Colonel Roslyn was entertaining a party of gentlemen, among whom were admiral Herbert and his nephew Fitzhugh. Charles Roslyn was the favourite midshipman of the admiral, and the conversation turned upon the topic of the day; namely, the slave-trade, and the probabilities of its abolition, as well as the capacity of the negroes to profit by their freedom. Many were the arguments adduced for and against; and Colonel Roslyn was naturally led to relate the circumstances of Samboe's becoming Charles's protegé, and the high reward they had experienced in the sweet disposition, high intellectual capacity, moral worth, and genuine religious principles of the young negro. "I have the sincerest pleasure," observed Colonel Roslyn, "in stating this individual instance of the moral and intellectual worth of an African, of which, doubtless, there are many similar instances, where instruction and kindness have elicited and fostered the qualities of the mind and heart. But we all remember the period, my friends, when the African's claim to the character and privileges of man was even disputed--when they were considered as somewhat of a superior species of ourang outang [5]. This false and inhuman estimate, succeeding years have disproved. It has been in numberless instances shown that they are not only men, but capable of becoming intelligent and virtuous men; and not only virtuous men, but pious, unaffected, sincere Christians. I am not, however," continued the colonel, "an advocate for giving personal liberty to numbers of men, unless, at the same time, I impart the principles of religion and the arts of civil life. It is only by giving freedom to the soul, and by encouraging the virtuous energies of man, that we can make him capable of properly appreciating the blessing of liberty, and preserve him from becoming a pest to society, instead of a useful member of it. Without these correcting and restraining principles, liberty would soon degenerate into licentiousness, and the possession of power be exercised in deeds of violence." "I entirely agree with you, colonel," observed the admiral; "and therefore be so good as to pledge me in a glass of that excellent claret, when I offer my sentiment: 'Let the empire of Britain be the empire of mercy; and let no shore re-echo with the thunder of her power, but which shall also smile under the blessing of her beneficence.'" This sentiment of the admiral's was warmly received. During this conversation, a young man at the lower end of the table appeared deeply interested in it. His animated and penetrating countenance drew the attention of Colonel Roslyn, and he expressed his pleasure, in observing to the admiral, that an interest for the enslaved Africans seemed to animate his young relative; for it was Fitzhugh, whose whole soul seemed engaged in the subject.