rs in such cases, upbraided
him with arrogant conceit. His women, headed by Fatimah,--who supplied
herself and her companions with abundant presents out of every fresh
cargo,--rose in open mutiny, and declared they would run off unless he
accepted a share of the contract. Fatimah was the orator of the harem
on this as well as on all other occasions of display or grievance, and
of course she did not spare poor Ormond. Age and drunkenness had made
sad inroads on his constitution and looks during the last half year.
His fretful irritability sometimes amounted almost to madness, when
thirty female tongues joined in the chorus of their leader's assault.
They boldly charged him, singly and in pairs, with every vice and
fault that injured matrimony habitually denounces; and as each item of
this abusive litany was screamed in his ears, the chorus responded
with a deep "amen!" They boasted of their infidelities, lauded their
lovers, and producing their children, with laughs of derision, bade
him note the astounding resemblance!

The poor Mongo was sorely beset by these African witches, and
summoned his villagers to subdue the revolt; but many of the
town-folks were pets of the girls, so that no one came forth to obey
his bidding.

I visited Ormond at his request on the evening of this rebellion, and
found him not only smarting with the morning's insult, but so drunk as
to be incapable of business. His revengeful eye and nervous movements
denoted a troubled mind. When our hands met, I found the Mongo's cold
and clammy. I refused wine under a plea of illness; and when, with
incoherent phrases and distracted gestures, he declared his
willingness to retract his refusal and accept a share of the Felix's
cargo, I thought it best to adjourn the discussion until the following
day. Whilst on the point of embarking, I was joined by the faithless
servant, whom I bribed to aid me in my affair with the Dane, and was
told that Ormond _had drugged the wine in anticipation of my arrival_!
He bade me be wary of the Mongo, who in his presence had threatened my
life. That morning, he said, while the women were upbraiding him, my
name had been mentioned by one with peculiar favor,--when Ormond burst
forth with a torrent of passion, and accusing me as the cause of all
his troubles, felled the girl to the earth with his fist.

That night I was roused by my watchman to see a stranger, and found
Esther at my gate with three of her companions. Their