BOGLE CORBET; OR, THE E 1\1 I G RAN T S. " Troth severe by fairy fiction rlres~fI." BY JOHN GALT, ESQ. Al'lHOR OF Ii LAWRIE TODD," II TilE LIFE: OF LORD [;\ RU!\." "'c. &C. I NTH R E E\"O L U 1\1 E S. VOL. II. LONDON: HE~RY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY, N~W BURLINGTON STREET. BOGLE CORBET; OR, THE EMIGRANTS. CHAPTER I. DOUBTS. THE intelligent conversation of Mr. Beans made the evenings delightful, for Mr. Canes' approaching ball had somehow the effect of suspending all ordinary visits in the neigh­ bourhood. During the whole time I remained at Prospect Pen, we were not once interrupted by a stranger; even the daughter of my host did not give the social apartment much of her company, being chiefly engaged in her own room writing letters for a ship in the bay that was on the eve of returning to England, and in preparing a dress for the festival of her friend. VOL. II. B BOGLE CORBET. The depressing heat of the day rendered the exercise of riding too much for me, but in the 1110rnings and evenings I had some agreeable shooting on the skirts of the wood adjoining thl: plantation. Into the woods themselves I never ventured, having a judicious apprehen­ sion of the reptiles by which they were said to h .. dangerously infested. Nor was the game that offered itself vl'ry inviting, for it chiefly consisted of talkative green parrots, which held general meetings in a large tamarind-tree near the house, where they ever appeared to have so many important topics to discuss, that I fancied the assemblage could be nothing less than representatives in Parliament; and some­ times, instead of firing, I became a groundling, and listened uninstructed to their debates. But of all the things I was most averse to injure Wl're the monkeys, a numerous commu~ nity of which had established themselves among the cliffs and loose rocks of a precipice in the vicinity, from which they made thievish incur­ sions to plunder 1\Ir. Bean's shaddock orchard. One of them, an austere carl, whom I had scared from an orange-tree that he had taken pos- ))OUBTS. 3 session of, as soon as he escaped over the rail which surrounded the garden, flung an orange at me with such dexterous aim as to hit me with no inconsiderable vigour right in the face. I had my gun at the time, but to fire at a thrower of stones required the reading of the riot act, and would have been little less than J;llurder. It might have subjected me to the mittimus of no graver-looking justice. But notwithstanding the deliberative assem­ blies of the parrots, and the judicial monkey;;, Jamaica is not the land of field sports; nor though the avarice of man has rendered it interesting both by its importance, and the species of labour with which it is tilled, can it ever become congenial to the student or the artist. I could see no inducement to think of remaining, though the thought once or twice occurred to me; and Mr. Beans, with a happy illustration in himself, more than once pleaded the force of habit in reconciling a man to far less agreeable countries and climates. My repugnance was not, however, altogether the offspring of conceit or dislike, but strength­ ened by an event which I shall presently have B 2 4 BOGLE CORBET. occasion to describe. In the mean time a grate­ ful remembrance of the universal kindness with which I was treated, constrains me, as it were, to ~peak only of those incidents which contri­ buted to my gratification. Other visitors may foster the prej udices associated with the West Indies, and descant on the oppressions and sor­ row, which taint their bright and verdant shores; hut for me to speak of aught else than of the frankness and friendship '.\' hich flourishes as vigorously there as the ever vernal vegeta­ tion and never failing fruit, would be to incur the guilt of sullenness towards myself, notwith­ ~tallding that dismal event which, like the sha­ dow of a cloud on a sunny field, still sullies my recollection. On the day prior to Mr. Canes' ball, Miss Beans early in the morning rode over to see the preparations in which her friend was en­ gaged: she wished to be alone, and requested that neither her father nor I should accompany hel', but invitEd us to meet her as she returned in the evening. The old gentleman, without any other remark, softly patting her cheek, DOUBTS. 5 at once assented for us both, and said she was a kind-hearted girl. I did not exactly under­ stand his expression, but it struck me as some­ thing which implied that she had another pur­ pose in making the visit, of a gentler character than merely to inspect the preparations. In the evening, agreeably to her appoint­ ment, we met on the road, when her melan­ choly and altered looks showed that she had been affected by some unhappy occurrence. Mr. Beans, in a soft, yet anxious manner, in­ quired for her friend, but instead of making any reply, she mournfully shook her head. Ever impressed with a wakeful apprehension of the rapid maladies of the cOllntry, I asked her rather earnestly as we rode along, whether any accident had happened to Miss Canes. She made me no reply, but turning to her father, said aloud, " Poor Louisa is not happy-she has taken no interest in the preparations, all is the work of that insolent Bessy-alas! her sufferings mllst not continue-they will kill her if not prevent­ ed, and I can give no advice.-Do you think 6 BOGLE CORBET. Mr. Canes would allow Louisa to stay with me ?-I am sure, if you could imagine what she feels, you would readily let me ask her." Her father seemed pleased with what she proposed, and said he would take some oppor­ tunity of speaking to Mr. Canes on the subject; and coming round from the right-hand side of the road to me, Miss Jemima being between us, he lowered his voice, and with a tone of regret, 5ubjoined, " Here is a sad example of the consequences to which we are exposed, by having no place of proper education in the island. Louisa Canes is a delicate and sensitive girl, qualities which her father does not appreciate as he should­ the five years she has spent in England have ruined her for the society of Jamaica. She either ought not to have been sent home or kept there, which Canes can very well afford to do. Poor Louisa! I Eaw the shock she received on the evening when she first landed. 'Vhat has she been saying, Jemima, that you look so dejected ?" " Little," replied Miss Beans, " very little; -she sits all day in a desponding state-her DOUBTS. 7 sighs and tears come thicker than her words­ my heart was like to break for her-her mind is evidently running on some sad thought." " Perhaps," said the old gentleman lightly, she may have left a lover behind !" "Oh, no, I should have heard of that-all the passage she was as happy as a kitten, and anticipating a thousand pleasures that she hm, not found.-Her grief is a Jamaica plant." " She has been too sanguine, and it may be but a fit of disappointment." " She has been disappointed," rejoined the young lady, with a deep sigh-" would you be­ lieve it ?-she has made her will." " Her will !" cried I; "what does she in­ tend ?" The exclamation escaped me uncon­ sciously, but it had the immediate effect of causing both the father and daughter to stop their horses for a moment. Mr. Beans then re­ turned to his former position on the right-hand of Miss Jemima. " \Ve must not, my dear," said he to her tenderly, "let this matter rest; low spIrIts make a fatal di'l'~l'l' in Jamaica; I will speak to ~Ir. Canes at the ball to-morrow night, and 8 HOGLE CORBET. we will have her at Prospect Pen as soon as possible." By the time we had in this manner discussed the subject, we reached the house, and Miss Beans, on alighting, retired to her own cham­ ber, and we saw no more of her that night. Her father also had letters to write, and soon after went into his study. I was thus left alone to my own meditations, which the communica­ tion from Miss Beans rendered far from com­ fortable. In a word, my imagination was saddened; all sorts of disastrous image~, and apprehensions filled it; and I fell into that mood of mind which has since grown to habi­ tude with me, but which in those days was only occasional. Let me, however, hasten to the sequel, which, even after the lapse of so many years, I still cannot think of without a shudder. At this moment, the hideous circum­ stances rise before me, with all their original distinctness, singularity, and sorrow. THE FESTIV.\L. 9 CHAPTER II. THE FESTIVAL. PROSPERITY, as the estate of lUr. Canes was called, lay some five or six miles distant, nearer the shore than Prospect Pen. It was a valu­ able property, with a large mansion, one of the best residences in that part of the island. All the country side had received invitations; the splendour and opulence of the preparations excelled every thing of the kind in the memory of the oldest inhabitants.