XIII

Sunt hie etiam sua proemia laudi,
Sunt lachrymae rerum, et mentem mortalia tangunt.

Virgil.

E’en the mute walls relate the victim’s fame. 
And sinner’s tears the good man’s pity claim.

Dryden.

“We set sail; the wind continued favourable during the entire passage.  I obtained from the captain’s kindness a separate cabin for the use of Manon and myself.  He was so good as to distinguish us from the herd of our miserable associates.  I took an opportunity, on the second day, of conciliating his attentions, by telling him part of our unfortunate history.  I did not feel that I was guilty of any very culpable falsehood in saying that I was the husband of Manon.  He appeared to believe it, and promised me his protection; and indeed we experienced, during the whole passage, the most flattering evidences of his sincerity.  He took care that our table was comfortably provided; and his attentions procured us the marked respect of our companions in misery.  The unwearied object of my solicitude was to save Manon from every inconvenience.  She felt this, and her gratitude, together with a lively sense of the singular position in which I had placed myself solely for her sake, rendered the dear creature so tender and impassioned, so attentive also to my most trifling wants, that it was between us a continual emulation of attentions and of love.  I felt no regret at quitting Europe; on the contrary, the nearer we approached America, the more did I feel my heart expand and become tranquil.  If I had not felt a dread of our perhaps wanting, by and by, the absolute necessaries of life, I should have been grateful to fate for having at length given so favourable a turn to our affairs.

“`After a passage of two months, we at length reached the banks of the desired river.  The country offered at first sight nothing agreeable.  We saw only sterile and uninhabited plains, covered with rushes, and some trees rooted up by the wind.  No trace either of men or animals.  However, the captain having discharged some pieces of artillery, we presently observed a group of the inhabitants of New Orleans, who approached us with evident signs of joy.  We had not perceived the town:  it is concealed upon the side on which we approached it by a hill.  We were received as persons dropped from the clouds.

“The poor inhabitants hastened to put a thousand questions to us upon the state of France, and of the different provinces in which they were born.  They embraced us as brothers, and as beloved companions, who had come to share their pains and their solitude.

“We turned towards the town with them; but we were astonished to perceive, as we advanced, that what we had hitherto heard spoken of as a respectable town, was nothing more than a collection of miserable huts.  They were inhabited by five or six hundred persons.  The governor’s house was a little distinguished from the rest by its height and its position.  It was surrounded by some earthen ramparts, and a deep ditch.