Blake or The Huts of America

by Martin R. Delany

  “She’s engaged and can’t be seen!” impatiently replied the guardian black, seeming to anticipate the message.

  “I mus’ see ’er, case de Captin Genal tole me!” insisted the palace messenger.

  “Curse the Captain General and his message!” was the imprudent retort. “Be off, you can’t see her!”

  Hastening to the palace, the eager domestic related with compound addition to the governor and lady, all that he had seen and heard.

  Becoming by these startling facts seriously impressed, the dawn of the morning induced the numerous guests to leave the palace to the quiet contemplation of the distinguished inmates, whose troubled souls now sought solace in the refreshing slumbers of retirement.

  CHAPTER 63

  The Captain General and Lady

  “Indeed,” said the Captain General, pacing the floor with hands locked behind him, “I cannot, my dear, dismiss from my thoughts last evening’s surprise. I have been anxiously meditating upon the whole thing, and scarcely know what course is best to pursue towards the rebels.”

  “Let me suggest to your excellence, I pray you, not use the word ‘rebel,’ ” said the Countess. “Whatever my apprehensions I would not have you take it for granted, and anticipate that which has no reality. I would make no issue where there is no occasion for it, but first ascertain the true state of the case, and then act with decision, and if need be promptness and vigor.”

  “Thank you for the advice; but what better evidence could I desire than that already obtained? It does appear to me that it is a plain case. However, in my course I’ll be governed by your opinion.”

  “Not at all, Count Alcora; I would not in the least control you, but only desire to prompt your memory.”

  “But I solicit your opinion, Lady Alcora, and will not be content without it. I pray you therefore, speak freely to me!”

  “I have said,” resumed the Countess, “be cautious of the word ‘rebel.’ Let us take a common sense view of the case, and first enquire whether there was on the occasion an entertainment at the mansion of Madame Cordora; its character, and how far it will verify the report and implicate them in the crime of rebellion.”

  “You think then there is no cause for suspicion?”

  “That is not the idea, General Alcora. We should first carefully investigate, and nor form hasty conclusions. And for the credit of the colony and your administration, let us not rest so grave a charge as ‘rebellion’ on so light a testimony as that of the stammering jargon of a slave. Madame Cordora and associates are persons of reputation and affluence in the community, and cruel would it be to arraign them on the evidence of an envious Negro servant. Besides, rumor has it that the poet Placido is betrothed to her daughter, the beautiful Ambrosina, and it might have been a celebration of the nuptials. Whether or not the circumstances justify investigation——”

  “How, my lady,” pointedly enquired the Captain General, “will you account for your dreams and presentiments?”

  “That, your excellency,” she quickly rejoined, “is of minor consideration. Having once had your interpretation of them, I consider that case disposed of.”

  “Well, your counsel is ever the same–judicious and available, Lady Alcora,” concluded the Captain General.

  Thus he affected to be satisfied, but in such an emergency Count Alcora was not the man to remain passive, especially at the hazard of his government. Whilst seeming to be satisfied, he set immediately industriously at work using every covert means in his power, not only to ferret out, but with a determination to implicate if possible some of the suspected parties; the first effort being to entrap by stratagem on his return, the head of the culinary department, Gofer Gondolier.

  They could not be reconciled to the disappointment met with by the noncompliance of many of the guests supposed to be at the Cordora mansion, with the invitation to the Palace fete. The Captain General had long suspected something wrong among this portion of the population, and with the facts before him, must have some victim as a peace offering to appease his vengeance.

  His domestic had eluded his vigilance, misled his confidence, baffled his intelligence, and betrayed his trust, and who if not made an example of, was evidently destined to become if not the leader, an agent of a dire mischief throughout the island. It was clear to him that his Negro was one of the promoters of a bold design to wrest from Spain the Island of Cuba, and instead of a Castilian, establish a Negro government. This was the shock which electrified every nerve and dormant fiber of his system; the stimulant which exciting him to frenzy, induced him to neutralize every agency in the fearfully approaching issue, as far as it could be known; and Gofer was the only offender known to his excellency.

  Despite the admonitions of the Countess, the Captain General summoned before him his faithful servant and spy, Hober, to repeat the whole story as previously related, touching the conduct of the culinarian at the soiree of Madame Cordora, the wealthy mulatto.

  Promptly obeying the orders of his master, the but too willing servant tremblingly stood before him.

  “I is ready, Count, to tell you anything, dat I thinks will please you lordship,” obsequiously bowing, proffered the debased slave.

  The Countess gave a significant smile, whilst the Captain General looked seriously rebuked.

  The story of the slave was concise and piquant, and absorbed for five minutes or more the breathless attention of the master. Whilst secreted in the shrubbery of the palace grounds, he overheard the conversation of Gondolier and several other servants previous to their going to the soiree. Gofer was to obtain at the instance of the Countess, the privilege of introducing into general use his patent Cuban carver, to give to every black the opportunity of having in their possession a formidable deadly weapon, without the violation of law, suspicion, or even objection of the whites. In the general rebellion that was to ensue, firearms at the commencement were to be prohibited, as the slaughter which was to commence in the dead of night could be prosecuted with silence, and thereby prevent a premature alarm.

  “Now, Hober, my man, tell me, like a good fellow, all you know about this thing–keep nothing back,” said the Captain General with emphasis, anxious and determined to criminate some persons.

  “Wy, yo’ lordship, da is to begin soon!”

  “When? Speak out, my man, speak out!”

  “Da is all to begin on one night!”

  “How, my man? Let us hear all about it.”

  “Da is all to be hid, in an’ out o’ doors, one black for every white in each house on all de plantations, an’ all at once at de same time, each one is to seize a white and slaughter ’im.”

  “Immaculate Madonna, hear that! Go on, my man, go on!” impatiently exclaimed the governor.

  “Ag’in daylight, da ain’t one white to be left alive. In di same way dat de whites is all to be seized, one for each, da is to have one to set fire to each house in all de towns at da same time, an’ every white dat makes ’is escape is to be ketched an’ killed as ’e runs into de country to escape de fire!”

  To all this did the Captain General sit and listen with an eager ear, till his emotions nearly equalled those of the guilty monarch, manifested at the interpretation by the Jewish captive of the blazing inscription upon the walls of Babylon.

  Just as the servant concluded, the Count was startled by a sudden interruption, which presented in the person of the Countess.

  “Do I intrude, your excellency?” she enquired, slowly approaching.

  “No, my lady! I have just been giving some order to the servant,” replied he with an uncontrollable sigh.

  “Are you indisposed, Count Alcora? I’m sure you look worn,” said his lady.

  “Nothing more, my dear, than fatigue from the loss of sleep last evening,” replied the Count with a conciliatory tone.

  “We are summoned to coffee. Come, let us walk!” said the Countess taking his arm, who with pallid cheek and somewhat faltering step–the servant in the lead–supported her to
the coffee table.

  CHAPTER 64

  The Confrontment

  And is he gone?–Byron

  Early that morning as usual, Gofer Gondolier was found in the cuisine department. Mild, affable, pleasant, and cheerful, he went about his duties, as though the past evening his rest had not been taxed in the expension of a night, certainly to him, the most eventful in the political record of history.

  After the family had been seated, as was his custom to walk to the door and take a peep into the ordinary, this morning there was no delinquency.

  When the Countess turned her face in the direction of the door, with his accustomed politeness, Gofer quite raised from his head the black silk slouch cap which he wore, bowing with that civility becoming his position, and due the distinguished personage in whose presence he then was.

  There was observed in the countenance of the Captain General a slight emotion, but with decided effect he managed to suppress it, and looked at Gofer with a smile, such as he had never before witnessed from that personage, which gave him an impression such as he had never experienced. Stepping backwards he bowed himself out of the noble presence.

  Shortly after repast, before executing his design, the Count deemed it advisable to acquaint the Countess of his intended course toward the caterer.

  To this she decidedly objected as impolitic and unwarrantable, which, from its rashness, tended to thwart his designs. She suggested instead, that nothing should be done or said until the application made to her by Gondolier for the license of a general use of the carving knives, which might give the occasion and pretext for an accusation against him.

  To this Count Alcora readily assented, and reclining for a rest, the Countess immediately left his presence.

  Scarcely had she emerged from the chamber when Hober entered, bearing the intelligence that Gofer was preparing to leave the palace. Startled with emotion she quickly imparted it to the Count.

  Fearing corruption among the rest of the servants, it was thought advisable to dismiss him at once, which having been done, in less than half an hour the faithful Gondolier was lost–as doubtless the Captain General hoped forever–among the transient inhabitants of the busy thoroughfares of the city.

  It was but a short time, however, till the Countess had good reason to believe that the story against Gofer was a base fabrication, originated through jealousy by their own slave Hober, who, envying the position of the free black, designed to succeed him in the cuisine department.

  This fact went far in changing the feelings of the governor toward him, and reduced in his opinion the felon and rebel to a mere peccadillo offender.

  CHAPTER 65

  What of the Negroes?

  After leaving the palace, making the most of his time, sauntering through the streets, vacantly gazing at almost every person and thing, Gofer Gondolier continued wandering till evening caught him far up in the city. His first impulse was, in consequences of the restrictions, to hasten back in search of lodgings, but being directly in front of a large and fashionable “restaurateur” thronged with white men in the full enjoyment of an evening’s pleasure; stopping to look in at the windows, he thus reflected, “Freedom should ever be potent to repeal and annul the decrees of oppression, and repel the oppressor. The instant a person is claimed as a slave, that moment he should strike down the claimant. The natural rights of man are the faculties of option, heaven bequeathed, and endowed by God, our common Father, as essential to our being, which alone distinguish us from the brute. The authority of the slaveholder ceases the moment that the impulse of the slave demands his freedom, and by virtue of this divine attribute, every black is as free as the whites in Cuba, and I will resist this night, and henceforth every attempt at infringement on my inherent privileges.” Acting upon these promptings, Gofer left the front of the restaurateur, continuing his rambling through the town.

  This evening Blake and Placido had several appointments in different parts of the city, one of which was at the residence of Andro Camino. Looking at his watch, Placido with a smile observed:

  “As our time is limited we had better go!”

  Though said as a jest, the emphasis with which it was expressed was full of meaning. They immediately left the house.

  According to an ordinance of the city, at the firing of the great gun at Moro Castle at nine o’clock in the evening, every Negro and mulatto was compelled to be within doors, or if caught out fifteen minutes after, to be imprisoned in the calaboose until the sitting of the police court at ten o’clock next morning, subjected to a fine or whipping according to the decision of the magistrate.

  In the enforcement of this ordinance, there were some exceptions made at the discretion of the police who arrested or persons who tried the case. The wealthy, professional, and literary classes among them were usually shown favors by the officers of the law, in consequence of their influence over the Captain General.

  But subsequently to the demonstrations of the Grand Negro Councils, these ordinances were violated and set at defiance by Negroes and mulattoes of all grades and classes, with impunity, passing at all times and places.

  Leaving the residence of the newly appointed Quartermaster General Blacus, father of the Chief, where for a short time business had called them, they took the nearest way to reach the upper part of the Almeda, the great fashionable thoroughfare of the city.

  Leisurely promenading among the moving mass, deeply engaged in conversation on the momentous subject of their political and social condition as a race, and position in community as a class, at the instant when Placido named the injustice and despotism of the city ordinances toward them, the great gun fired its evening alarm.

  The grim howl of this municipal watchdog had scarcely ceased growling in the air, when two Irish gendarmes came hurriedly up to them saying, “An’ who do yez e’long to?” when Blake and Placido, looking first at each other, then at the Irishmen, uttered not a word.

  Mistaking their silence as an evidence of guilt and fear, “Faith,” continued one of them, “an’ sure yeh ain’t no pass, an’ must go to de calaboose! An’ sure nagurs hain’t no business out fornint de firin o’ de gun. Come along wid us to de guard house, an’ sure yez’ll be well taken care of!” each taking hold of one of the party.

  As the policemen laid hands upon them, a blow in quick succession from a powerful unknown source, struck down their arms in paralyzed suspension at their sides.

  At his timely and unexpected inference, Blake and Placido were not less surprised than the affrighted gendarmes themselves. On turning to discover the perpetrator, to their surprise, Gofer Gondolier with clenched fists in the attitude of defence, stood gritting his teeth behind them. Somewhat recovering, and recognizing the person of their assailant–

  “Och, jabers! An’ he b’longs to de palace!” cried one.

  “He is dat same! An’ is’nt it mese’f dat knows ’im well? Troth boys, an’ we’ll not be afther hurthen ov yez! An’ sure yez’ll be afther taken a bit uv a joke!” concluded the other, to which Gondolier made no reply. “Good night gentlemans, good night!” saluted the Irishmen as the party left.

  Gondolier indeed was well and popularly known to the police and keepers of the public houses, many of the latter being greatly indebted to him as the chief caterer at the palace, for their knowledge of some of their most choice dishes which filled their daily bills of fare. His position, together with this, gave him a license throughout the city which probably no other black enjoyed. He was accustomed to pass at all times and hours of the night, in every part of the city, without hindrance or molestation. His presence was thus most timely, and of the greatest importance to the two black officers.

  CHAPTER 66

  Chit-Chat

  In the midst of revolutionary movements, there are sometimes the solutions worked out of other problems than that of the political destiny of a people. It was so in the present issue.

  The frequent coming together in general council formed attachments, doubtless
, but little thought of previous to the occasion which induced their meeting. The consummation of conjugal union is the best security for political relations, and he who is incapable of negotiating to promote his own personal requirements might not be trustworthy as the agent of another’s interest; and the fitness for individuals for positions of public import, may not be misjudged by their doings in the private affairs of life.

  With the fullness of some such convictions, there were many billets-doux exchanged, arrangements made for a chit-chat or “tete a tete” between parties, on matters entirely separate from those touching the general welfare.

  Of these, Gofer Gondolier became enamored of Abyssa Soudan, and General Juan Montego betrothed to Madame Cordora. So sincere were they in these obligations that the time for their fulfillment was set as early as the approaching Sabbath morning.

  Among them, a great event was expected to ensue, when every step taken should have been well measured, timely, and in the right direction, tending in its course to the accomplishment of the great and desirable end to be attained.

  The political relations of the colony were peculiar, and singularly mischievous and detrimental to the best interests of this class of inhabitants. The four great divisions of society were white, black, free and slave; and these were again subdivided into many other classes, as rich, poor, and such like. The free and slaves among the blacks did not associate, nor the high and low among the free of the same race. And there was among them even another general division-black and colored–which met with little favor from the intelligent.

  The leading characters had long since observed all these social evils, and fully matured the scheme and policy for their remedy. Hence, the better to verify this policy, Montego communicated to Gondolier the design and intention of Madame Cordora and himself consummating at the same time at the same sacred hymeneal altar with him and Abyssa, the holy sacrament of the marriage feast.