of his hands and fingers to their utmost extent, and a most
pathetic "_Que voulez-vous_?"

"I will tell you, friend Manuel," I answered, for his wine had warmed me
much, his daughter more; "I would have had her taught, at least, to read
and write, that she had an immortal soul, a soul as precious to its
Maker as to herself. I would have had her taught to despise such
superstitious nonsense as Obeoism, mist spirits, and all the pernicious
jargon of spells and fetishes. I would, my dear Manuel, have made her a
fit companion for myself; for with such beauty and such a soul, I am
convinced that she would realise female perfection as nearly as poor
humanity is permitted to do."

"_Que voulez-vous_?" again met my ears; it was attended by some attempt
at justification of his very culpable remissness. He assured me, that,
according to the laws, social as well as judicial, a person of her
class, were she possessed of all the attributes of an angel, could never
be received into white society, nor wed with any but a person of colour.
The light of education, he asserted, would only the more show her her
own degradation: he said he felt for her, deeply felt for her, and that
he shuddered at the idea of his own death, for in that event he felt
assured that she would be sold with the rest of the negroes on the
estate, and be treated in all respects as a slave--and she had been so
delicately nurtured. She had, indeed: her long white fingers and
velvety hand bore sufficient testimony to this.

"But can you not manumit her?" said I.

"Impossible. When the island was more settled and better governed than
now, the legal obstructions thrown in the way of the act were almost
insuperable: at present it is impossible. I have no doubt that our
blood-thirsty enemies, the Spaniards, who are our nearest neighbours,
immediately you English leave the town, as you have dismantled our
forts, and carried away almost all the male population captive, will
come and take possession of this place--not that I care a _sou_ for the
brigands whom you have just routed out. I shall have to submit to the
Spanish authority, and their slave laws are still more imperative than
ours, though they invariably treat their slaves better than any other
nation. No, there is no hope for poor Josephine."

"Could you not send her to France?"

"_Sacre Dieu_! they guillotined all my relations, all my friends--all,
all--and, my friend, I never made gold by taking a s