PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 43 



with his flambeau, they took the road, amidfl the 

 joyful acclamations of the whole company, who 

 loaded them with benedidions. Fhginia, quite 

 overcome^ whifpered to Paul: " Oh, my dear 

 " friend ! God never permits a good adion to go 

 *' unrewarded." 



About midnight, they arrived at the bottom of 

 their own mountain, the ridges of which were illu- 

 mined with various fires.. Scarcely had they got 

 to the top, when they heard voices calling aloud : 

 *' Is it you, my children ?" The blacks and they 

 replied together : " Yes, yes, here we are!" and 

 prefently they perceived their mothers and Alary 

 coming to meet them, with flaming torches. 

 ** Unhappy children!" exclaimed Madame de la 

 Tour, " Whence come you ? Into what agonies 

 '' have you thrown us !" " We come," replied 

 Virginia, " from the Black River, whither we went 

 " this morning to implore the pardon of a poor 

 " fugitive negrefs, to whom 1 likewife gave the 

 " family breakfaft, for flie was juft perilhing with 

 " hunger ; and here, the black runaways have car- 

 '' ried us home again." Madame de la Tour ten- 

 derly embraced her daughter, utterly deprived of 

 the power of fpeech ; and Virginia, who felt her 

 own face moiftened with her mother's tears, faid 

 to her : " How you repay me for all that I have 



*' fuffered!" 



