at the
Comte de Mirabeau had undertaken to introduce it into the Assembly. At this
he expressed his uneasiness. "Mirabeau," says he, "is a host in himself;
and I should not be surprised if by his own eloquence and popularity only
he were to carry it; and yet I regret that he has taken the lead in it. The
cause is so lovely, that even ambition, abstractedly considered, is too
impure to take it under its protection, and not to sully it. It should have
been placed in the hands of the most virtuous man in France. This man is
the Duc de la Rochefoucauld. But you cannot alter things now. You cannot
take it out of his hands. I am sure he will be second to no one on this
occasion."

On my return to my hotel, I perused the outlines of the speech, which the
Comte de Mirabeau had lent me. It afforded a masterly knowledge of the
evils of the trade, as drawn from reason only. It was put together in the
most striking and affecting manner. It contained an almost irresistible
appeal to his auditors by frequent references to the ancient system of
things in France, and to their situation and prospects under the new. It
flowed at first gently like a river in a level country; but it grew
afterwards into a mountain torrent, and carried every thing before it. On
looking at the questions, which he had written down for me, I found them
consist of three. 1. What are the different ways of reducing to slavery the
inhabitants of that part of Africa, which is under the dominion of France?
2. What is the state of society there with respect to government, industry,
and the arts? 3. What are the various evils belonging to the transportation
of the Africans from their own country?

It was peculiarly agreeable to me to find, on reading the first two
questions, that I had formed an acquaintance with Monsieur Geoffroy de
Villeneuve, who had been aide du camp to the Chevalier de Boufflers at
Goree; but who was then at his father's house in Paris. This gentleman had
entertained Dr. Spaarman and Mr. Wadstrom; and had accompanied them up the
Senegal, when under the protection of the French government in Africa. He
had confirmed to me the testimony, which they had given before the privy
council. But he had a fund of information on this subject, which went far
beyond what these possessed, or I had ever yet collected from books or men.
He had travelled all over the kingdom of Cayor on foot; and had made a map
of it. His information was so important, that I had b