an unlucky +run, the bank gets "broke;" and the proprietor of it may be years before +he can establish another. An assistant or "croupier" usually sits +beside the dealer. His business is to exchange the "cheques" for money, +to pay the bets lost, and gather in those which the bank has won. + +The cheques used in the game are pieces of ivory of circular form, of +the diameter of dollars: they are white, red, or blue, with the value +engraved upon them, and they are used as being more convenient than the +money itself. When any one wishes to leave off playing, he can demand +from the bank to the amount specified on the cheques he may then hold. + +The simplest method of betting "against faro" is by placing the money on +the face of any particular one of the cards that lie on the table. You +may choose which you will of the thirteen. Say you have selected the +ace, and placed your money upon the face of that card. The dealer then +commences, and "draws" the cards out of the box one by one. After +drawing each two he makes a pause. Until two aces follow each other, +with no other card between, there is no decision. When two aces come +together the bet is declared. If both appear in the drawing of the two +cards, then the dealer takes your money; if only one is pulled out, and +the other follows in the next drawing, you have won. You may then renew +your bet upon the ace--double it if you will, or remove it to any other +card--and these changes you may make at any period of the deal--provided +it is not done after the first of the two cards has been drawn. + +Of course the game goes on, whether you play or not. The table is +surrounded by betters; some on one card, some on another; some by +"paralee," on two or more cards at a time; so that there is a constant +"falling due" of bets, a constant rattling of cheques and chinking of +dollars. + +It is all a game of chance. "Skill" has naught to do with the game of +faro; and you might suppose, as many do, that the chances are exactly +equal for the dealer and his opponents. Such, however, is not the case; +a peculiar arrangement of the cards produces a percentage in favour of +the former, else there would be no faro bank; and although a rare run of +ill-fortune may go against the dealer for a time, if he can only hold +out long enough, he is "bound to beat you" in the end. + +A similar percentage will be against you in all games of chance--"faro," +"monte," or "craps," wherever you bet against a "banker." Of course the +banker will not deny this, but answers you, that that _small_ percentage +is to "pay for the game." It usually does, and well. + +Such is faro--the game at which I had resolved to empty my purse, or win +the price of my betrothed. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY SIX. + +THE FARO BANK. + +We entered the saloon. The game _voila_! + +At one end was the table--the bank. We could see neither bank nor +dealer; both were hidden by the double ring of bettors, who encircled +the table--one line seated, the other standing behind. There were +women, too, mingled in the crowd--seated and standing in every +attitude--gay and beautiful women, decked out in the finery of fashion, +but with a certain _braverie_ of manner that betokened their unfortunate +character. + +D'Hauteville had guessed aright--the game was at its height. The look +and attitudes of the betters--their arms constantly in motion, placing +their stakes--the incessant rattling of the ivory cheques, and the +clinking together of dollars--all told that the game was progressing +briskly. + +A grand chandelier, suspended above the table, cast its brilliant light +over the play and the players. + +Near the middle of the saloon stood a large table, amply furnished with +"refreshments." Cold fowls, ham and tongue, chicken salad, and +lobsters, cut-glass decanters tilled with wine, brandy, and other +liquors, garnished this table. Some of the plates and glasses bore the +traces of having been already used, while others were clean and ready +for anyone who chose to play knife and fork a while. It was, in fact, a +"free lunch," or rather supper--free to any guest who chose to partake +of it. Such is the custom of an American gambling-house. + +The rich viands did not tempt either my companion or myself. We passed +the table without halting, and walked directly up to the "bank." + +We reached the outer circle, and looked over the shoulders of the +players. "_Shade of Fortuna! Chorley and Hatcher_!" + +Yes--there sat the two sharpers, side by side, behind the faro-table-- +not as mere bettors, but acting respectively as banker and croupier of +the game! Chorley held the dealing-box in his fingers, while Hatcher +sat upon his right, with cheques, dollars, and bank-notes piled upon the +table in front of him! A glance around the ring of faces showed us the +pork-merchant as well. There sat he in his loose jeans coat and broad +white-hat, talking farmer-like, betting bravely, and altogether a +stranger to both banker and croupier! + +My companion and I regarded each other with a look of surprise. + +After all, there was nothing to surprise us. A faro bank needs no +charter, no further preliminaries to its establishment than to light up +a table, spread a green baize over it, and commence operations. The +sportsmen were no doubt quite at home here. Their up-river excursion +was only by way of a little variety--an interlude incidental to the +summer. The "season" of New Orleans was now commencing, and they had +just returned in time for it. Therefore there was nothing to be +surprised at, in our finding them where we did. + +At first seeing them, however, I felt astonishment, and my companion +seemed to share it. I turned towards him, and was about proposing that +we should leave the room again, when the wandering eye of the pseudo +pork-merchant fell upon me. + +"Hilloa, stranger!" he cried out, with an air of astonishment, "you +hyar?" + +"I believe so," I replied unconcernedly. + +"Wal! wal! I tho't you war lost. Whar did you go, anyhow?" he inquired +in a tone of vulgar familiarity, and loud enough to turn the attention +of all present upon myself and my companion. + +"Ay--_whar_ did I go?" I responded, keeping my temper, and concealing +the annoyance I really felt at the fellow's impudence. + +"Yes--that's jest what I wanted to know." + +"Are you very anxious?" I asked. + +"Oh, no--not particklerly so." + +"I am glad of that," I responded, "as I don't intend telling you." + +With all his swagger I could see that his crest fell a little at the +general burst of laughter that my somewhat _bizarre_ remark had called +forth. + +"Come, stranger," he said, in a half-deprecatory, half-spiteful tone, +"you needn't a be so short-horned about it, I guess; I didn't mean no +offence--but you know you left us so suddintly--never mind--'taint no +business o' mine. You're going to take a hand at faro, ain't you?" + +"Perhaps." + +"Wal, then, it appears a nice game. I'm jest trying it for the first +time myself. It's all chance, I believe--jest like odds and evens. I'm +a winnin' anyhow." + +He turned his face to the bank, and appeared to busy himself in +arranging his bets. + +A fresh deal had commenced, and the players, drawn off for a moment by +our conversation, became once more engaged in what was of greater +interest to them--the little money-heaps upon the cards. + +Of course, both Chorley and Hatcher recognised me; but they had +restricted their recognitions to a friendly nod, and a glance that +plainly said-- + +"He's here! all right! he'll not go till he has tried to get back his +hundred dollars--he'll have a shy at the bank--no fear but he will." + +If such were their thoughts they were, not far astray. My own +reflections were as follows:-- + +"I may as well risk my money here as elsewhere. A faro bank is a faro +bank all the same. There is no opportunity for cheating, where cards +are thus dealt. The arrangement of the bets precludes every possibility +of such a thing. Where one player loses to the bank, another may win +from it by the very same turn, and this of course checks the dealer from +drawing the cards falsely, even if it were possible for him to do so. +So I may as well play against Messrs. Chorley and Hatcher's bank as any +other--better, indeed; for if I am to win I shall have the satisfaction +of the _revanche_, which those gentlemen owe me. I shall play here +then. Do you advise me, Monsieur?" + +Part of the above reflections, and the interrogatory that wound them up, +were addressed in a whisper to the young Creole. + +He acknowledged their justice. He advised me to remain. He was of the +opinion I might as well tempt fortune there as go farther. + +Enough--I took out a five-dollar gold-piece, and placed it upon the ace. + +No notice was taken of this--neither banker nor croupier even turning +their eyes in the direction, of the bet. Such a sum as five dollars +would not decompose the well-practised nerves of these gentlemen--where +sums of ten, twenty, or even fifty times the amount, were constantly +passing to and from their cash-box. + +The deal proceeded, Chorley drawing the cards with that air of +imperturbable _sang-froid_ so characteristic of his class. + +"Ace wins," cried a voice, as two aces came forth together. + +"Pay you in cheques, sir?" asked the croupier. + +I assented, and a flat round piece of ivory, of a red colour, with the +figure 5 in its centre, was placed upon my half-eagle. I permitted both +to remain upon the ace. The deal went on, and after a while two aces +came out together, and two more of the red cheques were mine. + +I suffered all four pieces, now worth twenty dollars, to lie. I had not +come there to amuse myself. My purpose was very different; and, +impelled by that purpose, I was resolved not to waste time. If Fortune +was to prove favourable to me, her favours were as likely to be mine +soon as late; and when I thought of the real stake for which I was +playing, I could not endure the suspense. No more was I satisfied at +contact with the coarse and bawd company that surrounded the table. + +The deal went on--and after some time aces again came out. This time I +lost. + +Without a word passing from his lips, the croupier drew in the cheques +and gold-piece, depositing them in his japanned cash-box, I took out my +purse, and tried ten dollars upon the queen, I won. I doubled the bet, +and lost again. + +Another ten dollars won--another lost--another and another, and so on, +now winning, now losing, now betting with cheques, now with +gold-pieces--until at length I felt to the bottom of my purse without +encountering a coin! + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN. + +THE WATCH AND RING. + +I rose from my seat, and turned towards D'Hauteville with a glance of +despair. I needed not to tell him the result. My look would have +announced it, but he had been gazing over my shoulder and knew all. + +"Shall we go, Monsieur?" I asked. + +"Not yet--stay a moment," replied he, placing his hand upon my arm. + +"And why?" I asked; "I have not a dollar. I have lost all. I might +have known it would be so. Why stay here, sir?" + +I spoke somewhat brusquely. I confess I was at the moment in anything +but an amiable mood. In addition to my prospects for the morrow, a +suspicion had flashed across my mind that my new friend was not loyal. +His knowledge of these men--his having counselled me to play there--the +accident, to say the least, a strange one, of our again meeting with the +"sportsmen" of the boat, and under such a new phase--the great celerity +with which my purse had been "cleared out"--all these circumstances +passing rapidly through my mind, led me naturally enough to suspect +D'Hauteville of treason. I ran rapidly over our late conversation. I +tried to remember whether he had said or done anything to guide me into +this particular hell. Certainly he had not proposed my playing, but +rather opposed it; and I could not remember that by word or act he had +endeavoured to introduce me to the game. Moreover, he seemed as much +astonished as myself at seeing these gentlemen behind the table. + +What of all that? The surprise might have been well feigned. Possibly +enough; and after my late experience of the pork-merchant, probably +enough, Monsieur D'Hauteville was also a partner in the firm of Chorley, +Hatcher, and Co. I wheeled round with an angry expression on my lips, +when the current of my thoughts was suddenly checked, and turned into a +new channel. The young Creole stood looking up in my face--he was not +so tall as I--gazing upon me out of his beautiful eyes, and waiting +until my moment of abstraction should pass. Something glittered in his +outstretched hand. It was a purse. I could see the yellow coins +shining through the silken network. It was a purse of gold! + +"Take it!" he said, in his soft silvery voice. + +My heart fell abashed within me. I could scarce stammer forth a reply. +Had he but known my latest thoughts, he might have been able to read the +flush of shame that so suddenly mantled my cheeks. + +"No, Monsieur," I replied; "this is too generous of you. I cannot +accept it." + +"Come--come! Why not? Take it, I pray--try Fortune again. She has +frowned on you of late, but remember she is a fickle goddess, and may +yet smile on you. Take the purse, man!" + +"Indeed, Monsieur, I cannot after what I--pardon me--if you knew--" + +"Then must _I_ play for you--remember the purpose that brought us here! +Remember Aurore!" + +"Oh!" + +This ejaculation, wrung from my heart, was the only answer I could make, +before the young Creole had turned to the faro-table, and was placing +his gold upon the cards. + +I stood watching him with feelings of astonishment and admiration, +mingled with anxiety for the result. + +What small white hands! What a brilliant jewel, sparkling on his +finger--a diamond! It has caught the eyes of the players, who gloat +upon it as it passes back and forward to the cards. Chorley and Hatcher +have both noticed it. I saw them exchange their peculiar glance as they +did so. Both are polite to him. By the large bets he is laying he has +won their esteem. Their attention in calling out the card when he wins, +and in handing him his cheques, is marked and assiduous. He is the +favoured better of the ring; and oh! how the eyes of those fair lemans +gleam upon him with their wild and wicked meaning! Not one of them that +would not love him for that sparkling gem! + +I stood on one side watching with great anxiety--greater than if the +stake had been my own. But it _was_ my own. It was _for me_. The +generous youth was playing away his gold for _me_. + +My suspense was not likely to be of long duration. He was losing +rapidly--recklessly losing. He had taken my place at the table, and +along with it my ill-luck. Almost every bet he made was "raked" into +the bank, until his last coin lay upon the cards. Another turn, and +that, too, chinked as it fell into the cash-box of the croupier! + +"Come now, D'Hauteville! Come away!" I whispered, leaning over, and +laying hold of his arm. + +"How much against this?" he asked the banker, without heeding me--"how +much, sir?" + +As he put the question, he raised the gold guard over his head, at the +same time drawing forth his watch. + +I suspected this was his intention when I first spoke. I repeated my +request in a tone of entreaty--all in vain. He pressed Chorley for a +reply. + +The latter was not the man to waste words at such a crisis. + +"A hundred dollars," said he, "for the watch--fifty more upon the +chain." + +"Beautiful!" exclaimed one of the players. + +"They're worth more," muttered another. + +Even in the _blaze_ hearts around that table there were human feelings. +There is always a touch of sympathy for him who loses boldly; and an +expression of this in favour of the Creole youth could be heard, from +time to time, as his money parted from him. + +"Yes, that watch and chain are worth more," said a tall dark-whiskered +man, who sat near the end of the table. This remark was made in a firm +confident tone of voice, that seemed to command Chorley's attention. + +"I'll look at it again, if you please?" said he, stretching across the +table to D'Hauteville, who still held the watch in his hand. + +The latter surrendered it once more to the gambler, who opened the case, +and commenced inspecting the interior. It was an elegant watch, and +chain also--of the fashion usually worn by ladies. They were worth more +than Chorley had offered, though that did not appear to be the opinion +of the pork-merchant. + +"It's a good pile o' money, is a hundred an' fifty dollars," drawled he; +"a good biggish pile, I reckon. I don't know much about such fixins +meself, but it's full valley for that ar watch an' chain, I shed say." + +"Nonsense!" cried several: "two hundred dollars--it's worth it all. See +the jewels!" + +Chorley cut short the discussion. + +"Well," said he, "I don't think it worth more than what I've bid, sir. +But since you wish to get back what you've already lost, I don't mind +staking two hundred against watch and chain together. Does that satisfy +you?" + +"Play on!" was the only answer made by the impatient Creole, as he took +back his watch, and laid it down upon one of the cards. + +It was a cheap watch to Chorley. It cost him but the drawing out of +half-a-dozen cards, and it became his! + +"How much against this?" + +D'Hauteville drew off his ring, and held it before the dazzled eyes of +the dealer. + +At this crisis I once more interfered, but my remonstrance was unheeded. +It was of no use trying to stay the fiery spirit of the Creole. + +The ring was a diamond, or rather a collection of diamonds in a gold +setting. It, like the watch, was also of the fashion worn by ladies; +and I could hear some characteristic remarks muttered around the table, +such as, "That young blood's got a rich girl somewhere", "There's more +where they come from," and the like! + +The ring was evidently one of much value, as Chorley, after an +examination of it, proposed to stake four hundred dollars. The tall man +in dark whiskers again interfered, and put it at five hundred. The +circle backed him, and the dealer at length agreed to give that sum. + +"Will you take cheques, sir?" he inquired, addressing D'Hauteville, "or +do you mean to stake it at one bet?" + +"At one bet," was the answer. + +"No, no!" cried several voices, inclined to favour D'Hauteville. + +"At one bet," repeated he, in a determined tone. "Place it upon the +ace!" + +"As you wish, sir," responded Chorley, with perfect _sang-froid_, at the +same time handing back the ring to its owner. + +D'Hauteville took the jewel in his slender white fingers, and laid it on +the centre of the card. It was the only bet made. The other players +had become so interested in the result, that they withheld their stakes +in order to watch it. + +Chorley commenced drawing the cards. Each one as it came forth caused a +momentary thrill of expectancy; and when aces, deuces, or tres with +their broad white margins appeared outside the edge of that mysterious +box, the excitement became intense. + +It was a long time before two aces came together. It seemed as if the +very importance of the stakes called for more than the usual time to +decide the bet. + +It was decided at length. The ring followed the watch. + +I caught D'Hauteville by the arm, and drew him away from the table. +This time he followed me unresistingly--as he had nothing more to lay. + +"What matters it?" said he, with a gay air as we passed together out of +the saloon. "Ah! yes," he continued, changing his tone, "ah, yes, it +does matter! It matters to _you_, and _Aurore_!" + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT. + +MY FORLORN HOPE. + +It was pleasant escaping from that hot hell into the cool night air-- +into the soft light of a Southern moon. It would have been pleasant +under other circumstances; but then the sweetest clime and loveliest +scene would have made no impression upon me. + +My companion seemed to share my bitterness of soul. His words of +consolation were not without their influence; I knew they were the +expressions of a real sympathy. His acts had already proved it. + +It was, indeed, a lovely night. The white moon rode buoyantly through +fleecy clouds, that thinly dappled the azure sky of Louisiana, and a +soft breeze played through the now silent streets. A lovely night--too +sweet and balmy. My spirit would have preferred a storm. Oh! for black +clouds, red lightning, and thunder rolling and crashing through the sky. +Oh! for the whistling wind, and the quick pattering of the rain-drops. +Oh! for a hurricane without, consonant to the storm that was raging +within me! + +It was but a few steps to the hotel; but we did not stop there. We +could think better in the open air, and converse as well. Sleep had no +charms for me, and my companion seemed to share my impulses; so passing +once more from among the houses, we went on towards the Swamp, caring +not whither we went. + +We walked side by side for some time without exchanging speech. Our +thoughts were running upon the same theme,--the business of to-morrow. +To-morrow no longer, for the tolling of the great cathedral clock had +just announced the hour of midnight. In twelve hours more the _vente de +l'encan_ would commence--in twelve hours more they would be bidding, for +my betrothed! + +Our steps were towards the "Shell Road," and soon our feet crunched upon +the fragments of unios and bivalves that strewed the path. Here was a +scene more in unison with our thoughts. Above and around waved the dark +solemn cypress-trees, fit emblems of grief--rendered doubly lugubrious +in their expression by the hoary _tillandsia_, that draped them like a +couch of the dead. The sounds, too, that here saluted our ears had a +soothing effect; the melancholy "coowhoo-a" of the swamp-owl--the +creaking chirp of the tree-crickets and cicadas--the solemn "tong-tong" +of the bell-frog--the hoarse trumpet-note of the greater batrachian--and +high overhead the wild treble of the bull-bat, all mingled together in a +concert, that, however disagreeable under other circumstances, now fell +upon my ears like music, and even imparted a kind of sad pleasure to my +soul. + +And yet it was not my darkest hour. A darker was yet in store for me. +Despite the very hopelessness of the prospect, I still clung to hope. A +vague feeling it was; but it sustained me against despair. The trunk of +a taxodium lay prostrate by the side of our path. Upon this we sat +down. + +We had exchanged scarce a dozen words since emerging from the hell. I +was busy with thoughts of the morrow: my young companion, whom I now +regarded in the light of an old and tried friend, was thinking of the +same. + +What generosity towards a stranger! what self-sacrifice! _Ah! little +did I then know of the vast extent_--_the noble grandeur of that +sacrifice_! + +"There now remains but one chance," I said; "the chance that to-morrow's +mail, or rather to-day's, may bring my letter. It might still arrive in +time; the mail is due by ten o'clock in the morning." + +"True," replied my companion, seemingly too busy with his own thoughts +to give much heed to what I had said. + +"If not," I continued, "then there is only the hope that he who shall +become the purchaser, may afterwards sell her to _me_. I care not at +what price, if I--" + +"Ah!" interrupted D'Hauteville, suddenly waking from his reverie; "it is +just that which troubles me--that is exactly what I have been thinking +upon. I fear, Monsieur, I fear--" + +"Speak on!" + +"I fear there is no hope that he who buys her will be willing to sell +her again." + +"And why? Will not a large sum--?" + +"No--no--I fear that he who buys will not give her up again, _at any +price_." + +"Ha! Why do you think so, Monsieur D'Hauteville." + +"I have my suspicion that a certain individual designs--" + +"Who?" + +"Monsieur Dominique Gayarre." + +"Oh! heavens! Gayarre! Gayarre!" + +"Yes; from what you have told me--from what I know myself--for I, too, +have some knowledge of Dominique Gayarre." + +"Gayarre! Gayarre! Oh, God!" + +I could only ejaculate. The announcement had almost deprived me of the +power of speech. A sensation of numbness seemed to creep over me--a +prostration of spirit, as if some horrid danger was impending and nigh, +and I without the power to avert it. + +Strange this thought had not occurred to me before. I had supposed that +the quadroon would be sold to some buyer in the ordinary course; some +one who would be disposed to _resell_ at a profit--perhaps an enormous +one; but in time I should be prepared for that. Strange I had never +thought of Gayarre becoming the purchaser. But, indeed, since the hour +when I first heard of the bankruptcy, my thoughts had been running too +wildly to permit me to reflect calmly upon anything. + +Now it was clear. It was no longer a conjecture; most certainly, +Gayarre would become the master of Aurore. Ere another night her body +would be his property. Her soul--Oh, God! Am I awake?--do I dream? + +"I had a suspicion of this before," continued D'Hauteville; "for I may +tell you I know something of this family history--of Eugenie Besancon-- +of Aurore--of Gayarre the avocat. I had a suspicion before that Gayarre +might desire to be the owner of Aurore. But now that you have told me +of the scene in the dining-room, I no longer doubt this villain's +design. Oh! it is infamous." + +"Still further proof of it," continued D'Hauteville. "There was a man +on the boat--you did not notice him, perhaps--an agent for Gayarre in +such matters. A negro-trader--a fit tool for such a purpose. No doubt +his object in coming down to the city is to be present at the sale--to +bid for the poor girl." + +"But why," I asked, catching at a straw of hope,--"why, since he wishes +to possess Aurore, could he not have effected it by private contract?-- +why send her to the slave-market to public auction?" + +"The law requires it. The slaves of an estate in bankruptcy must be +sold publicly to the highest bidder. Besides, Monsieur, bad as may be +this man, he dare not for the sake of his character act as you have +suggested. He is a thorough hypocrite, and, with all his wickedness, +wishes to stand well before the world. There are many who believe +Gayarre a good man! He dare not act openly in this villainous design, +and will not appear in it. To save scandal, the negro-trader will be +supposed to purchase for himself. It is infamous!" + +"Beyond conception! Oh! what is to be done to save her from this +fearful man? to save me--" + +"It is of that I am thinking, and have been for the last hour. Be of +good cheer, Monsieur! all hope is not lost. There is still one chance +of saving Aurore. There is one hope left. Alas! I have known the +time,--I, too, have been unfortunate--sadly--sadly--unfortunate. No +matter now. We shall not talk of my sorrows till yours have been +relieved. Perhaps, at some future time you may know me, and my griefs-- +no more of that now. There is still one chance for Aurore, and she and +you--both--may yet be happy. It must be so; I am resolved upon it. +'Twill be a wild act; but it is a wild story. Enough--I have no time to +spare--I must be gone. Now to your hotel!--go and rest. To-morrow at +twelve I shall be with you--at twelve in the Rotundo. Good night! +Adieu." + +Without allowing me time to ask for an explanation, or make any reply, +the Creole parted from me; and, plunging into a narrow street, soon +passed out of sight! + +Pondering over his incoherent words--over his unintelligible promise-- +upon his strange looks and manner,--I walked slowly to my hotel. + +Without undressing I flung myself on my bed, without a thought of going +to sleep. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY NINE. + +THE ROTUNDO. + +The thousand and one reflections of a sleepless night--the thousand and +one alternations of hope, and doubt, and fear--the theoretic tentation +of a hundred projects--all passed before my waking spirit. Yet when +morning came, and the yellow sunlight fell painfully on my eyes, I had +advanced no farther in any plan of proceeding. All my hopes centred +upon D'Hauteville--for I no longer dwelt upon the chances of the mail. + +To be assured upon this head, however, as soon as it had arrived, I once +more sought the banking-house of Brown and Co. The negative answer to +my inquiry was no longer a disappointment. I had anticipated it. When +did money ever arrive in time for a crisis? Slowly roll the golden +circles--slowly are they passed from hand to hand, and reluctantly +parted with. This supply was due by the ordinary course of the mail; +yet those friends at home, into whose executive hands I had intrusted my +affairs, had made some cause of delay. + +Never trust your business affairs to a _friend_. Never trust to a day +for receiving a letter of credit, if to a friend belongs the duty of +sending it. So swore I, as I parted from the banking-house of Brown and +Co. + +It was twelve o'clock when I returned to the Rue Saint Louis. I did not +re-enter the hotel--I walked direct to the _Rotundo_. + +My pen fails to paint the dark emotions of my soul, as I stepped under +the shadow of that spacious dome. I remember no fooling akin to what I +experienced at that moment. + +I have stood under the vaulted roof of the grand cathedral, and felt the +solemnity of religious awe--I have passed through the gilded saloons of +a regal palace, that inspired me with pity and contempt--pity for the +slaves who had sweated for that gilding, and contempt for the sycophants +who surrounded me--I have inspected the sombre cells of a prison with +feelings of pain--but remembered no scene that had so painfully +impressed me as that which now presented itself before my eyes. + +Not sacred was that spot. On the contrary, I stood upon _desecrated_ +ground--desecrated by acts of the deepest infamy. This was the famed +_slave-market of New Orleans_--the place where human bodies--I might +almost say _human souls_--were bought and sold! + +Many a forced and painful parting had these walls witnessed. Oft had +the husband been here severed from his wife--the mother from her child. +Oft had the bitter tear-bedewed that marble pavement--oft had that +vaulted dome echoed back the sigh--nay more--the cry of the anguished +heart! + +I repeat it--my soul was filled with dark emotions as I entered within +the precincts of that spacious hall. And no wonder--with such thoughts +in my heart, and such a scene before my eyes, as I then looked upon. + +You will expect a description of that scene. I must disappoint you. I +cannot give one. Had I been there as an ordinary spectator--a reporter +cool and unmoved by what was passing--I might have noted the details, +and set them before you. But the case was far otherwise. One thought +alone was in my mind--my eyes sought for one sole object--and that +prevented me from observing the varied features of the spectacle. + +A few things I do remember. I remember that the Rotundo, as its name +imports, was a circular hall, of large extent, with a flagged floor, an +arched coiling, and white walls. These were without windows, for the +hall was lighted from above. On one side, near the wall, stood a desk +or rostrum upon an elevated dais, and by the side of this a large block +of cut stone of the form of a parallelopipedon. The use of these two +objects I divined. + +A stone "kerb," or banquette, ran around one portion of the wall. The +purpose of this was equally apparent. + +The hall when I entered was half filled with people. They appeared to +be of all ages and sorts. They stood conversing in groups, just as men +do when assembled for any business, ceremony, or amusement, and waiting +for the affair to begin. It was plain, however, from the demeanour of +these people, that what they waited for did not impress them with any +feelings of solemnity. On the contrary a merry-meeting might have been +anticipated, judging from the rough jests and coarse peals of laughter +that from time to time rang through the hall. + +There was one group, however, which gave out no such signs or sounds. +Seated along the stone banquette, and standing beside it, squatted down +upon the floor, or leaning against the wall in any and every attitude, +were the individuals of this group. Their black and brown skins, the +woolly covering of their skulls, their rough red "brogans," their coarse +garments of cheap cottonade, of jeans, of "nigger cloth" died cinnamon +colour by the juice of the catalpa-tree,--these characteristics marked +them as distinct from all the other groups in the hall--a distinct race +of beings. + +But even without the distinctions of dress or complexion--even without +the thick lips or high cheekbones and woolly hair, it was easy to tell +that those who sat upon the banquette were under different circumstances +from these who strutted over the floor. While these talked loudly and +laughed gaily, those were silent and sad. These moved about with the +air of the conqueror--those were motionless with the passive look and +downcast mien of the captive. These were _masters_--those were +_slaves_! They were the slaves of the plantation Besancon. + +All were silent, or spoke only in whispers. Most of them seemed ill at +ease. Mothers sat holding their "piccaninnies" in their sable embrace, +murmuring expressions of endearment, or endeavouring to hush them to +rest. Here and there big tears rolled over their swarthy cheeks, as the +maternal heart rose and fell with swelling emotions. Fathers looked on +with drier eyes, but with the stern helpless gaze of despair, which +bespoke the consciousness, that they had no power to avert their fate-- +no power to undo whatever might be decreed by the pitiless wretches +around them. + +Not all of them wore this expression. Several of the younger slaves, +both boys and girls, were gaily-dressed in stuffs of brilliant colours, +with flounces, frills, and ribbons. Most of these appeared indifferent +to their future. Some even seemed happy--laughing and chatting gaily to +each other, or occasionally exchanging a light word with one of the +"white folks." A change of masters could not be such a terrible idea, +after the usage they had lately had. Some of them rather anticipated +such an event with hopeful pleasure. These were the dandy young men, +and the yellow belles of the plantation. They would, perhaps, be +allowed to remain in that great city, of which they had so often heard-- +perhaps a brighter future was before them. Dark must it be to be darker +than their proximate past. + +I glanced over the different groups, but my eyes rested not long upon +them. A glance was enough to satisfy me that _she_ was not there. +There was no danger of mistaking any one of those forms or faces for +that of Aurore. She was not there, Thank Heaven! I was spared the +humiliation of seeing her in such a crowd! She was, no doubt, near at +hand and would be brought in when her turn came. + +I could ill brook the thought of seeing her exposed to the rude and +insulting glances--perhaps insulting speeches--of which she might be the +object. And yet that ordeal was in store for me. + +I did not discover myself to the slaves. I knew their impulsive +natures, and that a scene would be the result. I should be the +recipient of their salutations and entreaties, uttered loud enough to +draw the attention of all upon me. + +To avoid this, I took my station behind one of the groups of white men +that screened me from their notice, and kept my eyes fixed upon the +entrance, watching for D'Hauteville. In him now lay my last and only +hope. + +I could not help noting the individuals who passed out and in. Of +course they were all of my own sex, but of every variety. There was the +regular "negro-trader," a tall lathy fellow, with harsh horse-dealer +features, careless dress, loose coat, slouching broad-brimmed hat, +coarse boots, and painted quirt of raw hide,--the "cowskin,"--fit emblem +of his calling. + +In strong contrast to him was the elegantly-attired Creole, in coat of +claret or blue, full-dress, with gold buttons, plated pantaloons, gaiter +"bootees," laced shirt, and diamond studs. + +An older variety of the same might be seen in trousers of buff, nankeen +jacket of the same material, and hat of Manilla or Panama set over his +short-cropped snow-white hair. + +The American merchant from Poydras or Tehoupitoulas Street, from Camp, +New Levee, or Saint Charles, in dress-coat of black cloth, vest of black +satin, shining like glaze--trousers of like material with the coat-- +boots of calf-skin, and gloveless hands. + +The dandy clerk of steamboat or store, in white grass frock, snowy +ducks, and beaver hat, long furred and of light yellowish hue. There, +too, the snug smooth banker--the consequential attorney, here no longer +sombre and professional, but gaily caparisoned--the captain of the +river-boat, with no naval look--the rich planter of the coast--the +proprietor of the cotton press or "pickery"--with a sprinkling of +nondescripts made up the crowd that had now assembled in the Rotundo. + +As I stood noting these various forms and costumes, a large heavy-built +man, with florid face, and dressed in a green "shad-bellied" coat, +passed through the entrance. In one hand he carried a bundle of papers, +and in the other a small mallet with ivory head--that at once proclaimed +his calling. + +His entrance produced a buzz, and set the various groups in motion. I +could hear the phrases, "Here he comes!" "Yon's him!" "Here comes the +major!" + +This was not needed to proclaim to all present, who was the individual +in the green "shad-belly." The beautiful dome of Saint Charles itself +was not better known to the citizens of New Orleans than was Major B--, +the celebrated auctioneer. + +In another minute, the bright bland face of the major appeared above the +rostrum. A few smart raps of his hammer commanded silence, and the sale +began. + +Scipio was ordered first upon the block. The crowd of intended bidders +pressed around him, poked their fingers between his ribs, felt his limbs +as if he had been a fat ox, opened his mouth and examined his teeth as +if he had been a horse, and then bid for him just like he had been one +or the other. + +Under other circumstances I could have felt compassion for the poor +fellow; but my heart was too full--there was no room in it for Scipio; +and I averted my face from the disgusting spectacle. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY. + +THE SLAVE-MART. + +I once more fixed my eyes upon the entrance, scrutinising every form +that passed in. As yet no appearance of D'Hauteville! Surely he would +soon arrive. He said at twelve o'clock. It was now one, and still he +had not come. + +No doubt he would come, and in proper time. After all, I need not be so +anxious as to the time. Her name was last upon the list. It would be a +long time. + +I had full reliance upon my new friend--almost unknown, but not untried. +His conduct on the previous night had inspired me with perfect +confidence. He would not disappoint me. His being thus late did not +shake my faith in him. There was some difficulty about his obtaining +the money, for it was _money_ I expected him to bring. He had hinted as +much. No doubt it was that that was detaining him; but he would be in +time. He knew that her name was at the bottom of the list--the last +lot--Lot 65! + +Notwithstanding my confidence in D'Hauteville I was ill-at-ease. It was +very natural I should be so, and requires no explanation. I kept my +gaze upon the door, hoping _every_ moment to see him enter. + +Behind me I heard the voice of the auctioneer, in constant and +monotonous repetition, interrupted at intervals by the smart rap of his +ivory mallet. I knew that the sale was going on; and, by the frequent +strokes of the hammer, I could tell that it was rapidly progressing. +Although but some half-dozen of the slaves had yet been disposed of, I +could not help fancying that they were galloping down the list, and that +_her_ turn would soon come--too soon. With the fancy my heart beat +quicker and wilder. Surely D'Hauteville will not disappoint me! + +A group stood near me, talking gaily. They were all young men, and +fashionably dressed,--the scions I could tell of the Creole noblesse. +They conversed in a tone sufficiently loud for me to overhear them. +Perhaps I should not have listened to what they were saying, had not one +of them mentioned a particular name that fell harshly upon my ear. The +name was _Marigny_. I had an unpleasant recollection associated with +this name. It was a Marigny of whom Scipio had spoken to me--a Marigny +who had proposed to _purchase Aurore_. Of course I remembered the name. + +"Marigny!" I listened. + +"So, Marigny, you really intend to bid for her?" asked one. + +"_Qui_," replied a young sprig, stylishly and somewhat foppishly +dressed. "_Oui--oui--oui_," he continued with a languid drawl, as he +drew tighter his lavender gloves, and twirled his tiny cane. "I do +intend--_ma foi_!--yes." + +"How high will you go?" + +"Oh--ah! _une petite somme, mon cher ami_." + +"A _little sum_ will not do, Marigny," said the first speaker. "I know +half-a-dozen myself who intend bidding for her--rich dogs all of them." + +"Who?" inquired Marigny, suddenly awaking from his languid indifference, +"Who, may I inquire?" + +"Who? Well there's Gardette the dentist, who's half crazed about her; +there's the old Marquis; there's planter Tillareau and Lebon, of +Lafourche; and young Moreau, the wine-merchant of the Rue Dauphin; and +who knows but half-a-dozen of those rich Yankee cotton-growers may want +her for a _housekeeper_! Ha! ha! ha!" + +"I can name another," suggested a third speaker. + +"Name!" demanded several; "yourself, perhaps, Le Ber; you want a +sempstress for your shirt-buttons." + +"No, not myself," replied the speaker; "I don't buy _coturiers_ at that +price--_deux mille dollares_, at the least, my friends. _Pardieu_! no. +I find my sempstresses at a cheaper rate in the Faubourg Treme." + +"Who, then? Name him!" + +"Without hesitation I do,--the old wizen-face Gayarre." + +"Gayarre the avocat?" + +"Monsieur Dominique Gayarre!" + +"Improbable," rejoined one. "Monsieur Gayarre is a man of steady +habits--a moralist--a miser." + +"Ha! ha!" laughed Le Ber; "it's plain, Messieurs, you don't understand +the character of Monsieur Gayarre. Perhaps I know him better. Miser +though he be, in a general sense, there's one class with whom he's +generous enough. _Il a une douzaine des maitresses_! Besides, you must +remember that Monsieur Dominique is a bachelor. He wants a good +housekeeper--a _femme-de-chambre_. Come, friends, I have heard +something--_un petit chose_. I'll lay a wager the miser outbids _every_ +one of you,--even rich generous Marigny here!" + +Marigny stood biting his lips. His was but a feeling of annoyance or +chagrin--mine was utter agony. I had no longer a doubt as to who was +the subject of the conversation. + +"It was at the suit of Gayarre the bankruptcy was declared, was it not?" +asked one. + +"'Tis so said." + +"Why, he was considered the great friend of the family--the associate of +old Besancon?" + +"Yes, the _lawyer-friend_ of the family--Ha! ha!" significantly rejoined +another. + +"Poor Eugenie! she'll be no longer the belle. She'll now be less +difficult to please in her choice of a husband." + +"That's some consolation for you, Le Ber. Ha! ha!" + +"Oh!" interposed another, "Le Ber had no chance lately. There's a young +Englishman the favourite now--the same who swam ashore with her at the +blowing-up of the Belle steamer. So I have heard, at least. Is it so, +Le Ber?" + +"You had better inquire of Mademoiselle Besancon," replied the latter, +in a peevish tone, at which the others laughed, "I would," replied the +questioner, "but I know not where to find her. Where is she? She's not +at her plantation. I was up there, and she had left two days before. +She's not with the aunt here. Where is she, Monsieur?" + +I listened for the answer to this question with a degree of interest. +I, too, was ignorant of the whereabouts of Eugenie, and had sought for +her that day, but in vain. It was said she had come to the city, but no +one could tell me anything of her. And I now remembered what she had +said in her letter of "_Sacre Coeur_." Perhaps, thought I, she has +really gone to the convent. Poor Eugenie! + +"Ay, where is she, Monsieur?" asked another of the party. + +"Very strange!" said several at once. "Where can she be? Le Ber, you +must know." + +"I know nothing of the movements of Mademoiselle Besancon," answered the +young man, with an air of chagrin and surprise, too, as if he was really +ignorant upon the subject, as well as vexed by the remarks which his +companions were making. + +"There's something mysterious in all this," continued one of the number. +"I should be astonished at it, if it were any one else than Eugenie +Besancon." + +It is needless to say that this conversation interested me. Every word +of it fell like a spark of fire upon my heart; and I could have +strangled these fellows, one and all of them, as they stood. Little +knew they that the "young Englishman" was near, listening to them, and +as little the dire effect their words were producing. + +It was not what they said of Eugenie that gave me pain. It was their +free speech about Aurore. I have not repeated their ribald talk in +relation to her--their jesting innuendoes, their base hypotheses, and +coldly brutal sneers whenever her chastity was named. + +One in particular, a certain Monsieur Sevigne, was more _bizarre_ than +any of his companions; and once or twice I was upon the point of turning +upon him. It cost me an effort to restrain myself, but that effort was +successful, and I stood unmoved. Perhaps I should not have been able to +endure it much longer, but for the interposition of an event, which at +once drove these gossips and their idle talk out of my mind. That event +was _the entrance of Aurore_! + +They had again commenced speaking of her--of her chastity--of her rare +charms. They were dismissing the probabilities as to who would become +possessed of her, and the _certainty_ that she would be the _maitresse_ +of whoever did; they were waxing warmer in their eulogium of her beauty, +and beginning to lay wagers on the result of the sale, when all at once +the clack of their conversation ceased, and two or three cried out-- + +"_Voila! voila! elle vient_!" + +I turned mechanically at the words. Aurore was in the entrance. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY ONE. + +BIDDING FOR MY BETROTHED. + +Yes, Aurore appeared in the doorway of that infernal hall, and stood +timidly pausing upon its threshold. + +She was not alone. A mulatto girl was by her side--like herself a +slave--like herself brought there _to be sold_! + +A third individual was of the party, or rather with it; for he did not +walk by the side of the girls, but in front, evidently conducting them +to the place of sale. This individual was no other than Larkin, the +brutal overseer. + +"Come along!" said he, roughly, at the same time beckoning to Aurore and +her companion: "this way, gals--foller me!" + +They obeyed his rude signal, and, passing in, followed him across the +hall towards the rostrum. + +I stood with slouched hat and averted face. Aurore saw me not. + +As soon as they were fairly past, and their backs towards me, my eyes +followed them. Oh, beautiful Aurore!--beautiful as ever! + +I was not single in my admiration. The appearance of the Quadroon +created a sensation. The din ceased as if by a signal; every voice +became hushed, and every eye was bent upon her as she moved across the +floor. Men hurried forward from distant parts of the hall to get a +nearer glance; others made way for her, stepping politely back as if she +had been a queen. Men did this who would have scorned to offer +politeness to another of her race--to the "yellow girl" for instance, +who walked by her side! Oh, the power of beauty! Never was it more +markedly shown than in the _entree_ of that poor slave. + +I heard the whispers, I observed the glances of admiration, of passion. +I marked the longing eyes that followed her, noting her splendid form +and its undulating outlines as she moved forward. + +All this gave me pain. It was a feeling worse than mere jealousy I +experienced. It was jealousy embittered by the very brutality of my +rivals. + +Aurore was simply attired. There was no affectation of the fine lady-- +none of the ribbons and flounces that bedecked the dresses of her +darker-skinned companion. Such would have ill assorted with the noble +melancholy that appeared upon her beautiful countenance. None of all +this. + +A robe of light-coloured muslin, tastefully made, with long skirt and +tight sleeves--as was the fashion of the time--a fashion that displayed +the pleasing rotundity of her figure. Her head-dress was that worn by +all quadroons--the "toque" of the Madras kerchief, which sat upon her +brow like a coronet, its green, crimson, and yellow checks contrasting +finely with the raven blackness of her hair. She wore no ornaments +excepting the broad gold rings that glittered against the rich glow of +her cheeks; and upon her finger one other circlet of gold--the token of +her betrothal. I knew it well. + +I buried myself in the crowd, slouching my hat on that side towards the +rostrum. I desired she should not see me, while I could not help gazing +upon her. I had taken my stand in such a situation, that I could still +command a view of the entrance. More than ever was I anxious about the +coming of D'Hauteville. + +Aurore had been placed near the foot of the rostrum. I could just see +the edge of her turban over the shoulders of the crowd. By elevating +myself on my toes, I could observe her face, which by chance was turned +towards me. Oh! how my heart heaved as I struggled to read its +expression--as I endeavoured to divine the subject of her thoughts! + +She looked sad and anxious. That was natural enough. But I looked for +another expression--that unquiet anxiety produced by the alternation of +hope and fear. + +Her eye wandered over the crowd. She scanned the sea of faces that +surrounded her. _She was searching for some one. Was it for me_? + +I held down my face as her glance passed over the spot. I dared not +meet her gaze. I feared that I could not restrain myself from +addressing her. Sweet Aurore! + +I again looked up. Her eye was still wandering in fruitless search--oh! +surely it is for me! + +Again I cowered behind the crowd, and her glance was carried onward. + +I raised myself once more. I saw the shadow darkening upon her face. +Her eye filled with a deeper expression--it was the look of despair. + +"Courage! courage!" I whispered to myself. "Look again, lovely Aurore! +This time I shall meet you. I shall speak to you from mine eyes--I +shall give back glance for glance--" + +"She sees--she recognises me! That start--the flash of joy in her +eyes--the smile curling upon her lips! Her glance wanders no more--her +gaze is fixed--proud heart! It _was_ for me!" + +Yes, our eyes met at length--met, melting and swimming with love. Mine +had escaped from my control. For some moments I could not turn them +aside, but surrendered them to the impulse of my passion. It was +mutual. I doubted it not. I felt as though the ray of love-light was +passing between us. I had almost forgotten where I stood! + +A murmur from the crowd, and a movement, restored me to my senses. Her +stedfast gaze had been noticed, and by many--skilled to interpret such +glances--had been understood. These, in turning round to see who was +the object of that glance, had caused the movement. I had observed it +in time, and turned my face in another direction. + +I watched the entrance for D'Hauteville. Why had he not arrived? My +anxiety increased with the minutes. + +True, it would still be an hour--perhaps two--before her time should +come.--Ha!--what? + +There was silence for a moment--something of interest was going on. I +looked towards the rostrum for an explanation. A dark man had climbed +upon one of the steps, and was whispering to the auctioneer. + +He remained but a moment. He appeared to have asked some favour, which +was at once conceded him, and he stepped back to his place among the +crowd. + +A minute or two intervened, and then, to my horror and astonishment, I +saw the overseer take Aurore by the arm, and raise her upon the block! +The intention was plain. _She was to be sold next_! + +In the moments that followed, I cannot remember exactly how I acted. I +ran wildly for the entrance. I looked out into the street. Up and down +I glanced with anxious eyes. No D'Hauteville! + +I rushed back into the hall--again through the outer circles of the +crowd, in the direction of the rostrum. + +The bidding had begun. I had not heard the preliminaries, but as I +re-entered there fell upon my ears the terrible words-- + +"_A thousand dollars for the Quadroon_.--_A thousand dollars bid_!" + +"O Heaven! D'Hauteville has deceived me. She is lost!--lost!" + +In my desperation I was about to interrupt the sale. I was about to +proclaim aloud its unfairness, in the fact that the Quadroon had been +_taken out of the order advertised_! Even on this poor plea I rested a +hope. + +It was the straw to the drowning man, but I was determined to grasp it. + +I had opened my lips to call out, when some one pulling me by the sleeve +caused me to turn round. It was D'Hauteville! Thank Heaven, it was +D'Hauteville! + +I could scarce restrain myself from shouting with joy. His look told me +that he was the bearer of bright gold. + +"In time, and none to spare," whispered he, thrusting a pocket-book +between my fingers; "there is three thousand dollars--that will surely +be enough; 'tis all I have been able to procure. I cannot stay here-- +there are those I do not wish to see. I shall meet you after the sale +is over. Adieu!" + +I scarce thanked him. I saw not his parting. My eyes were elsewhere. + +"Fifteen hundred dollars bid for the Quadroon!--good housekeeper-- +sempstress--fifteen hundred dollars!" + +"_Two thousand_!" I called out, my voice husky with emotion. The +sudden leap over such a large sum drew the attention of the crowd upon +me. Looks, smiles, and innuendoes were freely exchanged at my expense. + +I saw, or rather heeded them not. I saw Aurore, only Aurore, standing +upon the dais like a statue upon its pedestal--the type of sadness and +beauty. The sooner I could take her thence, the happier for me; and +with that object in view I had made my "bid." + +"Two thousand dollars bid--two thousand--twenty-one hundred dollars--two +thousand, one, two--twenty-two hundred dollars bid--twenty-two--" + +"Twenty-five hundred dollars!" I again cried out, in as firm a voice as +I could command. + +"Twenty-five hundred dollars," repeated the auctioneer, in his +monotonous drawl; "twenty-five--six--you, sir? thank you! twenty-six +hundred dollars for the Quadroon--twenty-six hundred!" + +"Oh God! they will go above three thousand; if they do--" + +"Twenty-seven hundred dollars!" bid the fop Marigny. + +"Twenty-eight hundred!" from the old Marquis. + +"Twenty-eight hundred and fifty!" assented the young merchant, Moreau. + +"Nine!" nodded the tall dark man who had whispered to the auctioneer. + +Twenty-nine hundred dollars bid--two thousand nine hundred. + +"Three thousand!" I gasped out in despair. + +It was my last bid. I could go no farther. + +I waited for the result, as the condemned waits for the falling of the +trap or the descent of the axe. My heart could not have endured very +long that terrible suspense. But I had not long to endure it. + +"_Three thousand one hundred dollars_!--three thousand one hundred bid-- +thirty-one hundred dollars--" + +I cast one look upon Aurore. It was a look of hopeless despair; and +turning away, I staggered mechanically across the hall. + +Before I had reached the entrance I could hear the voice of the +auctioneer, in the same prolonged drawl, calling out, "Three thousand +five hundred bid for the Quadroon girl?" + +I halted and listened. The sale was coming to its close. + +"Three thousand five hundred--going at three thousand five hundred-- +going--going--" + +The sharp stroke of the hammer fell upon my ear. It drowned the final +word "gone!" but my heart pronounced that word in the emphasis of its +agony. + +There was a noisy scene of confusion, loud words and high excitement +among the crowd of disappointed bidders. Who was the fortunate one? + +I leant over to ascertain. The tall dark man was in conversation with +the auctioneer. Aurore stood beside him. I now remembered having seen +the man on the boat. He was the agent of whom D'Hauteville had spoken. +The Creole had guessed aright, and so, too, had Le Ber. + +_Gayarre had outbid them all_! + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY TWO. + +THE HACKNEY-CARRIAGE. + +For a while I lingered in the hall, irresolute and almost without +purpose. She whom I loved, and who loved me in return, was wrested from +me by an infamous law, ruthlessly torn from me. She would be borne away +before my eyes, and I might, perhaps, never behold her again. Probable +enough was this thought--I might never behold her again! Lost to me, +more hopelessly lost, than if she had become the _bride_ of another. +Far more hopelessly lost. Then, at least, she would have been free to +think, to act, to go abroad, to --. Then I might have hoped to meet her +again, to see her, to gaze upon her, even if only at a distance, to +worship her in the secret silence of my heart, to console myself with +the belief that she still loved me. Yes; the bride, the wife of +another! Even that I could have borne with calmness. But now, not the +bride of another, but the _slave_, the forced, unwilling _leman_, and +that other--. Oh! how my heart writhed under its horrible imaginings! + +What next? How was I to act? Resign myself to the situation? Make no +further effort to recover, to save her? + +No! It had not come to that. Discouraging as the prospect was, a ray +of hope was visible; one ray yet illumed the dark future, sustaining and +bracing my mind for further action. + +The plan was still undefined; but the purpose had been formed, and that +purpose was to free Aurore, to make her mine _at every hazard_! I +thought no longer of buying her. I knew that Gayarre had become her +owner. I felt satisfied that to purchase her was no longer possible. +He who had paid such an enormous sum would not be likely to part with +her at any price. My whole fortune would not suffice. I gave not a +thought to it. I felt certain it would be impossible. + +Far different was the resolve that was already forming itself in my +mind, and cheering me with new hopes. Forming itself, do I say? It had +already taken a definite shape, even before the echoes of the salesman's +voice had died upon my ears! With the clink of his hammer my mind was +made up. The purpose was formed; it was only the _plan_ that remained +indefinite. + +I had resolved to outrage the laws--to become thief or robber, whichever +it might please circumstances to make me. I had resolved to _steal my +betrothed_! + +Disgrace there might be--danger I knew there was, not only to my +liberty, but my life. I cared but little about the disgrace; I recked +not of the danger. My purpose was fixed--my determination taken. + +Brief had been the mental process that conducted me to this +determination--the more brief that the thought had passed through my +mind before--the more brief that I believed there was positively no +other means I could adopt. It was the only course of action left me-- +either that, or yield up all that I loved without a struggle--and, +passion-led as I was, I was not going to yield. Certain disgrace,--even +death itself, appeared more welcome than this alternative. + +I had formed not yet the shadow of a plan. That, must be thought of +afterwards; but even at that moment was action required. My poor heart +was on the rack; I could not bear the thought that a single night should +pass and she under the same roof with that hideous man! + +Wherever she should pass the night, I was determined that I should not +be far-distant from her. Walls might separate us, but she should know I +was near. Just that much of a plan _had_ I thought of. + +Stepping to a retired spot, I took out my note-book, and wrote upon one +of its leaves: + +"_Ce soir viendrai_!--Edouard." + +I had no time to be more particular, for I feared every moment she would +be hurried out of my sight. I tore out the leaf; and, hastily folding +it, returned to the entrance of the Rotundo. + +Just as I got back to the door a hackney-carriage drove up, and halted +in front. I conjectured its use, and lost no time in providing another +from a stand close by. This done, I returned within the hall. I was +yet in time. As I entered, I saw Aurore being led away from the +rostrum. + +I pressed into the crowd, and stood in such a position that she would +have to pass near me. And she did so, our hands met, and the note +parted from my fingers. There was no time for a further recognition-- +not even a love-pressure--for the moment after she was hurried on +through the crowd, and the carriage-door closed after her. + +The mulatto girl accompanied her, and another of the female slaves. All +were put into the carriage. The negro-dealer climbed to the box +alongside the coachman, and the vehicle rattled off over the stony +pavement. + +A word to my driver was enough, who, giving the whip to his horses, +followed at like speed. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY THREE. + +TO BRINGIERS. + +Coachmen of New Orleans possess their full share of _intelligence_; and +the ring of a piece of silver, extra of their fare, is a music well +understood by them. They are the witnesses of many a romantic +adventure--the necessary confidants of many a love-secret. A hundred +yards in front rolled the carriage that had taken Aurore; now turning +round corners, now passing among drays laden with huge cotton-bales or +hogsheads of sugar--but my driver had fixed his knowing eye upon it, and +I had no need to be uneasy. + +It passed up the Rue Chartres but a short distance, and then turned into +one of the short streets that ran from this at right angles towards the +Levee. I fancied for a moment, it was making for the steamboat wharves; +but on reaching the corner, I saw that it had stopped about half way +down the street. My driver, according to the instructions I had given +him, pulled up at the corner, and awaited my further orders. The +carriage I had followed was now standing in front of a house; and just +as I rounded the corner, I caught a glimpse of several figures crossing +the banquette and entering the door. No doubt, all that had ridden in +the carriage--Aurore with the rest--had gone inside the house. + +Presently a man came out, and handing his fare to the hackney-coachman, +turned and went back into the house. The latter, gathering up his +reins, gave the whip to his horses, and, wheeling round, came back by +the Rue Chartres. As he passed me, I glanced through the open windows +of his vehicle. It was empty. She had gone into the house, then. + +I had no longer any doubt as to where she had been taken. I read on the +corner, "Rue Bienville." The house where the carriage had stopped was +the town residence of Monsieur Dominique Gayarre. + +I remained for some minutes in the cab, considering what I had best do. +Was this to be her future home? or was she only brought here +temporarily, to be afterwards taken up to the plantation? + +Some thought, or instinct perhaps, whispered me that she was not to +remain in the Rue Bienville; but would be carried to the gloomy old +mansion at Bringiers. I cannot tell why I thought so. Perhaps it was +because I wished it so. + +I saw the necessity of watching the house--so that she might not be +taken away without my knowing it. Wherever she went I was determined to +follow. + +Fortunately I was prepared for any journey. The three thousand dollars +lent me by D'Hauteville remained intact. With that I could travel to +the ends of the earth. + +I wished that the young Creole had been with me. I wanted his counsel-- +his company. How should I find him? he had not said where we should +meet--only that he would join me when the sale should be over. I saw +nothing of him on leaving the Rotundo. Perhaps he meant to meet me +there or at my hotel; but how was I to get back to either of these +places without leaving my post? + +I was perplexed as to how I should communicate with D'Hauteville. It +occurred to me that the hackney-coachman--I had not yet dismissed him-- +might remain and watch the house, while I went in search of the Creole. +I had only to pay the Jehu; he would obey me, of course, and right +willingly. + +I was about arranging with the man, and had already given him some +instructions, when I heard wheels rumbling along the street; and a +somewhat old-fashioned coach, drawn by a pair of mules, turned into the +Rue Bienville. A negro driver was upon the box. + +There was nothing odd in all this. Such a carriage and such a coachman +were to be seen every hour in New Orleans, and drawn by mules as often +as horses. But this pair of mules, and the negro who drove them, I +recognised. + +Yes! I recognised the equipage. I had often met it upon the Levee Road +near Bringiers. It was the carriage of Monsieur Dominique! + +I was further assured upon this point by seeing the vehicle draw up in +front of the avocat's house. + +I at once gave up my design of going back for D'Hauteville. Climbing +back into the hack, I ensconced myself in such a position, that I could +command a view of what passed in the Rue Bienville. + +Some one was evidently about to become the occupant of the carriage. +The door of the house stood open, and a servant was speaking to the +coachman. I could tell by the actions of the latter, that he expected +soon to drive off. + +The servant now appeared outside with several parcels, which he placed +upon the coach; then a man came out--the negro-trader--who mounted the +box. Another man shot across the banquette, but in such a hurried gait +that I could not recognise him. I guessed, however, who _he_ was. Two +others now came from the house--a mulatto woman and a young girl. In +spite of the cloak in which she was enveloped I recognised Aurore. The +mulatto woman conducted the girl to the carriage, and then stepped in +after. At this moment a man on horseback appeared in the street, and +riding up, halted by the carriage. After speaking to some one inside, +he again put his horse in motion and rode off. This horseman was Larkin +the overseer. + +The clash of the closing door was immediately followed by the crack of +the coachman's whip; and the mules, trotting off down the street, turned +to the right, and headed up the Levee. + +My driver, who had already been instructed, gave the whip to his hack, +and followed, keeping a short distance in the rear. + +It was not till we had traversed the long street of Tehoupitoulas, +through the Faubourg Marigny, and were some distance upon the road to +the suburban village of Lafayette, that I thought of where I was going. +My sole idea had been to keep in sight the carriage of Gayarre. + +I now bethought me for what purpose I was driving after him. Did I +intend to follow him to his house, some thirty miles distant, in a +hackney-coach? + +Even had I been so determined, it was questionable whether the driver of +the vehicle could have been tempted to humour my caprice, or whether his +wretched hack could have accomplished such a feat. + +For what purpose, then, was I galloping after? To overtake these men +upon the road, and deliver Aurore from their keeping? No, there were +three of them--well armed, no doubt--and I alone. + +But it was not until I had gone several miles that I began to reflect on +the absurdity of my conduct. I then ordered my coachman to pull up. + +I remained seated; and from the window of the hack gazed after the +carriage, until it was hidden by a turn in the road. + +"After all," I muttered to myself, "I have done right in following. I +am now sure of their destination. Back to the Hotel Saint Luis!" + +The last phrase was a command to my coachman, who turning his horse +drove back. + +As I had promised to pay for speed, it was not long before the wheels of +my hackney rattled over the pave of the Rue Saint Luis. + +Having dismissed the carriage, I entered the hotel. To my joy I found +D'Hauteville awaiting my return, and in a few minutes I had communicated +to him my determination to carry off Aurore. + +Bare friendship his! he approved of my resolve. Rare devotion! he +proposed to take part in my enterprise, I warned him of its perils--to +no purpose. With an enthusiasm I could not account for, and that +greatly astonished me at the time, he still insisted upon sharing them. + +Perhaps I might more earnestly have admonished him against such a +purpose, but I felt how much I stood in need of him. + +I could not explain the strange feeling of confidence, with which the +presence of this gentle but heroic youth had inspired me. The +reluctance with which I accepted his offer was only apparent--it was not +felt. My heart was struggling against my will. I was but too glad when +he stated his determination to accompany me. + +There was no boat going up that night; but we were not without the means +to travel. A pair of horses were hired--the best that money could +procure--and before sun-down we had cleared the suburbs of the city, and +were riding along the road that conducts to the village of Bringiers. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY FOUR. + +TWO VILLAINS. + +We travelled rapidly. There were no hills to impede our progress. Our +route lay along the Levee Road, which leads from New Orleans by the bank +of the river, passing plantations and settlements at every few hundred +yards' distance. The path was as level as a race-course, and the hoof +fell gently upon the soft dusty surface, enabling us to ride with ease. +The horses we bestrode were _mustangs_ from the prairies of Texas, +trained to that gait, the "pace" peculiar to the saddle-bags of the +South-western States. Excellent "pacers" both were; and, before the +night came down, we had made more than half of our journey. + +Up to this time we had exchanged only a few words. I was busy with my +thoughts--busy planning my enterprise. My young companion appeared +equally occupied with his. + +The darkening down of the night brought us closer together; and I now +unfolded to D'Hauteville the plan which I had proposed to myself. + +There was not much of plan about it. My intention was simply this: To +proceed at once to the plantation of Gayarre--stealthily to approach the +house--to communicate with Aurore through some of the slaves of the +plantation; failing in this, to find out, if possible, in what part of +the house she would pass the night--to enter her room after all had gone +to sleep--propose to her to fly with me--and then make our escape the +best way we could. + +Once clear of the house, I had scarce thought of a plan of action. That +seemed easy enough. Our horses would carry us back to the city. There +we might remain concealed, until some friendly ship should bear us from +the country. + +This was all the plan I had conceived, and, having communicated it to +D'Hauteville, I awaited his response. + +After some moments' silence, he replied, signifying his approval of it. +Like me, he could think of no other course to be followed. Aurore must +be carried away at all hazards. + +We now conversed about the details. We debated every chance of failure +and success. + +Our main difficulty, both agreed, would be in communicating with Aurore. +Could we do so? Surely she would not be locked in? Surely Gayarre +would not be suspicious enough to have her guarded and watched? He was +now the full owner of this coveted treasure--no one could legally +deprive him of his slave--no one could carry her away without the risk +of a fearful punishment; and although he no doubt suspected that some +understanding existed between the quadroon and myself, I would never +dream of such a love as that which I felt--a love that would lead me to +risk even life itself, as I now intended. + +No. Gayarre, judging from his own vile passion, might believe that I, +like himself, had been "struck" with the girl's beauty, and that I was +willing to pay a certain sum--three thousand dollars--to possess her. +But the fact that I had bid no more--no doubt exactly reported to him by +his agent--was proof that my love had its limits, and there was an end +of it. As a rival he would hear of me no more. No. Monsieur Dominique +Gayarre would never suspect a passion like mine--would never dream of +such a purpose as the one to which that passion now impelled me. An +enterprise so romantic was not within the bounds of probability. +Therefore--so reasoned D'Hauteville and I--it was not likely Aurore +would be either guarded or watched. + +But even though she might not be, how were we to communicate with her? +That would be extremely difficult. + +I built my hopes on the little slip of paper--on the words "_Ce soir +viendrai_." Surely upon this night Aurore would _not sleep_. My heart +told me she would not, and the thought rendered me proud and sanguine. +That very night should I make the attempt to carry her off. I could not +bear the thought that she should pass even a single night under the roof +of her tyrant. + +And the night promised to befriend us. The sun had scarcely gone down, +when the sky became sullen, turning to the hue of lead. As soon as the +short twilight passed, the whole canopy had grown so dark, that we could +scarce distinguish the outline of the forest from the sky itself. Not a +star could be seen. A thick pall of smoke-coloured clouds hid them from +the view. Even the yellow surface of the river was scarce perceptible +from its bank, and the white dust of the road alone guided us. + +In the woods, or upon the darker ground of the plantation fields, to +find a path would have been impossible--so intense was the darkness that +enveloped us. + +We might have augured trouble from this--we might have feared losing our +way. But I was not afraid of any such result. I felt assured that the +star of love itself would guide me. + +The darkness would be in our favour. Under its friendly shadow we could +approach the house, and act with safety; whereas had it been a moonlight +night, we should have been in great danger of being discovered. + +I read in the sudden change of sky no ill augury, but an omen of +success. + +There were signs of an approaching storm. What to me would have been +kindly weather? Anything--a rain-storm--a tempest--a hurricane-- +anything but a fine night was what I desired. + +It was still early when we reached the plantation Besancon--not quite +midnight. We had lost no time on the road. Our object in hurrying +forward was to arrive at the place before the household of Gayarre +should go to rest. Our hopes were that we might find some means of +communicating with Aurore--through the slaves. + +One of those I know. I had done him a slight favour during my residence +at Bringiers. I had gained his confidence--enough to render him +accessible to a bribe. He might be found, and might render us the +desired assistance. + +All was silent upon the plantation Besancon. The dwelling-house +appeared deserted. There were no lights to be seen. One glimmered in +the rear, in a window of the overseer's house. The negro quarter was +dark and silent. The buzz usual at that hour was not heard. They whose +voices used to echo through its little street were now far away. The +cabins were empty. The song, the jest, and the cheerful laugh, were +hushed; and the 'coon-dog howling for his absent master, was the only +sound that broke the stillness of the place. + +We passed the gate, riding in silence, and watching the road in front of +us. We were observing the greatest caution as we advanced. We might +meet those whom above all others we desired not to encounter--the +overseer, the agent, Gayarre himself. Even to have been seen by one of +Gayarre's negroes might have resulted in the defeat of our plans. So +fearful was I of this, that but for the darkness of the night, I should +have left the road sooner, and tried a path through the woods which I +knew of. It was too dark to traverse this path without difficulty and +loss of time. We therefore clung to the road, intending to leave it +when we should arrive opposite the plantation of Gayarre. + +Between the two plantations a wagon-road for wood-hauling led to the +forest. It was this road I intended to take. We should not be likely +to meet any one upon it; and it was our design to conceal our horses +among the trees in the rear of the cane-fields. On such a night not +even the negro 'coon-hunter would have any business in the woods. + +Creeping along with caution, we had arrived near the point where this +wood-road _debouched_, when voices reached our ears. Some persons were +coming down the road. + +We reined, up and listened. There were men in conversation; and from +their voices each moment growing more distinct, we could tell that they +were approaching us. + +They were coming down the main road from the direction of the village. +The hoof-stroke told us they were on horseback, and, consequently, that +they were white men. + +A large cotton-wood tree stood on the waste ground on one side of the +road. The long flakes of Spanish moss hanging from its branches nearly +touched the ground. It offered the readiest place of concealment, and +we had just time to spur our horses behind its giant trunk, when the +horsemen came abreast of the tree. + +Dark as it was, we could see them in passing. Their forms--two of them +there were--were faintly outlined against the yellow surface of the +water. Had they been silent, we might have remained in ignorance as to +who they were, but their voices betrayed them. They were Larkin and the +trader. + +"Good!" whispered D'Hauteville, as we recognised them; "they have left +Gayarre's--they are on their way home to the plantation Besancon." + +The very same thought had occurred to myself. No doubt they were +returning to their homes--the overseer to the plantation Besancon, and +the trader to his own house--which I know to be farther down the coast. +I now remembered having often seen this man in company with Gayarre. + +The thought had occurred to myself as D'Hauteville spoke, but how knew +_he_? He must be well acquainted with the country, thought I. + +I had no time to reflect or ask him any question. The conversation of +these two ruffians--for ruffians both were--occupied all my attention. +They were evidently in high glee, laughing as they went, and jesting as +they talked. No doubt their vile work had been remunerative. + +"Wal, Bill," said the trader, "it air the biggest price I ever giv for a +nigger." + +"Darn the old French fool! He's paid well for his whistle this time--he +ain't allers so open-fisted. Dog darned if he is!" + +"Wal--she air dear; an she ain't when a man has the dollars to spare. +She's as putty a piece o' goods as there air in all Louisiana. I +wouldn't mind myself--" + +"Ha! ha! ha!" boisterously laughed the overseer. "I guess you can get a +chance if you've a mind to," he added, in a significant tone. + +"Say, Bill!--tell me--be candid, old feller--have you ever--?" + +"Wal, to tell the truth, I hain't; but I reckon I mout if I had pushed +the thing. I wan't long enough on the plantation. Beside, she's so +stuck up with cussed pride an larnin', that she thinks herself as good +as white. I calclate old Foxey 'll bring down her notions a bit. She +won't be long wi' him till she'll be glad to take a ramble in the woods +wi' anybody that asks her. There'll be chance enough yet, I reckon." + +The trader muttered some reply to this prophetic speech; but both were +now so distant that their conversation was no longer audible. What I +had heard, absurd as it was, caused me a feeling of pain, and, if +possible, heightened my desire to save Aurore from the terrible fate +that awaited her. + +Giving the word to my companion, we rode out from behind the tree, and a +few minutes after turned into the by-path that led to the woods. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY FIVE. + +THE PAWPAW THICKET. + +Our progress along this by-road was slow. There was no white dust upon +the path to guide us. We had to grope our way as well as we could +between the zigzag fences. Now and then our horses stumbled in the deep +ruts made by the wood-wagons, and it was with difficulty we could force +them forward. + +My companion seemed to manage better than I, and whipped his horse +onward as if he were more familiar with the path, or else more reckless! +I wondered at this without making any remark. + +After half-an-hour's struggling we reached the angle of the rail-fence, +where the enclosure ended and the woods began. Another hundred yards +brought us under the shadow of the tall timber; where we reined up to +take breath, and concert what was next to be done. + +I remembered that there was a pawpaw thicket near this place. + +"If we could find it," I said to my companion, "and leave our horses +there?" + +"We may easily do that," was the reply; "though 'tis scarce worth while +searching for a thicket--the darkness will sufficiently conceal them.-- +Ha! not so--_Voila l'eclair_!" + +As D'Hauteville spoke, a blue flash lit up the whole canopy of heaven. +Even the gloomy aisles of the forest were illuminated, so that we could +distinguish the trunks and branches of the trees to a long distance +around us. The light wavered for some seconds, like a lamp about being +extinguished; and then went suddenly out, leaving the darkness more +opaque than before. + +There was no noise accompanying this phenomenon--at least none produced +by the lightning itself. It caused some noise, however, among the wild +creatures of the woods. It woke the white-headed haliaetus, perched +upon the head of the tall taxodium, and his maniac laugh sounded harsh +and shrill. It woke the grallatores of the swamp--the qua-bird, the +curlews, and the tall blue herons--who screamed in concert. The owl, +already awake, hooted louder its solemn note; and from the deep profound +of the forest came the howl of the wolf, and the more thrilling cry of +the cougar. + +All nature seemed startled by this sudden blaze of light that filled the +firmament. But the moment after all was darkness and silence as before. +"The storm will soon be on?" I suggested. "No," said my companion, +"there will be no storm--you hear no thunder--when it is thus we shall +have no rain--a very black night, with lightning at intervals--nothing +more. Again!" + +The exclamation was drawn forth by a second blaze of lightning, that +like the first lit up the woods on all sides around us, and, as before, +unaccompanied by thunder. Neither the slightest rumble nor clap was +heard, but the wild creatures once more uttered their varied cries. + +"We must conceal the horses, then," said my companion; "some straggler +might be abroad, and with this light they could be seen far off. The +pawpaw thicket is the very place. Let us seek it! It lies in this +direction." + +D'Hauteville rode forward among the tree-trunks. I followed +mechanically. I felt satisfied he know the ground better than I! He +must have been here before, was my reflection. + +We had not gone many steps before the blue light blazed a third time; +and we could see, directly in front of us, the smooth shining branches +and broad green leaves of the _Asiminas_, forming the underwood of the +forest. + +When the lightning flashed again, we had entered the thicket. + +Dismounting in its midst, we hastily tied our bridles to the branches; +and then, leaving our horses to themselves, we returned towards the open +ground. + +Ten minutes' walking enabled us to regain the zigzag railing that shut +in the plantation of Gayarre. + +Directing ourselves along this, in ten minutes after we arrived opposite +the house--which by the electric blaze we could distinguish shining +among the tall cotton-wood trees that grew around it. At this point we +again made a stop to reconnoitre the ground, and consider how we should +proceed. + +A wide field stretched from the fence almost to the walls. A garden +enclosed by palings lay between the field and the house; and on one side +we could perceive the roofs of numerous cabins denoting the negro +quarter. At some distance in the same direction, stood the sugar-mill +and other outbuildings, and near these the house of Gayarre's overseer. + +This point was to be avoided. Even the negro quarter must be shunned, +lest we might give alarm. The dogs would be our worst enemies. I knew +that Gayarre kept several. I had often seen them along the roads. +Large fierce animals they were. How were they to be shunned? They +would most likely be rambling about the outbuildings or the negro +cabins; therefore, our safest way would be to approach from the opposite +side. + +If we should fail to discover the apartment of Aurore, then it would be +time to make reconnaissance in the direction of the "quarter," and +endeavour to find the boy Caton. + +We saw lights in the house. Several windows--all upon the +ground-floor--were shining through the darkness. More than one +apartment therefore was occupied. + +This gave us hope. One of them might be occupied by Aurore. + +"And now, Monsieur!" said D'Hauteville, after we had discussed the +various details, "suppose we fail? suppose some alarm be given, and we +be detected before--?" + +I turned, and looking my young companion full in the face, interrupted +him in what he was about to say. "D'Hauteville!" said I, "perhaps, I +may never be able to repay your generous friendship. It has already +exceeded all bounds--but _life_ you must not risk for me. That I cannot +permit." + +"And how risk life, Monsieur?" + +"If I fail--if alarm be given--if I am opposed, _voila_--!" + +I opened the breast of my coat, exposing to his view my pistols. + +"Yes!" I continued; "I am reckless enough. I shall use them if +necessary. I shall take life if it stand in the way. I am resolved; +but you must not risk an encounter. You must remain here--I shall go to +the house alone." + +"No--no!" he answered promptly; "I go with you." + +"I cannot permit it, Monsieur. It is better for you to remain here. +You can stay by the fence until I return to you--until _we_ return, I +should say, for I come not back without _her_." + +"Do not act rashly, Monsieur!" + +"No, but I am determined. I am desperate. We must not go farther." + +"And why not? _I, too, have an interest in this affair_." + +"You?" I asked, surprised at the words as well as the tone in which +they were spoken. "You an interest?" + +"Of course," coolly replied my companion. "I love adventure. That +gives me an interest. You must permit me to accompany you--I must go +along with you!" + +"As you will then, Monsieur D'Hauteville. Fear not. I shall act with +prudence. Come on!" + +I sprang over the fence, followed by my companion; and, without another +word having passed between us, we struck across the field in the +direction of the house. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY SIX. + +THE ELOPEMENT. + +It was a field of sugar-cane. The canes were of that species known as +"ratoons"--suckers from old roots--and the thick bunches at their bases, +as well as the tall columns, enabled us to pass among them unobserved. +Even had it been day, we might have approached the house unseen. + +We soon reached the garden-paling. Here we stopped to reconnoitre the +ground. A short survey was sufficient. We saw the very place where we +could approach and conceal ourselves. + +The house had an antique weather-beaten look--not without some +pretensions to grandeur. It was a wooden building, two stories in +height, with gable roofs, and large windows--all of which had Venetian +shutters that opened to the outside. Both walls and window-shutters had +once been painted, but the paint was old and rusty; and the colour of +the Venetians, once green, could hardly be distinguished from the grey +wood-work of the walls. All round the house ran an open gallery or +verandah, raised some three or four feet from the ground. Upon this +gallery the windows and doors opened, and a paling or guard-rail +encompassed the whole. Opposite the doors, a stairway of half-a-dozen +steps led up; but at all other parts the space underneath was open in +front, so that, by stooping a little, one might get under the floor of +the gallery. + +By crawling close up in front of the verandah, and looking through the +rails, we should be able to command a full view of all the windows in +the house;--and in case of alarm, we could conceal ourselves in the dark +cavity underneath. We should be safe there, unless scented by the dogs. + +Our plan was matured in whispers. It was not much of a plan. We were +to advance to the edge of the verandah, peep through the windows until +we could discover the apartment of Aurore; then do our best to +communicate with her, and get her out. Our success depended greatly +upon accident or good fortune. + +Before we could make a move forward, fortune seemed as though she was +going to favour us. In one of the windows, directly before our face, a +figure appeared. A glance told us it was the Quadroon! + +The window, as before stated, reached down to the floor of the verandah; +and as the figure appeared behind the glass, we could see it from head +to foot. The Madras kerchief on the head, the gracefully undulating +figure, outlined upon the background of the lighted room, left no doubt +upon our minds as to who it was. + +"'Tis Aurore!" whispered my companion. + +How could _he_ tell? Did he know her? All! I remembered--he had seen +her that morning in the Rotundo. + +"It is she!" I replied, my beating heart scarce allowing me to make +utterance. + +The window was curtained, but she had raised the curtain in one hand, +and was looking out. There was that in her attitude that betokened +earnestness. She appeared as if trying to penetrate the gloom. Even in +the distance I could perceive this, and my heart bounded with joy. She +had understood my note. She was looking for me! + +D'Hauteville thought so as well. Our prospects were brightening. If +she guessed our design, our task would be easier. + +She remained but a few moments by the window. She turned away and the +curtain dropped into its place; but before it had screened the view, the +dark shadow of a man fell against the back wall of the room. Gayarre, +no doubt! + +I could hold back no longer; but climbing over the garden-fence, I crept +forward, followed by D'Hauteville. + +In a few seconds both of us had gained the desired position--directly in +front of the window, from which we were now separated only by the +wood-work of the verandah. Standing half-bent our eyes were on a level +with the floor of the room. The curtain had not fallen properly into +its place. A single pane of the glass remained unscreened, and through +this we could see nearly the whole interior of the apartment. Our ears, +too, were at the proper elevation to catch every sound; and persons +conversing within the room we could hear distinctly. + +We were right in our conjecture. It was Aurore we had seen. Gayarre +was the other occupant of the room. + +I shall not paint that scene. I shall not repeat the words to which we +listened. I shall not detail the speeches of that mean villain--at +first fulsome and flattering--then coarse, bold, and brutal; until at +length, failing to effect his purpose by entreaties, he had recourse to +threats. + +D'Hauteville held me back, begging me in earnest whispers to be patient. +Once or twice I had almost determined to spring forward, dash aside the +sash, and strike the ruffian to the floor. Thanks to the prudent +interference of my companion, I restrained myself. + +The scene ended by Gayarre going out of the room indignant, but somewhat +crest-fallen. The bold, upright bearing of the Quadroon--whose +strength, at least, equalled that of her puny assailant--had evidently +intimidated him for the moment, else he might have resorted to personal +violence. + +His threats, however, as he took his departure; left no doubt of his +intention soon to renew his brutal assault. He felt certain of his +victim--she was his slave, and must yield. He had ample time and +opportunity. He need not at once proceed to extremes. He could wait +until his valour, somewhat cowed, should return again, and imbue him +with a fresh impulse. + +The disappearance of Gayarre gave us an opportunity to make our presence +known to Aurore. I was about to climb up to the verandah and tap on the +glass; but my companion prevented me from doing so. + +"It is not necessary," he whispered; "she certainly knows you will be +here. Leave it to _her_. She will return to the window presently. +Patience, Monsieur! a false step will ruin all. Remember the dogs!" + +There was prudence in these counsels, and I gave way to them. A few +minutes would decide; and we both crouched close, and watched the +movements of the Quadroon. + +The apartment in which she was attracted our notice. It was not the +drawing-room of the house, nor yet a bedroom. It was a sort of library +or studio--as shelves filled with books, and a table, covered with +papers and writing-materials, testified. It was, no doubt, the office +of the avocat, in which he was accustomed to do his writing. + +Why was Aurore in that room? Such a question occurred to us; but we had +little time to dwell upon it. My companion suggested that as they had +just arrived, she may have been placed there while an apartment was +being prepared for her. The voices of servants overhead, and the noise +of furniture being moved over the floor, was what led him to make this +suggestion; it was just as if a room was being set in order. + +This led me into a new train of reflection. She might be suddenly +removed from the library, and taken up-stairs. It would then be more +difficult to communicate with her. It would be better to make the +attempt at once. + +Contrary to the wish of D'Hauteville, I was about to advance forward to +the window, when the movements of Aurore herself caused me to hesitate. + +The door through which Gayarre had just made his exit was visible from +where we stood. I saw the Quadroon approach this with silent tread, as +if meditating some design. Placing her hand upon the key, she turned it +in the lock, so that the door was thus bolted inside. With what design +had she doing this? + +It occurred to us that she was about to make her escape out by the +window, and that she had fastened the door for the purpose of delaying +pursuit. If so, it would be better for us to remain quiet, and leave +her to complete the design. It would be time enough to warn her of our +presence when she should reach the window. This was D'Hauteville's +advice. + +In one corner of the room stood a large mahogany desk, and over its head +was ranged a screen of box-shelves--of the kind known as "pigeon-holes." +These were filled with papers and parchments--no doubt, wills, deeds, +and other documents relating to the business of the lawyer. + +To my astonishment I saw the Quadroon, as soon as she had secured the +door, hastily approach this desk, and stand directly in front of it--her +eyes eagerly bent upon the shelves, as though she was in search of some +document! + +Such was in reality the case, for she now stretched forth her hand, drew +a bundle of folded papers from the box, and after resting her eyes upon +them for a moment, suddenly concealed them in the bosom of her dress! + +"Heavens!" I mentally ejaculated, "what can it mean?" + +I had no time to give way to conjectures--for in a second's time Aurore +had glided across the floor, and was standing in the window. + +As she raised the curtain, the light streamed full on the faces of +myself and my companion, and at the first glance she saw us. A slight +exclamation escaped her, but it was of joy, not surprise; and she +suddenly checked herself. + +The ejaculation was not loud enough to be heard across the room. The +sash opened noiselessly--with silent tread the verandah was crossed--and +in another moment my betrothed was in my arms! I lifted her over the +balustrade, and we passed hastily along the walks of the garden. + +The outer field was reached without any alarm having been given; and, +directing ourselves between the rows of the canes, we speeded on towards +the woods, that loomed up like a dark wall in the distance. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN. + +THE LOST MUSTANGS. + +The lightning continued to play at intervals, and we had no difficulty +in finding our way. We recrossed near the same place where we had +entered the field; and, guiding ourselves along the fence, hurried on +towards the thicket of pawpaws, where we had left our horses. + +My design was to take to the road at once, and endeavour to reach the +city before daybreak. Once there, I hoped to be able to keep +concealed--both myself and my betrothed--until some opportunity offered +of getting out to sea, or up the river to one of the free states. I +never thought of taking to the woods. Chance had made me acquainted +with a rare hiding-place, and no doubt we might have found concealment +there for a time. The advantage of this had crossed my mind, but I did +not entertain the idea for a moment. Such a refuge could be but +temporary. We should have to flee from it in the end, and the +difficulty of escaping from the country would be as great as ever. +Either for victim or criminal there is no place of concealment so safe +as the crowded haunts of the populous city; and in New Orleans--half of +which consists of a "floating" population--incognito is especially +easily to be preserved. + +My design, therefore--and D'Hauteville approved it--was to mount our +horses, and make direct for the city. + +Hard work I had cut out for our poor animals, especially the one that +should have to "carry double." Tough hacks they were, and had done the +journey up cleverly enough, but it would stretch all their muscle to +take us back before daylight. + +Aided by the flashes, we wound our way, amid the trunks of the trees, +until at length we came within sight of the pawpaw thicket--easily +distinguished by the large oblong leaves of the _asiminiers_, which had +a whitish sheen under the electric light. We hurried forward with +joyful anticipation. Once mounted, we should soon get beyond the reach +of pursuit. + +"Strange the horses do not neigh, or give some sign of their presence! +One would have thought our approach would have startled them. But no, +there is no whimper, no hoof-stroke; yet we must be close to them now. +I never knew of horses remaining so still? What can they be doing? +Where are they?" + +"Ay, where are they?" echoed D'Hauteville; "surely this is the spot +where we left them?" + +"Here it certainly was! Yes--here--this is the very sapling to which I +fastened my bridle. See! here are their hoof-prints. By Heaven! the +_horses are gone_!" + +I uttered this with a full conviction of its truth. There was no room +left for doubt. There was the trampled earth where they had stood-- +there the very tree to which we had tied them. I easily recognised it-- +for it was the largest in the grove. + +Who had taken them away? This was the question that first occurred to +us. Some one had been dogging us? Or had it been some one who had come +across the animals by accident? The latter supposition was the less +probable. Who would have been wandering in the woods on such a night? +or even if any one had, what would have taken them into the pawpaw +thicket? Ha! a new thought came into my head--perhaps the horses had +got loose of themselves? + +That was likely enough. Well, we should be able to tell as soon as the +lightning flashed again, whether they had set themselves free; or +whether some human hand had undone the knotted bridles. We stood by the +tree waiting for the light. It did not tarry long; and when it came it +enabled us to solve the doubt. My conjecture was correct; the horses +had freed themselves. The broken branches told the tale. Something-- +the lightning--or more likely a prowling wild beast, had _stampeded_ +them; and they had broken off into the woods. + +We now reproached ourselves for having so negligently fastened them--for +having tied them to a branch of the _asiminier_, whose soft succulent +wood possesses scarcely the toughness of an ordinary herbaceous plant. +I was rather pleased at the discovery that the animals had freed +themselves. There was a hope they had not strayed far. We might yet +find them near at hand, with trailing bridles, cropping the grass. + +Without loss of time we went in search of them--D'Hauteville took one +direction, I another, while Aurore remained in the thicket of the +pawpaws. + +I ranged around the neighbourhood, went back to the fence, followed it +to the road, and even went some distance along the road. I searched +every nook among the trees, pushed through thickets and cane-brakes, +and, whenever it flashed, examined the ground for tracks. At intervals +I returned to the point of starting, to find that D'Hauteville had been +equally unsuccessful. + +After nearly an hour spent in this fruitless search, I resolved to give +it up. I had no longer a hope of finding the horses; and, with +despairing step, I turned once more in the direction of the thicket. +D'Hauteville had arrived before me. + +As I approached, the quivering gleam enabled me to distinguish his +figure. He was standing beside Aurore. He was conversing familiarly +with her. I fancied he was _polite_ to her, and that she seemed +pleased. There was something in this slight scene that made a painful +impression upon me. + +Neither had he found any traces of the missing steeds. It was no use +looking any longer for them; and we agreed to discontinue the search, +and pass the night in the woods. + +It was with a heavy heart that I consented to this; but we had no +alternative. Afoot we could not possibly reach New Orleans before +morning; and to have been found on the road after daybreak would have +insured our capture. Such as we could not pass without observation; and +I had no doubt that, at the earliest hour, a pursuing party would take +the road to the city. + +Our most prudent plan was to remain all night where we were, and renew +our search for the horses as soon as it became day. If we should +succeed in finding them, we might conceal them in the swamp till the +following night, and then make for the city. If we should not recover +them, then, by starting at an earlier hour, we might attempt the journey +on foot. + +The loss of the horses had placed us in an unexpected dilemma. It had +seriously diminished our chances of escape, and increased the peril of +our position. + +_Peril_ I have said, and in such we stood--peril of no trifling kind. +You will with difficulty comprehend the nature of our situation. You +will imagine yourself reading the account of some ordinary lover's +escapade--a mere runaway match, _a la Gretna Green_. + +Rid yourself of this fancy. Know that all three of us had committed an +act for which we were amenable. Know that my _crime_ rendered me liable +to certain and severe punishment by the _laws of the land_; that a still +more terrible sentence might be feared _outside the laws of the land_. +I knew all this--I knew that life itself was imperilled by the act I had +committed! + +Think of our danger, and it may enable you to form some idea of what +were our feelings after returning from our bootless hunt after the +horses. + +We had no choice but stay where we were till morning. + +We spent half-an-hour in dragging the _tillandsia_ from the trees, and +collecting the soft leaves of the pawpaws. With these I strewed the +ground; and, placing Aurore upon it, I covered her with my cloak. + +For myself I needed no couch. I sat down near my beloved, with my back +against the trunk of a tree. I would fain have pillowed her head upon +my breast, but the presence of D'Hauteville restrained me. Even that +might not have hindered me, but the slight proposal which I made had +been declined by Aurore. Even the hand that I had taken in mine was +respectfully withdrawn! + +I will confess that this coyness surprised and piqued me. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY EIGHT. + +A NIGHT IN THE WOODS. + +Lightly clad as I was, the cold dews of the night would have prevented +me from sleeping; but I needed not that to keep me awake. I could not +have slept upon a couch of eider. + +D'Hauteville had generously offered me his cloak, which I declined. He, +too, was clad in cottonade and linen--though that was not the reason for +my declining his offer. Even had I been suffering, I could not have +accepted it. I began to fear him! + +Aurore was soon asleep. The lightning showed me that her eyes were +closed, and I could tell by her soft regular breathing that she slept. +This, too, annoyed me! + +I watched for each new gleam that I might look upon her. Each time as +the quivering light illumined her lovely features, I gazed upon them +with mingled feelings of passion and pain. Oh! could there be falsehood +under that fair face? Could sin exist in that noble soul? After all +was I _not_ beloved? + +Even so, there was no withdrawing now--no going back from my purpose. +The race in which I had embarked must be run to the end--even at the +sacrifice both of heart and life. I thought only of the purpose that +had brought us there. + +As my mind became calmer, I again reflected on the means of carrying it +out. As soon as day should break, I would go in search of the horses-- +track them, if possible, to where they had strayed--recover them, and +then remain concealed in the woods until the return of another night. + +Should we not recover the horses, what then? + +For a long time, I could not think of what was best to be done in such a +contingency. + +At length an idea suggested itself--a plan so feasible that I could not +help communicating it to D'Hauteville, who like myself was awake. The +plan was simple enough, and I only wondered I had not thought of it +sooner. It was that he (D'Hauteville) should proceed to Bringiers, +procure other horses or a carriage there, and at an early hour of the +following night meet us on the Levee Road. + +What could be better than this? There would be no difficulty in his +obtaining the horses at Bringiers--the carriage more likely. +D'Hauteville was not known--at least no one would suspect his having any +relations with me. I was satisfied that the disappearance of the +quadroon would be at once attributed to me. Gayarre himself would know +that; and therefore I alone would be suspected and sought after. +D'Hauteville agreed with me that this would be the very plan to proceed +upon, in case our horses could not be found; and having settled the +details, we awaited with less apprehension for the approach of day. + +Day broke at length. The grey light slowly struggled through the +shadowy tree-tops, until it became clear enough to enable us to renew +the search. + +Aurore remained upon the ground; while D'Hauteville and I, taking +different directions set out after the horses. + +D'Hauteville went farther into the woods, while I took the opposite +route. + +I soon arrived at the zigzag fence bounding the fields of Gayarre; for +we were still upon the very borders of his plantation. On reaching +this, I turned along its edge, and kept on for the point where the +bye-road entered the woods. It was by this we had come in on the +previous night, and I thought it probable the horses might have taken it +into their heads to stray back the same way. + +I was right in my conjecture. As soon as I entered the embouchure of +the road, I espied the hoof-tracks of both animals going out towards the +river. I saw also those we had made on the previous night coming in. I +compared them. The tracks leading both ways were made by the same +horses. One had a broken shoe, which enabled me at a glance to tell +they were the same. I noted another "sign" upon the trail. I noted +that our horses in passing out dragged their bridles, with branches +adhering to them. This confirmed the original supposition, that they +had broken loose. + +It was now a question of how far they had gone. Should I follow and +endeavour to overtake them? It was now bright daylight, and the risk +would be great. Long before this, Gayarre and his friends would be up +and on the alert. No doubt parties were already traversing the Levee +Road as well as the bye-paths among the plantations. At every step I +might expect to meet either a scout or a pursuer. + +The tracks of the horses showed they had been travelling rapidly and +straight onward. They had not stopped to browse. Likely they had gone +direct to the Levee Road, and turned back to the city. They were livery +horses, and no doubt knew the road well. Besides, they were of the +Mexican breed--"mustangs." With these lively animals the trick of +returning over a day's journey without their riders is not uncommon. + +To attempt to overtake them seemed hopeless as well as perilous, and I +at once gave up the idea and turned back into the woods. As I +approached the pawpaw thicket, I walked with lighter tread. I am +ashamed to tell the reason. Foul thoughts were in my heart. + +The murmur of voices fell upon my ear. + +"By Heaven! D'Hauteville has again got back before me!" + +I struggled for some moments with my honour. It gave way; and I made my +further approach among the pawpaws with the silence of a thief. + +"D'Hauteville and she in close and friendly converse! They stand +fronting each other. Their faces almost meet--their attitudes betoken a +mutual interest. They talk in an earnest tone--in the low murmuring of +lovers! O God!" + +At this moment the scene on the wharf-boat flashed on my recollection. +I remembered the youth wore a cloak, and that he was of low stature. It +was he who was standing before me! That puzzle was explained. I was +but a waif--a foil--a thing for a coquette to play with! + +There stood the _true_ lover of Aurore! + +I stopped like one stricken. The sharp aching of my heart, oh! I may +never describe. It felt as if a poisoned arrow had pierced to its very +core, and there remained fixed and rankling. I felt faint and sick. I +could have fallen to the ground. + +She has taken something from her bosom. She is handing it to him! A +love-token--a _gage d'amour_! + +No. I am in error. It is the parchment--the paper taken from the desk +of the avocat. What does it mean? What mystery is this? Oh! I shall +demand a full explanation from both of you. I shall--patience, heart!-- +patience! + +D'Hauteville has taken the papers, and hidden them under his cloak. He +turns away. His face is now towards me. His eyes are upon me. I am +seen! + +"Ho! Monsieur?" he inquired, advancing to meet me. "What success? You +have seen nothing of the horses!" + +I made an effort to speak calmly. + +"Their tracks," I replied. + +Even in this short phrase my voice was quivering with emotion. He might +easily have noticed my agitation, and yet he did not seem to do so. + +"Only their tracks, Monsieur! Whither did they lead?" + +"To the Levee Road. No doubt they have returned towards the city. We +need have no farther dependence on them." + +"Then I shall go to Bringiers at once?" + +This was put hypothetically. + +The proposal gave me pleasure. I wished him away. + +I wished to be alone with Aurore. + +"It would be as well," I assented, "if you do not deem it too early?" + +"Oh, no! besides, I have business in Bringiers that will occupy me all +the day." + +"Ah!" + +"Doubt not my return to meet you. I am certain to procure either horses +or a carriage. Half-an-hour after twilight you will find me at the end +of the bye-road. Fear not, Monsieur! I have a strong presentiment that +for you all will yet be well. For _me_--ah!" + +A deep sigh escaped him as he uttered the last phrase. + +What did it mean? Was he mocking me? Had this strange youth a secret +beyond _my_ secret? Did he _know_ that Aurore loved _him_? Was he so +confident--so sure of her heart, that he recked not thus leaving her +alone with me? Was he playing with me as the tiger with its victim? +Were _both_ playing with me? + +These horrid thoughts crowding up, prevented me from making a definite +rejoinder to his remarks. I muttered something about hope, but he +seemed hardly to heed my remark. For some reason he was evidently +desirous of being gone; and bidding Aurore and myself adieu, he turned +abruptly off, and with quick, light steps, threaded his way through the +woods. + +With my eyes I followed his retreating form, until it was hidden by the +intervening branches. I felt relief that he was gone. I could have +wished that he was gone for ever. Despite the need we had of his +assistance--despite the absolute necessity for his return--at that +moment I could have wished that we should never see him again! + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY NINE. + +LOVE'S VENGEANCE. + +Now for an explanation with Aurore! Now to give vent to the dire +passion of jealousy--to relieve my heart with recriminations--with the +bitter-sweet vengeance of reproach! + +I could stifle the foul emotion no longer--no longer conceal it. It +must have expression in words. + +I had purposely remained standing with my face averted from her, till +D'Hauteville was gone out of sight. Longer, too. I was endeavouring to +still the wild throbbings of my breast--to affect the calmness of +indifference. Vain hypocrisy! To her eyes my spite must have been +patent, for in this the keen instincts of woman are not to be baffled. + +It was even so. She comprehended all. Hence the wild act--the +_abandon_ to which at that moment she gave way. + +I was turning to carry out my design, when I felt the soft pressure of +her body against mine--her arms encircled my neck--her head, with face +upturned, rested upon my bosom, and her large lustrous eyes sought mine +with a look of melting inquiry. + +That look should have satisfied me. Surely no eyes but the eyes of love +could have borne such expression? + +And yet I was not content. I faltered out-- + +"Aurore, you do not love me!" + +"_Ah, Monsieur! pourquoi cette cruaute? Je t'aime_--_mon Dieu! avec +tout mon coeur je t'aime_!" + +Even this did not still my suspicious thoughts. The circumstances had +been too strong--jealousy had taken too firm a hold to be plucked out by +mere assurances. Explanation alone could satisfy me. That or +confession. + +Having made a commencement, I went on. I detailed what I had seen at +the landing--the after conduct of D'Hauteville--what I had observed the +preceding night--what I had just that moment witnessed. I detailed all. +I added no reproaches. There was time enough for them when I should +receive her answer. + +It came in the midst of tears. She had known D'Hauteville before--that +was acknowledged. There _was_ a mystery in the relations that existed +between them. I was solicited not to require an explanation. My +patience was appealed to. It was not her secret. I should soon know +all. In due time all would be revealed. + +How readily my heart yielded to these delicious words! I no longer +doubted. How could I, with those large eyes, full of love-light, +shining through the tear-bedewed lashes? + +My heart yielded. Once more my arms closed affectionately around the +form of my betrothed, and a fervent kiss renewed the vow of our +betrothal. + +We could have remained long upon this love-hallowed spot, but prudence +prompted us to leave it. We were too near to the point of danger. At +the distance of two hundred yards was the fence that separated Gayarre's +plantation from the wild woods; and from that could even be seen the +house itself, far off over the fields. The thicket concealed this, it +was true; but should pursuit lead that way, the thicket would be the +first place that would be searched. It would be necessary to seek a +hiding-place farther off in the woods. + +I bethought me of the flowery glade--the scene of my adventure with the +_crotalus_. Around it the underwood was thick and shady, and there were +spots where we could remain screened from the observation of the keenest +eyes. At that moment I thought only of such concealment. It never +entered my head that there were means of discovering us, even in the +heart of the tangled thicket, or the pathless maze of the cane-brake. I +resolved, therefore, to make at once for the glade. + +The pawpaw thicket, where we had passed the night, lay near the +south-eastern angle of Gayarre's plantation. To reach the glade it +would be necessary for us to pass a mile or more to the northward. By +taking a diagonal line through the woods, the chances were ten to one we +should lose our way, and perhaps not find a proper place of concealment. +The chances were, too, that we might not find a path, through the +network of swamps and bayous that traversed the forest in every +direction. + +I resolved, therefore, to skirt the plantation, until I had reached the +path that I had before followed to the glade, and which I now +remembered. There would be some risk until we had got to the northward +of Gayarre's plantation; but we should keep at a distance from the +fence, and as much as possible in the underwood. Fortunately a belt of +"palmetto" land, marking the limits of the annual inundation, extended +northward through the woods, and parallel to the line of fence. This +singular vegetation, with its broad fan-like fronds, formed an excellent +cover; and a person passing through it with caution could not be +observed from any great distance. The partial lattice-work of its +leaves was rendered more complete by the tall flower-stalks of the +_altheas_, and other malvaceous plants that shared the ground with the +palmettos. + +Directing ourselves within the selvage of this rank vegetation, we +advanced with caution; and soon came opposite the place where we had +crossed the fence on the preceding night. At this point the woods +approached nearest to the house of Gayarre. As already stated, but one +field lay between, but it was nearly a mile in length. It was dead +level, however, and did not appear half so long. By going forward to +the fence, we could have seen the house at the opposite end, and very +distinctly. + +I had no intention of gratifying my curiosity at that moment by such an +act, and was moving on, when a sound fell upon my ear that caused me +suddenly to halt, while a thrill of terror ran through my veins. + +My companion caught me by the arm, and looked inquiringly in my face. + +A caution to her to be silent was all the reply I could make; and, +leaning a little lower, so as to bring my ear nearer to the ground, I +listened. + +The suspense was short. I heard the sound again. My first conjecture +was right. It was the "growl" of a hound! + +There was no mistaking that prolonged and deep-toned note. I was too +fond a disciple of Saint Hubert not to recognise the bay of a long-eared +Molossian. Though distant and low, like the hum of a forest bee, I was +not deceived in the sound. It fell upon my ears with a terrible import! + +And why terrible was the baying of a hound? To me above all others, +whose ears, attuned to the "tally ho!" and the "view hilloa!" regarded +these sounds as the sweetest of music? Why terrible? Ah! you must +think of the circumstances in which I was placed--you must think, too, +of the hours I spent with the snake-charmer--of the tales he told me in +that dark tree-cave--the stories of runaways, of sleuth-dogs, of +man-hunters, and "nigger-hunts,"--practices long thought to be confined +to Cuba, but which I found as rife upon the soil of Louisiana,--you must +think of all these, and then you will understand why I trembled at the +distant baying of a hound. + +The howl I heard was still very distant. It came from the direction of +Gayarre's house. It broke forth at intervals. It was not like the +utterance of a hound upon the trail, but that of dogs just cleared from +the kennel, and giving tongue to their joy at the prospect of sport. + +Fearful apprehensions were stirred within me at the moment. A terrible +conjecture rushed across my brain. _They were after us with hounds_! + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY. + +HOUNDS ON OUR TRAIL. + +O God! after us with hounds! + +Either after us, or about to be, was the hypothetic form of my +conjecture. + +I could proceed no farther upon our path till I had become satisfied. + +Leaving Aurore among the palmettoes. I ran directly forward to the +fence, which was also the boundary of the woods. On reaching this, I +grasped the branch of a tree, and swung myself up to such an elevation +as would enable me to see over the tops of the cane. This gave me a +full view of the house shining under the sun that had now risen in all +his splendour. + +At a glance I saw that I had guessed aright. Distant as the house was, +I could plainly see men around it, many of them on horseback. Their +heads were moving above the canes; and now and then the deep bay of +hounds told that several dogs were loose about the enclosure. The scene +was just as if a party of hunters had assembled before going out upon a +deer "drive;" and but for the place, the time, and the circumstances +that had already transpired, I might have taken it for such. Far +different, however, was the impression it made upon me. I knew well why +was that gathering around the house of Gayarre. I knew well the game +they were about to pursue. I lingered but a moment upon my perch--long +enough to perceive that the _hunters_ were all mounted and ready to +start. + +With quick-beating pulse I retraced my steps; and soon rejoined my +companion, who stood awaiting me with trembling apprehension. + +I did not need to tell her the result of my reconnoissance: she read it +in my looks. She, too, had heard the baying of the dogs. She was a +native, and knew the customs of the land: she knew that hounds were used +to hunt deer and foxes and wild-cats of the woods; but she knew also +that on many plantations there were some kept for a far different +purpose--sleuth-dogs, _trained to the hunting of men_! + +Had she been of slow comprehension, I might have attempted to conceal +from her what I had learnt; but she was far from that, and with quick +instinct she divined all. + +Our first feeling was that of utter hopelessness. There seemed no +chance of our escaping. Go where we would, hounds, trained to the scent +of a human track, could not fail to follow and find us. It would be of +no use hiding in the swamp or the bush. The tallest sedge or the +thickest underwood could not give us shelter from pursuers like these. + +Our first feeling, then, was that of hopelessness--quickly followed by a +half-formed resolve to go no farther, to stand our ground and be taken. +We had not death to fear; though I knew that if taken I might make up my +mind to some rough handling. I knew the feeling that was abroad in +relation to the Abolitionists--at that time raging like a fever. I had +heard of the barbarous treatment which some of these "fanatics"--as they +were called--had experienced at the hands of the incensed slave-owners. +I should no doubt be reckoned in the same category, or maybe, still +worse, be charged as a "nigger-stealer." In any case I had to fear +chastisement, and of no light kind either. + +But my dread of this was nothing when compared with the reflection that, +if taken, _Aurore must go back to Gayarre_! + +It was this thought more than any other that made my pulse beat quickly. +It was this thought that determined me not to surrender until after +every effort to escape should fail us. + +I stood for some moments pondering on what course to pursue. All at +once a thought came into my mind that saved me from despair. That +thought was of Gabriel the runaway. + +Do not imagine that I had forgotten him or his hiding-place all this +time. Do not fancy I had not thought of him before. Often, since we +had entered the woods, had he and his tree-cave arisen in my memory; and +I should have gone there for concealment, but that the distance deterred +me. As we intended to return to the Levee Road after sunset, I had +chosen the glade for our resting-place, on account of its being nearer. + +Even then, when I learnt that hounds would be after us, I had again +thought of making for the Bambarra's hiding-place; but had dismissed the +idea, because it occurred to me that _the hounds could follow us +anywhere_, and that, by taking shelter with the runaway, we should only +guide his tyrants upon _him_. + +So quick and confused had been all these reflections, that it had never +occurred to me that the hounds _could not trail us across water_. It +was only at that moment when pondering how I could throw them off the +track--thinking of the snake-charmer and his pine-cones--that I +remembered the water. + +Sure enough, in that still lay a hope; and I could now appreciate the +remarkable cunning with which the lair of the runaway had been chosen. +It was just the place to seek refuge from "de dam blood-dogs." + +The moment I thought of it, I resolved to flee thither. + +I would be sure to know the way. I had taken especial pains to remember +it; for even on the day of my snake-adventure, some half-defined +thoughts--something more like a presentiment than a plan--had passed +through my mind, vaguely pointing to a contingency like the present. +Later events, and particularly my design of escaping to the city at +once, had driven these thoughts out of my mind. For all that, I still +remembered the way by which the Bambarra had guided me, and could follow +it with hurried steps--though there was neither road nor path, save the +devious tracks made by cattle or the wild animals of the forest. + +But I was certain I knew it well. I should remember the signs and +"blazes" to which the guide had called my attention. I should remember +where it crossed the "big bayou" by the trunk of a fallen tree that +served as a foot-bridge. I should remember where it ran through a strip +of marsh impassable for horses, through the cane-brake, among the great +knees and buttocks of the cypresses, down to the edge of the water. And +that huge tree, with its prostrate trunk projecting out into the lake, +and its moss-wrapped branches--that cunning harbour for the little +pirogue--I should be sure to remember. + +Neither had I forgotten the signal, by which I was to warn the runaway +whenever I should return. It was a peculiar whistle he had instructed +me to give, and also the number of times I was to utter it. + +I had not waited for all these reflections. Many of them were +after-thoughts, that occurred along the way. The moment I remembered +the lake, I resolved upon my course; and, with a word of cheer to my +companion, we again moved forward. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY ONE. + +THE SIGNAL. + +The change in our plans made no change in the direction. We continued +on in the same course. The way to the lake passed by the glade, where +we had purposed going--indeed, through the middle of it lay the nearest +path to the lair of the runaway. + +Not far from the north-east angle of Gayarre's plantation, was the spot +where I had parted with the black on the night of my adventure with him. +It was at this point the path entered the woods. The blaze upon a +sweet-gum-tree, which I remembered well, showed me the direction. I was +but too glad to turn off here, and leave the open woods; the more so +that, just as we had reached the turning-point, the cry of the hounds +came swelling upon the air, loud and prolonged. From the direction of +the sound, I had no doubt but that they were already in the cane-field, +and lifting our trail of the preceding night. + +For a few hundred yards farther the timber was thin. The axe had been +flourished there, as the numerous "stumps" testified. It was there the +"firewood" was procured for the use of the plantation, and "cords" of +it, already cut and piled, could be seen on both sides of our path. We +passed among these with trembling haste. We feared to meet with some of +the woodcutters, or the driver of a wood-wagon. Such an encounter would +have been a great misfortune; as, whoever might have seen us would have +guided our pursuers on the track. + +Had I reasoned calmly I would not have felt uneasiness on this head. I +might have known, that if the dogs succeeded in tracking us thus far, +they would need no direction from either wagoner or wood-chopper. But +in the hurry of the moment I did not think of this; and I felt relief +when we had passed through the tract of broken woods, and were entering +under the more sombre shadow of the virgin forest. + +It was now a question of time--a question of whether we should be able +to reach the lake, summon the Bambarra with his pirogue, and be paddled +out of sight, before the dogs should trail us to the edge of the water. +Should we succeed in doing so, we should then have a fair prospect of +escape. No doubt the dogs would guide our pursuers to the place of our +embarkation--the fallen tree--but then both dogs and men would be at +fault. That gloomy lake of the woods was a rare labyrinth. Though the +open water was a surface of small extent, neither it, nor the +island-like motte of timber in its centre, was visible from the place of +embarkation; and, besides the lake itself, the inundation covered a +large tract of the forest. Even should our pursuers be certain that we +had escaped by the water, they might despair of finding us in the midst +of such a maze--where the atmosphere at that season of fall foliage had +the hue of a dark twilight. + +But they would hardly be convinced of our escape in that way. There was +no trace left where the pirogue was moored--no mark upon the tree. They +would scarce suspect the existence of a canoe in such an out-of-the-way +spot, where the water--a mere stagnant pond--had no communication either +with the river or the adjacent bayous. We were leaving no tracks--I +took care of that--that could be perceived under the forest gloom; and +our pursuers might possibly conclude that the dogs had been running upon +the trail of a bear, a cougar, or the swamp wild-cat (_Lynx rufus_)--all +of which animals freely take the water when pursued. With such +probabilities I was cheering myself and my companion, as we kept rapidly +along our course! + +My greatest source of apprehension was the delay we should have to make, +after giving the signal to the runaway. Would he hear it at once? +Would he attend to it in due haste? Would he arrive in time? These +were the points about which I felt chiefly anxious. Time was the +important consideration; in that lay the conditions of our danger. Oh! +that I had thought of this purpose before!--oh! that we had started +earlier! + +How long would it take our pursuers to come up? I could scarce trust +myself to think of a reply to this question. Mounted as they were, they +would travel faster than we: the dogs would guide them at a run! + +One thought alone gave me hope. They would soon find our resting-place +of the night; they would see where we had slept by the pawpaw-leaves and +the moss; they could not fail to be certain of all that; but would they +so easily trail us thence? In our search after the horses, we had +tracked the woods in all directions. I had gone back to the bye-road, +and some distance along it. All this would surely baffle the dogs for a +while; besides, D'Hauteville, at starting, had left the pawpaw thicket +by a different route from that we had taken. They might go off on _his_ +trail. Would that they might follow D'Hauteville. + +All these conjectures passed rapidly through my mind as we hurried +along. I even thought of making an attempt to throw the hounds off the +scent. I thought of the _ruse_ practised by the Bambarra with the spray +of the loblolly pine; but, unfortunately, I could not see any of these +trees on our way, and feared to lose time by going in search of one. I +had doubts, too, of the efficacy of such a proceeding, though the black +had solemnly assured me of it. The common red onion, he had afterwards +told me would be equally effective for the like purpose! But the red +onion grew not in the woods, and the _pin de l'encens_ I could not find. + +For all that I did not proceed without precautions. Youth though I was, +I was an old hunter, and had some knowledge of "woodcraft," gathered in +deerstalking, and in the pursuit of other game, among my native hills. +Moreover, my nine months of New-world life had not all been passed +within city walls; and I had already become initiated into many of the +mysteries of the great American forest. + +I did not proceed, then, in mere reckless haste. Where precautions +could be observed, I adopted them. + +A strip of marsh had to be crossed. It was stagnant water, out of which +grew flags, and the shrub called "swamp-wood" (_Bois de marais_). It +was knee-deep, and could he waded. I knew this, for I had crossed it +before. Hand in hand we waded through, and got safe to the opposite +side; but on entering I took pains to choose a place, where we stepped +at once from the dry ground into the water. On going out, I observed a +like precaution--so that our tracks might not appear in the mud. + +Perhaps I should not have taken all this trouble, had I known that, +there were "hunters" among those who pursued us. I fancied the crowd I +had seen were but planters, or people of the town--hurriedly brought +together by Gayarre and his friends. I fancied they might not have much +skill in tracking, and that my simple trick might be sufficient to +mislead them. + +Had I known that at their head was a man, of whom Gabriel had told me +much--a man _who made negro-hunting his profession_, and who was the +most noted "tracker" in all the country--I might have saved myself both +the time and the trouble I was taking. But I knew not that this ruffian +and his trained dogs were after us, and I did my utmost to throw my +pursuers off. + +Shortly after passing the marsh, we crossed the "big bayou" by means of +its tree-bridge. Oh! that I could have destroyed that log, or hurled it +from its position. I consoled myself with the idea, that though the +dogs might follow us over it, it would delay the pursuers awhile, who, +no doubt, were all on horseback. + +We now passed through the glade, but I halted not there. We stopped not +to look upon its bright flowers--we perceived not their fragrance. Once +I had wished to share this lovely scene in the company of Aurore. We +were now in its midst, but under what circumstances! What wild thoughts +were passing through my brain, as we hurried across this flowery tract +under bright sunshine, and then plunged once more into the sombre +atmosphere of the woods! + +The path I remembered well, and was able to pursue it without hesitancy. +Now and then only did I pause--partly to listen, and partly to rest my +companion, whose bosom heaved quick and high with the rude exertion. +But her glance testified that her courage was firm, and her smile +cheered _me_ on. + +At length we entered among the cypress-trees that bordered the lake; +and, gliding around their massive trunks, soon reached the edge of the +water. + +We approached the fallen tree; and, climbing up, advanced along its +trunk until we stood among its moss-covered branches. + +I had provided myself with an instrument--a simple joint of the cane +which grew plenteously around, and which with my knife I had shaped +after a fashion I had been already taught by the Bambarra. With this I +could produce a sound, that would be heard at a great distance off, and +plainly to the remotest part of the lake. + +Taking hold of the branches, I now bent down, until my face almost +touched the surface of the water, and placing the reed to my lips, I +gave utterance to the signal. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY TWO. + +THE SLEUTH-HOUNDS. + +The shrill whistle, pealing along the water, pierced the dark aisles of +the forest. It aroused the wild denizens of the lake, who, startled by +such an unusual sound, answered it with their various cries in a +screaming concert. The screech of the crane and the Louisiana heron, +the hoarse hooting of owls, and the hoarser croak of the pelican, +mingled together; and, louder than all, the scream of the osprey and the +voice of the bald eagle--the last falling upon the ear with sharp +metallic repetitions that exactly resembled the filing of saws. + +For some moments this commotion was kept up; and it occurred to me that +if I had to repeat the signal then it would not have been heard. Shrill +as it was, it could scarce have been distinguished in such a din! + +Crouching among the branches, we remained to await the result. We made +no attempts at idle converse. The moments were too perilous for aught +but feelings of extreme anxiety. Now and then a word of cheer--a +muttered hope--were all the communications that passed between us. + +With earnest looks we watched the water--with glances of fear we +regarded the land. On one side we listened for the plashing of a +paddle; on the other we dreaded to hear the "howl" of a hound. Never +can I forget those moments--those deeply-anxious moments. Till death I +may not forget them. + +Every thought at the time--every incident, however minute--now rushes +into my remembrance, as if it were a thing of yesterday. + +I remember that once or twice, away under the trees, we perceived a +ripple along the surface of the water. Our hearts were full of hope--we +thought it was the canoe. + +It was a fleeting joy. The waves were made by the great saurian, whose +hideous body--large almost as the pirogue itself--next moment passed +before our eyes, cleaving the water with fish-like velocity. + +I remember entertaining the supposition that the runaway _might not be +in his lair_! He might be off in the forest--in search of food--or on +any other errand. Then the reflection followed--if such were the case, +I should have found the pirogue by the tree? Still he might have other +landing-places around the lake--on the other side perhaps. He had not +told me whether or no, and it was probable enough. These hypothetic +conjectures increased my anxiety. + +But there arose another, far more dreadful, because far more probable-- + +_The black might be asleep_! + +Far more probable, because night was his day, and day his night. At +night he was abroad, roaming and busy--by day he was at home and slept. + +Oh, Heavens! if he should be asleep, and not have heard the signal! + +Such was the terrible fancy that rushed across my brain. + +I felt suddenly impelled to repeat the signal--though I thought at the +time, if my conjecture were correct, there was but little hope he would +hear me. A negro sleeps like a torpid bear. The report of a gun or a +railway-whistle alone could awake one. There was no chance for a puny +pipe like mine--the more especially as the screaming concert still +continued. + +"Even if he should hear it, he would hardly be able to distinguish the +whistle from--Merciful heavens!" + +I was speaking to my companion when this exclamation interrupted me. It +came from my own lips, but with involuntary utterance. It was called +forth by a sound of dread import--a sound that I could hear above the +shrill screaming of the birds, and hearing could interpret. It was the +trumpet-like baying of a hound! + +I stood bent, and listening; I heard it again. There was no mistaking +that note. I had the ears of a hunter. I knew the music well. + +Oh, how unlike to music then! It fell upon my ears like a cry of +vengeance--like a knell of death! + +I thought no longer of repeating the signal; even if heard, it would be +too late. I flung the reed away, as a useless toy. I drew Aurore along +the tree, passing her behind me; and raising myself erect, stood +fronting the land. + +Again the "gowl" broke out--its loud echoes rolling through the woods-- +this time so near, that every moment I expected to see the animal that +had uttered it. + +I had not long to wait. A hundred yards off was a cane-brake. I could +perceive a motion among the tall reeds. Their tops swayed to and fro, +and their hollow culms rattled against each other, as they were jerked +about, and borne downward. Some living thing was pressing through their +midst. + +The motion reached their verge--the last canes gave way, and I now saw +what I had looked for--the spotted body of a hound! With a spring the +animal came forth, paused for a moment in the open ground, and then, +uttering a prolonged howl, took up the scent, and galloped forward. + +Close upon his heels came a second; the waving cane closed behind them, +and both ran forward in the direction of the log. + +As there was no longer any underwood, I had a full view of their bodies. +Gloomy as the place was, I could see them with sufficient distinctness +to note their kind--huge, gaunt deer-hounds, black and tan. From the +manner of their approach, they had evidently been trained to their work, +and that was _not_ the hunting of deer. No ordinary hound would have +run upon a human track, as they were running upon ours. + +The moment I saw these dogs I made ready for a conflict. Their huge +size, their broad heavy jaws, and ferocious looks, told what savage +brutes they were; and I felt satisfied they would attack me as soon as +they came up. + +With this belief I drew forth a pistol; and, laying hold of a branch to +steady me, I stood waiting their approach. + +I had not miscalculated. On reaching the prostrate trunk, he scarcely +made a pause; but, leaping upward, came running along the log. He had +dropped the scent, and now advanced with eyes glaring, evidently +meditating to spring upon me. + +My position could not have been better, had I spent an hour in choosing +it. From the nature of the ground, my assailant could neither dodge to +the right nor the left; but was compelled to approach me in a line as +straight as an arrow. I had nought to do but hold my weapon firm and +properly directed. A novice with fire-arms could hardly have missed +such an object. + +My nerves were strung with anger--a feeling of intense indignation was +burning in my breast, that rendered me as firm as steel. I was cool +from very passion--at the thought of being thus hunted like a wolf! + +I waited until the muzzle of the hound almost met that of the pistol, +and then I fired. The dog tumbled from the log. + +I saw the other close upon his heels. I aimed through the smoke, and +again pulled trigger. + +The good weapon did not fail me. Again the report was followed by a +plunge. + +The hounds were no longer upon the log. They had fallen right and left +into the black water below! + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY THREE. + +THE MAN-HUNTER. + +The hounds had fallen into the water--one dead, the other badly wounded. +The latter could not have escaped, as one of his legs had been struck +by the bullet, and his efforts to swim were but the throes of +desperation. In a few minutes he must have gone to the bottom; but it +was not his fate to die by drowning. It was predestined that his +howling should be brought to a termination in a far different manner. + +The voice of the dog is music to the ear of the alligator. Of all other +animals, this is the favourite prey of the great saurian; and the howl +of hound or cur will attract him from any distance where it may be +heard. + +Naturalists have endeavoured to explain this in a different way. They +say--and such is the fact--that the howling of a dog bears a resemblance +to the voice of the young alligator, and that the old ones are attracted +towards the spot where it is heard--the mother to protect it, and the +male parent to devour it! + +This is a disputed point in natural history; but there can be no dispute +that the alligator eagerly preys upon the dog whenever an opportunity +offers--seizing the canine victim in his terrible jaws, and carrying it +off to his aqueous retreat. This he does with an air of such earnest +avidity, as to leave no doubt but that he esteems the dog a favourite +morsel. + +I was not surprised, then, to see half-a-dozen of these gigantic +reptiles emerging from amid the dark tree-trunks, and hastily swimming +towards the wounded hound. + +The continued howling of the latter guided them; and in a few seconds +they had surrounded the spot where he struggled, and were dashing +forward upon their victim. + +A shoal of sharks could not have finished him more expeditiously. A +blow from the tail of one silenced his howling--three or four pair of +gaunt jaws closed upon him at the same time--a short scuffle ensued-- +then the long bony heads separated, and the huge reptiles were seen +swimming off again--each with a morsel in his teeth. A few bubbles and +blotches of red froth mottling the inky surface of the water, were all +that remained where the hound had lately been plunging. + +Almost a similar scene occurred on the opposite side of the log--for the +water was but a few feet in depth, and the dead hound was visible as he +lay at the bottom. Several of the reptiles approaching on that side, +had seen this one at the same time, and, rushing forward, they served +him precisely as his companion had been served by the others. A crumb +of bread could not have disappeared sooner among a shoal of hungry +minnows, than did the brace of deer-hounds down the throats of these +ravenous reptiles. + +Singular as was the incident, it had scarce drawn my notice. I had far +other things to think of. + +After firing the pistol, I remained standing upon the tree, with my eyes +fixed in the direction whence came the hounds. + +I gazed intently among the tree-trunks, away up the dark vistas of the +forest, I watched the cane-brake, to note the slightest motion in the +reeds. I listened to every sound, while I stood silent myself, and +enjoined silence upon my trembling companion. + +I had but little hope then. There would be more dogs, no doubt--slower +hounds following in the distance--and with them the mounted man-hunters. +They could not be far behind--they could not fail to come up soon--the +sooner that the report of my pistol would guide them to the spot. It +would be of no use making opposition to a crowd of angry men. I could +do nothing else than surrender to them. + +My companion entreated me to this course; abjured me not to use my +weapons--for I now held the second pistol in my hand. But I had no +intention of using them should the crowd of men come up; I had only +taken out the pistol as a precaution against the attack of the dogs-- +should any more appear. + +For a good while I heard no sounds from the forest, and saw no signs of +our pursuers. What could be detaining them? Perhaps the crossing of +the bayou; or the tract of marsh. I knew the horsemen must there leave +the trail; but were they all mounted? + +I began to hope that Gabriel might yet be in time. If he had not heard +the signal-whistle, he must have heard the reports of my pistol? But, +on second thoughts, that might only keep him back. He would not +understand the firing, and might fear to come with the pirogue! + +Perhaps he had heard the first signal, and was now on his way. It was +not too late to entertain such a supposition. Notwithstanding what had +passed, we had been yet but a short while upon the spot. If on the way, +he might think the shots were fired from my double-barrelled gun--fired +at some game. He might not be deterred. There was still a hope he +might come in time. If so, we would be able to reach his tree-cave in +safety. + +There was no trace of the dogs, save a blotch or two of blood upon the +rough bark of the log, and that was not visible from the shore. Unless +there were other dogs to guide them to the spot, the men might not in +the darkness so easily discover these marks. We might yet baffle them! + +With fresh hope I turned once more towards the water, and gazed in the +direction in which I expected the pirogue to come. Alas! there was no +sign of it. No sound came from the lake save the wild calling of the +affrighted birds. + +I turned once more to the land. + +I saw the cane-brake in motion. The tall culms vibrated and crackled +under the heavy tread of a man, who the next moment emerging into the +open ground, advanced at a slinging trot towards the water! + +He was alone and afoot--there were no dogs with him--but the long rifle +poised upon his shoulder, and the hunting accoutrements around his body, +told me at a glance he was the owner of the deer-hounds. + +His black bushy beard, his leggings, and buckskin shirt, his red +neckcloth and raccoon cap--but above all, the brutal ferocity of his +visage, left me in no doubt as to who this character was. The +description of the runaway answered him in every particular. He could +be no other than _Ruffin the man-hunter_! + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY FOUR. + +SHOT FOR SHOT. + +Yes, the individual who now advanced was Ruffin the man-hunter; and the +dogs I had killed, were his--a brace of sleuth-hounds, well-known in the +settlement as being specially trained to tracking the unfortunate +blacks, that, driven by cruel treatment, had taken to the woods. + +Well-known, too, was their master--a dissipated brutal fellow, half +hunter, half hog-thief, who dwelt in the woods like an Indian savage, +and hired himself out to such of the planters as needed the aid of him +and his horrid hounds! + +As I have said, I had never seen this individual, though I had heard of +him often--from Scipio, from the boy Caton, and, lastly, from Gabriel. +The Bambarra had described him minutely--had told me wild stories of the +man's wickedness and ferocious cruelty--how he had taken the lives of +several runaways while in pursuit of them, and caused others to be torn +and mangled by his savage dogs! + +He was the terror and aversion of every negro quarter along the coast; +and his name--appropriate to his character--oft served the sable mother +as a "bogey" to frighten her squalling piccaninny into silence! + +Such was Ruffin the _man-hunter_, as he was known among the black helots +of the plantations. The "cobbing-board" and the red cowhide were not +half so terrible as he. In comparison with him, such characters as +"Bully Bill," the flogging overseer, might be esteemed mild and humane. + +The sight of this man at once deprived me of all farther thought of +escape. I permitted my pistol arm to drop loosely by my side, and stood +awaiting his advance, with the intention of surrendering ourselves up. +Resistance would be vain, and could only lead to the idle spilling of +blood. With this intention I remained silent, having cautioned my +companion to do the same. + +On first emerging from the cane-brake, the hunter did not see us. I was +partially screened by the moss where I stood--Aurore entirely so. +Besides, the man's eyes were not turned in our direction. They were +bent upon the ground. No doubt he had heard the reports of my pistol; +but he trusted more to his tracking instincts; and, from his bent +attitude. I could tell that he was trailing his own dogs--almost as one +of themselves would have done! + +As he neared the edge of the pond, the _smell_ of the water reached him; +and, suddenly halting, he raised his eyes and looked forward. The sight +of the pond seemed to puzzle him, and his astonishment was expressed in +the short sharp expression-- + +"Hell!" + +The next moment his eyes fell upon the prostrate tree, then quickly +swept along its trunk, and rested full upon me. + +"Hell and scissors!" he exclaimed, "thar are ye! Whar's my dogs?" + +I stood eyeing him back, but made no reply. + +"You hear, damn yer! Whar's my dogs?" + +I still remained silent. + +His eyes fell upon the log. He saw the blood-spots upon the hark. He +remembered the shots. + +"Hell and damn!" cried he, with horrid emphasis, "you've kilt my dogs!" +and then followed a volley of mingled oaths and threats, while the +ruffian gesticulated as, if he had suddenly gone mad! + +After a while he ceased from these idle demonstrations; and, planting +himself firmly, he raised his rifle muzzle towards me, and cried out:-- + +"Come off that log, and fetch your blue-skin with you! Quick, damn yer! +Come off that log! Another minnit, an' I'll plug ye!" + +I have said that at first sight of the man I had given up all idea of +resistance, and intended to surrender at once; but there was something +so arrogant in the demand--so insulting in the tone with which the +ruffian made it--that it fired my very flesh with indignation, and +determined me to stand at bay. + +Anger, at being thus hunted, new-nerved both my heart and my arm. The +brute had bayed me, and I resolved to risk resistance. + +Another reason for changing my determination--I now saw that he was +_alone_. He had followed the dogs afoot, while the others on horseback +had no doubt been stopped or delayed by the bayou and morass. Had the +crowd come up, I must have yielded _nolens volens_; but the man-hunter +himself--formidable antagonist though he appeared--was still but _one_, +and to surrender tamely to a single individual, was more than my +spirit--inherited from border ancestry--could brook. There was too much +of the moss-trooper blood in my veins for that, and I resolved, _coute +que coute_, to risk the encounter. + +My pistol was once more firmly grasped; and looking the ruffian full +into his bloodshot eyes, I shouted back-- + +"Fire at your peril! Miss and you are mine!" + +The sight of my uplifted pistol caused him to quail; and I have no doubt +that had opportunity offered, he would have withdrawn from the contest. +He had expected no such a reception. + +But he had gone too far to recede. His rifle was already at his +shoulder, and the next moment I saw the flash, and heard the sharp +crack. The "thud" of his bullet, too, fell upon my ear, as it struck +into the branch against which I was leaning. Good marksman as he was +reputed, the sheen of my pistols had spoiled his aim, and he had missed +me! + +I did not miss _him_. He fell to the shot with a demoniac howl; and as +the smoke thinned off, I could see him writhing and scrambling in the +black mud! + +I hesitated whether to give him the second barrel--for I was angry and +desired his life--but at this moment noises reached me from behind. I +heard the plunging paddle, with the sounds of a manly voice; and +turning, I beheld the Bambarra. + +The latter had shot the pirogue among the tree-tops close to where we +stood, and with voice and gesture now urged us to get aboard. + +"Quick, mass'. Quick, 'Rore gal! jump into de dugout! Jump in! Truss +Ole Gabe!--he stand by young mass' to de deff!" + +Almost mechanically I yielded to the solicitations of the runaway-- +though I now saw but little chance of our ultimate escape--and, having +assisted Aurore into the pirogue, I followed and took my seat beside +her. + +The strong arm of the negro soon impelled us far out from the shore; and +in five minutes after we were crossing the open lake toward the cypress +clump in its midst. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY FIVE. + +LOVE IN THE HOUR OF PERIL. + +We glided into the shadow of the tree, and passed under its trailing +parasites. The pirogue touched its trunk. Mechanically I climbed along +the sloping buttress--mechanically assisted Aurore. + +We stood within the hollow chamber--the lurking-place of the runaway-- +and for the present were safe from pursuit. But there was no joy in our +hearts. We knew it was but a respite, without any hope of ultimate +concealment. + +The encounter with Ruffin had ruined all our prospects. Whether the +hunter were yet dead or alive, his presence would guide the pursuit. +The way we had got off would easily be conjectured, and our hiding-place +could not long remain undiscovered. + +What had passed would be likely to aggravate our pursuers, and +strengthen their determination to capture us. Before Ruffin came up, +there was yet a chance of safety. Most of those engaged in the pursuit +would regard it as the mere ordinary affair of a chase after a runaway +negro--a sport of which they might get tired whenever they should lose +the track. Considering for whom the hunt was got up--a man so unpopular +as Gayarre,--none would have any great interest in the result, excepting +himself and his ruffian aids. Had we left no traces where we embarked +in the pirogue, the gloomy labyrinth of forest-covered water might have +discouraged our pursuers--most of whom would have given up at the +doubtful prospect, and returned to their homes. We might have been left +undisturbed until nightfall, and it was my design to have then recrossed +the lake, landed at some new point, and, under the guidance of the +Bambarra, get back to the Levee Road, where we were to meet D'Hauteville +with the horses. Thence, as originally agreed upon, to the city. + +All this programme, I had hastily conceived; and previous to the +appearance of Ruffin, there was every probability I should succeed in +carrying it out. + +Even after I had shot the dogs, I did not wholly despair. There were +still many chances of success that occurred to me. The pursuers, +thought I, detained by the bayou, might have lost the dogs, and would +not follow their track so easily. Some time would be wasted at all +events. Even should they form a correct guess as to the fate of the +hounds, neither men afoot nor on horseback could penetrate to our +hiding-place. They would need boats or canoes. More time would be +consumed in bringing these from the river, and perhaps night would be +down before this could be effected. On night and D'Hauteville I still +had confidence. + +That was previous to the conflict with the man-hunter. + +After that affair, circumstances had undergone a change. Alive or dead, +Ruffin would guide the pursuit to where we were. If still living--and +now that my angry feeling had passed away I hoped he was--he would at +once direct the pursuers upon us. + +I believed he was not dead--only wounded. His behaviour, after +receiving the shot, had not been like that of a man mortally wounded. I +believed, and hoped, that he still lived:--not that I felt at all +remorseful at what had happened, but from mere prudential +considerations. If dead, his body by the prostrate tree would soon be +discovered, and would tell the tale to those who came up. We should be +captured all the same, and might expect the more terrible consequences. + +The rencontre with this ruffian had been altogether unfortunate. It had +changed the face of affairs. Blood had been spilt _in defence of a +runaway_. The news would return rapidly to the town. It would spread +through the plantations with lightning-speed. The whole community would +be fired and roused--the number of our pursuers quadrupled. I should be +hunted as a _double_ outlaw, and with the hostile energy of vengeance! + +I knew all this, and no longer speculated upon the probabilities of +deliverance. There was not the remotest prospect of our being able to +get away. + +I drew my betrothed near me. I folded her in my arms, and pressed her +to my heart. Till death she would be mine! She swore it in that +shadowy spot--in that dread and darksome hour. Till death she would be +mine! + +Her love inspired me with courage; and with courage I awaited the +result. + +Another hour passed. + +Despite our fearful anticipations, that hour was pleasantly spent. +Strange it is to say so, but it was in reality one of the happiest hours +I can remember. It was the first time I had been enabled to hold free +converse with Aurore since the day of our betrothal. We were now +alone--for the faithful black stood sentinel below by the hawser of his +pirogue. + +The reaction, consequent upon my late jealousy, had kindled my love to a +renewed and fiercer life--for such is the law of nature. In the very +ardour of my affection, I almost forgot our desperate situation. + +Over and over again we vowed eternal troth--over and over plighted our +mutual faith, in fond, burning words--the eloquence of our heartfelt +passion. Oh! it was a happy hour! + +Alas! it came to an end. It ended with a painful regret, but not with +surprise. I was not surprised to hear horns sounding through the woods, +and signal shouts answering each other in different directions. I was +not surprised when voices came pealing across the water--loud oaths and +ejaculations--mingled with the plashing of paddles and the plunging of +oars; and, when the negro announced that several boats filled with armed +men were in the open water and approaching the tree, it did not take me +by surprise. I had foreseen all this. + +I descended to the base of the cypress, and, stooping down, looked out +under the hanging moss. I could see the surface of the lake. I could +see the men in their canoes and skiffs, rowing and gesticulating. + +When near the middle of the open water, they lay upon their oars, and +held a short consultation. After a moment they separated, and rowed in +circles around, evidently with the design of encompassing the tree. + +In a few minutes they had executed this manoeuvre, and now closed in, +until their vessels floated among the drooping branches of the cypress. +A shout of triumph told that they had discovered our retreat; and I now +saw their faces peering through the curtain of straggling _tillandsia_. + +They could see the pirogue, and both the negro and myself standing by +the bow. + +"Surrender!" shouted a voice in a loud, firm tone. "If you resist, your +lives be on your own heads!" + +Notwithstanding this summons, the boats did not advance any nearer. +They knew that I carried pistols, and that I knew how to handle them-- +the proofs, were fresh. They approached, therefore, with caution-- +thinking I might still use my weapons. + +They had no need to be apprehensive. I had not the slightest intention +of doing so. Resistance against twenty men--for there were that number +in the boats, twenty men well armed--would have been a piece of +desperate folly. I never thought of such a thing; though, if I had, I +believe the Bambarra would have stood by me to the death. The brave +fellow, steeled to a supernatural courage by the prospect of his +punishment, had even proposed fight! But his courage was madness; and I +entreated him not to resist--as they would certainly have slain him on +the spot. + +I meant no resistance, but I hesitated a moment in making answer. + +"We're all armed," continued the speaker, who seemed to have some +authority over the others. "It is useless for you to resist--you had +better give up!" + +"Damn them!" cried another and a rougher voice; "don't waste talk on +them. Let's fire the tree, and smoke 'em out; that moss 'll burn, I +reckon!" + +I recognised the voice that uttered this inhuman suggestion. It came +from Bully Bill. + +"I have no intention of making resistance," I called out in reply to the +first speaker. "I am ready to go with you. I have committed no crime. +For what I have done I am ready to answer to the laws." + +"You shall answer to _us_," replied one who had not before spoken; "_we_ +are the laws here." + +There was an ambiguity in this speech that I liked not; but there was no +further parley. The skiffs and canoes had suddenly closed in around the +tree. A dozen muzzles of pistols and rifles were pointed at me, and a +dozen voices commanded the negro and myself to get into one of the +boats. + +From the fierce, determined glances of these rough men, I saw it was +death or obedience. + +I turned to bid adieu to Aurore, who had rushed out of the tree-cave, +and stood near me weeping. + +As I faced round, several men sprang upon the buttress; and, seizing me +from behind, held me in their united grasp. Then drawing my arms across +my back, tied them fast with a rope. + +I could just speak one parting word with Aurore, who, no longer in +tears, stood regarding my captors with a look of scornful indignation. +As they led me unresistingly into the boat, her high spirit gave way to +words, and she cried out in a voice of scorn-- + +"Cowards! cowards! Not one of you dare meet him in a fair field--no, +not one of you!" + +The lofty spirit of my betrothed echoed mine, and gave me proof of her +love. I was pleased with it, and could have applauded; but my mortified +captors gave me no time to reply; for the next moment the pirogue in +which I had been placed shot out through the branches, and floated on +the open water of the lake. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY SIX. + +A TERRIBLE FATE. + +I saw no more of Aurore. Neither was the black brought along. I could +gather from the conversation of my captors, that they were to be taken +in one of the skiffs that had stayed behind--that they were to be landed +at a different point from that to which we were steering. I could +gather, too, that the poor Bambarra was doomed to a terrible +punishment--the same he already dreaded--the losing of an arm! + +I was pained at such a thought, but still more by the rude jests I had +now to listen to. My betrothed and myself were reviled with a +disgusting coarseness, which I cannot repeat. + +I made no attempt to defend either her or myself. I did not even reply. +I sat with my eyes bent gloomily upon the water; and it was a sort of +relict to me when the pirogue again passed in among the trunks of the +cypress-trees, and their dark shadow half concealed my face from the +view of my captors. I was brought back to the landing by the old +tree-trunk. + +On nearing this I saw that a crowd of men awaited us on the shore; and +among them I recognised the ferocious Ruffin, with his arm slung in his +red kerchief, bandaged and bloody. He was standing up with the rest. + +"Thank Heaven! I have not killed him!" was my mental ejaculation. "So +much the less have I to answer for." + +The canoes and skiffs--with the exception of that which carried Aurore +and the black--had all arrived at this point, and my captors were +landing. In all there were some thirty or forty men, with a proportion +of half-grown boys. Most of them were armed with either pistols or +rifles. Under the grey gloom of the trees, they presented a picturesque +tableau; but at that moment my feelings were not attuned to enjoy it. + +I was landed among the rest; and with two armed men, one before and +another immediately at my back, I was marched off through the woods. +The crowd accompanied us, some in the advance, some behind, while others +walked alongside. These were the boys and the more brutal of the men +who occasionally taunted me with rude speech. + +I might have lost patience and grown angry, had that served me; but I +knew it would only give pleasure to my tormentors, without bettering my +condition. I therefore observed silence, and kept my eyes averted or +turned upon the ground. + +We passed on rapidly--as fast as the crowd could make way through the +bushes--and I was glad of this. I presumed I was about to be conducted +before a magistrate, or "justice of the peace," as there called. Well, +thought I. Under legal authority, and in the keeping of the officers, I +should be protected from the gibes and insults that were being showered +upon me. Everything short of personal violence was offered; and there +were some that seemed sufficiently disposed even for this. + +I saw the forest opening in front. I supposed we had gone by some +shorter way to the clearings. It was not so, for the next moment we +emerged into the glade. Again the glade! + +Here my captors came to a halt; and now in the open light I had an +opportunity to know who they were. At a glance I saw that I was in the +hands of a desperate crowd. + +Gayarre himself was in their midst, and beside him his own overseer, and +the negro-trader, and the brutal Larkin. With these were some +half-dozen Creole-Frenchmen of the poorer class of _proprietaires_, +weavers of cottonade, or small planters. The rest of the mob was +composed of the very scum of the settlement--the drunken boatmen whom I +had used to see gossiping in front of the "groceries," and other +dissipated rowdies of the place. Not one respectable planter appeared +upon the ground--not one respectable man! + +For what had they stopped in the glade? I was impatient to be taken +before the justice, and chafed at the delay. + +"Why am I detained here?" I asked in a tone of anger. + +"Ho, mister!" replied one; "don't be in such a hell of a hurry! You'll +find out soon enough, I reckon." + +"I protest against this," I continued. "I insist upon being taken +before the justice." + +"An' so ye will, damn you! You ain't got far to go. _The justice is +hyar_." + +"Who? where?" I inquired, under the impression that a magistrate was +upon the ground. I had heard of wood-choppers acting as justices of the +peace--in fact, had met with one or two of them--and among the rude +forms that surrounded me there might be one of these. "Where is the +justice?" I demanded. "Oh, he's about--never you fear!" replied one. +"Whar's the justice?" shouted another. "Ay, whar's the justice?--whar +are ye, judge?" cried a third, as if appealing to some one in the crowd. +"Come on hyar, judge!" he added. "Come along!--hyar's a fellar wants +to see you!" + +I really thought the man was in earnest. I really believed there was +such an individual in the mob. The only impression made upon me was +astonishment at this rudeness towards the magisterial representative of +the law. + +My misconception was short-lived, for at this moment Ruffin--the +bandaged and bloody Ruffin--came close up to me; and, after scowling +upon me with his fierce, bloodshot eyes, bent forward until his lips +almost touched my face, and then hissed out-- + +"Perhaps, Mister nigger-stealer, you've niver heerd ov _Justice Lynch_?" + +A thrill of horror run through my veins. The fearful conviction flashed +before my mind that _they_ were _going to Lynch me_! + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY SEVEN. + +THE SENTENCE OF JUDGE LYNCH. + +An undefined suspicion of something of this sort had already crossed my +thoughts. I remembered the reply made from the boats, "You shall answer +to _us_. _We_ are the law." I had heard some mysterious innuendoes as +we passed through the woods--I had noticed too, that on our arrival in +the glade, we found those who had gone in the advance halted there, as +if waiting for the others to come up; and I could not comprehend why we +had stopped there at all. + +I now saw that the men of the party were drawing to one side, and +forming a sort of irregular ring, with that peculiar air of solemnity +that bespeaks some serious business. It was only the boys, and some +negroes--for these, too, had taken part in our capture--who remained +near me. Ruffin had simply approached to gratify his revengeful +feelings by tantalising me. + +All these appearances had aroused wild suspicions within me, but up to +that moment they had assumed no definite form. I had even endeavoured +to keep back such a suspicion, under the vague belief, that by the very +imagination of it, I might in some way aid in bringing it about! + +It was no longer suspicion. It was now conviction. They were going to +Lynch me! + +The significant interrogatory, on account of the manner in which it was +put, was hailed by the boys with a shout of laughter. Ruffin +continued-- + +"No; I guess you han't heerd ov that ar justice, since yur a stranger in +these parts, an' a Britisher. You han't got sich a one among yur +bigwigs, I reckin. He's the fellar that ain't a-goin' to keep you long +in Chancery. No, by God! he'll do yur business in double-quick time. +Hell and scissors! yu'll see if he don't." + +Throughout all this speech the brutal fellow taunted me with gestures as +well as words--drawing from his auditory repeated bursts of laughter. + +So provoked was I that, had I not been fast bound, I should have sprung +upon him; but, bound as I was, and vulgar brute as was this adversary, I +could not hold my tongue. + +"Were I free, you ruffian, you would not dare taunt me thus. At all +events _you_ have come off but second best. I've crippled _you_ for +life; though it don't matter much, seeing what a clumsy use you make of +a rifle." + +This speech produced a terrible effect upon the brute--the more so that +the boys now laughed at _him_. These boys were not all bad. They were +incensed against me as an Abolitionist--or "nigger-stealer," as they +phrased it--and, under the countenance and guidance of their elders, +their worst passions were now at play; but for all that, they were not +essentially wicked. They were rough backwoods' boys, and the spirit of +my retort pleased them. After that they held back from jeering me. + +Not so with Ruffin, who now broke forth into a string of vindictive +oaths and menaces, and appeared as if about to grapple me with his one +remaining hand. At this moment he was called off by the men, who needed +him in the "caucus;" and, after shaking his fist in my face, and +uttering a parting imprecation, he left me. + +I was for some minutes kept in suspense. I could not tell what this +dread council were debating, or what they meant to do with me--though I +now felt quite certain that they did not intend taking me before any +magistrate. From frequent phrases that reached my ears, such as, "flog +the scoundrel", "tar and feathers," I began to conjecture that some such +punishment awaited me. To my astonishment, however, I found, upon +listening a while, that a number of my judges were actually opposed to +these punishments as being too mild! Some declared openly, that +_nothing but my life could satisfy the outraged laws_! + +The _majority_ took this view of the case; and it was to add to their +strength that Ruffin had been summoned! + +A feeling of terrible fear crept over me--say rather a feeling of +horror--but it was only complete when the ring of men suddenly broke up, +and I saw two of their number lay hold of a rope, and commence reeving +it over the limb of a gum-tree that stood by the edge of the glade. + +There had been a trial and a sentence too. Even Judge Lynch has his +formality. + +When the rope was adjusted, one of the men--the negro-trader it was-- +approached me; and in a sort of rude paraphrase of a judge, summed up +and pronounced the sentence! + +I had outraged the laws; I had committed two capital crimes. I had +stolen slaves, and endeavoured to take away the life of a +fellow-creature. A jury of twelve men had tried--and found me guilty; +and sentenced me to death by hanging. Even this was not permitted to go +forth in an informal manner. The very phraseology was adopted. I was +to be hung by the neck until I should be dead--dead! + +You will deem this relation exaggerated and improbable. You will think +that I am sporting with you. You will not believe that such lawlessness +can exist in a Christian--a civilised land. You will fancy that these +men were sporting with _me_, and that in the end they did not seriously +intend to _hang me_. + +I cannot help it if you think so; but I solemnly declare that such was +their design: and I felt as certain at that moment that they intended to +have hanged me, as I now feel that I was not hanged! + +Believe it or not, you must remember that I would not have been the +first victim by many, and that thought was vividly before my mind at the +time. + +Along with it, there was the rope--there the tree--there stood my judges +before me. Their looks alone might have produced conviction. There was +not a ray of mercy to be seen. + +At that awful moment I knew not what I said or how I acted. + +I remember only that my fears were somewhat modified by my indignation. +That I protested, menaced, swore--that my ruthless judges answered me +with mockery. + +They were actually proceeding to put the sentence into execution--and +had already carried me across to the foot of the tree--when the sound of +trampling hoofs fell upon our ears, and the next moment a party of +horsemen galloped into the glade. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY EIGHT. + +IN THE HANDS OF THE SHERIFF. + +At sight of these horsemen my heart leaped with joy, for among the +foremost I beheld the calm, resolute face of Edward Reigart. Behind him +rode the sheriff of the parish, followed by a "posse" of about a dozen +men--among whom I recognised several of the most respectable planters of +the neighbourhood. Every one of the party was armed either with a rifle +or pistols; and the manner in which they rode forward upon the ground, +showed that they had come in great haste, and with a determined purpose. + +I say my heart leaped with joy. An actual criminal standing upon the +platform of the gallows could not have been more joyed at sight of the +messenger that brought him reprieve or pardon. In the new-comers I +recognised friends: in their countenances I read rescue. I was not +displeased, therefore, when the sheriff, dismounting, advanced to my +side, and placing his hand upon my shoulder, told me I was his prisoner +"in the name of the law." Though brusquely done, and apparently with a +degree of rudeness, I was not displeased either by the act or the +manner. The latter was plainly assumed for a purpose; and in the act +itself I hailed the salvation of my life. I felt like a rescued man. + +The proceeding did not equally content my former judges, who loudly +murmured their dissatisfaction. They alleged that I had already been +tried by a jury of _twelve free citizens_--that I had been found guilty +of nigger-stealing--that I had stolen _two niggers_--that I had resisted +when pursued, and had "wownded" one of my pursuers; and that, as all +this had been "clarly made out," they couldn't see what more was wanted +to establish my guilt, and that I ought to be _hung_ on the spot, +without further loss of time. + +The sheriff replied that such a course would be illegal; that the +majesty of the law must be respected; that if I was guilty of the crimes +alleged against me, the law would most certainly measure out full +punishment to me; but that I must first be brought before a justice, and +the charge legally and formally made out; and, finally, expressed his +intention to take me before Justice Claiborne, the magistrate of the +district. + +An angry altercation ensued between the mob and the sheriffs party--in +which but slight show of respect was paid to the high executive--and for +some time I was actually in dread that the ruffians would carry their +point. But an American sheriff is entirely a different sort of +character from the idle gentleman who fills that office in an English +county. The former is, in nine cases out of ten, a man of proved +courage and action; and Sheriff Hickman, with whom my _quasi_ judges had +to deal, was no exception to this rule. His "posse," moreover, +hurriedly collected by my friend Reigart, chanced to have among their +number several men of a similar stamp. Reigart himself, though a man of +peace, was well-known to possess a cool and determined spirit; and there +was the landlord of my hotel, and several of the planters who +accompanied several of the young planters, behaved in a handsome manner; +and the law prevailed. + +Yes! thank Heaven and half-a-dozen noble men, the law prevailed--else I +should never have gone out of that glade alive! + +Justice Lynch had to give way to Justice Claiborne, and a respite was +obtained from the cruel verdict of the former. The victorious sheriff +and his party bore me off in their midst. + +But though my ferocious judges had yielded for the present, it was not +certain that they would not still attempt to rescue me from the hands of +the law. To prevent this, the sheriff mounted me upon a horse--he +himself riding upon one side, while an assistant of tried courage took +the opposite. Reigart and the planters kept close to me before and +behind; while the shouting, blaspheming mob followed both on horseback +and afoot. In this way we passed through the woods, across the fields, +along the road leading into Bringiers, and then to the residence of +"Squire" Claiborne--Justice of the Peace for that district. + +Attached to his dwelling was a large room or office where the Squire was +used to administer the magisterial law of the land. It was entered by a +separate door from the house itself, and had no particular marks about +it to denote that it was a hall of justice, beyond the fact that it was +furnished with a bench or two to serve as seats, and a small desk or +rostrum in one corner. + +At this desk the Squire was in the habit of settling petty disputes, +administering affidavits at a quarter of a dollar each, and arranging +other small civic matters. But oftener was his magisterial function +employed in sentencing the mutinous "darkie" to his due the sheriff-- +sterling men, who were lovers of the law and lovers of fair play as +well--and those, armed to the teeth, would have laid down their lives on +the spot in defence of the sheriff and his demand. True, they were in +the minority in point of numbers; but they had the law upon their side, +and that gave them strength. + +There was one point in my favour above all others, and that was, my +accusers chanced to be unpopular men. Gayarre, as already stated, +although professing a high standard of morality, was not esteemed by the +neighbouring planters--particularly by those of American origin. The +others most forward against me were known to be secretly instigated by +the lawyer. As to Ruffin, whom I had "wounded," those upon the ground +had heard the crack of his rifle, and knew that _he had fired first_. +In their calmer moments my resistance would have been deemed perfectly +justifiable--so far as that individual was concerned. + +Had the circumstances been different--had the "two niggers" I had +_stolen_ belonged to a popular planter, and not to Monsieur Dominique +Gayarre--had Ruffin been a respectable citizen, instead of the +dissipated half outlaw that he was--had there not been a suspicion in +the minds of many present that it was _not_ a case of ordinary +_nigger-stealing_, then indeed might it have gone ill with me, in spite +of the sheriff and his party. + +Even as it was, a long and angry altercation ensued--loud words, oaths, +and gestures of menace, were freely exchanged--and both rifles and +pistols were cocked and firmly grasped before the discussion ended. + +But the brave sheriff remained resolute; Reigart acted a most courageous +part; my _ci-devant_ host, and proportion of stripes on the complaint of +a conscientious master--for, after all, such theoretical protection does +the poor slave enjoy. + +Into this room, then, was I hurried by the sheriff and his assistants-- +the mob rushing in after, until every available space was occupied. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTY NINE. + +THE CRISIS. + +No doubt a messenger had preceded us, for we found Squire Claiborne in +his chair of office, ready to hear the case. In the tall, thin old man, +with white hair and dignified aspect, I recognised a fit representative +of justice--one of those venerable magistrates, who command respect not +only by virtue of age and office, but from the dignity of their personal +character. In spite of the noisy rabble that surrounded me, I read in +the serene, firm look of the magistrate the determination to show fair +play. + +I was no longer uneasy. On the way, Reigart had told me to be of good +cheer. He had whispered something about "strange developments to be +made;" but I had not fully heard him, and was at a loss to comprehend +what he meant. In the hurry and crush I had found no opportunity for an +explanation. + +"Keep up your spirits!" said he, as he pushed his horse alongside me. +"Don't have any fear about the result. It's rather an odd affair, and +will have an odd ending--rather unexpected for somebody, I should say-- +ha! ha! ha!" + +Reigart actually laughed aloud, and appeared to be in high glee! What +could such conduct mean? + +I was not permitted to know, for at that moment the sheriff, in a high +tone of authority, commanded that no one should "hold communication with +the prisoner;" and my friend and I were abruptly separated. Strange, I +did not dislike the sheriff for this! I had a secret belief that his +manner--apparently somewhat hostile to me--was assumed for a purpose. +The mob required conciliation; and all this _brusquerie_ was a bit of +management on the part of Sheriff Hickman. + +On arriving before Justice Claiborne, it required all the authority of +both sheriff and justice to obtain silence. A partial lull, however, +enabled the latter to proceed with the case. + +"Now, gentlemen!" said he, speaking in a firm, magisterial tone, "I am +ready to hear the charge against this young man. Of what is he accused, +Colonel Hickman?" inquired the justice, turning to the sheriff. + +"Of negro-stealing, I believe," replied the latter. + +"Who prefers the charge?" + +"Dominique Gayarre," replied a voice from the crowd, which I recognised +as that of Gayarre himself. + +"Is Monsieur Gayarre present?" inquired the justice. + +The voice again replied in the affirmative, and the fox-like face of the +avocat now presented itself in front of the rostrum. + +"Monsieur Dominique Gayarre," said the magistrate, recognising him, +"what is the charge you bring against the prisoner? State it in full +and upon oath." + +Gayarre having gone through the formula of the oath, proceeded with his +plaint in true lawyer style. + +I need not follow the circumlocution of legal phraseology. Suffice it +to say, that there were several counts in his indictment. + +I was first accused of having endeavoured to instigate to mutiny and +revolt the slaves of the plantation Besancon, by having interfered to +prevent one of their number from receiving his _just_ punishment! +Secondly, I had caused another of these to strike down his overseer; and +afterwards had induced him to run away to the woods, and aided him in so +doing! This was the slave Gabriel, who had just that day been captured +in my company. Thirdly and Gayarre now came to the cream of his +accusation. + +"Thirdly," continued he, "I accuse this person of having entered my +house on the night of October the 18th, and having stolen therefrom the +female slave Aurore Besancon." + +"It is false!" cried a voice, interrupting him. "It is false! _Aurore +Besancon_ is _not a slave_!" + +Gayarre started, as though some one had thrust a knife into him. + +"Who says that?" he demanded, though with a voice that evidently +faltered. + +"I!" replied the voice; and at the same instant a young man leaped upon +one of the benches, and stood with his head overtopping the crowd. It +was D'Hauteville! + +"I say it!" he repeated, in the same firm tone. "_Aurore Besancon is no +slave, but a free Quadroon_! Here, Justice Claiborne," continued +D'Hauteville, "do me the favour to read this document!" At the same +time the speaker handed a folded parchment across the room. + +The sheriff passed it to the magistrate, who opened it and read aloud. + +It proved to be the "free papers" of Aurore the Quadroon--the +certificate of her manumission--regularly signed and attested by her +master, Auguste Besancon, and left by him in his will. + +The astonishment was extreme--so much so that the crowd seemed +petrified, and preserved silence. Their feelings were on the turn. + +The effect produced upon Gayarre was visible to all. He seemed covered +with confusion. In his embarrassment he faltered out-- + +"I protest against this--that paper has been stolen from my bureau, +and--" + +"So much the better, Monsieur Gayarre!" said D'Hauteville, again +interrupting him; "so much the better! You confess to its being stolen, +and therefore you confess to its being genuine. Now, sir, having this +document in your possession, and knowing its contents, how could you +claim Aurore Besancon as your slave?" + +Gayarre was confounded. His cadaverous face became of a white, sickly +hue; and his habitual look of malice rapidly gave way to an expression +of terror. He appeared as if he wanted to be gone; and already crouched +behind the taller men who stood around him. + +"Stop, Monsieur Gayarre!" continued the inexorable D'Hauteville, "I have +not done with you yet. Here, Justice Claiborne! I have another +document that may interest you. Will you have the goodness to give it +your attention?" + +Saying this, the speaker held out a second folded parchment, which was +handed to the magistrate--who, as before, opened the document and read +it aloud. + +This was a codicil to the will of Auguste Besancon, by which the sum of +fifty thousand dollars in bank stock was bequeathed to his daughter, +Eugenie Besancon, to be paid to her upon the day on which she should be +of age by the joint executors of the estate--Monsieur Dominique Gayarre +and Antoine Lereux--and these executors were instructed not to make +known to the recipient the existence of this sum in her favour, until +the very day of its payment. + +"Now, Monsieur Dominique Gayarre!" continued D'Hauteville, as soon as +the reading was finished, "I charge you with the embezzlement of this +fifty thousand dollars, with various other sums--of which more +hereafter. I charge you with having concealed the existence of this +money--of having withheld it from the assets of the estate Besancon--of +having appropriated it to your own use!" + +"This is a serious charge," said Justice Claiborne, evidently impressed +with its truth, and prepared to entertain it. "Your name, sir, if you +please?" continued he, interrogating D'Hauteville, in a mild tone of +voice. + +It was the first time I had seen D'Hauteville in the full light of day. +All that had yet passed between us had taken place either in the +darkness of night or by the light of lamps. That morning alone had we +been together for a few minutes by daylight; but even then it was under +the sombre shadow of the woods--where I could have but a faint view of +his features. + +Now that he stood in the light of the open window, I had a full, clear +view of his face. The resemblance to some one I had seen before again +impressed me. It grew stronger as I gazed; and before the magistrate's +interrogatory had received its reply, the shock of my astonishment had +passed. + +"Your name, sir, if you please?" repeated the justice. + +"_Eugenie Besancon_!" + +At the same instant the hat was pulled off--the black curls were drawn +aside--and the fair, golden tresses of the beautiful Creole exhibited to +the view. + +A loud huzza broke out--in which all joined, excepting Gayarre and his +two or three ruffian adherents. I felt that I was free. + +The conditions had suddenly changed, and the plaintiff had taken the +place of the defendant. Even before the excitement had quieted down, I +saw the sheriff, at the instigation of Reigart and others, stride +forward to Gayarre, and placing his hand upon the shoulder of the +latter, arrest him as his prisoner. + +"It is false!" cried Gayarre; "a plot--a damnable plot! These documents +are forgeries! the signatures are false--false!" + +"Not so, Monsieur Gayarre," said the justice, interrupting him. "Those +documents are not forgeries. This is the handwriting of Auguste +Besancon. I knew him well. This is his signature--I could myself swear +to it." + +"And I!" responded a voice, in a deep solemn tone, which drew the +attention of all. + +The transformation of Eugene D'Hauteville to Eugenie Besancon had +astonished the crowd; but a greater surprise awaited them in the +resurrection of the _steward Antoine_! + +Reader! my story is ended. Here upon our little drama must the curtain +drop. I might offer you other tableaux to illustrate the after history +of our characters, but a slight summary must suffice. Your fancy will +supply the details. + +It will glad you to know, then, that Eugenie Besancon recovered the +whole of her property--which was soon restored to its flourishing +condition under the faithful stewardship of Antoine. + +Alas! there was that that could never be restored--the young cheerful +heart--the buoyant spirit--the virgin love! + +But do not imagine that Eugenie Besancon yielded to despair--that she +was ever after the victim of that unhappy passion. No--hers was a +mighty will; and all its energies were employed to pluck the fatal arrow +from her heart. + +Time and a virtuous life have much power; but far more effective was +that sympathy of the object beloved--that _pity for love_--which to her +was fully accorded. + +Her heart's young hope was crushed--her gay spirit shrouded--but there +are other joys in life besides the play of the passions; and, it may be, +the path of love is not the true road to happiness. Oh! that I could +believe this! Oh! that I could reason myself into the belief, that that +calm and unruffled mien--that soft sweet smile were the tokens of a +heart at rest. Alas! I cannot. Fate will have its victims. Poor +Eugenie! God be merciful to thee! Oh, that I could steep thy heart in +the waters of Lethe! + +And Reigart? You, reader, will be glad to know that the good doctor +prospered--prospered until he was enabled to lay aside his lancet, and +become a grandee planter--nay more, a distinguished legislator,--one of +those to whom belongs the credit of having modelled the present system +of Louisiana law--the most advanced code in the civilised world. + +You will be glad to learn that Scipio, with his Chloe and the "leetle +Chloe," were brought back to their old and now happy home--that the +snake-charmer still retained his brawny arms, and never afterwards had +occasion to seek refuge in his tree-cavern. + +You will not be grieved to know, that Gayarre passed several years of +his after-life in the palace-prison of Baton Rouge, and then disappeared +altogether from the scene. It was said that under a changed name he +returned to France, his native country. His conviction was easy. +Antoine had long suspected him of a design to plunder their joint ward, +and had determined to put him to the proof. The raft of chairs had +floated after all; and by the help of these the faithful steward had +gained the shore, far down the river. No one knew of his escape; and +the idea occurred to this strange old man to remain for a while _en +perdu_--a silent spectator of the conduct of Monsieur Dominique. No +sooner did Gayarre believe him gone, than the latter advanced boldly +upon his purpose, and hurried events to the described crisis. It was +just what Antoine had expected; and acting himself as the accuser, the +conviction of the avocat was easy and certain. A sentence of five years +to the State Penitentiary wound up Gayarre's connexion with the +characters of our story. + +It will scarce grieve you to know that "Bully Bill" experienced a +somewhat similar fate--that Ruffin, the man-hunter, was drowned by a +sudden rising of the swamp--and that the "nigger-trader" afterwards +became a "nigger-stealer;" and for that crime was sentenced at the court +of Judge Lynch to the punishment of "tar and feathers." + +The "sportsmen," Chorley and Hatcher, I never saw again--though their +future is not unknown to me. Chorley--the brave and accomplished, but +wicked Chorley--was killed in a duel by a Creole of New Orleans, with +whom he had quarrelled at play. + +Hatcher's bank "got broke" soon after, and a series of ill-fortune at +length reduced him to the condition of a race-course thimble-rig, and +small sharper in general. + +The pork-merchant I met many years afterward, as a successful _monte_ +dealer in the "Halls of the Montezumas." Thither he had gone,--a +camp-follower of the American army--and had accumulated an enormous +fortune by keeping a gambling-table for the officers. He did not live +long to enjoy his evil gains. The "_vomito prieto_" caught him at Vera +Cruz; and his dust is now mingled with the sands of that dreary shore. + +Thus, reader, it has been my happy fortune to record _poetical justice_ +to the various characters that have figured in the pages of our history. + +I hear you exclaim, that two have been forgotten, the hero and heroine? + +Ah! no--not forgotten. Would you have me paint the ceremony--the pomp +and splendour--the ribbons and rosettes--the after-scenes of perfect +bliss? + +Hymen, forbid! All these must be left to your fancy, if your fancy +deign to act. But the interest of a "lover's adventures" usually ends +with the consummation of his hopes--not even always extending to the +altar--and you, reader, will scarce be curious to lift the curtain, that +veils the tranquil after-life of myself and my beautiful Quadroon. + +NOTE TO THE PREFACE. + +After what has been stated in the Preface, it will scarce be necessary +to say that the _names_ and some of the _places_ mentioned in this book +are fictitious. Some of the scenes, and many of the characters that +figure in these pages, are _real_, and there are those living who will +recognise them. + +The book is "founded" upon an actual experience. It was written many +years ago, and would have been then published, but for the interference +of a well-known work, which treated of similar scenes and subjects. +That work appeared just as the "Quadroon" was about to be put to press; +and the author of the the latter, not willing to risk the chances of +being considered an imitator had determined on keeping the "Quadroon" +from the public. + +Circumstances have ruled it otherwise; and having re-written some parts +of the work, he now presents it to the reader as a painting--somewhat +coarse and crude, perhaps--of life in Louisiana. + +The author disclaims all "intention." The book has been written neither +to aid the Abolitionist nor glorify the planter. The author does not +believe that by such means he could benefit the slave, else he would not +fear to avow it. On the other hand, he is too true a Republican, to be +the instrument that would add one drop to the "bad blood" which, +unfortunately for the cause of human freedom, has already arisen between +"North" and "South." No; he will be the last man to aid European +despots in this, their dearest wish and desperate hope. + +_London, July_, 1856. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Quadroon, by Mayne Reid + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE QUADROON *** + +***** This file should be named 27913.txt or 27913.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/9/1/27913/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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