THE SURVIVORS OF THE "WALDECK." 39 ail free American citizens, belongîng to the state of Penn- sylvania* "Then, let me assure you, my friend ," saîd the captaîn, " you hâve by no means compromîsed your liberty în having been brought on board the American schooner * Pilgrim/ " Not merely, as it seemed, on account of his âge and expérience, but rather because of a certain superiority and greater energy of character, thîs old man was tacitly recognized as the spokesman of his party ; he freely com- municated ail the information that Captain Hull required to hear, and by degrees he related ail the détails of his adventures. He said that his name was Tom, and that when he was only six years of âge he had been sold as a slave, and brought from his home in Africa to the United States ; but by the act of émancipation he had long since recovered his freedom. His companions, who were ail much younger than hîmself, their âges ranging from twenty-five to thirty, were ail free-bom, their parents having been emancîpated before their birth, so that no white man had ever exercised upon them the rights of ownership. One of them was his own son ; his name was Bat (an abbreviation of Bartholo- mew) ; and there were three others, named Austin, Actaeon, and Hercules. Ail four of them were spécimens of that stalwart race that commands so high a price in the African market, and in spite of the emaciation induced by their récent sufferings, their muscular, well-knit frames betokcned a strong and healthy constitution. Their manner bore the impress of that solid éducation which is givcn in the North American schools, and their speech had lost ail trace of the
- nigger-tongue," a dialect without articles or inflexions,
which since the anti-slavery war has almost died out in the United States. Three years ago, old Tom stated, the five men had been engaged by an Englishman who had large property in South Australia, to work upon bis estâtes near Melbourne, Hère they had realized a considérable profit, and upon the completion of their engagement they determined to with their savings to America. Accordingly, on
