I have hitherto adhered as strictly to what I did and saw myself, as if I were in a court of justice, and bound by the law of evidence; but you, who are at a distance, may, perhaps, require some further explanation, to enable you to comprehend clearly the state of things around me. I think Rumour ought to be represented, not only with a hundred tongues, but with a great magnifying-glass in her hand; and she did not fail to use it on the present occasion, although I have certainly seen events of less importance much more magnified before they got very far from the scene in which they were acted. Indeed, the principal excitement and exaggeration were in the neighbourhood of the spot itself, where the insurrection had taken place. Here everything was in confusion, if not amongst the military, amongst the inhabitants. No one seemed to know the number of the insurgents; whether there was one man or many; what direction they were taking, and whether there were ramifications of the conspiracy in other counties and states. Consequently, Jerusalem and the whole neighbourhood was in a state of the greatest alarm; and very dark and gloomy apprehensions were entertained, even by the best-informed and the calmest of the county authorities. Every one felt as if he were standing close to a powder magazine in which a slow match was burning; and I have no doubt that if the revolted negroes had gained any success, a considerable number more of the slaves would have risen, and a very formidable body of armed men would have been collected, although I by no means imagine that anything like a general revolt would have taken place. Indeed, the conduct of many of the negroes on this occasion showed the strongest attachment to their masters, and a firm determination to resist all temptations to join the insurgents. Throughout the whole country round, however, a feeling of alarm and uncertainty spread far and wide; but vigorous measures were immediately taken to crush the insurrection in the spot where it had originated, and to guard against its spreading farther. Bodies of troops and marines were instantly sent up from Norfolk and Fort Monroe. Detachments of volunteers and militia were despatched from Petersburg and Richmond, and abundance of arms and ammunition was collected and forwarded with all possible haste. The public journals again and again warned their readers against exaggerated reports and unnecessary alarm; but they aided a good deal to increase apprehension, by such reports as these,--

"That the insurgent negroes numbered about four or five hundred. That although repulsed in one or two skirmishes with the militia, they were retreating towards Colonel Allen's plantation, where they were likely to be greatly reinforced." Other reports said that they were falling back on the great Dismal Swamp, known to be the place of refuge already of a great number of fugitive slaves. And again, that they were all well armed, mounted, and supplied with ammunition. The statements of the number of white persons who had been slain, and the number who were missing, were also very much exaggerated, and carried into many bosoms the same anxiety and terror which agitated mine. Although the account given by the prisoners at the block-house certainly afforded some relief to my mind, and re-awakened hope, I could not shake off apprehension; and I would fain have set off that very hour to ascertain whether poor Bessy had really found a refuge amongst the old servants of Aunt Bab. I found that was impossible, however; and, after having met all my suggestions, by objections unanswerable, Billy Byles added,--

"Depend upon it, Sir Richard, there is nothing to be done by you to-night, but to get some food and some rest. With the first ray of light to-morrow morning I will be ready to set out with you, and to-night you shall share a little dog-hole of a room which I have secured for myself in the midst of all this scramble and confusion. As to food, that will be a more difficult matter; for I do not believe there are provisions enough in Jerusalem to feed one-half of the people here. Plenty of good whiskey is to be got, and bad brandy; but everything else, as far as I can learn, is exhausted. Come, first, let us go and see what our good friend the colonel is doing down there. I can't imagine what he can be about, poking away at the corner of the bridge by himself." Billy Byles was one of those men who were made for happiness, whose minds may perhaps be susceptible of strong impressions, but those impressions are merely temporary. Now I have heard it argued that men of this character suffer as much diminution of their pleasures as their pains. But I do not think so. In the first place, few will assert, I imagine, that in this world of trial the pleasures are at all equal to the pains; and, in the next place, I do not see that it is a necessary consequence of men being a little susceptible of a pang, that they should be little susceptible of an enjoyment. At least, at that moment, I envied him the facility with which he could cast away the thought of all the dreadful things which had been passing around us, and walk unconcernedly down to the river side to see what a gentleman had been doing in whom he had no particular interest. The distance could not be above twenty or thirty yards. I remained where I was; but the moment after, he called out,--

"Hurrah! Treasure trove, treasure trove! Gentlemen both, I seize and impound you on behalf of the state, and of William Byles, Esq., of Dunmore, near the Cross Keys, and the county of Southampton, in the state of Virginia." And up he came, carrying in each hand a large, short-necked black bottle.

"What have you got there?" I asked.

"London porter, for a hundred dollars," answered Billy. "That fellow knows what good living is. Oh, he's as cute as a sea-gull, and I see how he has set to work, He has somehow got up some London porter, and finding victuals and drink rather scarce in this great city, and good friends plenty, who would help him through it, he has gone and hid it down there, in the corner under the sand, to come down and drink his own health when nobody is by. There are more bottles there. You had better go and get a bottle. London porter is meat and drink too." I declined, however, helping myself from another man's store without his permission; but Billy Byles only laughed at my scruples, and we returned into the heart of the village. There he introduced me into what he called his dog-hole, which was a neat little room enough, in a neat little house, belonging to a free mulatto and his wife--quadroons, I suppose I ought to call them, for the portion of dark blood seemed to be very small. They were all attention, and even affection, towards Mr. Byles, who informed me that they had been slaves of his father, but were made free at his death. The old man hurried to get a couple of glasses as soon as Billy exhibited the porter bottles; and while he was gone, my companion fell into an unwonted reverie, which was explained as soon as his coloured friend returned.

"Jacobus," he said, "there's something I want you to do for me, and you must do it cleverly--here, cut this wire over the cork. You know Miss Davenport, don't you; Miss Bessy Davenport?--there, take that fork, thrust it through the wire, and twist it round--well, she escaped from Mr. Stringer's house with this gentleman, my friend Sir Richard Conway; but somehow she got lost in the woods about six or seven o'clock this evening. Now, I want you--cut the string, there's a knife--now, I want you to go out and inquire everywhere, and of everybody--d----n it, you'll let all the porter jump out of the bottle. Pour it out quick into the two glasses. Sir Richard, your health.--You see, Jacobus, we must, and will find out, this very night, what has become of Miss Davenport, and you know quite well that every piece of news throughout the whole country gets tossed about from hand to hand amongst your people just like a ball amongst a pack of children; so you must go and find out if there's anybody in the whole place who can tell you where she is. Ask the people as if it were a great secret, promise them to tell nobody, and then come and tell us."

"I'll do my best, Master Billy," said the old man; "but you know there's been such confusion these last two days, that we are all straggled, and nobody has had any time to find out anything. You say she was lost about six or seven this evening?" Mr. Byles added all the information that was necessary, and his envoy departed, somewhat proud, I imagine, of his commission.

"He won't find out anything to-night," said Billy Byles, as soon as the man was gone; "for, most probably, nobody in the place knows anything about the matter. But he'll go and talk to all the coloured people, and then they'll all begin jabbering, and chattering, and inquiring. The question will go, heaven knows how, down all the high-roads and by-ways, and to-morrow we shall have a whole budget of intelligence. Halloo! that sounds like cannon coming in." And, going to the window, he added,--

"So it is, by Jove! Two brass pieces, and a squad of artillerymen. We'll pound them to-morrow, if they take the field. Let us come and see what is going on." I accompanied him to the door; but we had scarcely reached the threshold, when we were met by Mr. Henry Thornton, his fine, tall figure looking very imposing in the garb of a colonel of militia. He shook me warmly by the hand; but I could see that a good deal of grave anxiety was upon his countenance.

"I did not think of coming into town to-night," he said, "but I heard of your fight at Dr. Blunt's, and that the poor devils had been dispersed with great loss. One serious check is enough to discourage them altogether. I think we shall have no more of it; and, at all events, it is over for to-night. But what is this I hear about poor Bessy Davenport?" I related to him everything that had occurred, and watched his countenance eagerly as I did so, in order to divine, if possible, what were the conclusions at which his mind arrived. He looked very grave, especially when he found we had ascertained that Bessy had not been brought in by Colonel Halliday's party?

"Not that he is the man," said Mr. Thornton, after expressing some painful disappointment at the breaking down of that hope of her safety--"not that he is a man whom any of us would choose to act as her escort under ordinary circumstances. But he dare not--no, he dare not," added Mr. Thornton, somewhat sternly--"take any advantage of his position."

"Who is this Colonel Halliday?" I asked. "You all seem to have some doubt of him."

"Why, don't you know?" cried Billy Byles. "He was Bob Thornton's second in the duel with you."

"He acted in a very gentlemanly manner there," I said.

"Ay, that might be," answered Mr. Thornton. "But he's a wild, unscrupulous fellow, notwithstanding. He certainly was colleaguing with Robert Thornton when that worthy tried to cheat her out of her whole property. Perhaps you do not know that he proposed to marry her, when she was not sixteen, and we had afterwards every reason to believe that there was an understanding between him and Robert, that they should share the spoils between them.

"Bessy, however, settled the matter for herself; for she told him she would sooner marry a rattlesnake; and I do not think he has ever forgiven the disgust--ay, the disgust, that is the only word--which she expressed towards him. She was quite a girl then, and a wild girl too; and she spoke her mind more freely, perhaps, than she would have done, had she been older. There is no use of making enemies in this world, even of people we do not desire for friends." Mr. Thornton fell into a somewhat dark and gloomy reverie, and it may easily be imagined that my thoughts were not particularly pleasant. After a moment or two, however, he said,--

"Well, Sir Richard, it is now near one o'clock. You had better go to bed, and try to rest. I will do the same. We will both be up early to-morrow; and, after having taken counsel with our pillows, we may be able to devise some plan for tracing poor Bessy out." He was turning away, when suddenly he held out his hand to me in his frank, kindly way, saying,--

"Do not alarm yourself, my dear sir. I have no doubt our dear girl is safe. If she had met with any harm from these misguided people, her body would have been left where they murdered her. They have taken no pains to conceal their deeds. All I want to get rid of is this horrible feeling of uncertainty; though, indeed, we are in the same case with a hundred others in this town; for there is hardly a family that is not doubtful and anxious about some one of its members. I am not one to use the name of God on every occasion; but trust in Him is, in such circumstances, our best stay and only consolation." Thus saying, he left me; and his last words recalled to my mind the better and the surer sources of hope and comfort, which had been too much forgotten in the excitement and anxiety of the last few hours. A mattress and a blanket were brought in for me, to Mr. Byles's room; and though he, in his universal good humour, would fain have had me take his bed, I cast myself down upon my lowly couch, and resolutely tried to sleep. I had by no means recovered my full strength; I was weary and exhausted with the labours of the day and with want of food. Perhaps in such a state of fatigue, the glass of porter which I had taken had more effect than it otherwise would have produced; and though I was half angry with myself when I felt the leaden weight pressing down my eyelids, I was soon in a profound sleep. I do not believe, if an axe had been suspended over my head, or a pistol presented at my ear, I could have kept myself awake.