"And if perchance a momentary sigh,
For such a lot reflection may supply,
He follows not the feeling to its source."
Barton (adapted.)
"If ever thou hast felt another's pain,
If ever when he sigh'd hast sigh'd again;
If ever on thine eyelid stood the tear,
That pity hath engender'd--drop one here:
This man was happy."
It will naturally be supposed, from the eagerness of Irving to make
good the purchase of Imihie and her poor boy, that his heart was
deeply interested by their situation, and that he had it certainly in
his power to ameliorate it. But, alas! if, for a moment, the chord
of compassion was touched, the feeling was transient, the impulse
too weak to prompt to action; and, so far from being strengthened
by the night's reflections, they, on the contrary, did but lead to
lament his own folly, in making himself liable to the loss he would
probably sustain by the high price he had given; as it was a condition
of his engagement with the Company, that he was to be individually
accountable for all losses incurred by the purchase of unprofitable
slaves. These anticipations of pecuniary injury, were confirmed by
the appearance of his poor captive on her arrival at the depôt at
Whidáh. A fixed melancholy seemed to have absorbed every faculty,
rendering her insensible even to the playful caresses of her boy,
in whose sparkling eye, health "seemed a cherub yet divinely bright;"
so happily unconscious was he of the bitterness of his lot, and the
sufferings of his mother. Finding, from his people, that she resolutely
rejected sustenance, Irving himself endeavoured to persuade her, but
without success; but when self-interest, aided by the dictates of
conscience and compassion, induced him to resort to the usual mode
of forcing it, (nor will we question it was a painful task to him,)
his heart must have been of adamant, not to have felt the powerful
appeal of wretchedness and despair, when, while in the execution
of this cruel duty, the poor captive looked up in his face, and,
with a mournful smile, said: "Presently I shall be no more." (Note
M.) Irving, indeed, from her appearance, began to think so; and as
he could not now remedy her situation, nor restore her to what she
had lost, he considered his best plan was to consign her, as soon
as possible, to the ship waiting to receive the collected slaves,
congratulating himself on his humanity, in having prevented the mother
and child from being separated, even if he should thereby sustain
some loss. He determined, also, to do all he could to ensure her
some attention during the passage; and, with this view, determined to
go immediately on board, to see the accommodation, and to give some
particular instructions to the captain; leaving orders that Imihie
should be conducted to the ship as soon as the day began to close.
The ship destined to convey these miserable beings to the West Indies,
had already on board between four and five hundred negroes. The
captain boasted much of the superior accommodation of his vessel for
the trade; and, to confirm his assertion, entreated Irving to visit the
slave-rooms. Willing to conciliate any who might promote his interest,
Irving consented. The superior accommodation he found, was, that
every slave, whatever his size, had five feet six inches in length,
and sixteen inches in breadth, to lie upon! The floor was crowded with
bodies, stowed or packed according to this allowance. But between
the floor and deck, or ceiling, were platforms or broad shelves,
in the mid-way, which were also covered with bodies. (Note N.) The
men were shackled two and two, each by one leg, to a small iron
bar; these, the captain with much self-complacence said, were every
day brought upon deck for the air; but lest they should attempt to
recover their freedom, they were made fast by ring-bolts to the deck,
or by two common chains, which were extended on each side the main
deck; but the women and children, he added, were suffered to remain
loose. Few slaves fared so well as his, he continued, for he allowed
each a pint of water a day, and yams and horse-beans twice a day;
and afterwards, for exercise and health, they jumped in their irons,
which, if they refused to do, he was obliged, certainly, to flog them,
as it was his duty to preserve them in health, if possible. Irving,
however, learnt, in the course of this man's conversation, that it
was usual for these miserable beings to remain fifteen or sixteen
hours below deck, out of the twenty-four; and that, in wet weather,
they could not be brought up for two or three successive days: their
situation was, he acknowledged, very distressing, but he could not
remedy it. They would cling to the gratings for a little air; draw
their breath with anxious and laborious efforts; fight with each
other for a taste of water; and many died of suffocation. (Note O.)
Amongst the number thus confined in the hold of this ship, Irving
remarked many whose nobleness of aspect indicated that there was a
"spirit within," which rose even above such calamity--a consciousness
of moral dignity, that spurned at the cruelties of the oppressor;
but there was one in particular, before the flame of whose eye even
Irving shrunk abashed. He was evidently a person of consequence; high,
it would seem, in military rank, inferred from certain personal
indications, with the meaning of which Irving was acquainted;
and also from some articles of dress, stated to have been taken
from him when captured; and every look (action was denied him)
indicated that he possessed a mind not insensible to the eminence of
his station. Irving enquired from whence he was taken, and from whom
purchased? He was told, from Molembo, it was thought; and that he had
been only a few days purchased from the king of Whidáh, with a number
of his countrymen, taken by treachery, and in defiance of a treaty
subsisting at the time. This was all he could learn; and having given
his instructions respecting Imihie, Irving returned to Whidáh before
her arrival at the ship, being desirous to avoid another interview,
the sight of her producing a painful emotion he could neither define
nor account for.