We had not long been absent, when we were recalled, and M. Scager inquired how these papers came into Mirabel’s hands. She briefly told him how I had obtained them. The old man looked at me steadfastly and doubtingly for a moment, and then, seeming to assent to the truth of the documents he had been perusing, he exclaimed, “After all, Mirabel, your father was what he seemed, a noble and an honest man, and I have done him grievous wrong. Come here, my child.” As he said this, he held out his hand, and Mirabel approaching him, was taken in his arms, and the old man’s tears fell thick and fast upon her face. I felt the scene to be almost more than I could bear, and hastily left the room.
I need not detail the events which immediately followed. It will be sufficient to say that in the course of a few days Mr. Hartley arrived, and upon consulting a lawyer, it was thought that the papers I had procured would be not only sufficient to establish my uncle’s innocence, but to enable him, if living, to recover from the insurance company an immense sum of money, not only for the loss of his cargo, but for interest, and the conspiracy which had been entered into with the captain of the wrecked vessel. If he were dead, these sums, it was thought, could be recovered by his heirs.
It now became a matter of extreme interest to trace my uncle’s career from the time he escaped from the prison and left Paramaribo. M. Scager had received several letters from him, but these did not clearly indicate the place of his abode. After consulting these letters, and putting together all the information that could be obtained, it was determined, that I should proceed with all possible despatch, to Valparaiso, at which place it appeared tolerably certain he had been established in business about ten years before. Being supplied with letters of introduction and plenty of money, I took my departure; not, however, without an affectionate farewell from my gentle cousin.
My plan was to proceed to Buenos Ayres in a vessel, and cross the continent in a westerly direction, to Chili, of which Valparaiso is the chief commercial port. I accordingly entered on board a brig bound for Buenos Ayres. We were soon upon the ocean, and I had now leisure to reflect upon the circumstances which had recently transpired, and the prospects that lay before me.
Although I was still a youth, I had already accomplished something, and was now engaged in an enterprise seldom committed to the charge of one so young as myself. I was surprised to observe the change which had taken place in my feelings and character in the space of a few months. When I first arrived at Paramaribo, I was but a boy. I had now the settled thoughts, plans and purposes of a man. I was bound to a distant country, and dangers and trials lay before me; but these did not in the slightest degree shake my resolution. Though I was calm, I had still the ardent hope and sanguine expectation which belong to youth.
Although I knew the extreme uncertainty of my being able to find my uncle, yet I had still a sort of faith that I should at last succeed in this. “What happiness,” thought I, “would flow from such an event!” I often indulged my imagination in picturing his return—in fancying the meeting between him and his daughter. I thought also of the benefits that might ultimately flow to my mother and sister; and I had likewise some dreams of a vague but agreeable nature which had relation to Mirabel and myself.
Our vessel stole on before a gentle wind, but though I was entirely at leisure, my mind was never more busy; my faculties seemed roused in every respect, and although my thoughts dwelt so much upon the particular purpose of my present expedition, I still noticed with lively interest every object of curiosity that came in my way. I was greatly struck with the splendor of the starry firmament amid these tropical regions. As we proceeded farther and farther south, groups of stars, which I had never seen before, and which are not visible in the northern hemisphere, came to view. Many of these were exceedingly brilliant, and at night, in the absence of the moon, seemed to fill the whole atmosphere with a mild lustre.
Nor were the objects connected with the sea hardly less interesting. Flocks of flying fishes, pursued by dolphins in the water, occasionally burst from the briny element, and shot like arrows for a considerable distance through the air. Huge sharks accompanied our vessel, day after day, and a large species of seal which has often been taken for the mermaid, would occasionally lift its head above the wave, and having surveyed us for a moment, would sink back into the water. The albatross, the largest of seafowl, occasionally swept by us, and myriads of wild ducks, seeming like skeins of thread bending and winding against the verge of the distant horizon, skimmed the surface of the waters, along the shores of the continent.
In about forty days from the time of our departure, we entered the mouth of the mighty river La Plata. Such was its width, that it seemed like the sea; but we gradually approached the shore, and on the southern bank of the river, 150 miles from its mouth, we now saw the city of Buenos Ayres. Anchoring at the distance of seven or eight miles from the town, on account of the shallow water, the captain and myself entered a boat and were rowed to the city.
My stay in this place was short, and I had not an opportunity to examine it with care. It stretches along a high bank for about two miles, and contains about 60,000 inhabitants. These are chiefly of Spanish descent. There are a few negroes, some of whom are slaves. By far the larger portion of the lower class are Indians, who perform the common labor, and discharge the menial offices of society. They speak the Spanish language, and have forgotten alike their original habits and their native tongue.