Amongst the number thus confined in the hold of this ship, Irving remarked many whose nobleness of aspect indicated that there was a "spirit within," which rose even above such calamity--a consciousness of moral dignity, that spurned at the cruelties of the oppressor; but there was one in particular, before the flame of whose eye even Irving shrunk abashed. He was evidently a person of consequence; high, it would seem, in military rank, inferred from certain personal indications, with the meaning of which Irving was acquainted; and also from some articles of dress, stated to have been taken from him when captured; and every look (action was denied him) indicated that he possessed a mind not insensible to the eminence of his station. Irving enquired from whence he was taken, and from whom purchased? He was told, from Molembo, it was thought; and that he had been only a few days purchased from the king of Whidáh, with a number of his countrymen, taken by treachery, and in defiance of a treaty subsisting at the time. This was all he could learn; and having given his instructions respecting Imihie, Irving returned to Whidáh before her arrival at the ship, being desirous to avoid another interview, the sight of her producing a painful emotion he could neither define nor account for. CHAPTER VII. "Soft airs, and gentle heavings of the wave, Impel the fleet whose errand is to save! But ah! what wish can prosper, or what pray'r, For merchants rich in cargoes of despair. The sable warrior, frantic with regret Of her he loves, and never can forget, Loses, in tears, the far-receding shore, But not the thought that they must meet no more." Cowper. Night shed her silent influence over the mighty deep; the firmament was bright with myriads of glittering worlds; the moon, in full and mild lustre, rode majestically, like a sphere of silver light, on the summit of fleecy clouds, and was reflected, in many a fantastic form, by the tossing waves, the gentle ripplings of which were mingled with the distant sound of "All is well," borne on the gale from the fort, the regular tread of the watch on deck, and the boatswain's shrill whistle. The rush of the shark, "cutting the briny deep," as it instinctively followed the floating receptacle of misery, was the only sound that interrupted, painfully, the heavenly calmness of the scene and hour; a calmness, alas! little according with the soul-sickening agitations of the wretched beings, now silently borne from all held dear and precious, and on their way to all the horrors of a life in chains. Cargoes of despair they may truly be called!