y may have purchased their freedom with their savings, or may
have been freed by kind masters. It is no very unusual thing for a
Brazilian at his death to leave a will giving freedom to all his slaves.
Government is doing its best to bring about the entire extinction of
slavery. I believe that all children born after a certain date have been
declared free, and have no doubt that in time slavery will be abolished.
Great changes like this take some time to carry out, and even for the
sake of the slaves themselves it is better to proceed quietly and
gradually. I suppose nobody inclines to go on shore again to-night?"

There was a general negative. The day had been very warm, and having
been walking about for hours no one felt any inclination to make a fresh
start. The following morning the vessel began to unload her cargo. Some
of the older passengers declared that they had had enough of shore, and
should not land--at any rate until the afternoon. The rest went ashore;
but the greater part of them returned at lunch-time, and the heat in the
afternoon was so great that none cared to land again.

In the evening the two Allens and Wilfrid agreed to go ashore to visit a
theatre. Mr. Atherton said that as he had no inclination to melt away
all at once he would not join them, but would land with them and stroll
about for a time, and see the town in its evening aspect. Several other
parties were made up among the male passengers, and one or two of the
ladies accompanied their husbands.

Wilfrid and the Allens did not stay out the performance. The heat was
very great, and as they did not understand a word of the dialogue they
soon agreed that it would be more pleasant to stroll about, or to sit
down in the open air before a cafe and sip iced drinks.

Accordingly after walking about for a while they sat down before a cafe
in the Grand Square, and as they sipped iced lemonade looked on with
much amusement at the throng walking up and down.

"It is later than I thought," James Allen said, looking at his watch.
"It is nearly twelve o'clock, and high time for us to be on board."

They started to make what they thought would prove a short cut down to
the landing-place; but as usual the short cut proved delusive, and they
soon found themselves wandering in unknown streets. They asked several
persons they met the way down to the water, but none of them understood
English, and it was a considerable time before they emerged from the
st