AGNES DE CASTRO.

But as they could not march far that Night, onMondayearly, when the Overseers went to call ’em all together, to go to work, they were extremely surprized, to find not one upon the Place, but all fled with what Baggage they had. You may imagine this News was not only suddenly spread all over the Plantation, but soon reached the neighbouring ones; and we had by Noon about 600 Men, they call the Militia of the Country, that came to assist us in the Pursuit of the Fugitives: But never did one see so comical an Army march forth to War. The Men of any Fashion would not concern themselves, tho’ it were almost the Common Cause; for such Revoltings are very ill Examples, and have very fatal Consequences oftentimes, in many Colonies: But they had a Respect forCæsar, and all Hands were against theParhamites(as they called those ofParham-Plantation) because they did not in the first Place love the Lord-Governor; and secondly, they would have it thatCæsarwas ill used, and baffled with: and ’tis not impossible but some of the best in the Country was of his Council in this Flight, and depriving us of all the Slaves; so that they of the better sort would not meddle in the Matter.The Deputy-Governor, of whom I have had no great Occasion to speak, and who was the most fawning fair-tongu’d Fellow in the World, and one that pretended the most Friendship toCæsar, was now the only violent Man against him; and though he had nothing,and so need fear nothing, yet talked and looked bigger than any Man. He was a Fellow, whose Character is not fit to be mentioned with the worst of the Slaves: This Fellow would lead his Army forth to meetCæsar, or rather to pursue him. Most of their Arms were of those Sort of cruel Whips they callCat with nine Tails; some had rusty useless Guns for Shew; others old Basket Hilts, whose Blades had never seen the Light in this Age; and others had long Staffs and Clubs. Mr.Trefrywent along, rather to be a Mediator than a Conqueror in such a Battle; for he foresaw and knew, if by fighting they put theNegroesinto Despair, they were a sort of sullen Fellows, that would drown or kill themselves before they would yield; and he advis’d that fair Means was best: ButByamwas one that abounded in his own Wit, and would take his own Measures.It was not hard to find these Fugitives; for as they fled, they were forced to fire and cut the Woods before ’em: So that Night or Day they pursu’d ’em by the Light they made, and by the Path they had cleared. But as soon asCæsarfound that he was pursu’d, he put himself in a Posture of Defence, placing all the Woman and Children in the Rear; and himself, withTuscanby his Side, or next to him, all promising to die or conquer. Encouraged thus, they never stood to parley, but fell on pell-mell upon theEnglish, and killed some, and wounded a great many; they having Recourse to their Whips, as the best of their Weapons. And as they observed no Order, they perplexed the Enemy so sorely, with lashing ’em in the Eyes; and the Women and Children seeing their Husbands so treated, being of fearful and cowardly Dispositions, and hearing theEnglishcry out,Yield and Live! Yield, and be Pardon’d!they all ran in amongst their Husbands and Fathers, and hung about them, crying out,Yield! Yield, and leaveCæsarto their Revenge; that by Degrees the Slaves abandon’dCæsar, and left him onlyTuscanand his HeroickImoinda, who grown as big as she was, did nevertheless press near her Lord, having a Bow and a Quiver full of poisoned Arrows, which she managed with such Dexterity, that she wounded several, and shot the Governor into the Shoulder; of which Wound he had like to have died, but that anIndianWoman, his Mistress, sucked the Wound, and cleans’d it from the Venom: But however, he stir’d not from the Place till he had parly’d withCæsar, who he found was resolved to die fighting, and would not be taken; no more wouldTuscanorImoinda. But he, more thirsting after Revenge of another Sort, than that of depriving him of Life, now made use of all his Art of Talking and Dissembling, and besoughtCæsarto yield himself upon Terms which he himself should propose, and should be sacredly assented to, and kept by him. He told him, It was not that he any longer fear’d him, or could believe the Force of two Men, and a young Heroine, could overthrow all them, and with all the Slaves now on their Side also; but it was the vast Esteem he had for his Person, the Desire he had to serve so gallant a Man, and to hinder himself from the Reproach hereafter, of having been the Occasion of the Death of a Prince, whose Valour and Magnanimity deserved the Empire of the World. He protested to him, he looked upon his Action as gallant and brave, however tending to the Prejudice of his Lord and Master, who would by it have lost so considerable a Number of Slaves; that this Flight of his should be look’d on as a Heat of Youth, and a Rashness of a too forward Courage, and an unconsider’d Impatience of Liberty, and no more; and that he labour’d in vain to accomplish that which they would effectually perform as soon as any Ship arrived that would touch on his Coast: ‘So that if you will be pleased (continued he) to surrender yourself, all imaginable Respect shall be paid you; and your Self, your Wife and Child, if it be born here, shall depart free out of our Land.’ ButCæsarwouldhear of no Composition; thoughByamurged, if he pursued and went on in his Design, he would inevitably perish, either by great Snakes, wild Beasts or Hunger; and he ought to have Regard to his Wife, whose Condition requir’d Ease, and not the Fatigues of tedious Travel, where she could not be secured from being devoured. ButCæsartold him, there was no Faith in the White men, or the Gods they ador’d; who instructed them in Principles so false, that honest Men could not live amongst them; though no People profess’d so much, none perform’d so little: That he knew what he had to do when he dealt with Men of Honour; but with them a Man ought to be eternally on his Guard, and never to eat and drink with Christians, without his Weapon of Defence in his Hand; and, for his own Security, never to credit one Word they spoke. As for the Rashness and Inconsiderateness of his Action, he would confess the Governor is in the right; and that he was ashamed of what he had done in endeavouring to make those free, who were by Nature Slaves, poor wretched Rogues, fit to be used as Christian Tools; Dogs, treacherous and cowardly, fit for such Masters; and they wanted only but to be whipped into the Knowledge of the Christian Gods, to be the vilest of all creeping Things; to learn to worship such Deities as had not Power to make them just, brave, or honest: In fine, after a thousand Things of this Nature, not fit here to be recited, he toldByam, He had rather die, than live upon the same Earth with such Dogs. ButTrefryandByampleaded and protested together so much, thatTrefrybelieving the Governor to mean what he said, and speaking very cordially himself, generously put himself intoCæsar’sHands, and took him aside, and persuaded him, even with Tears, to live, by surrendring himself, and to name his Conditions.Cæsarwas overcome by his Wit and Reasons, and in Consideration ofImoinda; and demanding what he desired, and that it should be ratify’d by their Hands inWriting, because he had perceived that was the common Way of Contract between Man and Man amongst the Whites; all this was performed, andTuscan’sPardon was put in, and they surrender’d to the Governor, who walked peaceably down into the Plantation with them, after giving Order to bury their Dead.Cæsarwas very much toil’d with the Bustle of the Day, for he had fought like a Fury; and what Mischief was done, he andTuscanperformed alone; and gave their Enemies a fatal Proof, that they durst do any Thing, and fear’d no mortal Force.But they were no sooner arrived at the Place where all the Slaves receive their Punishments of Whipping, but they laid Hands onCæsarandTuscan, faint with Heat and Toil; and surprizing them, bound them to two several Stakes, and whipped them in a most deplorable and inhuman Manner, rending the very Flesh from their Bones, especiallyCæsar, who was not perceived to make any Moan, or to alter his Face, only to roll his Eyes on the faithless Governor, and those he believed Guilty, with Fierceness and Indignation; and to complete his Rage, he saw every one of those Slaves who but a few Days before ador’d him as something more than Mortal, now had a Whip to give him some Lashes, while he strove not to break his Fetters; tho’ if he had, it were impossible: but he pronounced a Woe and Revenge from his Eyes, that darted Fire, which was at once both aweful and terrible to behold.When they thought they were sufficiently revenged on him, they unty’d him, almost fainting with Loss of Blood, from a thousand Wounds all over his Body; from which they had rent his Clothes, and led him bleeding and naked as he was, and loaded him all over with Irons; and then rubb’d his Wounds, to complete their Cruelty, withIndianPepper, which had like to have made him raving mad; and, in this Condition made him so fast to the Ground, that he could not stir, if his Pains and Wounds would have given him Leave. They sparedImoinda, and did not let her seethis Barbarity committed towards her Lord, but carried her down toParham, and shut her up; which was not in Kindness to her, but for Fear she should die with the Sight, or miscarry, and then they should lose a young Slave, and perhaps the Mother.You must know, that when the News was brought onMondayMorning, thatCæsarhad betaken himself to the Woods, and carry’d with him all theNegroes, we were possess’d with extreme Fear, which no Persuasions could dissipate, that he would secure himself till Night, and then would come down and cut all our Throats. This Apprehension made all the Females of us fly down the River, to be secured; and while we were away, they acted this Cruelty; for I suppose I had Authority and Interest enough there, had I suspected any such Thing, to have prevented it: but we had not gone many Leagues, but the News overtook us, thatCæsarwas taken and whipped liked a common Slave. We met on the River with ColonelMartin, a Man of great Gallantry, Wit, and Goodness, and whom I have celebrated in a Character ofmy new Comedy, by his own Name, in Memory of so brave a Man: He was wise and eloquent, and, from the Fineness of his Parts, bore a great Sway over the Hearts of all the Colony: He was a Friend toCæsar, and resented this false Dealing with him very much. We carried him back toParham, thinking to have made an Accommodation; when he came, the first News we heard, was, That the Governor was dead of a WoundImoindahad given him; but it was not so well. But it seems, he would have the Pleasure of beholding the Revenge he took onCæsar; and before the cruel Ceremony was finished, he dropt down; and then they perceived the Wound he had on his Shoulder was by a venom’d Arrow, which, as I said, hisIndianMistress healed by sucking the Wound.We were no sooner arrived, but we went up to the Plantation to seeCæsar; whom we found in a very miserableand unexpressible Condition; and I have a thousand Times admired how he lived in so much tormenting Pain. We said all Things to him, that Trouble, Pity and Good-Nature could suggest, protesting our Innocency of the Fact, and our Abhorrence of such Cruelties; making a thousand Professions and Services to him, and begging as many Pardons for the Offenders, till we said so much, that he believed we had no Hand in his ill Treatment; but told us, He could never pardonByam; as forTrefry, he confess’d he saw his Grief and Sorrow for his Suffering, which he could not hinder, but was like to have been beaten down by the very Slaves, for speaking in his Defence: But forByam, who was their Leader, their Head—and should, by his Justice and Honour, have been an Example to ’em—for him, he wished to live to take a dire Revenge of him; and said,It had been well for him, if he had sacrificed me, instead of giving me thecomtemptibleWhip.He refused to talk much; but begging us to give him our Hands, he took them, and protested never to lift up his to do us any Harm. He had a great Respect for ColonelMartin, and always took his Counsel like that of a Parent; and assured him, he would obey him in any Thing but his Revenge onByam: ‘Therefore (said he) for his own Safety, let himspeedlydispatch me; for if I could dispatch myself, I would not, till that Justice were done to my injured Person, and the Contempt of a Soldier: No, I would not kill myself, even after a Whipping, but will be content to live with that Infamy, and be pointed at by every grinning Slave, till I have completed my Revenge; and then you shall see, thatOroonokoscorns to live with the Indignity that was put onCæsar.’ All we could do, could get no more Words from him; and we took Care to have him put immediately into a healing Bath, to rid him of his Pepper, and ordered a Chirurgeon to anoint him with healing Balm, which he suffer’d, and in some Time he began to be able to walk and eat. We failed notto visit him every Day, and to that End had him brought to an Apartment atParham.The Governor had no sooner recover’d, and had heard of the Menaces ofCæsar, but he calledhis Council, who (not to disgrace them, or burlesque the Government there) consisted of such notorious Villains asNewgatenever transported; and, possibly, originally were such who understood neither the Laws of God or Man, and had no sort of Principles to make them worthy the Name of Men; but at the very Council-Table would contradict and fight with one another, and swear so bloodily, that ’twas terrible to hear and see ’em. (Some of ’em were afterwards hanged, when theDutchtook Possession of the Place, others sent off in Chains.) But calling these special Rulers of the Nation together, and requiring their Counsel in this weighty Affair, they all concluded, that (damn ’em) it might be their own Cases; and thatCæsarought to be made an Example to all theNegroes, to fright ’em from daring to threaten their Betters, their Lords and Masters; and at this Rate no Man was safe from his own Slaves; and concluded,nemine contradicente, ThatCæsarshould be hanged.Trefrythen thought it Time to use his Authority, and toldByam, his Command did not extend to his Lord’s Plantation; and thatParhamwas as much exempt from the Law asWhite-Hall; and that they ought no more to touch the Servants of the Lord—(who there represented the King’s Person) than they could those about the King himself; and thatParhamwas a Sanctuary; and tho’ his Lord were absent in Person, his Power was still in being there, which he had entrusted with him, as far as the Dominions of his particular Plantations reached, and all that belonged to it; the rest of the Country, asByamwas Lieutenant to his Lord, he might exercise his Tyranny upon.Trefryhad others as powerful, or more, that interested themselves inCæsar’sLife, and absolutely said, heshould be defended. So turning the Governor, and his wise Council, out of Doors, (for they sat atParham-House) we set a Guard upon our Lodging-Place, and would admit none but those we called Friends to us andCæsar.The Governor having remain’d wounded atParham, till his Recovery was completed,Cæsardid not know but he was still there, and indeed for the most Part, his Time was spent there: for he was one that loved to live at other Peoples Expence, and if he were a Day absent, he was ten present there; and us’d to play, and walk, and hunt, and fish withCæsar: So thatCæsardid not at all doubt, if he once recover’d Strength, but he should find an Opportunity of being revenged on him; though, after such a Revenge, he could not hope to live: for if he escaped the Fury of theEnglishMobile, who perhaps would have been glad of the Occasion to have killed him, he was resolved not to survive his Whipping; yet he had some tender Hours, a repenting Softness, which he called his Fits of Cowardice, wherein he struggled with Love for the Victory of his Heart, which took Part with his charmingImoindathere; but for the most Part, his Time was pass’d in melancholy Thoughts, and black Designs. He consider’d, if he should do this Deed, and die either in the Attempt, or after it, he left his lovelyImoindaa Prey, or at best a Slave to the enraged Multitude; his great Heart could not endure that Thought:Perhaps(said he)she may be first ravish’d by every Brute; expos’d first to their nasty Lusts, and then a shameful Death: No, he could not live a Moment under that Apprehension, too insupportable to be borne. These were his Thoughts, and his silent Arguments with his Heart, as he told us afterwards: So that now resolving not only to killByam, but all those he thought had enraged him; pleasing his great Heart with the fancy’d Slaughter he should make over the whole Face of the Plantation; he first resolved on a Deed, (that however horrid it first appear’d to us all) when we had heard his Reasons, wethought it brave and just. Being able to walk, and, as he believed, fit for the Execution of his great Design, he begg’dTrefryto trust him into the Air, believing a Walk would do him good; which was granted him; and takingImoindawith him, as he used to do in his more happy and calmer Days, he led her up into a Wood, where (after with a thousand Sighs, and long gazing silently on her Face, while Tears gush’d, in spite of him, from his Eyes) he told her his Design, first of killing her, and then his Enemies, and next himself, and the Impossibility of escaping, and therefore he told her the Necessity of dying. He found the heroick Wife faster pleading for Death, than he was to propose it, when she found his fix’d Resolution; and, on her Knees, besought him not to leave her a Prey to his Enemies. He (grieved to Death) yet pleased at her noble Resolution, took her up, and embracing of her with all the Passion and Languishment of a dying Lover, drew his Knife to kill this Treasure of his Soul, this Pleasure of his Eyes; while Tears trickled down his Cheeks, hers were smiling with Joy she should die by so noble a Hand, and be sent into her own Country (for that’s their Notion of the next World) by him she so tenderly loved, and so truly ador’d in this: For Wives have a Respect for their Husbands equal to what any other People pay a Deity; and when a Man finds any Occasion to quit his Wife, if he love her, she dies by his Hand; if not, he sells her, or suffers some other to kill her. It being thus, you may believe the Deed was soon resolv’d on; and ’tis not to be doubted, but the parting, the eternal Leave-taking of two such Lovers, so greatly born, so sensible, so beautiful, so young, and so fond, must be very moving, as the Relation of it was to me afterwards.All that Love could say in such Cases, being ended, and all the intermitting Irresolutions being adjusted, the lovely, young and ador’d Victim lays herself down before the Sacrificer; while he, with a Hand resolved, and aHeart-breaking within, gave the fatal Stroke, first cutting her Throat, and then severing her yet smiling Face from that delicate Body, pregnant as it was with the Fruits of tenderest Love. As soon as he had done, he laid the Body decently on Leaves and Flowers, of which he made a Bed, and conceal’d it under the same Cover-lid of Nature; only her Face he left yet bare to look on: But when he found she was dead, and past all Retrieve, never more to bless him with her Eyes, and soft Language, his Grief swell’d up to Rage; he tore, he rav’d, he roar’d like some Monster of the Wood, calling on the lov’d Name ofImoinda. A thousand Times he turned the fatal Knife that did the Deed towards his own Heart, with a Resolution to go immediately after her; but dire Revenge, which was now a thousand Times more fierce in his Soul than before, prevents him; and he would cry out, ‘No, since I have sacrific’dImoindato my Revenge, shall I lose that Glory which I have purchased so dear, as at the Price of the fairest, dearest, softest Creature that ever Nature made? No, no!’ Then at her Name Grief would get the Ascendant of Rage, and he would lie down by her Side, and water her Face with Showers of Tears, which never were wont to fall from those Eyes; and however bent he was on his intended Slaughter, he had not Power to stir from the Sight of this dear Object, now more beloved, and more ador’d than ever.He remained in this deplorable Condition for two Days, and never rose from the Ground where he had made her sad Sacrifice; at last rouzing from her Side, and accusing himself with living too long, nowImoindawas dead, and that the Deaths of those barbarous Enemies were deferred too long, he resolved now to finish the great Work: but offering to rise, he found his Strength so decay’d, that he reeled to and fro, like Boughs assailed by contrary Winds; so that he was forced to lie down again, and try to summon all his Courage to his Aid. He found his Brains turnedround, and his Eyes were dizzy, and Objects appear’d not the same to him they were wont to do; his Breath was short, and all his Limbs surpriz’d with a Faintness he had never felt before. He had not eat in two Days, which was one Occasion of his Feebleness, but Excess of Grief was the greatest; yet still he hoped he should recover Vigour to act his Design, and lay expecting it yet six Days longer; still mourning over the dead Idol of his Heart, and striving every Day to rise, but could not.In all this time you may believe we were in no little Affliction forCæsarand his Wife; some were of Opinion he was escaped, never to return; others thought some Accident had happened to him: But however, we fail’d not to send out a hundred People several Ways, to search for him. A Party of about forty went that Way he took, among whom wasTuscan, who was perfectly reconciled toByam: They had not gone very far into the Wood, but they smelt an unusual Smell, as of a dead Body; for Stinks must be very noisom, that can be distinguish’d among such a Quantity of natural Sweets, as every Inch of that Land produces: so that they concluded they should find him dead, or some body that was so; they pass’d on towards it, as loathsom as it was, and made such rustling among the Leaves that lie thick on the Ground, by continual falling, thatCæsarheard he was approach’d; and though he had, during the Space of these eight Days, endeavour’d to rise, but found he wanted Strength, yet looking up, and seeing his Pursuers, he rose, and reel’d to a neighbouring Tree, against which he fix’d his Back; and being within a dozen Yards of those that advanc’d and saw him, he call’d out to them, and bid them approach no nearer, if they would be safe. So that they stood still, and hardly believing their Eyes, that would persuade them that it wasCæsarthat spoke to them, so much he was alter’d; they ask’d him, what he had done with his Wife, for they smelt a Stink that almost struck them dead? He pointing to thedead Body, sighing, cry’d,Behold her there.They put off the Flowers that cover’d her, with their Sticks, and found she was kill’d, and cry’d out,Oh, Monster! that hast murder’d thy Wife.Then asking him, why he did so cruel a Deed? He reply’d, He had no Leisure to answer impertinent Questions: ‘You may go back (continued he) and tell the faithless Governor, he may thank Fortune that I am breathing my last; and that my Arm is too feeble to obey my Heart, in what it had design’d him’: But his Tongue faultering, and trembling, he could scarce end what he was saying. TheEnglishtaking Advantage by his Weakness, cry’d,Let us take him alive by all Means.He heard ’em; and, as if he had reviv’d from a Fainting, or a Dream, he cried out, ‘No, Gentlemen, you are deceived; you will find no moreCæsarsto be whipt; no more find a Faith in me; Feeble as you think me, I have Strength yet left to secure me from a second Indignity.’ They swore all anew; and he only shook his Head, and beheld them with Scorn. Then they cry’d out,Who will venture on this single Man? Will nobody?They stood all silent, whileCæsarreplied,Fatal will be the Attempt of the first Adventurer, let him assure himself, (and, at that Word, held up his Knife in a menacing Posture:)Look ye, ye faithless Crew, said he,’tis not Life I seek, nor am I afraid of dying, (and at that Word, cut a Piece of Flesh from his own Throat, and threw it at ’em)yet still I would live if I could, till I had perfected my Revenge: But, oh! it cannot be; I feel Life gliding from my Eyes and Heart; and if I make not haste, I shall fall a Victim to the shameful Whip.At that, he rip’d up his own Belly, and took his Bowels and pull’d ’em out, with what Strength he could; while some, on their Knees imploring, besought him to hold his Hand. But when they saw him tottering, they cry’d out,Will none venture on him?A boldEnglishmancry’d,Yes, if he were the Devil, (taking Courage when he saw him almost dead) and swearing a horrid Oath for his farewel to the World, herush’d on him.Cæsarwith his arm’d Hand, met him so fairly, as stuck him to the Heart, and he Fell dead at his feet.Tuscanseeing that, cry’d out,I love thee, OCæsar! and therefore will not let thee die, if possible; and running to him, took him in his Arms; but, at the same time, warding a Blow thatCæsarmade at his Bosom, he receiv’d it quite through his Arm; andCæsarhaving not Strength to pluck the Knife forth, tho’ he attempted it,Tuscanneither pull’d it out himself, nor suffer’d it to be pull’d out, but came down with it sticking in his Arm; and the Reason he gave for it, was, because the Air should not get into the Wound. They put their Hands a-cross, and carry’dCæsarbetween six of ’em, fainting as he was, and they thought dead, or just dying; and they brought him toParham, and laid him on a Couch, and had the Chirurgeon immediately to him, who dressed his Wounds, and sow’d up his Belly, and us’d Means to bring him to Life, which they effected. We ran all to see him; and, if before we thought him so beautiful a Sight, he was now so alter’d, that his Face was like a Death’s-Head black’d over, nothing but Teeth and Eye-holes: For some Days we suffer’d no Body to speak to him, but caused Cordials to be poured down his Throat; which sustained his Life, and in six or seven Days he recovered his Senses: For, you must know, that Wounds are almost to a Miracle cur’d in theIndies; unless Wounds in the Legs, which they rarely ever cure.When he was well enough to speak, we talk’d to him, and ask’d him some Questions about his Wife, and the Reasons why he kill’d her; and he then told us what I have related of that Resolution, and of his Parting, and he besought us we would let him die, and was extremely afflicted to think it was possible he might live: He assur’d us, if we did not dispatch him, he would prove very fatal to a great many. We said all we could to make him live, and gave him new Assurances; but he begg’d we wouldnot think so poorly of him, or of his Love toImoinda, to imagine we could flatter him to Life again: But the Chirurgeon assur’d him he could not live, and therefore he need not fear. We were all (butCæsar) afflicted at this News, and the Sight was ghastly: His Discourse was sad; and the earthy Smell about him so strong, that I was persuaded to leave the Place for some time, (being my self but sickly, and very apt to fall into Fits of dangerous Illness upon any extraordinary Melancholy.) The Servants, andTrefry, and the Chirurgeons, promis’d all to take what possible Care they could of the Life ofCæsar; and I, taking Boat, went with other Company to ColonelMartin’s, about three Days Journey down the River. But I was no sooner gone, than the Governor takingTrefry, about some pretended earnest Business, a Day’s Journey up the River, having communicated his Design tooneBanister, a wildIrishMan, one of the Council, a Fellow of absolute Barbarity, and fit to execute any Villany, but rich; he came up toParham, and forcibly tookCæsar, and had him carried to the same Post where he was whipp’d; and causing him to be ty’d to it, and a great Fire made before him, he told him he should die like a Dog, as he was.Cæsarreplied, This was the first piece of Bravery that everBanisterdid, and he never spoke Sense till he pronounc’d that Word; and if he would keep it, he would declare, in the other World, that he was the only Man, of all theWhites, that ever he heard speak Truth. And turning to the Men that had bound him, he said,My Friends, am I to die, or to be whipt?And they cry’d,Whipt! no, you shall not escape so well.And then he reply’d, smiling,A Blessing on thee; and assur’d them they need not tie him, for he would stand fix’d like a Rock, and endure Death so as should encourage them to die:But if you whip me(said he)be sure you tie me fast.He had learn’d to take Tobacco; and when he was assur’d he should die, he desir’d they would give him aPipe in his Mouth, ready lighted; which they did: And the Executioner came, and first cut off his Members, and threw them into the Fire; after that, with an ill-favour’d Knife, they cut off his Ears and his Nose, and burn’d them; he still smoak’d on, as if nothing had touch’d him; then they hack’d off one of his Arms, and still he bore up and held his Pipe; but at the cutting off the other Arm, his Head sunk, and his Pipe dropt, and he gave up the Ghost, without a Groan, or a Reproach. My Mother and Sister were by him all the While, but not suffer’d to save him; so rude and wild were the Rabble, and so inhuman were the Justices who stood by to see the Execution, who after paid dear enough for their Insolence. They cutCæsarinto Quarters, and sent them to several of the chief Plantations: One Quarter was sent to ColonelMartin; who refus’d it, and swore, he had rather see the Quarters ofBanister, and the Governor himself, than those ofCæsar, on his Plantations; and that he could govern hisNegroes, without terrifying and grieving them with frightful Spectacles of a mangled King.Thus died this great Man, worthy of a better Fate, and a more sublime Wit than mine to write his Praise: Yet, I hope, the Reputation of my Pen is considerable enough to make his glorious Name to survive to all Ages, with that of the brave, the beautiful and the constantImoinda.Notes: Critical and Explanatory:Oroonoko.p. 509Appendix. Oronooko: Epistle Dedicatory.Richard Maitland, fourth Earl of Lauderdale (1653-95), eldest son of Charles, third Earl of Lauderdale by Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Richard Lauder of Halton, was born 20 June, 1653. Before his father succeeded to the Lauderdale title he was styled of Over-Gogar; after that event he was known as Lord Maitland. 9 October, 1678, he was sworn a Privy Councillor, and appointed Joint General of the Mint with his father. In 1681 he was made Lord Justice General, but deprived of that office three years later on account of suspected communications with his father-in-law, Argyll, who had fled to Holland in 1681. Maitland, however, was in truth a strong Jacobite, and refusing to accept the Revolution settlement became an exile with his King. He is said to have been present at the battle of the Boyne, 1 July, 1690. He resided for some time at St. Germains, but fell into disfavour, perhaps owing to the well-known protestant sympathies of his wife, Lady Agnes Campbell (1658-1734), second daughter of the fanatical Archibald, Earl of Argyll. From St. Germains Maitland retired to Paris, where he died in 1695. He had succeeded to the Earldom of Lauderdale 9 June, 1691, but was outlawed by the Court of Justiciary, 23 July, 1694. He left no issue. Lauderdale was the author of a verse translation of Virgil (8vo, 1718 and 2 Vols., 12mo, 1737). Dryden, to whom he sent a MS. copy from Paris, states that whilst working on his own version he consulted this whenever a crux appeared in the Latin text. Lauderdale also wroteA Memorial on the Estate of Scotland(about 1690), printed in Hooke’sCorrespondence(Roxburghe Club), and there wrongly ascribed to the third Earl, his father.The Dedication only occurs in the first edition ofOronooko(1688), of which I can trace but one copy. This is in the library of Mr. F. F. Norcross of Chicago, whose brother-in-law, Mr. Harold B. Wrenn, most kindly transcribed and transmitted to me the Epistle Dedicatory. It, unfortunately, arrived too late for insertion at p. 129.p. 130I gave ’em to the King’s Theatre.Sir Robert Howard and Dryden’s heroic tragedy,The Indian Queen, was produced at the Theatre Royal in mid-January, 1663. It is a good play, but the extraordinary success it attained was in no small measure due to the excellence and magnificence of the scenic effects and mounting. 27 January, Pepys noticed that the streets adjacent to the theatre were ‘full of coaches at the new playThe Indian Queen, which for show, they say, exceedsHenry VIII.’ On 1 February he himself found it ‘indeed a most pleasant show’. The grandeur of themise en scènebecame long proverbial in theatrical history. Zempoalla, the Indian Queen, a fine rôle, was superbly acted by Mrs. Marshall, the leading tragedienne of the day. The feathered ornaments which Mrs. Behn mentions must have formed a quaint but doubtless striking addition to the actress’s pseudo-classic attire. Bernbaum pictures ‘Nell Gwynn5in the true costume of a Carib belle’, a quite unfair deduction from Mrs. Behn’s words.p. 168Osenbrigs.More usually ‘osnaburg’, so named from Osnabrück in North Germany, a kind of coarse linen made in this town. Narborough’s Journal, 1669 (An Account of Several Late Voyages, 1694), speaks of ‘Cloth, Osenbrigs, Tobacco’. cf.Pennsylvania Col. Records(1732): ‘That to each there be given a couple of Shirts, a Jackett, two pairs of trowsers of Oznabrigs.’p. 174as soon as the Governour arrived. The Governor was Francis Willoughby, fifth Baron Willoughby of Parham (1613?-1666). He had arrived at Barbadoes, 29 April, 1650, and was received as Governor 7 May, which same day he caused Charles II to be proclaimed. An ardent royalist, he was dispossessed by an Act of Parliament, 4 March, 1652, and summoned back to England. At the Restoration he was reinstated, and arrived the second time with full powers inBarbadoes, 10 August, 1663. About the end of July, 1666, he was lost at sea on board the good shipHope.p. 177my Father . . . never arriv’d to possess the Honour design’d him.Bernbaum, following the mistaken statement that Mrs. Behn’s father, John Amis, was a barber, argues that a man in such a position could hardly have obtained so important a post, and if her ‘father was not sent to Surinam, the only reason she gives for being there disappears.’ However, since we know her father to have been no barber, but of good family, this line of discussion falls to the ground.p. 180Brother to Harry Martin the great Oliverian.Henry, or Harry, and George Marten were the two sons of Sir Henry Marten (ob.1641) and his first wife, Elizabeth, who died 19 June, 1618. For the elder brother, Henry Marten, (1602-80), see note Vol. I, p. 457.Cross-reference: Note from Volume Ip. 193The Deputy Governor.William Byam was ‘Lieutenant General of Guiana and Governor of Willoughby Land’, 1661-7. Even previously to this he had gained no little influence and power in these colonies. He headed the forces that defended Surinam in 1667 against the Dutch Admiral Crynsens, who, however, proved victorious.p. 198my new Comedy. The Younger Brother; or, The Amorous Jilt, posthumously produced under the auspices of, and with some alterations by, Charles Gildon at Drury Lane in 1696. George Marteen, acted by Powell, is the young and gallant hero of the comedy.p. 200his Council. InThe Widow RanterMrs. Behn draws a vivid picture of these deboshed ruffians.p. 207one Banister. Sergeant Major James Banister being, after Byam’s departure in 1667, ‘the only remaining eminent person’ became Lieutenant-Governor. It was he who in 1668 made the final surrender of the colony. Later, having quarrelled with the Dutch he was imprisoned by them.5Nell Gwynne had no part in the play.Cross-ReferenceNote to p. 180: For the elder brother, Henry Marten, (1602-80), see note Vol. I, p. 457.Vol. I, p. 457 note (referring toThe Roundheads, v,II):p. 414Peters the first,Martin the Second. Hugh Peters has been noticed before. Henry Martin was an extreme republican, and at one time even a Leveller. He was a commissioner of the High Court of Justice and a regicide. At the Restoration he was imprisoned for life and died at Chepstow Castle,1681, aged seventy-eight. He was notorious for profligacy and shamelessness, and kept a very seraglio of mistresses.AGNES DE CASTRO.INTRODUCTION.The‘sweet sentimental tragedy’ of Agnes de Castro was founded by Mrs. Behn upon a work by Mlle S. B. de Brillac,Agnès de Castro, nouvelle portugaise(1688), and various subsequent editions. In the same year (1688) as Mrs. Behn’sAgnes de Castro; or, The Force of Generous Bloodwas published there appeared ‘Two New Novels, i.The Art of Making Love.1ii.The Fatal Beauty of Agnes de Castro: Taken out of the History of Portugal. Translated from the French by P. B. G.2For R. Bentley’ (12mo). Each has a separate title page. Bellon’s version does not differ materially from Mrs. Behn, but she far exceeds him in spirit and niceness of style.So much legend has surrounded the romantic history of the beautiful Ines de Castro that it is impossible fully to elucidate every detail of her life. Born in the early years of the fourteenth century, she was the daughter of Pedro Fernandez de Castro, major domo to Alphonso XI of Castille. She accompanied her relative, Dona Constança Manuel, daughter to the Duke of Peñafiel, to the court of Alphonso IV of Portugal when this lady was to wed the Infante Don Pedro. Here Ines excited the fondest love in Pedro’s heart and the passion was reciprocated. She bore him several children, and there can be no doubt that Dona Constança was madly jealous of her husband’s amour with her fair friend. 13 November, 1345, Constança died, and Pedro immediately married his mistress at Braganza in the presence of the Bishop of Guarda. Their nuptials were kept secret, and the old King kept pressing his son to take a wife. Before long his spies found out the reason of the Infante’s constant refusals; and, beside himself with rage, he watched an opportunity whilst Pedro, on a great hunting expedition, was absent from Coimbra where they resided, and had Ines cruelly assassinated 7 January, 1355. The grief of Pedro was terrible, he plunged the country into civil war, and it was only by the tenderest solicitations of his mother and the authority of several holy monks and bishops that he was restrained from taking a terrible revenge upon his father. Alphonso died, his power curtailed, his end unhappy, May, 1357.A very literature has grown up around the lovely Ines, and many more than a hundred items of interest could be enumerated. The best authority is J. de Araujo, whose monumentalBibliographia Inesianawas published in 1897. Mrs. Behn’s novel was immensely popular and is included, with someunnecessary moral observations as preface, in Mrs. Griffith’sA Collection of Novels(1777), Vol. III, which has a plate illustrating the tale. It was turned into French by Marie-Geneviève-Charlotte Tiroux d’ Arconville (1720-1805), wife of a councillor of the Parliament, anaimableblue-stocking who devoted her life wholly to literature, and translated freely from English. This work is to be found inRomans (les deux premiers . . . tirés des Lettres Persanes . . . par M. Littleton et le dernier . . . d’un Recueil de Romans . . . de Madame Behn) traduits de l’ Anglois, (Amsterdam, 1761.) It occurs again inMélanges de Litterature(12mo, 1775, etc.), Vol. VI.A tragedy,Agnes de Castro, written by that philosophical lady, Catherine Trotter (afterwards Cockburn), at the early age of sixteen, and produced at the Theatre Royal, 1696, with Powell, Verbruggen, Mrs. Rogers in the principal parts, is directly founded upon Mrs. Behn. It is a mediocre play, and the same can even more truly be said of Mallet’s coldElvira(1763). This was acted, however, with fair success thirteen times. Garrick played Don Pedro, his last original part, and Mrs. Cibber Elvira. Such dull exercises as C. Symmons,Inez, a tragedy(1796), andIgnez de Castro, a tragedy in verse, intended forHoad’s Magazinecall for no comment.There is a French play by Lamotte on the subject of Ines de Castro, which was first produced 6 April, 1723. Voltaire found the first four acts execrable and laughed consumedly. The fifth was so tender and true that he melted into tears. In Italian we have, from the pen of Bertoletti,Inez de Castro, tragedia, Milano, 1826.In Spanish and Portuguese there are, of course, innumerable poems, treaties, tragedies, studies, romances. Lope de Vega wroteDona Inez de Castro, and the beautiful episode of Camoens is deservedly famous. Antonio Ferreira’s splendid tragedy is well known. First published inComedias Famosas dos Doctores de Sa de Mirande(4to, 1622), it can also be read inPoemas lusitanos(2 Vols., 8vo, Lisbon, 1771). Domingo dos Reis Quita wrote a drama,Ignez de Castro, a translation of which, by Benjamin Thompson, was published in 1800. There is also a playDona Ignez de Castro, by Nicolas Luiz, which was Englished by John Adamson, whose version was printed at Newcastle, 1808.1Mr. Arundell Esdaile in hisBibliography of Fiction(printed before 1740) erroneously identifies this amusing little piece with Mrs. Behn’sThe Lover’s Watch. It is, however, quite another thing, dealing with a pseudo-Turkish language of love.2i.e., Peter Bellon, Gent. Bellon was an assiduous hackney writer and translator of the day. He has also left one comedy,The Mock Duellist; or, The French Valet(4to, 1675).THE HISTORY OFAGNES de CASTRO.Tho’Love, all soft and flattering, promises nothing but Pleasures; yet its Consequences are often sad and fatal. It is not enough to be in love, to be happy; since Fortune, who is capricious, and takes delight to trouble the Repose of the most elevated and virtuous, has very little respect for passionate and tender Hearts, when she designs to produce strange Adventures.Many Examples of past Ages render this Maxim certain; but the Reign ofDon Alphonsothe IVth, King ofPortugal, furnishes us with one, the most extraordinary that History can produce.He was the Son of thatDon Denis, who was so successful in all his Undertakings, that it was said of him, that he was capable of performing whatever he design’d, (and ofIsabella, a Princess of eminent Virtue) who when he came to inherit a flourishing and tranquil State, endeavour’d to establish Peace and Plenty in abundance in his Kingdom.And to advance this his Design, he agreed on a Marriage between his SonDon Pedro(then about eight Years of Age) andBianca, Daughter ofDon Pedro, King ofCastile; and whom the young Prince married when he arriv’d to his sixteenth Year.Biancabrought nothing toCoimbrabut Infirmities and very few Charms.Don Pedro, who was full of Sweetness and Generosity, lived nevertheless very well with her; but those Distempers of the Princess degenerating into the Palsy, she made it her request to retire, and at her Intercession the Pope broke the Marriage, and the melancholyPrincess conceal’d her Languishment in a solitary Retreat: AndDon Pedro, for whom they had provided another Match, marriedConstantia Manuel, Daughter ofDon John Manuel, a Prince of the Blood ofCastile, and famous for the Enmity he had to his King.Constantiawas promised to the King ofCastile; but the King not keeping his word, they made no Difficulty of bestowing her on a young Prince, who was one Day to reign over a number of fine Provinces. He was but five and twenty years of Age, and the Man of allSpainthat had the best Fashion and Grace: and with the most advantageous Qualities of the Body he possest those of the Soul, and shewed himself worthy in all things of the Crown that was destin’d for him.The PrincessConstantiahad Beauty, Wit, and Generosity, in as great a measure as ’twas possible for a Woman to be possest with; her Merit alone ought to have attach’dDon Pedro, eternally to her; and certainly he had for her an Esteem, mix’d with so great a Respect, as might very well pass for Love with those that were not of a nice and curious Observation: but alas! his real Care was reserved for another Beauty.Constantiabrought into the World, the first Year after her Marriage, a Son, who was calledDon Louis: but it scarce saw the Light, and dy’d almost as soon as born. The loss of this little Prince sensibly touched her, but the Coldness she observ’d in the Prince her Husband, went yet nearer her Heart; for she had given her self absolutely up to her Duty, and had made her Tenderness for him her only Concern: But puissant Glory, which ty’d her so entirely to the Interest of the Prince ofPortugal, open’d her Eyes upon his Actions, where she observ’d nothing in his Caresses and Civilities that was natural, or could satisfy her delicate Heart.At first she fancy’d her self deceiv’d, but time having confirmed her in what she fear’d, she sighed in secret;yet had that Consideration for the Prince, as not to let him see her Disorder: and which nevertheless she could not conceal fromAgnes de Castro, who lived with her, rather as a Companion, than a Maid of Honour, and whom her Friendship made her infinitely distinguish from the rest.This Maid, so dear to the Princess, very well merited the Preference her Mistress gave her; she was beautiful to excess, wise, discreet, witty, and had more Tenderness forConstantiathan she had for her self, having quitted her Family, which was illustrious, to give her self wholly to the Service of the Princess, and to follow her intoPortugal. It was into the Bosom of this Maid, that the Princess unladed her first Moans; and the charmingAgnesforgot nothing that might give ease to her afflicted Heart.Nor wasConstantiathe only Person who complained ofDon Pedro: Before his Divorce fromBianca, he had expressed some Care and Tenderness forElvira Gonzales, Sister to DonAlvaro Gonzales, Favourite to the King ofPortugal; and this Amusement in the young Years of the Prince, had made a deep Impression onElvira, who flatter’d her Ambition with the Infirmities ofBianca. She saw, with a secret Rage,Constantiatake her place, who was possest with such Charms, that quite divested her of all Hopes.Her Jealousy left her not idle, she examined all the Actions of the Prince, and easily discover’d the little Regard he had for the Princess; but this brought him not back to her. And it was upon very good grounds that she suspected him to be in love with some other Person, and possessed with a new Passion; and which she promised herself, she would destroy as soon as she could find it out. She had a Spirit altogether proper for bold and hazardous Enterprizes; and the Credit of her Brother gave her so much Vanity, as all the Indifference of the Prince was not capable of humbling.The Prince languished, and concealed the Cause with so much Care, that ’twas impossible for any to find it out.No publick Pleasures were agreeable to him, and all Conversations were tedious; and it was Solitude alone that was able to give him any ease.This Change surprized all the World. The King, who loved his Son very tenderly, earnestly pressed him to know the Reason of his Melancholy; but the Prince made no answer, but only this, That it was the effect of his Temper.But Time ran on, and the Princess was brought to bed of a second Son, who liv’d, and was calledFernando.Don Pedroforc’d himself a little to take part in the publick Joy, so that they believ’d his Humour was changing; but this Appearance of a Calm endur’d not long, and he fell back again into his black Melancholy.The artfulElvirawas incessantly agitated in searching out the Knowledge of this Secret. Chance wrought for her; and, as she was walking, full of Indignation and Anger, in the Garden of the Palace ofCoimbra, she found the Prince ofPortugalsleeping in an obscure Grotto.Her Fury could not contain it self at the sight of this loved Object, she roll’d her Eyes upon him, and perceived in spite of Sleep, that some Tears escaped his Eyes; the Flame which burnt yet in her Heart, soon grew soft and tender there: But oh! she heard him sigh, and after that utter these words,Yes, DivineAgnes, I will sooner die than let you know it:Constantiashall have nothing to reproach me with.Elvirawas enraged at this Discourse, which represented to her immediately, the same moment,Agnes de Castrowith all her Charms; and not at all doubting, but it was she who possest the Heart ofDon Pedro, she found in her Soul more Hatred for this fair Rival, than Tenderness for him.The Grotto was not a fit Place to make Reflections in, or to form Designs. Perhaps her first Transports would have made her waken him, ifshehad not perceived a Paper lying under his Hand, which she softly seiz’d on; and that she might not be surprized in the reading it, she went out of the Garden with as much haste as confusion.When she was retired to her Apartment, she open’d the Paper, trembling, and found in it these Verses, writ by the Hand ofDon Pedro; and which, in appearance, he had newly then compos’d.

But as they could not march far that Night, onMondayearly, when the Overseers went to call ’em all together, to go to work, they were extremely surprized, to find not one upon the Place, but all fled with what Baggage they had. You may imagine this News was not only suddenly spread all over the Plantation, but soon reached the neighbouring ones; and we had by Noon about 600 Men, they call the Militia of the Country, that came to assist us in the Pursuit of the Fugitives: But never did one see so comical an Army march forth to War. The Men of any Fashion would not concern themselves, tho’ it were almost the Common Cause; for such Revoltings are very ill Examples, and have very fatal Consequences oftentimes, in many Colonies: But they had a Respect forCæsar, and all Hands were against theParhamites(as they called those ofParham-Plantation) because they did not in the first Place love the Lord-Governor; and secondly, they would have it thatCæsarwas ill used, and baffled with: and ’tis not impossible but some of the best in the Country was of his Council in this Flight, and depriving us of all the Slaves; so that they of the better sort would not meddle in the Matter.The Deputy-Governor, of whom I have had no great Occasion to speak, and who was the most fawning fair-tongu’d Fellow in the World, and one that pretended the most Friendship toCæsar, was now the only violent Man against him; and though he had nothing,and so need fear nothing, yet talked and looked bigger than any Man. He was a Fellow, whose Character is not fit to be mentioned with the worst of the Slaves: This Fellow would lead his Army forth to meetCæsar, or rather to pursue him. Most of their Arms were of those Sort of cruel Whips they callCat with nine Tails; some had rusty useless Guns for Shew; others old Basket Hilts, whose Blades had never seen the Light in this Age; and others had long Staffs and Clubs. Mr.Trefrywent along, rather to be a Mediator than a Conqueror in such a Battle; for he foresaw and knew, if by fighting they put theNegroesinto Despair, they were a sort of sullen Fellows, that would drown or kill themselves before they would yield; and he advis’d that fair Means was best: ButByamwas one that abounded in his own Wit, and would take his own Measures.

It was not hard to find these Fugitives; for as they fled, they were forced to fire and cut the Woods before ’em: So that Night or Day they pursu’d ’em by the Light they made, and by the Path they had cleared. But as soon asCæsarfound that he was pursu’d, he put himself in a Posture of Defence, placing all the Woman and Children in the Rear; and himself, withTuscanby his Side, or next to him, all promising to die or conquer. Encouraged thus, they never stood to parley, but fell on pell-mell upon theEnglish, and killed some, and wounded a great many; they having Recourse to their Whips, as the best of their Weapons. And as they observed no Order, they perplexed the Enemy so sorely, with lashing ’em in the Eyes; and the Women and Children seeing their Husbands so treated, being of fearful and cowardly Dispositions, and hearing theEnglishcry out,Yield and Live! Yield, and be Pardon’d!they all ran in amongst their Husbands and Fathers, and hung about them, crying out,Yield! Yield, and leaveCæsarto their Revenge; that by Degrees the Slaves abandon’dCæsar, and left him onlyTuscanand his HeroickImoinda, who grown as big as she was, did nevertheless press near her Lord, having a Bow and a Quiver full of poisoned Arrows, which she managed with such Dexterity, that she wounded several, and shot the Governor into the Shoulder; of which Wound he had like to have died, but that anIndianWoman, his Mistress, sucked the Wound, and cleans’d it from the Venom: But however, he stir’d not from the Place till he had parly’d withCæsar, who he found was resolved to die fighting, and would not be taken; no more wouldTuscanorImoinda. But he, more thirsting after Revenge of another Sort, than that of depriving him of Life, now made use of all his Art of Talking and Dissembling, and besoughtCæsarto yield himself upon Terms which he himself should propose, and should be sacredly assented to, and kept by him. He told him, It was not that he any longer fear’d him, or could believe the Force of two Men, and a young Heroine, could overthrow all them, and with all the Slaves now on their Side also; but it was the vast Esteem he had for his Person, the Desire he had to serve so gallant a Man, and to hinder himself from the Reproach hereafter, of having been the Occasion of the Death of a Prince, whose Valour and Magnanimity deserved the Empire of the World. He protested to him, he looked upon his Action as gallant and brave, however tending to the Prejudice of his Lord and Master, who would by it have lost so considerable a Number of Slaves; that this Flight of his should be look’d on as a Heat of Youth, and a Rashness of a too forward Courage, and an unconsider’d Impatience of Liberty, and no more; and that he labour’d in vain to accomplish that which they would effectually perform as soon as any Ship arrived that would touch on his Coast: ‘So that if you will be pleased (continued he) to surrender yourself, all imaginable Respect shall be paid you; and your Self, your Wife and Child, if it be born here, shall depart free out of our Land.’ ButCæsarwouldhear of no Composition; thoughByamurged, if he pursued and went on in his Design, he would inevitably perish, either by great Snakes, wild Beasts or Hunger; and he ought to have Regard to his Wife, whose Condition requir’d Ease, and not the Fatigues of tedious Travel, where she could not be secured from being devoured. ButCæsartold him, there was no Faith in the White men, or the Gods they ador’d; who instructed them in Principles so false, that honest Men could not live amongst them; though no People profess’d so much, none perform’d so little: That he knew what he had to do when he dealt with Men of Honour; but with them a Man ought to be eternally on his Guard, and never to eat and drink with Christians, without his Weapon of Defence in his Hand; and, for his own Security, never to credit one Word they spoke. As for the Rashness and Inconsiderateness of his Action, he would confess the Governor is in the right; and that he was ashamed of what he had done in endeavouring to make those free, who were by Nature Slaves, poor wretched Rogues, fit to be used as Christian Tools; Dogs, treacherous and cowardly, fit for such Masters; and they wanted only but to be whipped into the Knowledge of the Christian Gods, to be the vilest of all creeping Things; to learn to worship such Deities as had not Power to make them just, brave, or honest: In fine, after a thousand Things of this Nature, not fit here to be recited, he toldByam, He had rather die, than live upon the same Earth with such Dogs. ButTrefryandByampleaded and protested together so much, thatTrefrybelieving the Governor to mean what he said, and speaking very cordially himself, generously put himself intoCæsar’sHands, and took him aside, and persuaded him, even with Tears, to live, by surrendring himself, and to name his Conditions.Cæsarwas overcome by his Wit and Reasons, and in Consideration ofImoinda; and demanding what he desired, and that it should be ratify’d by their Hands inWriting, because he had perceived that was the common Way of Contract between Man and Man amongst the Whites; all this was performed, andTuscan’sPardon was put in, and they surrender’d to the Governor, who walked peaceably down into the Plantation with them, after giving Order to bury their Dead.Cæsarwas very much toil’d with the Bustle of the Day, for he had fought like a Fury; and what Mischief was done, he andTuscanperformed alone; and gave their Enemies a fatal Proof, that they durst do any Thing, and fear’d no mortal Force.

But they were no sooner arrived at the Place where all the Slaves receive their Punishments of Whipping, but they laid Hands onCæsarandTuscan, faint with Heat and Toil; and surprizing them, bound them to two several Stakes, and whipped them in a most deplorable and inhuman Manner, rending the very Flesh from their Bones, especiallyCæsar, who was not perceived to make any Moan, or to alter his Face, only to roll his Eyes on the faithless Governor, and those he believed Guilty, with Fierceness and Indignation; and to complete his Rage, he saw every one of those Slaves who but a few Days before ador’d him as something more than Mortal, now had a Whip to give him some Lashes, while he strove not to break his Fetters; tho’ if he had, it were impossible: but he pronounced a Woe and Revenge from his Eyes, that darted Fire, which was at once both aweful and terrible to behold.

When they thought they were sufficiently revenged on him, they unty’d him, almost fainting with Loss of Blood, from a thousand Wounds all over his Body; from which they had rent his Clothes, and led him bleeding and naked as he was, and loaded him all over with Irons; and then rubb’d his Wounds, to complete their Cruelty, withIndianPepper, which had like to have made him raving mad; and, in this Condition made him so fast to the Ground, that he could not stir, if his Pains and Wounds would have given him Leave. They sparedImoinda, and did not let her seethis Barbarity committed towards her Lord, but carried her down toParham, and shut her up; which was not in Kindness to her, but for Fear she should die with the Sight, or miscarry, and then they should lose a young Slave, and perhaps the Mother.

You must know, that when the News was brought onMondayMorning, thatCæsarhad betaken himself to the Woods, and carry’d with him all theNegroes, we were possess’d with extreme Fear, which no Persuasions could dissipate, that he would secure himself till Night, and then would come down and cut all our Throats. This Apprehension made all the Females of us fly down the River, to be secured; and while we were away, they acted this Cruelty; for I suppose I had Authority and Interest enough there, had I suspected any such Thing, to have prevented it: but we had not gone many Leagues, but the News overtook us, thatCæsarwas taken and whipped liked a common Slave. We met on the River with ColonelMartin, a Man of great Gallantry, Wit, and Goodness, and whom I have celebrated in a Character ofmy new Comedy, by his own Name, in Memory of so brave a Man: He was wise and eloquent, and, from the Fineness of his Parts, bore a great Sway over the Hearts of all the Colony: He was a Friend toCæsar, and resented this false Dealing with him very much. We carried him back toParham, thinking to have made an Accommodation; when he came, the first News we heard, was, That the Governor was dead of a WoundImoindahad given him; but it was not so well. But it seems, he would have the Pleasure of beholding the Revenge he took onCæsar; and before the cruel Ceremony was finished, he dropt down; and then they perceived the Wound he had on his Shoulder was by a venom’d Arrow, which, as I said, hisIndianMistress healed by sucking the Wound.

We were no sooner arrived, but we went up to the Plantation to seeCæsar; whom we found in a very miserableand unexpressible Condition; and I have a thousand Times admired how he lived in so much tormenting Pain. We said all Things to him, that Trouble, Pity and Good-Nature could suggest, protesting our Innocency of the Fact, and our Abhorrence of such Cruelties; making a thousand Professions and Services to him, and begging as many Pardons for the Offenders, till we said so much, that he believed we had no Hand in his ill Treatment; but told us, He could never pardonByam; as forTrefry, he confess’d he saw his Grief and Sorrow for his Suffering, which he could not hinder, but was like to have been beaten down by the very Slaves, for speaking in his Defence: But forByam, who was their Leader, their Head—and should, by his Justice and Honour, have been an Example to ’em—for him, he wished to live to take a dire Revenge of him; and said,It had been well for him, if he had sacrificed me, instead of giving me thecomtemptibleWhip.He refused to talk much; but begging us to give him our Hands, he took them, and protested never to lift up his to do us any Harm. He had a great Respect for ColonelMartin, and always took his Counsel like that of a Parent; and assured him, he would obey him in any Thing but his Revenge onByam: ‘Therefore (said he) for his own Safety, let himspeedlydispatch me; for if I could dispatch myself, I would not, till that Justice were done to my injured Person, and the Contempt of a Soldier: No, I would not kill myself, even after a Whipping, but will be content to live with that Infamy, and be pointed at by every grinning Slave, till I have completed my Revenge; and then you shall see, thatOroonokoscorns to live with the Indignity that was put onCæsar.’ All we could do, could get no more Words from him; and we took Care to have him put immediately into a healing Bath, to rid him of his Pepper, and ordered a Chirurgeon to anoint him with healing Balm, which he suffer’d, and in some Time he began to be able to walk and eat. We failed notto visit him every Day, and to that End had him brought to an Apartment atParham.

The Governor had no sooner recover’d, and had heard of the Menaces ofCæsar, but he calledhis Council, who (not to disgrace them, or burlesque the Government there) consisted of such notorious Villains asNewgatenever transported; and, possibly, originally were such who understood neither the Laws of God or Man, and had no sort of Principles to make them worthy the Name of Men; but at the very Council-Table would contradict and fight with one another, and swear so bloodily, that ’twas terrible to hear and see ’em. (Some of ’em were afterwards hanged, when theDutchtook Possession of the Place, others sent off in Chains.) But calling these special Rulers of the Nation together, and requiring their Counsel in this weighty Affair, they all concluded, that (damn ’em) it might be their own Cases; and thatCæsarought to be made an Example to all theNegroes, to fright ’em from daring to threaten their Betters, their Lords and Masters; and at this Rate no Man was safe from his own Slaves; and concluded,nemine contradicente, ThatCæsarshould be hanged.

Trefrythen thought it Time to use his Authority, and toldByam, his Command did not extend to his Lord’s Plantation; and thatParhamwas as much exempt from the Law asWhite-Hall; and that they ought no more to touch the Servants of the Lord—(who there represented the King’s Person) than they could those about the King himself; and thatParhamwas a Sanctuary; and tho’ his Lord were absent in Person, his Power was still in being there, which he had entrusted with him, as far as the Dominions of his particular Plantations reached, and all that belonged to it; the rest of the Country, asByamwas Lieutenant to his Lord, he might exercise his Tyranny upon.Trefryhad others as powerful, or more, that interested themselves inCæsar’sLife, and absolutely said, heshould be defended. So turning the Governor, and his wise Council, out of Doors, (for they sat atParham-House) we set a Guard upon our Lodging-Place, and would admit none but those we called Friends to us andCæsar.

The Governor having remain’d wounded atParham, till his Recovery was completed,Cæsardid not know but he was still there, and indeed for the most Part, his Time was spent there: for he was one that loved to live at other Peoples Expence, and if he were a Day absent, he was ten present there; and us’d to play, and walk, and hunt, and fish withCæsar: So thatCæsardid not at all doubt, if he once recover’d Strength, but he should find an Opportunity of being revenged on him; though, after such a Revenge, he could not hope to live: for if he escaped the Fury of theEnglishMobile, who perhaps would have been glad of the Occasion to have killed him, he was resolved not to survive his Whipping; yet he had some tender Hours, a repenting Softness, which he called his Fits of Cowardice, wherein he struggled with Love for the Victory of his Heart, which took Part with his charmingImoindathere; but for the most Part, his Time was pass’d in melancholy Thoughts, and black Designs. He consider’d, if he should do this Deed, and die either in the Attempt, or after it, he left his lovelyImoindaa Prey, or at best a Slave to the enraged Multitude; his great Heart could not endure that Thought:Perhaps(said he)she may be first ravish’d by every Brute; expos’d first to their nasty Lusts, and then a shameful Death: No, he could not live a Moment under that Apprehension, too insupportable to be borne. These were his Thoughts, and his silent Arguments with his Heart, as he told us afterwards: So that now resolving not only to killByam, but all those he thought had enraged him; pleasing his great Heart with the fancy’d Slaughter he should make over the whole Face of the Plantation; he first resolved on a Deed, (that however horrid it first appear’d to us all) when we had heard his Reasons, wethought it brave and just. Being able to walk, and, as he believed, fit for the Execution of his great Design, he begg’dTrefryto trust him into the Air, believing a Walk would do him good; which was granted him; and takingImoindawith him, as he used to do in his more happy and calmer Days, he led her up into a Wood, where (after with a thousand Sighs, and long gazing silently on her Face, while Tears gush’d, in spite of him, from his Eyes) he told her his Design, first of killing her, and then his Enemies, and next himself, and the Impossibility of escaping, and therefore he told her the Necessity of dying. He found the heroick Wife faster pleading for Death, than he was to propose it, when she found his fix’d Resolution; and, on her Knees, besought him not to leave her a Prey to his Enemies. He (grieved to Death) yet pleased at her noble Resolution, took her up, and embracing of her with all the Passion and Languishment of a dying Lover, drew his Knife to kill this Treasure of his Soul, this Pleasure of his Eyes; while Tears trickled down his Cheeks, hers were smiling with Joy she should die by so noble a Hand, and be sent into her own Country (for that’s their Notion of the next World) by him she so tenderly loved, and so truly ador’d in this: For Wives have a Respect for their Husbands equal to what any other People pay a Deity; and when a Man finds any Occasion to quit his Wife, if he love her, she dies by his Hand; if not, he sells her, or suffers some other to kill her. It being thus, you may believe the Deed was soon resolv’d on; and ’tis not to be doubted, but the parting, the eternal Leave-taking of two such Lovers, so greatly born, so sensible, so beautiful, so young, and so fond, must be very moving, as the Relation of it was to me afterwards.

All that Love could say in such Cases, being ended, and all the intermitting Irresolutions being adjusted, the lovely, young and ador’d Victim lays herself down before the Sacrificer; while he, with a Hand resolved, and aHeart-breaking within, gave the fatal Stroke, first cutting her Throat, and then severing her yet smiling Face from that delicate Body, pregnant as it was with the Fruits of tenderest Love. As soon as he had done, he laid the Body decently on Leaves and Flowers, of which he made a Bed, and conceal’d it under the same Cover-lid of Nature; only her Face he left yet bare to look on: But when he found she was dead, and past all Retrieve, never more to bless him with her Eyes, and soft Language, his Grief swell’d up to Rage; he tore, he rav’d, he roar’d like some Monster of the Wood, calling on the lov’d Name ofImoinda. A thousand Times he turned the fatal Knife that did the Deed towards his own Heart, with a Resolution to go immediately after her; but dire Revenge, which was now a thousand Times more fierce in his Soul than before, prevents him; and he would cry out, ‘No, since I have sacrific’dImoindato my Revenge, shall I lose that Glory which I have purchased so dear, as at the Price of the fairest, dearest, softest Creature that ever Nature made? No, no!’ Then at her Name Grief would get the Ascendant of Rage, and he would lie down by her Side, and water her Face with Showers of Tears, which never were wont to fall from those Eyes; and however bent he was on his intended Slaughter, he had not Power to stir from the Sight of this dear Object, now more beloved, and more ador’d than ever.

He remained in this deplorable Condition for two Days, and never rose from the Ground where he had made her sad Sacrifice; at last rouzing from her Side, and accusing himself with living too long, nowImoindawas dead, and that the Deaths of those barbarous Enemies were deferred too long, he resolved now to finish the great Work: but offering to rise, he found his Strength so decay’d, that he reeled to and fro, like Boughs assailed by contrary Winds; so that he was forced to lie down again, and try to summon all his Courage to his Aid. He found his Brains turnedround, and his Eyes were dizzy, and Objects appear’d not the same to him they were wont to do; his Breath was short, and all his Limbs surpriz’d with a Faintness he had never felt before. He had not eat in two Days, which was one Occasion of his Feebleness, but Excess of Grief was the greatest; yet still he hoped he should recover Vigour to act his Design, and lay expecting it yet six Days longer; still mourning over the dead Idol of his Heart, and striving every Day to rise, but could not.

In all this time you may believe we were in no little Affliction forCæsarand his Wife; some were of Opinion he was escaped, never to return; others thought some Accident had happened to him: But however, we fail’d not to send out a hundred People several Ways, to search for him. A Party of about forty went that Way he took, among whom wasTuscan, who was perfectly reconciled toByam: They had not gone very far into the Wood, but they smelt an unusual Smell, as of a dead Body; for Stinks must be very noisom, that can be distinguish’d among such a Quantity of natural Sweets, as every Inch of that Land produces: so that they concluded they should find him dead, or some body that was so; they pass’d on towards it, as loathsom as it was, and made such rustling among the Leaves that lie thick on the Ground, by continual falling, thatCæsarheard he was approach’d; and though he had, during the Space of these eight Days, endeavour’d to rise, but found he wanted Strength, yet looking up, and seeing his Pursuers, he rose, and reel’d to a neighbouring Tree, against which he fix’d his Back; and being within a dozen Yards of those that advanc’d and saw him, he call’d out to them, and bid them approach no nearer, if they would be safe. So that they stood still, and hardly believing their Eyes, that would persuade them that it wasCæsarthat spoke to them, so much he was alter’d; they ask’d him, what he had done with his Wife, for they smelt a Stink that almost struck them dead? He pointing to thedead Body, sighing, cry’d,Behold her there.They put off the Flowers that cover’d her, with their Sticks, and found she was kill’d, and cry’d out,Oh, Monster! that hast murder’d thy Wife.Then asking him, why he did so cruel a Deed? He reply’d, He had no Leisure to answer impertinent Questions: ‘You may go back (continued he) and tell the faithless Governor, he may thank Fortune that I am breathing my last; and that my Arm is too feeble to obey my Heart, in what it had design’d him’: But his Tongue faultering, and trembling, he could scarce end what he was saying. TheEnglishtaking Advantage by his Weakness, cry’d,Let us take him alive by all Means.He heard ’em; and, as if he had reviv’d from a Fainting, or a Dream, he cried out, ‘No, Gentlemen, you are deceived; you will find no moreCæsarsto be whipt; no more find a Faith in me; Feeble as you think me, I have Strength yet left to secure me from a second Indignity.’ They swore all anew; and he only shook his Head, and beheld them with Scorn. Then they cry’d out,Who will venture on this single Man? Will nobody?They stood all silent, whileCæsarreplied,Fatal will be the Attempt of the first Adventurer, let him assure himself, (and, at that Word, held up his Knife in a menacing Posture:)Look ye, ye faithless Crew, said he,’tis not Life I seek, nor am I afraid of dying, (and at that Word, cut a Piece of Flesh from his own Throat, and threw it at ’em)yet still I would live if I could, till I had perfected my Revenge: But, oh! it cannot be; I feel Life gliding from my Eyes and Heart; and if I make not haste, I shall fall a Victim to the shameful Whip.At that, he rip’d up his own Belly, and took his Bowels and pull’d ’em out, with what Strength he could; while some, on their Knees imploring, besought him to hold his Hand. But when they saw him tottering, they cry’d out,Will none venture on him?A boldEnglishmancry’d,Yes, if he were the Devil, (taking Courage when he saw him almost dead) and swearing a horrid Oath for his farewel to the World, herush’d on him.Cæsarwith his arm’d Hand, met him so fairly, as stuck him to the Heart, and he Fell dead at his feet.Tuscanseeing that, cry’d out,I love thee, OCæsar! and therefore will not let thee die, if possible; and running to him, took him in his Arms; but, at the same time, warding a Blow thatCæsarmade at his Bosom, he receiv’d it quite through his Arm; andCæsarhaving not Strength to pluck the Knife forth, tho’ he attempted it,Tuscanneither pull’d it out himself, nor suffer’d it to be pull’d out, but came down with it sticking in his Arm; and the Reason he gave for it, was, because the Air should not get into the Wound. They put their Hands a-cross, and carry’dCæsarbetween six of ’em, fainting as he was, and they thought dead, or just dying; and they brought him toParham, and laid him on a Couch, and had the Chirurgeon immediately to him, who dressed his Wounds, and sow’d up his Belly, and us’d Means to bring him to Life, which they effected. We ran all to see him; and, if before we thought him so beautiful a Sight, he was now so alter’d, that his Face was like a Death’s-Head black’d over, nothing but Teeth and Eye-holes: For some Days we suffer’d no Body to speak to him, but caused Cordials to be poured down his Throat; which sustained his Life, and in six or seven Days he recovered his Senses: For, you must know, that Wounds are almost to a Miracle cur’d in theIndies; unless Wounds in the Legs, which they rarely ever cure.

When he was well enough to speak, we talk’d to him, and ask’d him some Questions about his Wife, and the Reasons why he kill’d her; and he then told us what I have related of that Resolution, and of his Parting, and he besought us we would let him die, and was extremely afflicted to think it was possible he might live: He assur’d us, if we did not dispatch him, he would prove very fatal to a great many. We said all we could to make him live, and gave him new Assurances; but he begg’d we wouldnot think so poorly of him, or of his Love toImoinda, to imagine we could flatter him to Life again: But the Chirurgeon assur’d him he could not live, and therefore he need not fear. We were all (butCæsar) afflicted at this News, and the Sight was ghastly: His Discourse was sad; and the earthy Smell about him so strong, that I was persuaded to leave the Place for some time, (being my self but sickly, and very apt to fall into Fits of dangerous Illness upon any extraordinary Melancholy.) The Servants, andTrefry, and the Chirurgeons, promis’d all to take what possible Care they could of the Life ofCæsar; and I, taking Boat, went with other Company to ColonelMartin’s, about three Days Journey down the River. But I was no sooner gone, than the Governor takingTrefry, about some pretended earnest Business, a Day’s Journey up the River, having communicated his Design tooneBanister, a wildIrishMan, one of the Council, a Fellow of absolute Barbarity, and fit to execute any Villany, but rich; he came up toParham, and forcibly tookCæsar, and had him carried to the same Post where he was whipp’d; and causing him to be ty’d to it, and a great Fire made before him, he told him he should die like a Dog, as he was.Cæsarreplied, This was the first piece of Bravery that everBanisterdid, and he never spoke Sense till he pronounc’d that Word; and if he would keep it, he would declare, in the other World, that he was the only Man, of all theWhites, that ever he heard speak Truth. And turning to the Men that had bound him, he said,My Friends, am I to die, or to be whipt?And they cry’d,Whipt! no, you shall not escape so well.And then he reply’d, smiling,A Blessing on thee; and assur’d them they need not tie him, for he would stand fix’d like a Rock, and endure Death so as should encourage them to die:But if you whip me(said he)be sure you tie me fast.

He had learn’d to take Tobacco; and when he was assur’d he should die, he desir’d they would give him aPipe in his Mouth, ready lighted; which they did: And the Executioner came, and first cut off his Members, and threw them into the Fire; after that, with an ill-favour’d Knife, they cut off his Ears and his Nose, and burn’d them; he still smoak’d on, as if nothing had touch’d him; then they hack’d off one of his Arms, and still he bore up and held his Pipe; but at the cutting off the other Arm, his Head sunk, and his Pipe dropt, and he gave up the Ghost, without a Groan, or a Reproach. My Mother and Sister were by him all the While, but not suffer’d to save him; so rude and wild were the Rabble, and so inhuman were the Justices who stood by to see the Execution, who after paid dear enough for their Insolence. They cutCæsarinto Quarters, and sent them to several of the chief Plantations: One Quarter was sent to ColonelMartin; who refus’d it, and swore, he had rather see the Quarters ofBanister, and the Governor himself, than those ofCæsar, on his Plantations; and that he could govern hisNegroes, without terrifying and grieving them with frightful Spectacles of a mangled King.

Thus died this great Man, worthy of a better Fate, and a more sublime Wit than mine to write his Praise: Yet, I hope, the Reputation of my Pen is considerable enough to make his glorious Name to survive to all Ages, with that of the brave, the beautiful and the constantImoinda.

Notes: Critical and Explanatory:Oroonoko.p. 509Appendix. Oronooko: Epistle Dedicatory.Richard Maitland, fourth Earl of Lauderdale (1653-95), eldest son of Charles, third Earl of Lauderdale by Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Richard Lauder of Halton, was born 20 June, 1653. Before his father succeeded to the Lauderdale title he was styled of Over-Gogar; after that event he was known as Lord Maitland. 9 October, 1678, he was sworn a Privy Councillor, and appointed Joint General of the Mint with his father. In 1681 he was made Lord Justice General, but deprived of that office three years later on account of suspected communications with his father-in-law, Argyll, who had fled to Holland in 1681. Maitland, however, was in truth a strong Jacobite, and refusing to accept the Revolution settlement became an exile with his King. He is said to have been present at the battle of the Boyne, 1 July, 1690. He resided for some time at St. Germains, but fell into disfavour, perhaps owing to the well-known protestant sympathies of his wife, Lady Agnes Campbell (1658-1734), second daughter of the fanatical Archibald, Earl of Argyll. From St. Germains Maitland retired to Paris, where he died in 1695. He had succeeded to the Earldom of Lauderdale 9 June, 1691, but was outlawed by the Court of Justiciary, 23 July, 1694. He left no issue. Lauderdale was the author of a verse translation of Virgil (8vo, 1718 and 2 Vols., 12mo, 1737). Dryden, to whom he sent a MS. copy from Paris, states that whilst working on his own version he consulted this whenever a crux appeared in the Latin text. Lauderdale also wroteA Memorial on the Estate of Scotland(about 1690), printed in Hooke’sCorrespondence(Roxburghe Club), and there wrongly ascribed to the third Earl, his father.The Dedication only occurs in the first edition ofOronooko(1688), of which I can trace but one copy. This is in the library of Mr. F. F. Norcross of Chicago, whose brother-in-law, Mr. Harold B. Wrenn, most kindly transcribed and transmitted to me the Epistle Dedicatory. It, unfortunately, arrived too late for insertion at p. 129.p. 130I gave ’em to the King’s Theatre.Sir Robert Howard and Dryden’s heroic tragedy,The Indian Queen, was produced at the Theatre Royal in mid-January, 1663. It is a good play, but the extraordinary success it attained was in no small measure due to the excellence and magnificence of the scenic effects and mounting. 27 January, Pepys noticed that the streets adjacent to the theatre were ‘full of coaches at the new playThe Indian Queen, which for show, they say, exceedsHenry VIII.’ On 1 February he himself found it ‘indeed a most pleasant show’. The grandeur of themise en scènebecame long proverbial in theatrical history. Zempoalla, the Indian Queen, a fine rôle, was superbly acted by Mrs. Marshall, the leading tragedienne of the day. The feathered ornaments which Mrs. Behn mentions must have formed a quaint but doubtless striking addition to the actress’s pseudo-classic attire. Bernbaum pictures ‘Nell Gwynn5in the true costume of a Carib belle’, a quite unfair deduction from Mrs. Behn’s words.p. 168Osenbrigs.More usually ‘osnaburg’, so named from Osnabrück in North Germany, a kind of coarse linen made in this town. Narborough’s Journal, 1669 (An Account of Several Late Voyages, 1694), speaks of ‘Cloth, Osenbrigs, Tobacco’. cf.Pennsylvania Col. Records(1732): ‘That to each there be given a couple of Shirts, a Jackett, two pairs of trowsers of Oznabrigs.’p. 174as soon as the Governour arrived. The Governor was Francis Willoughby, fifth Baron Willoughby of Parham (1613?-1666). He had arrived at Barbadoes, 29 April, 1650, and was received as Governor 7 May, which same day he caused Charles II to be proclaimed. An ardent royalist, he was dispossessed by an Act of Parliament, 4 March, 1652, and summoned back to England. At the Restoration he was reinstated, and arrived the second time with full powers inBarbadoes, 10 August, 1663. About the end of July, 1666, he was lost at sea on board the good shipHope.p. 177my Father . . . never arriv’d to possess the Honour design’d him.Bernbaum, following the mistaken statement that Mrs. Behn’s father, John Amis, was a barber, argues that a man in such a position could hardly have obtained so important a post, and if her ‘father was not sent to Surinam, the only reason she gives for being there disappears.’ However, since we know her father to have been no barber, but of good family, this line of discussion falls to the ground.p. 180Brother to Harry Martin the great Oliverian.Henry, or Harry, and George Marten were the two sons of Sir Henry Marten (ob.1641) and his first wife, Elizabeth, who died 19 June, 1618. For the elder brother, Henry Marten, (1602-80), see note Vol. I, p. 457.Cross-reference: Note from Volume Ip. 193The Deputy Governor.William Byam was ‘Lieutenant General of Guiana and Governor of Willoughby Land’, 1661-7. Even previously to this he had gained no little influence and power in these colonies. He headed the forces that defended Surinam in 1667 against the Dutch Admiral Crynsens, who, however, proved victorious.p. 198my new Comedy. The Younger Brother; or, The Amorous Jilt, posthumously produced under the auspices of, and with some alterations by, Charles Gildon at Drury Lane in 1696. George Marteen, acted by Powell, is the young and gallant hero of the comedy.p. 200his Council. InThe Widow RanterMrs. Behn draws a vivid picture of these deboshed ruffians.p. 207one Banister. Sergeant Major James Banister being, after Byam’s departure in 1667, ‘the only remaining eminent person’ became Lieutenant-Governor. It was he who in 1668 made the final surrender of the colony. Later, having quarrelled with the Dutch he was imprisoned by them.5Nell Gwynne had no part in the play.

p. 509Appendix. Oronooko: Epistle Dedicatory.Richard Maitland, fourth Earl of Lauderdale (1653-95), eldest son of Charles, third Earl of Lauderdale by Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Richard Lauder of Halton, was born 20 June, 1653. Before his father succeeded to the Lauderdale title he was styled of Over-Gogar; after that event he was known as Lord Maitland. 9 October, 1678, he was sworn a Privy Councillor, and appointed Joint General of the Mint with his father. In 1681 he was made Lord Justice General, but deprived of that office three years later on account of suspected communications with his father-in-law, Argyll, who had fled to Holland in 1681. Maitland, however, was in truth a strong Jacobite, and refusing to accept the Revolution settlement became an exile with his King. He is said to have been present at the battle of the Boyne, 1 July, 1690. He resided for some time at St. Germains, but fell into disfavour, perhaps owing to the well-known protestant sympathies of his wife, Lady Agnes Campbell (1658-1734), second daughter of the fanatical Archibald, Earl of Argyll. From St. Germains Maitland retired to Paris, where he died in 1695. He had succeeded to the Earldom of Lauderdale 9 June, 1691, but was outlawed by the Court of Justiciary, 23 July, 1694. He left no issue. Lauderdale was the author of a verse translation of Virgil (8vo, 1718 and 2 Vols., 12mo, 1737). Dryden, to whom he sent a MS. copy from Paris, states that whilst working on his own version he consulted this whenever a crux appeared in the Latin text. Lauderdale also wroteA Memorial on the Estate of Scotland(about 1690), printed in Hooke’sCorrespondence(Roxburghe Club), and there wrongly ascribed to the third Earl, his father.

The Dedication only occurs in the first edition ofOronooko(1688), of which I can trace but one copy. This is in the library of Mr. F. F. Norcross of Chicago, whose brother-in-law, Mr. Harold B. Wrenn, most kindly transcribed and transmitted to me the Epistle Dedicatory. It, unfortunately, arrived too late for insertion at p. 129.

p. 130I gave ’em to the King’s Theatre.Sir Robert Howard and Dryden’s heroic tragedy,The Indian Queen, was produced at the Theatre Royal in mid-January, 1663. It is a good play, but the extraordinary success it attained was in no small measure due to the excellence and magnificence of the scenic effects and mounting. 27 January, Pepys noticed that the streets adjacent to the theatre were ‘full of coaches at the new playThe Indian Queen, which for show, they say, exceedsHenry VIII.’ On 1 February he himself found it ‘indeed a most pleasant show’. The grandeur of themise en scènebecame long proverbial in theatrical history. Zempoalla, the Indian Queen, a fine rôle, was superbly acted by Mrs. Marshall, the leading tragedienne of the day. The feathered ornaments which Mrs. Behn mentions must have formed a quaint but doubtless striking addition to the actress’s pseudo-classic attire. Bernbaum pictures ‘Nell Gwynn5in the true costume of a Carib belle’, a quite unfair deduction from Mrs. Behn’s words.

p. 168Osenbrigs.More usually ‘osnaburg’, so named from Osnabrück in North Germany, a kind of coarse linen made in this town. Narborough’s Journal, 1669 (An Account of Several Late Voyages, 1694), speaks of ‘Cloth, Osenbrigs, Tobacco’. cf.Pennsylvania Col. Records(1732): ‘That to each there be given a couple of Shirts, a Jackett, two pairs of trowsers of Oznabrigs.’

p. 174as soon as the Governour arrived. The Governor was Francis Willoughby, fifth Baron Willoughby of Parham (1613?-1666). He had arrived at Barbadoes, 29 April, 1650, and was received as Governor 7 May, which same day he caused Charles II to be proclaimed. An ardent royalist, he was dispossessed by an Act of Parliament, 4 March, 1652, and summoned back to England. At the Restoration he was reinstated, and arrived the second time with full powers inBarbadoes, 10 August, 1663. About the end of July, 1666, he was lost at sea on board the good shipHope.

p. 177my Father . . . never arriv’d to possess the Honour design’d him.Bernbaum, following the mistaken statement that Mrs. Behn’s father, John Amis, was a barber, argues that a man in such a position could hardly have obtained so important a post, and if her ‘father was not sent to Surinam, the only reason she gives for being there disappears.’ However, since we know her father to have been no barber, but of good family, this line of discussion falls to the ground.

p. 180Brother to Harry Martin the great Oliverian.Henry, or Harry, and George Marten were the two sons of Sir Henry Marten (ob.1641) and his first wife, Elizabeth, who died 19 June, 1618. For the elder brother, Henry Marten, (1602-80), see note Vol. I, p. 457.Cross-reference: Note from Volume I

p. 193The Deputy Governor.William Byam was ‘Lieutenant General of Guiana and Governor of Willoughby Land’, 1661-7. Even previously to this he had gained no little influence and power in these colonies. He headed the forces that defended Surinam in 1667 against the Dutch Admiral Crynsens, who, however, proved victorious.

p. 198my new Comedy. The Younger Brother; or, The Amorous Jilt, posthumously produced under the auspices of, and with some alterations by, Charles Gildon at Drury Lane in 1696. George Marteen, acted by Powell, is the young and gallant hero of the comedy.

p. 200his Council. InThe Widow RanterMrs. Behn draws a vivid picture of these deboshed ruffians.

p. 207one Banister. Sergeant Major James Banister being, after Byam’s departure in 1667, ‘the only remaining eminent person’ became Lieutenant-Governor. It was he who in 1668 made the final surrender of the colony. Later, having quarrelled with the Dutch he was imprisoned by them.

5Nell Gwynne had no part in the play.

Cross-ReferenceNote to p. 180: For the elder brother, Henry Marten, (1602-80), see note Vol. I, p. 457.Vol. I, p. 457 note (referring toThe Roundheads, v,II):p. 414Peters the first,Martin the Second. Hugh Peters has been noticed before. Henry Martin was an extreme republican, and at one time even a Leveller. He was a commissioner of the High Court of Justice and a regicide. At the Restoration he was imprisoned for life and died at Chepstow Castle,1681, aged seventy-eight. He was notorious for profligacy and shamelessness, and kept a very seraglio of mistresses.

Note to p. 180: For the elder brother, Henry Marten, (1602-80), see note Vol. I, p. 457.

Vol. I, p. 457 note (referring toThe Roundheads, v,II):

p. 414Peters the first,Martin the Second. Hugh Peters has been noticed before. Henry Martin was an extreme republican, and at one time even a Leveller. He was a commissioner of the High Court of Justice and a regicide. At the Restoration he was imprisoned for life and died at Chepstow Castle,1681, aged seventy-eight. He was notorious for profligacy and shamelessness, and kept a very seraglio of mistresses.

The‘sweet sentimental tragedy’ of Agnes de Castro was founded by Mrs. Behn upon a work by Mlle S. B. de Brillac,Agnès de Castro, nouvelle portugaise(1688), and various subsequent editions. In the same year (1688) as Mrs. Behn’sAgnes de Castro; or, The Force of Generous Bloodwas published there appeared ‘Two New Novels, i.The Art of Making Love.1ii.The Fatal Beauty of Agnes de Castro: Taken out of the History of Portugal. Translated from the French by P. B. G.2For R. Bentley’ (12mo). Each has a separate title page. Bellon’s version does not differ materially from Mrs. Behn, but she far exceeds him in spirit and niceness of style.

So much legend has surrounded the romantic history of the beautiful Ines de Castro that it is impossible fully to elucidate every detail of her life. Born in the early years of the fourteenth century, she was the daughter of Pedro Fernandez de Castro, major domo to Alphonso XI of Castille. She accompanied her relative, Dona Constança Manuel, daughter to the Duke of Peñafiel, to the court of Alphonso IV of Portugal when this lady was to wed the Infante Don Pedro. Here Ines excited the fondest love in Pedro’s heart and the passion was reciprocated. She bore him several children, and there can be no doubt that Dona Constança was madly jealous of her husband’s amour with her fair friend. 13 November, 1345, Constança died, and Pedro immediately married his mistress at Braganza in the presence of the Bishop of Guarda. Their nuptials were kept secret, and the old King kept pressing his son to take a wife. Before long his spies found out the reason of the Infante’s constant refusals; and, beside himself with rage, he watched an opportunity whilst Pedro, on a great hunting expedition, was absent from Coimbra where they resided, and had Ines cruelly assassinated 7 January, 1355. The grief of Pedro was terrible, he plunged the country into civil war, and it was only by the tenderest solicitations of his mother and the authority of several holy monks and bishops that he was restrained from taking a terrible revenge upon his father. Alphonso died, his power curtailed, his end unhappy, May, 1357.

A very literature has grown up around the lovely Ines, and many more than a hundred items of interest could be enumerated. The best authority is J. de Araujo, whose monumentalBibliographia Inesianawas published in 1897. Mrs. Behn’s novel was immensely popular and is included, with someunnecessary moral observations as preface, in Mrs. Griffith’sA Collection of Novels(1777), Vol. III, which has a plate illustrating the tale. It was turned into French by Marie-Geneviève-Charlotte Tiroux d’ Arconville (1720-1805), wife of a councillor of the Parliament, anaimableblue-stocking who devoted her life wholly to literature, and translated freely from English. This work is to be found inRomans (les deux premiers . . . tirés des Lettres Persanes . . . par M. Littleton et le dernier . . . d’un Recueil de Romans . . . de Madame Behn) traduits de l’ Anglois, (Amsterdam, 1761.) It occurs again inMélanges de Litterature(12mo, 1775, etc.), Vol. VI.

A tragedy,Agnes de Castro, written by that philosophical lady, Catherine Trotter (afterwards Cockburn), at the early age of sixteen, and produced at the Theatre Royal, 1696, with Powell, Verbruggen, Mrs. Rogers in the principal parts, is directly founded upon Mrs. Behn. It is a mediocre play, and the same can even more truly be said of Mallet’s coldElvira(1763). This was acted, however, with fair success thirteen times. Garrick played Don Pedro, his last original part, and Mrs. Cibber Elvira. Such dull exercises as C. Symmons,Inez, a tragedy(1796), andIgnez de Castro, a tragedy in verse, intended forHoad’s Magazinecall for no comment.

There is a French play by Lamotte on the subject of Ines de Castro, which was first produced 6 April, 1723. Voltaire found the first four acts execrable and laughed consumedly. The fifth was so tender and true that he melted into tears. In Italian we have, from the pen of Bertoletti,Inez de Castro, tragedia, Milano, 1826.

In Spanish and Portuguese there are, of course, innumerable poems, treaties, tragedies, studies, romances. Lope de Vega wroteDona Inez de Castro, and the beautiful episode of Camoens is deservedly famous. Antonio Ferreira’s splendid tragedy is well known. First published inComedias Famosas dos Doctores de Sa de Mirande(4to, 1622), it can also be read inPoemas lusitanos(2 Vols., 8vo, Lisbon, 1771). Domingo dos Reis Quita wrote a drama,Ignez de Castro, a translation of which, by Benjamin Thompson, was published in 1800. There is also a playDona Ignez de Castro, by Nicolas Luiz, which was Englished by John Adamson, whose version was printed at Newcastle, 1808.

1Mr. Arundell Esdaile in hisBibliography of Fiction(printed before 1740) erroneously identifies this amusing little piece with Mrs. Behn’sThe Lover’s Watch. It is, however, quite another thing, dealing with a pseudo-Turkish language of love.2i.e., Peter Bellon, Gent. Bellon was an assiduous hackney writer and translator of the day. He has also left one comedy,The Mock Duellist; or, The French Valet(4to, 1675).

1Mr. Arundell Esdaile in hisBibliography of Fiction(printed before 1740) erroneously identifies this amusing little piece with Mrs. Behn’sThe Lover’s Watch. It is, however, quite another thing, dealing with a pseudo-Turkish language of love.

2i.e., Peter Bellon, Gent. Bellon was an assiduous hackney writer and translator of the day. He has also left one comedy,The Mock Duellist; or, The French Valet(4to, 1675).

Tho’Love, all soft and flattering, promises nothing but Pleasures; yet its Consequences are often sad and fatal. It is not enough to be in love, to be happy; since Fortune, who is capricious, and takes delight to trouble the Repose of the most elevated and virtuous, has very little respect for passionate and tender Hearts, when she designs to produce strange Adventures.

Many Examples of past Ages render this Maxim certain; but the Reign ofDon Alphonsothe IVth, King ofPortugal, furnishes us with one, the most extraordinary that History can produce.

He was the Son of thatDon Denis, who was so successful in all his Undertakings, that it was said of him, that he was capable of performing whatever he design’d, (and ofIsabella, a Princess of eminent Virtue) who when he came to inherit a flourishing and tranquil State, endeavour’d to establish Peace and Plenty in abundance in his Kingdom.

And to advance this his Design, he agreed on a Marriage between his SonDon Pedro(then about eight Years of Age) andBianca, Daughter ofDon Pedro, King ofCastile; and whom the young Prince married when he arriv’d to his sixteenth Year.

Biancabrought nothing toCoimbrabut Infirmities and very few Charms.Don Pedro, who was full of Sweetness and Generosity, lived nevertheless very well with her; but those Distempers of the Princess degenerating into the Palsy, she made it her request to retire, and at her Intercession the Pope broke the Marriage, and the melancholyPrincess conceal’d her Languishment in a solitary Retreat: AndDon Pedro, for whom they had provided another Match, marriedConstantia Manuel, Daughter ofDon John Manuel, a Prince of the Blood ofCastile, and famous for the Enmity he had to his King.

Constantiawas promised to the King ofCastile; but the King not keeping his word, they made no Difficulty of bestowing her on a young Prince, who was one Day to reign over a number of fine Provinces. He was but five and twenty years of Age, and the Man of allSpainthat had the best Fashion and Grace: and with the most advantageous Qualities of the Body he possest those of the Soul, and shewed himself worthy in all things of the Crown that was destin’d for him.

The PrincessConstantiahad Beauty, Wit, and Generosity, in as great a measure as ’twas possible for a Woman to be possest with; her Merit alone ought to have attach’dDon Pedro, eternally to her; and certainly he had for her an Esteem, mix’d with so great a Respect, as might very well pass for Love with those that were not of a nice and curious Observation: but alas! his real Care was reserved for another Beauty.

Constantiabrought into the World, the first Year after her Marriage, a Son, who was calledDon Louis: but it scarce saw the Light, and dy’d almost as soon as born. The loss of this little Prince sensibly touched her, but the Coldness she observ’d in the Prince her Husband, went yet nearer her Heart; for she had given her self absolutely up to her Duty, and had made her Tenderness for him her only Concern: But puissant Glory, which ty’d her so entirely to the Interest of the Prince ofPortugal, open’d her Eyes upon his Actions, where she observ’d nothing in his Caresses and Civilities that was natural, or could satisfy her delicate Heart.

At first she fancy’d her self deceiv’d, but time having confirmed her in what she fear’d, she sighed in secret;yet had that Consideration for the Prince, as not to let him see her Disorder: and which nevertheless she could not conceal fromAgnes de Castro, who lived with her, rather as a Companion, than a Maid of Honour, and whom her Friendship made her infinitely distinguish from the rest.

This Maid, so dear to the Princess, very well merited the Preference her Mistress gave her; she was beautiful to excess, wise, discreet, witty, and had more Tenderness forConstantiathan she had for her self, having quitted her Family, which was illustrious, to give her self wholly to the Service of the Princess, and to follow her intoPortugal. It was into the Bosom of this Maid, that the Princess unladed her first Moans; and the charmingAgnesforgot nothing that might give ease to her afflicted Heart.

Nor wasConstantiathe only Person who complained ofDon Pedro: Before his Divorce fromBianca, he had expressed some Care and Tenderness forElvira Gonzales, Sister to DonAlvaro Gonzales, Favourite to the King ofPortugal; and this Amusement in the young Years of the Prince, had made a deep Impression onElvira, who flatter’d her Ambition with the Infirmities ofBianca. She saw, with a secret Rage,Constantiatake her place, who was possest with such Charms, that quite divested her of all Hopes.

Her Jealousy left her not idle, she examined all the Actions of the Prince, and easily discover’d the little Regard he had for the Princess; but this brought him not back to her. And it was upon very good grounds that she suspected him to be in love with some other Person, and possessed with a new Passion; and which she promised herself, she would destroy as soon as she could find it out. She had a Spirit altogether proper for bold and hazardous Enterprizes; and the Credit of her Brother gave her so much Vanity, as all the Indifference of the Prince was not capable of humbling.

The Prince languished, and concealed the Cause with so much Care, that ’twas impossible for any to find it out.No publick Pleasures were agreeable to him, and all Conversations were tedious; and it was Solitude alone that was able to give him any ease.

This Change surprized all the World. The King, who loved his Son very tenderly, earnestly pressed him to know the Reason of his Melancholy; but the Prince made no answer, but only this, That it was the effect of his Temper.

But Time ran on, and the Princess was brought to bed of a second Son, who liv’d, and was calledFernando.Don Pedroforc’d himself a little to take part in the publick Joy, so that they believ’d his Humour was changing; but this Appearance of a Calm endur’d not long, and he fell back again into his black Melancholy.

The artfulElvirawas incessantly agitated in searching out the Knowledge of this Secret. Chance wrought for her; and, as she was walking, full of Indignation and Anger, in the Garden of the Palace ofCoimbra, she found the Prince ofPortugalsleeping in an obscure Grotto.

Her Fury could not contain it self at the sight of this loved Object, she roll’d her Eyes upon him, and perceived in spite of Sleep, that some Tears escaped his Eyes; the Flame which burnt yet in her Heart, soon grew soft and tender there: But oh! she heard him sigh, and after that utter these words,Yes, DivineAgnes, I will sooner die than let you know it:Constantiashall have nothing to reproach me with.Elvirawas enraged at this Discourse, which represented to her immediately, the same moment,Agnes de Castrowith all her Charms; and not at all doubting, but it was she who possest the Heart ofDon Pedro, she found in her Soul more Hatred for this fair Rival, than Tenderness for him.

The Grotto was not a fit Place to make Reflections in, or to form Designs. Perhaps her first Transports would have made her waken him, ifshehad not perceived a Paper lying under his Hand, which she softly seiz’d on; and that she might not be surprized in the reading it, she went out of the Garden with as much haste as confusion.

When she was retired to her Apartment, she open’d the Paper, trembling, and found in it these Verses, writ by the Hand ofDon Pedro; and which, in appearance, he had newly then compos’d.

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