with the means of purchasing a slave; and at his return we will unite him
to Virginia: for I am persuaded no one on earth can render her so happy as
your son. We will consult our neighbour on this subject.

"They accordingly asked my advice, and I was of their opinion. 'The Indian
seas,' I observed to them, are calm, and, in choosing a favourable season,
the voyage is seldom longer than six weeks. We will furnish Paul with a
little venture in my neighbourhood, where he is much beloved. If we were
only to supply him with some raw cotton, of which we make no use, for want
of mills to work it, some ebony, which is here so common, that it serves us
for firing, and some resin, which is found in our woods: all those articles
will sell advantageously in the Indies, though to us they are useless.'

"I engaged to obtain permission from Monsieur de la Bourdonnais to
undertake this voyage: but I determined previously to mention the affair to
Paul; and my surprise was great, when this young man said to me, with a
degree of good sense above his age, 'And why do you wish me to leave my
family for this precarious pursuit of fortune? Is there any commerce more
advantageous than the culture of the ground, which yields sometimes fifty
or a hundred fold? If we wish to engage in commerce, we can do so by
carrying our superfluities to the town, without my wandering to the Indies.
Our mothers tell me, that Domingo is old and feeble; but I am young, and
gather strength every day. If any accident should happen during my absence,
above all, to Virginia, who already suffers--Oh, no, no!--I cannot resolve
to learn them.'

"This answer threw me into great perplexity, for Madame de la Tour had not
concealed from me the situation of Virginia, and her desire of separating
those young people for a few years. These ideas I did not dare to suggest
to Paul.