A White Slave's Romance

Otago Witness, Issue 2660, 8 March 1905, Page 87

A White Slave's Romance

Presently, sold to another master, Annesley again attempted to escape, but was again captured, and as it * ow seemed that he was like to sink under his hardships and disappointments, he was treated with somewhat less harshness. His sufferings touched the heart of his owner's daughter, Maria, who conceived a great fondness for him Unhappily he also inspired an affection in the breast of a young Indian maid, Turquoise by name, who besought him lo many her when his period of servitude should have exphed, promising him the most faithful service if he did so. The giils were not long in discovering each other's secret, and one day when they met, Turquoise flew at her pale-faced rival like a tigress, and Maria had to seek refuge in flight. Then the savage girl, mad with jealousy, and perhaps feeling the consequences of her violence, plunged into a river and Avas drowned.

The other girl's mother and father now detected her passion for their handsome young slave, and, finding that he was not to blame, they promised him his freedom so as to remove him from, her neighbourhood. But his master, deceiving his wife as Avell as the youth himself, took him to the nearest town and, instead of freeing him, sold him to another planter. Here he was treated kindly enough, and was given access to his master's library. After three years, however, his master dying, he was once more sold, this time to a planter whose estate was adjacent to that where he had inspired the passions that had had for Turquoise so tragic an ending. Here he found that two brothers of hers had sworn vengeance against him. One day they came upon him in the woods, and attacked him with knives, and would have made an end of him but for the airival, just in the nick of time, of help. As it was. he escaped with a slight wound in his hip.

Freedom and Exglaxd,

In his new surroundings the young earl had further romantic experiences, which, however, cannot here be recounted. Hi«. long years of servitude were now nearly over, but, finding his life intolerable, he resolved to risk another attempt at escape. This time he was more fortunate. He met with a vessel that cariied him to Jam-ika.

and there, in September, 1740, being now a young man of five-and-twenty, he joined a British ship-of-war as a common sailor. There was something about him which marked him out from his companions, and

his stor_\ getting to the captain's ears, he was ticated with every consideration and his case bi ought before Admiral Yernon, At ho gave him his discharge and sent him to England that he might claim the titlts and wealth which fox 13 ycai-6 his base uncle had enjoyed.

Even in the more prosaic atmosphere of these islanc*.. the young nobleman was not at the end of his ad\ entures. Going to Ireland to follow up the action of ejectment which he had entered against Ins uncle, he had an affray with a poacher whom be found netting a river, and in the Scuffle his gun vent off and the poacher was killed. He was of course arrested, and his uncle, chuckling, no doubt, to think that Fate had delivered into his hands the man whom he at once hated and dreaded, instructed an attorney to prosecute, and f « ore to have him banned if it

cost him £10.000. His nex^hew was able, however, to show that the shot was filed

by accident, and there was a triumphant acquittal.

Tun Wicked Uxci/e,

This Wiis extremely disappointing to the uncle, and it is said that he made several attempts -upon the life of the man whom he had so deeply wronged. However this may be, it is> certain that at some races at the Currrtgh in 1743, while ihe action at law Mas pending, the earl, at the head of a band of partisans, violently assailed the claimant and his friends, and that the young man owed his escape from serious, if nob morial, injury to the speed of his horse. For this act of violence the offenders wei'e brought to book on the 6rd of August, 1744, and fined.

Meanwhile the civil suit had been adjudicated upon. It came before the Irish Court of Exchequer on the 11th of November, 1743, the plaintiff's cas3 being presented by Sergeant Mai shall, and after an investigation which occupied 15 days judgment was given in the claimant's favour. The defence admitted that he was veritably the son of Lord Altham. but it sought to show that his mother was someone other than the countess — a, contention which the court found to be groundless.

A Straxge Seqttel.

Strange is the sequel of the story. Though declared by a court of law to be his father's lawful heir, James Annesley never came to his own ! He found to his cost that possession is nine points of the law. A poor man, he AA r as unable to take the steps necessary to make the judgment of the coau't operative, and his uncle therefore continued to enjoy the titles, while the man to Avhom the\- laAvfully belonged died in 1760, plain Janes Annesley.

It should be understood that the family in which this extraordinary episode occurred is not that to aa-lucli the present Marquis of Anglesey belongs, but that Avhich is now represented by Viscount Valentia. The sixth Earl of Anglesey, the Avicked uncle of this romance of the coronet, had a son Avho, on coming of age, applied for a Avril as Earl of Anglesey in *-he English Parliament. The claim was disalloAved, but he sat as Viscount Valentia in the Irish Parliament, and Avas created Earl of Mountnorris. At the death of his successor, the second Earl of Mountnorris, this title expired, but the Viscount of Valentia, Avith the barony of Mountnorris, passed to his kinsman Arthur, grandfather of the present Viscount Valentia.

During; the month of February 559 persons [ called at the Christchurch agency of the j Tourist Department. !