434 
RST sho .siuis sei aiois Were : 
to'take place on. the:22d August—the, day 
ron which he:comes of age. . A few weeks 
_before :‘the>yconsummation; appear. symp- 
-toms fa: Tival; the, flowers with which 
hé decks:the favourite bower of Maria are 
removed, and: replaced, with others, by 
whom: :nobody.knows; by-and-bye | soft 
“music:is oceasionally heard in the environs 
of the bower, and soon follow songs of a 
plaintive and amatory cast. D’Auverney 
resolves to watch the intruder; he places 
himself in ambuscade, and on the first 
sounds of the guitar, he rushes forward, 
and is himself suddenly flung to the earth, 
by a powerful arm, a poignard glances at 
his breast, a double row of white teeth 
grins and gleams in the darkness, and a 
yoice. exclaims—‘ now I have you. The 
purpose of the tall athletic form, that is 
just plunging the dagger in his breast, is 
suddenly suspended by the appearance of 
Mariaat the window—‘ no, she would weep 
too much,’ and forthwith he quits his vic- 
‘tim., Again, in a day or two, the same 
» muusi¢, and a new song, in which the singer 
~speaks of himself as a negro, a king, a 
slave—still no discovery. A few days, and 
Maria is surprised.in her bower by the ap- 
proach of ‘an enormous crocodile, and 
is rescued. from: his opening jaws by the 
interposition of a fine, powerful black, who 
is himself luckily preserved from, destruc- 
tion by the timely arrival of D’ Auverney, 
who shoots the crocodile on the spot. Why 
did you kill him, exclaims the black, and 
‘instantly disappears, and nobody knows any 
thing about him, . Search is made for him, 
to reward him with freedom, but all in 
vain. Ina day or two, the old proprietor 
goes round his grounds, and finding one of 
his negroes sleeping, and pressing upon a 
rosebush, prepares to lay his whip about him, 
when his arm is arrested with some vio- 
lence by the very black, who had recently 
rescued his daughter, In vain is the old 
man informed of that eminent service ; in 
vain:are all entreaties ; the crime of lifting 
up anarm against an European is not to 
be forgiven; he is plunged into a dungeon. 
D’Auverney, with his bride, makes every 
effort to save the negro; he visits him pri- 
vately in the prison. The negro proves to 
be his rival, and of royal blood; he carries 
himself resolutely, haughtily, mysteriously ; 
he speaks like one haying authority; he 
hints at his power of protection ; bids him 
not defer the marriage till the 22d, and 
finally he and D’ Auverney become sworn 
brothers. D’ Auverney and his bride at 
last soften the old man, and the negro is 
released. The 22d of August comes, the 
/Mmarriage-ceremony passes ; and as mid- 
»ynight -approaches,, sounds of .alarm are 
/cheard, and the plantations are on fire, and 
yothe :megroes on every side are in open 
Soerevolt — Bug-Jargal, at the head of it.” 
soD*Auverney, as .an, officer of militia, flies 
»»to-his post, and on, his return with assist- 
ance to protect his family, finds his uncle 
Monthly Review of Literature. 
BN [Ocr. 
butchered, the house in flames, and through 
the gleaming fires he’ sees his friend ‘anid 
brother, the colossal SNe lent ee 
Maria in his arms. Paralyzed at ‘the sight, 
and exhausted with fatigue, he 4s inable 
to overtake him; Maria seéms' lost to’ him 
for ever. Ina few days, he istaken:pri- 
soner in a skirmish, and cartied® before 
Biasson, a négro-chief, but subordinate to 
Bug-Jargal; he remains inthe tent for 
some hours, and witnesses the conduct of 
that callous and crafty chieftain. An Obi, 
who has..an overpowering influence with 
Biasson, demands the death of D’ Auver- 
ney; and at the very moment when ‘death 
seems inevitable, the mysterious negro, 
D’Auverney’s treacherous friend, who 
proves to be Bug-Jargal himself, presents 
himself; all bend before’ him, and’ Bias- 
son himself affects the extremeést defe- 
rence. A stormy scene of violence on the 
part of D’ Auverney, and of forbearance on 
that of Bug-Jargal, follows. No explanation 
can be extorted from him of ‘the’ fate of 
Maria ; it is not the place for such explana- 
tion, and he declines giving it for the pre- 
sent. He demands of Biasson the release of 
D’ Auverney, who is prevailed upon to go 
with Bug-Jargal to a distance for the sake 
of explanation. Within an hour they arrive 
at a cave, where D’ Auverney finds Maria, 
with her nurse and an infarit brother, placed 
there, and protected there; amidst the sur- 
rounding devastation, by Bug-Jargal, and 
treated by him with the utmost ‘respect— 
D Auverney is satisfied. But; urilackily, he 
had privately given Biasson his“word of 
honour to return two hodiirs before sun-set, 
and in spite of all the -remonstranees ‘of ~ 
Bug-Jargal, and the implorings of Maria, 
he resolves to redeem his pledge.’ He’ re- 
signs Maria to the noble negro, and returns 
to Biasson’s camp, where the Obi is still 
as inflexible as ever in demanding his death ; 
a discovery ensues—his persevering male- 
volence is explained—the Obi proves to 
have been a favorite dwarf of his uncle, 
who had played the part of buffoon for 
years, and had ‘been treated with extra- 
ordinary indulgence, but who had che- 
rished and fed a deadly hatred against him 
and his family for the degradation ; he mur- 
dered with his own hand the uncle, and 
now thirsted for the blood of the nephew. 
Again, at the very moment when eseape 
seems impossible, Bug-Jargal presents 
himself, and commands him to be released. 
A trial of power—of the regal and’ spiritual — 
—follows between the chief and ‘the Obi. _ 
The chief prevails and the ‘Obi withdraws ; 
but quickly returns, and watching! the ab- 
sence of Bug-Jargal,’ he rushes upon 
D’ Auverney with''a dagger; ‘and missing 
his blow, falls down a precipice, but luckily 
catches and clings to a tree in’ his descent. 
From this’ perilous position he ‘shrieks to 
D’ Auverney for assistance, ari by lisien- 
treaties and ‘urgencies, ‘and -assitanée! of 
eternal gratitude, he prevails’on ‘him’ to 
