The Cost of Sugar(16)

“But the slave will have deserved it,” said Sarith.

“No-one can deserve the punishment of being first forced to eat his hacked-off fingers and then being buried alive.” Rutger was furious as he said this.

“Oh, Rutger,” cried Sarith, “You seem not to have understood that slaves need to be severely punished. If we didn’t do that, they could quite easily murder us!”

“I don’t call this punishment,” retorted Rutger. “A punishment must offer the chance for improvement, and these atrocities most certainly do not do that.”

“Oh come, you make it sound as if you can compare slaves with ordinary people. Slaves are negroes. You punish one to scare the others. Don’t you understand that?” Sarith went and sat in the rocking chair while she said this.

“Do you know what I think?” Rutger went on. “I think that people who invent such horrible things as hanging on a meat hook, scorching lips and tongues and burning alive – those creatures don’t deserve to be called people. Even in the animal world you see that creatures kill other sorts only for food. Even animals don’t treat their victims in this way.” Rutger was getting all workedd up. Elza looked at him: his face was red and a small artery pulsed in his neck.

Sarith rocked slowly to and fro in the rocking chair. “Rutger,” she said, “What do you know of slaves? You’ve not been here long enough to be able to judge. When you’ve been here longer, you’ll talk differently.” Then she called out, “Mini-mini, I want something to drink.”21

“What Rutger is saying has nothing to do with being here for a long or a short time,” said Elza. “He’s right: the slaves are simply mistreated. On some plantations they get an extreme beating or a hundred lashes for the slightest thing. Have you heard what Susanna Duplessis has done now? She has had a child drowned before its mother’s eyes. Even children get a cruel, cruel beating under her.”

“Then at least they learn to work from a young age,” said Sarith. “If Uncle Levi allowed the slaves to be treated more strictly, then the plantation would produce much more, that’s what everyone says.” And then she shouted out loudly, “Mini-mini, come on! And why are you always grumbling about the slaves,” she sneered. “Don’t you have nicer things to talk about?”

At that moment came the sound of a bell from the riverside.

“A boat, a boat! Who is it?” Sarith had sprung up. “Oh look, visitors!”

Two gentlemen walked up from the riverside. One was Joshua de Miranda, the eldest son from the Ephrata Plantation, and the other was a stranger. Arriving on the veranda, Joshua explained, “This is Moshe Bueno de Mesquita. He’s just arrived from Amsterdam. He has come to lodge with us as of yesterday. We’ve come to ask whether the ladies and gentleman would like to come home with us for a pleasant afternoon.”

Sarith was excited. Of course she wanted to go along. There was nothing to do here, after all. She had got bored long ago. Rutger, however, was not all that keen, and therefore Elza also preferred to stay at home of course.

When Sarith returned towards evening, she was cheerful and even elated. They had had such a good time. Later in the evening she described excitedly to Elza how obviously charmed by her the newcomer Mosche Bueno de Mesquita had been. Actually he was destined for Joshua’s niece, Naomi, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Sarith, and that Naomi, she had looked increasingly miserable and annoyed. Now, Sarith had in any case had a really wonderful time!

“And Elza, what have you been doing all afternoon?” asked Sarith, before she prepared to go to sleep. That Rutger had got so worked up about such unimportant matters as slaves’ punishments and all that nonsense. Was Elza sure that she wanted to marry such a moaner? And, already yawning, Sarith declared, “When you are married I won’t visit you very often; there won’t be very much happening. Hmm, I can see it already: a dull couple you’ll become, really boring.”

18 ‘Flat Bridge’.



19 ‘My Happiness’ and ‘The Great Expectations’.



20 Prospect.



21 “Mini-mini mi wani dringi.”





CHAPTER III





ELZA


The wedding of Elza and Rutger took place on Sunday 14 August 1766. The weeks running up to the great day were filled with many and varied activities, for bride as well as groom. Rutger had been able to rent a house on the Wagenwegstraat: a pleasant place with extensive grounds and adequate slave accommodation on the property. Pa Levi had been exceedingly generous and had seen to it that the furnishing was impeccable. He had paid for the furniture in the front hall and for the equipping of the kitchens, also for the beautiful silk curtains, while Rutger himself had taken care of the dining room and had had a cabinet maker make the large mahogany four-poster bed and the large mahogany mirrored dressing cabinets.