The next morning I was punctual to my appointment; but waited above an hour before I perceived Captain S——. At length he came, and made no secret to me of what had detained him. He informed me, that having gone on the preceding day to Lord G————’s he could with difficulty gain admission into the hall; where, after having been for some time insulted by the enquiring looks, and questions, of several impertinent footmen, he seemed likely to remain; not one of them, though assured he waited on his Lordship by his own appointment, appearing willing to stir from their chairs to announce him. He continued there some time; during which he had the mortification to see several of his old acquaintance alight from their carriages, and pass, without deigning to look towards him. He patiently waited the return of these great people, and then repeated his request of a moment’s audience, which was answered by a desire that he would call again the next morning, at the same hour.
He went, and found orders to admit him. Lord G——, with that tone of authority which superior fortune always gives so the supercilious, however polished, and to the ungenerous, however courtly, reproached him in very acrimonious terms with having suddenly thrown up his commission, at a time when promotion was becoming general, and his country particularly demanded his services.
Stung to the heart at a reproof, which while he knew to be severe, he felt to be just, he alledged, in excuse, what to a delicate mind would have been an all-powerful one. His wife—her situation: Lord G—— interrupted him, by telling him that all such feelings should be sacrificed to self-interest. He then rang his bell, called for his carriage, and putting a solitary guinea into the hands of Captain S——, cast reflections on this conduct, that were as galling as unmerited, and wishing him good morning, rid himself of a visitor, whose reduced circumstances were his only mark of inferiority.
I was less surprised than Captain S—— at the conduct of Lord G——; and after making some comments, naturally arising from the transaction, I prevailed on him to accompany me home, and to relate to me his narrative, which he did in the following words.
“I was received in Jamaica with much kindness by my brother officers; and my letters procured me many distinguished attentions from the principal families there. My intercourse with many gay young men, and the life of amusement (not to say dissipation) which I led, might, in a heart less tender than mine, have dispelled the gloom that had hung over me since my departure from England. But I did not find it so; my mind perpetually wandered over the past scenes of domestic delight; and my heart inwardly sighed, as I reflected on the expanse of ocean that divided me far from them. My wife was young, and ignorant of the world; and though the letters which she wrote me were filled with love, and regret, I suffered myself to dread a change in her affections, and gave way to the most dismal forebodings, which, instead of being diminished, were augmented by time.
“A captain in our regiment, whose name was Nesbitt, was on the point of returning on leave of absence to England. The death of his mother had put him in possession of considerable property, and it was necessary that he should settle his affairs. My heart prompted me to make particular overtures of intimacy to Captain Nesbitt, that I might influence him to see, and give me a particular account of my family. At that time too, I had unfortunately lost to him a sum of money at play; which, though not very considerable, was more than I could command, previous to his departure. On my mentioning it to him, he treated it lightly, and assured me he had not at that time any occasion for it. I received from him the most consolatory promises, and we parted with all the reciprocal good wishes that can be supposed to arise from a concluded friendship, and an assurance that I should hear from him frequently on the subject which alone interested my heart.
“Captain Nesbitt was punctual to his word; he wrote me an account of his safe arrival in London, and that he was going to pass five or six weeks with a party of his friends at Swansea, from whence he should make it his first business to wait on Mrs. S——. The next ship brought me a packet from herself, in which she mentioned having seen him, and at a time when a visit from a friend of mine was particularly welcome, as she had just lost her father, and retired to a small farm-house near Glamorgan, till she should hear from me in what manner she should dispose of herself. She solicited my permission to join me in Jamaica, and that I would negociate her voyage with one of the first returning Captains, that he might settle in my name for every suitable accommodation. This was the project I ardently sighed for, but I wished it to come from herself; and the silence I had observed on it during her father’s lifetime, being no longer necessary, I answered her in the effusions of a heart filled with love and gratitude, and gave, as she desired, all proper directions to forward her approaching departure.
“Nothing but witnessing her safe arrival, could convey such transport to my mind, as seeing the ship get under weigh, that bore my letter, and was charged with the commission to bring her once more to my arms. I watched the wind and weather with anxiety, and in idea followed the vessel to her destined port. I passed the intervening time in fondly anticipating the arrival of the welcome stranger, and in preparing every thing for her reception.
“I had particularly attached myself to a Black, of the name of Scipio. He was the servant of a gentleman whom I visited, who bought him in his infancy, and treated him more as a favoured inmate, than a slave. Scipio was possessed of a noble mind, and a heart susceptible of affection, and gratitude. He loved his master, and lamented the destiny of those of his countrymen who were less fortunate than himself. Often would he wonder why they were so; comparing their labours with his own, and acknowledging their superiority. I frequently observed him to follow me at a distance in those hours when, oppressed by thought, I sought the plantain’s friendly shade, and shunned the converse of mankind; and oft would sorrow overspread his sable countenance while he watched me, as if fearful of my destruction.
“I was one day ruminating on my situation, anticipating the pleasure, yet at the same time dreading the frustration of all my hopes, when Scipio ran eagerly towards me, and announced the approach of a ship from England. I climbed the highest point, as if to bring her nearer to me. It was too soon for me to expect my wife; all I could hope was a letter from her, and to that I looked with eager joy, as from the shore I espied the gaily painted vessel, gliding gently over the smooth surface of the deep, as the welcome harbinger of peace. With a palpitating heart I hailed her, as she majestically came towards us, but the flattering dream soon vanished, as I heard her pronounced to be from Bristol.