ine.[7]

At length, my pardon and freedom came; but this was the sole
reparation I received at the hands of Louis Philippe, for the unjust
seizure and appropriation of my vessel in the neutral waters of
Africa. When Sorret rushed in, followed by his wife, Babette, and the
children, to announce the glorious news, the good fellow's emotion
was so great, that he stood staring at me like a booby, and for a long
while could not articulate. Then came La Vivandiere Dolores, and my
pretty Concha. Next arrived Monsieur Randanne, with the rest of my
pupils; so that, in an hour, I was overwhelmed with sunshine and
tears. I can still feel the grasp of Sorret's hand, as he led me
beyond the bolts and bars, to read the act of royal grace. May we not
feel a _spasm_ of regret at leaving even a prison?

Next day, an affectionate crowd of friends and pupils followed the
emancipated slaver to a vessel, which, by order of the king, was to
bear me, a willing exile, from France for ever.

FOOTNOTE:

[7] I know not what was his fate; but he has probably long since
realized his dream of equality, though, in all likelihood, it was the
equality described by old Patris of Caen:

"Ici tous sont egaux; je ne te dois plus rien:
Je suis sur mon _fumier_ comme toi sur le tien!"

CHAPTER L.

I said, at the end of the last chapter, that my friends bade adieu on
the quay of Brest to an "emancipated _slaver_;" for _slaver_ I was
determined to continue, notwithstanding the capture of my vessel, and
the tedious incarceration of my body. Had the seizure and sentence
been justly inflicted for a violation of local or international law, I
might, perhaps, have become penitent for early sins, during the long
hours of reflection afforded me in the _chateau_. But, with all the
fervor of an ardent and thwarted nature, I was much more disposed to
rebel and revenge myself when opportunity occurred, than to confess my
sins with a lowly and obedient heart. Indeed, most of my time in
prison had been spent in cursing the court and king, or in reflecting
how I should get back to Africa in the speediest manner, if I was ever
lucky enough to elude the grasp of the model monarch.

The vessel that bore me into perpetual banishment from France, was
bound to Lisbon; but, delaying in Portugal only long enough to procure
a new passport, under an assumed name, I spat upon Louis Philippe's
"eternal exile," and took shipping for his loyal port of Marseille