c. He therefore offered to give up his share in the
property, provided he might be allowed to emancipate some of the slaves.
To this even they would not consent, as they were afraid he might
select the most able-bodied, and thus deprive the ground of some of its
best cultivators. He did his best for the poor blacks, but the law was
on the side of his partners, and, to do them justice, they, blinded by
their interests and the contempt in which they held the negro race,
considered they were right, and that he was wrong. All they would do
was to allow him to select ten negroes from among a certain number whom
they pointed out, and they agreed to pay him over a sum of money for his
share of the land. To this proposal he was compelled to agree, and as
West India property was at that time considered of great value, he
received a very handsome sum, yet it must be owned not half what he
might properly have claimed. With this he returned to England, and, as
he was a man who could not bear to be idle, he commenced business as a
general merchant at Bristol. Shortly after that he married, and my
brothers and sisters and I in due course came into the world. Among the
negroes he set free were Clump and his sable partner Juno, and so
attached were they to him that they entreated that he would take them
with him to England. Clump was, properly speaking, a free man; for
having in his younger days, after he had married Juno, gone a short trip
to sea, he was wrecked, and after meeting many adventures, finally
pressed on board a man-of-war. He saw a good deal of service, (about
which he was very fond of talking, by the by), and at last obtaining his
discharge, or rather taking it, I suspect, with French leave--ever
mindful of his beloved Juno, he returned voluntarily to a state of
slavery, that he might enjoy life with her. The navy in those days was
not what it now is, and he had not been in the enjoyment of any large
amount of freedom. He had, indeed, being a good-natured, simple-hearted
fellow, been sadly put upon both in the merchant service and navy. It
was always, he used to say, "Clump, you don't want to go on shore, you
stay and take care of the ship;" or, "Clump, you stay in the boat while
we just take a run along the quay for five minutes;" or, "Clump, leave
is no use to you, just let me have it instead of you;" or, "Clump, rum
is a bad thing for niggers. I'll drink your grog to-day, and if you
just tip me a wink I'll