tes, who ape the airs of civilisation and yet
after a century of freedom are more uncivilised in their habits and mode
of life than the African slaves, their forefathers whom Toussaint-
L'Overture, as he styled himself, their leader, freed from the yoke of
their French masters a hundred years ago, that I feel the glorious name
`republic' to be dishonoured when associated with such vile wretches,
wretches a thousand times worse than the Fantees of the West Coast, from
whom they originally sprang!"

"My dear sir," said Mr Stokes, aghast at the tempest he had raised by
his innocent remark, "you surprise me!"

"Heavens! you would be surprised, sir, if you knew these Haytians as I
know them to be," continued the colonel, his indignation still
struggling for the mastery--"a race of devil worshippers and cannibals,
who confound liberty with license, and have added all the vices of
civilisation to the inherent savagery of their innate animal nature.
Ah, sir, I should like to tell you a great deal more, but have not the
time now. I am afraid I am forgetting myself. Where was I?"

"Becalmed off Cape San Engano," promptly replied the skipper, sailor
fashion--"at least, so you said, colonel; but I fancy you must have had
a little rougher weather in that latitude than you mentioned at first!"

"We had," said Colonel Vereker meaningly. "Towards nightfall we drifted
with the current more inshore, Captain Alphonse not dropping our anchor,
as we expected the land breeze would spring up at sunset. This did not
come for an hour later, however, for already darkness had begun to
surround us and we could see the fireflies illuminating the brush beyond
the beach. But this wasn't all observed, sir. Just as our sails filled
again and the ship slowly drew out into the offing, we heard the splash
of oars in the water astern. It was a boat coming after us, propelled
by a dozen oars at least, pulling as hard as those handling them knew
how, a shot or two from the shore and the sound of musket balls ripping
the water explaining, in some way, the reason for their anxiety to get
beyond the range of the firing, on which account they sought the shelter
of the _Saint Pierre_, of course--at least, so we thought!

"`Who goes there?' shouted out Captain Alphonse, who was standing alone
with me, close to the taffrail. `Poor devils! there is probably another
insurrection at Port au Prince, and President Salomon up or down again.
He is always one o