the tropical islands by the name of the yellow or malignant fever, and
the physician who was called speedily pronounced his case desperate.

"It was my duty to warn him of the death that was hastening, and to
promise the fulfilment of any of his wishes not inconsistent with my
present situation. He received my intelligence with fortitude, and
appeared anxious to communicate some information respecting his own
state. His pangs and his weakness scarcely allowed him to be
intelligible. From his feeble efforts and broken narrative I collected
thus much concerning his family and fortune.

"His father's name was Vincentio Lodi. From a merchant at Leghorn, he
had changed himself into a planter in the island of Guadaloupe. His son
had been sent, at an early age, for the benefits of education, to
Europe. The young Vincentio was, at length, informed by his father,
that, being weary of his present mode of existence, he had determined to
sell his property and transport himself to the United States. The son
was directed to hasten home, that he might embark, with his father, on
this voyage.

"The summons was cheerfully obeyed. The youth, on his arrival at the
island, found preparation making for the funeral of his father. It
appeared that the elder Lodi had flattered one of his slaves with the
prospect of his freedom, but had, nevertheless, included this slave in
the sale that he had made of his estate. Actuated by revenge, the slave
assassinated Lodi in the open street, and resigned himself, without a
struggle, to the punishment which the law had provided for such a deed.

"The property had been recently transferred, and the price was now
presented to young Vincentio by the purchaser. He was by no means