form establishments on that fatal soil. Hiseffects were seized upon by the rapacity of strangers; and his wife, whowas pregnant, found herself a widow in a country where she had neithercredit nor recommendation, and no earthly possession, or rather support,save one negro woman. Too delicate to solicit protection or relief from anyother man after the death of him whom alone she loved, misfortune armed herwith courage, and she resolved to cultivate with her slave a little spot ofground, and procure for herself the means of subsistence. In an islandalmost a desert, and where the ground was left to the choice of thesettler, she avoided those spots which were most fertile and mostfavourable to commerce; and seeking some nook of the mountain, some secretasylum, where she might live solitary and unknown, she bent her way fromthe town towards those rocks, where she wished to shelter herself as in anest. All suffering creatures, from a sort of common instinct, fly forrefuge amidst their pains to haunts the most wild and desolate; as if rockscould form a rampart against misfortune; as if the calm of nature couldhush the tumults of the soul. That Providence, which lends its support whenwe ask but the supply of our necessary wants, had a blessing in reserve forMadame de la Tour, which neither riches nor greatness can purchase; thisblessing was a friend.
"The spot to which Madame de la Tour fled had already been inhabited a yearby a young woman of a lively, good natured, and affectionate disposition.Margaret (for that was her name) was born in Britany, of a family ofpeasants, by whom she was cherished and beloved, and with whom she mighthave passed life in simple rustic happiness, if, misled by the weakness ofa tender heart, she had not listened to the passion of a gentleman in theneighbourhood, who promised her marriage. He soon abandoned her, and addinginhumanity to seduction, refused to ensure a provision for the child ofwhich she was pregnant. Margaret then determined to leave for ever hernative village, and go, where her fault might be concealed, to some colonydistant from that country where she had lost the only portion of a poorpeasant girl--her reputation. With some borrowed money she purchased an oldnegro slave, with whom she cultivated a little spot of this canton. HereMadame de la Tour, followed by her negro woman, found Margaret suckling herchild. Soothed by the sight of a person in a situation somewhat similar toher own, Madame de la Tour related, in a few words, her past condition andher present wants. Margaret was deeply affected by the recital; and, moreanxious to excite confidence than esteem, she confessed, without disguise,the errors of which she had been guilty. 'As for me,' said she, 'I deservemy fate: but you, madam--you! at once virtuous and unhappy--' And, sobbing,she offered Madame de la Tour both her hut and her friendship. That lady,affected by this tender reception, pressed her in her arms, and exclaimed,'Ah, surely Heaven will put an end to my misfortunes, since it inspiresyou, to whom I am a stranger, with more goodness towards me than I haveever experienced from my own relations!'
"I knew Margaret; and, although my habitation is a league and a half fromhence, in the woods behind that sloping mountain, I considered myself asher neighbour. In the cities of Europe a street, sometimes even a lessdistance, separates families whom nature had united; but in new colonies weconsider those persons as neighbours from whom we are divided only by woodsand mountains; and above all, at that period when this island had littleintercourse with the Indies, neighbourhood alone gave a claim tofriendship, and hospitality toward strangers seemed less a duty than apleasure. No sooner was I informed that Margaret had found a companion,than I hastened thither, in hope of being useful to my neighbour and herguest.
"Madame de la Tour possessed all those melancholy graces which give beautyadditional power, by blending sympathy with admiration. Her figure wasinteresting, and her countenance expressed at once dignity and dejection.She appeared to be in the last stage of her pregnancy. I told them that,for the future interests of their children, and to prevent the intrusion ofany other settler, it was necessary they should divide between them theproperty of this wild sequestered valley, which is nearly twenty acres inextent. They confided that task to me, and I marked out two equal portionsof land. One includes the higher part of this enclosure, from, the peak ofthat rock buried in clouds, whence springs the rapid river of Fan-Palms, tothat wide cleft which you see on the summit of the mountain, and which iscalled the Cannon's Mouth, from the resemblance in its form. It isdifficult to find a path along this wild portion of enclosure, the soil ofwhich is encumbered with fragments of rock, or worn into channels formed bytorrents; yet it produces noble trees, and innumerable fountains andrivulets. The other portion of land is comprised in the plain extendingalong the banks of the river of Fan-Palms, to the opening where we are nowseated, from whence the river takes its course between those two hills,until it falls into the sea. You may still trace the vestiges of somemeadow-land; and this part of the common is less rugged, but not morevaluable than the other; since in the rainy season it becomes marshy, andin dry weather is so hard and unbending, that it will yield only to thestroke of the hatchet. When I had thus divided the property, I persuaded myneighbours to draw lots for their separate possessions. The higher portionof land became the property of Madame de la Tour; the lower, of Margaret;and each seemed satisfied with her respective share. They entreated me toplace their habitations together, that they might at all times enjoy thesoothing intercourse of friendship, and the consolation of mutual kindoffices. Margaret's cottage was situated near the centre of the valley, andjust on the boundary of her own plantation. Close to that spot I builtanother cottage for the dwelling of Madame de la Tour: and thus the twofriends, while they possessed all the advantages of neighbourhood, lived ontheir own property. I myself cut palisades from the mountain, and broughtleaves of Fan-Palms from the seashore, in order to construct those twocottages, of which you can now discern neither the entrance nor the roof.Yet, alas! there still remain but too many traces for my remembrance! Time,which so rapidly destroys the proud monuments of empires, seems in thisdesert to spare those of friendship, as if to perpetuate my regrets to thelast hour of my existence.
"Scarcely was her cottage finished, when Madame de la Tour was delivered ofa girl. I had been the godfather of Margaret's child, who was christened bythe name of Paul. Madame de la Tour desired me to perform the same officefor her child also, together with her friend, who gave her the name ofVirginia. 'She will be virtuous,' cried Margaret, 'and she will be happy. Ihave only known misfortune by wandering from virtue.'
"At the time Madame de la Tour recovered, those two little territories hadalready begun to yield some produce, perhaps in a small degree owing to thecare which I occasionally bestowed on their improvement, but far more tothe indefatigable labours of the two slaves. Margaret's slave, who wascalled Domingo, was still healthy and robust, although advanced in years:he possessed some knowledge, and a good natural understanding. Hecultivated indiscriminately, on both settlements, such spots of ground aswere most fertile, and sowed whatever grain he thought most congenial toeach particular soil. Where the ground was poor, he strewed maize; where itwas most fruitful, he planted wheat; and rice in such spots as were marshy.He threw the seeds of gourds and cucumbers at the foot of the rocks, whichthey loved to climb, and decorate with their luxuriant foliage. In dryspots he cultivated the sweet potato; the cotton-tree flourished upon theheights, and the sugar-cane grew in the clayey soil. He reared some plantsof coffee on the hills, where the grain, although small, is excellent. Theplantain-trees, which spread their grateful shade on the banks of theriver, and encircled the cottage, yielded fruit throughout the year. And,lastly, Domingo cultivated a few plants of tobacco, to charm away his owncares. Sometimes he was employed in cutting wood for firing from themountain, sometimes in hewing pieces of rock within the enclosure, in orderto level the paths. He was much attached to Margaret, and not less toMadame de la Tour, whose negro-woman, Mary, he had married at the time ofVirginia's birth; and he was passionately fond of his wife. Mary was bornat Madagascar, from whence she had brought a few arts of industry. Shecould weave baskets, and a sort of stuff, with long grass that grows in thewoods. She was active,
cleanly, and, above all, faithful. It was her careto prepare their meals, to rear the poultry, and go sometimes to PortLouis, and sell the superfluities of these little plantations, which werenot very considerable. If you add to the personages I have alreadymentioned two goats, who were brought up with the children, and a greatdog, who kept watch at night, you will have a complete idea of thehousehold, as well as of the revenue of those two farms.
"Madame de la Tour and her friend were employed from the morning till theevening in spinning cotton for the use of their families. Destitute of allthose things which their own industry could not supply, they walked abouttheir habitations with their feet bare, and shoes were a conveniencereserved for Sunday, when, at an early hour, they attended mass at thechurch of the Shaddock Grove, which you see yonder. That church is far moredistant than Port Louis;