"Tear down the barricades quickly," said she, "Captain Howard is outside, nearly overpowered: let him pass in, and be on your guard, my brave men, to keep out those who may try to follow in his wake! We must contrive to give him breathing time!" exclaimed the heroic girl.

Her orders were instantly obeyed. The young soldier was on the point of sinking from mere bodily fatigue, without any wound more serious than a slight scratch on the arm, when the door opened behind him, and he was received into the arms of the faithful negroes, who, placing him in their rear, endeavoured, with united strength, to oppose the entrance of his adversaries. The issue was long doubtful. At length, victory decided in favour of those within, and the massive door was once more closed against the rebels. But they were not to be so easily foiled. "To the windows!" was now their cry. The little troop within followed the movements of their opponents. The struggle again commenced, but it was quickly over. The frail barriers gave way. The moon, darting in for an instant through the open windows, was again nearly obscured by the crowd of dusty figures that began to pour into the apartment. A horrible and immediate death seemed inevitable, when suddenly the negroes outside retreated from the windows, and those who had already entered, paused to ascertain the cause of this defection of their comrades.

A negro, in rich military uniform, appeared upon the terrace, and confronting the insurgents, who

stood shrinking and abashed, exclaimed in a tone of indignation, "What, my countrymen! are you expending that strength which should be employed to cope with a powerful and vindictive enemy, in disgraceful, brutal outrage against your friends? Let no further injury be done to a family who endeavoured to soften your condition when enslaved, and were amongst the first to acknowledge your independence as freemen. I have promised them protection, and Toussaint never broke his word. Repair instantly to the camp at Breda. I have need of every one of you, and your valour will be better displayed in defence of your country than in cowardly night attacks on your peaceful neighbours!"

The negroes, subdued by the influence of the man they both feared and idolised, dispersed without a murmur; and Toussaint turned to address Mr. Hardinge, who, with his wife and Isabel, had just stepped out upon the terrace.

Knowing you to be a just and liberal master," said he, "who would assist me in the civilization of my unhappy countrymen, I encouraged you to return hither, by a promise of security. That promise I am no longer able to keep. Anarchy and bloodshed have renewed their reign in this distracted island, and all that I can offer you now is a safe conduct to its shores, where you may embark for some more favoured spot of earth."

"I shall be grieved to leave it for ever," replied Mr. Hardinge, with some emotion. "It is the

birth-place of my wife and children; the home where I have enjoyed much domestic happiness."

"If you will entrust your property to my care," resumed Toussaint, "I will exert all my authority to preserve it intact, and should the contest terminate favourably for me, it shall be either restored or sold, as you may desire. And now let me advise you not to delay your departure. The French, under General Boudet, have taken Port Republican, and the surrounding district is in disorder; but the road to Jacmel is still open, and this passport will be your guarantee against any aggression from my people. Farewell, Mr. Hardinge! If all planters resembled you, St. Domingo would have been happy, but she would never have been free!"

Before dawn, the exiles and their late guest, with an escort of negro soldiers, provided by Toussaint, were on their way to the port. Mr. and Mrs. Hardinge had selected Jamaica as their final restingplace. The British flag held out a hope of permanent safety, and a family connexion, long settled there, presented an additional inducement. Ав Captain Howard rode by Isabel's side, finding an excuse for his proximity in the necessity that occasionally existed of guiding her horse over the rocky passes, she felt that it was indeed an extraordinary destiny that had driven them forth again as fellowvoyagers to a strange land.

CHAPTER XVI.

How gloriously her gallant course she goes!
Her white flag flying-never from her foes;
She walks the waters like a thing of life,
And seems to dare the elements to strife.
Who would not brave the battle fire-the wreck-
To move the monarch of her peopled deck?

BYRON'S Corsair.

In order to put the reader in possession of some facts connected with the rival slavers and their commanders, it will be necessary in this chapter to invert the order of time, and go back to the scenes that followed the sailing of the Swallow from Lagos. The peculiar character of the slave trade made the parties engaged in it regardless of the caution which prevailed during the war in the more legitimate commercial marine. Generally speaking, they sailed without convoy, and repudiated all the expenses of insurance. As the craft employed in that nefarious traffic were built for speed, they mostly contrived to outsail, if pursued, the ships of war belonging to the French Republic. Sometimes a skirmish took place, in which the superior skill and bravery of the English mariners enabled them to foil attacks from vessels of far heavier metal. The

slavers were always well armed to resist aggression from without, or to punish insubordination within. The daring and determined men who commanded them rarely quailed before even a superior foe, and for French sailors they entertained unmitigated contempt. Nevertheless, sundry British slavers were obliged to strike their colours to the Gallic flag, but however serious the consequences were to the crews themselves or their immediate relatives, the world felt little interested in their fate, and the stirring incidents to which every day gave birth in those eventful times, caused them to be as totally forgotten as if they had never existed.

In the first cargo of human live stock which Captain Denman conveyed to the West Indies, he was fortunate beyond his hopes. The price realised was the highest of the season; the number that died on the middle passage were few; and elated with his success, he was returning in high spirits to extend a trade which promised, in a short time, to enrich him for life. At the earnest entreaty of Clara, who accompanied him, he intended to touch at Funchal, for the purpose of instituting inquiries respecting Euphemia. It was possible she had been murdered by Captain Carlos; but it was also probable that she might have been landed on the island by the captain, without the knowledge of his men, and her discovery and reclamation would prove highly important in a double sense-first, as a triumph over his old and embittered foe, Captain