ould not
dissemble; he took me by the hand and said, my dear lady, the moment is
arrived when you have need to arm yourself with courage; it is all over
with M. Picard; you must submit to the will of God. These words were a
thunderbolt to me. I instantly returned, bathed in tears; but alas! my
father was no more.

Such an irreparable misfortune plunged us into a condition worse than
death. Without ceasing, I besought them to put a period to my deplorable
life. The friends about me used every endeavour to calm me, but my soul
was in the depth of affliction, and their consolations reached it not.
"O God!" cried I, "how is it possible thou canst yet let me live? Ought
not the misery I feel to make me follow my father to the grave?" It was
necessary to employ force to keep me from that plan of horror and
dismay. Madame Thomas took us to her house, whilst our friends prepared
the funeral of my unhappy father. I remained insensible for a long
while; and, when somewhat recovered, my first care was to pray the
people with whom we lived to carry the body of my father to the Isle of
Safal to be deposited, agreeably to his request, near the remains of his
wife. Our friends accompanied it. Some hours after the departure of the
funeral procession, Governor S----, doubtless reproaching himself with
the helpless condition in which we had been left for so long a time,
gave orders to take care of the remainder of our unfortunate family. He
himself came to the house of M. Thomas. His presence made such an
impression on me, that I swooned away. We did not, however, refuse the
assistance he offered us, convinced, as we were, that it was less to the
governor of Senegal we were indebted than to the French government,
whose intentions he was only fulfilling.

Several days passed before I could moderate my sorrow; but at last our
friends represented to me the duties I owed to the orphans who were left
with us, and to whom I had promised to hold the place of mother. Then
rousing myself from my lethargy, and recollecting the obligations I had
to fulfil, I bestowed all my affections on the innocent beings whom my
father had confided to me in his dying moments. Nevertheless I was not
at rest; the desire of seeing the place where reposed the mortal remains
of my worthy father tormented me. They wished to dissuade me; but when
they saw I had been frequently weeping in private, they no longer
withheld me. I went alone to Safal, leaving Caroline to t