The next afternoon the Campbells again joined Mrs. Meridith's fire-side,
and after tea she began what she called the second part of her
adventures.
"After running the round of polite life which I told you of last night,
for three years, I was married at eighteen to Mr. Meridith, the nephew
of my uncle, and the ostensible heir to his title and estate; but
the fortune belonging to it was known to be so reduced by my uncle's
expenses, that the addition of mine was considered as a desirable thing,
both by my uncle and aunt, and Mr. Meridith's mother. As for himself,
I have reason to think he would have preferred me to any other woman,
had I not been the heiress of Rosewood and Coombdale; but as he expected
the Baronetcy, it was very convenient he should have a better fortune
to enable him to support it, than would be left him with the title. We
were married but a twelvemonth before his mother died; and my aunt, lady
Meridith, soon after; and my uncle, Sir Robert, married again; and as it
was not unlikely he would now have a son, all thoughts of the title were
given up, I may say without regret, by either of us. My uncle had taken
no notice of us for some time; and though he was appointed joint trustee
for me, with a friend of my father's, he left every thing in his hands.
By my father's will I was not to be put into possession of the estates
till I was twenty-five; nor was I allowed sufficient for us to live on
in the style we had been accustomed to; particularly as my husband's
fortune was small, and from the hope of his possessing the estate of
his uncle, his mother had not proposed his following any profession.
His father had property both in the East and West-Indies, but since his
death the remittances had been entirely suspended; and Mrs. Meridith
not caring to encumber herself with any litigation respecting it, had
not pursued her inquiries into the cause. My husband now proposed going
over to Jamaica, where the West-India estate lay, and to claim it for
himself, as he had sufficient documents to ascertain it as his property.
I had one child at that time, and was large with another, but I
determined to accompany him, and having settled every thing necessary in
England, we embarked; intending to be absent not more than three years;
and to return previous to my coming of age, I had one maid who attended
me, and an old servant, who had lived with the late Mrs. Meridith,
determined to follow the fortunes of his master.
"From this time my sorrows began; my first child, then about fifteen
months old, died on the voyage, and I was so ill myself, from
sea-sickness, that I feared I should not live to see the island we were
bound to; and earnestly did I wish my husband had never thought of it.
However we arrived there with the remains of my dear little boy, whom
I had no sooner seen laid in the ground, than I was taken ill, and a
premature birth was the consequence; but the child, which was another
boy, lived, and I loved it with ten times more affection, from having
lost its brother, and its being born in a strange country. I was too
weak to nurse it myself, and a black woman was provided to suckle it.
"During this time my husband, who behaved to me with the fondest
attention, found out the estate he was in search of, and was put in
possession of it without much trouble. We lived in a house which was
situated on it; my little boy grew, and I began to recover my health
and spirits, and to think that, strange as the people were around me, I
could live here happily enough till the time arrived for our return to
England.
"Mr. Meridith every day brought me accounts of the flourishing state
of the plantation, and the number of his slaves; but though this was
the case, we did not appear to receive much emolument from it. The
overseer he employed told him there were great drawbacks, and that it
was necessary to use a stricter discipline towards the negroes on their
having changed their master. I must say I did not like his reasoning,
or his manner, and could not be persuaded but that he was imposing on
my husband, to whom I mentioned my suspicions; but he thought them
groundless, and declared his intention of leaving him in charge of the
estate, while he went to look after that in the East-Indies, and which
he had been taught to believe was still more considerable. I gave up
my opinion to his, and offered to accompany him thither. At first he
refused, but I could not bear to be left with my child in the care of
Jackson, the man I thought so ill of; and therefore taking with us the
black woman, who was nearly as much attached to my child as myself, with
the English servants we brought over with us, we once more embarked on a
stormy sea. Having doubled the Cape of Good Hope, we arrived at Madras
after a voyage of nearly four months, during which time we were in two
violent gales of wind.
"My husband having introduced himself and me to some of our countrymen,
settled me there, and I remained with my two female attendants, and the
man-servant I mentioned before, while he proceeded to Bengal to identify
his property; which he understood, by some writings in his possession,
was in that province, and bordering on the river Ganges. Those of my
own sex and country, with whom I became acquainted, endeavoured to make
my time pass as agreeably as they could in his absence; but I declined
going into any company; my little boy, and the prospect of another
child, engrossed all my attention, and many anxious hours I passed for
the fate of their father, who was absent four months, during which time
I heard from him as frequently as I could expect, but he did not recover
his property here so easily as in Jamaica. While he was away, the black
woman who nursed my little boy died, and her place was supplied by
Bella; she was recommended to me by a lady who had lately purchased her,
and offered to give her up to me on the same terms. Bella had seen many
hardships, but her attention to poor Susee (the woman I lost) while she
was ill made me like her, and she soon gained my good opinion and also
my affection.
"Mr. Meridith returned a few weeks before I presented him with a
daughter, whom I was enabled to nurse myself, and I had now two
children, one born in the West, and the other in the East-Indies; I
pressed them both to my bosom, and longed for the time when I should
return to England, and live with them and their father, either at
Rosewood or Coombdale."
Mrs. Meridith sighed when she came to this part of her tale, and a
responsive sigh was uttered by all her auditors; who were too impatient
to hear the rest of her eventful story, to interrupt the silence which
for a moment or two prevailed; and she continued.
"After I was sufficiently recovered for him to leave me, Mr. Meridith
again went up the country, in hopes of bringing with him, on his return,
a true estimate of his property, or an equivalent for it in specie.
Myself and children waited his arrival for another four months, and
when he came back, it was without any hope of recovering the estate
for which he had had so much fruitless trouble. A very small part of it
could be ascertained to be his; and for this he was content to receive
a trifling sum compared to what he expected. But the negroes who were
employed on the land concluded that he must have received much more, and
when he had quitted the place to return home, they followed him, and
after murdering our old English servant, who had this time gone with
his master, they robbed him of all he had in his possession. Syphax was
one of these negroes, whom he had purchased but a few weeks before, and
brought away with him, having been pleased with his appearance; and
though he was evidently connected with these who followed them, and
knew their intention, it was to _his_ interference that his master owed
his life: for, though he had been his property but a little while, his
kindness insensibly gained his affection; and, when the attack was
made, Syphax joined those on his master's side. The negroes prevailed
in gaining his property, but the eloquence of Syphax saved his life;
and his contrition, and faithful attachment ever afterwards, made Mr.
Meridith and me highly value him. I was saved the agony of hearing of
this rencounter before my husband came back, or I should have suffered
greatly. As it was, I was sufficiently happy in having him restored to
me, though he came destitute of every thing but the clothes he wore, and
bitterly lamenting the loss of our servant Wilson, whose death was not
at first made known to me.
"'Our late voyage,' said he, 'has been entirely in vain; for I have
given up the small part which I could obtain of the property, I believe
to be mine, for a sum of money which I have been robbed of since; my
poor servant was killed in my defence; and I am returned to hear all my
acquaintance blame me, for having attempted to recover what was at such
a distance.'
"Syphax was in the room when he said this, and falling on his knees, he
exclaimed, with the most affecting earnestness, 'Wilson _be_ dead, Sir;
I will supply his place if you will let me; I have been very bad man,
but the negroes did persuade me; I ashamed that ever I agree to them:
but I did not know you a good master till I lived with you: I thought
all white men bad men. They treat us ill, and we treat them ill, but
_you_ never treat me ill. Wilson die for you, so will I: I keep your
life as my own! and your's too, dear lady,' turning to me, 'and the
children's for my master's sake. I will be your faithful servant.'
"I thanked him, and Mr. Meridith promised to consider him as such.
"'But will you return to the West-Indies with me?' said he; 'you say you
have no friends there.'
"'Nor none any where, Massa,' said he, very affectingly, 'for bad men
do not deserve to be called so. I have been very badly used in the
West-Indies, but I go any where with you, to the end of the world.'
"He was then dismissed, and I would have persuaded my husband to
return immediately to England: 'within a twelvemonth,' said I, 'and I
shall be of age, and Rosewood and Coombdale will be your's. Surely on
these estates we can live comfortably. O let us go, and think no more
of property in the Indies, when we have so much at home.' He seemed
affected by my earnestness, but made it appear so very necessary that we
should once more visit Jamaica, and leave our property there in proper
hands, to send us the remittances, that I agreed to accompany him
thither again, secretly hoping that a few months more would land us in
England."
Mrs. Meridith now found herself fatigued, and begged to postpone the
remainder of her story till the next evening.
"The worst is still to come," said she, "and I do not find myself equal
to the recital;" and her friends were too attentive to her feelings to
urge her to continue it. Anna related what had passed between Syphax and
herself in the garden.
"And his distress lest you should reveal his story, Mamma," said she,
"is now accounted for; but he need not have been afraid, for I think it
does him credit rather than dishonour."
"Undoubtedly," said Mr. Campbell, "for though he had consented to the
plan the negroes had proposed, his attachment to his master got the
better of his submission to them."
The rest of the evening soon passed away, and Mrs. Meridith was more
than usually silent; she appeared melancholy, and as if the distresses
she had still to relate lay heavy at her heart.