e when offered by his employer.[12]
Other facts strengthened his hatred of the system. In 1786 he was
engaged in prosecuting a planter for gross cruelty to two little negroes
of 6 and 7 years of age. After long proceedings, the planter was fined
40_s._

A lawyer's practice at St. Christopher's was supposed to be profitable.
The sugar colonies were flourishing; and Nelson, then captain of the
'Boreas,' was giving proof of his character, and making work for the
lawyers by enforcing the provisions of the Navigation Act upon
recalcitrant American traders and their customers.

Stephen earned enough to be able to visit England in the winter of
1788-9. There he sought the acquaintance of Wilberforce, who was
beginning his crusade against the slave trade. Information from a shrewd
observer on the spot was, of course, of great value; and, although
prudence forbade a public advocacy of the cause, Stephen supplied
Wilberforce with facts and continued to correspond with him after
returning to St. Christopher's. The outbreak of the great war brought
business. During 1793-4 the harbour of St. Christopher's was crowded
with American prizes, and Stephen was employed to defend most of them in
the courts. His health suffered from the climate, and he now saved
enough to return to England at the end of 1794. He then obtained
employment in the Prize Appeal Court of the Privy Council, generally
known as the 'Cockpit.' He divided the leading business with Dallas
until his appointment to a Mastership in Chancery in 1811.

Stephen was now able to avow his anti-slavery principles and soon became
one of Wilberforce's most trusted supporters. He was probably second
only to Zachary Macaulay, who had also practical experience of the
system. Stephen's wife died soon after his return, and was buried at
Stoke Newington on December 10, 1796. He was thrown for a time into the
deepest dejection. Wilberforce forced himself upon his solitude, and
with the consolations of so dear a friend his spirits recovered their
elasticity. Four years later the friendship was drawn still closer by
Stephen's marriage to the only surviving sister of Wilberforce, widow of
the Rev. Dr. Clarke, of Hull. She was a rather eccentric but very
vigorous woman. She spent all her income, some 300_l._ or 400_l._ a
year, on charity, reserving 10_l._ for her clothes. She was often to be
seen parading Clapham in rags and tatters. Thomas Gisborne, a light of
the sect, once tore her ski