Читать книгу Under the Broad Arrow - George Forbes - Страница 8

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AT the first shock, caused by her trial and sentence, poor Jane Harding (afterwards Jane New) was overwhelmed by the thought of the cruel fate which had overtaken her, and her love for the man who had so wickedly betrayed her was exchanged for a feeling of abhorrence against him for his heartless conduct. But youth and health work wonders, and, as time went on, Jane found her situation to be not nearly so unendurable as she had thought it would be. Condemned though she was to penal servitude beyond the seas, she was nevertheless treated with such consideration as was possible, and was spared much of the humiliation which attached itself to others in like circumstances.

On the voyage to Van Diemen's Land, which had been determined upon by the authorities as her ultimate destination, Jane was appointed as personal attendant to the wife of a military officer on his way to join his regiment at Hobart Town, and her gentle demeanour and lovable disposition soon won for her the affection of her new mistress, who, on her arrival in the colony, used her influence with the Lieutenant-Governor, so that Jane was assigned to her as her servant.

It is a strange history to look back upon—the history of Australia, a country which is now the freest, the happiest, and the most prosperous in the world, but where, scarcely more than half a century ago, slavery flourished in the same manner as it did in the West Indies, and in America before the Civil War.

An assigned servant was virtually a slave, and became the absolute property of the master or mistress; the term of servitude being according to the length of the sentence, which was sometimes for life. The condition of the Australian slave, as with the American slave, depended entirely upon the temper and disposition of the owner, and the difference between the Australian and the American slave was merely one of color. True, indeed, the Australian slave-owner was not supposed to personally chastise his slave, but this disability was soon overcome, for nothing was easier than to obtain the order of a visiting magistrate in those places where these slaves were employed, for their punishment by flogging and solitary confinement, according to the will or caprice of their masters.

As in America, so in Australia, some of the slaves obtained comfortable and even happy homes, and among these fortunate ones was Jane Harding, who soon became more like a sister to her mistress than a servant. Three years were spent in this manner, during which time Jane received the news of her father's death, and also that he had died in poor circumstances, leaving no provision for her when, at the expiration of her sentence, she might return home.

Under these circumstances, and with the approval of her mistress, Jane determined to settle permanently in the colonies, and to forget, if possible, the trouble into which she had been led through trusting to the faith of a heartless villain.

Among the visitors to the officers' quarters of the military barracks in which she lived at Hobart Town, was a young free mechanic, to whom Jane soon became much attached. Fully acquainted as he was with her past history, James New could discover nothing in it but pity for the poor girl who had been so cruelly deceived, and, finding that his love for her was returned he offered to make her his wife.

In those days many marriages of this kind were consummated particularly among the free emigrants of the middle class, whose skilled services could always command good pay. After the marriage the convict wife was, by previous arrangement with the authorities, assigned to her husband as his servant, and remained in such relationship until the expiration of her sentence, when she became entitled to the same rights as other free women in the colony.

In most cases this plan was found to answer well. The assignment was only a matter of form, and couples married in this way lived together as man and wife in the same manner as other people in the community.

The marriage between James New and Jane Harding was quietly solemnised at Hobart Town, and for two years the wedded pair lived a happy and contented life. A child, a bright and intelligent boy, was born of the union, and Jane and her husband made many friends, and won the respect of the society of the middle class of which they became members.

At the end of two years from the date of her marriage, Jane's former master, being about to return to England with his regiment, used his influence with the Lieutenant-Governor to procure for Jane a ticket-of-leave, which would enable her to proceed with her husband to Sydney, where he had reason to believe he could follow his trade with more advantage than at Hobart Town, and, with many expressions of goodwill at the parting, the couple bade good-bye to their friends at Hobart Town, and arrived in Sydney, within six years of the date of Jane's transportation, and it only wanting a year to complete her sentence.

In a pleasant cottage, close to what is now Hyde Park, but which was then known as The Racecourse, the News took up their abode, and were soon engaged in the duties of their new sphere. Trade was brisk, and their income was consequently sufficient for all their needs; their boy was a never-ending source of pleasure to them, and life seemed to promise many blessings in the future, when there came upon them a calamity which, but for its authenticity, would scarcely be believed possible in a civilised land.

Returning from his work one evening to his pleasant home, James was surprised to miss the usual welcome given him by his wife and child, and, on entering the house, was amazed to find his wife in a swoon, from which his boy was endeavoring, with childish tears and caresses, to arouse her.