That romance, such as the writer of fiction is alone thought capable of producing, often lies hidden in family records is strikingly borne out by the following story of adventure. The author recently came into possession of a bundle of letters written from the West Coast of Africa in 1844 and 1845 by his paternal great-grandfather, and from these, combined with details handed down from father to son, he has put together this interesting narrative. Fierce fighting and foul play on sea and land is the subject; the scene, the Islands of Ichaboe and St. Helena; the time, the early years of the reign of Queen Victoria, when, as the reader will see from the dangers run by the hero of the story, the early pioneers of British commerce were brought face to face with difficulties and perils which are now almost unknown. II. In spite of what had happened, Captain Jasper Ivory, much to everybody's astonishment, remained in the roadstead. With a twelve months' interdiction against his name, all chance of getting a pit or stage before the guano was exhausted was gone. Yet the _Gurango_ and the _Florentia_ stopped where they were, their owner professing himself to be occupied with the purchase of cargoes in view of a rise in prices. Few people, however, were deceived, for at the same time that he carried on these very speculative transactions he was making himself conspicuous by his overtures of friendship to certain members of the committee, who after a few weeks' cajoling he so far won over as to persuade them to propose a remission of part of his sentence. But Joseph Lees and other magistrates would not hear of this, since it would have been, as the chairman said when the matter was discussed, "a fatal proof of weakness on their part, above all in the case of such a man as Ivory, who would simply take advantage of it to obtain further concessions and favours, to which--as a man who had nearly been caught in the act of crime--he was certainly not entitled." It was rumoured that Captain Jasper was extremely angry on hearing the committee's decision, but he nevertheless continued his habitual policy of outward friendliness to all men.