The adventures of Congo in search of his master : an American tale, containing a true account of a shipwreck and interspersed with anecdotes found on facts : illustrated with engravings

LIBRARY OF THE v

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA $
LOS ANGELES

*

ExLibris
EXVAH KARSHNE:

THE

ADVENTURES OF CONGO

IN

SEARCH OF HIS MASTER;

CONTAINING

A TRUE ACCOUNT OF A SHIPWRECK,

AND

Interspersed with Anecdotes founded on Facts,

BOSTON :

A1VNROE AND FRANCIS, 128 WASHINGTON STREET.

PREFACE.

WELL remembering that, when I was myself a
child, I alwa}Ts skipped over all prefaces and advertise-
ments, 1 do not now address myself to the you^ read-
ers for whom the following pages are written. This
advertisement is for the information of judicious pa-
rents, teachers, or friends, who, in turning over the
numerous publications which crowd the juvenile li-
brary, seek some indication of the contents of each
work, before they can decide on what will suit the
age or taste of the child for whom the purchase is
designed.

The history of Congo is written for children from
ten to twelve years of age. Its pretensions to their
favour are founded on the facts which it contains,
and which, in a verbal narration, have entertained
and interested so many children, that the writer was
induced on that account to commit them to paper.

Every anecdote in the following pages is taken from
real life, and all the circumstances of the shipwreck
were related to the author by one of the sufferers,
whose veracity can be relied on ; and, as children
early display a preference of truth to fiction, the au-

thor has often rejoiced in being able to reply in the
affirmative to the earnest inquiry, " Is it all true that
you have been telling us ?" This merit in the eyes of
children will also recommend the work to such pa-
rents, as think with the author, that it is a great pity
the young mind should ever lose its preference for
truth, and that much harm has been done by allowing
>o lar^ a portion of juvenile reading to consist of
baby novels.

The history of Congo, though merely serving to
connect the various anecdotes it contains, is also in-
fended to illustrate the force and value of a religious
education, and to show how good principles, early
imbibed, will enable even a child to resist temptation,
and struggle through the greatest difficulties ; and
that a proper trust and confidence in God soothes the
most trying hours, and has its reward even in this
worldv

CONTENTS.

CHAP. I. Page

Birth of the Hero 7

CHAP. II.
Account of Congo's Father - - , 12

CHAP. III.
Dinah's Death 20

CHAP. IV.
Preparations for a long Voyage 26

CHAP. V.
The Iceberg - 35

CHAP. VI.
Repeated Disappointments 54

CHAP. VII.
Dangerous Companions ......... <J5

CHAP. VIII.
The Beggars - 74

CHAP. IX.
Better Prospects 93

1*

\"1 CONTENTS.

CHAP. X.
Dangers of a Secret 103

CHAP. XI.

Change of Scene 118

CHAP. XII.
A capricious Mistress .......... 130

CHAP. XIII.
An unsuspected Encounter -- 146

CHAP. XIV.
J he Benevolent Surgeon 157

CHAP. XV.
Congo his own Historian 163

THE

ADVENTURES OF CONGO.

CHAPTER I.

BIRTH OF THE HERO.

" GOOD morning, massa, glad see you look
clebber dis morning, massa !" said the af-
fectionate Congo, as he suddenly entered his
master's dressing room ; at the door of
which he had been anxiously listening for
an hour, in the hope of hearing some noise,
which might prove that his master was up,
so eager was ne to communicate to him the
circumstance which had made his own heart
overflow with joy. Mr. Stewart was dress-
ing, and Congo's entrance, a few minutes
earlier than usual, would have surprised him,
had he not instantly read, in the animated
countenance of his black servant, that he
came to announce something which he could

8 CONGO IN SEARCH

hardly repress long enough to give his mas-
ter his usual salutation ; with the same
breath he added, " me got great news
for massa."

" Indeed, Congo ! what may it be ?"

"Congo got a little one."

" Ah ! I give you joy, and what is it ?"

" Massa guess."

"A girl?"

" No, massa, not a girl ; guess again."

" A boy, Congo ?"

" Ah, massa ! somebody tell you !"

Mr. Stewart could not refrain from laugh-
ing at this simple observation, and Congo
laughed too, though from a different cause.
Joy in his breast was like that of a child,
and his happiness on this occasion made him
laugh, dance and sing all the day long. Nor
was his mirth imputed to him as a fault by
any of Mr. Stewart's family. Unlike some
heartless and selfish people, who dislike that
cheerfulness of disposition which generally
characterizes men of colour when well treat-
ed, Mr. Stewart delighted in it, and often
used to say, that the gaiety of a negro's dis-
position is a striking instance of the goodness
of Providence, who gives to the most op-
pressed part of mankind a buoyancy of
spirits, which enables them to enjoy to the

OF HIS MASTER. 9

utmost whatever intervals of happiness are
allowed them.

Mr. Stewart was a native of Virginia, one
of the most fertile and extensive of the atlan-
tic states of North America, but one in
which slavery still exists. The chief pro-
duction of that part of the country is tobac-
co, and the large tracts of land called plan-
tations, on which it is grown, give the name
of planters to their possessors. Mr. Stew-
art's father was one of the richest of the
Virginian planters, and left to his eldest son
very large estates, and an immense number
of slaves ; the former in a most flourishing
condition ; the latter as happy as men can
be, who, deprived of liberty, are entirely
dependent on the will of an individual. Mr.
Stewart had been educated in Philadelphia,
the capital of a state where no species of
slavery is allowed, and where the laws are
as mild as is consistent with personal securi-
ty ; there he had imbibed such sentiments
and opinions as made him revolt from the
idea of being a slave-holder ; and when, on
the death of his father, he returned to Vir-
ginia, and took possession of his estate there,
his detestation of the principles of slavery
was not lessened, by finding that the state
of his father's slaves formed a happy con-
trast to that of the greater part of this un-

10 CONGO IX SEARCH

fortunate race. He considered, that whilst
a few had good masters, and were rendered
comparatively comfortable, there must al-
ways be thousands who are daily suffering
from the inhumanity of their owners, or the
brutality of their overseers ; he knew that
the dependence of a slave degraded his
character, and that the exercise of power
in a slave-holder hardened and corrupted
the heart ; he even dreaded the effect of it
on his own mind, and resolved either to pro-
cure the emancipation of slaves in Virginia,
or to give up the possession of his estates
there.

Mr. Stewart was at first extremely san-
guine in his project of immediate emancipa-
tion, and thought, like many others, that it
might easily be accomplished ; he was well
acquainted with the venerable President of
the United States, who was, like himself, a
Virginian, and deeply affected by the condi-
tion of his coloured brethren in slavery
there. Numerous were the schemes which
they together formed for the abolition of
slavery, throughout the republic; but to
each of these some objection presented it-
self, which was, for the present, insurmount-
able, and, after two years spent in fruitless
endeavours to accomplish his favourite pro-
ject, Mr. Stewart found himself obliged to

OF HIS MASTER. 11

•

relinquish it ; and leaving to the legislature
the care of gradually doing away that griev-
ance, which he had vainly attempted to
abolish at once, he resolved to give up his
estates to his younger brother, whose kind
heart would, he knew, render him a good
master, though, from being brought up in a
slave country, his sentiments were not exact-
ly like his own.

Mr. James Stewart was, in fact, so wholly
incapable of entering into his elder brother's
feelings, upon the subject of slavery, that he
secretly suspected him of being a little de-
ranged in his intellects, and could with diffi-
culty be persuaded to accept the very advan-
tageous propositions made him by his broth-
er; by these he became much the richer of
the two, and stepped into a situation of ease
and luxury, whilst his crazy brother, as he
called him, left the country, to establish
himself as a merchant in Philadelphia.

The sacrifice of property to right princi-
ple and good feeling, produced a rich reward
in the breast of Mr. Stewart, and was attend-
ed, in his future career, by the Divine bless-
ing. Successful in all his undertakings, and
beloved by all who knew him ; happily
married, and the father of a large family,
he never ceased to bless the hour when he
resolved to exchange the life of a Virginian

12 CONGO IN SEARCH

planter for that of a Philadelphia!! mer-
chant.

It was some years after this change of
residence, that the black servant already
mentioned, was so happy as to claim his no-
tice ; and as the circumstances, under which
Congo first met his future master, were such
as interested the kind heart of Mr. Stewart,
we shall give them at length in the follow-
ing chapter.

CHAPTER. II.

ACCOUNT OF CONGO'S FATHER.

THE very hot weather which, in Phila-
delphia, continues throughout September,
had just given place to the chill gales of Oc-
tober ; the storms, which generally prevail
about the time of the autumnal equinox, had
just set in; and the merchants, whose prop-
erty was afloat on the broad ocean and ex-
posed to their influence, began to watch
anxiously for the arrival of those ships
which were supposed to be approaching the
coast, when Mr. Stewart paid his usual
morning visit to the quays.

OF HIS MASTEii.

The city of Philadelphia is finely situated
near the mouth of the river Delaware ; and
on the handsome stone quays, one hundred
feet broad, which extend along the sides of
that magnificent river, are landed the vari-
ous productions of the four quarters of the
globe ; whilst the inhabitants of opposite
hemispheres meet there and exchange the
news of their far distant countries.

Mr. Stewart had taken his usual number
of turns on the quay, had ascertained all the
fresh arrivals, and heard the tidings of the
day, when he was accosted by the master
of a vessel, just arrived from the West-In-
dies, and asked if he would like to treat
with him for a fine negro he had just
brought from St. Jago. The question start-
led him extremely, and he was upon the
point of returning to it a short but positive
negative, \vhen he recollected that he was
not in a slave country, and thought he must
have misunderstood the stranger's question.
On inquiry, he found that the Captain had
just come from an island, where the inhabi-
tants were suffering from a scarcity of pro-
visions, and had brought with him several
blacks, who had agreed to serve him for five
years, provided he would take them away
with him, and that it was one of these men
whom he now wished to dispose of. This
explanation satisfied Mr. Stewart that the

14 CONGO IN SEARCH

Captain was not offering him, for sale, a fel-
low creature, as he would one of the brute
creation, but that he merely wished to trans-
fer him the services of a man, who had vol-
untarily engaged himself for a certain peri-
od ; and the grief and indignation, which he
had at first felt, gave place to a benevolent
wish to oblige the Captain, whom he consid-
ered to "have done a kind act, in bringing
away some of the starving inhabitants of
vSt. Jago. He thought it a pity that the man
should be overburthened by the people he
had rescued, and was easily persuaded to
walk with him to that part of the quay
where the vessel laid, and see the negro of
whom ho wished to dispose.

" Congo ! you woolly-headed dog, come
here !" roared out the Captain.

These epithets, though they really meant
nothing in the mouth of the Captain, shock-
ed the feelings of Mr. Stewart, and made
him look with increased interest at the fine
athletic figure which obeyed that unchris-
tian summons. As he approached, Mr.
Stewart spoke kindly to him, but he under-
stood so little English and spoke it so badly
that he did not venture any reply, and the
Captain proceeded to make his bargain with
Mr. Stewart, saying he had five years to
serve, and he would take one hundred dol-
lars for his time. On this the black turned
quickly round upon the Captain and uttered,

OF HIS MASTER. 15

with great vehemence, a few words of bro-
ken English, which were perfectly unintelli-
gible to Mr. Stewart. The Captain was
much irritated by the interruption, and, pre-
tending not to understand his meaning, en-
deavoured to silence him, but in vain ; as
often as he recommenced his conversation,
the negro renewed his vehement gesticula-
tions and his attempts to speak. The dis-
tress of the poor creature, at not being able
to make himself understood, with his great
eagerness to be heard, and the Captain's
anxiety that he should not be attended to.
excited the curiosity of Mr. Stewart, and
fixed his attention on the gestures of the
black. He now perceived that he frequent-
ly held up three of his fingers in the Cap-
tain's face and stamped his foot violently, in
token of affirmation, and this action was
soon rightly interpreted by Mr. Stewart.
It meant that he had agreed to serve but
three, instead of five years, and a severe
reprimand from Mr. Stewart made the un-
principled Captain confess that to be the
truth.

The anxiety and distress which the ne-
gro had shewn, before he was able to make
himself understood, and the ingenuity with
which he at last accomplished his purpose,
completed the interest which Mr. Stewart
had felt for him, on hearing him so coarsely
summoned into his presence, and, paying the

16 CONGO IX SEARCH

Captain sixty-five dollars for his time, he
took him into his own family.

Congo's conduct proved him worthy of
Mr. Stewart's kindness, and he soon became
a great favourite, both in the parlour and
the kitchen. His broken English, and
childish mistakes, were a constant source of
amusement to his fellow servants, and were
often carried by the children to the parlour,
and remembered amongst the family anec-
dotes. Amongst these, it was never forgot-
ten, that one morning, soon after Congo's
arrival, he was sent to draw water from a
water cask ; there had been a hard frost in
the night, but as Congo had never before
seen ice, he could not tell what to think of
it ; and having tried in vain to make it flow,
by beating and shaking the cask, he return-
ed to the kitchen all astonishment, and de-
clared he had " caught the water napping,
and could not wake him up."

Long before the three years were expir-
ed, for which he was bound, Congo had for-
gotten all about the terms on which he had
entered his master's service. Well fed and
clothed, and kindly treated, he had not a
thought or a wish beyond the present ;
and when he was told by Mr. Stewart
that he was now free to go where he
pleased, that he was his own master, and in-
stead of being dependent upon him for food
and clothing, he was now to receive wages,

OP HIS MASTER. 17

and go or stay, as he pleased, his counte-
nance fell, and he turned away in silence
from the presence of his master, to hide
the tears which rushed into his eyes, and to
ponder un his altered situation. Congo had
been so perfectly happy in Mr. Stewart's
service, that he considered any change must
be for the worse, and as he did not clearly
understand the nature of that change which
his master had communicated to him, he
feared he was about to be abandoned by his
best friend, and separated from those he
most loved. Whilst this was passing in
Congo's rnind, 1 e little children of the fam-
ily observed that he was not like himself j
instead of playing with them, he only wept
over them, and carried them quietly about
in his arms, instead of running and jumping
as usual. Instead of being the life of the
kitchen party, he was found in the evening
sitting under a tree in the yard, with his el-
bows fixed on his knees, and his face resting
in his hands. The eldest of Mr. Stewart's
children, a fine boy of seven years old, pull-
ed Congo's hands from his face, and insisted
upon knowing what was the matter with
him ; his fellow servants also gathered round
him, and begged him to tell them what dis-
tressed him. At last, the poor fellow sob^
bed out, " Massa tell Congo me no longer
his man, me be free, but me got no fad, no
mod, no jack, no breech, me no want be free !"
2*

IB CONGO IN SEARCH

" And is this all that ails you, Congo ?"
exclaimed the servants, as they all laughed
aloud at his simple expression, and all strove
at once to explain to him, that he had no
cause for uneasiness.

Little Charles Stewart had run off to re-
peat Congo's words to his father, who was
deeply touched by them, and sent the child
to call Congo into the parlour. The poor
fellow was considerably relieved by what his
friends in the kitchen had said to him, but
he was not restored to his former tranquilli-
ty, until assured by his master that he
<hould remain in his family on the same
footing as before, and that if he liked it bet-
ter, he should still be provided with his
jacket and breeches. Mr. Stewart assured
him the only difference should be, that of
his having it in his power to leave him when
he wished it ; but that privilege implied a
possibility so painful, that Congo was again
made wretched by the bare mention of it,
and as Mr. Stewart could not make him
comprehend the value of possessing a pow
er over himself, which he felt sure he should
never wish to exercise, he allowed him the
pleasure of believing himself inseparably
connected with the family of his benefac-
tor ; and thus was peace restored to the
breast of the simple-hearted and affection-
ate Congo.

OF HIS MASTER. 19

Shortly after this, Congo married, with
the consent of his master, an industrious,
well-behaved young woman, of his own col-
our, named Dinah ; and it was on the birth
of his first child that he announced his hap-
piness to his master, in the manner describ-
ed in the first chapter. His joy was then
at its height, and all the family participated
largely in it. The children were at first
displeased by the colour of the baby, and
wondered at its not being like their mam-
ma's babies ; but this novelty soon wore off,
and as neither Dinah nor Congo were half
so particular about 'their child, as their
mamma was about her's, they were allowed
to pull about little Congo, as they called
him, and nurse him as much as they liked.
The child was remarkably quiet, and was
very rarely heard to cry, even when carried
about under the arm of master Charles, or
in the pincloth of Miss Mary, and there-
fore Dinah was well pleased to let them
make a plaything of him ; and though she
sometimes found him left alone on the floor
of the room, or pushed into the corner of a
large chair, whilst his young nurses were
pursuing other amusements, no serious acci-
dent ever befel him, and his mother's dispo-
sition saved her from any of the fears,
which Mr. and Mrs. Stewart often express-
ed, at seeing her child in such young hands.

20 CONGO IN SEARCH

CHAPTER III.

DINAH'S DEATH.

WHEN Charles Stewart was nine years
old, his father determined on sending him to
a school, which, though at a great distance
from Philadelphia, he preferred to all oth-
ers, on account of his nigh esteem for, and
intimate acquaintance with the gentleman
who conducted it. Charles, though a boy
of high spirit and good courage, was a little
cast down at the idea of going so far from
home, to be entirely among strangers ; his
father perceived this, and as his business
would not allow of his accompanying his son
himself, he resolved to send Congo with
him, and give him leave to stay a few days
there, until Charles should become recon-
ciled to his new situation. This arrange-
ment quite satisfied the child, and he would
have gone off in tolerable spirits, had it not
been for the infection of Congo's grief, at
leaving his wife, though only for two or
three weeks. Since Congo had first enter-
ed his masters family, he had never slept a
night from under his roof, and this separa-
tion cost him a flood of tears. That weak-
ness, however, he soon checked, on his mas-
ter representing to him that it greatly in-

OF HIS MASTER. 21

creased Charles's suffering, and made him
doubly regret leaving home. On their way
to the vessel, by which they were to go,
Mr. Stewart exhorted Congo to be a cheer-
ful companion to his young charge, and de-
sired him, when about to leave him at school,
to make light of the separation ; and such
was the real affection of Congo's heart, that
he conquered his own feelings, and did ex-
actly as his master desired.

Genuine and disinterested affection much
oftener requires the suppression of one's
feelings than their indulgence, and Congo's
was of that description.

The day after Congo sailed, his wife fell
ill of a fever, which soon assumed a
dangerous character ; all possible care was
taken of her, and her kind friends spared
neither pains nor expense to save her life.
Their exertions, however, proved vain, and
Dinah expired, on the eleventh day after her
husband left her, much lamented by all the
family, both for her own sake and that of
Congo. Her child was too young to feel her
loss, but all dreaded the effect it would have
on her affectionate husband ; and about the
time that his return was expected, Mr.
Stewart spent most of the day upon the
quays, watching for the arrival of his ser-
vant, that he might prevent his hearing the
sad news that awaited him in any sudden or
improper manner. He knew that he pos-

22 CONGO IN SEARCH

sessed more influence over Congo than any
other person, and that the poor fellow could
better bear to hear of his loss from him than
from any one else, and therefore determined,
painful as was the task, to break the news
to him himself.

At last Congo arrived ; it was late in the
day, but his master was on the quay to re-
ceive him. The happy countenance, and
cheerful salutation of the unconscious wid-
ower, gave a pang to the heart of Mr.
Stewart, and he was glad to hear him enter
instantly on the history of his voyage, and
tell all the circumstances of his leaving
Charles at school, as it allowed them time to
reach the house before he communicated to
him the fatal news.

To attempt a description of Congo's
grief, on hearing that his dear Dinah was no
more, would be a useless trial of the read-
er's feelings ; it is sufficient to say, that his
sorrow, like his joy, was extravagant. For
many days he could with difficulty be per-
suaded to take any nourishment, and his
nights were spent by the grave of his de-
ceased wife.

Mr. StewTart knew that employment would
be the best restorative for the mind of his
servant, and therefore, after the first few
days which he allowed to the violence of
Congo's feelings, he required from him his
customary services, and this necessary exer-

OF HIS MASTER. 23

tion, together with the consolation he deriv-
ed from occasionally talking of his loss with
his master, and the amusement which his
child afforded him, restored him to a certain
degree of tranquillity. From time to time
his grief would break out afresh, and vent
itself in expressions of sorrow the most
touchingly simple ; among the number
we must record an epitaph,* which Congo
is said to have spoken extempore over the
grave of Dinah, on visiting it in company
with one of his fellow servants a few weeks
after his return. This little ditty he was
afterwards frequently heard repeating to
himself, in his own sing-song way.

Here lie Dinah, Congo's wife,
Congo lub her like his life :
Dinah, she die six week go,
Congo's massa tell him so.

The little Congo thrived well, and his
lively prattle did much towards restoring his
father's good spirits. When he was six
years old, Mrs. Stewart interested herself
in his being taught to read; and, preparato-
ry to his being sent to school, she gave him
a little spelling-book, telling him, if he would
learn his letters she would give him half a
dollar, and let him go to school. The child
was much pleased, and entered cheerfully

* This epitaph was really composed by a Negro over the
grave of his wife.

24 CONGO IN SEARCH

upon his task ; but at the end of a week he
brought back the book to his kind mistress,
saying in a melancholy tone, that he had
rather not have the half-dollar than learn all
his letters.

" How is this, Congo ?" said Mrs. Stew-
art, quite surprised at his want of persever-
ance ; " why, you knew as far as H two
days ago."

" Yes, missee, but me can never learn all
de letters, for all de book is full of dem, and
me can never know dem all/'

This was indeed an idea calculated to fill
him with despair : but on Mrs. Stewart's
explaining the matter to him, he resumed,
with fresh spirit, the study of those twenty-
six letters, the repetition of which he had
mistaken for so many additional characters.

His letters were soon learnt, but he never
showed any quickness or made much pro-
gress during the period he was at school.
His imagination was so lively and his spirits
so high, that he could never be made to fix
his attention on his book, and, though very
apt at learning whatever was taught him
by word of mouth, and very dexterous at
imitating whatever he saw done, he never
looked into a book of his own accord, or
wrote a line fit to be seen, until one of the
}Toung ladies of the family undertook to im-
prove him in that branch of his education ;
then indeed his progress was ra.pid, forgrat-

OF HIS MASTER. 25

itude and affection had power to fix even his
wandering attention.

Mrs. Stewart was in the habit of reading
the Scriptures aloud to her family every
morning, and then questioning the younger
branches of it in what they had just heard;
by this means Congo acquired a very good
knowledge of the sacred writings. Mrs.
Stewart never failed to point out the moral
and religious obligations enforced by the por-
tions of the Bible which she read to them,
and to teach her young auditors to try their
actions by that unerring standard.

With these advantages, it will be readily
believed, that the youthful Congo acquired
a just abhorrence of every thing wicked and
deceitful, and, though not exempt from the
faults of childhood, he discovered few that
were likely to grow up with him. His word
could always be relied on ; and his respect
for the property of others was remarkable,
in the meanest trifles. He discovered at an
early age a quickness of repartee, which,
though very amusing in the family, was
rather checked than encouraged by Mr. and
Mrs. Stewart ; as they feared it might de-
generate into flippancy among his equals, and
impertinence towards his superiors. They
could not however prevent their friends and
acquaintances from amusing themselves with
Congo's quickness, and the following anec-
3

26 CONGO IN SEARCH

dote is still remembered of his childhood.
When Congo was only six years old. a gen-
tleman of the name of King threatened
good-humouredly to throw him into the riv-
er : " You won't do any such thing," said
the boy archly, "for though you are a. King,
you have no power over me."

This answer so delighted the gentleman,
that he always told it with great spirit, and
even wished to have the author of it in his
own service. But Mr. Stewart hoped to
make something better of the boy than a
mere jester, and had he felt no particular
attachment to him or his father he would
not have resigned Congo into the hands of
a master, whose predilection for him was
founded on the child's knack at repartee ;
a quality always dangerous to its possessor,
and particularly so to a child.

CHAPTER IV.

PREPARATIONS FOR A LONG VOYAGE.

SEVERAL years had elapsed, and Mr. Stew-
art's family began to grow up around him.
His eldest son had finished his education at
school, and spent three years at college, and
was now very desirous of travelling. His
wishes naturally pointed towards England ;

OF HIS MASTER. 27

and he longed to take a near view of that
proud little island, doubly interesting to an
American as the mother of his own country
and the arbitress of Europe : nor did his
excellent father deny him so reasonable an
indulgence. Mr. Stewart only required of
his son that he should devote one year to
business, previous to the commencement of
his travels ; as he would then be enabled to
combine present pleasure and information
with future advantages as a merchant.
Charles saw the propriety of this arrange-
ment, and though he burned with impatience
to set off, he readily submitted to this delay,
and endeavoured to second his father's views
by devoting his whole time and attention to
the transactions of the counting-house.
These were at first very disagreeable to
him, and he often longed to push aside the
day-book and ledger, and return to those
studies in which he had taken so much de-
light, during the latter period of his stay at
college. By degrees, however, he became
more interested in the business, and found
his perseverance rewarded by a growing
fondness for its occupations. The year,
which would, he imagined, pass heavily
away, flew over his head almost impercepti-
bly, the natural consequence of constant em-
ployment ; and he saw with delight the
spring advancing in which he was to embark
for Europe. The fondness of his mother

28

CONGO IX SEARCH

and sisters rendered his foreign tour a pain-
ful subject to them, he therefore seldom
spoke of it in the parlour ; but as it was his
earliest and his latest thought, he often amu-
sed himself with raising Congo's astonish-
ment, by stories of the land he wras going to
visit. But as these conversations with the
lad who waited on him, were more the over-
flowings of his own thoughts, than informa-
tion adapted to the capacity of his young
auditor, they produced a strange confusion
of ideas in the child's mind, as will after-
wards appear.

Young Congo was now about fourteen
years old, tall of his age, and capable of be-
ing useful in the family, though he often suf-
fered his love of play to interfere with his
duties. On Charles Stewart's becoming a
constant resident in his father's house, the
boy who was once his plaything, became his
most assiduous attendant ; he attached him-
self to his person, and was proud of ren-
dering him those services which he saw his
elder master received from his father ; and
every one was pleased to observe that since
Congo waited on Mr. Charles he was but
seldom to be seen lounging in the streets, or
playing at childish games.

Congo did not like occupation for its own
sake ; he did not understand the pleasure
which well regulated minds feel in a sense
of usefulness ; but he possessed an affection-

OF HIS MASTER. 29

ate temper, and the delight he felt in serv-
ing those he loved was sufficient to overcome
his idleness ; and Mr. Stewart hoped that
in time a habit of industry might be formed.

The conversations just mentioned, which
Charles Stewart used to hold with his little
attendant, fired the child's imagination, and
excited his curiosity ; and he often begged
his young master to take him with him to
the land of wonders he described. But as
Charles had never given the request a seri-
ous thought, he only put him oft with some
vague answer : and once when Congo had
been more urgent than usual, he thought to
silence him by saying, " What, Congo, would
you leave your good old father, and go so
many thousand miles off ? I thought you
were more affectionate."

Congo looked a little confused, then tim-
idly answered, " You love your good father,
and mother, and sisters, but you leave them
all to see the fine things in England ; and I
love my father, but I leave him to go with
you."

Charles was struck with this reply, and
felt that Congo less deserved the charge of
doing violence to his affections than he did
himself.

As the time of his embarkation approach-
ed, he saw that the boy's personal attach-
ment to him, far more than his curiositv.
3*

30 CONGO IN SEARCH

prompted his desire of accompanying him.
Congo was constantly bewailing the fate of
his young master, when he should be alone
in a strange land ; and though frequently
assured that he was going where there were
thousands of people like himself, and where
he would soon make many acquaintances,
some of them old friends of his father's, he
persisted in calling a separation from his
family and dependents being a/owe, and at
last he succeeded in making Charles dread
that kind of loneliness as much as he dread-
ed it for him ; and Charles applied to his
father for permission to take Congo with
him.

Mr. Stewart felt, at first, many objections
to the proposal ; his kind concern for the
eternal, as well as temporal welfare of all
persons entrusted to his care, made him fear
that Congo's morals might suffer by a for-
eign tour ; not that he doubted the good
example which his son would set him, or the
care he would endeavour to take of him ;
but he feared the influence of bad associa-
tion, and thought he could not escape the
corruption of English servants. Charles,
however, was so urgent, and promised to
take such good care of him, and seemed so
confident that Congo's principles and hab-
its of candour would preserve him, even
amidst temptation, that his father at last

OF HIS MASTER. 31

consented to let the boy go, provided his
own father did not object to it.

The elder Congo so loved his own de-
pendence on Mr. Stewart, and was so hap-
py in feeling himself inseparably connected
with him, that his first desire, on becoming
a father, was that his son should be equally
inseparable from the eldest son of the
house ; and it was in order to procure him
that privilege that Congo had been made,
as soon as born, Master Charles's plaything;
and, so far from feeling the least reluctance
to let him now accompany him to England,
he received the proposal with pleasure al-
most equal to his child's, and rejoiced that
the separation which he had dreaded, be-
tween his own son and that of his benefac-
tor, was to be changed for an union more
close than ever.

Never did travellers prepare for a jour-
ney with more heartfelt joy and delight,
than the master and servant whom we are
now describing ; the former busied in pre-
paring his journal and sketches, the latter
paying daily, almost hourly, visits to the tai-
lor, who was employed to equip him in a
new livery suit, the first he ever had, and
now ordered for him by his young master :
who, after duly consulting with his sisters on
the colours most becoming to Congo's com-
plexion, resolved to adopt, as his livery, a
dark green turned up with yellow, green

32 CONGO IN SEARCH

trowsers, and yellow waistcoat. Congo nar-
rowly watched the progress of his new
suit, and some private directions given by
him as to pockets and paddings were good-
humouredly complied with by the tailor.
Nor was the shoemaker without his instruc-
tions ; Congo having observed that his mas-
ter's shoes creaked as he walked, thought
the noise added greatly to the consequence
and style of the tread ; he therefore desir-
ed the shoemaker to put a shilling's worth
of " squeak leather'' into the shoes he was
making for him, as he was willing to pay as
much as that out of his own pocket, for
creaking shoes. Crispin pocketed the shil-
ling and published the joke, and Congo was
well laughed at by his fellow servants.

As Congo's livery was one of his master's
own inventing, that young gentleman was
much surprised, on going to pay his farewell
visit to a family with whom he was intimate,
to see a youth in the very same livery walk-
ing with a grave and consequential air up to
the back door of the same house, and there
gaining easy admission, whilst he rapped in
vain several times. Whilst Charles was
thus kept waiting at the door, he wondered
who could have anticipated him in his livery,
and what nice looking lad he had seen in it :
but without a suspicion of the truth until
the door was opened, and through a long
passage, at the end of which was a well

OP HIS MASTER. 33

lighted kitchen, he beheld the youth in liv-
ery dancing with a black girl of his own
age, and recognized young Congo, cutting his
usual capers, the wonder and admiration of
a group of servants, who were begging him
to be quiet that they might examine his new
dress, and one of whom had reluctantly
quitted the scene of action, to answer the
knocks at the door.

When Congo heard his master was in the
parlour, his gaiety was checked, by a fear
that he would be displeased at his having
shewn himself, in his new livery, to his
young friend Flora, before he had been seen
by his master. The fact was, Congo had
watched the finishing stitches in his clothes,
had dressed himself in them at the tailor's,
and had come, with conscious vanity, to ex-
hibit himself to the admiring eyes of Flora.
Congo's fears were without foundation, his
master was not jealous of Flora's seeing
the suit before he did ; but, sending for
him, he took care not to feed the boy's van-
ity, by making any other remark upon it,
than that the clothes fitted tolerably well,
and then told him he must go home and
pack them up in his trunk, as the vessel
would sail at day-break the following morn-
ing, and all the luggage must be on board
that night.

Congo did as he was ordered, but having
bidden his- kitchen friends adieu, and taken

34 CONGO IN SEARCH

an affectionate leave of Flora, his gaiety
was gone ; and on his return home, he won-
dered that his father and fellow servants
found any diversion in the change which his
livery made in his appearance. When call-
ed upon to show himself to the young ladies
in the parlour, he did it with reluctance ;
nor could he muster a smile when most ad-
mired by them. He brushed away the
tears, which would force themselves into his
eyes, and said by way of apology, " My
eyes sweat so, I don't know what ails them."
It would have been difficult to conceal the
smile, which poor Congo's simple expression
was calculated to excite, had not the feel-
ings of the family party been somewhat in
unison with those of the boy. The young
ladies had recourse to their handkerchiefs,
and Congo left the room to pack up his
trunk. The approaching separation of
Charles Stewart from his family was much
felt by them all, though each made it a duty
to hide and repress their emotions as much
as possible; by dwelling on the pleasures of
his return, they passed the last evening to-
gether without being much overcome, until
the moment when they took leave of him.
This they did, by Mr. Stewart's advice, on
retiring to rest ; and before any of the fam-
ily, except the travellers and their fathers,
were awake, the next morning, the former
were embarked.

OF HIS MASTER. 35

Mr. Stewart had observed, that amidst all
the preparations of master and servant, a
great coat for Congo had been forgotten,
and his last act of kindness was presenting
him with a new and very thick one, which
he had had made expressly for him, and now
gave him, with many charges to take great
care of it, and never leave it behind him.
any where. The two fond fathers now em-
braced their sons, with similar emotions of
paternal solicitude for their welfare ; and
perhaps Congo's complaint of his own eyes,
the evening before, might at that moment
have been applicable to them all.

CHAPTER V.

THE ICEBERG.

THE hurry and bustle attendant on get-
ting a vessel under way, generally operates
very powerfully in dissipating the sorrows
of parting ; and Congo, encouraged to ex-
ertion by his master, was soon as busy and
animated as any of the sailors.

There were many passengers on board
the vessel besides our hero and his master ;
but as most of them were assailed by sea-
sickness, and confined to their births the
first few days they were at sea, and as the

36 CONGO IN SEARCH

weather was unfavourable, they did not see
much of each other, until the bright sun-
shine of a fine April morning invited them
all on deck, and the cabin and steerage pas-
sengers were to be seen sunning themselves
in distinct groupes. On one side of the
quarter-deck sat a fine old gentleman, a Mr.
Harvey, supporting the head of his daugh-
ter on his shoulder, and listening to an in-
teresting account, which Charles Stewart
was giving his son, of certain caves which
had lately been discovered near the banks
of the Ohio ; whilst on the other side the
captain of the vessel was pacing backwards
and forwards, in his narrow limits, accompa-
nied by a young Irish officer, whose humour-
ous stories kept pace with the captain's mar-
vellous ones. Further forward, a pretty
young girl was, with the assistance of Con-
go, and other obliging fellow passengers,
placing her grandmother in the sun. She
was a very fat old woman, whose weight and
helplessness made it very difficult to get her
on deck ; but with so pretty and amiable a
grand-daughter near her, she was always
sure of being well assisted. It was soon re-
marked, that a certain young miller on board
was almost as attentive to the old woman as
Phoebe herself could be. Several gentle-
men and many of the sailors amused them-
selves with fishing ; and children were to be
seen staggering about the deck, catching at

OF HIS MASTER. 37

every object near them, to avoid being
thrown down by the motion of the vessel,
or sitting in a corner, hopeless of ever mov-
ing without falling. In less than a week,
however, all had what sailors term their sea
legs on board ; that is, they could run about
as well on the moving deck as on the firm
ground, and the children found in Congo a
most accommodating and merry playfellow.
By degrees the cabin passengers became in-
terested in those of the steerage ; they
heard their various histories, and listened to
their future plans and prospects ; and whilst
Mr. Harvey, the old gentleman before-men-
tioned, gave, the fat old widow advice how
to recover for her grand-daughter the pro-
perty of her late son, Charles Stewart con-
versed with some of the younger adventur-
ers, correcting their expectations, and mod-
erating their wishes. Miss Harvey admin-
istered largely to the bodily wants of her
poorer fellow passengers, by sharing with
them the more luxurious fare with which
her father had amply provided her ; Con-
go was often commissioned to usher into her
cabin the rosy little rebels his playfellows,
and by making a visit to Miss Harvey the
reward of good behaviour, they became
more orderly and quiet.

A fortnight's prosperous sailing had ad-
vanced them a third of their voyge, when
4

38 CONGO IN SEARCH

a violent storm arose, which continued three
days and nights ; during this time the vessel
could make no progress towards her destin-
ation, but, tossed up and down on the mighty
waves, it seemed next to impossible that
she should escape being swallowed up by
them. The dead lights* were in, and the
trembling passengers, shut up below, kept as
close as possible to their births, in order to
avoid the accidents which were constantly
arising from various articles of furniture,
luggage, &c. breaking loose. Congo was on
the deck when the storm commenced, and
continued there, until completely terrified
and dripping wet, he ran to his master to
describe the danger they were in, and com-
municate his terror ; but instead of impart-
ing his own ungoverned fears, he gained
courage from the composure of the cabin
passengers, and learnt from his master to
rely on Providence, and be resigned, though
not insensible to his perilous situation.

The morning of the fourth day the storm
was abated, though the sea still ran moun-
tains high, and the joy which the return of
fine weather would have occasioned was
damped by finding that the vessel had been
so strained during the storm, as to become
leaky. The pumps, however, worked well,
and by pumping nine hours in the twelve,
the vessel could be kept clear of water.

* Shutters, which exclude all daylight from below the deck.

OF HIS MASTER. 39

To do this, alt the male passengers lent their
assistance, and by degrees the spirits of the
company revived.

During the storm the vessel had been
driven considerably out of her course, in a
northerly direction, and the severe cold
which they now experienced, together with
the exertion of pumping, completely disa-
bled several of the crew ; and the rest were
so exhausted, that the Captain was glad to
accept the proffered services of some of
the passengers to keep the middle watch,
and let all the sailors turn in, as they call
going to bed.

Accordingly, at twelve o'clock at night,
George Williams, the young miller, took the
helm, and with two gentlemen passengers,
one landsman from the steerage, and Congo,
had the charge of the ship. The vessel
laid her course, and there was no shifting of
sails to be done : the mate was ill, and the
captain extremely fatigued, so that neither
of them remained on deck. The latter,
before he went below, stationed Congo in
the bow, and desired him to keep a sharp
look-out. This order surprised him not a
little, and he interpreted it into an expecta-
tion, on the part of the captain, that the
vessel was approaching land, and he gladly
flew to his post, being extremely anxious
to be the first person to announce to
his master the white cliffs of Old Eng-

40 COSGO IN SEARCH

land, which he had so often heard him
say he longed to see. Poor Congo little
thought how far he was from discovering
the captain's meaning, how distant they
were from land, and what a different kind of
island from any he had an idea of he was
that night to see ; he did not even consider
that in looking out for land, it is necessary to
be placed at the top of the mast, as, on ac-
count of the earth's convexity, land can be
seen from the topmast head long before it
it visible from the deck. All this was for-
gotten, and he took his station by the bow-
sprit, hoping soon to discern the white
cliffs, even by moonlight. The landsman
by his side was soon asleep, and one of the

fentlemen passengers retired to his birth be-
ore the watch was half over ; the other, a
Scotch gentleman, Williams, and Congo
were soon the only persons on board that
were not enjoying the sweets of repose.
The night was clear and fine, the crescent
moon gave a feeble light ; the wind was fair,
and the vessel moved swiftly over the calm
surface of the waters ; the Scotchman
whistled sweetly one of his native melodies,
and the helmsman was lost in a pleasing rev-
erie, in which Phoebe bore a part. An hour
had thus passed away, when Congo sprang
from his station in the bow, and exclaim-
ing vehemently, " There is England ! there
are the white cliffs of Old England !" he

OP HIS MASTER. 41

disappeared in a moment down the cabin
stairs. Williams was roused from his rev-
erie, and half inclined to thing the black
boy was beside himself ; but not at all aware
of the imminent danger which at that mo-
ment threatened them all.

When Charles Stewart was awakened by
Congo's assurance that he had seen the
white cliffs of old England, and that they
were just arrived, he was inclined to laugh
at the boy's idea ; but no sooner did the
captain catch his words, than he jumped
from his birth with a face of terror, and
exclaiming " We are all lost !" he rushed
upon deck, seized the helm, and endeavour-
ed to alter the direction of the vessel. It
was too late — at that moment the ship
struck, and so violently as to rouse every
one on board ; the sailors were on deck the
next instant ; the captain ordered every
thing that was possible to be done, but in
vain. The vessel struck a second and a
third time, and then remained immoveably
fixed upon a projection of ice under water,
which formed part of an immense iceberg,
the white promontories of which towered
far above the masts, and almost touched the
yards of the vessel. Death stared them in
the face ; -and those on board who under-
stood the nature of their situation hastened
to let down the boats and escape from the
4*

42 CONGO IN SEARCH

ship, which must either sink or be crushed
to pieces in a few minutes.

The moment Charles Stewart felt the
vessel strike, he was fully sensible of the
imminent peril to which all on board were
exposed ; and hurrying on some of his
clothes, he bade Congo take care of him-
self by getting into one of the boats direct-
ly, and then tiew to Miss Harvey's cabin ;
she was already alarmed, and the manner
and countenance of Charles so heightened
her terror, that she only exclaimed, " my
father ! my brother !" and instantly fainted
away. He lifted her from her birth, and
wrapping a blanket round her, carried her
in his arms on deck ; there all was confu-
sion and ter,ror ; he made his way to the
side of the vessel, and scrambled into the
long boat, which was already crowded, just
as it was pushing off. Having deposited his
still insensible burden, he looked anxiously
around for Congo ; he was not there, but
stood stretching his arms to his master from
the side of the ship they had just quitted.
Charles implored the captain to go back for
him ; but this he positively refused to do.
saying it would be the sacrifice of all their
lives, as the boat was already sufficiently la-
den, and if he again went alongside numbers
more would jump in, and then all would in-
evitably sink together. On the long-boat's
pushing off, all on deck crowded to the oth-

OF HIS MASTER. 43

er side of the ship, where the sailors were
securing their retreat in the jolly boat : all
except Congo ; his confidence in his master
kept him there, and his piteous signs to him
to come for him half distracted poor Charles.
At last he tli ought of an expedient for sav-
ing Congo without endangering any other
life, and the captain having consented to it,
he with some difficulty made Congo under-
stand, that if he would go below and get
some rum and biscuit, and then make his
way over the bows of the vessel, and along
the bowsprit on to the island of ice, they
would take him off from a little bay, which
they pointed out to him. On hearing this,
Congo disappeared in quest of the rum and
biscuit, and the captain ordered those who
were at the oars to pull away from the vi-
cinity of the ship, as there was great dan-
ger, if they remained near her, of their be-
ing drawn into the vortex which she must
make on going down. Charles could scarce-
ly bear to be distanced from Congo, for
whose appearance on the bowsprit he now
eagerly watched. After a few moments of
breathless anxiety, he discovered a figure,
encumbered by a great coat, yet scrambling
with great activity over the bowsprit and
along the ice ; the person approached,
climbing the high peaks which bounded the
island on that side : it was certainly Congo ;
he carried something in his hand, and they

44 CONGO IN SEARCH

now pulled eagerly towards the little bay
formed in the ice. But alas ! poor Congo
never reached it, and the kind heart of his
master was agonized by seeing his faithful
servant slip, stagger, and fall into one of the
chasms in the ice that yawned beneath him.
Charles shuddered, and uttered an involun-
tary groan ; but fancying he heard the
splashing of water, and hoping the boy had
escaped being dashed to pieces among the
icy crags, he begged the captain to turn
round in search of him : his request was not
heard, for at that moment every ear was as-
sailed by the shrieks and lamentations of the
unfortunate persons for whom there was no
escape, and who were then sinking rapidly
with the ship, as she went down stern fore-
most. The captain gave orders to pull away
from the vortex ; — a dead silence ensued on
board the boat ; all were struck with horror
at the fate of those whom they had just seen
perish, and at the small hope which they
could entertain of prolonging their existence
many hours. They had no light nor compass,
nor provisions in the boat, and they feared
they had only exchanged one mode of per-
ishing for another. In this hopeless situa-
tion Charles did not regret that the suffer-
ings of Congo were probably at an end, arid
he now directed all his attention to Miss Har-
vey. In gazing on the pallid face of the
precious charge he held in his arms, he al-

OF HIS MASTER. 45

most wished that the gentle spirit which
once animated it might be fled for ever : at
any rate he hoped her consciousness might
not return until he had ascertained whether
her father and brother had been saved in
the other boat, or had perished amongst the
number that went down in the vessel.

The happiness of others besides Miss
Harvey depended on the contents of the
jolly boat, and many were the silent prayers
offered up by the fatherless, the widowed,
and the childless, in each boat, that the oth-
er might contain their lost relations. After
half an hour's suspense, during which time
they laid in the bay before mentioned, the
sound of oars was heard, and such was the
dread which the poor sufferers felt of hav-
ing their last hopes destroyed, that none of
them dared to ask after those who were
dearest to them.

At last the captain hailed the boat, and
desired to know who was on board ; he was
answered by his mate, that he did not know
whom he had got : " All I know is that I've
got too manv, and I wish that snivelling
fellow who wrecked us, and a few more
were at the bottom of the sea, with the
black dog who kept such a fine look out."

This brutal speech raised the indignation
of all who heard it, and the dead silence
before observed by the company in the long
boat now gave way to exclamations agaiast

46 CONGO IN SEARCH

the mate and eager inquiries after their lost
relations. Many were the false hopes rais-
ed by incorrect answers to their questions,
and by mutual mistakes ; but at last the
melancholy truth was ascertained, that
every female on board the ship, except
Miss Harvey, had perished ; of ail the chil-
dren but two boys had escaped, and out of
forty people, who were on board the two
boats, then side by side, but one child
found a parent, and one young man a broth-
er. Old Mr. Harvey was in the jolly boat,
and was with difficulty roused from a state
of stupefaction, to understand that his daugh-
ter was near him ; when at last he compre-
hended it, he called upon her to speak to
him, and entreated to hear the sound of her
voice, that he might be assured of her ex-
istence. She was still insensible, and an-
swered not : despair again seized the heart
of her father, and Charles Stewart exerted
himself in vain to reassure him, and to rouse
his daughter from her faintness. He now
feared the vital spark was fled for ever, and
he eagerly inquired whether any one on
board either boat had a drop of spirits for a
dying woman. There was none in the long
boat, but several voices answered from the
other that they had part of a bottle of rum
with them. Soon, however, the mate's
voice was heard above the rest, swearing
that he would not part with a drop of it to

OF HIS MASTER. 47

any one out of his own boat, much less to a
woman, who could do nothing if she lived,
and was much better out of the way at
once ; Charles could with difficulty restrain
his indignation and horror at such savage
conduct ; but knowing, that in order to com*
mand others it is first necessary to command
ourselves, he suppressed his feelings, and
calmly remonstrated with the mate on his
allowing the love of life so to get the better
of all other feeling, as to render him insen-
sible to the sufferings of a helpless woman,
who, with far less strength to bear them,
was exposed to equal hardships with him-
self, and shared a common misfortune with
them all.

The mate muttered, in reply, that he did
not think the chance of life was equal for
them all, as his boat was much more crowd-
ed than the captain's.

" I will relieve you of my weight in a
moment," cried Mr. Harvey, who now be-
gan to understand what was going forward ;
" give my daughter the rum, and I will in-
stantly jump overboard : life may still be
sweet to her, but I care not for it, deprived
of both my children."

" Stop, stop !" cried the captain, " let
nothing rash be done ; 1 only reserved my
arguments, till I should see whether your's
would avail, Mr. Stewart. Here," said he^

48 CONGO IN SEARCH

turning to the mate, "give me half your
rum, and I will relieve you of two of your
passengers : let Mr. Harvey and the young
man who has found his brother come into
my boat." This proposal was joyfully ac-
cepted by all in the jolly-boat. The tobacco
boxes of the sailors in the long-boat were
filled with rum, — Charles Stewart made
Miss Harvey swallow the contents of one
of them, and her father was seated beside
her, just in time to receive her first long-
drawn breath of returning animation. Sup-
ported between her father and the friend
who had rescued her from certain destruc-
tion, she was gradually made acquainted
with the nature of her present situation,
and the loss of her brother. To the latter
circumstance, both the father and daughter
were reconciled by the judicious representa-
tions of Charles Stewart, who, by dwelling
on the extreme uncertainty of their own
fate ; and the great probability that they
were only saved from one mode of perish-
ing to die by another, taught them to be
thankful, and almost to rejoice, that the suf-
ferings of their beloved Henry were at an
end.

The captain having now done all that was
in his power to relieve the jolly-boat, con-
sidered what would be the best means of
saving the twenty-six lives in his own boat.
He knew that they were too far from land

OF HIS MASTER. 49

to entertain a hope of being saved, in any
other way than by meeting with a passing
vessel ; and he thought the best chance of
that was by running in a northerly direction,
and so approaching the track of the New-
foundland fishing vessels. As they must in-
evitably starve, if not picked up in a few
days, they determined not to lose a moment ;
the long-boat had sails as well as oars ; the
the wind was favourable, and not too much
of it ; the sea, too, was pretty smooth, and
all on board being of one opinion, they made
sail directly.

At parting from the jolly-boat, the cap-
tain warned those on board against remain-
ing in the bay, as there was great danger of
their being overwhelmed by the ice island,
in one of the revolutions,* which those mas-
ses of ice are continually making, and advis-
ed their following him in a northern course.

The wind was fresh, and the people in
the jolly-boat had no inclination to com-
mence rowing that night ; so they merely
drew off to the entrance of the bay, and
laid on their oars, under shelter of the island,
till morning. They had just taken up their
station for the night, and nothing broke the
silence that reigned save the rippling of the

* Owing to the part under water melting away, until it be-
comes lighter than that above, and then it turns over.

5

00 CONGO IN SEARCH

water against the side of the boat, and the
deep sobs which occasionally burst from
poor Williams ; when feeling something
gently touch the bottom of the boat, a pas-
senger put his hand overboard, and discover-
ed it to be the body of a man, wrapped in
a great coat, so thick that the water had
not yet penetrated it ; " here," said he, " is
one poor fellow who floats well."

" Who is it ?" exclaimed several voices
at once ; " how is he drest 2" — « hold him
fast !" — " he may not be dead yet !"

" He seems quite insensible," replied the
gentleman who held him ; " but I find by
his head that it is Congo, the black boy."

" Congo !" exclaimed the mate with an
oath, " then let him alone ; that fellow
must be bewitched, or he could not be float-
ing here."

A general murmur rose of " haul him up,"
" take him in ;" — " if the boat be overload-
ed, we know who to get rid of."

The mate was silenced, and even fright-
ened by this threat ; and, " take the poor
fellow in," was reiterated many times.

The gentleman who held him begged to
be heard. He said he differed from the
mate as much as they could ; and thought
.with them, that if any life there was less
precious than another, it was that of such a
brute as the mate had shown himself to be ;
but that, under present circumstances, he

OF HIS MASTER. 51

thought there would be no kindness in tak-
ing up the body of the black boy. " His
sufferings in this world," continued Mr. K.,
" are passed ; if left here, he will never
feel another pang, and by restoring him to
life, you will only be preparing for him
another and more dreadful death." He ad-
ded, that if it were his own case, he would
not thank any one to bring him back to life,
and therefore strongly urged their leaving
the body in the water. This cool calcula-
tion was, happily, of no avail : the sailors
judged of Congo's love of life by their own,
and attending more to the impulse of their
own feelings than to the reasoning of Mr.
K — ,they all insisted on giving Congo anoth-
er chance for his life ; and his cold and
stiffened body, wrapped in the coat his o!d
master had given him, was accordingly tak-
en in and deposited in the bottom of the
boat. But what was the surprise and relief
io all on board, when they discovered, in the
grasp of Congo's right hand, a painted can-
vas bag filled with biscuit ! The humanity
of those who had insisted on taking up the
body was now turned into a blessing for
them all, and each felt anxious that the in-
strument of it should bo restored to anima*
tion, and partake with them of the addition-
al chance of life which they had thus deriv-
ed from him. The sailors having the bis-
cuit in their own possession, now insisted on

52 CONGO IN SEARCH

the mate's giving up all authority over
them; they made him take his place at an
oar, and appointed one among themselves to
take the command of the boat, and the care
of dealing out in equal shares their scanty
stock of provisions ; this arrangement made,
they awaited in silence the return of day-
light.

Leaving them now in deep meditation on
the very awful events of the last two hours,
we must now relate some circumstances at-
tendant on the jolly-boat's leaving the
wreck, and which we could not notice soon-
er.

Whilst the captain and part of the crew
were securing to themselves a retreat in the
long-boat, the mate and six sailors were
equally busy in lowering the jolly-boat into
the water and taking possession of her.
Several of the passengers followed them in-
to the boat ; among the number was Wil-
liams, who being on deck when the vessel
struck, was one of the first to know his
danger. He had, therefore, time to go be-
low, awaken Phrebe, and take her, partly
by force and partly by persuasion, from her
grandmother, whose size and helplessness
rendered it impossible to save her ; he
brought the half-distracted girl to the side
of the ship, and charging her to spring fear-
lessly into his arms as soon as he had his
footing below, he dropped himself into the

OF HIS MASTER. 53

boat ; but on turning round to receive his
beloved Phoebe, she sorrowfully shook her
head, and suddenly tearing herself away
from the side of the vessel, she voluntarily
returned, to perish with her helpless grand-
mother ;* — thus sacrificing her life, and her
attachment to her lover, to her sense of
duty.

This generous act of self-devotion was
not lost upon those who saw it ; many of
the sailors groaned aloud as they beheld the
noble sacrifice. Williams would have fol-
lowed her, but they forcibly detained him ;
the side of the vessel became crowded, and
many more having jumped into the boat,
they were obliged to push off immediately,
to avoid being overloaded. This account of
the noble-minded and lovely Phoebe will ex-
plain the grief and sobs of poor Williams,
which we have before mentioned, and
which, after Congo was placed in the bottom
of the boat, continued for some hours the
only sounds which, mingled with that of the
water, broke the dead silence of that mem-
orable night.

* A Fact.

5*

CONGO IN SEARCH

CHAPTER VI.

REPEATED DISAPPOINTMENTS.

ON the dawn of morning, the following
day, a slight noise in the bottom of the boat
directed the attention of a gentleman to
the body of Congo ; and discovering him to
be frothing at the mouth, he raised his head,
found the body pliant, with evident signs of
returning animation. A small portion of
spirit was poured down his throat, and haif-
an-hour afterwards he was as well as any
one on board the boat.

Congo's surprise was great, on recovering
his senses, to find himself separated from
his master ; and it was not until he had re-
ceived repeated assurances that Mr. Stewart
\va? in the long-boat, and had as good a chance
of being saved as they had, that he could
*.<jivc any attention to that part of his own
story with which he was unacquainted ; or
answer the questions which were put to him
concerning his great coat and the bag of bis-
cuits. Having explained the terms on which
he went back for the biscuit, and his mode
of escape over the bowsprit, he told them,
that in looking for a bag to hold the bread,
he had seen the great coat given him by his

OF HIS MASTER.

master's father, and recollecting his injunc-
tion never to leave it behind him any where,
he had slipped it on. The sailors were sur-
prised, by such an act of literal obedience,
and at such a moment too ! But they con-
gratulated him upon it, and assured him his
great coat had saved his life.

" Not, so, exactly," said Mr. K — ; " you
would have put on your great coat in vain,
had it not been for these kind-hearted fel-
lows ; for I said all I could to persuade them
to leave you afloat, but they would not listen
to me, — they insisted on taking you on
board ; so you must thank them for your
life, if you think it worth having, with a
prospect before you of starving, or drowning
a second time."

Congo's expressions of gratitude to his
deliverers, convinced Mr. K — how ill he
had calculated, in judging of Congo by him-
self ; and having explained to the boy his
motives for acting as he had done, he was
glad to receive from him an assurance that
he bore him no ill-will for it. The buoyan-
cy of Congo's spirits, together with his live-
ly hopes that they should all be saved, not
only made Mr. K — rejoice that his opinion
the preceding evening had been overruled,
but lessened his own despair, and inclined
him to share with the rest the cheering in-
fluence of Congo's presence.

56 COXGO IN SEARCH

Each person having swallowed a small
portion of rum, and eaten half a biscuit,
they began rowing, and found the exercise
absolutely necessary, to preserve their limbs
from becoming benumbed with cold.

Congo had now an opportunity of delibe-
rately viewing those icy peaks and crags,
which he had mistaken for the white cliifs
of Old England ; and so huge were their pro-
portions, that he could with difficulty believe
that the iceberg before him was a floating
mass, and liable every moment to turn over.
They rowed round it in search of provisions
that might have floated from the wreck, but
none were to be found ; not a trace remain-
ed of the dreadful catastrophe of the night,
save their own frail bark and its contents ;
and, shuddering at the fate of those who
had sunk with the vessel, they pulled away
from the spot in a northern direction.

The weather being fine, and the sea
smooth, every exertion was made to advance
their little bark towards the track of the
Newfoundland fishing vessels ; and every
eye was fixed on the broad expanse of wa-
ter that surrounded them, in hopes of dis-
covering the means of escape from their
dangerous predicament. After some hours,
the welcome sound, " a sail ! a sail !" was
repeated from mouth to mouth ; and every
one redoubled his exertions at the oar. The
sail which had been announced was too far

OF HIS MASTER. 57

off for any but sailors' eyes to see it ; but as
it was directly to the north of the iceberg,
they all hoped the long-boat either had
reached or would reach it, and that on the
information that there wras another boat full
of unhappy wretches afloat on the ocean,
the vessel would make towards them.

In this hope they pulled manfully at the
oars, all day and all night too : by day they
steered for the speck in the horizon, which
the sailors called a vessel, and by night they
steered by the stars a northern course.

The following morning many were of
opinion that they had lost their labour dur-
ing the night, and in this they were confirm-
ed by discovering, far to the east of them,
what they believed to be the same vessel
they were pulling for the day before. They
now altered their course, and rowed for
many hours in anxious silence ; at last one
of the sailors declared they neared it rapid-
ly ; the landsmen declared they could only
see a speck in the horizon, whilst the sailors
fancied they could discover the course of
the vessel, and that she was making towards
them. With fresh courage they now tug-
ged at the oar, though their strength was
evidently diminished. But what was their
disappointment and dismay on discovering
that all their exertions were vain ! The
object which had lured them on from sun-
rise until past noon, was nothing more than

58 CONGO IX SEARCH

a light cloud, which now spread itself and
floated away, as if in mockery of their
pains.

All their rum wras now gone ; their bis-
cuit was nearly consumed ; and several on
board had lost the use of their lower ex-
tremities, in consequence of the intense cold-
ness of the weather. In proportion as their
anxiety increased, they more frequently fan-
cied they discovered vessels in the horizon;
and they so often changed their course to
no purpose, and rowed after the mere crea-
tions of each other's brain, that it was at
last agreed, that every one who thought he
saw a sail should whisper to the coxswain, or
man at the helm, what appearances it bore,
and in what direction he saw it, and that the
course of the boat should not be altered un-
less two or three gave the same description.

During the afternoon of this second day
the communications to the coxswain were
numerous ; but as no two persons agreed in
their opinions, they pulled steadily forward
towards the north. The third night now
closed in'upon the sufferers ; it was cold and
cloudy, and a heavy shower of rain added
greatly to their suffering, by freezing upon
every part of them as it fell. Some began
to feel the powerful effects of the frost, and
the better informed could scarcely persuade
the rest to resist the fatal inclination to
sleep. Despair had seized their hearts ;

OP HIS MASTER. 59

and many wished to forget their sufFe rings
in sleep, even though it should prove the
sleep of death. Two or three, who were
the least aifected by frost, insisted on the
others keeping the oars in motion ; and this
had the desired effect of prolonging their
lives till morning. The sun then rose with
unusual splendour ; a gentle breeze sprang
up from the south ; the sea was completely
smoothed by the rain, and, as the sun rose
higher in the heavens, the warmth of its
rays was sensibly felt by the half-frozen
company in the jolly-boat. The coxswain
was the first to remark the goodness of God,
in thus rendering the elements propitious to
them ; and, dropping on his knees, he pro-
ceeded to offer up a loud, a solemn prayer
to the Almighty, that he would in mercy de-
liver them from their great peril, and send
them relief that day ; he then divided
among them the last remains of the biscuit,
advised them all to trust in God and hope
for the best ; to keep a sharp look-out, and
tell him what they saw.

It was not long before several of the
sailors agreed in their report of a sail being
in sight, to the north-west ; and soon it be-
came visible even to landsmen's eyes ! There
was no longer any doubt that there was a
vessel within a few miles of them ; but, un-
less she were making towards them, there
was no hope of their being picked up by

60 CONGO IN SEARCH

her ; for they could not now pull at the oars
as they had done, and though they could
plainly see her, they must approach many
miles nearer before they could be visible to
any one on board of her. They, however,
exerted what little strength remained to
them ; and after pulling for two hours,
found that she was certainly sailing in such
a direction as gave them hopes of being
very near her before sunset. Their pro-
gress was considerable, and they began to
think it possible that they were seen ; as
they had hoisted a white handkerchief on
the end of a pole, and hallooed, and done
every thing to attract attention. But they
were doomed once more to feel the horrors
of despair ; for whilst it was yet light
enough for them to discover the movements
of the vessel, they beheld her tack and
leave them far behind her. It is impossible
to describe the feelings of agony and wretch-
edness with which they now saw their last
hopes destroyed : a change of weather, and
a near prospect of being saved was all that
had kept them alive during the day, and
now it seemed that they had only been
mocked with false hopes, which rendered
their present despair the more bitter. They
had now been three days and three nights
upon the ocean, without shelter or rest, or
food enough to satisfy nature. The fourth
night now approached, and abandoning them-

OB1 HIS MASTER. 61

selves to despair, they refused all further
exertions at the oars, sank into silence, and
courted the sleep of death. One only in
that little band of sufferers was less to be
pited that night than at any other moment
since the wreck. To Williams death was
welcome, as the means of re-uniting him to
his beloved Phoebe ; and it was only when
deprived of all prospect of prolonging his
own existence, that he could at all reconcile
the fate of the dear object he had lost.

During the preceding day, when hope
presented a flattering picture of speedy re-
lief, Congo had been much dejected, and
was continually heard to lament that his
dear master was not with him ; but, when
the scene changed to one of deepest gloom,
the affectionate boy was less uneasy, and
drew comfort from the circumstance of Mr.
Stewart's not being in the jolly-boat. Dur-
ing the night he was less wretched than the
rest, and his thoughts were more for his
master than himself. It is true, he had had
a larger share of biscuit than any one else,
and he could not so fully realize the danger
of his situation, as did the more experienced
persons around him.

The mildness of the weather denied the

fate which misery had invoked ; the moon

had set some time before the sun rose, and

the hours passed heavily in darkness and

6

62 CONGO IN SEARCH

despair. We may, however, say with a
modern writer, " there is not, cannot be, in
the affairs of man, a lot too dark to be illu-
mined by the future." At the very time
when this little band of hopeless sufferers
considered their prayers unheard, and their
fate unnoticed, they were held in remem-
brance by their heavenly father ; and the
trust they had before shown in his mercy,
was answered by finding themselves, at the
return of daylight, within hail of the vessel
whose near approach they had despaired of;
they were so close to her, as to be easily
seen by all on board of her. This very un-
expected deliverance was almost too much
for their exhausted state of mind and body ;
it produced such a revulsion of feeling, as
rendered some of them quite childish, and
there was scarcely recollection enough
amongst them to prompt their hoisting a
white .handkerchief ; the only means now
possessed of attracting notice, as no one had
strength or spirit left to hail the vessel, or
pull an oar. They were soon observed by
the people on board the Shamrock, and
Captain O?Connor ordering the vessel to be
hove /o, hailed the boat, and desired those in
her to pull alongside ; but it was not in
their power either to answer or obey the
welcome summons. Captain O'Connor was
wholly at a loss how to interpret this strange
conduct ; he however dispatched a boat,

OF HIS MASTER. 63

with orders to ascertain the nature of their
situation, and to offer them assistance. The
sailors from the Shamrock quickly compre-
hended the extremity to which they found
these sufferers reduced, and with looks of
deep concern, and expressions of kind en-
couragement, they took them immediately
on board their vessel, and long before they
could give any account of themselves, or at-
tempt to express their gratitude, either to
God or man, for this amazing deliverance,
they shared the pity and good offices of all
on board the Shamrock. The captain su-
perintended the administering of food to
them, in order to prevent their empty
stomachs from being overwhelmed, and the
sailors vied with each other in stripping,
rubbing, and clothing their benumbed and
swollen bodies. The instruments of this
great deliverance were almost as much af-
fected by it as those whom they had saved;
and for some time after they were received
on board the Shamrock, there was not a dry
eye to be seen. Congo having been better
clothed than the rest, and of a more active
and sanguine disposition, had suffered less
both in mind and body, and was now the
first to describe their shipwreck, and re-
count the misery of the subsequent four
nights and three days, which they had spent
at sea in an open boat ; and the tale lost
none of its effect by the simplicity and feel-

64 CONGO IN SEARCH

ing with which he related it. He dwelt
much on the uncertain fate of the long-boat,
and though all thought it most probable that
she was picked up by the first sail they saw,
his affection for his master made fear pre-
dominate over hope, more than it had ever
done when his own life was in danger.

This anxiety of Congo greatly affected
his spirits, and it required all the kindness
of those around him to soothe and comfort
him. Captain O'Connor liked the boy, and
always tiattered him with the hope of find-
ing his master in England ; so, without con-
sidering that in the event of Charles Stew-
art's being in safety, they might arrive at
very distant ports, he entertained a vague
hope of meeting him as soon as he should
land.

There was one among the shipwrecked
band now safe on board the Shamrock, who
had no hopes from the future, no consolation
from the present ; poor Williams revived a
little the first few days after they were
picked up, hut he soon drooped again ; and
it was remarked that he never spoke an un-
necessary word, and was never seen to smile.
His honest friends, the sailors, who had wit-
nessed the sad event which depressed him,
often tried to rouse and cheer him, but in vain.
He gradually pined away, and died in sight
of land ; a victim to his affliction for the
Joss of Phoebe ! According to his own desire,

OF HIS MASTER. 65

he shared her watery grave : his body was
sewn up in the hammock in which he slept
whilst alive, as is the custom of burial at
sea ; and the solemn service appointed for
such occasions was read over it by the cap-
tain, in presence of all on board ; the re-
mains of poor Williams were then with
proper decency consigned to the ocean; nor
was there wanting many a friendly tear,
dropped by the spectators, for his untimely
fate.

The Shamrock was bound to Cork, and
arrived there without the occurrence of any
other circumstance worthy of notice.

CHAPTER VII.

DANGEROUS COMPANIONS.

ON a fine morning in the month of May,
the Shamrock entered the mouth of the
Cork river, and dropped anchor seven miles
below the city, opposite a small town called
Cove, where large vessels are discharged,
as the river is not deep enough to allow of
their going up it to Cork. All on board was
joyous bustle ; boats came and went, and all
were busy in giving and receiving intelli-
gence, preparing to quit the vessel, or re-

66 CONGO IN SEARCH

ceivmg their friends on board. Even Congo
caught the infection of this cheerful mo-
ment, and gaily lent his puny aid, in furling
the sails and bringing all into order. Though
at every pause he felt a vague anxiety about
himself, and was overheard asking a stran-
ger if he had seen his master, he was, as
yet, far from appreciating his really desolate
situation. Comforting himself with the idea
that he was still too far from the city,
where he supposed his master to be, to
hear any tidings of him, he bore with good
humour the harmless jokes to which his
question gave rise. As the day advanced,
however, he became uneasy at learning
nothing of his beloved master, whom he had
almost expected to find waiting for him on
the first shore he made ; and when, towards
evening, the hurry and bustle of a first arri-
val had ceased, and the novelty of surround-
ing objects had worn off; when the captain
and all the passengers had left the ship and
the sailors who had suffered with him were
gone on shore, Congo's spirits forsook him.
fie was leaning disconsolate over the side
of the vessel, when the mate accosted him,
and inquired what he meant to do with
himself.

" To look for my master, sir,'' was Con-
go's reply.

•; Well, then, the sooner you set out the
better, my good fellow, for you have a long

OF HIS MASTER. 67

cruise before you ; and as we begin dis-
charging to-morrow, we shall have no room
for idlers ; so here are a couple of shillings
for you, and you had better go on shore
with the first boat to-morrow morning."

The mate meant this in kindness, but he
did not sufficiently consider Congo's forlorn
situation, or his ignorance of the world : a
little advice would have been a better gift
than money ; but he knew not how much
the boy needed it, or how wretched his
words rendered him. Though Congo had
no intention of remaining on board the Sham-
rock, he was hurt at being thus abruptly
sent out of her, and he retired to his cot for
the last time with a heavy heart, and a
vague anxiety about the future.

The next morning Congo landed at Cove;
the sailors were fond of him, and, with the
generosity belonging to the Irish character,
each in taking leave of him slipped a ten-
penny or fivepenny bit into his hand; they
bade him take care of himself, and get into
no mischief, and strongly recommended his
going to Captain O'Connor's, and taking
his advice how to proceed. One of them
repeated to him several times the name of
the street where the captain lived, and the
number of his house, and Congo promised
to remember it, and to go there if he did
not find his master directly.

08 COiVGO IN SEARCH

The sailor's suit, which Congo wore the
night he was wrecked, the great coat which
had saved his life, and the five shillings he
had just received, was all he now possessed
in the world ; and in the singular dress of a
handsome cloth great-coat over a short
blue jacket and trowsers, he began his walk
to the city of Cork. As he followed the
road, which winds beautifully among the
wooded hills that skirt the Cork river, he
cast some glances of affection at the vessel
which had saved him from destruction, had
sheltered him since his wreck, aud was now
the only spot resembling a home, which he
possessed on this side the Atlantic. On
losing sight of that last familiar object, his
reflections took a very melancholy turn, and
he continued his route in deep meditation
on the sad event, which had separated him
from his master; at last, the idea suggested
itself of how distressed his father would be,
could he see him in his present situation :
he burst into a flood of tears, and seated by
the road-side wept bitterly. Having indulg-
ed this flow of grief a few minutes, he jump-
ed up, and brushing away his tears, exclaim-
ed at his own folly in weeping there, when
his master was perhaps waiting for him in
Cork. The hope that such was the case
again led him briskly forward. He had
learnt on board the Shamrock, that England
and Ireland were all one kingdom, and that

OF HIS MASTER.

had reconciled him to landing in Ireland.
His ignorance of geography made him be-
lieve that all vessels going to England ar-
rived in the same port : and foolishly sup-
posing that his master, if alive, must be in
Cork, he advanced cheerfully into the city,
and passing through the principal streets,
eyed every gentleman whom he saw, in
hopes of discovering the one he was in
search of. After some time, he thought of
going to all the taverns, as he called the
hotels and inns, and inquiring there for a
gentleman of the name of Stewart. He
applied in vain at the bar of several inns ;
but was at last informed that a gentleman
of that name was above stairs, and asked
what his business was.

"Oh! let rne see him! let me go to him!"
exclaimed Congo ; " he is my master, my
own dear master!"

At that moment an elderly and stern
looking man was descending the stairs, close
to the part of the bar where Congo was
standing.

44 There he is sure, his ovvnself !" said the
bar-maid, " an' if he is the master you are
looking for, I can tell ye he is not worth
the finding ;" and pushing Congo towards
the stranger, she repeated, "sure there is
his honour! there is Mr. Stewart!"

Congo's heart sunk within him; the mo-
ment before it had beaten with the liveliest

70 COXGO IN SEARCH

hope of being instantly admitted into the
presence of his beloved master, and the dis-
appointment was indeed severe. With feel-
ings too big for utterance, he left the inn,
and wandered about some time at random.
Having inquired, at all the first-rate houses,
his anxiety induced him to pursue his search
in those of an inferior description. In one
of these, the smell of savoury viands re-
minded him that it was many hours since
he had eaten any thing, and as the evening
was closing in, and he felt himself much
tired and exhausted, he resolved to secure a
a bed and a supper, and defer all further
search till the morrow, when he intended
finding out Captain O'Connor, and asking his
advice.

Entering a large ill-lighted kitchen, he
addressed himself to a dirty bustling hag,
whose high tone of authority convinced him,
she was the mistress, and requested some-
thing to eat, and that a bed might be allot-
ted him. The mistress eyed him with a
scrutinizing glance, and begged to know if
he was as well able to pay, as to order.

" To be sure I am," said Congo, with
some indignation : and pulling out all his
money, he convinced the cautious landlady
that she might safely set before him some
of the Irish stew, which she was then serv-
ing up to a party of men seated round a
table in a corner of the same apartment.

OF HIS MASTER. 71

She was about to place Congo and his dish
at a table by himself, when the party just
mentioned very cordially invited him to a
seat at their board. Warmed and fed, and
encouraged by the cheerfulness of his com-
panions, Congo began to enter into their
conversation, and soon brought upon himself
a string of interrogations, which ended in
his telling them the whole of his adventures
since he left his native country.

Congo was pleased to observe the inter-
est which his tale excited, and bore very
patiently the sort of cross-questioning inflict-
ed on him by the eldest of the party. As
the story he told was the exact truth, he
had no difficulty in answering any of these
inquiries; and his ready answers, together
with his artless manner, gained him full be-
lief with an audience not very apt to credit
such narratives. Congo concluded his his-
tory of himself by saying, he was now come
to Cork to find his master.

" Not the master that you lost at sea !"
said one of the strangers.

" The very same," replied Congo ; "they
tell me England and Ireland are all one, and
as my master was bent on coming to Eng-
land, I do not doubt he is here ; for he
would be sure to wait awhile for me before
he travelled inland."

Poor Congo's ignorance quite astonished
and puzzled his shrewd companions, from

72 CONGO IN SEARCH

whom he had now to learn the mistake
under which he laboured. After many ex-
clamations at the boy's wrong notions, much
disputing amongst themselves, and many
attempts at explanation, in which all so
eagerly joined, that none were intelligible,
the distressing truth broke upon Congo's
mind, and he was made to understand, that
in the event of his master's being alive (on
the probability of which they debated a-
mongst themselves, without any regard to
the feelings of his faithful servant,) it was
impossible to tell in what quarter of the
world he would be found ; and even should
he have been picked up by a British vessel,
it would be very difficult to discover at
which of the numerous ports of England,
Ireland, Scotland, or Wales he might have
arrived. Congo's officious friends seemed un-
necessarily anxious to convince him of the
hopelessness of his search. The poor boy
felt it in all its force : he could only reply
by his sobs and groans, and piteous exclama-
tions of love and regret for his lost mas-
ter and friend. Overwhelmed with grief,
he could no longer bear the conversation of
his companions, who continued to canvas the
subject so painful to him, and he was about
to withdraw, when they became more at-
tentive to his sufferings, expressed their
sorrow for his desolate condition, and offer-
ed him their friendship and advice. Then

OF HIS MASTER. 73

lowering their voices, they talked awhile
among themselves ; after which the eldest
of the party, familiarly called by them Paddy
O'Leary, addressed Congo, and offered to
supply to him the place of his lost friend ;
he endeavoured to convince him he had
better relinquish his hopeless search, and
do for himself where he was. But to this
advice Congo would not even listen ; and
the cunning adviser, fearing that opposition
would but fix the boy's purpose, soon silen-
ced the noisy persuasions of his party, and
told Congo, if he were resolved to look
after his master, he would assist him in do-
ing so ; and that, in the mean time, he had
better go home with him : for the house
they were in was too expensive for one in
his situation, and not a very safe place for
him neither ; promising him board and lodg-
ing at his house, at a cheaper rate than any
where else in Cork : he insisted on paying
for his supper, and taking him home with
him. In Congo's present distress, the ap-
parent kindness of O'Leary won upon him,
in spite of his rough voice and stern counte-
nance, and he thankfully surrendered him-
self to his guidance and protection.

A miserable dirty garret in a small house,
situated in a filthy dark alley in the worst
part of Cork, was the apartment allotted to
7

74 CONGO IN SEARCH

Congo ; and on a heap of dirty materials,
called a bed, the unhappy lad wept himself
to sleep.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE BEGGARS.

WHEN Congo awoke the next morning,
he could with difficulty recollect where he
was and what had befallen him ; but by de-
grees all the circumstances of his present
wretched condition presented themselves to
his mind, and with a heavy heart, but de-
termined purpose, he rose and dressed him-
self. Guided by the sound of the voices
which he had heard the night before, he
groped his way down a dark staircase ; and
opening a door at the foot of it, found him-
self in a room where eating, drinking, sleep-
ing, and dressing seemed to have been carried
on by a dozen persons at least. Seeing there
two men, whose personal appearance he did
not recognize, he was about to make a hasty
retreat : when a morning salutation from
Paddj CTLeary discovered that person to
him, so disguised in rags and filth, that he
could scarcely be satisfied that it was the
same well-dressed and commanding looking
man with whom he had supped the pre-

OF HIS MASTER. 75

ceding evening. Paddy perceived his aston-
ishment, and exclaiming, " Och my young-
ster ! sure you don't know Paddy in his
working dress !" he dismissed the person
with whom he had been talking, and invited
Congo to partake of an excellent breakfast
already prepared for him.

During this meal, O'Leary talked with
Congo of his future plans, and finding him
Jmmoveably resolved to pursue his search
after his master, and, in the event of not
finding him, to return to America, he chang-
ed his tone; and with a contemptuous laugh,
and much affected indifference, told the boy
he might do as he pleased, and if he did not
know when he was well off, he had better
pay for what he had had, and set out directly
on his fool's errand. A little indignant, and at
the same time a little intimidated by his
host's severe looks, Congo put his hand into
his pocket, determined to release himself
immediately from all obligation to this arbi-
trary adviser. His pocket was empty ! He
felt in the other: his money was not there!
— He searched every part of his clothes,
but in vain : not a sixpence of his five shil-
lings remained ! A suspicion that he was in
bad hands darted across the mind of Congo,
and enabled him to demand in a firm voice
whether his host knew any thing of his
money ?

76 CONGO IX SEARCH

" Is it me you mean ?" said O'Leary, with
well counterfeited astonishment : •• sure /
know nothing of it, save and except that 1
saw you tic it up in a corner of your eye-
wab last night, and if you have lost your
handkerchief too, you may be sure it was
borrowed of you by some of the boys that
were doing honour to the new whiskey shop
round the corner."

Congo now recollected he had passed
through a mob of half-drunken sailors, on
his way to his present lodgings, and did not
doubt that his pocket had then been picked.
Yrexed and distressed to find himself thus
deprived of the means of paying his debts,
he remained a few moments in silent per-
plexity. This was precisely the situation in
which this prince of beggars had success-
fully contrived to place poor Congo. From
the instant he first heard his story, he was
resolved to enlist him in his company of
beggars, or " askers" as they styled them-
selves ; and he had alreadv counted the in-
creased gains which would arise to them
from the compassion which he knew a Ne-
gro bov might easily excite.

The good feeling and high principle dis-
played in Congo's account of himself, would
have made a less artful and daring charac-
ter than O'Leary despair of ever converting
him into a street beggar : he, however, pro-
mised himself success, by making the boy

OF HIS MASTER. 77

dependent on him, and then working on his
principles, his feelings, or his fears. He
had purposely led him through the crowd
at the door of the whiskey shop, but it was
his own hand that had picked Congo's
pocket, though he now affected concern for
his loss, at the same time assuring him it
might be easily repaired. Congo eagerly
inquired in what manner, and now began
O'Leary's premeditated attack on Congo's
principles and feelings.

He represented himself as one who had
been very hardly used by the rich and pow-
erful, and driven by their injustice to a life
of dependence on their bounty ; and invent-
ing, at the moment, such a history of him-
self and his companions as would, he knew,
be the best apology for their mode of life,
he proceeded to justify the practice of ask-
ing, on the grounds of their thus helping the
rich on their way to heaven, and injuring no
man's trade ; and he ended his long and art-
ful address, by recommending Congo to try
the business, at least till he had paid his
debts, and had something in his pocket for
his journey.

Congo's notions of right and wrong were
so far confused by this harangue, that he
began to think it might be right for O'Leary
and his companions to beg; but when he
made the case his own, when urged to join
7*

78

COXGO IN SEARCH

the band, he indignantly rejected the proposal,
saying, '• I cannot become a beggar ; I can't,
I won't do it. I will go to Captain O'Con-
nor, and ask him to pay you for my lodging;
but I can't become a beg — , an asker like
you."

" And I should like to know what's the
difference between us; if you ask Captain
O'Connor for two shillings, and /ask Captain
somebody else for what he will please to
give ? — except indeed that you arc much
the boldest beggar of the two."

Congo looked confused : and O'Leary, per-
ceiving the advantage he had gained, con-
tinued to urge him. He said he was him-
self distressed for money to pay his rent, or
he would not exact any thing from him ;
but, under the circumstances, when he
thought he had shown some kindness to
him, he wondered at his hesitating to do,
what wrou!d not only pay his own just debt,
but enable him to serve others : "for I can
put you in a way," said he, " to make more
in a day than you have lost in a night."

44 Indeed !" said Congo : " I am not un-
grateful to you, and I would willingly serve
you, if I could do it honestly."

"Och! if you talk of honesty," replied
O'Leary, " I wonder whether it is more
honest to go away in my debt, or to accept
from the rich what they don't want, and
•what they give freely, to pay me with it :

OF HIS MASTER. 79

so if you wish to be an honest lad, you'll
take to holding out your hand directly."

Congo hesitated a moment, and then ex-
claimed, " O, my dear master ! what would
you say if you could see poor Congo now !"

" He would tell you to take the best
means of joining him," replied the mendi-
cant ; " and if you will do as I would have
you, I will engage to find out whether your
master be landed in Ireland or not, and
where you'll be likely to hear of him."

" Will you, indeed ?" said Congo, throw-
ing himself on his knees, and clasping those
of his tempter.

" To be sure I will, and there's never a
lad in all Ireland has such means of hearing
news as myself; so follow my directions, and
whilst you are working for me, I will be
working for you."

Congo thanked him, agreed to take his
advice, and give him all his gains. O'Leary
then proceeded to detail to him some of the
principal rules of the company, and required
of him to take an oath to abide by them.
This done, he proposed to him to spend
that day in idleness, and defer till the next
the commencement of his new career ; but
Congo, whose chief object was to obtain
sufficient money to release him from all ob-
ligation, begged to make his first essay that
morning. His new master was now in high
good humour, and by making a joke of the

80 CONGO IN SEARCH

business, he effected, without the exercise
of any authority, such alterations in Congo's
dress, as fitted him for his new employment;
and having exacted from him a solemn oath
not to tell where he had lodged, or in any
way to mention O'Leary or his associates,
he led him forth.

On their way to the scene of action, he
gave him many instructions ; and having
cautioned him very strongly against telling
too much of his real story, he left him at
the corner of a much frequented street, with
orders to beg within a few yards of that
spot till he came for him, which he would
do about dusk.

It was noon when Congo first took his
station as a beggar in the streets of Cork.
The people moved by him in continued suc-
cession, and the hours moved heavily away;
but Congo could not conquer the honest
shame he felt, in that degrading situation,
sufficiently to assume either the voice or
manner of a beggar; and no one of the busy
crowd around him suspected him of being
an object of charity. So far from practising
the numerous means of attracting attention,
suggested to him by his able master in the
art, Congo felt ashamed of being seen. If
a second look were directed towards him,
he turned away, and pretended to be occu-
pied. If a scrutinizing eye were bent upon
him. he shrank from its inquiry ; and once

OF HIS MASTER. 81

when a lady kindly asked him what he was
doing there, he with great confusion replied,
that he was waiting for a friend, and thus
made the benevolent inquirer return to her
purse the shilling which she had intended
for him.

Whilst Congo's better feelings were thus
triumphing over the false reasoning and bad
precepts of O'Learv, he earnestly hoped
some one of his acquaintance would pass
that way. " If I could but see some of the
passengers, or Captain O'Connor." he ex-
claimed, " I would ask their advice ; per-
haps they could tell me some way of paying
my debt, and getting away from this man
without begging for him." He had scarcely
formed the wish, when he saw Captain O'Con-
nor coming down the street. His first impulse
was to meet him : his next to avoid him. With
a dirty face, and torn garments, and the con-
sciousness of the purpose that had brought
him there, he could not bear to make himself
known to the captain : he therefore darted
across the street, and hiding himself behind
a loaded cart, he lost the best opportunity
of escaping from the bad hands into which
he had unhappily fallen. Captain O'Connor
turned down a cross street, and was out of
sight in a moment. Then how bitterly did
Congo lament that he had not summed up
courage enough to address him ! "I must
be doing very wrong," thought Congo, " or

82 CONGO I.\ SEARCH

I should not be so ashamed of myself. I
will go directly to the captain's house, and
stay there till 1 see him, let Paddv O'Leary
do or say what he will."'

Congo advanced a few paces, and endea-
voured to recollect the address given him
by the sailors of the Shamrock ; but it had
escaped his memory, and no effort could re-
cal it. He slackened his pace, but not be-
fore he had proceeded some distance down
a neighbouring street, and was within view
of the very man who had tempted him to
become what he despised. He could not
but gaze with astonishment and disgust at
the altered appearance of O'Leary. Every
feature was smoothed down into an expres-
sion of mild endurance and humble hope ;
his bent posture and stiffened gait added at
least thirty years to his age, whilst the
tremulous tones of his voice touched the
hearts of all whom he addressed. Having
watched him for some minutes unobserved,
Congo returned to his station, fearful of be-
ing known to have quitted it, but resolved
never to practise the arts of deception he
had just witnessed, and more anxious than
ever to release himself from all dependence
on such a hypocrite. He blamed himself
for having listened to his proposals, or be-
lieved his promises, and he meditated an
immediate escape from him. Many consid-
erations, however opposed themselves to

OF HIS MASTER.

this step : his just debt to him for his
board and lodging, and his fear of the power
which this might give O'Leary over his
person, obliged him to give up the idea of
running away then ; and to return that night
without having obtained any thing, would
but increase his debt and defer still later the
moment of escape.

Thus every consideration urged him to
seek the means of discharging his debt ;
and as that could now only be obtained by
begging, and the day was far advanced, he
made a desperate effort ; and comforting
himself with the idea that he only begged
in order to escape from begging, he hastened,
whilst his purpose was yet firm, to address
the first person whose appearance was at
all inviting. His choice fell on an old gen-
tleman, who concealed his disinclination to
give under a pretended keenness in discov-
ering imposture ; and though he was never
known to have sought out or relieved a real
object of distress, he always said he reserv-
ed his charity for such persons.

On Congo's timidly addressing him, he
called him an idle dog, and said he had no
money to throw away on such as would not
help themselves. Congo followed, to assure
him he was most anxious to help himself, if
he could. " Och, so you all say," the old
gentleman replied, " but I am too keen to
be caught by your stones ; so be easy now,

84 CONGO IN SEARCH

and let me alone, or I'll give you a warm
jacket with this stick."

Congo needed not such a threat, he was
completely repulsed ; and, throwing himself
down on the steps of a house, he burst into
a flood of tears. In this unstudied attitude
he soon attracted attention : and of the
many who idly wondered what ailed him,
some gazed a moment and then passed on,
and a few stopped to inquire into his case.
One lady and gentleman, in particular, in-
sisted on his drying his eyes, and telling
them who he was, and what was the matter
with him. He now answered readily the
simple truth, and without entering into par-
ticulars, briefly told them he had lost his
master at sea ; that he had no friends, no
money ; that he owed for his board and
lodging; that he had come out to beg for
the first time in his life, and had stood there
all day without having the courage to ask
any one for charity, till just now, when he
spoke to an old gentleman, who answered
him so severely that he had almost broken
his heart. This benevolent couple were
touched by his story ; and whilst the gentle-
man continued to question him, the lady took
from her purse two shillings, which she was
about to give him ; but her husband with-
held her hand : " You can't tell me where
you lodged last night !" exclaimed the gen-
tleman, " then I am sure you have been

OF HIS MASTER. 85

telling me lies, and that you, do not deserve
any thing."

The two shillings were before Congo's
eyes, and one evasion of the truth would
make them his ! With them, he might
hope to escape from further temptation ;
and, in his desire to do so, he fell a prey to
the present one. Accordingly, he explain-
ed his words to mean that he could not tell
where he lodged, on account of his being a
stranger in the town.

"But what sort of a place was it?" ask-
ed the lady, " was it a public, or private
house ?

" A public-house, ma'am."

" What was the sign ?"

" I did not see, ma'am."

The gentleman shook his head; the lady-
gave him the two shillings and passed on.

Congo dared not reflect on what had just
occurred ; but, eager to secure the means
of escape from a situation, in which his con-
science was so uneasy, he importuned every
one that passed; and though he had noth-
ing of the usual tone of mendicants, there
was something touching in his hurried man-
ner and faltering voice, and numerous were
the donations he received, during the last
hour he spent on his stand.

The more he obtained, the more certain
he felt of satisfying his teacher, securing
8

86 OF HIS MASTER.

his liberty, and recovering his own decent
clothes ; and when O'Leary joined him, he
found him quite elated with his success, and
eager to display to him his pocket full of
halfpence and numerous pieces of silver.
Paddy was not less pleased than himself, for
although the boy's gains scarcely amounted
to what he had expected, he pleased him-
self with the belief, that Congo's lot was
now completely cast among the company of
askers ; and he felt assured, he should feave
no more difficulty, in making him one of his
most accomplished scholars.

On their way to O'Leary's quarters, he
questioned Congo very closely as to the in-
cidents of the day ; requiring him to tell
what sort of people had given him the
largest donations, what questions had been
asked him, &e. Congo answered very cau-
tiously, and suppressed many particulars, for
all confidence in his conductor was gone :
he both feared and despised him.

On their return to the room they had left
in the morning, they were joined by the
different members of their gang: all so dis-
guised, that Congo, even on a longer ac-
quaintance, would not have recognized
them; and now he stood in silent astonish-
ment, to see the lame recover lost limbs, the
blind their sight ; to see swellings vanish,
and age change to youth. His grave sur-
prise was matter of mirth to these masque-

CONGO IN SEARCH 87

raders ; but their jokes and jeers were turn-
ed to boisterous commendations, when their
chief declared the sum which their new
brother had gained ; and announced his in-
tention of giving them a jollification, at the
King's Head, in honour of the youngster's
joining them.

" But I do not mean to join you," said
Congo in a firm voice. He was not heard
— He repeated it, and received a pull by
the sleeve from one of the gang, who hav-
ing heard and observed him, said to him in
a low voice, " Don't be after baulking us of
our treat, and when that's over, if you don't
like our life, I'll help you to get away; but
keep your own secret, and keep sober at
supper, or you are done for."

Congo took the stranger's hint, though it
filled him with doubt and apprehension;
and he remained a silent spectator of their
settlement of accounts with the master, and
their change of dress, for that of sailors or
labourers. This done, they left the house
in different directions, having agreed to meet
again in an hour at the King's Head public-
house, where an excellent supper was pre-
paring for them.

Congo was now allowed to resume his
decent sailor's dress, and his usual clean ap-
pearance. He hoped, in this return to his
former character, that he should find his
former ease of conscience ; but alas ! that

88 CONGO IN SEARCH

could not be ! The falsehood he had ut-
tered lay heavy at his heart, and he tried
in vain to forget it.

O'Leary and his gang met at the King's
Head. The best dishes of the season were
set before them. They ate, drank, and ca-
roused ; — for some time they endeavoured
to make Congo king of the revel; they told
marvellous and amusing stories of their own
exploits, which were all intended to recom-
mend their line of life to the young profes-
sor, as they called Congo ; and they drank
his health, and welcomed him among them,
with three times three. But Congo could
not bear to accept their welcome, and he
was so disgusted with all he heard and sa^
that he could not even be persuaded or bul-
lied into returning thanks, or touching a
drop of their boasted whiskey punch.

He had been brought up to detest the
practice of drinking strong liquors, even in
moderation ; and this feeling, together with
the hint he had received, gave him courage
to resist all the entreaties of his companions,
and, what was more difficult, all their jokes
and sneers ; so abusing him as a sulky dog,
they at last left him to his own reflections ;
and had they wished to punish him for his
refusal to drink, they could not have done
it more effectually. He retired to the foot
of the table, and laying his head on his arms,
he thought over the events of the last

OF HIS MASTER. 89

twenty-four hours, and shed silent tears of
anguish and remorse. He compared his
present feelings with those of the preceding
evening ; he had then thought himself as
wretched as it was possible for him to be ;
but he now felt how much severer are the
stings of a guilty conscience, than the most
melancholy events in life : his sorrow for
his master was sweet, in comparison with
his present remorse.

The precepts of the kind mistress who
had brought him up; her Sunday evening
exhortations to her children and servants ;
the story of Ananias and Sapphira, which
she had often read to them, all rose before
him, to condemn his conduct; and he won-
dered that some judgment had not fallen
upon him that day. Wonder gave way to
gratitude to God, that he had spared him
immediate punishment ; and no sooner did
he thus silently lift his heart to heaven, than
a ray of comfort broke in upon his soul, and
he was enabled to beg for mercy and for-
giveness. Y"es, even in that scene of riot
and drunkenness, he prayed long and fer-
vently to the Almighty, that he would gra-
ciously pardon his offences, and extricate
him from his present trouble. Nor did he
pray in vain : a way of escape from the
snares that surrounded him, was even then
preparing for him.
8 *

VO CONGO IN SEARCH

The man who had advised him before
supper, being the only one, besides himself,
who had the use of his sober senses, now
slipped round to Congo's side, and convinc-
ed him in a few words that he both pitied
and felt for him. and was willing to direct
and assist him, in escaping out of the clutch-
es of the master. He lamented his own
mode of living, but said he had been so long
accustomed to that easy life, that he could
not now change it for hard labour and scan-
ty earnings. " But for you" said he, " it
would be a burning shame, to make an idle
beggar of the like of ye. Now Paddy has
set his eye-tooth upon you, and unless you
can slip away to-night, there is little chance
of your escaping him." He told Congo that
he had remained sober, only in order to help
him : for nothing, he said, silenced his con-
science like a drop of the cratur ; but as
the master himself was seldom so much over-
taken as he then was, they must take ad-
vantage of it ; and he promised Congo, that
when they were all in their first sleep he
would come to his room, and get him safely
out of the house. He then advised Congo
ro return to his own country as fast as possi-
ble, and on no account to remain in Cork
after the dawn of day.

To this Congo agreed, with many thanks
for his offers of assistance ; and he further
showed his gratitude, by trying to persuade

OF HIS MASTER. 91

his friendly adviser to fly with him and seek
a better life ; but the man sighed and shook
his head, observing as he withdrew from
the boy's side, " You may take the crook
out of the twig, but not out of the tree — it
will break first." The despairing and mel-
ancholy tone in which this was uttered,
made an indelible impression on Congo's
mind.

Soon after this conversation had passed,
the party broke up, and went reeling home,
by different ways.

O'Leary, as if fearful of losing his new
bird, seized Congo's arm with a tremendous
grasp, and supported himself home by it.
Congo submitted with calmness and pa-
tience, for he trusted the promised deliver-
ance was at hand : and so it was ; the beg-
gar was as good as his word. After all in
the great room were asleep, he stole up to
Congo's garret, taking with him the boy's
great-coat, which Paddy thought he had
secured, and the key of the house-door.

Congo was anxiously wailing, and obeyed
his signal to follow him in silence. The
doors creaked on their hinges, and the stairs
cracked as they descended them : but they
effected their escape unheard. Congo's
guide accompanied him down the alley, and
having shown him his way out of the city,
he wished him well, slipped some money in-
to his hand, and turned hastily away. But

92 CONGO IN SEARCH

Congo could not accept any part of a pro-
fessional beggar's gains ; after his acquaint-
ance with the means used to obtain them,
he could not in any way participate in them,
and though he felt his perinyless condition,
he ran after his deliverer, and forced him to
take back his donation. For a long time
the man resisted ; but at last a suspicion of
Congo's motive crossed his mind, and dash-
ing the money to the ground, he exclaimed,
" Would to God I had honester gains to of-
fer thee."

Congo's joy at his own deliverance, was
tempered by the regret he felt at leaving
the instrument of it to his evil courses ; and
when he thought of O'Leary and his gang,
he quickened his pace, and did not breathe
freely till he found himself a mile out of
Cork, on the Glanmire road. There by the
light of a full moon he discovered a farm-
yard, near the road side, and having enter-
ed it, some clean straw, under a shed, tempt-
ed him to stretch his weary limbs upon it ;
he thanked the Almighty disposer of events
for his present freedom, and sank into a
sound sleep.

OF HIS MASTER. 93

CHAPTER IX.

BETTER PROSPECTS.

WE must now inform the reader, that
Congo was not so entirely neglected as he
supposed himself, by the captain of the
Shamrock and his fellow passengers. So
far was Captain O'Connor from being indif-
ferent to the poor boy's fate, that he had
been extremely angry with his mate for
turning him ashore ; and he had ordered
his men to make diligent inquiry after him
in Cork, and bring him to his house as soon
as found. One of the passengers, Mr. Ed-
ward Cooper, whose father resided in one of
the beautiful villas on the banks of the Cork
river, had given such an interesting account
of Congo to his family, that they were all very
desirous of seeing him, and a boat had been
sent to bring him to Grove Hill, only a few
hours after Congo had quitted the vessel.
The disappointment of this worthy family
was great when the boat returned without
Congo, or any satisfactory tidings of him ;
and they feared so much that he would get
into difficulties, and suffer in his morals as
well as his person, that they resolved if he
did not appear on board the vessel, or at
the captain's house, in a few days to adver-
tise for him.

CONGO IN SEARCH

Mr. Edward Cooper had become so fond
of Congo during the voyage, that he deter-
mined if possible to supply to him the place
of his master, whom he firmly believed to
have perished at sea ; but, as he lived in his
father's house, and that gentleman was not
one with whom even a beloved son could
take the least liberty, he dared not venture
to bring Congo home with him ; though he
knew perfectly well that, when his 'story
was told; his father would be the first to be
moved by it, and to propose sending for the
boy and giving him a home. As soon,
therefore, as the first greetings and per-
sonal inquiries between Edward and his
family were over, he entered on the particu-

!„„., ^f !_•_ __ rrti - , n,

icua 01 uis voyage, mis lea to tae mention
of the unfortunate beings they had picked
up at sea ; and he described Congo's suffer-
ings and anguish for the conjectured loss of
his master, and the various instances he
had given of his strong attachment to him,
in a manner that warmly interested the
whole family.

No sooner did Mr. Cooper understand
that the hero of this tale was on board the
Shamrock, than, blaming his son for not
bringing him with him, he despatched one
of his own boats to Cove to fetch him ; and
the kind-hearted old gentleman was no less
disappointed than his son, when it returned
without him. That day and the next he

OF HIS MASTER. 95

was observed to be extremely fidgetty, and
the third morning he disturbed the family
at an early hour, and announced his intention
of advertising for Congo that very day.

Leaving their father and brother busily
occupied in composing the advertisement,
the Miss Coopers took their usual morning
walk ; and, chatting of the faithful negro as
they went, they turned their steps towards
the lodge at the entrance of their estate,
the inhabitants of which shared largely in
their bounty. Stopping at the door to make
some charitable inquiries, they beheld a
group of children assembled round a three-
legged table, on which a heap of hot pota-
toes threw up such a cloud of steam, as ob-
scured some of their faces : yet Miss Coop-
er thought she discovered through it one
that was not unknown to her. The sisters
entered the room. The children were too
much occupied by their new guest to ob-
serve the ladies ; but what was Miss Coop-
er's surprise on discovering the stranger to
be a Negro boy, of such an agreeable coun-
tenance, that they both concluded it could
be no other than the lost Congo. A rosy
girl of three years old was seated on his
knee ; a boy of five stood by him, with
his eyes fixed on the stranger's woolly locks ;
while the other children were pressing him
to share their potatoes and buttermilk.

96 CONGO IN SEARCH

Unwilling to disturb the happy group, yet
longing to know if it were Congo whom
they beheld, the Miss Coopers turned to
the good wife, who entered at that moment
under a load of turf for the fire, and beg-
ged to know what stranger was breakfast-
ing with her children.

" Please your ladyship," she replied, " it
is a lad my youngsters met in the road this
morning, and though they are afraid of
blacks in general, they took such a fancy to
this one, that they brought him home to
breakfast with them ; and sure he's wel-
come, for he comes from a far country, and
has lost every thing he was possessed of at
sea — the master he loved and all — so he
tells me, my lady."

" Then it must be Congo !" exclaimed
both the young ladies at once. The boy's
countenance brightened on hearing his own
name pronounced, and much to the displea-
sure oi his young friends, and particularly
to the little girl, whom he now displaced
from his knee, he left his half-finished meal
and came modestly forward; hoping to find
a face he knew under one of the ladies'
large bonnets. In this he was disappoint-
ed ; but they soon made themselves known
to him, as the sisters of the Mr. Cooper,
with whom he had sailed on board the
Shamrock. They said they had heard his
history from their brother, and were very

OF HIS MASTER. 97

desirous of seeing him. Congo thanked
them very properly for their kindness, and
was about to beg permission to see Mr.
Cooper, when the young ladies desired him
to follow them to the house, and walked off
themselves in great haste to announce that
Congo was found, and to prevent the adver-
tisement from going to the press.

As soon as Congo had thanked the good
woman of the house for his breakfast, and
disengaged himself from the children, who
pressed around him, and made him promise
to visit them again very soon, he ran after
the ladies, and overtook them just as they
were entering the house. They surprised
their brother, by ushering Congo at once
into the room where he was sitting alone.
A kind salutation from Mr. Edward Cooper
encouraged him to express his pleasure in
seeing him again ; and the sisters then de-
scribed the manner in which they had un-
expectedly found him. Overcome with joy
and gratitude for the kind interest which
he found he had excited in all around him,
tears rushed into his eyes, and he exclaim-
ed, sorrowfully, " Oh sir ! if 1 had but known
this sooner !"

" Why, Congo ! what have you done
since I left the ship ? — Nothing wron^, I
hope ?»
9

98 CONGO IN SEARCH

" O yes, sir, very wrong," sobbed out the
poor boy.

" Indeed, Congo ! I am sorry to hear it,"
said Mr. Cooper.

" I suppose," continued one of his sisters,
wishing to ease Congo in his confession, " I
suppose you had no money, and were very
hungry, and so you took what did not be-
long to you."

44 Oh no, miss, not so bad as that ; Congo
would rather die than steal."

This he uttered in a manner that con-
vinced his hearers he spoke the truth.
They continued to question him, however,
as to the manner in which he had spent the
two days since he left the ship. The his-
tory of his day's search after his master he
related with many tears, and the Miss
Coopers could not restrain theirs at the
recital ; but when they came to that part
of his story which introduced him to the
notice of O'Leary, he declined telling them
any more.

" Then you fell into bad company ?" said
Mr. Cooper.

" Indeed I did," replied Congo ; " and I
would willingly tell you all about them, but
I swore I would not say a word, and you
would not have me break my word."

" Certainly not ; but I may guess what
happened to you, — these people treated
you, and took you to their quarters — and all

OF HIS MASTER. 99

day yesterday they tried to make you join
their gang; and last night you ran away to
avoid doing as they would have you : so you
are not to blame, I am sure."

Congo could not take this undeserved
commendation, and again bursting into tears,
he said, " Indeed I am to blame, for I did
as they would have me yesterday ; and ran
away last night, because my conscience
would not let me do it again."

" You did as they did, and yet you say
you have not been guilty of stealing ! Have
a care, Congo, and, whatever you say, let it
be the truth ; we do not wish you to break
your oath."

" Indeed, sir, I do speak the truth; the
men I fell amongst were not thieves, though
they were very bad men, and the crime I
was* guilty of was telling a lie. But O, sir !
had I but known where to find you, or the
captain, I would never have done it."

Mr. Edward and his sisters believed and
pitied him; but they knew that this myste-
ry in Congo's story would irritate, and per-
haps provoke their father, cither to make
the boy break his oath, or to quarrel with
him for not doing so ; and having talked it
over amongst themselves, they resolved on
cautioning Congo against telling any one else
as much as he had told them. Mr. Ed-
ward Cooper assured him the real way of
keeping a secret was not to let any one

100 CONGO IN SEARCH

know he had one. Congo promised to be
careful, but said he would not tell another
lie, even to conceal his secret. In this reso-
lution the young ladies strengthened him ;
and wishing to tell his story for him to their
father, they dismissed him to the kitchen,
and recommended him to the particular
care of the butler.

They were re-considering Congo's story,
and wondering what description of men he
had been amongst, when old Mr. Cooper re-
turned from his morning walk, and heard
from his children the welcome news of Con-
go's being found. He desired to see him
directly ; but whilst he waited for the be41
to be answered, and for the message to
reach the boy, his daughters anticipated
what Congo might say of himself, by telling
their father that he had been in Cork, look-
ing for his master, whom he still believed
to be alive somewhere in England or Ire-
land ; but being now undeceived as to the
probability of his finding him, he was very
miserable about it, and had been crying a
great deal that morning. This they knew
would prevent their father from touching
on the subject, and they then told him when
and where they had found him, and that he
was on his way to the vessel at Cove, to in-
quire the Captain's address. The old gen-
tleman was thus satisfied on every point
before the boy entered ; and as he never

OF HIS MASTER. 101

asked the same question twice, or could
bear to hear the same thing repeated, his
children knew that their protege was safe.

The appearance of Congo pleased the
t)ld gentleman extremely, as well as his clear
and ready answers to the few common-
place questions he addressed to him ; and
he told him if he liked him for a master,
and that house for a /iome, he was welcome
to both as long as he behaved well. Ed-
ward and his sisters were delighted to hear
this, and looked at Congo, in expectation of
some expression of joy and gratitude. A
slight "I thank'ye, sir," was all they heard;
and the boy's face was the picture of mise-
ry. They saw that their father was disap-
pointed in his wish of giving pleasure, and
they attempted to thank him for Congo.
Meanwhile the boy's thoughts were fixed on
his lost master ; and at the next pause in
the conversation, he begged to be told what
he had better do, — proceed to England
in search of his master, or return to Phila-
delphia.

The old gentleman laughed at his notion
of travelling in search of his master; and
Edward explained to Congo the impractica-
bility of it, without money or friends, or any
clue by which to find him. Congo looked
very grave, paused, and, sighing as he gave
up his darling project, said, " Then, sir, I
9 *

102 CONGO IX SEARCH

must return to America; my old master
there will pay for my passage, if you will he
so kind as to engage somebody to take me
out."

" Well, well," said Mr. Cooper impatient-
ly, " we will talk of that by and bye ; you
must stop here and recruit a while, and
when there is a vessel going we will think
about parting. So now go and finish your
breakfast, and tell my people to show you
all about the place." Con^o cast a piteous
look at Mr. Edward, bowed, and withdrew.

That gentleman was as anxious to retain
Congo in his service as his father could be,
but he knew it could only be done by allay-
ing the boy's anxiety, and ascertaining for
him that his master was no more. So he
took the first opportunity of telling Congo,
that he thought he had better stay where
he was for the present, and promising him,
that, if he remained quiet, he would write
to the chief ports of England and Ireland,
and inquire if any vessel had arrived with
passengers on board picked up at sea. This
quite satisfied Congo's mind; and as he al-
ways hoped the best, he looked forward
with confidence, that he should soon hear of
his master, and became meanwhile the same
happy, lively little chap that he used to be
before his misfortunes.

OF HIS MASTER. 103

CHAPTER X.

DANGERS OF A SECRET.

CONGO contrived, by obliging every body,
and by being the ready servant of every
member of the household, to escape the
envy and ill-will of his fellow-servants, and
to be a favourite in the parlour, without
being hated in the kitchen. When his liv-
ery was made, he was appointed to stand
behind Mr. Edward's chair at dinner, and
instructed in the business of a foot man.
After a few clumsy tricks, such as giving
one of the young ladies a beer bath, and
pouring soup, or gravy, over the gentlemen's
coats, he became tolerably expert.

He kept up his acquaintance with the
family at the lodge, who continued very
fond of him, and his activity and good-hu-
rnour made him the delight of the children,
for whom he was continually buying ginger-
bread, and making playthings ; though he
said nothing about this at home, for he soon
found the honest family of Barney Burns
were no favourites with his fellow-servants.

There was but one part of his duty
which he did not like, and that was, going
to Cork on messages, or behind the car-
riage, when he always dreaded being seen
by O'Leary, of whom he had an undefined

104 CONGO IN SEARCH

horror. That object of Congo's terror no
sooner saw than he recognized him, and
when he was alone, made several amicable
attempts to speak to him : but Congo's fears
rendered it fruitless, for whether on foot or
on horseback he always flew by, like one
possessed. By thus avoiding he irritated
the beggar, and induced him to play upon
his fears, by assuming threatening looks arid
gestures whenever he passed him. Whilst
this was unknown at Grove Hill, it was at-
tended with no other consequence than
making Congo the most expeditious of mes-
sengers, and preventing his ever seeking any
idle pretences for going into town ; for all
which he gained great credit with the old
gentleman.

One day, however, when Congo was at-
tending the carriage, the coachman remark-
ed that the old beggar shook his stick at
Congo, and gave him many looks which he
did not relish, yet seemed to understand;
and carelessly asking him the meaning of
them, the coachman soon perceived, by the
boy's reply, that there was more between
them than he chose to acknowledge. This
news the coachman carried home to his fel-
low servants, and from that moment Congo
never knew any peace amongst them. His
resolution not to break his oath, or tell a lie,
made it extremely difficult for him to stand
the shrewd cross-questioning and ceaseless

OF HIS MASTER. 105

rallying to which he was henceforth expos-
ed. They were never tired of joking and
plaguing him about his friend the beggar,
and by degrees they guessed out as much
of the truth as placed Congo's conduct in
the worst light : but as he persisted in re-
fusing to tell them the story, they imagined
that he still concealed that part of it which
was most discreditable to himself; and
though they did not like him the less by
supposing him fallible like themselves, they
made him miserable by their ceaseless allu-
sions to his connexion with the beggar, and
became also much less careful to conceal
their own misdemeanours from his notice.

The whole system of plunder and decep-
tion which was daily practised by this set
of old domestics, was now by degrees re-
vealed to Congo, and he found with dismay
that he was now indeed among thieves. A
housekeeper, who had lived thirty years in
the family, and had, since the death of Mrs.
Cooper, become possessed of the entire con-
fidence of the family, and of unbounded au-
thority over those under her, was at the
head of the depredations committed on her
master's property. Her own relations were
fed and clothed, and their houses partly fur-
nished, by what she contrived to pilfer from
Grove Hill ; and, in order to secure the se-
crecy of all about her, she winked at the
same practices in them. In consequence of

106 CONGO IN SEARCH

these out-goings, the expenses of Mr. Coop-
er's kitchen were double what they ought
to have been ; and without any increase of
expenses on his part, or that of his family,
he felt his income become every year more
inadequate to his style of living. But his
complaints to his housekeeper were always
silenced by her plausible representations,
and earnest protestations of her entire de-
votion to his interests : thus, while his
neighbours were continually changing and
complaining of their servants, he thought
himself the most fortunate of men, in hav-
ing about him a regular and trusty set of
people, and he often boasted of the number
of years that the different members of his
household had lived with him.

No sooner was Congo acquainted with
the proceedings of his fellow servants than
they endeavoured to make him accessory to
them, and by means of his obliging temper,
to engage him in the service of depredation.
In this, however, they entirely failed. Con-
go could not be trapped into carrying off
baskets of provisions to neighbouring hous-
es, or cramming good household linen into
Mrs. RafFety's rag-bag, or fifty other tricks
which need not here be recorded, but which
daily shocked the honest principles of Congo,
and rendered him so uneasy in his place, that
after much deliberation, and many painful

OF HIS MASTER. 107

doubts, he determined to quit it. He felt
it a breach of confidence on his part, to
know of such nefarious proceedings and not
disclose them to his master; yet after all
he had heard the servants say of the impos-
sibility of any one's injuring them in their
master's eyes, and of one man having been
turned away, and shortly compelled to quit
the country, in consequence of an attempt
to betray them, he felt how useless would
be any effort of his to undeceive the family,
and he therefore resolved to take the op-
portunity of a short absence of the young
ladies and their brother, for giving his mas-
ter warning and leaving the place. As he
was much attached to the younger part of
the family, he feared their presence would
shake his resolution ; so having obtained
from Mr. Edward all the information he
could relative to the sailing of vessels for
America, and found from him that he had
heard nothing of his master, he made him-
self very busy in assisting him to pack his
clothes, and was observed by the ladies to
be most affectionately attentive to them
also. He had the satisfaction of helping
them into the carriage, and receiving from
each a kind look and cheerful good-bye,
which his heart was too full to acknowledge ;
and having followed them with his eyes
down the avenue as far as he could discern
the carriage, he turned from the door with

108 CONGO IX SEARCH

a heavy heart, and spent the rest of the
day in revolving his future plans, and mak-
ing up his mind to give his master warning.

Congo felt this a task that required all
his courage, but he was no coward in any
thing but guilt; with a clear conscience he
could do any thing he was determined on,
and his past sufferings had considerably in-
creased his firmness and his powers of en-
durance.

The following morning, having assisted
in clearing away the old gentleman's break-
fast, and being left by the other footman to
make up the fire and sweep the hearth, he
seized the moment when Mr. Cooper laid
down the newspaper, to tell him in few
words, but with as much respect and grati-
tude as he knew how to introduce into the
speech, that he desired to be discharged.
When he finished the difficult sentence,
which he had lain awake half the night to
compose, his master's astonishment found
vent in — " What is it you are saying, child?
I don't understand !" — and Congo was forc-
ed to begin it all over again. He was not
however allowed to finish it the second time;
a volley of questions as to his reasons for
wanting a discharge, and a severe lecture on
young people's love of change, and on their
never knowing when they were well off,
kept Congo long silent ; for to answer so
declared what description of people had

OF HIS MASTER. 109

many questions at once was impossible, nor
did Mr. Cooper desire it — he thought his
harangue unanswerable, and was much in-
censed against the boy, when, at the close
of it, he found Congo's determination to quit
him unshaken.

Mr. Cooper now asked questions that he
meant to have answered, and insisted on
knowing why he wished to leave him, and
where he meant to go. " I am going to
America, Sir," was Congo's only reply, for
he wished to avoid the former question.

" Poh ! nonsense ! America ! There's
time enough for that ; you would not be so
hair-brained as to set off for that country
before you know whether your master is in
this?"

" Mr. Edward tells me he has had letters
from all the different ports, and that — "

" No, no, no, he has not — there are seve-
ral he has not heard from; so keep your
roving spirits quiet till we are quite sure
your master is lost."

" Lost, Sir !" exclaimed Congo, who nev-
er admitted the idea of not ultimately find-
ing his master — " lost !" he repeated with
horror, and burst into a flood of tears, which
at once dissipated Mr. Cooper's anger. He
now soothed the boy, flattered his hopes of
finding his master, and used every argument
10

110 CONGO IN SEARCH

to persuade him he had better remain
where he was for that year.

Congo assured him of his love and gra-
titude towards him, and all his family ; but
added positively, that he must quit his ser-
vice.

" Then something is wrong with you in
the kitchen, and I'll break all their bones
but I'll know the truth of it."

He was about to ring the bell, but Congo
begged he would not.

" Then tell me yourself, what they have
done to you ?"

" Nothing, sir ; indeed they have done
nothing to me."

" They have affronted you for your co-
lour, or frightened you about turning Cath-
olic, or some such absurd nonsense, and I
will know what it is, so you had better tell
me with your next breath."

Congo paused a moment to consider,
whilst the old gentleman muttered in solilo-
quy : " Do they think, then, I am not mas-
ter in my own house, and that they may
turn out this boy. to please themselves and
vex me."

Encouraged by these words, Congo as-
sured Mr. Cooper he would tell him direct-
ly why he left him, if he thought he should
be believed. Mr. Cooper, in his anxiety to
hear his reasons, declared he would believe
any thing, but a ghost story; and Congo

OF HIS MASTER. Ill

then ventured to tell him the real occasion
of his quitting his service.

" Robbed by my old servants ! that can
hardly be : Mrs. Rafferty would prevent
this."

" But Mrs. Rafferty is the worst of all,"
replied Congo.

Painful astonishment kept the old gentle-
man silent ; and Congo then gave him a brief
sketch of the whole system of depredation
carried on against him in his kitchen. Con-
go's simple statement of facts, with his pre-
vious unwillingness to declare them, gained
him considerable belief with Mr. Cooper;
and he was about to tell him how and
where he might find the full proof of what
he had asserted, when the door of the
apartment flew open, and Mrs. Rafferty,
who had been listening at the key-hole,
rushed into the room, pale and breathless
with suppressed rage. Planting her tall
form between her master and Congo, she
drew herself up with an air of assurance,
that made good the poet's words,

" Nought so like innocence as perfect guilt."

Then, in a strain of nervous appeal and pa-
thetic apostrophe, for which the Irish are
so remarkable, but to which the author can-
not here do justice, she reproached her mas-
ter for allowing " a stranger, a vagabond,
a street beggar," to speak ill of an old

112 CONGO IN SEARCH

servant behind her back; and she concludeb
her voluble attack upon her master's feel-
ings, by exclaiming, with much appropriate
gesture, " And is it to be ruined by that
beggarly brat, that I have faithfully served
ye, night and day, these thirty years? Is it
for this, that hands and feet, head and heart,
have grown old in your service ? But not
too old neither to feel, think, and act, as
my injuries demand!" Then clasping her
hands, and raising her eyes to the ceiling,
she added, in a lower and deeper tone,
* Oh may my sainted lady in heaven be
spared the sight of this ; for rsure, when in
her dying hour she bade me never leave her
dear children, she little thought it would
come to this !" Here she hid her face in
her hands, and sobbed audibly.

Mr. Cooper, quite overcome by her vo-
lubility, staggered by her well-counterfeited
innocence, and moved by the mention of
his departed wife, now led her to a chair,
begged her to be more calm, and assured
her he had no intention of condemning her
unheard ; and that if, after a fair investiga-
tion of both sides of the question, his judg-
ment wavered between them, her years and
past services would of course plead loudly
for her. But the guilty woman was resolv-
ed to prevent all investigation, and by im-
peaching Congo, ruin his credit with her
master, and invalidate all he had said.

OP HIS MASTER. 113

Her ready invention quickly suggested
the means of doing this. She remembered
the oath which she had so often heard Con-
go plead, in excuse for not telling them how
he spent his time in Cork ; and knowing his
strict veracity would oblige him to acknowl-
edge it, she determined to wrest it to her
present purpose.

To explain her plan, it is necessary to in-
form the reader that Mr. Cooper had suf-
fered much during the rebellion of his coun-
try, a few years previous ; and though tran-
quillity had long been restored, he was ever
on the alarm for n :w conspiracies, and noth-
ing frightened him like oaths of secrecy,
and private meetings among the lower class-
es. His wily housekeeper knew this to be
his weakest side, and that if she could make
Congo's oath to the beggars pass for one of
a rebel nature, her victory would be com-
plete ; she therefore wiped away her tears,
and hastened to say, " that had any one of
respectability come forward against her, she
would have had more patience ; but for one
of the last of God's creatures, for a filthy
Negro, who" Here Mr. Cooper inter-
rupted her, and insisted on it he would hear
no abuse of the boy for his colour ; and that
his education, good conduct, and faithful at-
tachment to his former master, rendered
him a very respectable witness.
10*

114 CONGO IN SEARCH

" Respectable !" echoed the vehement
woman, " Is it respectable you'd call him ?
If your honour knew as much of him as I
do, you'd be after changing your mind."

" 1 do know his whole history, and I insist
upon it he is respectable."

" Then, if that is the case," replied Mrs.
Rafferty, with affected surprise, and a hur-
ried voice, " he must have broken his oath
to the gang of rogues he belongs to in
Cork !"

" Oath ! gang of rogues ! what does the
woman mean ?"

" Why I mean, sir, that the lad is sworn
— that's all ! — and if you will take the word
of a vagrant, that has been sworn to keep
the secrets of a pack of rogues and rebels in
the town yonder, against your old faith-
ful, true, and loyal servants, why then you
are not the master I have been proud to
serve these thirty years, and the sooner we
part the better."

The old gentleman stared at his house-
keeper in utter amazement, and began to
think that her inquiries, whether real or
imaginary, had touched her brain. She
however insisted, that the truth of Congo's
evidence against his fellow servants, should
• be determined by his being enabled to deny
the oath ; and though Mr. Cooper would as
soon have expected to find a viper under the
rhair he was sitting on, as to find a sworn

OF HIS MASTER. 115

rebel in the boy before him, he turned to
Congo, and desired him to satisfy the silly
woman that he knew nothing of the oaths
and secrets she was talking about ; " for,"
added he, " I am tired of this delay, and
wish to proceed to the investigation."

" So you can turn pale, can you, in spite
of your fine complexion?" said the triumph-
ant housekeeper, who now felt sure of her
victim, — " Now tell the master, whether you
did or did not take the oath"

The oath meant much more than Congo
was aware of, and supposing she simply
meant his oath to the beggars, he answered
in the affirmative.

Mr. Cooper could not believe that the
boy understood the question, and he again
asked him if he had been sworn to keep the
secrets of any set of men since he came to
that country. Congo replied, that he had.
Mr. Cooper started back in his chair, and
pushed himself further from the side of the
table where Congo stood.

" There, there ! condemned by his own
mouth," exclaimed Mrs. Rafferty ; " and
now tell your faithful old servant that you
don't believe any of the lies, that spy upon
us all has told you. Can you wonder, sir,
that he should want to get honest folk out
of your honour's house, and his own set in?
— Hold your tongue, you little viper," ad-
dressing Congo, who wished to declare that

116 CONGO IN SEARCH

he had entirely broken with the set who
swore him ; " hold your tongue, the master
will hear nothing from you, and better you
had been born dumb, than to have sworn
the wicked oath, or forged the wicked lies,
you have forged against me this day."

Congo had often had occasion to repent
his oath, and to declare he would never
again bind himself to keep other people's
secrets : but he could not comprehend how
this had now operated, like a charm, against
him, or why it had invalidated his testimo-
ny, and closed his master's ears to every
thing he could say. He saw, however, that
such was its effect, and despairing of seeing
justice done either to the housekeeper or to
himself, yet strong in his own innocence, he
calmly awaited the moment of his dismissal.
Mrs. Rafferty waited for it also, as she dar-
ed not trust the boy alone with her mas-
ter, although she hoped and believed him
to be irretrievably ruined in his good
opinion.

After a long silence on the part of Mr.
Cooper, during which he endeavoure d to
recover from the amazement and confusion
into which he had been thrown by the scene
of the last hour, he addressed Congo in
terms little suited to his real character and
situation, and great part of which was total-
ly incomprehensible to him. That part.

OF HIS MASTER. 117

however, which enforced his not returning
to his bad companions, but advised his seek-
ing a vessel in Waterford, in case there
were none in Cork, to take him back to his
own country, agreed with Congo's wishes,
and strengthened his intentions.

A few questions which Mr. Cooper put
to the boy concerning the men who had
sworn him, and which his oath to the beg-
gars prevented his answering, confirmed the
old gentleman in all his suspicions ; and hav-
ing lectured and lamented over the boy till
he was quite exhausted, he paid him two
pounds as wages 5 and telling him he might
take away all his clothes, with him, he wish-
ed him safe back to his friends in America,
and motioned to him to withdraw. Congo
hesitated to receive so much ; and saying he
had enough to be grateful for without that,
would have returned one of the notes : but
Mr. Cooper would not allow it ; he made
him pocket both, observing that he hoped
they would keep him out of mischief till he
found a vessel. Congo now thanked Mr.
Cooper in such affectionate and artless terms
for all his past favours, and sought with such
eagerness a parting look of kindness, that
Mr. Cooper dared not trust himself to meet
the boy's eyes ; and had not the presence
of his jealous housekeeper kept him up to
the line of conduct which she demanded as
her due, the old gentleman would certainly

118 CONGO IN SEARCH

have relented, and inexperience might pos-
sibly have prevailed at last against hardened
guilt ; but Mrs. Ratferty stood by to the last,
nor deemed herself quite safe till she had
shut the breakfast-room door, after Congo
had finally quitted the presence of his mas-
ter.

Whilst Mrs, Rafferty went to report her
triumph, and the safety of all parties, to the
trembling culprits below, Congo collected
his clothes together in a bundle, and hoped
to leave the house unnoticed. But every
outlet was watched by the servants, and,
like a hunted hare, he was driven out
through the hall and kitchen, amid the
scoffs and taunts, the hisses and groans, cuffs
and kicks of his victorious enemies.

Our hero's active limbs soon released
him from this low persecution, and with his
friends at the Lodge he found welcome and
entertainment for that dav and nio-ht.

CHAPTER XI.

CHANGE OF SCENE.

THE inhabitants of the Lodge were too
honest to be on terms with the servants at
Grove Hill ; and, guessing from Congo's
abrupt departure, that he had become ac-

OF HIS MASTER. 119

quainted with their mal-practices, Mrs. Burns
told him he need not spoil his story, to keep
the secrets of the kitchen he had left, for
they were no secrets at all ; and having
proved her acquaintance with them by va-
rious anecdotes, Congo felt himself at liber-
ty to tell the whole story of his dismissal.
The work of the house was suspended, the
children's game forgotten, whilst each indi-
vidual of the family lent an attentive ear
to his tale. The sympathy of Congo's au-
ditors rendered him unusually fluent, and he
went smoothly on with his narrative, till he
carne to Mrs. RafFerty's attack upon him for
his oath; then he and his Btory became
confused, and all the anticipations and ex-
planations of those around him but added to
his difficulties. At last Mrs. Burns, insisting
upon silence from her children, cried, "I

have it sure Mrs. Rafferty accused

you to the master of being a whiteboy* and
there is nothing frightens the master like the
sound of oaths and unions ; but sure, you
could clear yourself of that, by swearing be-
fore them both that you were not a United
Irishman."

Congo was now more puzzled than ever,
and replied, that Mrs. Rafferty had said
something about his colour, but her master

* Wkilcboy and Untied Irishman tvere epithets bestowed on
'^ T'i^h rebels.

120 CONGO IN SEARCH

would not listen to it ; and that Mr. Cooper
knew very well he was born in America, and
did not need to be told he was not an Irish-
man.

« Och my honey ! that's what you don't
understand now ! but I can tell ye, that you
may be hanged for a United Irishman, let
you be born any where in the world, and
even your complexion would not save you
from being condemned and executed for a
whiteboy"

Congo stared — the children laughed, and
Mrs. Burns proceeded to give Congo some
account of the rebellion of her country,
which in the end explained to him the
terms she had used, and the mystery of
Mrs. Raflferty's successful attack upon him ;
but it still remained for him to say why he
could not instantly refute her charge : and
to do this he ventured to tell his friends,
what was already so well known to his ene-
mies in the Grove Hill kitchen. He ac-
quainted them, that he was bound by oath
not to betray the secrets of a set of beggars,
whom he fell in with the first night of his
going to Cork ; and that the coachman, hav-
ing discovered the connexion, and told it to
his fellow servants, Mrs. Rafferty had now
made use of that circumstance, to convince
her master he was a rebel.

Many were the regrets of Congo that he
had not, when he acknowledged the oath.

OF HIS MASTER. 121

declared what description of people had
sworn him ; and, in spite of Congo's scru-
ples, it was decided, that since the beggar
had first betrayed the connexion between
them, he was fully justified in saying that
they who swore him were beggars. Mrs.
Burns would have gone much farther, and
declared all obligation to secrecy was can-
celled : but Congo's conscience was a better
adviser, and Mrs. Burns's reasoning did not
procure her curiosity the gratification she
sought.

Congo pondered long on the cunning arti-
fices of Mrs. Rafferty, and lamented that he
must appear in the character of a rebel, not
only to Mr. Cooper, but to the young ladies
and their brother. Mrs. Burns, however,
undertook to do him justice with the youn-
ger part of the family, and having well dis-
cussed the past, she began to inquire into the
future plans of her guest.

Congo declared his resolution of return-
ing to his native country, and said he must
go that moment to Cove, to find what ves-
sels were there, bound to America.

" Sure then, you may save yourself that
trouble," said his kind hostess, " for is not
the Captain coming home to-night, to spend
Sunday with us, and can't he tell you all
about every plank that floats between the

City of Cork and the Turbot Bank ?

11

122 CONGO IN SEARCH

can't he tell you all you want to know, see-
ing he commands the most elegant lighter
in the river ? and sure enough, now we are
talking of him, there is Barney Burns, as
large as life ! Run, Christy, you lazy loon,
and fetch some turf; and, Judy, wash the
potatoes ; sure we have forgotten every
thing, to listen to Congo, and here's your
father before we have put any thing
straight."

" Well, as for the matter of that, mother,"
said her eldest daughter, " the very sight
of Congo amongst us will be excuse enough,
let alone the story we have got to tell my
father about him."

As soon as he was informed that Congo
was his guest, the ^ood lighterman warmly
seconded his wife's hospitality, and Congo
was made welcome to the best his house af-
forded, with some apologies for its not being
so good as he wras accustomed to, and much
self gratulation that all they had was honest-
ly come by. Mrs. Burns now repeated
Congo's story to her husband, but with so
many digressions, corrections, and amplifica-
tions, that the hero of it could scarcely fol-
low the thread of the narrative. His pre-
sent views and future plans were then de-
tailed by the voluble Mrs. Burns, much
more minutely than he could himself have
done, and having talked herself out of
breath, the good woman called on her bus-

OF HIS MASTER. 123

band to give Congo all the news of every
ship in the harbour, and left them to attend
her household concerns.

Fortunately for Congo, the lighterman
was less fond of talking than his wife, and
could keep more closely to the point in
question ; so he soon learnt from Barney
that there wfas not a ship in the harbour
bound to the United States; but that one
was then on the point of sailing for Phila-
delphia from Waterford, full of passengers,
and only waiting for a wind ; and Barney,
with many apologies for seeming to hurry
away a guest, advised Congo, if he wrished
to sail in her, to lose no time in getting to
Waterford. This advice Congo resolved
to follow, though the children coaxed and
the mother scolded ; and Barney himself,
now tutored by his wife in the rules of po-
liteness, retracted and qualified his first opin-
ion. Congo was firm, and with many thanks
to his kind friends for their hospitality, as-
sured them that the best way to prove
their friendship was to assist him in getting
to Waterford, the soonest possible; "For,"
added he, u I shall never be out of harm's
way, till I get back to my old father and
master; to the house I was born in; and
the country where there are neither beggars
nor rebels."

" Well," said Mrs. Burns, « I believe you
are right, boy. and if you needs must go, we

124 CONGO IN SEARCH

must see what we can do to speed ye ; ....
you have not been used to travel with much
luggage of late, so what have ye got to hold
your bits of clothes in ?"

Congo's bundle was now inspected, and
the good woman instantly set to work to
wash his dirty shirts for him. After dinner
Judy darned his stockings, and his favourite
Rose pricked her little fingers in making
him a strong linen bag to hold his clothes :
whilst the good man of the house and his
eldest son spent the evening in listening to
Congo's description of his own country. As
it was settled that Congo should start from
Cork the next morning by the six o'clock
coach, the afternoon would have been rath-
er a gloomy one, particularly to the younger
part of the family, who could not bear the
thoughts of losing their dear Congo for
ever, had he not occupied their attention
by praises of his own country ; and talked
to the youngsters of going to see him in
America, till they thought it quite practica-
ble, and even probable. This conversation
was certainly very interesting at the time,
and Mrs. Burns supposed that it made a
lasting impression on her son, for to that she
attributed his emigration to America two
years afterwards.

Loaded with the blessings and good wish-
es of his kind friends, and quite overcome
by their affectionate adieus, and hopes of

OF HIS MASTER. 125

meeting again, Congo left the Lodge, and
walked into Cork at an early hour, attend-
ed by Barney Burns and his son Christie ;
the latter carried Congo's bag, and having
renewed the conversation of the preceding
evening, he continued questioning Congo
about America, till he was seated on the
top of the coach that was to take him to
Waterford. The lighterman had been
•something of a traveller in his younger
days, and he cautioned Congo against telling
strangers much about himself. This hint,
together with the fear of committing him-
self to bad people, which his own experi-
ence had now taught him, made him suffi-
ciently reserved towards his fellow passen-
gers, and more inclined to listen to their
stories than to tell his own, though the
adventures of many a boaster there would
have sunk into insignificance, if compared
with Congo's, The day was fine, and the
mode of travelling more luxurious and expe-
ditious than he had been accustomed to, and
he enjoyed it much.

Having now abandoned the faint hope of
finding his young master in England, for the
more certain prospect of meeting him in his
own country, his mind was entirely bent on
returning thither, and he now felt as if eve-
ry step of the horses carried him nearer to
his family and friends. This was a most
11 *

126 CONGO IN SEARCH

happy feeling, and inclined him to enjoy, to
the full, all the humours of an Irish stage
coach ; every body was civil and obliging to-
wards him, and he arrived in the City of
Waterford without any accident, and with a
more favourable opinion of the Irish people
than he had before entertained.

On quitting the coach, and inquiring for
the vessel bound to Philadelphia, he found,
to his great disappointment, that he was
still many miles from that part of the river
where she lay, which was off Cheek Point ;
and that there could be no coveyance thith-
er till noon next day, when the coach would
take down the passengers for the Milford
packets. He could not ascertain whether
the wind were fair or not for America ; but,
much as he feared to lose the vessel, he
could not attempt to walk to Cheek Point
in a dark night and without a guide ; so he
went to bed, determined to sleep till day-
light ; and having paid his bill over night,
he resolved to leave the inn at a very early
hour; his fatigue however made him over-
sleep himself, and he did not set out till
seven o'clock.

The morning was fine, and our hero went
on his way at a brisk pace, divided between
hope and fear. He asked every one he
met, not only if he were in the right road,
but what distance he had to go, and whether
the American vessel had sailed ; until the con-

OF HIS MASTER. 127

tradictory answers he received, and the nu-
merous questions he brought upon himself,
put him out of all patience, and obliged him
to change his plan and proceed in silence.
On coming in sight of the mouth of the riv-
er, his heart misgave him that he was too
late ; and his fears were confirmed by a
group of sailors, who assured him they had
seen the vessel that was bound for Phila-
delphia sail at twelve o'clock the preceding
day. This was a severe blow to Congo;
he had made sure of this conveyance home ;
and, to his young mind, the loss of this op
portunity was the complete overthrow of
all his plans — the entire destruction of all
his hopes. He was now near the dirty and
uncomfortable inn, which has for many years
given strangers an unfavourable impression
of Ireland, on first landing in that country,
and a group of stragglers was soon formed
round the disappointed traveller. Congo's
livery suit gave him more consequence
among them than he was aware of, and he
was equally surprised by the attention that
he excited, and the respect that was paid
to him; he did not consider how small a
matter will amuse the idle, nor could he,
with his American notions, conceive that a
labouring man would consider a black ser-
vant in livery as belonging to a rank above
him. Such, however, was the case in the
country he was then in, as was evinced by

128 CONGO IN SEARCH

the manner in which he was questioned of
his own affairs, and by the cordial invitation
he received from the landlord of the inn, to
breakfast with him.

Whilst Congo, in spite of his disappoint-
ment, was doing ample justice to Tim
Screig's bread and butter and eggs, one of
the packet captains entered. He was a
large plan of a man, as his countrymen
would say, \vith a countenance beaming in-
telligence and good-humour, and possessed
of all the best qualities that belong to the
Irish character. He said he had stepped in
to see if he knew the face, as well as the
coat of his friend Tim's guest, and to ask
what part of Mr. Cooper's family were go-
ing over the water, and whether they knew
it was his turn to sail that day. Congo

quickly satisfied Captain N as to the

movements of Mr. Cooper's family, and, won
by his agreeable countenance, he explained
to him how he came there, and what had
been his disappointment in arriving too late
for the American vessel.

" Sure, then, since you have missed that,
I think you had better sail with me ; for on
the other side the Channel I can show you
plenty of your own country folks, and if you
should not like those weaned Jonathans that
have been settled there so many years that
they are now but half and half Yankees,
};ou will be more likely to find an American

OF HIS MASTER. 1*9

vessel there than here, and the trip shall
cost you nothing."

There was that in Captain N 's man-
ner that was calculated to inspire confidence
in the most cautious, and Congo instantly
accepted the proposal with a feeling of
thankfulness, that such a benevolent looking
man had interested himself in his fate.

Congo's prepossession in favour of Captain
N was entirely reciprocal, for the cap-
tain no sooner saw and spoke with Congo
than he was pleased with him, and resolved
to serve him if he could. He now invited
him to accompany him on board his packet,
and spent much time in conversing with
him. Congo asked many questions about
the passage they were to make, and sur-
prised and amused Captain N by in-
quiring very anxiously if it were likely there
would be any ice islands in their way ?

" Ice islands !" exclaimed Captain N ,

" what ever put ice islands into your head,
that by the curl of your hair never saw one
in your life ?"

Congo soon set him right in that particu-
lar, and, encouraged by Captain N , re-
lated the whole history of his shipwreck, to
which his new friend lent a most attentive
ear, and Congo perceived the good captain
brush away a tear from his eye, when he
told him the fate of poor Phoebe.

130 CONGO IN SEARCH

As the hour of sailing approached, the
scene became more animated. Carriages
arrived, and the boats began to ply, and
Congo found plenty of amusement and occu-
pation in seeing the passengers embark,
and in going on messages for his new friend.
At twelve o'clock the mail was put on
board, and the packet got under weigh
well loaded with passengers, for the captain
was a general favourite. They had a plea-
sant run of sixteen hours, and Congo made
himself very useful in attending on the pas-
sengers, though there was one lady, who de-
clared she would rather die than take any
thing from his hand, and that she would
never have stepped into the vessel if she
had known there was a Negro on board.
This prejudiced lady, it was afterwards dis-
covered, was the wife of a West-Indian
Captain, and descended from the race she
affected to despise. /

CHAPTER VIII.

A CAPRICIOUS MISTRESS.

ARRIVED in the spacious harbour of Mil-
ford, Congo congratulated himself on being
at last in England. He was, to be sure,
rather surprised to see the brown hills and

OF HIS MASTER. 131

dark cliffs, so much like those he had left
at Cheek Point, and he began to think the
white cliffs, which he had always heard
coupled with the name of Old England,
were among the number of false notions
which he had lately learned, by experi-
ence, to correct ; , so, turning to one of the
Welsh sailors, he expressed his satisfaction
in being at last in his far-famed country, and
asked him if he were not very proud of be-
ing an Englishman ?

Taffy's countenance had brightened up at
the first part of Congo's speech, but it re-
laxed into its original dulness at its conclu-
sion. Congo repeated his question, and at
last obtained for answer :

44 1 be a Welshman, and think my own
country as good as England, every bit."

" 1 beg your pardon, I thought you were
from this country."

" Aye, sure ; my father live in the old
town there, and I never leave my own
country, but 'just to make this passage to
Ireland."

" Why, what country do you call this,
then?"

" Why this is Wales, sir. You are in
Wales now ; though, to be sure, there be
great many outlandish folk come here to
live, and they have built the new town, so
that it is not like the same place as it was,
and nothing but English be spoken in these

132 CONGO IN SEARCH

parts; yet, for all that, 'tis Wales still, you
know."

Taffy's information vexed and disappoint-
ed Congo. It seemed to him that the
boundaries of the country he so much de-
sired to visit receded before him. He had
scarcely ever heard of Wales, and he felt
more out of his own knowledge, more lost
than ever, when a kind summons from Cap
tain N to accompany him on shore re-
assured him ; and the sight of a great deal
of shipping led him to hope there might be
a vessel there bound to America.

On landing, they found a knot of gentle-
men near the hotel, watching their arrival ;
and having seen the passengers comfortably

accommodated in the inn, Captain N ,

followed by Congo, approacheu the group,
The circle opened to receive the favourite
captain, and whilst they were exchanging
news and salutations, Congo amused himself
with examining the faces around him, and
endeavouring to distinguish a countryman
amongst them. One young man of small
stature and agreeable countenance, struck
his fancy more than the rest, though he
thought him less like an American than any
of the party; and he was particularly grati-
fied when Capt. N introduced him to

that gentleman, as an unfortunate country-
man of his, whom he had found at Cheek
Point, disappointed of his passage to his na-

OF IIIS MASTER. 133

tive town of Philadelphia. Congo made his
best bow, and answered several questions
that were then addressed to him by Mr.
Barlow. After talking apart with Captain
N for some time, he again spoke to Con-
go, and asked him if he would like to live
with him ?

" Yes, sir, as well as with any gentleman
in this country," replied Congo.

" But not as well as with any one in Ame-
rica, I suppose ? well, I like you the better
for that, and I dare say we shall not quar-
rel about your partiality for your own coun-
try; I am in want of a servant, and as
there is no vessel now in the harbour bound
to America, you may live with me till one
puts in. At least, I will go home and speak
to Mrs. Barlow about it, and let you know
this evening, or to-morrow morning : where
will you be found ?"

" At my house," replied Captain N j

who then took Congo home with him.

As they went, Congo thanked him for
having procured him a service, and express-
ed his prepossession in favour of Mr. Barlow.
This Captain N — confirmed by his knowl-
edge of him.

" I am sure he must be a good master,"
said Congo ; " how gently he speaks !"

" Not half so gently as his lady," replied
Captain N — , "for it requires good ears to
12

134 CONGO IN SEARCH

hear a word she says ; yet, hang me, if there
is not that in her face, which gives the lie
to so much softness of speech ; and unless
her nerves are pretty strong, which is only
a new way of saying, unless she is in a good
temper, you will not be hired."

The following morning, however, Congo
was sent for. He found Mr. and Mrs. Bar-
low equally well disposed towards him, and
was permitted to recount to them the story
of his shipwreck and subsequent adventures ;
which, with the exception of the beggar's
episode, he did very circumstantially. He
even ventured to mention his real reason
for quitting Mr. Cooper's service, and finish-
ed by expressing his great anxiety to know
what had become of his master, Mr.
Charles Stewart. In this Mr. Barlow was
much interested, for he remembered that
his father had been personally acquainted
with the elder Mr. Stewart ; and since he
had no clue by "which to find the son in Eng-
land, he resolved to write to the family in
Philadelphia, and inquire after him. This,
he convinced Congo, was the best method
of ascertaining his master's fate ; for if he
were alive,he would certainly have written to
his friends from whatever port he had reach-
ed ; and Congo agreed to wait for an answer
to the letter before he embarked for Ame-
rica : for should his master be in any part
of Great Britain, he preferred joining him

OF HIS MASTER. 135

on this side the Atlantic, to crossing it with-
out him.

Congo now entered the service of Mr.
Barlow tinder every advantage. His char*
acter stood fair, and his plans for the next
three months were settled. His master was
his countryman, and most of the inhabitants
of the place were emigrants from Ameri-
ca. His fellow servants were Welsh ; and
though not fond of " outlandish folk" as
they call all strangers, and particularly jeal-
ous of the English, they had no prejudice
against a poor black boy, and treated him
very kindly. His colour was a great merit
in the eyes of his mistress, whose pride was
gratified by the idea of style attached to a
black servant. She showed him every indul-
gence, and instructed him herself in the busi-
ness of his place. She fancied herself in very
delicate health, and Congo's noiseless step
and slow movements, whenever he saw her
reclining on the sofa, quite delighted her.
Mr. Barlow remarked with pleasure his
wife's partiality for the boy, and only hoped
it might not prove too violent to last.

All the American settlers were fond of
Congo, and loved to craCK a joke with him
on the well remembered peculiarities of
their own country, and hear from him such
stories as carried them back to former times
and places.

136 CONGO i-N SEARCH

Our hero soon felt, that no where, out of
America, could he be so happy as in Mil-
ford ; and he soon forgot to count the weeks
that must elapse before Mr. Barlow could
receive an answer to the letter he had
written to Mr. Stewart. To crown his
present happiness, and completely establish
his veracity, there came a letter from Mr.
Edward Cooper to Mr. Barlow, informing
him that, on his return home, he had inquir-
ed into the occasion of Congo's departure,
ynd from his high opinion of the boy's prin-
ciples, he had been led to a thorough inves-
tigation of the housekeeper's conduct ; the
result of which was the detection of that
system of plunder, which Congo had alleged
against his fellow servants; and the fallacy
of those accusations by which the house-
keeper had imposed on her master, and
screened herself. Anxious for the lad's
welfare, he had traced him to Mr. Barlow's
service, and was very desirous to recall him
to his own ; but sensible that it would be
ungentlemanly to do so, he merely congratu-
lated Mr. Barlow on having so faithful a lad
in his service, and only requested, that
whenever he parted from him, he would
previously inform him of his intentions.

On reading the letter, Mrs. Barlow declar-
ed she would never part from the boy, ex*
cept to his first master.

OF HIS MASTER. 137

" Not unless he wishes it, I suppose you
mean, mv love ," said her husband.

" No, not even if he wishes it ; I like him
too well."

" But you may not always like him as
well as you do now."

" Oh, yes, I am sure I shall, for I am not
at all fickle in my fancies — do you think I
am ?"

Mr. Barlow quietly assured her that he
did not, and changed the conversation. But,
alas ! this lady, like many others, knew not
her own faults, or her own mind, for many
days together, and two months sufficed to
wear off the novelty of a black servant, and
entirely change her opinion of poor Congo,
She began by finding much unnecessary
fault with him. Her husband, wishing to
set matters right, quitted his customary si-
lence on such occasions, to prove Congo was
not to blame, and made such excuses for him
as naturally suggested themselves. This
provoked the fretful and jealous temper of
his wife to seek fresh occasion for blame,
till at last nothing Congo said or did was
right in her eyes ; even the gaiety of his
disposition was a cause of displeasure to
her. The sound of laughter in the kitchen
was sure to produce frowns and rebukes in
the parlour ; and the hop, step and jump,
with which Congo passed through the court

138 CONGO IN SEARCH

or down the yard, were at last considered
as high crimes and misdemeanors. The
gentle step, which had once been such a
merit in Mrs. Barlow's eyes, was now called
a sneaking way of creeping about, and a
sure sign he had been in mischief, and was
afraid of being found out ; and, though she
never once detected Congo in telling an un-
truth, or found him guilty of any serious
fault, she was continually complaining of
him, and hinting at certain charges which
she would not explain, because she could
not without doing them away. Mr. Barlow
found his interference only increased the
evil, and therefore he soon relinquished it ;
and as he had no wish to investigate, where
he was sure to find his wife wrong, he dis-
couraged in Congo all appeals to himself;
and by never listening to the boy's side of
the question, and being constantly obliged
to hear his wife's stories against him, his
own judgment was at last perverted ; and
Congo found himself disliked, without rea-
son, by his mistress, and condemned un-
heard by his master. The displeasure of
the latter pained him much ; he knew him
to be a reasonable and good-tempered man,
and therefore feared he had done something
to deserve the change in his master's man-
ner towards him. %

OP HIS MASTER, 139

One day he found an opportunity of ask-
ing Mr. Barlow, when alone with him, what
he had done to offend him ?

« Nothing," said Mr. B. " Did I tell you
I was offended ? I am sure I never found
any fault with you."

" Oh no, sir ! but I would rather you
should tell me of my faults, than look so
changed towards me. If I knew what I
have done amiss, I would never do it again,
and then, I hope, sir, you would look as
kindly at me as you used to do."

Mr. Barlow was affected by this appeal.
He paused, and tried to recollect some of
the numerous charges against the boy, to
which he was daily forced to listen. At last
he recollected, and named two of them.
The circumstances were founded on truth,
but so warped and misrepresented, that
Congo hardly recognized them.

When he did, he placed them in their
true light, and clearly proved himself right
and his mistress wrong. This Mr. Barlow
could not bear, and he cut short the con-
versation by observing, his mistress must
have misunderstood him, and by assuring
him he was not angry with him, and desir-
ing him to take more pains to explain things
to her satisfaction. This, however, was a
vain caution to poor Congo, for his mistress
would never allow a servant to reply to her
accusations, however false. If Congo ever

140 CONGO IN SEARCH

attempted to prove his innocence it was
called insolence, and he was commanded to
be silent.

After Mr. Barlow's conversation with
Congo, he summoned resolution enough to
speak to his wife about the mistaken views
of many parts of the boy's conduct ; but no
sooner did she discover that he had listen-
ed to Congo's justification of himself, than
the poor man was overwhelmed with a tor-
rent of reproaches ; accused of believing
what his favourite black asserted, in prefer-
ence to what his wife told him ; and fright-
ened out of the use of his own good sense,
by a real or well acted fit of hysterics,
which Mrs. Barlow called to her aid the
moment she found her husband's sound
reasoning unanswerable. From this Mr.
Barlow5 soon recovered her ; and, hav-
ing soothed her ruffled spirits to a calm, he
wished to fix her attention on an amusing
book, which he offered to read to her; but
she preferred silence, as it gave her the
best opportunity of collecting her forces and
returning to the charge.

After a long pause, she began in that gen-
tle voice which she always affected, to hide
a most ungentle mood, " I do not think you
would so readily prefer the testimony of
your favourite black to mine, if you were
aware how often his head is confused with
liquor."

OF HIS MASTER. 141

Provoking as was the first part of this
speech, Mr. Barlow only commented on
the latter sentence, and declared his dis-
belief of Congo's being at all fond of drink-
ing.

" Oh ! as to that, all blacks are fond of if,
and so is your favourite. I know it to my
cost, for my nerves are often dreadfully tried
by his drunken excesses."

" Drunken excesses ! my dear, you sur-
prise me. Can either of his fellow ser-
vants say they ever saw Congo tipsy?"

" Oh, servants are all alike for that.
They will never tell of each other ; but 1
know he must drink, or he would never
make such a noise in the kitchen as he often
does, and set the maids off in such violent
fits of laughter. For my part, I think it
great insolence in a servant to do more than
smile at any time."

Mr. Barlow had not the spirit to oppose
even so absurd and despotic a notion as this,
and his lady continued, " It was only last
evening, as I lay on the sofa in a low, ner-
vous state, that the door of the room was
burst open by the wind, and I heard such
peals of laughter below stairs, and such a
noise, that I was frightened almost to death,
and rang the bell violently two or three
times before it was answered. At last, up
carne Sally, out of breath with laughing,
provoking hussey ! and said it was only Con-

142 COXGO IN SEARCH

go, who had been to see a show of wild
beasts, and was mimicking the keeper's
manner of showing them off. and all the
company's way of talking about them."

Mr. Barlow laughed, and exclaimed,
" Droll dog ! how I should like to have
heard him !"

" Then you believe that ridiculous story
of Sarah's ! I tell you what, the boy was as
drunk as a lord, and that is why his voice
was so disguised. You may shake your
head, if you like, but I am sure of it, for
when he afterwards brought up tea, he
crept about so quietly, and scarcely spoke
above a whisper, because he was afraid of
betraying himself."

" YVell, my love, it may be so. I was out
last night, and did not see him. When next
he is the worse for what he has drank, I
dare say I shall perceive it."

" I dare say, Sir, you will never perceive
what you don't choose to see ; but if you
had any feeling, any consideration for my
declining health, you would never let me be
thus tormented by a good-for-nothing ne-
gro."

"My dear, if you wish to get quit of the
boy, you are at liberty to do so whenever
you please. You are acquainted with Miss
Cooper ; write to her, and offer to give the
boy up to her brother. I know he is very
anxious to have Congo with him."

OF HIS MASTER. 143

This reminded Mrs. Barlow of what she
had once said, about giving him up to the
Coopers, and she felt staggered in her pur-
pose, and confused by her own folly ; be-
sides this, she did not like him to go back to
Grove Hill ; much less could she bear to
be known as the cause of his discharge.
She therefore refused to have any thing to
do with the hiring, or discharging of men
servants. That, she said, was a gentleman's
business, and if, after all he had now heard,
he wished to retain Congo in his service, she
should not interfere. Panting with sup-
pressed anger, she then walked to a win-
dow and threw it up ; when the voice of
Congo, singing merrily at his work, reached
her ears. Thus to witness his lightness of
heart at this moment, when her own bosom
was tortured by all the evil feelings to which
^he had given the rein, was more than she
could quietly bear. She looked into the
area, and saw Congo, who had just been
taking particular pains to sharpen a carving
knife for his master's use, brandishing it
about as a sword or dagger, and singing part
of an old song about the choice between dy-
ing by bowl or by dagger. This was suffi-
cient to suggest a certain method of ridding
herself of the innocent object of her detes-
tation. She shrieked violently, and exclaim-
ing, " He will murder me ! he will murder

144 CONGO L\ SEARCH

me !" fell into the arms of her husband ap-
parently senseless.

Mr. Barlow was very much alarmed, and
waited anxiously for an explanation of what
had so suddenly affected her ; but on her
recovery she could give no account of what
had frightened her.

" Nothing — it was nothing at all," or " he
would know in time," were all the answers
he received to his various inquiries, and in-
treaties to know what it was. She would
say no more, but her actions made it visible
enough, that she fancied her life in danger
from Congo, for every time he appro'ached
her, she shuddered and drew back. She
would eat nothing at dinner, but watched
every movement he made ; would not allow
him to stand a moment behind her, and
when he took the carving knife from the
dish, she uttered a groan and fell back in her
chair, gasping, as if with extreme terror.
Mr. Barlow now understood her fears, and
dreading lest his wife's brain should be
touched, and that these symptoms of it
should be known to the world, he sent Con-
go out of the room, and dismissed him that
afternoon from his service. This was per-
haps one of the most painful tasks to which
the unreasonable indulgence of Mr. Barlow's
wife had ever subjected him.

Congo saw that, ifi giving him his dis-
charge, his master was doing violence to his

OF HIS MASTER. 145

own feelings, and therefore would not try
them further, by making any appeal to his
justice. He received his discnarge in si-
lence, and his wages with thanks ; astonish-
ed his fellow servants, by telling them what
had passed ; and left Mr. Barlow's house
that night.

No sooner was Congo's discharge known,
than it made quite a sensation in the town ;
and as he, from a sense of honour and at-
tachment to Mr. Barlow, refused to tell the
occasion of it, numerous and various were
- the constructions put upon it. As Congo
was now in the daily expectation of hearing
from America, he would not quit Milford,
till the wished-for letter should be received
by Mr. Barlow ; and as he had numerous
friends there, who were ready to employ
him in occasional services, if only as a rea-
son for providing him with a good dinner, he
was very well off. To Captain N — and his
family he told the circumstances of his dis-
missal : but as they were not given to gos-
sipping, it went no farther, and the Milford
world continued to wonder and guess in vain,
until Mrs. Barlow, not satisfied with having
deprived Congo of his place, wished to rob
him of his friends also, and then the extrava-
gance of her charges against him sufficiently
refuted them and convinced her acquaint-
13

146 CONGO IN SEARCH

ances, that Congo's dismissal had its rise in
Mrs. Barlow's bad temper and caprice.

CHAPTER XITI.

AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER.

SHORTLY after Congo's dismissal from Mr.
Barlow's service, that gentleman had the
pleasure of announcing to him the certainty
of his master being alive and well, when his
friends last heard from him. which they did
on his landing at Havre-de-Grace. To that
port he was taken by a French vessel,
which picked him and his companions up at
sea, the first day of their being exposed on
that uncertain element in an open boat.
The letter from Charles Stewart's family
contained many expressions of surprise and
satisfaction at Congo's being alive, as his
friends had heard that he was certainly
drowned ; also an urgent request that Mr.
Barlow would take care of him, and enable
him to join his master in London, where he
proposed going, after making a short tour
in France, and where he would be heard of
at Messrs. Dimsdale and Lockart, Commis-
sion Merchants.

Congo was indeed overjoyed by this intel-
ligence ; and, assisted and advised by Mr-

OF HIS MASTER. 147

Barlow, he prepared to set off immediately
for London, where it was thought his mas-
ter must already have arrived. Mr. Bar-
low determined to send him off by coach,
not liking to trust to the uncertainty of a
passage by water, after the stror manner
in which his old friend Mr. Stewart had
recommended the boy to his care, and re-
quested no expense might be spared, or
time lost, in forwarding him to his young
master.

Congo spent one day in farewell visits to
his friends and benefactors, and then, with
a present from Mr. Barlow of a new pock-
et-book, containing money for the journey,
and the address of the house in town, where
he would hear of his master, he went off on
the top of the coach, rather sad than mer-
ry, for he could not part from so many kind
friends, and the place where he had known
most happiness since he left America, with-
out some regrets, and some painful thoughts,
about never seeing it again.

The coachman, as far as Carmarthen, was
an acquaintance, arid not until he lost him
did he feel quite alone in the world. Being
a lad of much observation, he found much
to amuse and interest him on the road, and
after he had proceeded twenty miles, he
perceived he was indeed in a country
whose people and customs were peculiar,

148 CONGO IX SEARCH

and entirely different from the part he had
left.

The settlement of so many strangers at
Milford, had given to that place and some
miles round a distinct character from the
rest of the country, and the real Welsh
people distinguish it, as little England beyond
Wales, and this Congo now learnt. Noth-
ing amused him more than the small boats
of the fishermen on the river Towy, called
corricles, which are made of a wicker frame,
covered with tarred flannel, and only large
enough to contain one person ; and whilst
the coach stopped at Carmarthen, for the
passengers to dine, he made his way to the
river, procured the loan of a corricle, and
was paddling about in it with considerable
dexterity, when his friend, the Milford
coachman, found him and hurried him back
to the inn, just in time to save his place by
the coach. He found the humours of a
Welsh stage coach far inferior to those of
an Irish one ; but every one was civil though
dull ; inquisitive though not communicative ;
and finding it vain to attempt to enliven his
companions, and being tired of their ques-
tions he sank into silence.

As he proceeded through Carmarthen-
shire and Brecknockshire, he heard more of
the Welch language, and being unaccustom-
ed to the harsh sounds it contains, and the
rapid pronunciation of the people, he imag-

OF HIS MASTER. 149

ined every one he heard speak to be in a
passion. Nothing, however, surprised him
so much as the ruins of old castles and prio-
ries, which every where presented them-
selves, and were so very unlike any thing
he had ever seen in his own country. His
expressions of astonishment at such useless
old buildings being allowed to stand, called
forth some sparks of enthusiasm in the
Welchmen about him, to whom Congo's
want of admiration for their ancient castles,
was quite as incomprehensible, as were to
him their sentiments of love and admiration
for such cumbrous old piles. It is only in
the recollection of the past that the feel-
ings of patriotic enthusiasm are ever to be
lighted in the breast of a Welchman;
whereas an American knows no patriotic
feeling of an older date than his own life or
that of his father ; the period of their inde-
pendence being the commencement of their
political existence. Congo had therefore,nev-
er heard such respect for antiquity expressed
before, and he could not understand it.

On leaving Wales, and being assured that
he was now in England, he felt less pleasure
than he had anticipated ; and it was not un-
til he had passed Gloucester, that he saw
any considerable change in the country;
but when he found himself on the London
road, between that city and Oxford, he felt
he had never before had an idea of the ex-
13*

150 CONGO IN SEARCH

cellence of English roads, inns, coaches, and
horses. The second night he was much fa-
tigued) and slept soundly on the top of the
coach, in spite of the danger of so doing ;
and on entering London, on the morning of
the tliird dav, he was wide awake to all the
wonders of tnat wonderful metropolis. The
idea that he was at last in the same town
with his master, and that in a few hours he
should probably see him, was joy almost too
big for his heart; and his impatience to quit
the coach and go in search of Messrs. Dims-
dale and Lockart, made the size of London
appear to him enormous. Entering Hyde
Park Corner, and passing through the nu-
merous and spacious streets, which intervene
between that and the inn in the city where
the coach put up, gave him such an idea of
the vast extent of London, as was quite op
pressive to him ; and be was very glad to
hear from the coachman, that the counting
house, he was in search of, was within ten
minutes walk of the place .where they should
stop. Having deposited his bag of clothes in
the bar of the inn,and received proper direc-
tions from the coachman, he set off the mo-
ment he arrived, to find the counting house
of his masters correspondents. The happi-
ness he had so long desired, and which
seemed now within his reach, he could not
defer grasping; so, without stopping to take
any refreshment, or even to wash and dress
himself, he walked off at a brisk pace.

OF HIS MASTER. 151

It was a foggy day in November ; the
streets were very slippery, and so dark at
ten o'clock in the morning, that candles
\vere necessary in all back shops and count-
ing-houses. Congo was inclined to make
more haste than good speed; he staggered
and slid several times, and at last, as he was
crossing a crowded street, in his haste to
avoid a carriage that was coming very fast,
both feet slipped from under him — he fell
with his head against the curbstone, and the
wheel passed over him.

The poor boy's leg was severely bruised
and mangled, and his head sadly cut. He
was taken up insensible; a crowd immedi-
ately gathered round him ; his pockets were
presently rifled ; and when some judicious
passengers suggested the propriety of look-
ing for papers about him, that might lead to
the discovery of where he belonged, there
were none to be found, and he was accord-
ingly carried to the nearest hospital, where
his leg and his head were dressed, whilst he
was still in a state of insensibility.

Let my young readers imagine, if they
can, the wretchedness of Congo, when on
recovering his senses, he found himself in
bed, in a strange place, surrounded by stran-
gers, and suffering agonies in his head and
leg. Meagre faces, and emaciated forms
met his eye, and deep groans assailed his
ears. For some moments he thought the

152 CONGO IN SEARCH

scene before him only a frightful dream, and
he tried to rouse himself from it ; but the
pain he felt on attempting to move, con-
vinced him that at least his own sufferings
were real. He tried to recollect what had
happened to him, and by the answers lie re-
ceived from the busy attendants on the
wretched objects around him, he discover-
ed what had befallen him. His heart sank
within him on being told that he was likely
to be confined there six weeks or two
months, and that he had nothing in his pock-
ets when he was brought there. Stripped
of every thing, and likely by this delay to
miss finding his master, he was indeed most
miserable, and would probably have sunk
under his bodily and mental sufferings, had
he not found strength and support where
alone the deeply afflicted ought to seek it —
in earnest prayer to Almighty God he pour-
ed out his soul, and derived from it the con-
solation he required. His mind became re-
conciled, in a degree, to his situation ; and
his body being much exhausted by long
fasting and the loss of blood, he sank into a
kind of stupor, which lasted all day, and
from which he was only roused by the nurse
to take a basin of gruel, which she kindly in-
sisted on his swallowing. Nature was most
kind, and in spite of the pain he suffered, he
slept most of the night,and awaked much re-
freshed at a late hour the following morning.

OF HIS MASTER. 153

At twelve the surgeons visited the ward,
arid pronounced that he had no fever, and
was doing well. They turned from him to
a dying, though refractory patient, that lay
in the next bed. As the medical men en-
deavoured to convince him of his danger,
Congo heard something in the sick man's
voice that sounded familiar to him, and with
much difficulty turning himself round, he be-
held to his great surprise the well-remem-
bered features of Paddy O'Leary. He was
pale and emaciated, and a bandage nearly
covered his eyes : but he was still terrific in
the eyes of Congo ; nor was the hardened
and insolent manner in which he was then
speaking to the medical men, at all calculat-
ed to lessen his horror of him. Congo with-
drew his eyes from the old beggar, and con-
sidering at the moment that his vicinity to
him was the worst part of his present situa-
tion, he resolved not to be the first to re-
new the acquaintance.

During that day he concealed himself as
much as possible from Paddy's observation,
and was glad when night came, and the
dim light of one solitary lamp allowed him
to move without fear of being recognized.

It was a night of dreadful agony to the
poor wretch beside him, whose groans and
exclamations prevented his sleeping, and
thrilled him with horror and pity. Hearing
him lament most grievously that he could

154 CONGO IX SEARCH

not turn himself in his bed, Congo's com-
passion overcame his aversion, and he man-
aged to get up and offer his assistance.
With the strongest expressions of gratitude
did O'Leary receive it, and beg him to
" lend a hand in turning his great big lump
of a head." Congo exerted himself to make
Paddy's position as comfortable as he could.

^ Thank/ye, thank'ye," exclaimed the old
reprobate, " I will be obliged to you all the
days of my life, though I should die to-mor-
row ! May ye never want the like office ;
and if ye do, may ye never be forced to ask
it at the hands of a stranger. There, 1 am
asy now, as if it was a down bed I was on,
and not thinking of dying these hundred
years — neither will I, by St. Patrick ! This
soul and body will never part company in
a strange land, and unavenged,too, of the fel-
low that sent me here with a broken head."

Here he uttered the most dreadful threats
and imprecations on the man under whose
blows he was suffering. Shocked at such
language in the mouth of a dying man, Con-
go involuntarily exclaimed, " Oh, Paddy
O'Leary ! don't think on revenge, when you
ought to be repenting of your sins."

The sound of his cant name startled the
old vagrant extremely, and he wished to
know which of his own boys was near him.
Congo was now forced to discover himself,
and he felt rather alarmed than pleased by

OF HIS MASTER. 155

the satisfaction which the mendicant ex-
pressed at meeting him again.

" None are all evil," and this notorious
thief and beggar had been touched by Con-
go's strict adherence to the oath he had
compelled him to take. In the Irish char-
acter, a sense of gratitude often survives
the loss of almost every other virtue ; and
no sooner did he hear of the trouble which
this oath of secrecy had brought on Congo
than he set his wits to work to invent a
method of exculpating our hero without
compromising himself, and this he would no
doubt have accomplished, if Congo's abrupt
departure from Cork had not rendered the
attempt useless.

He now communicated to Congo his good
intentions towards him, and assured him in
the warmest terms of his great wish to have
it in his power to serve him ; " but," added
he, sorrowfully, " the time is gone by now,
for I feel that within, which tells me that I
shall never be able to save or serve mortal
man again."

" You can serve me still, indeed you can,"
exclaimed Congo, " by releasing me from
my oath to you."

" Is that all ?" exclaimed the beggar, dis-^
appointed by the smallness of the request,
" that's done already, for is not the whole
gang of us dispersed ? I and- my company
routed, parted for ever ? and is not Paddy

156 CONGO IN SEARCH

O'Leary, instead of being the first of the
askers in Cork, administering oaths of alle-
giance and secrecy, like any king or inquisi-
tor in Christendom, now a second rate beg-
gar in London, without a secret in the world
worth keeping? Oh, that I should ever
live to be kilt by a Thames waterman, and
die in a hospital, without a drop of whiskey,
or a bit of a howl, or a priest to rid me of
ray sins !"

Congo was glad that he felt he had any
sins to answer for, and for the rest of the
night he tried to give him some rational no-
tions of religion, repentance, and death.
Paddy's ignorance or superstition often baf-
fled and astonished him ; but he persevered,
as well as he knew how, and succeeded in
making him regret his mode of life, and
cease to thirst after revenge.

Towards morning, the symptoms of ap-
proaching death increased; Congo's strength
and courage rose with the extremity of the
case. He prayed with and for the dying
sufferer, and received with calmness the last
breath of the man who had lately been such
an object of terror to him.

The dying moments of O'Leary were not
likely to reconcile the youthful mind of
Congo to a death-bed scene, but it taught
him the value of a well spent life, and a
lively faith in Christ; for he felt that
had these been the portion of the unhappy

OF HIS MASTER. 157

wretch before him, the passage to the tomb
would have been easy, and death would
have been robbed of its sting. As it was, it
left a very melancholy impression on his
mind, and he was glad when the body of the
deceased was removed from his side.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE BENEVOLENT SURGEON.

THE exertions Congo had made in the
night, had displaced some of the dressings
and bandages on his leg, and when the sur-
geons visited him the following morning,
they found he had brought on a considera-
ble degree of inflammation ; and though, on
inquiring into the cause, they could not but
admire the boy's humanity, they expressed
great displeasure at the state of his limb,
and one of them declared it would now be a
much longer job than had been anticipated,
even if mortification did not ensue.

Appearances soon afterward became so
formidable that it was feared amputation
would be necessary, and as Congo under-
stood the stump might be healed much
sooner than the leg in its present state, he
exclaimed, ;< Then prav cut it off at once,
14

158 CONGO IN SEARCH

for I should prefer the loss of my limb to
the loss of my master."

The opinion of the medical men differed
as to the probable necessity of amputation,
but they all agreed in admiring the boy's
courage.

Mr. Wells, the surgeon in attendance for
that week, thought it necessary to have a
consultation on the case the following morn-
ing, and accordingly encouraged Congo to
undergo the operation. Mr. Armstrong
thought better of the case, deprecated the
boy's impatience, and saw no necessity for a
consultation. Finding, however, that his
brother practitioner was bent upon it, he
determined to be present at it himself, and
save the boy's leg if possible.

Though, in a moment of despair at the
probable length of his confinement, Congo
had had the courage to prefer amputation,
yet, when he found it agreed to by one of
the surgeons, his heart sank within him, and
he felt not a little terrified by the parting
injunction of Mr. Wells to prepare for the
operation the next day. Already depressed
in spirits by the scene of the previous night,
he passed a most miserable day, and only
fell asleep when quite exhausted by the
tears he had shed.

Mr. Armstrong was engaged to accompa-
ny a party of foreigners to Westminster
Abbey, but he resolved to forego that plea-

t)F HIS MASTER. 159

sure, and attend at the Hospital, to save the
black boy's leg; he therefore called on his
friends on his way thither to excuse himself.
He found them very willing to postpone their
walk among the tombs, as it was a damp day
for the ladies to visit so cold a place, and
Mr. Armstrong then proposed that the gen-
tlemen should accompany him. To this
they readily acceded, declaring that in a me-
tropolis so famed for its benevolent institu-
tions, it would be a great omission not to vi-
sit even the painful scenes of a hospital ;
and Mr. Armstrong assured them that the
order, cleanliness, and quiet which reigned
in the hospitals of London were such as
would render their visit more pleasurable
than painful ; and that, as strangers desirous
of acquiring information on which to found
their opinion of the nation, they could not
better employ their time than in inspecting
institutions so highly creditable to the Brit-
ish Metropolis and so far superior to those
of any other capital in the world.

On their way, Mr. Armstrong mentioned
the case which rendered him so anxious to
attend that morning. " In the present in-
stance," said he, " the patient is a negro
boy, and therefore the state of the leg is
more difficult to be ascertained, and the
natural colour of it may deceive those, who
have not like myself had much experience

160 CONGO IN SEARCH

in the hospitals of our West Indian Colo-
nies."

All now partook of Mr. Armstrong's anx-
iety to arrive in time at the Hospital. On
entering the building, he said they might
follow him or not, as they chose, but that
he must proceed immediately to the operat-
ing chamber, lest the patient should be al-
ready there. His haste was not greater
than the case required. The gentlemen
followed Mr. Armstrong, and on entering
the room, they beheld the negro boy
stretched on a table, his hands over his
eyes, and Mr. Wells in the very act of com-
mencing the operation.

"Stop! I conjure you stop!" cried Mr.
Armstrong, "I am sorry that I am too late
for the consultation, but, if you will allow
my experience in the West Indies to be
worth any thing, believe me when 1 assure
you, that the present case is not so despe-
rate as you imagine. I see no danger
of mortification ; the colour of the skin de-
ceives you ; indeed it does. — Mr. Wells
.shook his head ; — most of the surgeons who
had been at the consultation were dispersed,
after unanimously agreeing that the leg
must come off.

Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Wells supported
their different opinions, until Mr. Wells
growing warm, observed that Mr. Arm-
strong's interference was untimely, and de-

OF HIS MASTER. 161

clared that the result of the consultation
must be acted upon, and since the patient
was willing, he must proceed directly to the
operation, unless Mr. Armstrong would re-
move from him all responsibility, by taking
the boy under his own care, and removing
him from the hospital.

" That is out 01 my power," replied Mr.
Armstrong, " so you must do as you think
proper, but I am decidedly against it."

Here one of the strangers stepping for-
ward exclaimed, " It must not be," and
seizing Mr. Armstrong's arm, he added, " if
money can be of any use in enabling you to
take the boy under your own care, pray com*
mand my purse." More would he have said,
had not the trembling patient exclaimed,

" Oh my master ! my dear master ! let
me see him ! Where is he ? Now I will
not have my leg taken off!"

The humane stranger was indeed Mr.
Charles Stewart, for whom the surprise
was too great : he trembled, turned pale,
and was obliged to support himself on the
arm of his friend. Every one stood mo-
tionless, and looked with astonishment at the
figure of Congo, as he sat upright on the ta-
ble, with his arms stretched towards one of
the strangers.

No ideal spectre that ever burst upon the
imagination of mortal man, could have^seem-
14*

162 CONGO IN SEARCH

ed more supernatural to Charles Stewart,
than the figure now before him. He be-
lieved that he had seen his negro servant
sinis. into a watery grave, and the emaciated
resemblance of that individual now before
him seemed nothing less than ghostly.

The alternate tears and smiles, sobs and
cries of joy, uttered by Congo, with the
evident emotion of the stranger whom he
addressed, kept the spectators in silent won-
der for some minutes. Mr. Stewart, how-
ever, soon became more composed ; and
once convinced of the reality of the scene
before him, he darted towards Congo, and
allowed his faithful servant to bury his face
in the bosom of his long lost master.

The question of amputation was now at
rest, and Mr. Wells slipped away, ashamed
of his obstinacy and warmth of temper, and
left Mr. Armstrong to dress the boy's leg.

The events of the last hour had so agi-
tated Congo, that Mr. Armstrong prohibit-
ed all conversation between him and his
master. Nor would he consent to Mr.
Stewart's plan of removing Congo immedi-
ately to his lodgings ; he assured him that
the absence of all excitement, pleasurable
as well as painful, was necessary to prevent
an attack of fever; and that the discipline
of the hospital, though less agreeable than
domestic nursing, would be the most condu-
cive to the boy's recovery.

OF HIS MASTER. 163

Mr. Stewart expressed some anxiety, lest
his servant should be exposed to the medi-
cal treatment of the irritable gentleman
who had just quitted the room : but, assur-
ed by Mr. Armstrong that nothing of any
importance would be done without his con-
currence, and that the boy could no where
be better treated than where he was, he
consented to Congo's being carried back to
his bed, though he found the boy's misery
at the thought of losing sight of him again
so touching, that he could hardly have re-
solved to leave him, had not Mr. Armstrong
seized the moment of Congo's fainting to
hurry his master away from him.

Having liberally rewarded the nurse for
her care of the boy, and desired her to tell
him that he should see his master the fol-
lowing morning, Mr. Stewart returned with
Mr. Armstrong to the friends he had left in
the morning, eager to communicate to Mr.
and Miss Harvey the strange tidings of
Congo being alive, and his astonishing ren-
contre with him.

CHAPTER XV.

CONGO HIS OWN HISTORIAN.

BENEVOLENT actions are generally reward-
ed by the feelings that dictate and accom-

164 CONGO IN SEARCH1

pany them ; but, in the present instance,
Mr. Armstrong's humanity reaped a double
recompense, in the pleasure he felt, at hav-
ing served a friend as well as saved the
limb of a fellow being, and in having been
the means of bringing about such an inter-
esting meeting as that which he had just
witnessed.

Charles Stewart's heart overflowed with
gratitude to his friend, and the happiness of
the day was rendered complete, by the
entire participation of the amiable Miss Har-
vey in his feelings. A mutual attachment
between that young lady and Mr. Charles
Stewart had arisen out of the remarkable
events of their acquaintance with each
other; and the well regulated though sen-
sitive mind of Miss Harvey, could enter into
all the feelings and interests of her lover,
without any selfish uneasiness at not being
their exclusive object ; and she blamed not
his daily visits to the hospital, though they
often interfered with his engagements to her.

Congo's second interview with his master
was almost as affecting as the first, for not
until he beheld him again, could he be satis-
fied that their former meeting was not all a
dream. He counted the hours till the
promised return of his master, and g >ve way,
by turns, to such extravagant fi! and

despondency, that those around h,^ feared
his intellects were affected. Mr- Charles

OF HIS MASTER. 165

Stewart's second visit convinced his faithful
and attached servant that his happiness was
real, and after that he recovered rapidly,
and in less than a month he quitted the hos-
pital for his master's lodgings. In the same
house were those of Mr. Harvey and his
daughter; Congo therefore partook of the
kind care of all three, and as his strength in-
creased, he in return made himself equally
useful to Charles Stewart and his friends.
The hardships and misfortunes which Con-
go had experienced, whilst they strengthen-
ed and improved his character, endeared
him greatly to his master, and were for
some time a favourite topic of conversation
in the circle in which Mr. Charles Stewart
moved. All his friends knew that he had
experienced a dreadful shipwreck, but as he
always shrank from relating its distressing
details, they had never been made acquaint-
ed with any of the particulars of it ; and
were now all eager to hear them from Con-
go, and to receive from his own mouth, the
account of his wonderful escape and subse-
quent adventures.

The author happening to make one of a
small party of friends who were thus enter-
tained, she was afterwards so frequently
called upon to relate Congo's story to the
young people of her acquaintance, that the
idea suggested itself of committing his ad-
ventures to paper; and as she always found

166 CONGO IN SEARCH

her young auditors anxious to know every
particular of the earliest years of her hero,
as well as what became of him after he
found his master, she took some pains to ac-
quire all the information possible of Congo's
birth, parentage, and education ; and also to
obtain a copy of the letter which he wrote
to his good friends the Burns', on his return
to his native land. These materials the
Writer now offers to her young readers in
the form of a continued narrative ; and
trusts that, whilst the adventures of Congo
excite their interest, his experience will en-
force the value of a religious education, and
a strict adherence to truth. Without the
advantages of early piety, Congo must have
sunk under the accumulated trials of his si-
tuation; and without truth for his guide, be
could not have found the happy issue out of
all his troubles which was the reward of
bis patience and integrity.

CONGO'S LETTER TO MRS. BURNS.

Dear Friends, Mistress Burns and Family :

I hope you got the little notions I sent you from Lon-
don by Mr. Edward's new servant, Roper; also the letter
that I wrote you, telling you all about master's finding me
in the hospital, and how happy we were with Miss Har-
vey in London, and how I was sent for by all Mr. Ed-
ward's friends, to tell them of our shipwreck, and what
happened since ; and I hope, as he seemed a civil young
man, that he told you a great deal that I could not get in-
to my letter, not having time or skill to write every thing
as I could wish.

OF HIS MASTER. 167

He could tell you, too, how he met Mr. Edward ; how
he knew my master by seeing me with him, and what
good friends the gentlemen were afterwards. I always
said Mr. Edward was just such a man as my master, only
not so gay-tempered quite. Well, then, as Mr. Roper
told you all this, I will tell you what he could not, as it
only happened yesterday ; but first I must tell you what
we did in England.

When the fine weather came we left London, with
heavy hearts, on account of leaving Miss Harvey there.
We went hundreds and hundreds of miles through Eng-
land, and Scotland too ; and there I heard many tunes
that made me think of Captain Burns's fiddle, and the la-
dies' harp. Well, as I was telling you, we travelled a
great way, and very quick, not stopping long any where
till we came to the lakes. There we met Mr. and Miss
Harvey, and were quite happy again, and went on slow-
ly, stopping at every place, for Miss Harvey to take off
sketches, of what pleased her most. Before that, master
talked of going to Ireland, and I made sure of seeing you
all again ; but Miss Harvey was not going, so we gave it
up ; and, being tired of travelling, we went to Liverpool,
where we found one of master's own vessels, and sailed in
her for this country. By the favour of God, we had a safe
passage. Poor Miss Harvey was so frightened that she
could not be sick, and seldom laid down in her birth ;
and when she did, she never undressed herself, thinking
always of the dreadful shipwreck that happened to us be-
fore ; however, we all got safe here, and found all friends
and relations well. Father is hearty now, but when he
heard Congo was drowned, he was like to die : but we
must not think of that now ; for now comes the piece of
news which I sat down to write to you.

My master, Charles Stewart, was married yesterday,
and who do you think it was to ? Why to Miss Har-
vey ! and I am to live with them as their only man-ser-
vant, and to-day I have begun to call her mistress, which
she would never let me do before, and w\j had such ele-
gant doings ! Old master gave such a grand dinner, and
we had such dancing in the kitchen ! I danced with Flo-
ra. Please tp tell Judy, with my love, that Flora is very

168 CONGO IN SEARCH OF HIS MASTER.

much grown, and she thinks me the same. She likes to
hear me tell of the shipwreck, as well as of what Judy
and Rose used to do. All of us wore white bows, called
favours; and I had a new livery suit made, just like the
one I lost at sea ; and master looked so handsome, and so
did Miss Harvey !

Mr. Harvey has given us his beautiful house, three
miles out in the country, to live in ; and from thence I now
write this, as we came here this morning, quite by our-
selves ; which is rather dull, to be sure, and that is why I
write to-day, having nothing else to do.

Please to make my duty to Mr. Cooper and Mr. Ed-
ward, and the ladies ; and mention to them that my mas-
ter is married, for this may put the same idea into their
heads, and it is a great pity such luck should not be theirs.
I hope the captain is hearty, and that all the children are
well. I suppose Christie does not forget what I told him
about this country ; please to assure him I find it still bet-
ter than I told him it was. I shall never forget the morn-
ing Rose found me by the road-side and ah1 your goodness
to me afterwards.

Though I hope never to cross the water again till the
chicken cuts a tooth, I shall always wish well to the
Irish, Welch, and English, and shall be glad to see them
and serve them here, for the sake of those who were kind
to me.

Wishing you all health and happiness, I remain till
death,

Your grateful and obliged friend and servant,

CONGO.

/