'That does not account for the dust; it hasn't been stirred for a twelve-month;' and after a pause, she added, a thin moisture glistening in her eyes, 'I have not yet thanked you, sir, for saving Phyllis and the children from the clutches of that wretched trader.'
'No thanks are requisite, madam. It was a mere matter of business; we are in the practice of making advances to our consignors.'
'Nevertheless we thank you, sir; Robert and I will ever be grateful for it.'
'Do not speak of it, madam; I would be glad to serve you to a much greater extent.'
The lady made no reply, and a rather embarrassing silence followed for some minutes, when I said:
'Preston, Joe is a remarkable negro; I think I never met one so intelligent and well informed.'
'He is very intelligent,' he replied; 'he has fine natural abilities.'
'It is a pity Nature gave him so dark a skin, and made him a—slave.'
'Not a pity, Mr. Kirke,' rejoined Mrs. Preston; 'Nature, or rather God, always puts us in our right places. Joseph is more useful where he is than he would be anywhere else.'
'I understood him that he was raised on the plantation,' I added.