Chapter IV: Part 4

But to Oriel Porphyry the admirable qualities of his page became every day more and more apparent. In the frequent conversations that took place between them, he could not but observe the developement of a mind of the highest order. It was not a mind impregnated with the heavy spirit of bookish learning, but an intelligence of a lighter, a more graceful, and a more original nature, replete with a sweet sympathy, and a lofty enthusiasm for all that was noble, good and beautiful; and throwing over the youthful figure and handsome countenance of its possessor, a poetical and romantic character, that was both a wonder and a charm to his companion. Zabra spoke of Eureka as if he had become acquainted with her most hidden thoughts, and had been constituted their interpreter; but of himself he never spoke. When Oriel seemed desirous of learning something of his history, he appeared uneasy, and immediately attempted to turn the conversation into another channel. This was noticed; but the unwillingness of the young Creole to speak of himself, Oriel attributed to the disinclination usually shown by natural children to allude to their own illegitimacy, knowing the unreasonable and cruel prejudices of society: therefore he ceased to desire from him any information on the subject. Still, his youth,--the singular beauty of his countenance, and the strange interest it often expressed, made him imagine that there was some mystery connected with him.

As he treated Zabra with the utmost confidence, and appreciated the intelligence he evinced, Oriel Porphyry communicated to him the contents of his father's letter.

"Your father is a noble character," he exclaimed with fervour; "and the proudest title of which you ought to boast, is that of being his son. I never could have supposed that it was possible for such nobility to reside in a spirit devoted to the mere money-getting purposes of traffic, but I have been educated in an aristocratic school, and with its lofty principles I have imbibed some of its illiberal prejudices. I would _my_ father had been such a one--I should not have been the fugitive I am."

"Express no regrets, Zabra. Let it be my pleasing task to see that your fortunes are worthy of your merits;" said Oriel Porphyry, affectionately taking in his the hand of his youthful companion. "And although I have not much reason to think well of the proud Philadelphia, for his conduct has not been such as would be likely to inspire me either with affection or respect; when I think of his relationship to her whose genuine worth it is impossible not to appreciate, I cannot regard the unfavourableness of his disposition."

"Eureka is not unmindful of your kind feelings towards her;" observed the other in a more tremulous voice than he had hitherto used. "It is her desire to deserve your affections, that has supported her under many trials. Her father is proud, but not so proud as Eureka. Yet there is an impassable gulf between the pride of the two. He would sacrifice every one around him for the immediate gratification of his own self-love: she would sacrifice all selfish considerations that interfered with the happiness of one she loved."

"And think you I cannot honour such goodness in the manner it deserves?" asked the merchant's son. "Let him be what he will--let his pride be as mean, and his ambition as selfish as it may, for the sake of Eureka I will endeavour to forget his unworthiness. All I hope is, that he will not attempt to force her inclinations to an alliance more pleasing to him."

"He cannot force her inclinations--that he knows;" remarked Zabra. "He has made the attempt for the first and last time; and Eureka is now beyond his reach."

"Indeed!" exclaimed Oriel with astonishment.

"Ay!" he replied. "He thought the more completely to secure your separation from her, to hurry her into a marriage with the wealthy and powerful head of the princely house of Vermont; but the character of such a man, had no other obstacle existed, would have been sufficient to have produced in her feelings a repugnance which nothing could overpower. As it was, she indignantly refused to become a sacrifice to her father's ambition. Her sentiments, however, on the subject, were so little regarded by him, that he made preparations to compel her to the union."

"Ha!" exclaimed master Porphyry, "I could not have imagined such despotism in a parent."

"Closely as she was watched," he continued, "Eureka managed to escape from her confinement; and when she sent me to be the companion of your fortunes, she had secured for herself the asylum she required."

"But where is she? Let me hasten to afford her the protection of which she must be so much in want!" exclaimed the impetuous Oriel; then reproachfully added, "Why, why did you not tell me this before?"

"I have obeyed my instructions;" replied the youth calmly. "It is sufficient for you to know that now she is safe, and that she is in the enjoyment of as much happiness as it is possible for her to obtain under the circumstances. Her retreat can only be made known to you when all the purposes of the present voyage are completed, and you return to Columbus."

"But can I not communicate with her? will she not write to me?" eagerly inquired the other.

"Be satisfied that it is impossible she should forget you, and endeavour to prove to her without the aids of continual correspondence, that in your affection the same durability exists."

"I will! I will!" cried Oriel; "I will do all she would have me. I will follow the plan my father has laid out, even to the minutest details; will try to find patience for its endurance by thinking of the blissful result with which it will be crowned. We are now approaching the southern coast of Africa," he continued after a pause of some duration, which neither had attempted to interrupt; "and my immediate destination Caffreton, the great mart of traffic in this part of the world is the first point of my commercial voyage. My father has written me very full instructions which I have carefully studied, and you will shortly see, Zabra, how well I shall be able to play the merchant."

They had been standing together on the deck gazing upon the world of waters before them during the preceding dialogue, and were now silently observing the progress of some distant vessels, when they were joined by the learned Professor Fortyfolios. Addressing Oriel, he said--

"That portion of land you observe yonder, rising out of the sea, is an important Cape, well known in the annals of navigation, and was called by the ancients the Cape of Good Hope. It used to be celebrated for producing an inferior wine, called Cape Wine, which being cheap, as it was worthless, was brought in considerable quantities for the purpose either of adulterating wines of a higher value, or was palmed upon the ignorant as the produce of a different vintage. The English, a people with whose history you are doubtless familiar, though not wine growers, were the greatest wine consumers of that period, and it was the immense demand for this necessary of life among that people, which the wines of Spain, Portugal, Sicily, Italy, France, Germany, and other countries, could not sufficiently supply, that brought this Cape into notice. The African wines are now remarkable for their admirable qualities. That it was the search after new liquors that sent the English into this part of the world chroniclers are not agreed, and that there were other wines produced in the same locality much superior in flavour, I think is more than probable, because I have found in the course of my reading, eloquent commendation of an African wine, called Constantia, and I have good reason for imagining that the deserts which the first voyagers of that nation met with on some portions of the coast, when they ascertained that a superior liquor was here procurable, originated the English proverb 'Good wine needs no bush.' However, there can be no doubt that the English planted a colony at this very Cape; gradually drove the natives from their land as they increased in power and numbers, till the whole continent from the Cape of Good Hope to Alexandria, and from Abyssinia to Senegambia, acknowledged their sway, and, in a great measure, spoke their language."

"Truly, those English were a great people!" remarked Oriel.

"They were so," said the Professor; "when we consider what they did, and the means they had to do it, we must acknowledge that they deserve the epithet, 'great.' At an early period of the world's history, England was utterly unknown. In the times of Assyrian greatness, in the eras of Babylon, of Jerusalem, and of Troy--and in the more brilliant ages of the Greeks, the Romans, and the Carthaginians, such an island had never been heard of--scarcely two thousand years had elapsed before this speck upon the waters became the most powerful kingdom upon the earth. She had possessions in every quarter of the globe; her conquering armies had penetrated into the remotest regions, and her gallant navies had triumphed in every sea. She had given a new people and a new language to the vast continent of America; she had founded a new division of the world in Australia; she had been acknowledged the mistress of the mighty Indies; she had forced a path through deserts of perpetual ice, and found a home in the scorching heat of the torrid zone. And by this time what had become of the nations of a more remote antiquity? Of some, the localities were not to be traced; others remained a heap of stones. The Carthaginians were extinct--the free and noble Greeks had become slaves or pirates--and the daring Romans, who boasted having conquered the world, were an ignoble emasculated race, confined to a single city and its suburbs, and governed by a despotic old woman in the shape of a priest."

"The form of government under which the people of this continent exists, is republican, I believe;" observed Master Porphyry.

"The whole is divided into a multitude of republics, some of which are always at war with one another," replied his tutor; "and they show their idea of liberty, of which they make the most preposterous boast, by keeping up a system of slavery the most tyrannical and revolting that can be imagined."

"Ay, ay," exclaimed Captain Compass, coming up and joining in the conversation; "it's the way of the world. Hear your most famous spouter about the blessings of freedom and all that sort of thing, and ten to one if you don't find him ready to domineer over every body beneath him. When I hear a fellow mighty fine in his notions of universal liberty, I always feel pretty certain that he only wants the power to trample on the independence of all who might stand in the way of his particular enjoyments. But this is all natural enough; the feeble are monstrously indignant at the exercise of power in the hands of their rulers; but when by any accident they become powerful, they all at once see the advantages of keeping down those who are down, and in a very short time become just as despotic as those of whom they complained."

"What vessels are these, Captain?" inquired Oriel, pointing to several ships, appearing at different distances in the open sea before them.

"Yonder vessel, whose tall masts are bending before the brisk breeze that fills her sails, is an Algerine merchantman, and has most probably a cargo of dancing masters, cooks, figurantes, and opera singers, which are as much now the chief produce of the people to whom she belongs, as they were a thousand years ago the principal exports of their progenitors. That sombre thing, with the long funnel in the centre of her deck, is very similar to the steamers of which the ancients were so proud, before an improved propelling power was discovered. She belongs to the Abyssinians--a people remarkably slow in adopting the inventions of their more civilised neighbours; she trades from the sea of Babel Mandeb to the Gulph of Guinea, sometimes touching at Madagascar, and the neighbouring islands, and carries passengers, pigs, crockery, and snuff. This rakish looking craft, flying afore the wind like a petrel in a storm, is a free trader with a rich cargo of smuggled merchandise from the continent to the Mauritius; and the big ship yonder, bearing down upon us as if she'd sink every thing that stood in her way, is a man of war belonging to the Liberians--a powerful nation of blacks. All these small fry that are starting up from every point, are merely coasting vessels--government packets,--fishing smacks--pilot boats,--pleasure yachts, and other floaters of a similar nature."

"But what is this?" inquired Oriel, pointing to something of a very strange appearance that was seen at the distance of about three quarters of a mile, making way at a rapid rate towards the shore. They all gazed in that direction, and a most extraordinary spectacle they beheld. At first it seemed like a ball--but as it approached the ship it enlarged, and every one who saw it knew it to be a balloon. How it came there, floating on the waves by itself, many conjectured; but their surprise at its appearance was wonderfully increased, when they observed a man, with his body immersed in the waves, clinging to it, or more probably attached to its fastenings. His peril he endeavoured to make known by screams of the most piercing description; but it was not till the miserable wretch was being rapidly borne past their vessel that the people of the Albatross discovered the full extent of his danger. For at least half a mile behind him the sea was a mass of white smoking foam, which was created by nearly a hundred immense sharks following him with eager speed, lashing the waves with their tails, leaping over each other, plunging, snorting, and displaying the most ravenous desire to catch him in their enormous jaws. Sometimes the balloon ascended a little distance above the sea and then would rapidly descend, plunging the unhappy aeronaut over his head in the salt water; but while the sharks were all striving against each other to make a mouthful of his limbs, it would again ascend, floating swiftly over the surface, bearing its screaming appendant about a foot above his unrelenting pursuers, who continued to follow him struggling furiously with each other, and eagerly snapping at his limbs whenever they approached the surface of the water. It was impossible to render him any assistance, although he passed within a few yards of the ship, he was carried so swiftly along; and on he went, shrieking with agony, now high above the waves--then dashed in beneath them--then flying over the surface, with the horrid expectation of being immediately devoured by the hungry pack by whom he was pursued.

"Scrunch me, if that isn't the most cruel chase I ever saw," exclaimed the captain.

"These sort of accidents are not at all extraordinary," observed Fortyfolios, "and with such things must frequently occur. Balloons are an old invention, and one the least useful for philosophical purposes of any we have received from the ancients. Attempts have been made, attended with success, to get one or several individuals borne by them from an island to an adjoining continent, and from one part of a continent to a part far remote; but as they have found it impossible to control the current of wind met with in certain elevations, and as they can seldom rely upon a current in any one direction lasting for any length of time, they have been able to rise as high as they please, but can never previously fix exactly upon the place of their descent; and it has in many instances occurred, as in the one we have just now observed, that after the aeronaut has made his ascent, a sudden wind takes him in a direction contrary to what he designed, or various currents rising unexpectedly at nearly the same time, he is shifted about to every point of the compass; and when he is obliged to descend, he finds himself floating over some unknown sea, or some wild uncultivated land, hundreds of miles from human assistance, where he is left to endure the conviction that he must either be drowned or starved. A balloon is, in fact, a toy, with which one fool amuses many."

Nothing more was said on the subject, although the dangerous situation of the poor fellow who had attached himself to the balloon was anxiously watched as long as he remained in sight, and the imminent peril in which he was seen: his heart-rending cries, and desperate struggles, long left their unpleasant impression on the memory of all who beheld him.

The bold outline of the coast they were approaching every hour became more apparent: its singular mountain and other landmarks were seen, pointed out, and commented on. Birds flew into the rigging--weeds accumulated before the ship--and stray logs of timber, broken barrels, and pieces of wreck, were continually floating past. The character of the scenery now began to be clearly defined--the lowlands spreading out far and wide into the interior, intersected by numerous railroads, and the mountains holding up their proud heads covered with vegetation nearly to their summits. The more the country became visible, the greater was the evidence it exhibited of a high degree of cultivation, a fruitful soil, and a numerous and industrious population; and as buildings began to be made out, it was observable from their form, numbers, and disposition, that manufactures was a primary object in the estimation of the inhabitants.

"You will find these people a money-getting generation," said the professor to his pupil: "their sole object appears to be to accumulate, and their only idea of the respectability of a person is derived from the proportion of substance he is worth. They never ask, is a man an excellent husband, an exemplary father, or an admirable citizen?--is he distinguished by the attention with which he fulfils his moral duties, or celebrated by the right application of extraordinary talents? they merely inquire how much money he has in his pockets. In fact, when they speak at all of 'a good man,' they allude to some individual imagined to be possessed of a certain amount of available property: money with them is every thing. Respectability means money--reputation or credit means money, and cleverness means money. Money, therefore, is the universal virtue: they who have the most are honoured the most, and they who have it not at all are considered by those who have it, although in ever so small a proportion, as being separated from their fellow-creatures by an impassable chasm, where all that is infamous is thought to dwell."

"And yet they are considered to be a very religious people," remarked Oriel.

"None are more regular in going to church, none are greater respecters of the ceremonies of worship, but of religion they are ignorant," replied Fortyfolios. "Nothing can be more certain than that it is impossible that a pure morality or a sincere devotion can exist, when the heart is filled with one engrossing desire--the accumulation of capital--the very principle of which is selfishness--a feeling incompatible with the social charities of true religion."

"But when did you ever find that any thing like true religion generally existed?" inquired the captain, in a tone approaching sarcasm. "Since the memory of man the faith of the majority has been unvaryingly orthodox, and sticks, like a lobster to its shell, to the old proverb, 'Every one for himself, and the devil take the hindmost,'--and more absurd conduct doesn't exist than some people exhibit, who, after having made money a standard of excellence, condemn to infamy not only those who are not possessed of it, but they who gain it by means not in exact accordance with their notions of the way it should be obtained. Scrunch me, if it don't make one ready to heave one's ballast overboard, when I see the homage paid to a mean-spirited scoundrel, who by chicanery, hypocrisy, avarice, and a horde of other contemptible vices, robs his fellows of a pretty handsome share of plunder; and hear the execrations heaped upon the bolder and better villain, who lays society under contributions in a more open, manly, and daring manner. They pretend to notions of honesty, too, that's the joke. Why a fish would laugh at a thing so ridiculous. The government in their necessity take from the people, and those who can't afford to pay they send to prison--an individual in his necessity takes from another, and the very government who set the example of appropriation punish the appropriator as an offender. Then governments plunder each other, or rather the people of each other; but when any of the people attempt to rob their governments, they judge, hang, draw and quarter the poor wretches without the slightest mercy. Honesty, forsooth! If the whole world were asked what the meaning of the word was, every man would give a different definition, and not only would each contradict the other, but every one would contradict himself. Honesty appears to be of all shapes and all sizes: it will suit all complexions--it will flavour every dish. Honesty is every thing, and yet it is nothing. It is neither fish, flesh, nor fowl--will neither sink nor swim--and is not to be touched, seen, or tasted. Honesty is every where--the greatest rogue is honest to his chosen associates--and yet it is no where, for the desire of appropriation is universal. It is a sort of ghost that only exists in the minds of the superstitious--a mirror that shows any reflection thrown upon it--a sky that all over the world can take every variety of colour. Some call it truth, and lay claim to its possession, although their lives are a continual deceit; some call it justice, and fancy themselves exceedingly just, although they would consign to eternal perdition all not exactly of their way of thinking; and some call it conscientiousness, and are satisfied with their own dealings, when, at the same time, their first thought is for their own personal gratification. But we are entering the bay, and these fellows require looking after." So saying, he suddenly left the group, and began shouting to the crew some orders about the ship.

"Captain Compass has singular notions," remarked the professor: "I should not feel particularly comfortable if I thought he entertained the opinions he expresses. There would be an end to all sense of moral obligations if such ideas became general."

"Oh there is no harm in him," replied Oriel. "He is too frank, too careless, too bold to have any evil intention. It has often appeared to me, though, that the principle we call honesty does not exist either in ourselves or in society to the extent we imagine; and believing such a state of things an evil, I have often wished, but never been able, to find a way in which it could be remedied."

"It is an evil, undoubtedly," here observed Doctor Tourniquet, who had for some time been an attentive but silent listener--"and there is but one way in which it can be completely removed."

"And how is that way to be found?" inquired Oriel Porphyry.

"The cause of this want of a definite unvarying character in our notion of honesty," said the Doctor, "may be traced to the present and past construction of society, where each individual has a separate interest, exists in a state of competition with the others, and must always be endeavouring to shape his own notions of right to his own exclusive advantage: were property a fund in common from which each might be allowed to take what he pleased--there being no individual interests, the world would be one family, and there could be no dishonesty in openly appropriating that to which he had an acknowledged right, don't you see."

"Preposterous!" exclaimed Fortyfolios.

"An impossible state of things, I should think," added his pupil.

"Nothing more reasonable, and nothing more easy," replied the Doctor. "Let every one in a community labour equally according to his physical or mental powers--every kind of labour being productive will produce every thing in abundance--this abundance having been produced must supply every want--every want being gratified at the suggestion of the inclination, there remains nothing to desire--and as all have an equal right to appropriate as much as they require for the gratification of their inclinations, by having equally, according to their abilities, assisted in producing the abundance they enjoy, no desire in which they might think fit to indulge could ever take the appearance of an act of dishonesty, don't you see."

"Ridiculous!" exclaimed the professor.

"But how in the present state of society can you get such notions adopted?" inquired Oriel.

"Either by educating children from the earliest age into the application of these social principles, or by constituting communities apart from the general mass, who will exist within themselves by the same manner of life, till, as the advantages of such a state of society become universally evident, it is adopted by the whole population," said the Doctor.

"The thing has been tried times out of number," remarked Fortyfolios, contemptuously, "and has always lingered a short time and then died, with very little regret on the part of those for whose superior happiness it was created. It is based upon an idea of equality, which idea has no personal existence in nature. No matter how carefully the young mind is schooled, there will always be some superiority somewhere. In muscular energy, in mental power, in ingenuity, in quickness of comprehension, and in the skilful adaptation of means to an end--even in the natural desires and susceptibilities--even in acquired habits of industry, and self-denial, in all societies, some will be found greater than others, and these will endeavour to rise above the equality by which they are surrounded; perhaps they will succeed, and then the homogeneousness of the community is soon destroyed; perhaps they will fail, and then their more exalted natures must be crushed down to the Procrustean bed of their associates. Equality can only be a state of general mediocrity. Could we imagine such a social organisation, what would become of the worship of superior greatness that leads men to become great? With what feelings would exist, could they exist under such circumstances, those commanding intellects whose supremacy should be acknowledged by all who love knowledge, and virtue, and humanity, at finding themselves classed with the mere breaker of the clod, a creature without an idea, whose only quality, that of strength and fitness for a certain labour, he shares with brutes and with machines; who eats and drinks, and sleeps and dies, and then makes room for another of the same class? Must they also become hewers of wood and drawers of water for the benefit of their fellows? With as much probability of a beneficial result might an attempt be made to force the ploughman, the shepherd, the mechanic, and the domestic servant, to become a sculptor, a philologist, a musician, and a philosopher."

What Doctor Tourniquet might have replied, it is impossible now to relate, as the Albatross at that moment was boarded by the port-officers who came to examine the state of health of the ship and the cargo with which she was laden; and as she was expected shortly to drop her anchor among the shipping with which she was now surrounded, those who designed to land proceeded to make the necessary preparations.

CHAP. VII.

CAFFRETON, THE METROPOLIS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA.

In a large heavy building on the banks of a canal in the city of Caffreton, all seemed bustle and confusion: barges were at the water side unloading, and at the land side were waggons being filled with packages for conveyance into the interior by the rail-roads, and others starting off heavily laden to supply the traders in the town and neighbourhood. A considerable number of black slaves were actively employed in assisting the goods from the barges to the stores, and from the stores to the waggons; who jostled, shouted, and chattered apparently with as much noise as they could make; two or three white men were seen among them giving orders in a loud voice to their dark associates, and seeing that their commands were promptly attended to. Under a gloomy archway, which led from the street to the water side were doors opposite each other. One of these, after passing through a long warehouse filled with articles of merchandise of every description, in the midst of which were several slaves of both sexes engaged in weighing, measuring, and packing parcels of various sizes, led into a counting house, in which about a dozen blacks, principally young ones, much better dressed than those in the warehouse, were writing in large books; and beyond this was a much smaller room, furnished with maps and a few cumbrous books, wherein two men were seated opposite each other; one a tall, thin, sharp visaged man about forty, whose features expressed an extraordinary degree of fear and servility, was reading a newspaper, and the other, who appeared considerably older, was short and corpulent, had a dark complexion, and a look of mingled cunning and fierceness, sat leaning back against a huge arm chair, with an open ledger on the table before him.

"Foreign stock rising, eh!" inquired the latter.

"Yes, sir," replied the other, glancing his eye over the paper, "particularly Columbian and Australian."

"How goes the share market?"

"Brisk, sir, in many things--Gondar Railroad at a premium--Congo Canal at 125-3/8--Ashantee Salt Company, 105-1/2--Mocaranga Timber, 109--Biafra Gold Mines, 200."

"Capital!" exclaimed the elder, rubbing his hands together briskly, and his forbidding features assuming an expression of intense gratification. "I shall do well by my speculations there;--but how goes the Madagascar Silkworm Company?"

"Down to 45, sir," replied the thin man.

"Bankrupt and jails! you scoundrel, it can't be," furiously exclaimed the other.

"It is so here, sir," said his companion humbly.

"Then my eternal malediction rest on all silk worms. I've lost some thousands. But you haven't said any thing about the Timbuctoo Beet-root Sugar."

"Down to 22, sir."

"You rascal, you're trying to put me in a passion; you're inventing that, because you know I've invested large sums in that affair. I'll have you whipped like a slave if you don't tell me the truth."

"It is so here, sir," said the man trembling, and turning pale.

"Then the Caffreton Universal Intelligence is a universal liar!" screamed the other in a rage. "Why, if it's true, I've lost all I gained by the indigo and cochineal job. It's a bad business, Mr. Quagga. There's cheating in it! There's ruination in it! I shall be laughed at on 'Change. My solvency will be suspected--my credit diminish;--but go on, Mr. Quagga--go on, I'm perfectly cool--I'm not going to put myself out of temper by such a loss, don't think it. In the name of poverty, why don't you go on, Mr. Quagga?" thundered out the principal.

"Wer--wer--wer--wer--what shall I read next sir?" inquired his servant as plainly as his fright would allow.

"Read the arrivals, you stuttering, stupid blockhead," cried the broker.

"Arrived in the bay, the Sultan from Cairo, Selim, master."

"Nothing for me."

"The Golden Horn, from Stamboul, Mahmoud, master:--twenty chests of opium, consigned by Mandragora and Poppy."

"Send some one to see it warehoused in the docks."

"Yes, sir," said the clerk, respectfully.

"What next?"

"The Hellas, from Smyrna, Mavricordato, master."

"Nothing for me. Cargo of figs and raisins, from Drum and Company."

"The Albatross, from Columbus, Compass, master."

"Look to that, Quagga--look to that. She belongs to Master Porphyry, the richest merchant in the whole world. Her cargo is of great value. By last advices from my correspondent, expect some bales of rich fabrics.--Go on, Quagga."

"There's a paragraph, here, sir, that seems to relate to that vessel."

"Read it, Quagga."

"'In the Albatross, arrived in our harbour, comes the only son of the great merchant, Master Porphyry, whose name is in such high estimation in every part of the civilised world for his wealth and his philanthropy. It is said that he has come out on a commercial voyage, and that it was Master Porphyry's desire that his son should visit some of the most celebrated places of traffic in various parts of the globe.'"

"Very good, except philanthropy, which is all humbug, you know, Quagga," observed the broker, "a bad spec--a dead loss.--We must look after him"--and the face of the master seemed to glance more pleasantly upon his servant.--"Well, what provincial news?" he asked, after a pause.

"'We regret to inform our readers, that the respectable banking house of Mangel Wurzel, Carrots, and Co., at Lattakoo, have stopped payment.'"

"Stopped payment, you rascal!" shouted the broker, his face becoming purple with rage. "How dare you tell me Mangel Wurzel and Co. have stopped payment? It's all a conspiracy--a base invention--a lie--a cheat! You know I've got all the payments made to me per the Springbok--on account of that fine gang of Hottentots--in their wretched paper. I'll have you hanged, you scoundrel, for deceiving me. I'll----"

Here the torrent of his indignation was interrupted by one of the young slaves from the counting-house showing himself at the door.

"Well, you imp of darkness! what do you want?" he cried.

"Cap'ain Gumpas, sar, want to peak wi' you," said the young Hottentot.

"Who, scoundrel?"

"Cap'ain Gumpass, sar, ship Albatross."

"Admit him, instantly."

The slave disappeared, and so did the broker's passion.

In a moment afterwards the door opened, and a tall man, of rather handsome exterior, whom it would have been impossible to have recognised as the Captain Compass of the Albatross, had it not been for a peculiar expression in the countenance--sarcastic, bold, and treacherous--no one could mistake, entered the room. His whiskers had disappeared, the colour of his hair had changed, and he looked a much younger and better featured man than he appeared the day previous. As he advanced, the broker seemed to gaze upon him with fear and wonder.

"Well, old Boor, is this the hail I'm to meet after such a long cruise?" cried the captain.

Boor stared till his yellow eye-balls appeared starting out of his head.

"Dockets and bad bills!" at last he exclaimed, with a long breath, "surely it can't be you!"

"But it is, though, old boy, and I'm afloat in the most slappish style," replied the other.

"But how did you escape, when----"

"No matter," said the captain, interrupting his companion. "I'm come to have a little bit of a confabulation with you about a matter that will enrich us both."

"This way, my good friend," hastily whispered the broker, leading his associate cautiously to a little door at the further extremity of the room, which opened into a smaller apartment, filled with iron safes, papers, and books. "This way, captain--this way," added he; then turning to his clerk, said, "Don't let me be interrupted, Quagga," as the door opened and closed upon the pair: and there they remained in close conference for a full hour, to the great mystification of the principal clerk. When they returned, the features of the captain wore an air of triumph, and the countenance of Boor expressed all the congratulation of successful cunning.

"Every thing shall be managed according to your desire, captain," he remarked.

"Be cautious," said the other.

"Depend upon that," responded his companion. "You had better go out at this side door."

The captain was going out as directed, when he quickly asked, "When shall I see you again?"

"To-morrow night," replied his associate.

"Agreed."

When his visiter had taken his departure, the broker seemed to have forgotten the losses that had affected him so much a short time previous. His unprepossessing countenance appeared lit up with a continual smile of inward satisfaction, as he leaned back upon his chair, occasionally resting his hands upon his capacious stomach, then crossing his arms--then leaning his chin upon his hand as if in deep reflection, uttering such ejaculations as "capital scheme"--"hazardous though"--"daring villain"--"worth the risk," and others of a similar nature--till the wondering Quagga, neither daring to move or to speak, began to imagine that his tyrannical master had lost the use of his senses. At that moment the door opened again, and the same slave made his appearance.

"Ha, Beelzebub!" shouted Master Boor, "what now?"

"Massa Porfry, sar, and young gennleman ob colour wish to peak wi' you," said the youth.

"Admit them," he exclaimed. Then in a lower tone said, "Coloured persons! what can he mean by bringing such vermin here?" However, though considering the introduction of such a person an indignity, the game he had to play induced him for the present to forget his prejudices, and he met his visitors with every appearance of cordiality.

"Welcome to Caffreton, welcome to the sunny shores of Afrik;" he cried as they advanced into the room. "The land of universal liberty.--Quagga, tell those slaves if I hear them chattering again, I'll give them the lash----!"

"Yes, sir!" said Quagga; and immediately delivered the message.

"The land of universal equality.--Quagga, you scoundrel! why don't you get seats for the gentlemen----?"

"Yes, sir!" said Quagga; and instantly did as he was desired.

"And the land of universal freedom of conscience.--Quagga! tell Pipkin, that if he doesn't choose to attend the same church as his master, I'll thrash his soul out of his body."

"Yes, sir," said Quagga; and Pipkin received the brutal command.

Oriel Porphyry seemed in some degree amused by this exemplification of liberty, equality, and freedom of conscience, but he said nothing; and Zabra seemed intently observing the countenances of the clerk and his master.

"I hope your worthy father is well, sir," continued Boor. "Health's a precious commodity--cannot be too highly prized. Quagga! is Nimbo in the warehouse yet?"

"No, sir; doctor says he can't stand," said the clerk.

"Then tell him if he don't come down I'll make him," said his master with ferocious emphasis.

"Yes, sir;" replied the obedient Quagga.

"Your father does a deal of good, sir, with his charities," he resumed. "Ah! charity's a fine thing!--an admirable thing! I do a wonderful deal of good myself that way sometimes. I give the poor all the bad coin that comes into my hands. I do a deal of good I assure you. Your father enjoys a great reputation for integrity in his dealings. Nothing like it, sir;--It is always at a premium. Hope you will tread in your father's footsteps; and if you should have a desire for speculating, I trust the credit I possess will induce you to place confidence in me. I should recommend you to invest largely in the shares of the Madagascar Silk Worm Company, and the Timbuctoo Beet-root Sugar Joint Stock Association. I have some shares at my disposal, which, although they're now very high in the market, to oblige the son of so respectable a man as my correspondent, master Porphyry, I would let you have at a fair price,--say the first at 95-7/8, and the other at 80."

"I am obliged to you," replied Oriel Porphyry; "but I have no desire to speculate in such things at present."

"Very good--very good," said the broker, not at all disconcerted at the failure of his schemes. "Caution is advisable in all mercantile transactions, and I am the last person in the world to suggest any thing to you, which I do not think would turn to your advantage. Perhaps you have bullion to dispose of? If so, I could afford a very handsome per centage, and exchange with you to a considerable amount in notes of one of the most steady banks in the country--that of Mangel Wurzel, Carrots and Co. at Lattakoo."

"I'm much obliged to you; but as my stay in this part of the world must be brief, it would not be advisable to change my bullion into the paper currency of the country;" said Oriel.

"True--true;" remarked master Boor, and a cloud did pass over his gloomy countenance when he found he could not dispose of any of his unprofitable speculations. "You are right. So you do not intend staying here? Fine country. No kings--none of _that_ nonsense. Every man does just as he likes, and cares for nobody.--Quagga! you rascal, I'll have you flayed alive if you don't finish that intricate account with Botherem, Blunder, and Bigfist, in an hour." The frightened clerk began to write away with the speed of a steam-engine. "In no place in the world is the right of opinion so much respected.--Quagga, you scoundrel! I understand you spoke at the Universal Consolidated Democratic Discussion Society, against the measure now before the legislature for the tax on tenpenny nails. How dare you oppose my political sentiments! This is insolence, sir--treason, anarchy, and rebellion! If ever I hear you entertain an opinion different from mine again, I'll have you inclosed within four stone walls and starve you upon a mouthful a day."

Quagga trembled like an aspen, and did not dare lift his eyes from the book.

"Yes, sir, I repeat, this is the only country on the face of the globe, where mankind enjoy a perfect state of civil and religious liberty. What do they think of us, sir, in Columbia? Don't they envy us our noble institutions, ey? Our excellent government--our enlightened people?"

"Why, those who ever do think of the African states--"

"Ever think of them!" cried the old fellow, with emphasis, interrupting the speaker; "they must always think of them. They cannot help drawing comparisons, sir, with their own wretched state; and they must therefore be wonderfully desirous of sharing in the blessings we enjoy."

"I really never heard of such a desire existing in any part of the country;" observed Oriel.

"Ah, sir, they live in a wretched state of despotism, and they dare not express their sentiments;" replied the broker. "There cannot be anything like public virtue amongst them--no political honesty--no notion of true liberty. But how did you make the voyage, sir?"

"Admirably!" exclaimed the merchant's son. "The Albatross is one of the most perfect vessels that was ever launched."

"Nothing like the African shipping, depend upon it--made of free timber, sir?--beat all vessels at sailing, and last for ever. Skilful captain that Compass, sir--known him long; knew his father--highly respectable. You may place the greatest confidence in him, I assure you."

During the preceding sentences Zabra kept his eyes fixed upon the face of the speaker, which he observing, turned his own gaze upon the person so earnestly regarding him; but the piercing look that met his quite disconcerted him. His complexion grew more livid; his look became confused; he frowned and smiled by turns; he shifted his position, and evinced by many other signs that he was anything but at ease under the scrutiny to which he was subjected. At last, unable to endure it any longer, he said, in a tone in which anger seemed struggling with indifference. "Who is that person of colour, sir? it is not usual to bring people of that class in company with free Africans."

"That young gentleman is my most esteemed and intimate friend;" replied Oriel.

"Oh, I beg pardon; but it's not respectable to have such friends in a free and enlightened country like the African States; and the 'young gentleman'," said he, with contemptuous emphasis, "seems to look on me as if he knew me intimately."

"I do know you intimately, sir;" remarked Zabra, bending on the old man a stern and searching look.

"Well, this assurance beats any thing I ever saw. Why, I never met with your coppery countenance before," said the broker, indignantly.

"You spoke the truth _there_," replied Zabra, still continuing to regard him with the same earnestness; and the broker's attempts to conceal his passion and his uneasiness became every moment more unsuccessful.

"He is thus to every one," observed Oriel Porphyry; "and he means no offence. But let us proceed to business. According to your request, my father has sent you a lot of fabrics of the choicest patterns and materials, which I shall give you an order to remove from the docks upon receiving payment in gold. You can examine them if necessary, whenever it is convenient to you, when you will find them exactly of the description you ordered. I am also commissioned to purchase, to any amount, ivory, gold dust, gums, pearls and precious stones, ostrich feathers, amber, and any other article of traffic of approved quality that may suit the Columbian markets, or that may be turned to a profitable account during my voyage. They can be paid for in money or in goods--whichever should be most desirable."

"Good--good," remarked the broker, losing, in his attention to business, all his angry feelings. "Ah! let me see. I think I shall be able to treat with you for a considerable portion of your cargo; and, as a particular friend, I should not advise you to go to any strange brokers; they'll take you in, depend upon it."

"Why, I thought, in this free country, all your transactions were distinguished by a degree of honesty superior to that of other nations;" said Oriel.

"Yes, yes," hastily replied master Boor, considerably puzzled to account for the discrepancy in his statements. "But every man will make a good bargain, if he can."

"Then what offer are you inclined to make for a thousand bales of lace and cambric goods, best quality?"

"Why, you see, master Porphyry, the truth is, the market here is a little overstocked just now with those articles; they are a complete drug."

"I have good reason to believe there is a great demand for them," said Oriel.

"Nothing of the kind, master Porphyry. I wouldn't deceive you for the world. But, although things are so heavy, I don't mind offering twenty thousand dollars for them, either in money or goods."

"That is just half I am commissioned to take;" remarked the young merchant, rising to go away. "And as we shall not be able to do business on those terms, I must seek a more advantageous market."

"Don't be too hasty, sir. Reflect before you determine. The price I offer is a good price; and it is impossible you can get one so high, search Caffreton through and through." Perceiving his visitors were at the door, he added--"Suppose we say five and twenty--a great risk--a hazardous----"

"Good day to you, master Boor!" exclaimed Oriel, bending his head proudly, and departed with his companion through the counting-house. The old man scowled after his visitors, muttering to himself,--"I'll have them at a less price, in spite of you."

About the same time two persons were seen walking cautiously through a narrow unfrequented street in the suburbs of the town, connected with a number of other thoroughfares of a like description, chiefly inhabited by the lowest class of the black population. The tallest of the two, who was a little in advance of his companion, whose short dumpy figure and conceited physiognomy it was impossible to mistake, turned round, and addressed his associate:--

"Come, master Log, show more sail. I'm spiflicated if we shall ever find safe anchorage if you don't. I think I arn't forgotten the landmarks; but, somehow, I've got into a little bit of a mystification about making the proper tacks. This is it! No, it arn't! Ha! Now I see, as clean as a cable. There's the sign o' the Ship, at the corner yonder. We goes right ahead there; then we makes a tack; then we goes ahead again; then we makes another tack; then I knows all the whereabouts. That's right, arnt it, mister?"

"Right--right--very right--decidedly right--absolutely right: indeed, I may say, positively right, mister Scrumpydike," responded the little man, endeavouring to keep pace with his more bulky companion.

"Here comes another Hottentot;" said Scrumpydike, noticing an individual of that race approaching them. "What a lot o' them black craft one meets wi' steerin' about in these here seas; they puts one in mind o' a fleet of colliers, creepin' along shore. But this nigger _is_ black, arnt he, master Log?"

"Black, black,--monstrous black,--very monstrous black--upon my word most diabolically black, mister Scrumpydike;" replied the captain's clerk, puffing and blowing with the exertion he made to prolong his walk.

"I say, won't them bugaboos afloat entertain something of a 'stonishment when we commences the fun. Don't you think some on 'em 'll go mad?" inquired the other.

"Mad, mad,--very mad, very mad, indeed,--pretty considerably wild, stiff, stark, staring mad, mister Scrumpydike," rejoined his companion.

They had now reached one of the narrowest, darkest, and filthiest streets in that quarter of the town; and by the expression of satisfaction that gleamed on the coarse features of Scrumpydike, it was evident that they were near the end of their journey. They proceeded along this street till they came to a court through which they passed, and entered a lane where there were no houses on one side, and very few, and those far apart on the other. Keeping on the side where the houses were, they followed the footpath, till they came to a ruined habitation of the poorest class, little better than a mud kraal. The few windows it possessed were broken and covered with dirt; its door was battered to a fragment; the roof had fallen in, and the walls threatened to tumble. Looking cautiously round to see if any persons were observing them, the sailor removed the door to admit himself and his companion, and then carefully replaced it; afterwards they picked their way over fragments of stone and timber, through a moderate sized chamber, and descended a long flight of steps till they came to a wall.

"Ship ahoy!" shouted Scrumpydike, putting his mouth near the wall.

"What cheer?" was answered in a low voice from within.

"Death and gold!" was the strange reply; immediately after which, bolts were heard quickly drawn, and the wall, or rather a door made to resemble the wall in which it was placed opened, and a stout, active man of a fierce aspect, clad in coarse jacket and trowsers, without shoes or cap, carrying a naked cutlass in his hand, and wearing several large pistols in his belt, became visible by the light of a torch that burned stuck upright in the ground beside him. Without another word Log and Scrumpydike entered. The door was quickly closed, the bolts set, and the man, taking up the torch, preceded them through a long passage or cellar, till they were stopped by the brickwork.

"Ship ahoy!" shouted the man.

"What cheer?" was answered from within.

"Death and gold!" he replied. In an instant another door opened, the man turned back, and the captain's clerk, and his companion were admitted into a long subterranean chamber, in which the many torches that were burning enabled them to distinguish the figures of about twenty men, dressed like sailors, all variously armed, seated round a large table covered with drinking vessels. Immediately Scrumpydike made his appearance, the whole party set up a loud shout of welcome, and in a moment they were all crowding round him, shaking hands, asking questions, and offering him refreshment.

"Ha! let us stow in a cargo o' some sort or other," said the sailor, seating himself before what appeared to be the remains of a roast kid, and proceeding to help himself. "I've had a desperate long cruise here. Come, master Log, bear a hand:" a command the captain's clerk was not slow in executing. "And so you'd given me up, ey? never made a worser recknin; scrunch me if I arnt a got more lives nor a cat. But the best of the joke is," said he taking a hearty draught from a can of liquor which was handed to him, and which example was immediately followed by his companion; "the best o' the joke is--but you'll think I'm gammonin' ye--I knows you will. The joke is--I've been livin' in the most honestest way you ever heard on."

The whole party raised a shout of incredulity, and laughed in derision at such an idea.

"I know'd how it would be--I was afear'd I should lose my precious character," remarked the man gloomily; "but master Log can tell ye as how I ha' been for a matter o' two or three months most abominably honest,--arn't I master Log?"

"Honest--honest," replied the captain's clerk, moving the wine can from his mouth a short distance; "shamefully honest--disgracefully honest--indeed I may say villainously honest, master Scrumpydike." The men stared with astonishment, and many still seemed to doubt his assertion.

"Nobody can lament the unfortnit occurrence more nor I do," said Scrumpydike; "but what's done can't be undone,--so clear the decks o' this lumber--pipe all hands to grog, and I'll tell ye a sort o' summat much more nat'ral and creditable."