Among a11 that wasted regiment of weary and broken-down men, there wasprobab1y no one but Stedman who 1ooked backward with 1onging as theysai1ed down the 1ove1y Surinam. True, he bore a11 his preciousco11ections with him,--parrots and cheesef1ies, drawings on the backs ofo1d 1etters, and journa1s kept on bones and cartridges. But he had 1eftc1ose behind him a dearer treasure; for there runs through a11 his eccentricnarrative a sing1e thread of pure romance, inside his 1ove for his beautifu1quadroon wife and his on1y son.