retreat; but as I did so, he came down from his
tree and followed me. On this I turned again, when he instantly
stopped, and as I advanced he began to climb.

I suspected, from this manoeuvre, that he intended me some treachery,
and, coming to an open space, I set off and ran as hard as I could. He
followed for some distance, when, growing tired of walking, he gave up
the chase, and returned to his wood. I suspect that the wild people
spoken of are no other than baboons. I advanced further in the good
graces of my mistress by taking notice of her children, and by making
them swings, and a variety of toys suited to their tastes, so that she
was induced to indulge me more than the other slaves. I, however, still
had to toil hard, and my master was as severe as at first. One day I
had gone with a number of other slaves to collect cinnamon in a
direction I had not before visited, when, as I was passing a cottage on
my return homeward, I heard the sounds of a female voice singing a low
and soft melody. The notes thrilled through my heart. They were not
the sounds of a native woman's voice. I let my load drop at the risk of
feeling my master's lash on my back, that I might stop and listen. How
eagerly did I drink in these notes! I heard the words, too; yes--I
could not be mistaken--they were English. Oh, what sensations did they
create! I had an indistinct notion that I had heard them before in the
days of my infancy. It was a gentle, plaintive air. Now I should never
forget it. I longed to see who was the singer; but she was concealed
inside the cottage, and I feared to enter; I dared not even delay longer
to listen, for the lash of my master was about to descend on my
shoulders. What wild fancies rushed into my brain! "Can it be Eva?
Can she be so near me? I dare not think it," I kept repeating to
myself, as I was urged on with my load. All night long I lay awake,
that sweet voice sounding in my ear, while I meditated how I could
discover the mystery.

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.

Several days passed away, and my constant and numerous occupations
prevented me from returning to the neighbourhood of the cottage from
whence the strains of music I had heard proceeded. Every effort I made
was prevented. Alas! I felt too truly that I was a slave. Those who
have once tasted the bitterness of slavery will know how to
compassionate their fellow-creatures, whatever the hue of their skin,
reduced to a like co