The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-03-27

riage with a poor inferior in rank is out Of the
question though, where there is wealth, even
Castilian pride will give way.
Suddenly the kind-hearted Spaniard who had
befrended him was involved in ineXtricable ruin
He was not 80 foreseeng as benevolent, and had
been induced to endorse notes for a worthless
brother, who failed, and reduced him to beggary
The laws of the island do not allow coffee estates
to be sold for debt, but the coffee can all be
| seized and our unfortunate neighbor, seeing the
utter ruin of his family, and being powerless to
do anything but raise coffee and be planter in
his old age, actually wept himself blind. Now
| was the time for Don Cirisco. He came to his
kind friend, told him to weep no more; that he
was his son begged him to throw all his cares
upon him, and allow him to cancel, if possible,
| the debt of gratitude he owed him. From that
time he took up his abode in the family, dismissed
the overseer regulated the expenses of the house
hold upon the strctest principles Of economy, re-
doubled his own labors TO earn money for their
support, sold all the negroes that could be spared
from the cultivation of small coffee patch, just
enough to supply family wants. and actually
smoothed the blind old mans path to the grave,
| into which be has snn-v-, pc resided here. He
consented to leave the family a little while after
the old mans death, and come here for liberal
salary, out Of which he could pay an overseer
there, and have something left to supply their
wants but he did not remain long, for he found
he could trust such precious interests to no hire
lings. am afraid he was no gamer by his tenn
porary abdication there; for he saw here, in the
person and heart Of an interesting woman, q
heaven of possible happiness, which he could not
make his own good and worthy as he is, and he
has returned to his post Of selfimposed duty, to
mourn over a deeper solitude than he had ever
known before in his life of exile y
What depression | have made! But now
have introduced you to my island hero, will re-
turn to poor Annette Don Criaco and | had
had often exchanged remarks about the poor girl
| for whom his compassion was as much excited as
mine. She could speak nothing but her own
| African dialect 80 that be could not express 1t
to her, except by kind looks and tones but had
touching proof of the magnetism Of kind feel
ings one night, after | had been i'll, and reap
peared on the hospital piazza, after few days
absence. As she passed the corner Of the piazza
where stood, she stopped a moment, and said, in
an inquiring tone" Muy busnW Very
well ny | said" 81, muy buenn e. Yes, very
well " in as grateful tone as could utter it.,
thankful to find that anything could draw her
for moment from dwelling upon her own misery.
When Spanards meet on courteous ground,
they always exchange beautiful greetings, adding
to How dye do7" and Every well" such ex-
pressions as "God be with you ~ "God keep
your soul p &c. | do not know that she knew
another word of Spanish but with those two
words she contrived to express in natural elo-
quence her estimation of my sympathy.
Ii was after Don Ciraco left the plantation,
that suddenly a remarkable change came over
| Annette She seemed suddenly transformed from
the listless melancholy being she had thus far
appeared, into wild savage This character did
not manifest itself in any acts of rebellion, or in
any spoken words. She still kept apart from the
rest, but sudden energy had, from some mex
| plicable cause, been infused into her, and the
tasks she performed were 80 far above the meas
ure Of her apparent strength, and executed with
such manifestations of spirit and force, that every
| one looked upon her with amazement. Her eye
actually cleaned with preternatural light, and
her step was like that Of a high-blooded steed,
when she returned from days work of such in
credible fea,s. | could not look upon her without
THRILL will not say of horror, but of an indie
Unable sentiment of awe. spoke Of the change
in her appearance one day to Don Criaco, when
he came to make us friendly visit, but begged
him not to speak of it, for ! did not know what
| purpose might animate her, and did not wish to
have her observed any mere than was inevitable
under the circumstances. ] was already afraid
that she was carefully watched, though | had not
heard lisp of such thing from any one Don
Ciriaeo losthed slavery as much as do, and would
| have reioiced in Annette's escape from thraldon
as sincerely as should, 80 that it was hardly ne
cesssry in this instance to put him upon his
guard He said he would ask Anselmo to ex
plain, If possible, the cause Of this transforms.
| ton.
believe | have never told you, that when a
new subject enters plantation, all the slaves q
through ceremony Of shaking hands, and ex-
changing word or two with the new conner In
this way they Immediately ascertain if the new
| balance IN THAR tribe, and the plaptpra
favor this exchange Of friendly words, because 1t
| helps to make new slave contented to find those
| who speak his own dialect on the same planta-
ton. Old Anselmo had Immediately discovered
that Annette belonged to his own tribe; and as
she was the only one upon the plantation who did,
he had at once taken her under his protection, as
it we're He was kind soul, and had succeeded
in making her speak to him from the first, but
no one knew till afterward how deep or vital had
been the communion. Don Ciriaco found him,
however, apparently as much at loss as any one
to account for the change in Annette's whole
manner of being But Don Cirisco's sagacity
surmised very soon that he knew more than he
chose to communicate, as the sequel proved
You now understand how Annette and Ansel-
mo could communicate 80 freely as | have de.
scrbed them on the evening when Andres had
first succeeded In obtaining peep at the out
ward world through his eye-hole. Something
in the form and bearing Of Annette, as she APP
preached the tree, rivetted his attention and
when he heard her say in his own native tongue,
and in a voice which had often thrilled his bosom
in his native land" But know ] shall die
soon ~ an involuntary cry burst from his lips.
II was his own betrothed savage, whose voice had
penetrated his soul Anselmo and Annette stood
riveted to the spot where the cry Of human agony
had burst upon their ears. The next moment,
Anselmo was dragging the half-nsensible Andres
from his hiding-place. II was but the work Of
moment to rush into each others arms, and TO be
torn asunder again by Anselmo. That moment
ary embrace transformed Annette from the weep
ing, responding woman, into a young tgress
The long slumbering savage was reused also in
the breast Of old Anselmo, but he had been too
thoroughly drilled into the prudent indifference
of the slave, TO lose his presence Of mind in so
trying an emergency He recognised Andres at
once, having often seen him at work on the other
side Of the hedge, and sterny bidding him retreat
to his hiding place, he led Annette with hurried
steps to the rear Of the returning gang. The
dusk Of evening fortunately concealed her per-
turbed mien, and after hearing her safely locked
into her cabin, the sad old man was consigned
to his.
But this time 1t was not TO sleep. A king Of
his tribe enslaved in q foreign land-a hunted
fugitve-whoss fate, II discovered, his very soul
tottered to contemplate. The poor weeping child,
who had poured out TO him the whole story of
her capture, her purchase, her subsequent sepa-
ration T ON all but her little sister, who was torn
from her here, when the collie passed through
the plantation. She had t6id him. too, that she
was 10 be the bride Of her king, who had chosen
her from all the maidens Of his tribe ! doubt
not Ansemo found himself possessed Of facul-
ties in that hour Of startling emotion, which he
never realized before for he had always borne
the character Of one Of the most gentle and sub
missive slaves, faithful TO his masters interests,
and friendly to his fellow slaves, TO whose chill
dreu he had for many years stood godfather. His
peouliar characteristics had m,de his life com
paratively an easy one, but he had seen others
suffer, and now he realized, perhaps for the first