It will naturally be supposed, from the eagerness of Irving to make good the purchase of Imihie and her poor boy, that his heart was deeply interested by their situation, and that he had it certainly in his power to ameliorate it. But, alas! if, for a moment, the chord of compassion was touched, the feeling was transient, the impulse too weak to prompt to action; and, so far from being strengthened by the night’s reflections, they, on the contrary, did but lead to lament his own folly, in making himself liable to the loss he would probably sustain by the high price he had given; as it was a condition of his engagement with the Company, that he was to be individually accountable for all losses incurred by the purchase of unprofitable slaves. These anticipations of pecuniary injury, were confirmed by the appearance of his poor captive on her arrival at the depÔt at WhidÁh. A fixed melancholy seemed to have absorbed every faculty, rendering her insensible even to the playful caresses of her boy, in whose sparkling eye, health “seemed a cherub yet divinely bright;” so happily unconscious was he of the bitterness of his lot, and the sufferings of his mother. Finding, from his people, that she resolutely rejected sustenance, Irving himself endeavoured to persuade her, but without success; but when self-interest, aided by the dictates of conscience and compassion, induced him to resort to the usual mode of forcing it, (nor will we question it was a painful task to him,) his heart must have been of adamant, not to have felt the powerful appeal of wretchedness and despair, when, while in the execution of this cruel duty, the poor captive looked up in his face, and, with a mournful smile, said: “Presently I shall be no more.” (Note M.) Irving, indeed, from her appearance, began to think so; and as he could not now remedy her situation, nor restore her to what she had lost, he considered his best plan was to consign her, as soon as possible, to the ship waiting to receive the collected slaves, congratulating himself on his humanity, in having prevented the mother and child from being separated, even if he should thereby sustain some loss. He determined, also, to do all he could to ensure her some attention during the passage; and, with this view, determined to go immediately on board, to see the accommodation, and to give some particular instructions to the captain; leaving orders that Imihie should be conducted to the ship as soon as the day began to close.

The ship destined to convey these miserable beings to the West Indies, had already on board between four and five hundred negroes. The captain boasted much of the superior accommodation of his vessel for the trade; and, to confirm his assertion, entreated Irving to visit the slave-rooms. Willing to conciliate any who might promote his interest, Irving consented. The superior accommodation he found, was, that every slave, whatever his size, had five feet six inches in length, and sixteen inches in breadth, to lie upon! The floor was crowded with bodies, stowed or packed according to this allowance. But between the floor and deck, or ceiling, were platforms or broad shelves, in the mid-way, which were also covered with bodies. (Note N.) The men were shackled two and two, each by one leg, to a small iron bar; these, the captain with much self-complacence said, were every day brought upon deck for the air; but lest they should attempt to recover their freedom, they were made fast by ring-bolts to the deck, or by two common chains, which were extended on each side the main deck; but the women and children, he added, were suffered to remain loose. Few slaves fared so well as his, he continued, for he allowed each a pint of water a day, and yams and horse-beans twice a day; and afterwards, for exercise and health, they jumped in their irons, which, if they refused to do, he was obliged, certainly, to flog them, as it was his duty to preserve them in health, if possible. Irving, however, learnt, in the course of this man’s conversation, that it was usual for these miserable beings to remain fifteen or sixteen hours below deck, out of the twenty-four; and that, in wet weather, they could not be brought up for two or three successive days: their situation was, he acknowledged, very distressing, but he could not remedy it. They would cling to the gratings for a little air; draw their breath with anxious and laborious efforts; fight with each other for a taste of water; and many died of suffocation. (Note O.)

Amongst the number thus confined in the hold of this ship, Irving remarked many whose nobleness of aspect indicated that there was a “spirit within,” which rose even above such calamity—a consciousness of moral dignity, that spurned at the cruelties of the oppressor; but there was one in particular, before the flame of whose eye even Irving shrunk abashed. He was evidently a person of consequence; high, it would seem, in military rank, inferred from certain personal indications, with the meaning of which Irving was acquainted; and also from some articles of dress, stated to have been taken from him when captured; and every look (action was denied him) indicated that he possessed a mind not insensible to the eminence of his station. Irving enquired from whence he was taken, and from whom purchased? He was told, from Molembo, it was thought; and that he had been only a few days purchased from the king of WhidÁh, with a number of his countrymen, taken by treachery, and in defiance of a treaty subsisting at the time. This was all he could learn; and having given his instructions respecting Imihie, Irving returned to WhidÁh before her arrival at the ship, being desirous to avoid another interview, the sight of her producing a painful emotion he could neither define nor account for.