Noah was born on a Jamaican plantation owned by the Marquess of Sligo, who acquired lands there through his wife’s inheritance; her father had been a planter and chief justice. Noah was born of two slaves, and thus a slave himself, and he trained as a carpenter, becoming one of such repute that his master brought him all the way to cold, damp Ireland to ply his skills on the family properties there.

I did not meet that Marquess of Sligo, but did make the passing acquaintance of his son, then the Earl of Altamont. He is four years older than I, and a fine man indeed. He had a great regard for Noah, and no liking for the vile business of slavery. We had an understanding, I believe, that Noah was to be freed. At the very least, I am certain that this was the earl’s hope.

Then, one night in August, when I met my fellow players to play at a ball at a noble house, Noah was decidedly downcast. His master had determined to return him to the plantations. It was that night that he revealed to me more of his story, and a higher duty that only freedom would allow him to fulfil. He has a younger half-sister; daughter of the same slave mother, but father a plantation manager. As a half-caste, she is in service, not slavery, and recently passed into the service of a family that has taken lands in New Brunswick. In Jamaica, as his mother lay dying, Noah swore to her that he would, above all, protect his sister. He saw his journey to Ireland as a step toward the freedom that would allow him to do that, to travel to New Brunswick, make his own way as a carpenter and violinist, and one day buy her free of her servitude.

I sobbed at the thought of this mission of his going undone, embraced him, and promised I would not return to Manchester without seeing him safely on a ship to Saint John. The spark came back into him in that instant, and that night he played like an angel taking flight, as I sawed away upon my violoncello, wondering how I might honour my rash promise, and perhaps travel by his side.

Over the following three weeks, at my instigation, we took and sold certain surplus items that belonged to the Marquess, and purchased, from persons of questionable repute, the documents necessary to declare Noah a freeman of good standing. Then we took more to fund the journey, and two horses as well to begin it, but we were apprehended not three hours into our ride.

There was much discussion about the charges that might be preferred. Noah, all of a sudden feeling alone in the world, and fearing he might hang for stealing a horse, declared himself a slave who had been taken along with the livestock. I was to be charged with it all, and my grandmother bailed me while the details were considered.