“But alas, how frail was my stay!
Beguiled by a wanton away,
These pledges of love now remain,
To haunt me with loss, and the stain.
“To save, I have sought every trace,
A pilgrim to this distant place,
Hopeless, I have come in despair,
And now forlorn, breathe the last prayer.”
When the refrain had been repeated for the fourth time without response, or sign of recognition, the mother sank back on her seat; the harp following, with its weight would have forced her backward into the water, but for the timely arrest of the padrone. In a moment her neck was encircled with the arms of her children, who bestowed, unabashed by the curious presence of the assemblage, the spontaneous promptings of their affection, in solace for the encouragement of hope. Never, in the course of a life devoted to auramental association with the Giga race, had I ever witnessed an influence that so quickly dispersed varied evidences of brutality in human expression, as from these manifestations of suffering in alliance with innocence, affection, and beauty, hallowed in preluded expression of emotions by instrumental and vocal music. The repulsive sensuality, so brutally prominent in the slave captain’s and their “owner’s” visages, which exceeded in the loathsome vulgarity of selfishness the hyena’s, gave place to the shadowy reflection of sympathetic pity, as if from the impression of a reality retrieved from the dim memories of childhood. In default of tears, to the moisture of which their eyes had long been dead, they relieved their pockets of the last representative coins of sympathy, for bestowal “in charity” upon these wandering minstrels, who had recalled a flitting reminiscence of a mother’s memory, which once entitled them to an alliance with affectionate humanity. In contrast, the black faces of the negroes glistened with moisture from eyes still open to the founts of primitive sympathy; those acting as boatmen collecting the coins with scrupulous honesty, deposited them in the sachels of the children.
The mother, aroused with the continued sound of falling money, for, as with the exampled impulse of panic fear in battle, and the gambler’s reckless course in the downward path of fate, charity becomes heedless of self under the associate impression of congregated bestowal, made an effort to free her eyes from tears, that she might give expression to her thankfulness and stay the uncalled-for gifts of money. Then making known her desire to land, the padrone directed the boat to the stairway of the pier, the eyes of the children the while being engaged in a wandering search among the spectators, with a woful expression of loving desire. Ascending the stairway from the water, the motley crowd opened a free passage; the foreigners following the example of the negroes, removed their hats in token of respect. My auramentee had been greatly moved from the first sound of the instrumental prelude, but the appealing sadness of their voiceful invocation enlisted his sympathetic excitability beyond control. Unable, with his utmost exertions, to approach within speaking distance, he followed in the wake of the procession until he saw the padrone and boat’s crew deposit the harp and baggage of the mother and children, at the street door of a house occupied by an attaché of the English consulate, in a court opening upon the Rua da Dereita. As their entertainer proved to be an acquaintance of the auramentee, he returned to his hotel well satisfied with the assurance of their congenial safety, which had fulfilled his kind intentions. On the second day after their arrival he obtained an introduction, and with an unobtrusive offer of service gained their confidence. When but partially recovered from the anxiety and fatigue of the voyage, they commenced their street perambulations as musicians, with a pecuniary success more than equal to the exalted expectations of favorite opera singers, which to the credit of the Rioans was bestowed from the enlistment of true sympathy in their behalf, rather than in acknowledgment for their musical talent. The family of the emperor became interested from the universal expression of sympathy bestowed in recognition of their sufferings; although the cause was unknown, they extended to them their protection. Failing in their endeavors to dissuade them from the exposure of street concertizing, by the offer of a less laborious and more pleasing method of rendering their talent provident, they were content to aid them with their special protection and patronage. A week later, in a private interview, she gave them such reasons for the course she had chosen, that they used their power to facilitate the attainment of her object.