low-spirited, especially when they saw from our decks the gangs of
negroes at work in the fields, as we passed up along the shores of the
islands. We were now all busy preparing them for the market,--that is,
giving them frocks and trowsers, and making them clean; while the
captain sent on shore for the black decoys, to raise their spirits and
give them confidence. These decoys are black women, who are some of them
free, and others slaves. They make a trade of it, and are well paid; the
money, if they are free, being their own--if slaves, their masters
receive it. They come on board gaily dressed, covered with tinsel and
loaded with baubles, of which they have a great many to give away to the
slaves. As soon as they come on board, under pretence of looking for
relations or former friends, (the decoys are of all of the different
nations that come from the coast,) they address each in their own
tongue; tell them a number of cock-and-bull stories; point to
themselves; profess all manner of joy to see them in this land of wealth
and happiness, where they will soon be as gay and happy as they are;
and, to show their riches and friendship for them, distribute the
baubles among them before they leave the vessel. This has all the
desired effect. The poor creatures immediately become full of spirits,
and anxious to get on shore. The business of the voyage was now
accomplished; for they were all sold by the agents on shore, and we knew
no more of them. As soon as the ship was cleared of the slaves, the
carpenters commenced to take down the barricades, and we to prepare for
returning home, taking in water for ballast. I had no wish to return to
Britain at this time, as berths were so difficult to be had when I left
home, and I told Captain Waugh so; but he refused to let me leave the
vessel, for he had not many good seamen in his crew; and I having signed
the articles for the whole voyage, did not choose to forfeit my wages
thus dearly won--so I at once made up my mind to return, and thought no
more of it. We remained here for seven weeks before the captain got all
his business settled, during which time I would have wearied very much,
had it not been for little Billy, who was seldom from my side. As I went
very little ashore, he preferred staying with me to going even with the
captain, who was as well pleased at the choice, as his sole object was
to be well spoken of by the boy to his father when they returned to the
coast, that he might have the favour of old Bonnyface, who was King
Peppel's chief minister, and had greater influence with him than any of
his other favourites.
"Billy himself was one of the sweetest tempered and smartest boys of his
age I ever saw, yet irascible to madness at the least affront from any
one; for his nature had never been subject to the least training, and
his passions were under no control. His countenance was the true index
of his heart; and if any of the men intentionally gave him offence, his
large black eyes would flash in an instant, he would spring at them like
a tiger, to tear them with his teeth, and it would be some time before
we could get him appeased; but, when the rage died away, he would think
no more of it, nor would he complain to the captain, as he knew that the
man would have been punished. However, it was only when some of the crew
returned on board the worse of liquor, that they ever meddled with him;
for otherwise there was not a man in the ship but would have as soon
thought of leaping overboard, as giving him the slightest offence.
"Billy began to weary to get under way as much as myself; and when I
asked him why he was so anxious to get to Britain, he replied, simply--
"'I much want to make book speak! You make book speak! Dad Robion, and
all white man make book speak! Dat gives much power, dat make big
man--so me wish to make book speak.'
"'I am happy,' I said, 'to hear you say so. Will you learn if I teach
you, Billy, while we lie here? It will be so far good for you that you
will not have to begin when we reach Bristol.'
"'You make my heart glad,' he replied. 'You teacha me--me all heart, me
all attention, me never tink but what you say.' And he threw his arms
round my neck.
"I was much affected, and seriously thought about what I had undertaken;
for there were many difficulties to surmount--the greatest of which was
the want of a proper book to begin with. There was not such a thing on
board; so I got from the carpenter a smooth board, and formed the
letters, telling him their names, and giving them to him to form after
me. This he took the utmost delight in, and learned amazingly fast, for
he was ever at his board; and, before we left the island, he knew words
of one and two syllables in my book of navigation, the only one I had,
save my pocket Bible, which he took great delight to hear me
read--putting occasionally such puzzling questions to me as made me
blush. When I told him it was the book of the white man's religion, he
used to shake his head, and say--
"'Me no tink dat; for white man swear, white man steal, he drink over
too much, he do what book say no; how dat?'
"I felt it quite impossible, from what he saw in our own crew, and what
he had seen of the other white men at Bonny, to make him believe that
white men had any rule of conduct but their own inclinations and
avarice. I sighed, and gave up the task; for what is instruction or
precept to an ingenuous mind, without example; and our profession is
belied by too many around, who acknowledge and claim the faith as theirs
by word, and yet give it the lie by their actions.--At length we sailed,
and reached King's Road on the 1st of January, 1789.
"I was so fortunate as get a berth, as mate, on board a West Indiaman,
which was taking her cargo on board. Billy was, meanwhile, put to
school, and I saw him every evening, at his request, and by Captain
Waugh's leave. When he heard I was going to leave Bristol, and not to go
back to the coast in the _Queen Charlotte_ again, he wept, and
importuned me, in the most moving terms, to go to Bonny with him, where
he would cause his father to give me as many slaves as I pleased, and he
would send his own people to get them for me. I was vexed to part with
him, and did what I could to soothe him before my departure; but still I
left him disconsolate. I once more left Bristol in the beginning of
February, and had a fine run to Jamaica, where I left the vessel, with
the consent of my captain, having made an exchange with a lad belonging
to Bristol, who was mate in an American trader, and wished to get home,
as he did not keep his health well in these climates; and, as he was an
acquaintance of the captain's, all parties were agreeable. I now
continued for several years in the carrying trade between the different
islands and the continent of America, saved money very fast, purchased a
share of a large brig, and sailed her successfully as captain. The war
was now raging between Britain and the French Republic; but it did not
affect my prosperity, for, being now a naturalized American, my ship and
papers were a passport to me, and I sailed unmolested by the fleets and
privateers of both nations. But my heart was British, and rejoiced in
the superiority she held at sea, as if I had been in the British
service, and fighting for my country. For ten years everything had
prospered with me. I thought myself rich--for I never was
avaricious--and had some thoughts of returning to Edinburgh, when the
failure of a mercantile house in Charlestown reduced me once more to a
couple of thousand dollars. There was no use of fretting. I had all to
do over again, and to it I set. 'I am yet not an old man, and, if I am
spared (a few years are neither here nor there), I will be content with
less this bout--so here goes.' I made over my claim upon the bankrupts
to the other creditors for a small sloop that had belonged to them, and
began the coasting trade again. I sold my sloop soon after, bought a
brig, and took a trip in her to Kingston in Jamaica--when, what was my
grief and surprise, to see, in the first lighter that came alongside the
vessel, my old friend Billy! I could at first scarcely believe my eyes;
I thought I knew the face, but could not call to my recollection where I
had seen it, yet I felt I had known it by more than a casual meeting. I
was at this time sitting at my cabin window; I saw that the person who
had attracted my attention so much was a slave, and allowed the
circumstance to pass out of my mind for the time, as I was busy with
some papers, and had only been attracted by the sound of the oars as
they passed under the stern of the vessel. On the second trip of the
lighter I was on deck, and the same individual was there. I caught again
his eye; and, as I gazed upon him, he uttered a cry of surprise,
stretched forth his arms for a second, then shook his head sorrowfully,
and sunk it upon his bosom, as if in despondency. That it was Billy, I
had not now the most distant doubt; my heart leaped to embrace him,
slave as he was. But how he had come into his present situation I could
not conceive. I requested the black who had charge of the _Double
Moses_(the name of the craft), to send Billy upon deck; and, as soon as
he reached it, I held out my hand to him. I believe my eyes were not
dry; his were pouring a flood of tears upon my hand, which he kissed
again and again. The crew and others looked on in amazement. The captain
of a brig shaking hands with a black slave! Such an occurrence they had
never witnessed; for my crew were native Americans, and looked upon
negroes as an inferior race of men. He was now a stout young man, but
rather thin and dejected; he was naked, save a pair of old trousers, and
his shoulders and back bore the scars of many old and recent stripes.
His former vivacity was now nowhere to be traced in his melancholy
countenance--the independence of his former manner had all forsaken
him--he was, in truth, a broken-in spirit and crushed slave. I resolved
at once to purchase his liberty, if within my power, and told him so,
when he fell at my feet, wept, and kissed my shoes before I could lift
him up. He had not as yet opened his lips--his heart was too full,
emotion shook his frame; and, to ease the feeling that seemed like to
choke him, I went from the cabin to the state room, leaving him alone,
while I sought out a jacket and light vest for him. I staid no longer
than was necessary to give him time to recover. It was ever engraven
upon my heart, that look of gratitude he gave me. His attempt to speak
was still a vain effort. He was another man's slave and liable to
punishment. I requested him to go away to his duty, and not tell any one
what I meant to do, lest his master should ask an exorbitant sum, if he
thought I was resolved to purchase at any price. So he went into the
_Moses_, and pulled ashore; but kept his gaze constantly on me.
"As soon as my business would permit, I went on shore before sun-down to
make inquiries about his purchase from his present master, and was
pleased to find that he was the property of the merchant to whom my
cargo was consigned. I told him at once frankly off hand that I wished
to purchase a slave of his, to whom I had taken a fancy. He replied, I
was welcome to any of them at a fair valuation, and then called his
overseer--for he himself cared little about his slaves, hardly knowing
them by sight--and inquired if I knew his name. I told him the one I
meant was called Billy, and described him. The overseer at once knew
whom I meant, and said I would be welcome to him at cost, for he was a
stubborn, sulky dog, and gave him much trouble, and, besides, was
getting rather sickly; so that, if I chose, I might have him for two
hundred dollars. I at once agreed, and, after supper, went on board,
happy that I had succeeded so well; for Billy was to be handed over to
me in the forenoon, as soon as the notary had made out the transfer. At
length he came on board, joy beaming in every feature; but so much had
his noble spirit been crushed and broken, that he still felt his
inferiority, and stood at an humble distance. He had been taught the
severe lesson of what it was to be a slave. When I met him first, all he
knew of the white man was the most humble submission to King Peppel and
his father's humours. Their word was law to them at Bonny--how great the
contrast to him here! He was insulted, despised, and tortured by the
lash, by those very whites he had been taught, when a child, to look
upon as scarcely his equals. Had he been even a prince in the interior,
his bondage to the whites would not have been half so galling. I
beckoned him to follow me to the cabin, where I got from him an account
of his adventures since I had left him in Bristol.
"The captain left him at school on his next voyage to the coast, and did
not take him out until the second year, when Billy could read English
well, and had learned to cipher and write a tolerable hand. On being
delivered safe to his father, the prime minister was proud of his
accomplishments. Captain Waugh was most liberally rewarded; King Peppel
was glad to have one about him, who could make 'book speak.' Billy had
every appearance of rising into great favour; but, poor fellow, the
accomplishments his father was so proud of, proved the ruin of them
both, and of all their family. In King Peppel's court there was as much
ambition, intrigue, and rivalry, as in the most civilised in Europe; nor
were the political plotters less scrupulous in the means they used to
overturn the influence of a rival. They first began to hint, in an
indirect manner, that Bonnyface had sent his son to the white man's
land, to learn obi, and write 'feteche' or charms. The King, for some
time, only laughed at them; but their endless inuendoes gradually began
to poison his mind; and, while he became cool and more cool in his
manner, the secret enemies had bribed the priests, or 'feteche' men, who
also envied Billy his accomplishments, and they openly declared that it
was not good to have white man's 'feteches' in the black man's country.
Old Bonnyface saw the storm gradually thicken around him, without the
means of averting it; but this torturing state of uncertainty came to a
close. The King, who had been ailing for some time, and applying to the
surgeons of the slave ships, without much relief, was advised to try the
physicians of his own country. These were the priests and feteche men;
and this was the opportunity so long desired by the enemies of Billy's
family. It was declared by all that there was a white man's 'feteche'
upon him, and they could not remove it; but gave no opinions as to who
it was that had put it on the King. It could be none of the white men in
the river, for they all were his friends for trade; and then they
paused, and shook their heads, received their presents, and retired. No
one gave the least surmise to the King, who was the charmer; for this
had been done months before. All that had been hinted of Bonnyface and
Billy going to Britain rushed upon the King's mind, aggravated by fear.
Next day saw Bonnyface's head struck off, to break the 'feteche;' and
the interesting Billy, and all the members of the family, were sold for
slaves to the Europeans, their wealth confiscated to the King, and a
part of it bestowed upon those who had wrought their ruin. I brought
Billy home with me--and here ends my narrative, at least for this
evening."
It now being rather late, I bade the Captain good night, and called
again in the morning, after breakfast, when I found that the mother and
babe were quite restored. Upon inquiry, we learned that the name of her
husband was William Robertson. As the day was remarkably fine, I walked
with the Captain to the reading-room, and found that the _Czar_ had
arrived at Leith the day before. We took the stage, and rode down, and
soon had the pleasure to see the husband of the Captain's guest. When
they met, the Captain seemed much affected at sight of him, and, in an
agitated manner, inquired of what part of Scotland he was a native. He
said he was born in the Grassmarket of Edinburgh; and, upon further
inquiry, we found that he was the Captain's cousin, the son of his
uncle, who had married after his bankruptcy, and died, leaving his son
destitute, who, from necessity, had gone to sea. To conclude, William
Robertson came home to Morningside with us a happy man. His wife and
child resided with the Captain until his death, and that of Billy, who
did not survive him many months. The cousin sailed his own vessel out of
Greenock, and that was the last account I had from him.
THE KATHERAN.
Sae rantingly, sae wantonly,
Sae dauntingly gaed he--
He played a spring and danced it roun
Beneath the gallows tree.
In the latter end of the summer of the year 1700, as a party, consisting
of two ladies and two gentlemen, were returning to Banff, the place of
their residence, from a distant excursion into the Highlands, they were
overtaken by the dusk of evening in the Pass of Benmore, one of the
wildest and most desolate spots in the north of Scotland. The ladies of
this party were both young, and one of them, in particular, surpassingly
beautiful. This lady's name was Ellen Martin, the daughter of a
gentleman of great wealth, residing in the neighbourhood of the town
above named. At the period we introduce her to the reader, Ellen had
just completed her nineteenth year. She was rather under than above the
average stature of her sex; but her fragile form was exquisitely
moulded, and perfect in all its proportions. Her countenance was oval,
glowing with health, and strikingly expressive of a disposition at once
confiding, open, and affectionate. In truth, it was impossible to look
on the youthful form of Ellen Martin, without feeling that you saw
before you the very perfection of female loveliness. But, if there was
any particular time or occasion when that beauty was seen to greater
advantage than another, it might have been when, shaking aside with a
gentle motion of her head the profusion of fair glossy ringlets with
which it was adorned, she looked up with her large intelligent, but soft
blue eye, and her small rosy lips apart, to catch more distinctly what
conversation might be passing around her. At such a moment, and in such
an attitude as this, she seemed, indeed, more like one of those aerial
beings that fancy delights to create, than a creature of mortal mould.
The female companion of Ellen Martin, on the occasion of which we have
spoken and are about more fully to speak, was an intimate friend. One of
the gentlemen was a near relation of Ellen's, the other the brother of
her friend. The party, all of whom were mounted on little Highland
ponies, having been overtaken by the dusk, began to feel rather uneasy
at their situation, as they had yet fully fifteen miles of wild and
hilly road to travel before they could reach any place of shelter. They
had been perfectly aware, when they set out in the morning, of the
distance they had to accomplish, and knew, also, that considerable
expedition was required to enable them to complete with daylight the
necessary journey; but, full of health and spirits, and possessed of
tastes capable of enabling them to enjoy the splendid scenery which had
met them at every turn in their mountain path, they had loitered on the
way till they found that they had expended all their time, and had yet
accomplished little more than half their journey. In this dilemma, there
was nothing for it but to push on--a simple enough corrective of their
error, apparently, but one by no means to them of very easy adoption;
for they did not well know in what direction to proceed. Under these
circumstances, one of the gentlemen called a halt of the party, to
consider of what was best to be done, and to see if their united
intelligence could make out where they were precisely, and help to the
selection of the best route by which to prosecute their journey. To add
to the unpleasantness of their situation, it began to rain heavily, and
occasional peals of distant thunder growled amidst the hills.
The party were at this instant crowded together beneath the shelter of a
projecting rock, whither they had retired, to avoid the beating rain,
and to hold the consultation to which we have above alluded. Unpleasant,
however, as their situation was, they felt no great alarm. The ladies,
indeed, expressed some uneasiness occasionally; but it was quickly
banished by the rattling glee of their male companions, who, elated with
experiencing something like an adventure, were in high spirits, and
endeavoured to communicate the same feeling to their fair friends.
Ellen, who with all her gentleness of nature and delicacy of form, was
of a highly romantic and enthusiastic disposition, was gazing pensively
on the mighty masses of hill that rose around her on all sides, and anon
down into the deep hollow of the pass, to whose highest point they had
nearly attained, when she thought she perceived, through the obscurity
of the twilight, a human figure ascending the pass in the direction of
the party. She called the attention of her friends to the approaching
object, which, in a few minutes was sufficiently near to exhibit the
outline of a man of tall stature. He was advancing rapidly, with the
light springy step peculiar to the Highlanders, and was traversing with
apparent ease, ground, which, from its ruggedness and steepness, would
have rendered the progress of one accustomed to such travelling, slow,
laborious, and painful. The person now approaching seemed not to feel
any such difficulties. He bounded lightly and rapidly over the ground,
and in a few minutes was within a few yards of where they stood. On
observing the party, he made towards them, and, doffing his bonnet with
great politeness, and with the air of a prince, inquired, after
apologising for his intrusion, whether they stood in need of any such
assistance as one who knew the country well could afford them, and was
ready to give.
The person who now stood before the party, and who made this friendly
inquiry, was a young gentleman--at least one whose appearance and manner
bespoke him to be such. He was dressed in the full Highland costume of a
person of consideration of the period to which our tale refers; but was
fully more amply and carefully armed than was even then usual amongst
his countrymen. In his belt he wore, besides the dirk, the common
appendage, a couple of pistols, and, by his side, a broadsword of the
most formidable dimensions. The figure of this person, who appeared to
be about five-and-twenty years of age, was singularly handsome; his
countenance mild and pleasing in its expression, yet strongly indicative
of a bold and determined spirit--advantages which were finely set off
by the picturesque dress in which he was arrayed, and which he wore with
much dignity and grace, and by his erect and martial bearing. His whole
figure, in short, was remarkably striking and prepossessing.
"I fear," said the stranger, addressing the party, and smiling as he
spoke, "that you have miscalculated the height of our hills and the
breadth of our muirs, that you are so late abroad."
"It is even so, sir," said one of the gentlemen; "we have been idling
our time, and are now reaping the fruits of our thoughtlessness. We
neither know well where we are, nor which way we ought to go. I suppose
we must just make the most of the situation we are in for the night,
although these rocks are but very indifferent covering."
"Why, I must say I would not feel much for your case, gentlemen," said
the stranger, "though you had to sleep on the heather for a night--I
have done it a thousand times; but such quarters would ill suit these
fair ladies, I fear."
"Yet they must be content to put up with it for this night at any rate,"
said one of the gentlemen; "for we can make no better of it."
"Perhaps _we_ may make better of it," said the stranger. "Something must
be done to get these ladies under shelter. Let me see." And he mused for
a moment, then added--"If I thought you would not be overly nice as to
the elegance of your quarters, and if you would accompany me for a
distance of a couple of miles or so, I think I could promise you, at
least, the shelter of a roof, and such entertainment as our Highland
huts afford."
The friendly offer of the stranger being gladly accepted by the party,
who, one and all, declared they would be exceedingly thankful for any
sort of quarters, the whole set forward under the conduct of their
guide. Whether directed by choice or by chance, the latter, at starting,
took Ellen's pony by the bridle, and was subsequently most assiduous in
guiding the animal by the easiest and safest tracks. Nor did he once
quit his hold for a moment during the whole of their march. This
circumstance naturally placed Ellen and the stranger frequently by
themselves; since, as leaders, they generally kept several yards in
advance of their party--a circumstance which was not lost on the latter,
who aimed at, and succeeded in making, perhaps a somewhat more than
favourable impression on his fair companion, by his polished manners and
lively and intelligent conversation.