I Told Him, Perhaps In Rather Too
Passionate A Strain, That Whatever Imprudence I Had Been Guilty Of, In
Coming
Into his country, I thought I had already been sufficiently
punished for it, by being so long detained, and then
Plundered of all my
little property; which, however, gave me no uneasiness, when compared
with what he had just now done to me. I observed, that the boy which he
had now seized upon was not a slave, and had been accused of no offence;
he was indeed one of my attendants; and his faithful services in that
station had procured him his freedom; his fidelity and attachment had
made him follow me into my present situation; and as he looked up to me
for protection, I could not see him deprived of his liberty, without
remonstrating against such an act, as the height of cruelty and
injustice. Ali made no reply, but with a haughty air and malignant smile,
told his interpreter, that if I did not mount my horse immediately, he
would send me back likewise. There is something in the frown of a tyrant
which rouses the most secret emotions of the heart; I could not suppress
my feelings; and for once entertained an indignant wish to rid the world
of such a monster.
Poor Demba was not less affected than myself: he had formed a strong
attachment towards me, and had a cheerfulness of disposition, which often
beguiled the tedious hours of captivity; he was likewise a proficient in
the Bambarra tongue, and promised on that account to be of great utility
to me in future.
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