hich he facetiously styled
his "minister of justice," and, in mere wantonness, he was known to have
committed murder again and again, yet no steps were taken by the
authorities to restrain, much less to punish him. Men heard of his
murders, but they shrugged their shoulders and did nothing. It was only
a wild beast of a negro that was killed, they said, and what was that!
They seemed to think less of it than if he had shot a hippopotamus. One
of his murders was painfully notorious, even to its minutest
particulars. Over the female slaves employed in a house and adjacent
lands there is usually placed a head-woman, a slave also, chosen for
such an office for her blind fidelity to her master. This man had one
such woman, one who had ever been faithful to him and his interests, who
had never provoked him by disobedience or ill-conduct, and against whom,
therefore, he could have no cause of complaint. One day when half drunk
he was lying on a couch in his house; his forewoman entered and made
herself busy with some domestic work. As her master lay watching her,
his savage disposition found vent in a characteristic joke: "Woman,"
said he, "I think I will shoot you." The woman turned round and said,
"Master, I am your slave; you can do what you will with me. You can
kill me if you like; I can do nothing. But don't kill me, master, for
if you do, who is there to look after your other women? they will all
run away from you."

She did not mean to irritate her master, but instantly the man's brutal
egotism was aroused. The savage jest became a fearful reality, and he
shouted with rage:--

"Say you that! say you that! fetch me my gun. I will see if my women
will run away after I have killed you."

Trained to implicit obedience, the poor woman did as she was bid. She
brought the gun and handed him powder and ball. At his command she
knelt down before him, and the wretch fired at her breast. In his
drunken rage he missed his mark--the ball went through her shoulder.
She besought him to spare her. Deaf to her entreaties, he ordered her
to fetch more powder and ball. Though wounded and in agony, she obeyed
him. Again the gun was loaded, again levelled and fired, and the woman
fell dead at his feet. [The above narrative is quoted almost _verbatim_
from _The Story of the Universities' Mission to Central Africa_, pages
78 and 79, the author of which vouches for its accuracy.]

The facts of this case were known far a