Among other anecdotes, I heard of a mulatto slave who ran away from his master, and in the course of years had become a wealthy man, by the purchase of lands which were overrun with cattle. He had, on one occasion, collected in pens great numbers of oxen which he was arranging with his herdsmen to dispatch to different parts for sale, when a stranger who came quite alone made his appearance, and rode up and spoke to him, saying that he wished to have some private conversation with him. After a little time they retired together, and when they were alone the owner of the estate said, “I thank you for not mentioning the connection between us, whilst my people were present.” It was his master, who had fallen into distressed circumstances, and had now made this visit in hopes of obtaining some trifle from him. He said that he should be grateful for any thing his slave chose to give to him. To reclaim him, he well knew, was out of the question—he was in the man’s power, who might order him to be assassinated immediately. The slave gave his master several hundred oxen, and directed some of his men to accompany him with them to a market, giving out among his herdsmen that he had thus paid a debt of old standing for which he had only now been called upon. A man who could act in this manner well deserved the freedom which he had resolved to obtain. As it was my intention to pass the ensuing summer in England, and no ships arrived from thence, I was afraid of being delayed some months for a conveyance, therefore I thought it better to take my passage in one of the ships which were about to sail. I preferred the Brutus, as I was intimate with the supercargo, a young Portugueze. We set sail from St. Luiz on the 8th of April, in company of another British ship; but we were soon out of sight of each other, owing to one vessel holding a better wind. On the 18th we reached variable winds, in lat. 22° N. lon. 50° W. It is not usual to find them so far to the southwards, therefore we might consider ourselves remarkably fortunate. We passed our time pleasantly, as the weather was fine and the wind favourable. On the 7th of May, the wind freshened, but we had a good ship and plenty of sea-room. A wave struck the stern and entered the cabin on the 8th in the morning, setting every thing afloat; this occurred soon after we had risen. On the 9th we discovered two vessels at a great distance a-head and rather to windward, both of them were laying to, but soon each appeared to stand on different tacks. One proved to be an English brig loaded with timber; she was water-logged and about to sink, and the latter was an American ship, which had lain to, and was in the act of assisting the people in leaving her. If the brig had not been loaded with timber she must have gone down long before. As the American ship was bound to her own country, we took the crew on board the Brutus, nine persons; they were in most woeful plight; some lame,