He has enlisted their attention, all eyes are set upon him, every voice calls out to know his process. He begs they will drink round; they fill their gla.s.ses, and demand that he will continue the interest of his story.
"My plans are worth a fortune to those who follow the business," he says, giving his gla.s.s a twirl as he sets it upon the table, and commences--
"Born "cute, you see; trade comes natural. Afore a free "un don"t know it, I has him bonded and tucked off for eight or nine hundred dollars, slap-up, cash and all. And then, ye sees, it"s worth somethin" in knowin" who to sell such criturs too-so that the brute don"t git a chance to talk about it without getting his back troubled. And then, it requires as much knowin" as a senator"s got just to fix things as smooth so n.o.body won"t know it; and just like ye can jingle the coin in yer pocket, for the n.i.g.g.e.r, what everybody"s wonderin" where he can be gone to. I tell ye what, it takes some stameny to keep the price of a prime feller in your pocket, and wonder along with the rest where the rascal can be. If you"d just see Bob Osmand doe it up, you"d think his face was made for a methodist deacon in camp meeting-time. The way he comes it when he wants to prove a free n.i.g.g.e.r"s a runaway, would beat all the disciples of Blackstone between here and old Kentuck. And then, Bob"s any sort of a gentleman, what you don"t get in town every day, and wouldn"t make a bad senator, if he"d bin in Congress when the compromise was settled upon,--"cos he can reason right into just nothin" at all. Ye see it ain"t the feelings that makes a feller a gentleman in our business, it"s knowing the human natur o" things; how to be a statesman, when ye meets the like, how to be a gentleman, and talk polite things, and sich like; how to be a jolly fellow, an" put the tall sayings into the things of life; and when ye gets among the lawyers, to know all about the pintes of the law, and how to cut off the corners, so they"ll think ye"re bin a parish judge. And then, when ye comes before the squire, just to talk dignity to him-tell him where the law is what he don"t seem to comprehend. You"ve got to make a right good feller of the squire by sticking a fee under his vest-pocket when he don"t obsarve it. And then, ye know, when ye make the squire a right good feller, you must keep him to the point; and when there"s any swarin" to be done, he"s just as easily satisfied as the law. It"s all business, you see; and thar"s just the same kind a thing in it; because profit rules principle, and puts a right smart chance o" business into their hands without troubling their consciences. But then, Bob ain"t got the cunnin" in him like I-nor he can"t "rope-in on the sly,"-knock down and drag out, and just tell a whole possee to come on, as I do.
And that"s what ye don"t seem to come at, Graspum," said Romescos, again filling his gla.s.s, and drawing a long black pipe from his pocket prepares it for a smoke.
"Now, the trouble is, you all think you can carry out these matters on your own hook; but it"s no go, and you"ll find it so. It"s a scheme that must have larger means at the head of it; and each man"s rights must be stipulated, and paid according to his own enterprise.
But this discontent is monstrous and injurious, and if continued will prove unprofitable. You see, fellers, you"ve no responsibility, and my position is your protection, and if you don"t get rich you must not charge the blame to me; and then just see how you live now to what you did when ranging the piny woods and catching a stray n.i.g.g.e.r here and there, what didn"t hardly pay dog money. There"s a good deal in the sport of the thing, too; and ye know it amounts to a good deal to do the gentleman and a.s.sociate with big folks, who puts the business into one"s hands, by finding out who"s got lean purses and prime n.i.g.g.e.rs," rejoined Graspum, very coolly.
"Ah, yes; that"s the way ye comes it over these haristocrats, by doin" the modest. Now, Graspum, "tain"t no trouble to leak a sap like that Lorenzo, and make his friends stand the blunt after we"ve roped him into your fixings," replied Romescos.
"No, no; not a bit of it," resounded several voices. "We do all the dragwork with the n.i.g.g.e.rs, and Graspum gets the tin."
"But he pays for the drink. Come, none of this bickering; we must agree upon business, and do the thing up brown under the old system," interrupted another.
"Hold! close that bread trap o" yourn," Romescos shouts at the top of his voice. "You"re only a green croaker from the piny woods, where gophers crawl independent; you ain"t seen life on the borders of Texas. Fellers, I can whip any man in the crowd,--can maker the best stump speech, can bring up the best logic; and can prove that the best frightenin" man is the best man in the n.i.g.g.e.r business.
Now, if you wants a brief sketch of this child"s history, ye can have it." Here Romescos entered into an interesting account of himself. He was the descendant of a good family, living in the city of Charleston; his parents, when a youth, had encouraged his propensities for bravery. Without protecting them with that medium of education which a.s.similates courage with gentlemanly conduct, carrying out the n.o.bler impulses of our nature, they allowed him to roam in that sphere which produces its ruffians. At the age of fifteen he entered a counting-room, when his quick mercurial temperament soon rendered him expert at its minor functions. Three years had hardly elapsed when, in a moment of pa.s.sion, he drew his dirk, (a weapon he always carried) and, in making a plunge at his antagonist, inflicted a wound in the breast of a near friend. The wound was deep, and proved fatal. For this he was arraigned before a jury, tried for his life. He proved the accident by an existing friendship-he was honourably acquitted. His employer, after reproaching him for his proceedings, again admitted him into his employment. Such, however, was his inclination to display the desperado, that before the expiration of another year he killed a negro, shot two b.a.l.l.s at one of his fellows, one of which was well nigh proving fatal, and left the state. His recklessness, his previous acts of malignity, his want of position, all left him little hope of escaping the confines of a prison. Fleeing to parts unknown, his absence relieved the neighbourhood of a responsibility.
For a time, he roamed among farmers and drovers in the mountains of Tennessee; again he did menial labour, often forced to the direst necessity to live. One day, when nearly famished, he met a slave-driver, conducting his coffle towards the Mississippi, to whom he proffered his services. The coa.r.s.e driver readily accepted them; they proceeded on together, and it was not long before they found themselves fitting companions. The one was desperate-the other traded in desperation. An ardent nature, full of courage and adventure, was a valuable acquisition to the dealer, who found that he had enlisted a youngster capable of relieving him of inflicting that cruelty so necessary to his profession. With a pa.s.sion for inflicting torture, this youth could now gratify it upon those unfortunate beings of merchandise who were being driven to the shambles: he could gloat in the exercise of those natural propensities which made the infliction of pain a pleasant recreation. In the trade of human flesh all these cruel traits became valuable; they enabled him to demand a good price for his services. Initiated in all the mysteries of the trade, he was soon entrusted with gangs of very considerable extent; then he made purchases, laid plans to entrap free negroes, performed the various intricacies of procuring affidavits with which to make slave property out of free flesh. Nature was nature, and what was hard in him soon became harder; he could crib "doubtful white stuff" that was a nuisance among folks, and sell it for something he could put in his pocket. In this way Romescos acc.u.mulated several hundred dollars; but avarice increased, and with it his ferocity. It belonged to the trade, a trade of wanton depravity. He became the terror of those who a.s.sumed to look upon a negro"s sufferings with sympathy, scoffing at the finer feelings of mankind. Twice had his rapacity been let loose-twice had it nearly brought him to the gallows, or to the tribunal of Judge Lynch. And now, when completely inured in the traffic of human flesh,--that traffic which transposes man into a demon, his progress is checked for a while by a false step.
It was this; and this only to the deep disgrace of the freest and happiest country on earth. A poor orphan girl, like many of her cla.s.s in our hospitable slave world, had been a mere cast-off upon the community. She knew nothing of the world, was ignorant, could neither read nor write,--something quite common in the south, but seldom known in New England. Thus she became the a.s.sociate of depraved negroes, and again, served Romescos as a victim. Not content with this, after becoming tired of her, he secured her in the slave-pen of one of his fellow traders. Here he kept her for several weeks, closely confined, feeding her with grits. Eventually "running" her to Vicksburg, he found an accomplice to sign a bill of sale, by which he sold her to a notorious planter, who carried her into the interior. The wretched girl had qualities which the planter saw might, with a little care, be made extremely valuable in the New Orleans market,--one was natural beauty. She was not suitable property for the agricultural department of either a cotton or sugar plantation, nor was she "the stripe" to increase prime stock; hence she must be prepared for the general market. When qualified according to what the planter knew would suit the fancy market, she was conveyed to New Orleans, a piece of property bright as the very brightest, very handsome, not very intelligent,--just suited to the wants of bidders.
Here, at the shambles in the crescent city, she remained guarded, and for several weeks was not allowed to go beyond the door-sill; after which a sale was effected of her with the keeper of a brothel, for the good price of thirteen hundred dollars. In this sink of iniquity she remained nearly two years. Fearing the ulterior consequences, she dared not a.s.sert her rights to freedom, she dared not say she was born free in a free country. Her disappearance from the village in which she had been reared caused some excitement; but it soon reduced itself to a very trifling affair. Indeed, white trash like this was considered little else than rubbish, not worth bringing up respectably. And while suspicion pointed to Romescos, as the person who could account for her mysterious disappearance, such was the fear of his revenge that no one dared be the accuser.
Quietly matters rested, poor virtue was mean merchandise, had its value, could be bought and sold-could be turned to various uses, except enlisting the sympathies of those who study it as a market commodity. A few days pa.s.sed and all was hushed; no one enquired about the poor orphan, Martha Johnson. In the hands of her creole owner, who held her as a price for licentious purposes, she a.s.sociated with gentlemen of polite manners-of wealth and position.
Even this, though profane, had advantages, which she employed for the best of purposes; she learned to read and to write,--to a.s.similate her feelings with those of a higher cla.s.s. Society had degraded her, she had not degraded herself. One night, as the promiscuous company gathered into the drawing-room, she recognised a young man from her native village; the familiar face inspired her with joy, her heart leaped with gladness; he had befriended her poor mother-she knew he had kind feelings, and would be her friend once her story was told. The moments pa.s.sed painfully; she watched him restlessly through the dance,--sat at his side. Still he did not recognise her,--toilet had changed her for another being; but she had courted self-respect rather than yielded to degradation. Again she made signs to attract his attention; she pa.s.sed and repa.s.sed him, and failed. Have I thus changed, she thought to herself.
At length she succeeded in attracting his attention; she drew him aside, then to her chamber. In it she disclosed her touching narrative, unfolded her sorrows, appealed to him with tears in her eyes to procure her freedom and restore her to her rights. Her story enlisted the better feelings of a man, while her self-respect, the earnestness with which she pleaded her deliverance, and the heartlessness of the act, strongly rebuked the levity of those who had made her an orphan outcast in her own village. She was then in the theatre of vice, surrounded by its allurements, consigned to its degradation, a prey to libertinism-yet respecting herself. The object of his visit among the denizens was changed to a higher mission, a duty which he owed to his moral life,--to his own manliness. He promised his mediation to better her eventful and mysterious life, to be a friend to her; and n.o.bly did he keep his promise. On the following day he took measures for her rescue, and though several attempts were made to wrest her from him, and the mendacity of slave-dealers summoned to effect it, he had the satisfaction of seeing her restored to her native village,--to freedom, to respectability.
We withhold the details of this too true transaction, lest we should be cla.s.sed among those who are endeavouring to create undue excitement. The orphan girl we here refer to was married to a respectable mechanic, who afterwards removed to Cincinnati, and with his wife became much respected citizens.
Proceedings were after some delay commenced against Romescos, but,--we trust it was not through collusion with officials-he escaped the merited punishment that would have been inflicted upon him by a New England tribunal. Again he left the state, and during his absence it is supposed he was engaged in nefarious practices with the notorious Murrel, who carried rapine and death into the unoffending villages of the far west. However, be this as it may, little was known of him for several years, except in some desperate encounter. The next step in his career of desperation known, was joining a band of guerillos led by one of the most intrepid captains that infested the borders of Mexico, during the internal warfare by which her Texan provinces struggled for independence. Freebooters, they espoused the Texan cause because it offered food for their rapacity, and through it they became formidable and desperate foes to the enemy. They were the terror of the ranchoes, the inhabitants fled at their approach; their pillage, rapine, and slaughtering, would stain the annals of barbarous Africa. They are buried, let us hope for the name of a great nation, that they may remain beneath the pale of oblivion.
In their incursions, as mounted riflemen, they besieged villages, slaughtered the inhabitants, plundered churches, and burned dwellings; they carried off captive females, drove herds of cattle to distant markets. Through the auspices of this band, as is now well known, many young females were carried off and sold into slavery, where they and their offspring yet remain. While pursuing this nefarious course of life, Romescos acc.u.mulated more than twenty thousand dollars; and yet,--though ferocity increased with the daring of his profession,--there was one impulse of his nature, deeply buried, directing his ambition. Amid the dangers of war, the tumult of conflict, the pa.s.sion for daring-this impulse kept alive the a.s.sociations of home,--it was love! In early life he had formed an attachment for a beautiful young lady of his native town; it had ripened with his years; the thoughts of her, and the hope of regaining her love if he gained wealth, so worked upon his mind that he resolved to abandon the life of a guerillo, and return home.
After an absence of fourteen years he found the object of his early love,--that woman who had refused to requite his affection,--a widow, having buried her husband, a gentleman of position, some months previous.
Romescos had money,--the man was not considered; he is not considered where slavery spreads its vices to corrupt social life. He had been careful to keep his business a profound secret, and pressing his affections, soon found the object of his ambition keenly sensitive to his advances. Rumour recounted his character with mystery and suspicion; friends remonstrated, but in vain; they were united despite all opposition, all appeals. For a time he seemed a better man, the business he had followed hara.s.sed his mind, seeming to haunt him, and poison his progress. He purchased a plantation on the banks of the Santee; for once resolved to pursue an honest course, to be a respectable citizen, and enjoy the quiet of home.
A year pa.s.sed: he might have enjoyed the felicity of domestic life, the affections of a beautiful bride; but the change was too sudden for his restless spirit. He was not made to enjoy the quiet of life, the task stood before him like a mountain without a pa.s.s, he could not wean himself from the vices of a marauder. He had abused the free offerings of a free country, had set law at defiance; he had dealt in human flesh, and the task of resistance was more than the moral element in his nature could effect. Violations of human laws were mere speculations to him; they had beguiled him, body and soul.
He had no apology for violating personal feeling; what cared he for that small consideration, when the bodies of men, women, and children could be sacrificed for that gold which would give him position among the men of the south. If he carried off poor whites, and sold them into slavery, he saw no enormity in the performance; the law invested him with power he made absolute. Society was chargeable with all his wrongs, with all his crimes, all his enormities. He had repeatedly told it so, pointing for proof to that literal observance of the rule by which man is made mere merchandise. Society had continued in its pedantic folly, disregarding legal rights, imposing no restraints on the holder of human property, violating its spirit and pride by neglecting to enforce the great principles of justice whereby we are bound to protect the lives of those unjustly considered inferior beings. Thus ends a sketch of what Romescos gave of his own career.
We now find him a.s.sociated with the desperadoes of slave-dealing, in the scene we have presented. After Romescos had related what he called the romance of his life,--intended, no doubt, to impress the party with his power and intrepidity, and enable him to set a higher value upon his services,--he lighted a pipe, threw his hat upon the floor, commenced pacing up and down the room, as if labouring under deep excitement. And while each one seemed watching him intently, a loud knocking was heard at the door,--then the baying of blood-hounds, the yelps of curs, mingling with the murmurs of those poor wretches confined in the cells beneath. Then followed the clanking of chains, cries, and wailings, startling and fearful.
Dan Bengal sprang to the door, as if conscious of its import. A voice demanded admittance; and as the door opened Bengal exclaimed, "Halloo!-here"s Nath Nimrod: what"s the tune of the adventure?"
A short, stout man entered, dressed in a coa.r.s.e homespun hunting dress, a profuse black beard and moustache nearly covering his face.
"I is"nt so bad a feller a"ter all-is I?" he says, rushing forward into the centre of the room, followed by four huge hounds. They were n.o.ble animals, had more instinctive gentleness than their masters, displayed a knowledge of the importance of the prize they had just gained.
"Hurrah for Nath! hurrah! hurrah! hurrah, for Nath! You got him, Nath-did"nt ye?" resounded from several tongues, and was followed by a variety of expressions highly complimentary to his efficiency.
Romescos, however, remained silent, pacing the floor unconcerned, except in his own anxiety-as if nothing had occurred to disturb him.
Advancing to the table, the new visitor, his face glowing with exultation, held forth, by the crispy hair, the blanched and b.l.o.o.d.y head of an unfortunate negro who had paid the penalty of the State"s allowance for outlaws. "There: beat that, who can? Four hundred dollars made since breakfast;" he cries out at the top of his voice.
They cast a measured look at the ghastly object, as if it were a precious ornament, much valued for the price it would bring, according to law. The demon expresses his joy, descants on his expertness and skill, holds up his prize again, turns it round, smiles upon it as his offering, then throws it into the fire place, carelessly, like a piece of fuel. The dogs spring upon it, as if the trophy was for their feast; but he repulses them; dogs are not so bad after all-the canine is often the better of the two-the morsel is too precious for canine dogs,--human dogs must devour it. "There is nothing like a free country, nothing; and good business, when it"s well protected by law," says Nimrod, seating himself at the table, filling a gla.s.s, bowing to his companions, drinking to the health of his friends. He imagines himself the best fellow of the lot. Taking Graspum by the hand, he says, "there is a clear hundred for you, old patron!" pulls an Executive proclamation from his pocket, and points to where it sets forth the amount of reward for the outlaw-dead or alive. "I know"d whar the brute had his hole in the swamp," he continues: "and I summed up the resolution to bring him out. And then the gal o" Ginral Brinkle"s, if I could pin her, would be a clear fifty more, provided I could catch her without damage, and twenty-five if the dogs havocked her shins. There was no trouble in getting the fifty, seeing how my dogs were trained to the point and call. Taste or no taste, they come square off at the word.
To see the critters trace a n.i.g.g.e.r, you"d think they had human in them; they understands it so! But, I tell you what, it"s one thing to hunt a gal n.i.g.g.e.r, and another to run down an outlaw what has had two or three years in the swamp. The catching him"s not much, but when ye have to slide the head off, all the pious in yer natur comes right up to make yer feelings feel kind a" softish. However, the law protects ye, and the game being only a n.i.g.g.e.r, different rules and things govern one"s feelings."
Bengal interrupts by laconically insinuating-raising his moody face, and winking at Graspum-that it was all moonshine to talk about trouble in that kind of business; "It"s the very highest of exhilarating sport!" he concludes emphatically.
"Dan!" returns the other, with a fierce stare, as he seizes the bottle and is about to enjoy a gla.s.s of whisky uninvited; "let your liquor stop your mouth. I set the whole pack upon the trail at daylight, and in less than two hours they came upon him, bolted him, and put him to the river. The leader nabbed him about half way across, but the chap, instead of giving in, turned and fought like a hero. Twice I thought he would whip the whole pack, but the way they made the rags fly warn"t n.o.body"s business. Well, I just come up with him as he plunged into the stream, lifts old sure mark, as gives him about a dozen plugs; and then the old feller begged just so, you"d thought he was a Christian pleadin" forgiveness at the last moment. But, when I seizes him and gives him three or four levellers with the b.u.t.t of the rifle, ye never saw a sarpent plunge, and struggle, and warp so. Says I, "It"s no use, old feller,--yer might as well give her up;" and the way his eyes popped, just as if he expected I war"nt goin to finish him. I tell ye, boys, it required some s.p.u.n.k about then, for the critter got his claws upon me with a death grip, and the dogs ripped him like an old corn stalk, and would"nt keep off. And then there was no fracturin his skull; and seeing how he was overpowering me, I just seizes him by the throat and pops his head off quicker than a Chinese executioner."
The author has given the language of the slave-hunter who related the case personally.
"Now, thar" war"nt so much in takin" the gal, cos jist when she seed the dogs comin", the critter took to tree and gin right up: but when I went to muzlin" on her, so she could"nt scream, then she gets saucy; and I promised to gin her bricks,--which, fellers, I reckon yer must take a hand in so the brute won"t wake the neighbours; and I"ll do"e it afore I sleeps," said Nimrod, getting up from the table and playfully touching Romescos upon the arm. "I see ye ain"t brightened to-day--Graspum"s share don"t seem to suit yer, old feller; ah! ah!!" he continued.
"Just put another ten per cent. upon the out-lining, and running free "uns, and I"ll stand flint," said Romescos, seeming to be acted upon by a sudden change of feelings, as he turned to Graspum, with a look of anxiety.
"Very well," returned Graspum. "Yer see, there"s that Marston affair to be brought to a point; and his affairs are just in such a fix that he don"t know what"s what, nor who"s who. Ther"ll have to be some tall swearing done in that case afore it"s brought to the hammer. That cunning of yours, Romescos, will just come into play in this case. It"ll be just the thing to do the crooked and get round the legal points." Thus Graspum, with the dignity and a.s.surance of a gentleman, gave his opinion, drank with his companions, and withdrew for the night.
Romescos, Bengal, and Nimrod, soon after descended into the vaults below, followed by a negro bearing a lantern. Here they unbolted one of the cells, dragged forth a dejected-looking mulatto woman, her rags scarcely covering her nakedness. The poor wretch, a child born to degradation and torture, whose cries were heard in heaven, heaved a deep sigh, then gave vent to a flood of tears. They told how deep was her anguish, how she struggled against injustice, how sorrow was burning her very soul. The outpourings of her feelings might have aroused the sympathies of savage hearts; but the slave monsters were unmoved. Humbleness, despair, and even death, sat upon her very countenance; hope had fled her, left her a wreck for whom man had no pity. And though her prayers ascended to heaven, the G.o.d of mercy seemed to have abandoned her to her tormentors. She came forward trembling and reluctantly, her countenance changed; she gave a frowning look at her tormentors, wild and gloomy, shrank back into the cell, the folds of straight, black hair hanging about her shoulders.
"Come out here!" Nimrod commands in an angry tone; then, seizing her by the arm, dragged her forth, and jerked her prostrate on the ground. Here, like as many fiends in human form, the rest fell upon her, held her flat to the floor by the hands and feet, her face downwards, while Nimrod, with a raw hide, inflicted thirty lashes on her bare back. Her cries and groans, as she lay writhing, the flesh hanging in quivering shreds, and lifting with the lash,--her appeals for mercy, her prayers to heaven, her fainting moans as the agony of her torture stung into her very soul, would have touched a heart of stone. But, though her skin had not defiled her in the eyes of the righteous, there was none to take pity on her, nor to break the galling chains; no! the punishment was inflicted with the measured coolness of men engaged in an every-day vocation. It was simply the right which a democratic law gave men to become lawless, fierce in the conspiracy of wrong, and where the legal excitement of trafficking in the flesh and blood of one another sinks them unconsciously into demons.
CHAPTER VII.
"BUCKRA-MAN VERY UNCERTAIN."
THE caption, a common saying among negroes at the south, had its origin in a consciousness, on the part of the negro, of the many liabilities to which his master"s affairs are subject, and his own dependence on the ulterior consequences. It carries with it a deep significance, opens a field for reflection, comprehends the negro"s knowledge of his own uncertain state, his being a piece of property the good or evil of which is effected by his master"s caprices, the binding force of the law that makes him merchandise. Nevertheless, while the negro feels them in all their force, the master values them only in an abstract light. Ask the negro whose master is kind to him, if he would prefer his freedom and go north?-At first he will hesitate, dilate upon his master"s goodness, his affection for him, the kindly feeling evinced for him by the family-they often look upon him with a patriarchal tenderness-and, finally, he will conclude by telling you he wishes master and missus would live for ever. He tells you, in the very simplicity of his nature, that "Eve"
ting so unsartin! and mas"r don"t know if he die when he gwine to."
That when he is dying he does not realise it; and though his intention be good, death may blot out his desires, and he, the dependent, being only a chattel, must sink into the uncertain stream of slave-life. Marston"s plantation might have been taken as an ill.u.s.tration of the truth of this saying. Long had it been considered one of eminent profit; his field slaves were well cared for; his favourite house servants had every reasonable indulgence granted them. And, too, Marston"s mansion was the pleasant retreat of many a neighbour, whose visits were welcomed by the kindly attention he had taught his domestics to bestow. Marston"s fault lay in his belonging to that cla.s.s of planters who repose too much confidence in others.
The morning following Lorenzo"s departure ushered forth bright and balmy. A quiet aspect reigned in and about the plantation, servants moved sluggishly about, the incidents of the preceding night oppressed Marston"s mind; his feelings broke beyond his power of restraint. Like contagion, the effect seized each member of his household,--forcibly it spoke in word and action! Marston had bestowed much care upon Lorenzo and Franconia; he had indulged and idolised the latter, and given the former some good advice. But advice without example seldom produces lasting good; in truth, precept had the very worst effect upon Lorenzo,--it had proved his ruin! His singular and mysterious departure might for a time be excused,--even accounted for in some plausible manner, but suspicion was a stealing monster that would play upon the deeply tinctured surface, and soar above in disgrace. That the Rovero family were among the first of the State would not be received as a palliation; they had suffered reverses of fortune, and, with the addition of Lorenzo"s profligacy, which had been secretly drawing upon their resources, were themselves well nigh in discredit. And now that this sudden and unexpected reverse had befallen Marston, he could do nothing for their relief. Involved, perplexed, and distrusted-with ever-slaying suspicion staring him in the face-he was a victim pursued by one who never failed to lay low his object. That man moved with unerring method, could look around him upon the dest.i.tution made by his avarice, without evincing a shadow of sympathy. Yes! he was in the grasp of a living Shylock, whose soul, worn out in the love of gold, had forgotten that there existed a distinction between right and wrong.
Surrounded by all these dark forebodings, Marston begins to reflect on his past life. He sees that mercy which overlooks the sins of man when repentance is pure; but his life is full of moral blemishes; he has sinned against the innocent, against the G.o.d of forgiveness. The inert of his nature is unfolding itself,--he has lived according to the tolerated vices of society-he has done no more than the law gave him a right to do! And yet, that very society, overlooking its own wrongs, would now strip him of its a.s.sociations. He lives in a State where it is difficult to tell what society will approve or reprobate; where a rich man may do with impunity what would consign a poor man to the gallows.
If we examine the many rencontres that take place in the south, especially those proving fatal, we will find that the perpetrator, if he be a rich man, invariably receives an "honourable acquittal."
Again, when the man of position shoots down his victim in the streets of a city, he is esteemed brave; but a singular reversion takes place if the rencontre be between poor men. It is then a diabolical act, a murder, which nothing short of the gallows can serve for punishment. The creatures whom he had made mere objects to serve his sensuality were before him; he traced the gloomy history of their unfortunate sires; he knew that Ellen and Clotilda were born free. The cordon that had bound his feelings to the system of slavery relaxed. For the first time, he saw that which he could not recognise in his better nature-himself the medium of keeping human beings in slavery who were the rightful heirs of freedom. The blackness of the crime-its cruelty, its injustice-haunted him; they were at that very moment held by Graspum"s caprice. He might doom the poor wretches to irretrievable slavery, to torture and death!
Then his mind wandered to Annette and Nicholas; he saw them of his own flesh and blood; his natural affections bounded forth; how could he disown them? The creations of love and right were upon him, misfortune had unbound his sensations; his own offspring stood before him clothed in trouble thick and dangerous. His follies have entailed a life-rent of misery upon others; the fathomless depth of the future opens its yawning jaws to swallow up those upon whom the fondness of a father should have been bestowed for their moral and physical good.
As he sits contemplating this painful picture, Aunt Rachel enters the room to inquire if Lorenzo breakfasts with them. "Why! old mas"r, what ail ye dis mornin"? Ye don"t seems nohow. Not a stripe like what ye was yesterday; somethin" gi "h de wrong way, and mas"r done know what i" is," she mutters to herself, looking seriously at Marston.
"Nothing! old bustler; nothing that concerns you. Do not mention Lorenzo"s name again; he has gone on a journey. Send my old faithful Daddy Bob to me." Rachel hastened to fulfil the command; soon brought the old servant to the door. His countenance lighted up with smiles as he stood at the doorway, bowing and sc.r.a.ping, working his red cap in his hand. There stood the old man, a picture of attachment.
"Come in, Bob, come in!" Marston says, motioning his hand, "I wish the world was as faithful as you are. You are worthy the indulgence I have bestowed upon you; let me hope there is something better in prospect for you. My life reproves me; and when I turn and review its crooked path-when I behold each inconsistency chiding me-I lament what I cannot recall." Taking the old man by the hand, the tears glistening in his eyes, he looks upon him as a father would his child.