your mother. She was betrothed to me, and would
have been my wife but for that dog, your father, who
lured away her heart and stole her from me. When
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â–² DEAD MAirS VENOSANGE. 1S6
I disoovered this I swoie upon my f atliei^s giaye that
I would be levenged. I have been revenged alieady
in part, but to-night my vengeance will be complete."
His manner as he said these words was so cruel
and diabolical, and his face wore an expression of
such Satanic hatred, that my blood curdled with
horror. Inglott sat motionless, but the great veins
in his forehead seemed near bursting, and his eyes
glared with a fury rivalling that of the awful Being.
He continued : '' I planned and led the attack on
your father's house. I killed him with my own
hand as I would a dog ; and I carried off your sister,
sparing her for her mother's sake, because I had
loved her once ; but my hatred of your race was too
strong to suffer me to spare her long. I could not
bring myself to slay or torture her ; so I sold her to
the gipsies, trusting they would drag her down to a
fate worse than death. Tou escaped me, and your
mother^s person was sacred to me for the sake of the
love I bore her years before."
My heart stood still for a moment when he men-
tioned the gipsies, and then beat furiously. Could I
then, after all, have been doing Inglott service when
I was at Damascus 1 Was it for me to bring back his
sister to him, even for a short time, from the grave f
But I dismissed the idea in a moment, thinking how
improbable it was that my master would have aided
me to happiness in order to give happiness to one he
hated so mudL
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136 TALIS FROM ''BLACKWOOD."*
He resnmed : " And then your mother died, and
when she died all my old love for her retntned, and
my hatred of you and yours redoubled iteell I
sought out her grave, and on it swore an oath that,
alive or dead, in the living world or in the next, I
would revenge myself to the utmost on all belonging
to your father. I tried to trace you, but you had left
Syria, so had your sister, and I could obtain no clue
to either of you. I was making the necessary pre-
parations for going to Europe to seek you, when I
myself was assassinated in my sleep. Nay, you have
no cause to congratulate yourself," he said, as Inglott
made some movement expressive of pleasure. *^ Had
I not died then I should have lost the revenge I
have had, and shall shortly hava Not long after
my death I saw from afar the spirit of your sister
among the pure and the happy ; so I knew that she
was dead, and had escaped unharmed from the life
of misery I had destined for her. A sad and bitter
blow for me, you may be sure I And I know not
how I should have accomplished my vengeance on
both her and you had not your own presumptuous
actions put you in my power. Yes ; writhe in anguish
and fury as you will, but it will not alter the truth,
nor diminish the sting that lies in it Eemember,
too, that you are powerless against me, for I am far
beyond your reach. I shall wreak my vengeance on
you to the full, while you cannot touch me ! "
Anything so pitiable as poor Inglotf s condition
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A DIAD MAlTs VIKaSANClL 137
dimog tluB part of the Being's narrative I have never
seen. He looked as if he were about to have a fit,
his featoies and limbs working oonvulsivelyy all the
wild passion of his semi-oriental nature striving to
find vent in action, while he was powerless to move,
spellbound by the Being's malignant power.
'^Ahl** sneered the spiriti "I touch you nearly
now 1 My revenge is close at hand 1 You sought
the spiritSi and would not let the departed rest in
peace. One night I was sent to obey your call, and
unwillin^y enough I went But when I saw you I
recognised you, and reading both you and your friend
like an open book, I quickly decided upon my plan
of action. I promised to produce your sister and the
man who has done you the deadliest wrong of alL Is
not this Bof
Inglott was past speech, so I nodded assent The
spirit smiled and said, ^'Then before proceeding
farther I redeem my promise I " First muttering a
few words which I did not understand, he said, in a
low, distinct^ commanding voice—
"Safural"
Immediately a faint luminous appearance became
visible. This grew more and more distinct^ until in
a few moments the spirit form of her whom I loved
so well became clearly defined in the darkened room,
But oh, how sadly changed she was I The sweety
happy expression was gone, and in its place was a
sad, hopeless^ suffering look, as of one who has under-
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138 TALKS FROM ** BLACKWOOD,*
gone torture, and who knows it must be repeated
again and again.
As soon as she appeared both Inglott and I leaped
to our feet, and were advancing towards her with
words of love on our lips, when the Being checked
us by a gesture.
" Hold ! " he said. *^ Tou have no part in her now.
She is a fallen spirit^ and is now mine to punish for
the sin she has committed in our spirit-world. Pure
and innocent on earth, she was removed far beyond
my influence when she died, and would have re-
mained so for ever but for your false friend here,
who by the power of his wicked selfish will and
uncontrolled passions forced her back to this gross
material world once more, and filled her heart with
love so earthly that she is now unfit for happiness
beyond the grave, and must be cleansed and puiged
of her worldly taint through sBons of misery before
she can return to her former state of happiness and
purity. And this task of purification by fire, Inglott^
has been allotted to me, your arch-enemy, to carry
out 1 Thoroughly shall I perform my task, although
the thought that Safura is to be fitted again for
happiness through my instrumentality is gall and
wormwood to me. But what is my punishment
compared to the joy of complete revenge on you and
yours f I have slain your father with my own handsi
broken your mother's hearty brought your only and
dearly loved sister to almost everlasting misery by
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A DEAD scan's TINGXAHCB. 189
means of your T)080in friend, and now theie 10 nothing
left to you but agony of mind on earth and tortoie
beyond the. grave, because your own presumptuous
sin alone has given me power to iiigure you and to
glut myself with revenge on you and yours 1 "
As he ceased, Inglott rose slowly from the chair
into which he had fallen, cowering and covering his
livid face with his trembling hands during the last
part of the Being's speecL For one moment he
looked at me with bloodshot eyes, filled with re-
proach and contempt, and then he began to move un-
steadily towards Safura, who crouched in one comer
of the room in an agony of shame and remorse^ But
the Being held up his hand to forbid his further
advance. Inglott turned swiftly upon him with a
furious gesture of wild rage and despair ; but before
he could reach him, he fell to the ground at his f eet^
the blood streaming from his mouth, and a bitter
curse upon his lips.
He never spoke again. As he fell, the malignant
Being and poor Safura disappeared, this time for ever.
I gave the alarm, and tried to raise my friend, but
he shrank from me with a look of horror in his glaz-
ing eyes, and I had no heart to force my unwelcome
help upon him. Before medical aid could arrive he
was dead, and the hands of a stranger and of his
faithless friend laid his lifeless body on a coucL
An inquest was held, and, on the medical evidence^
a verdict of death by the visitation of God was re-
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140 TALES FROM ''BLACKWOOD.''
tinned. I was, of couise, examined as the only irit-
ness of his seizure^ but I had time to prepare some
stoiy — ^I f oiget what — ^and no mention "was made of
the Being and Safura I knew that such a tale
would not be believed. After the funeral, I went
down into the country, but not to my home, for I
cannot meet my family.
And here I remain, a broken man; broken in
nerve, in spirit, and in health, — waiting for death,
which I long for and yet dread, for I know that
for me death is but the commencement of punish-
ment even more severe and more awful than I
now suffer. Yet, while I linger on earth, I am so
haunted by the reproach and contempt conveyed
in Inglott's last look ; so weighed down by sorrow
that my selfish conceit and overbearing passion
should have been the instruments by which the
accursed Being was enabled to strike the deadly
blow ; so stung by remorse that my sin should have
dragged down Safura — ^whom I loved, and shall ever
love, with all the undisciplined strength of a wilful
man's heart — from purity and happiness to lasting
woe and degradation j and so maddened by the
knowledge that my own presumption has placed
her for ever beyond my reach, — that a hundred
times a-day I make up my mind to risk the un-
known horrors of future punishment, to escape the
maddening tortures of my present existence.
And yet, I dare not — ^I daie not.
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THE STOBY OF JAMES BABKEB.
A TALE OF THE CONQO COAST.
BT J. LANDERS.
PAET L
KABOOKA. BAY "was a quiet spot on the desolate
Congo coast There was no European habita-
tion within forty miles of it on one side or the other,
and the whitewashed roof of the factory, or trading
station there, could be seen from far out at sea, a
â– olitaiy speck on the border of an almost treeless,
barren-looking country.
The large wide bay itself was bounded at each end
by low cUfis ; and from dark seams in the sides of
these exuded a thick shale oil, which lay yellow and
greasy on the surface of the pools of sea water at their
baseSi amid the rocks round which the sea curled and
poured.
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142 TALES FBOM ''BLACKWOOD.'*
Nevertheless the stuf was neither so high nor so
heavy at Kabooka as at many other places along the
coast Out seawards^ instead of the usual lines of
white dangerous water, were only here and there little
patches of foam, where the rollers came upon the
hidden rocka Close inshore the breakers fell in al-
most gentle succession, and at last spent themselves
on a beach of fine sand, strewn with coral-encrusted
seaweed, pink, white, grey, grass-green, yellow, and
purple in colour ; while delicate sea-shells of all shapes,
tints, and sizes, lay scattered about^ and glistened in
the rays of a tranquil sunset
Drawn up beyond the reach of the water lay two
gaily-stripped surf-boats, their sharp curved stems
pointing seawards. Beyond them a pathway was
worn through the bent grass, and led up a gentle
slope to the factory.
On the planked verandah of the low wooden felt-
thatched house sat two white men in the coast costume
of a shirt and a pair of white duck trousers a-piece,
enjoying the cool of the evening after the long heat
of the day. And the two had had a piece of hard
work, as upwards of a himdred tusks of ivory lying
in the dark cargo-room of the factory testified. These
had all been bought during the day, and probably
more would be forthcoming from the native traders
on the morrow. On this day, too, a steamer from
Europe had been due at Eabooka, and it was the
probability of her arrival before they should be ready
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THB 9T0BT OF JAHSS BARKEB. 143
to ahip iheir ivoiy by ber tbat the two men had been
dkcussing.
^'Ab, welly wben sbe comes/' said tbe elder, — a
dark, sallow-faced, but good-looking man, — " sbe will
be tbe last but one before my relief arrives, and tben
' bey for England, borne, and beauty 1 ' Eh, Master
James Barker 1"
" Ay," returned the younger ; " and I don't know
bow I shall get on without you, sir," he added
" Since you took me, a sick ship lad, out of the old
barque in Sharks' Creek, and nursed me to life again,
when near every man aboard died of the 'bilioso'
fever, you've been more than a father to me — ^you
have, sir ;" and tbe lad turned a glance full of grati-
tude and trust towards his companion.
"Tuts, tuts," replied the elder, shortly, "yours
was the worst case, and you were the youngest on
board ; so naturally I took care of you. But what's
more to the purpose, James, youVe amply repaid any-
thing I ever did for you since you've been in the ser-
vice of the firm. You've turned out an honest, brave
boy, an Al trader, and a prime favourite with the
natives ; and 111 go bail youll be quite indiBpensable
to my relief when he comes ; for I daresay he'll be
some fellow quite ignorant of the trade and the way
of the natives here," and Mr Monke's voice bad in it
a touch of sarcasm.
"Let me go home with you," suddenly pleaded
the lad. "I will be your faithful servant; I will
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144 TILIS FROM ''BLACKWOOD.''
not aak for wages from you if " — and he stopped—
"if you will only aUow me to be near you/' he
whispered.
Mr Monke etaiel Here was evidence of attach-
ment in all sincerity. He was flattered ; but he said,
" What, James Barker 1 you propose to be my «0r-
vanif And what about your position on the coast!
Why, you will be an agent in charge in course of
time, with a station all to yourself, and your own
master. If the firm had only taken my advice, they'd
have put you in here until I returned ; but they never
do the correct thing until it is too late," he added^
haying another fling at his relie£
'' I am sick of the coast ; I hate it,** returned the
lad vehemently, the colour mounting in his face.
** The same sea, sky, and land, day after day. Noth-
ing but the prickly bush and the niggers to look at
Why, siz^'' he went on quickly, to hide what the other
might possibly deem ingratitude^ " we haven't seen a
white man for three months, and not a white woman
for as many yearsL"
" H% ha ! " laughed the elder man, kindly, seeing
through the pretended disgust of the lad, '^ you've
tired of it all very suddenly. And as for a white
woman, wait till you have a beard. I never heard
you mention the name of one before, Jamea You
surely did not leave a sweetheart at home, eh t **
" No, sir," replied the lad, shortly, and rose as a
native servant^ clad in a white flowing doth, caught
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THB STOBT OF JAMES BABEXB. 145
dezteiOTiflly lound his shoulders, came on the yeTan-
dah, and after making a low salaam with the whitish
palms of his hands turned outwards, announced that
dinner was served. He then, with free stride, fol-
lowed his white masters into the dining-room, his
round black face and thick red lips showing in the
lamplight like polished ebony and coraL There could
not have been a greater contrast to him and the other
three of his race who waited at the table — ^the counter-
parts of himself in the physique of their frames, and
the immeaning look of their broad faces — ^than the
two white men. The latter, though thin and pale
through the effect of the climate, and looking as if
any one of their servants could have mastered them
with ease, had yet in their clearKSut features, and,
above all, in the quick intelligent look of their eyes,
a something that gave warning not only of what they
could do, but would attempt
Yet between the two there was a great difference
besides that of age. Monke's face was dark, thought-
ful, and sarcastic in expression, seeing through things,
as the natives well knew. The lad's countenance, on
the contrary, was open and fair, his hair was light
brown, almost yellow in colour, and there was a
dreamy look in his blue eyes which contrasted oddly
enough with his gaunt^ awkward, growing frame,
whose bones showed too plainly. Tet there was a
gentleness about him which had first attracted his
senior. In shorty while the one was educated and
T.a — ^v. K
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146 TALKS VBOM "^ BLACK WOOa*^
practical, the yotmgery ship-boy though he wa% and
rough and coane in exterior, had the finer mind.
After their meal the two wearied men retired to
rest through a night brilliant in moonlight, beneath
which the phosphorescent waves glittered as they
broke with the swell in the dark water of the open
bay,' and edged the beach with continual flashes of
silver. On the shore there was not a sound heard
save the murmur of the ocean and the melancholy cry
of the watch set round the factory.
Even the vast shadowy background to the bay was
silent As the hours wore on and day broke, a heavy
mist collected over the grey sea, and crept slowly in-
land, and the natives for the last watch drew their
trade blankets about them, as they shivered with the
cold. But as the sun showed himself the mist soon
rolled away, and everything sparkled and revelled in
the warm light of the early tropical morning. With
it came a band of traders from the native village,
numbering, with their bondsmen, fully one himdred.
Between each two slaves, in a sort of wicker basket^
was slung a heavy curved elephant's tusk, and in
single line the men descended a path through the
grass, and forded a river. The interpreters belonging
to the factory and the masters headed this procession,
holding long wands, with which they gesticulated and
pointed as they walked, and the rear was brought up
by a crowd of fighting men, whose duty it had been
to guard the band on their journey, and who, now
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THE 8T0BT OF JAMES BABEXB, 147
their duty was over, beat tom-tonui^ Uew homa^ and
made a great fuss.
All this excitement was by way of lejoidng over
the arriyal at the factoiy of another company from
the far interior, whence, after many months' journey-
ing through tribe after tribe and past danger after
danger, they had emerged on the searcoast^ and had
come to Eabooka to dispose of their produce. The
men were, one and all, armed with knives and flat-
headed spears, and some carried bow& Their knives
they wore stuck through folds of native yellow grass
cloth wound round their waists. The bondsmen and
fighting men had no other clothing on their bodies,
but confined their decorative talents to their hair,
which they wore in the form of great trained bushes
of wool The masters, in whatever condition they
had travelled, after their rest in the village of Ea-
booka, had arrayed themselves in long trailing pieces
of European cotton doths, and wore anklets and
bracelets of brass, and strings of bright beads round
their necks. All had flat features of the true negro
type^ and they differed outwardly only in colour,
verging from a dark brown to quite a light bronze
tint Their frames were worn through their long
march ; but to them repayment for all their toil was
soon to come through the instrumentality of the white
trader.
Arrived within the yard of the factory, the bearers
sat themselves down beside the walls, while the others
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148 TALKS FBOM ''BLACKWOOD.'*
stood alx)at in groups discuflsing prices while waiting
for the white men. Presently the large doors of the
caigo-room were thrown open, and immediately, irre-
spective of degree or rank^ a rash was made through
them to be brought up in front of a small desk, at
which James was seated calm and ready. He mo-
tioned with his hand to the foremost men, who in-
stantly squatted down on their haunches on the floor
in circles^ their tusks of ivory in the centre. The
others blocked up the entrance to the room, and
streamed out into the sunny yard, each man agog to
catch the price of the first tusk sold, which would
necessarily serve us a guide to the value of the rest
James rose and inspected one belonging to the group
immediately in front of him. It was what was called
a prime tooth, fully five feet in leng£h, curved grad-
ually and without knot or crack, although its dark-
brown smooth surface was dented and scarred, and its
point worn fine by use in far-off forests.
James signed to a native to put it in the balance, and
it turned the scale at fifty pounds. Then he thrust a
stout stick into the hollow root of it, and brought out
the end of the stick covered with wet mud. A down-
cast look came over the faces of the owners as he
smiled grimly and bade them clear the tusk. At
most times he would have packed the group off^ or
made them wait till all were served ; but as theirs
was the first tooth, and a fine one, he passed over the
attempt to cheat, and after the mud had been scraped
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THX STOBY OF JAHKS BAfiESR. 149
out of the tusk, took a good two or thiee pounds off
the weight of it by way of retaliation, and then con-
sidered his offer. So many guns, so much pow-
der, and so many ^'parts'' of cloth, he cried ont^
after a brief calculation of the goods he had for
barter ; and immediately his voice was heard, it was
answered by a derisive chorus of refusal from all
parts of the room.
SEe sat down and waited calmly while the groups
consulted among themselves and with the interpre-
ters in a state of pretended frantic indignation. He
feigned indifference. After a while, an offer to take
a price exceeding his by fully a third was made by
them, which he refused, and told them good-humdur-
edly to speak their " last mottth " next time, or in
another word sense. Upon this he was asked to
name a fresh price, and after pretending to look with
much seriousness at the slate before him, he increased
his offer by a very little, informing them that he had
now truly spoken his '' last mouth." Then ensued
another chatter, in which bondsmen and fighting men
joined, so great was the eagerness of all to have a
part in settling this most important question. James
was implored and entreated over and over again to
make yet another mouth, but he answered firmly,
"What I have said I have said," and sat back in
his chair with folded arms.
It was a sufficiently striking picture, — ^the long^
low, wooden, whitewashed cargo-room, with the many
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150 TALES FROM '' BULCEWOOD."
groups of stalwart black figures squatted before the
solitary white man seated at his desk, and keeping
the whole company in check, as it were; while
behind him, for a background, were piled huge opened
bales of gaudy-coloured cloths, — striped, checked, fig-
ured, flowered, or dyed wholly red or blue. Blan-
kets, rugs, and shawls were spread beside gold and
silver threaded dress - pieces, and soldiers' unifonn
coats — trappings gorgeous to the native eye. Stands
of old flint muskets with shining barrels, some of
which bore the Tower mark, were ranged along the
walls, or lay in open cases. Bundles of glittering
swords, spear-pointed knives, machsts, and much other
cutlery, were placed beside hundredweights of heavy
brass rings, slender brass rods, flints, hoop-iron, and
other hardware. Pottery of common sorts, and heaps
of nick-nacks in the shape of toys, hand looking-
glasses, and a great quantity of false jewellery, took
up the whole of one comer, while another was occu-
pied by boxes of beads. Cases of coarse liqueura
stood thick together, and stowed behind them loomed
large puncheons of rum.
The sight of all these riches was perhaps too
tempting to the crowd of savages, for at last, though
with a tremendous show of reluctance, James's
second offer was accepted by them, and a bargain
struck for the number and quantity of muskets,
powder, and doth he had named, which articles
would be afterwards exchanged for maaj others,
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•. . . TALL FIGURE OF A WHITE WOMAN . . .
See page 151
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THK 8T0B7 OF JAHSS BABEIB. 151
aeooiding to a fixed standazd of yalues much in
iaYOtur of the white trader.
The pnce of the first tusk sold having thus been
ascertained^ and received with a grant by the natives,
bargaining was speedily proceeded with, and Monke
joining the lad, the two men toiled bnsily and
eagerly for many hours, managing the increasing
stream of sellers with consummate tact, ability, and
good humour. Indeed, so much ivory was bought
that the elder man b^gan to have serious doubts of
there being sufficient goods in the store to pay for
it all, and he bade James stop buying and take a
look round and give his opinion. James rose and
was beginning to roughly calculate the contents of
the bales and cases before him, when he happened
to turn suddenly, and saw, in the little doorway
which led to the dwelling portion of the house, the
slender though tall figure of a white woman. He
started backward as if shot He could not at first
believe his eyea He stared, and slowly approached
the figure, which looked at him. He gave an inar-