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diff --git a/16741-8.txt b/16741-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d727a40 --- /dev/null +++ b/16741-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11712 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Aunt Phillis's Cabin, by Mary H. Eastman + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Aunt Phillis's Cabin + Or, Southern Life As It Is + +Author: Mary H. Eastman + +Release Date: September 24, 2005 [EBook #16741] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AUNT PHILLIS'S CABIN *** + + + + +Produced by University of Michigan Digital Library, +Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + +AUNT PHILLIS'S CABIN; + +OR, + +SOUTHERN LIFE AS IT IS. + +BY + +MRS. MARY H. EASTMAN. + +PHILADELPHIA: +LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO. +1852. + +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by + +LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO. + +in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of +Pennsylvania. + + +Transcriber's note: Minor typos in text corrected. Footnotes moved +to end of text. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +A writer on Slavery has no difficulty in tracing back its origin. There is +also the advantage of finding it, with its continued history, and the laws +given by God to govern his own institution, in the Holy Bible. Neither +profane history, tradition, nor philosophical research are required to +prove its origin or existence; though they, as all things must, come +forward to substantiate the truth of the Scriptures. God, who created the +human race, willed they should be holy like himself. Sin was committed, and +the curse of sin, death, was induced: other punishments were denounced for +the perpetration of particular crimes--the shedding of man's blood for +murder, and the curse of slavery. The mysterious reasons that here +influenced the mind of the Creator it is not ours to declare. Yet may we +learn enough from his revealed word on this and every other subject to +confirm his power, truth, and justice. There is no Christian duty more +insisted upon in Scripture than reverence and obedience to parents. "Honor +thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the +Lord thy God giveth thee." The relation of child to parent resembles +closely that of man to his Creator. He who loves and honors his God will +assuredly love and honor his parents. Though it is evidently the duty of +every parent so to live as to secure the respect and affection of his +child, yet there is nothing in the Scriptures to authorize a child +treating with disrespect a parent, though he be unworthy in the greatest +degree. + +The human mind, naturally rebellious, requires every command and incentive +to submission. The first of the ten commandments, insisting on the duty +owing to the Creator, and the fifth, on that belonging to our parents, are +the sources of all order and good arrangement in the minor relations of +life; and on obedience to them depends the comfort of society. + +Reverence to age, and especially where it is found in the person of those +who by the will of God were the authors of their being, is insisted upon in +the Jewish covenant--not indeed less required now; but as the Jews were +called from among the heathen nations of the earth to be the peculiar +people of God, they were to show such evidences of this law in their +hearts, by their conduct, that other nations might look on and say, "Ye are +the children of the Lord your God." + +It was after an act of a child dishonoring an aged father, that the +prophecy entailing slavery as a curse on a portion of the human race was +uttered. Nor could it have been from any feeling of resentment or revenge +that the curse was made known by the lips of a servant of God; for this +servant of God was a parent, and with what sorrow would any parent, yea, +the worst of parents, utter a malediction which insured such punishment and +misery on a portion of his posterity! Even the blessing which was promised +to his other children could not have consoled him for the sad necessity. He +might not resist the Spirit of God: though with perfect submission he +obeyed its dictates, yet with what regret! The heart of any Christian +parent will answer this appeal! + +We may well imagine some of the reasons for the will of God in thus +punishing Ham and his descendants. Prior to the unfilial act which is +recorded, it is not to be supposed he had been a righteous man. Had he been +one after God's own heart, he would not have been guilty of such a sin. +What must that child be, who would openly dishonor and expose an erring +parent, borne down with the weight of years, and honored by God as Noah had +been! The very act of disrespect to Noah, the chosen of God, implies wilful +contempt of God himself. Ham was not a young man either: he had not the +excuse of the impetuosity of youth, nor its thoughtlessness--he was himself +an old man; and there is every reason to believe he had led a life at +variance with God's laws. When he committed so gross and violent a sin, it +may be, that the curse of God, which had lain tranquil long, was roused and +uttered against him: a curse not conditional, not implied--now, as then, a +mandate of the Eternal. + +Among the curses threatened by the Levites upon Mount Ebal, was the one +found in the 16th verse of the 27th chapter of Deuteronomy: "Cursed be he +that setteth light by his father or his mother." By the law of Moses, this +sin was punished with death: "Of the son which will not obey the voice of +his father or the voice of his mother," "all the men of his city shall +stone him with stones that he die." (Deut. xxi. 21.) God in his wisdom +instituted this severe law in early times; and it must convince us that +there were reasons in the Divine mind for insisting on the ordinance +exacting the most perfect submission and reverence to an earthly parent. + +"When, after the deluge," says Josephus, "the earth was settled in its +former condition, Noah set about its cultivation; and when he had planted +it with vines, and when the fruit was ripe, and he had gathered the grapes +in the season, and the wine was ready for use, he offered a sacrifice and +feasted, and, being inebriated, fell asleep, and lay in an unseemly +manner. When Ham saw this, he came laughing, and showed him to his +brothers." Does not this exhibit the impression of the Jews as regards the +character of Ham? Could a man capable of such an act deserve the blessing +of a just and holy God? + +"The fact of Noah's transgression is recorded by the inspired historian +with that perfect impartiality which is peculiar to the Scriptures, as an +instance and evidence of human frailty and imperfection. Ham appears to +have been a bad man, and probably he rejoiced to find his father in so +unbecoming a situation, that, by exposing him, he might retaliate for the +reproofs which he had received from his parental authority. And perhaps +Canaan first discovered his situation, and told it to Ham. The conduct of +Ham in exposing his father to his brethren, and their behaviour in turning +away from the sight of his disgrace, form a striking contrast."--_Scott's +Com._ + +We are told in Gen. ix. 22, "And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the +nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without;" and in the +24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th verses we read, "And Noah awoke from his wine, +and knew what his younger son had done unto him; and he said, Cursed be +Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, +Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall +enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall +be his servant." Is it not preposterous that any man, any Christian, should +read these verses and say slavery was not instituted by God as a curse on +Ham and Canaan and their posterity? + +And who can read the history of the world and say this curse has not +existed ever since it was uttered? + +"The whole continent of Africa," says Bishop Newton, "was peopled +principally by the descendants of Ham; and for how many ages have the +better parts of that country lain under the dominion of the Romans, then of +the Saracens, and now of the Turks! In what wickedness, ignorance, +barbarity, slavery, misery, live most of the inhabitants! And of the poor +negroes, how many hundreds every year are sold and bought like beasts in +the market, and conveyed from one quarter of the world to do the work of +beasts in another!" + +But does this curse authorize the slave-trade? God forbid. He commanded the +Jews to enslave the heathen around them, saying, "they should be their +bondmen forever;" but he has given no such command to other nations. The +threatenings and reproofs uttered against Israel, throughout the old +Testament, on the subject of slavery, refer to their oppressing and keeping +in slavery their own countrymen. Never is there the slightest imputation of +sin, as far as I can see, conveyed against them for holding in bondage the +children of heathen nations. + +Yet do the Scriptures evidently permit slavery, even to the present time. +The curse on the serpent, ("And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because +thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle and above every beast +of the field,") uttered more than sixteen hundred years before the curse of +Noah upon Ham and his race, has lost nothing of its force and true meaning. +"Cursed is the ground for thy sake: in sorrow shalt thou eat of it, all the +days of thy life," said the Supreme Being. Has this curse failed or been +removed? + +Remember the threatened curses of God upon the whole Jewish tribe if they +forsook his worship. Have not they been fulfilled? + +However inexplicable may be the fact that God would appoint the curse of +continual servitude on a portion of his creatures, will any one _dare_, +with the Bible open in his hands, to say the fact does not exist? It is not +ours to decide _why_ the Supreme Being acts! We may observe his dealings +with man, but we may not ask, until he reveals it, Why hast thou thus done? + +"Cursed is every one who loves not the Lord Jesus Christ." Are not all +these curses recorded, and will they not all be fulfilled? God has +permitted slavery to exist in every age and in almost every nation of the +earth. It was only commanded to the Jews, and it was with them restricted +to the heathen, ("referring entirely to the race of Ham, who had been +judicially condemned to a condition of servitude more than eighteen hundred +years before the giving of the law, by the mouth of Noah, the medium of the +Holy Ghost.") No others, at least, were to be enslaved "forever." Every +book of the Old Testament records a history in which slaves and God's laws +concerning them are spoken of, while, as far as profane history goes back, +we cannot fail to see proofs of the existence of slavery. "No legislator of +history," says Voltaire, "attempted to abrogate slavery. Society was so +accustomed to this degradation of the species, that Epictetus, who was +assuredly worth more than his master, never expresses any surprise at his +being a slave." Egypt, Sparta, Athens, Carthage, and Rome had their +thousands of slaves. In the Bible, the best and chosen servants of God +owned slaves, while in profane history the purest and greatest men did the +same. In the very nation over whose devoted head hung the curse of God, +slavery, vindictive, lawless, and cruel slavery, has prevailed. It is said +no nation of the earth has equalled the Jewish in the enslaving of negroes, +except the negroes themselves; and examination will prove that the +descendants of Ham and Canaan have, as God foresaw, justified by their +conduct the doom which he pronounced against them. + +But it has been contended that the people of God sinned in holding their +fellow-creatures in bondage! Open your Bible, Christian, and read the +commands of God as regards slavery--the laws that he made to govern the +conduct of the master and the slave! + +But again--_we_ live under the glorious and new dispensation of Christ; and +He came to establish God's will, and to confirm such laws as were to +continue in existence, to destroy such rules as were not to govern our +lives! + +When there was but one family upon the earth, a portion of the family was +devoted to be slaves to others. God made a covenant with Abraham: he +included in it his slaves. "He that is born in thy house, and he that is +bought with thy money," are the words of Scripture. A servant of Abraham +says, "And the Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he is become great, +and he hath given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and +men-servants and maid-servants, and camels and asses." + +The Lord has called himself the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. These +holy men were slaveholders! + +The existence of slavery then, and the sanction of God on his own +institution, is palpable from the time of the pronouncing of the curse, +until the glorious advent of the Son of God. When he came, slavery existed +in every part of the world. + +Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came from heaven and dwelt upon the earth: +his mission to proclaim the will of God to a world sunk in the lowest +depths of iniquity. Even the dear and chosen people of God had departed +from him--had forsaken his worship, and turned aside from his commands. + +He was born of a virgin. He was called Emmanuel. He was God with us. + +Wise men traveled from afar to behold the Child-God--they knelt before +him--they opened their treasures--they presented to them gifts. Angels of +God descended in dreams, to ensure the protection of his life against the +king who sought it. He emerged from infancy, and grew in favour with God +and man. He was tempted but not overcome--angels came again from heaven to +minister to him. He fulfilled every jot and tittle of the law, and entered +upon the duties for which he left the glories of heaven. + +That mission was fulfilled. "The people which sat in darkness saw great +light, and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is +sprung up." + +Look at his miracles--the cleansing of the leper, the healing of the sick, +the casting out unclean spirits, the raising of the dead, the rebuking of +the winds and seas, the control of those possessed with devils--and say, +was he not the Son of God--yea, was he not God? + +Full of power and goodness he came into the world, and light and glory +followed every footstep. The sound of his voice, the glance of his eye, the +very touch of the garment in which his assumed mortality was arrayed, was a +medicine mighty to save. He came on an errand of mercy to the world, and he +was all powerful to accomplish the Divine intent; but, did he emancipate +the slave? The happiness of the human race was the object of his coming; +and is it possible that the large portion of them then slaves could have +escaped his all-seeing eye! Did he condemn the institution which he had +made? Did he establish universal freedom? Oh! no; he came to redeem the +world from the power of sin; his was no earthly mission; he did not +interfere with the organization of society. He healed the sick servant of +the centurion, but he did not command his freedom; nor is there a word that +fell from his sacred lips that could be construed into a condemnation of +that institution which had existed from the early ages of the world, +existed then, and is continued now. The application made by the +Abolitionist of the golden rule is absurd: it might then apply to the +child, who _would have_ his father no longer control him; to the +apprentice, who _would_ no longer that the man to whom he is bound should +have a right to direct him. Thus the foundations of society would be +shaken, nay, destroyed. Christ would have us deal with others, not as they +desire, but as the law of God demands: in the condition of life in which we +have been placed, we must do what we conscientiously believe to be our duty +to our fellow-men. + +Christ alludes to slavery, but does not forbid it. "And the servant abideth +not in the house forever, but the son abideth ever. If the Son therefore +shall make you free, you are free indeed." + +In these two verses of the Gospel of St. John, there is a manifest allusion +to the fact and condition of slaves. Of this fact the Saviour took +occasion, to illustrate, by way of similitude, the condition of a wicked +man, who is the slave of sin, and to show that as a son who was the heir in +a house _could_ set a bondman free, if that son were of the proper age, so +he, the Son of God, could set the enslaved soul free from sin, when he +would be "free indeed." Show me in the history of the Old Testament, or in +the life of Christ, authority to proclaim _as a sin_ the holding of the +race of Ham and Canaan in bondage. + +In the times of the apostles, what do we see? Slaves are still in bondage, +the children of Ham are menials as they were before. Christ had come, had +died, had ascended to heaven, and slavery still existed. Had the apostles +authority to do it away? Had Christ left it to them to carry out, in this +instance, his revealed will? + +"Art thou," said Paul, "called being a slave? care not for it; but if thou +mayest be made free, use it rather. Let every man abide in the same calling +wherein he is called." "Let as many servants as are under the yoke count +their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his +doctrines be not blasphemed. And they that have believing masters, let them +not despise them, because they are brethren, but rather do them service, +because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit." + +It is well known and often quoted that the holy apostle did all he could to +restore a slave to his master--one whom he had been the means of making +free in a spiritual sense. Yet he knew that God had made Onesimus a slave, +and, when he had fled from his master, Paul persuaded him to return and to +do his duty toward him. Open your Bible, Christian, and carefully read the +letter of Paul to Philemon, and contrast its spirit with the incendiary +publications of the Abolitionists of the present day. St. Paul was not a +fanatic, and therefore _could not be_ an Abolitionist. The Christian age +advanced and slavery continued, and we approach the time when our fathers +fled from persecution to the soil we now call our own, when they fought for +the liberty to which they felt they had a right. Our fathers fought for it, +and our mothers did more when they urged forth their husbands and sons, not +knowing whether the life-blood that was glowing with religion and +patriotism would not soon be dyeing the land that had been their refuge, +and where they fondly hoped they should find a happy home. Oh, glorious +parentage! Children of America, trace no farther back--say not the crest of +nobility once adorned thy father's breast, the gemmed coronet thy mother's +brow--stop here! it is enough that they earned for thee a home--a free, a +happy home. And what did they say to the slavery that existed then and had +been entailed upon them by the English government? Their opinions are +preserved among us--they were dictated by their position and +necessities--and they were wisely formed. In the North, slavery was +useless; nay, more, it was a drawback to the prosperity of that section of +the Union--it was dispensed with. In other sections, gradually, our people +have seen their condition would be more prosperous without slaves--they +have emancipated them. In the South, they are necessary: though an evil, it +is one that cannot be dispensed with; and here they have been retained, and +will be retained, unless God should manifest his will (which never yet has +been done) to the contrary. Knowing that the people of the South still have +the views of their revolutionary forefathers, we see plainly that many of +the North have rejected the opinions of theirs. Slaves were at the North +and South considered and recognized as property, (as they are in +Scripture.) The whole nation sanctioned slavery by adopting the +Constitution which provides for them, and for their restoration (when +fugitive) to their owners. Our country was then like one family--their +souls had been tried and made pure by a united struggle--they loved as +brothers who had suffered together. Would it were so at the present day! + +The subject of slavery was agitated among them; many difficulties occurred, +but they were all settled--and, they thought, effectually. They agreed +then, on the propriety of giving up runaway slaves, unanimously. Mr. +Sherman, of Connecticut, "saw no more impropriety in the public seizing and +surrendering a slave or servant than a horse!" (Madison's Papers.) This was +then considered a compromise between the North and South. Henry Clay and +Daniel Webster--the mantle of their illustrious fathers descended to them +from their own glorious times. The slave-trade was discontinued after a +while. As long as England needed the sons and daughters of Africa to do +her bidding, she trafficked in the flesh and blood of her fellow-creatures; +but our immortal fathers put an end to the disgraceful trade. They saw its +heinous sin, for they had no command to enslave the heathen; but they had +no command to emancipate the slave; therefore they wisely forbore farther +to interfere. They drew the nice line of distinction between an unavoidable +evil and a sin. + +Slavery was acknowledged, and slaves considered as property all over our +country, at the North as well as the South--in Pennsylvania, New York, and +New Jersey. Now, has there been any law reversing this, except in the +States that have become free? Out of the limits of these States, slaves are +property, according to the Constitution. In the year 1798, Judge Jay, being +called on for a list of his taxable property, made the following +observation:--"I purchase slaves and manumit them at proper ages, when +their faithful services shall have afforded a reasonable retribution." "As +free servants became more common, he was gradually relieved from the +necessity of purchasing slaves." (See Jay's Life, by his son.) + +Here is the secret of Northern emancipation: they were _relieved from the +necessity_ of slavery. Rufus King, for many years one of the most +distinguished statesmen of the country, writes thus to John B. Coles and +others:--"I am perfectly anxious not to be misunderstood in this case, +never having thought myself at liberty to encourage or assent to any +measure that would affect the security of property in slaves, or tend to +disturb the political adjustment which the Constitution has made respecting +them." + +John Taylor, of New York, said, "If the weight and influence of the South +be increased by the representation of that which they consider a part of +their property, we do not wish to diminish them. The right by which this +property is held is derived from the Federal Constitution; we have neither +inclination nor power to interfere with the laws of existing States in this +particular; on the contrary, they have not only a right to reclaim their +fugitives whenever found, but, in the event of domestic violence, (which +God in his mercy forever avert!) the whole strength of the nation is bound +to be exerted, if needful, in reducing it to subjection, while we recognize +these obligations and will never fail to perform them." + +How many more could be brought! opinions of great and good men of the +North, acknowledging and maintaining the rights of the people of the South. +Everett, Adams, Cambreleng, and a host of others, whose names I need not +give. "Time was," said Mr. Fletcher in Boston, (in 1835, at a great meeting +in that city,) "when such sentiments and such language would not have been +breathed in this community. And here, on this hallowed spot, of all places +on earth, should they be met and rebuked. Time was, when the British +Parliament having declared 'that they had a right to bind us in all cases +whatsoever,' and were attempting to bind our infant limbs in fetters, when +a voice of resistance and notes of defiance had gone forth from this hall, +then, when Massachusetts, standing for her liberty and life, was alone +breasting the whole power of Britain, the generous and gallant Southerners +came to our aid, and our fathers refused not to hold communion with +slaveholders. When the blood of our citizens, shed by a British soldiery, +had stained our streets and flowed upon the heights that surround us, and +sunk into the earth upon the plains of Lexington and Concord, then when he, +whose name can never be pronounced by American lips without the strongest +emotion of gratitude and love to every American heart,--when he, that +slaveholder, (pointing to a full-length portrait of Washington,) who, from +this canvass, smiles upon his children with paternal benignity, came with +other slaveholders to drive the British myrmidons from this city, and in +this hall our fathers did not refuse to hold communion with them. + +"With slaveholders they formed the confederation, neither asking nor +receiving any right to interfere in their domestic relations: with them, +they made the Declaration of Independence." + +To England, not to the United States, belongs whatever odium may be +attached to the introduction of slavery into our country. Our fathers +abolished the slave-trade, but permitted the continuation of domestic +slavery. + +Slavery, authorized by God, permitted by Jesus Christ, sanctioned by the +apostles, maintained by good men of all ages, is still existing in a +portion of our beloved country. How long it will continue, or whether it +will ever cease, the Almighty Ruler of the universe can alone determine. + +I do not intend to give a history of Abolition. Born in fanaticism, +nurtured in violence and disorder, it exists too. Turning aside the +institutions and commands of God, treading under foot the love of country, +despising the laws of nature and the nation, it is dead to every feeling of +patriotism and brotherly kindness; full of strife and pride, strewing the +path of the slave with thorns and of the master with difficulties, +accomplishing nothing good, forever creating disturbance. + +The negroes are still slaves--"while the American slaveholders, +collectively and individually, ask no favours of any man or race that +treads the earth. In none of the attributes of men, mental or physical, do +they acknowledge or fear superiority elsewhere. They stand in the broadest +light of the knowledge, civilization, and improvement of the age, as much +favored of Heaven as any other of the sons of Adam." + + + + +AUNT PHILLIS'S CABIN. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +There would be little to strike the eye of a traveler accustomed to +picturesque scenes, on approaching the small town of L----. Like most of +the settlements in Virginia, the irregularity of the streets and the want +of similarity in the houses would give an unfavorable first impression. The +old Episcopal church, standing at the entrance of the town, could not fail +to be attractive from its appearance of age; but from this alone. No +monuments adorn the churchyard; head-stones of all sizes meet the eye, some +worn and leaning against a shrub or tree for support, others new and white, +and glistening in the sunset. Several family vaults, unpretending in their +appearance, are perceived on a closer scrutiny, to which the plants usually +found in burial-grounds are clinging, shadowed too by large trees. The +walls where they are visible are worn and discolored, but they are almost +covered with ivy, clad in summer's deepest green. Many a stranger stopped +his horse in passing by to wonder at its look of other days; and some, it +may be, to wish they were sleeping in the shades of its mouldering walls. + +The slight eminence on which the church was built, commanded a view of the +residences of several gentlemen of fortune who lived in the neighborhood. +To the nearest one, a gentleman on horseback was directing his way. The +horse required no direction, in truth, for so accustomed was he to the ride +to Exeter, and to the good fare he enjoyed on arriving there, that neither +whip nor spur was necessary; he traced the familiar road with evident +pleasure. + +The house at Exeter was irregularly built; but the white stone wings and +the look-out over the main building gave an appearance of taste to the +mansion. The fine old trees intercepted the view, though adding greatly to +its beauty. The porter's lodge, and the wide lawn entered by its open +gates, the gardens at either side of the building, and the neatness and +good condition of the out-houses, all showed a prosperous state of affairs +with the owner. Soon the large porch with its green blinds, and the +sweetbrier entwining them, came in view, and the family party that occupied +it were discernible. Before Mr. Barbour had reached the point for alighting +from his horse, a servant stood in readiness to take charge of him, and +Alice Weston emerged from her hiding-place among the roses, with her usual +sweet words of welcome. Mr. Weston, the owner of the mansion and its +adjoining plantation, arose with a dignified but cordial greeting; and Mrs. +Weston, his sister-in-law, and Miss Janet, united with him in his kind +reception of a valued guest and friend. + +Mr. Weston was a widower, with an only son; the young gentleman was at this +time at Yale College. He had been absent for three years; and so anxious +was he to graduate with honor, that he had chosen not to return to Virginia +until his course of study should be completed. The family had visited him +during the first year of his exile, as he called it, but it had now been +two years since he had seen any member of it. There was an engagement +between him and his cousin, though Alice was but fifteen when it was +formed. They had been associated from the earliest period of their lives, +and Arthur declared that should he return home on a visit, he would not be +able to break away from its happiness to the routine of a college life: he +yielded therefore to the earnest entreaties of his father, to remain at New +Haven until he graduated. + +Mr. Weston will stand for a specimen of the southern gentleman of the old +school. The bland and cheerful expression of his countenance, the +arrangement of his soft fine hair, the fineness of the texture and the +perfect cleanliness of every part of his dress, the plaiting of his +old-fashioned shirt ruffles, the whiteness of his hand, and the sound of +his clear, well-modulated voice--in fact, every item of his appearance--won +the good opinion of a stranger; while the feelings of his heart and his +steady course of Christian life, made him honored and reverenced as he +deserved. He possessed that requisite to the character of a true gentleman, +a kind and charitable heart. + +None of the present members of his family had any lawful claim upon him, +yet he cherished them with the utmost affection. He requested his brother's +widow, on the death of his own wife, to assume the charge of his house; and +she was in every respect its mistress. Alice was necessary to his +happiness, almost to his existence; she was the very rose in his garden of +life. He had never had a sister, and he regarded Alice as a legacy from his +only brother, to whom he had been most tenderly attached: had she been +uninteresting, she would still have been very dear to him; but her beauty +and her many graces of appearance and character drew closely together the +bonds of love between them; Alice returning, with the utmost warmth, her +uncle's affection. + +Mrs. Weston was unlike her daughter in appearance, Alice resembling her +father's family. Her dark, fine eyes were still full of the fire that had +beamed from them in youth; there were strongly-marked lines about her +mouth, and her face when in repose bore traces of the warfare of past +years. The heart has a writing of its own, and we can see it on the +countenance; time has no power to obliterate it, but generally deepens the +expression. There was at times too a sternness in her voice and manner, yet +it left no unpleasant impression; her general refinement, and her fine +sense and education made her society always desirable. + +Cousin Janet, as she was called by them all, was a dependant and distant +relation; a friend faithful and unfailing; a bright example of all that is +holy and good in the Christian character. She assisted Mrs. Weston greatly +in the many cares that devolved on the mistress of a plantation, especially +in instructing the young female servants in knitting and sewing, and in +such household duties as would make them useful in that state of life in +which it had pleased God to place them. Her heart was full of love to all +God's creatures; the servants came to her with their little ailings and +grievances, and she had always a soothing remedy--some little specific for +a bodily sickness, with a word of advice and kindness, and, if the case +required it, of gentle reproof for complaints of another nature. Cousin +Janet was an old maid, yet many an orphan and friendless child had shed +tears upon her bosom; some, whose hands she had folded together in prayer +as they knelt beside her, learning from her lips a child's simple petition, +had long ago laid down to sleep for ever; some are living still, surrounded +by the halo of their good influence. There was one, of whom we shall speak +by-and-by, who was to her a source of great anxiety, and the constant +subject of her thoughts and fervent prayers. + +Many years had gone by since she had accepted Mr. Weston's earnest entreaty +to make Exeter her home; and although the bread she eat was that of +charity, yet she brought a blessing upon the house that sheltered her, by +her presence: she was one of the chosen ones of the Lord. Even in this day, +it is possible to entertain an angel unawares. She is before you, reader, +in all the dignity of old age, of a long life drawing to a close; still to +the last, she works while it is yet day! + +With her dove-colored dress, and her muslin three-cornered handkerchief, +pinned precisely at the waist and over her bosom, with her eyes sunken and +dim, but expressive, with the wrinkles so many and so deep, and the thin, +white folds of her satin-looking hair parted under her cap; with her silver +knitting-sheath attached to her side, and her needles in ever busy hands, +Cousin Janet would perhaps first arrest the attention of a stranger, in +spite of the glowing cheek and golden curls that were contrasting with her. +It was the beauty of old age and youth, side by side. Alice's face in its +full perfection did not mar the loveliness of hers; the violet eyes of the +one, with their long sweep of eyelash, could not eclipse the mild but deep +expression of the other. The rich burden of glossy hair was lovely, but so +were the white locks; and the slight but rounded form was only compared in +its youthful grace to the almost shadowy dignity of old age. + +It was just sundown, but the servants were all at home after their day's +work, and they too were enjoying the pleasant evening time. Some were +seated at the door of their cabins, others lounging on the grass, all at +ease, and without care. Many of their comfortable cabins had been recently +whitewashed, and were adorned with little gardens in front; over the one +nearest the house a multiflora rose was creeping in full bloom. Singularly +musical voices were heard at intervals, singing snatches of songs, of a +style in which the servants of the South especially delight; and not +unfrequently, as the full chorus was shouted by a number, their still more +peculiar laugh was heard above it all. Mr. Barbour had recently returned +from a pleasure tour in our Northern States, had been absent for two +months, and felt that he had not in as long a time witnessed such a scene +of real enjoyment. He thought it would have softened the heart of the +sternest hater of Southern institutions to have been a spectator here; it +might possibly have inclined him to think the sun of his Creator's +beneficence shines over every part of our favored land. + +"Take a seat, my dear sir," Mr. Weston said, "in our sweetbrier house, as +Alice calls it; the evening would lose half its beauty to us, if we were +within." + +"Alice is always right," said Mr. Barbour, "in every thing she says and +does, and so I will occupy this arm-chair that I know she placed here for +me. Dear me! what a glorious evening! Those distant peaks of the Blue Ridge +look bluer than I ever saw them before." + +"Ah! you are glad to tread Virginia soil once more, that is evident +enough," said Mr. Weston. "There is no danger of your getting tired of your +native state again." + +"Who says I was ever tired of her? I challenge you to prove your +insinuation. I wanted to see this great New England, the 'great Norrurd,' +as Bacchus calls it, and I have seen it; I have enjoyed seeing it, too; and +now I am glad to be at home again." + +"Here comes Uncle Bacchus now, Mr. Barbour," said Alice; "do look at him +walk. Is he not a curiosity? He has as much pretension in his manner as if +he were really doing us a favor in paying us a visit." + +"The old scamp," said Mr. Barbour, "he has a frolic in view; he wants to go +off to-morrow either to a campmeeting, or a barbecue. He looks as if he +were hooked together, and could be taken apart limb by limb." + +Bacchus had commenced bowing some time before he reached the piazza, but on +ascending the steps he made a particularly low bow to his master, and then +in the same manner, though with much less reverence, paid his respects to +the others. + +"Well, Bacchus?" said Mr. Weston. + +"How is yer health dis evenin, master? You aint been so well latterly. +We'll soon have green corn though, and that helps dispepsy wonderful." + +"It may be good for dyspepsia, Bacchus," said Mr. Weston, "but it sometimes +gives old people cholera morbus, when they eat it raw; so I advise you to +remember last year's experience, and roast it before you eat it." + +"I shall, indeed," replied Bacchus; "'twas an awful time I had last summer. +My blessed grief! but I thought my time was done come. But de Lord was +mighty good to me, he brought me up again--Miss Janet's physic done me more +good though than any thing, only it put me to sleep, and I never slept so +much in my born days." + +"You were always something of a sleeper, I am told, Bacchus," said Cousin +Janet; "though I have no doubt the laudanum had that effect; you must be +more prudent; old people cannot take such liberties with themselves." + +"Lor, Miss Janet, I aint so mighty ole now; besure I aint no chicken +nother; but thar's Aunt Peggy; she's what I call a raal ole nigger; she's +an African. Miss Alice, aint she never told you bout de time she seed an +elerphant drink a river dry?" + +"Yes," said Alice, "but she dreamed that." + +"No, Miss, she actually seed it wid her own eyes. They's mighty weak and +dim now, but she could see out of 'em once, I tell ye. It's hot nuff here +sometimes, but Aunt Peggy says it's winter to what 'tis in Guinea, whar she +was raised till she was a big gall. One day when de sun was mighty strong, +she seed an elerphant a comin along. She runned fast enough, she had no +'casion to grease her heels wid quicksilver; she went mighty fast, no +doubt; she didn't want dat great beast's hoof in her wool. You and me seed +an elerphant de time we was in Washington, long wid master, Miss Alice, and +I thought 'bout Aunt Peggy that time. 'Twas a _'nageree_ we went to. You +know I held you in my arms over de people's heads to see de monkeys ride. + +"Well, Aunt Peggy say she runned till she couldn't run no longer, so she +clumb a great tree, and sat in de branches and watched him. He made +straight for de river, and he kicked up de sand wid his hoofs, as he went +along, till he come to de bank; den he begins to drink, and he drinks, I +tell you. Aunt Peggy say every swaller he took was least a gallon, and he +drunk all dat blessed mornin. After a while she seed de water gitting very +low, and last he gits enuff. He must a got his thirst squinched by dat +time. So Aunt Peggy, she waded cross de river, when de elephant had went, +and two days arter dat, de river was clean gone, bare as my hand. Master," +continued Bacchus, "I has a great favor to ax of you." + +"Barbecue or campmeeting, Bacchus?" said Mr. Barbour. + +"If you please, master," said he, addressing Mr. Weston, but at the same +time giving an imploring look to Mr. Barbour, "to 'low me to go way +to-morrow and wait at de barbecue. Mr. Semmes, he wants me mightily; he +says he'll give me a dollar a day if I goes. I'll sure and be home agin in +the evenin." + +"I am afraid to give you permission," said Mr. Weston; "this habit of +drinking, that is growing upon you, is a disgrace to your old age. You +remember you were picked up and brought home in a cart from campmeeting +this summer, and I am surprised that you should so soon ask a favor of me." + +"I feels mighty shamed o' that, sir," said Bacchus, "but I hope you will +'scuse it. Niggers aint like white people, no how; they can't 'sist +temptation. I've repented wid tears for dat business, and 'twont happen +agin, if it please the Lord not to lead me into temptation." + +"You led yourself into temptation," said Mr. Weston; "you took pains to +cross two or three fences, and to go round by Norris's tavern, when, if +you had chosen, you could have come home by the other road." + +"True as gospel, ma'am," said Bacchus, "I don't deny de furst word of it; +the Lord forgive me for backsliding; but master's mighty good to us, and if +he'll overlook that little misfortune of mine, it shan't happen agin." + +"You call it a misfortune, do you, Bacchus?" said Mr. Barbour; "why, it +seems to me such a great Christian as you are, would have given the right +name to it, and called it a sin. I am told you are turned preacher?" + +"No, sir," said Bacchus, "I aint no preacher, I warn't called to be; I +leads in prayer sometimes, and in general I rises de tunes." + +"Well, I suppose I can't refuse you," said Mr. Weston; "but come home +sober, or ask no more permissions." + +"God bless you, master; don't be afeard: you'll see you can trust me. I +aint gwine to disgrace our family no more. I has to have a little change +sometimes, for Miss Janet knows my wife keeps me mighty straight at home. +She 'lows me no privileges, and if I didn't go off sometimes for a little +fun, I shouldn't have no health, nor sperrets nother." + +"You wouldn't have any sperrits, that's certain," said Alice, laughing; "I +should like to see a bottle of whisky in Aunt Phillis's cabin." + +Bacchus laughed outright, infinitely overcome at the suggestion. "My +blessed grief! Miss Alice," said he, "she'd make me eat de bottle, chaw up +all de glass, swaller it arter dat. I aint ever tried dat yet--best not to, +I reckon. No, master, I intends to keep sober from this time forrurd, till +young master comes back; _den_ I shall git high, spite of Phillis, and +'scuse me, sir, spite of de devil hisself. When is he comin, any how, sir?" + +"Next year, I hope, Bacchus," said Mr. Weston. + +"Long time, sir," said Bacchus; "like as not he'll never see old Aunt Peggy +agin. She's failin, sir, you can see by de way she sets in de sun all day, +wid a long switch in her hand, trying to hit de little niggers as dey go +by. Sure sign she's gwine home. If she wasn't altogether wore out, she'd be +at somefin better. She's sarved her time cookin and bakin, and she's gwine +to a country whar there's no 'casion to cook any more. She's a good old +soul, but wonderful cross sometimes." + +"She has been an honest, hard-working, and faithful servant, and a sober +one too," said Mr. Weston. + +"I understand, sir," said Bacchus, humbly; "but don't give yourself no +oneasiness about me! I shall be home to-morrow night, ready to jine in at +prayers." + +"Very well--that will do, Bacchus," said Mr. Weston, who felt anxious to +enjoy the society of his friend. + +"Good evenin to you all," said Bacchus, retreating with many bows. + +We will see how Bacchus kept his word, and for the present leave Mr. Weston +to discuss the subjects of the day with his guest; while the ladies paid a +visit to Aunt Peggy, and listened to her complaints of "the flies and the +little niggers," and the thousand and one ailings that belong to the age of +ninety years. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +"You rode too far this afternoon, Alice, you seem to be very tired," said +Mr. Weston. + +"No, dear uncle, I am not fatigued; the wind was cold, and it makes me feel +stupid." + +"Why did not Walter come in?" asked Mr. Weston. "I saw him returning with +you by the old road." + +"He said he had an engagement this evening," replied Alice, as she raised +her head from her uncle's shoulder. + +"Poor Walter!" said Cousin Janet; "with the education and habits of a +gentleman, he is to be pitied that it is only as a favor he is received, +among those with whom he may justly consider himself on an equality." + +"But is not Walter our equal?" asked Alice. Cousin Janet held her knitting +close to her eyes to look for a dropped stitch, while Mr. Weston replied +for her: + +"My love, you know, probably, that Walter is not an equal by right of birth +to those whose parents held a fair and honorable position in society. His +father, a man of rare talents, of fascinating appearance, and winning +address, was the ruin of all connected with him. (Even his mother, +broken-hearted by his career of extravagance and dissipation, found rest in +the termination of a life that had known no rest.) His first wife, (not +Walter's mother,) a most interesting woman, was divorced from him by an +unjust decision of the law, for after her death circumstances transpired +that clearly proved her innocence. Walter's mother was not married, as far +as is known; though some believe she was, and that she concealed it in +consequence of the wishes and threats of Mr. Lee, who was ashamed to own +the daughter of a tradesman for his wife." + +"But all this is not Walter's fault, uncle," said Alice. + +"Assuredly not; but there is something due to our long established +opinions. Walter should go to a new country, where these things are not +known, and where his education and talents would advance him. Here they are +too fresh in the memory of many. Yet do I feel most kindly towards him, +though he rather repels the interest we take in him by his haughty coldness +of manner. The attachment between him and my son from their infancy draws +me towards him. Arthur writes, though, that his letters are very reserved +and not frequent. What can be the meaning of it?" + +"There was always a want of candor and generosity in Walter's disposition," +remarked Alice's mother. + +"You never liked him, Anna," said Mr. Weston; "why was it?" + +"Arthur and Walter contrast so strongly," answered Mrs. Weston. "Arthur was +always perfectly honest and straight-forward, even as a little child; +though quiet in his way of showing it, he is so affectionate in his +disposition. Walter is passionate and fickle, condescending to those he +loves, but treating with a proud indifference every one else. I wonder he +does not go abroad, he has the command of his fortune now, and here he can +never be happily situated; no woman of delicacy would ever think of +marrying him with that stain on his birth." + +"How beautiful his mother was, Cousin Janet!" said Mr. Weston. "I have +never seen more grace and refinement. I often look at Walter, and recall +her, with her beautiful brown hair and blue eyes. How short her course was, +too! I think she died at eighteen." + +"Do tell me about her, uncle," said Alice. + +"Cousin Janet can, better than I, my darling. Have you never told Alice her +history, cousin?" + +"No, it is almost too sad a tale for Alice's ear, and there is something +holy, in my mind, in the recollection of the sorrows of that young person. +I believe she was a wife, though an unacknowledged one. If the grave would +give up its secrets--but it will, it will--the time will come for justice +to all, even to poor Ellen Haywood. + +"That young creature was worse than an orphan, for her father, thriving in +business at one time, became dissipated and reckless. Ellen's time was her +own; and after her mother's death her will was uncontrolled. Her education +was not good enough to give her a taste for self-improvement. She had a +fine mind, though, and the strictest sense of propriety and dignity. Her +remarkable beauty drew towards her the attention of the young men of her +own class, as well as those of good family; but she was always prudent. +Poor girl! knowing she was motherless and friendless, I tried to win her +regard; I asked her to come to the house, with some other young girls of +the neighborhood, to study the Bible under my poor teachings; but she +declined, and I afterwards went to see her, hoping to persuade her to come. +I found her pale and delicate, and much dispirited. Thanking me most +earnestly, she begged me to excuse her, saying she rarely went out, on +account of her father's habits, fearing something might occur during her +absence from home. I was surprised to find her so depressed, yet I do not +remember ever to have seen any thing like guilt, in all the interviews with +her, from that hour until her death. + +"Ellen's father died; but not before many had spoken lightly of his +daughter. Mr. Lee was constantly at the house; and what but Ellen's beauty +could take him there! No one was without a prejudice against Mr. Lee, and I +have often wondered that Ellen could have overlooked what every one knew, +the treatment his wife had received. You will think," continued Cousin +Janet, "that it is because I am an old maid, and am full of notions, that I +cannot imagine how a woman can love a man who has been divorced from his +wife. I, who have never loved as the novelists say, have the most exalted +ideas of marriage. It is in Scripture, the type of Christ's love to the +church. Life is so full of cares; there is something holy in the thought of +one heart being privileged to rest its burden on another. But how can that +man be loved who has put away his wife from him, because he is tired of +her? for this is the meaning of the usual excuses--incompatibility of +temper, and the like. Yet Ellen did love him, with a love passing +description; she forgot his faults and her own position; she loved as I +would never again wish to see a friend of mine love any creature of the +earth. + +"Time passed, and Ellen was despised. Mr. Lee left abruptly for Europe, and +I heard that this poor young woman was about to become a mother. I knew she +was alone in the world, and I knew my duty too. I went to her, and I thank +Him who inclined me to seek this wandering lamb of his fold, and to be (it +may be) the means of leading her back to His loving care and protection. I +often saw her during the last few weeks of her life, and she was usually +alone; Aunt Lucy, her mother's servant, and her own nurse when an infant, +being the only other occupant of her small cottage. + +"Speaking of her, brings back, vividly as if it happened yesterday, the +scene with which her young life closed. Lucy sent for me, as I had charged +her, but the messenger delayed, and in consequence, Ellen had been some +hours sick when I arrived. Oh! how lovely her face appears to my memory, as +I recall her. She was in no pain at the moment I entered; her head was +supported by pillows, and her brown hair fell over them and over her neck. +Her eyes were bright as an angel's, her cheeks flushed to a crimson color, +and her white, beautiful hand grasped a cane which Dr. Lawton had just +placed there, hoping to relieve some of her symptoms by bleeding. Lucy +stood by, full of anxiety and affection, for this faithful servant loved +her as she loved her own life. My heart reproached me for my unintentional +neglect, but I was in a moment by her side, supporting her head upon my +breast. + +"It is like a dream, that long night of agony. The patience of Ellen, the +kindness of her physician, and the devotion of her old nurse--I thought +that only a wife could have endured as she did. + +"Before this, Ellen had told me her wishes as regards her child, persuaded +that, if it should live, she should not survive its birth to take care of +it. She entreated me to befriend it in the helpless time of infancy, and +then to appeal to its father in its behalf. I promised her to do so, always +chiding her for not hoping and trusting. 'Ellen,' I would say, 'life is a +blessing as long as God gives it, and it is our duty to consider it so.' + +"'Yes, Miss Janet, but if God give me a better life, shall I not esteem it +a greater blessing? I have not deserved shame and reproach, and I cannot +live under it. Right glad and happy am I, that a few sods of earth will +soon cover all.' + +"Such remarks as these," continued Cousin Janet, "convinced me that there +was grief, but not guilt, on Ellen's breast, and for her own sake, I hoped +that she would so explain to me her past history, that I should have it in +my power to clear her reputation. But she never did. Truly, 'she died and +made no sign,' and it is reserved to a future day to do her justice. + +"I said she died. That last night wore on, and no word of impatience or +complaint escaped her lips. The agony of death found her quiet and +composed. Night advanced, and the gray morning twilight fell on those +features, no longer flushed and excited. Severe faintings had come on, and +the purple line under the blue eyes heralded the approach of death. Her +luxuriant hair lay in damp masses about her; her white arms were cold, and +the moisture of death was gathering there too. 'Oh! Miss Ellen,' cried old +Lucy, 'you will be better soon--bear up a little longer.' + +"'Ellen dear,' I said, 'try and keep up.' But who can give life and +strength save One?--and He was calling to her everlasting rest the poor +young sufferer. + +"'Miss Ellen,' again cried Lucy, 'you have a son; speak to me, my darling;' +but, like Rachel of old, she could not be thus revived, 'her soul was in +departing.' + +"Lucy bore away the child from the chamber of death, and I closed her white +eyelids, and laid her hands upon her breast. Beautiful was she in death: +she had done with pain and tears forever. + +"I never can forget," continued Cousin Janet, after a pause of a few +moments, "Lucy's grief. She wept unceasingly by Ellen's side, and it was +impossible to arouse her to a care for her own health, or to an interest in +what was passing around. On the day that Ellen was to be buried, I went to +the room where she lay prepared for her last long sleep. Death had laid a +light touch on her fair face. The sweet white brow round which her hair +waved as it had in life--the slightly parted lips--the expression of +repose, not only in the countenance, but in the attitude in which her old +nurse had laid her, seemed to indicate an awakening to the duties of life. +But there was the coffin and the shroud, and there sat Lucy, her eyes heavy +with weeping, and her frame feeble from long fasting, and indulgence of +bitter, hopeless grief. + +"It was in the winter, and a severe snow-storm, an unusual occurrence with +us, had swept the country for several days; but on this morning the wind +and clouds had gone together, and the sun was lighting up the hills and +river, and the crystals of snow were glistening on the evergreens that +stood in front of the cottage door. One ray intruded through the shutter +into the darkened room, and rested on a ring, which I had never observed +before, on Ellen's left hand. It was on the third finger, and its +appearance there was so unexpected to me, that for a moment my strength +forsook me, and I leaned against the table on which the coffin rested, for +support. + +"'Lucy,' I said, 'when was that placed there?' + +"'I put it there, ma'am.' + +"'But what induced you?' + +"'She told me to do so, ma'am. A few days before she was taken sick, she +called me and took from her bureau-drawer, that ring. The ring was in a +small box. She was very pale when she spoke--she looked more like death +than she does now, ma'am. I know'd she wasn't able to stand, and I said, +'Sit down, honey, and then tell me what you want me to do.' + +"'Mammy,' said she, 'you've had a world of trouble with me, and you've had +trouble of your own all your life; but I am not going to give you much +more--I shall soon be where trouble cannot come.' + +"'Don't talk that way, child,' said I, 'you will get through with this, and +then you will have something to love and to care for, that will make you +happy again.' + +"'Never in this world,' said she; 'but mammy, I have one favor more to ask +of you--and you must promise me to do it.' + +"'What is it, Miss Ellen?' said I, 'you know I would die for you if 'twould +do you any good.' + +"'It is this,' she said, speaking very slowly, and in a low tone, 'when I +am dead, mammy, when you are all by yourself, for I am sure you will stay +by me to the last, I want you to put this ring on the third finger of my +left hand--will you remember?--on the third finger of my left hand.' She +said it over twice, ma'am, and she was whiter than that rose that lays on +her poor breast.' + +"'Miss Ellen,' says I, 'as sure as there's a God in heaven you are Mr. +Lee's wife, and why don't you say so, and stand up for yourself? Don't you +see how people sneer at you when they see you?' + +"'Yes, but don't say any more. It will soon be over. I made a promise, and +I will keep it; God will do me justice when he sees fit.' + +"'But, Miss Ellen,' says I, 'for the sake of the child'-- + +"'Hush! mammy, that is the worst of all; but I will trust in Him. It's a +dreadful sin to love as I have, but God has punished me. Do you remember, +dear mammy, when I was a child, how tired I would get, chasing butterflies +while the day lasted, and when night came, how I used to spring, and try to +catch the lightning-bugs that were flying around me--and you used to beg me +to come in and rest or go to bed, but I would not until I could no longer +stand; then I laid myself on your breast and forgot all my weariness? So it +is with me now; I have had my own way, and I have suffered, and have no +more strength to spend; I will lie down in the grave, and sleep where no +one will reproach me. Promise me you will do what I ask you, and I will die +contented.' + +"'I promised her, ma'am, and I have done it.' + +"'It is very strange, Lucy,' said I, 'there seems to have been a mysterious +reason why she would not clear herself; but it is of no use to try and +unravel the mystery. She has no friends left to care about it; we can only +do as she said, leave all to God.' + +"'Ah ma'am,' said Lucy, 'what shall I do now she is gone? I have got no +friend left; if I could only die too--Lord have mercy upon me.' + +"'You have still a friend, Lucy,' I said. 'One that well deserves the name +of friend. You must seek Him out, and make a friend of Him. Jesus Christ is +the friend of the poor and desolate. Have you no children, Lucy?' + +"'God only knows, ma'am.' + +"'What do you mean?' I said. 'Are they all dead?' + +"'They are gone, ma'am--all sold. I ain't seen one of them for twenty +years. Days have come and gone, and nights have come and gone, but day and +night is all the same to me. You did not hear, may be, for grand folks +don't often hear of the troubles of the poor slave--that one day I had +seven children with me, and the next they were all sold; taken off, and I +did not even see them, to bid them good-by. My master sent me, with my +mistress to the country, where her father lived, (for she was sickly, and +he said it would do her good,) and when we came back there was no child to +meet me. I have cried, ma'am, enough for Miss Ellen, but I never shed a +tear for my own.' + +"'But what induced him, Lucy, to do such a wicked thing?' + +"'Money, ma'am, and drinking, and the devil. He did not leave me one. My +five boys, and my two girls, all went at once. My oldest daughter, ma'am, I +was proud of her, for she was a handsome girl, and light-colored too--she +went, and the little one, ma'am. My heart died in me. I hated him. I used +to dream I had killed him, and I would laugh out in my sleep, but I +couldn't murder him on her account. My mistress, she cried day and night, +and called him cruel, and she would say, 'Lucy, I'd have died before I +would have done it.' I couldn't murder him, ma'am, 'twas my mistress held +me back.' + +"'No, Lucy,' said I, ''twas not your mistress, it was the Lord; and thank +Him that you are not a murderer. Did you ever think of the consequences of +such an act?' + +"'Lor, ma'am, do you think I cared for that? I wasn't afraid of hanging.' + +"'I did not mean that, Lucy. I meant, did you not fear His power, who could +not only kill your body, but destroy your soul in hell?' + +"'I didn't think of any thing, for a long time. My mistress got worse after +that, and I nursed her until she died; poor Miss Ellen was a baby, and I +had her too. When master died I thought it was no use for me to wish him +ill, for the hand of the Lord was heavy on him, for true. 'Lucy,' he said, +'you are a kind nurse to me, though I sold your children, but I've had no +rest since.' I couldn't make him feel worse, ma'am, for he was going to his +account with all his sins upon him.' + +"'This is the first time Lucy,' I said, 'that I have ever known children to +be sold away from their mother, and I look upon the crime with as great a +horror as you do.' + +"'Its the only time I ever knowed it, ma'am, and everybody pitied me, and +many a kind thing was said to me, and many a hard word was said of him; +true enough, but better be forgotten, as he is in his grave.' + +"Some persons now entered, and Lucy became absorbed in her present grief; +her old frame shook as with a tempest, when the fair face was hid from her +sight. There were few mourners; Cousin Weston and I followed her to the +grave. I believe Ellen was as pure as the white lilies Lucy planted at her +head." + +"Did Lucy ever hear of her children?" asked Alice. + +"No, my darling, she died soon after Ellen. She was quite an old woman, and +had never been strong." + +"Uncle," said Alice, "I did not think any one could be so inhuman as to +separate mother and children." + +"It is the worst feature in slavery," replied Mr. Weston, "and the State +should provide laws to prevent it; but such a circumstance is very +uncommon. Haywood, Ellen's father, was a notoriously bad man, and after +this wicked act was held in utter abhorrence in the neighborhood. It is the +interest of a master to make his slaves happy, even were he not actuated by +better motives. Slavery is an institution of our country; and while we are +privileged to maintain our rights, we should make them comfortable here, +and fit them for happiness hereafter." + +"Did you bring Lucy home with you, Cousin Janet?" asked Alice. + +"Yes, my love, and little Walter too. He was a dear baby--now he is a man +of fortune, (for Mr. Lee left him his entire property,) and is under no +one's control. He will always be very dear to me. But here comes Mark with +the Prayer Book." + +"Lay it here, Mark," said Mr. Weston, "and ring the bell for the servants. +I like all who can to come and unite with me in thanking God for His many +mercies. Strange, I have opened the Holy Book where David says, (and we +will join with him,) 'Praise the Lord, oh! my soul, and all that is within +me, praise his holy name.'" + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +After the other members of the family had retired, Mr. Weston, as was usual +with him, sat for a while in the parlor to read. The closing hour of the +day is, of all, the time that we love to dwell on the subject nearest our +heart. As, at the approach of death, the powers of the mind rally, and the +mortal, faint and feeble, with but a few sparks of decaying life within +him, arouses to a sense of his condition, and puts forth all his energies, +to meet the hour of parting with earth and turning his face to heaven; so, +at the close of the evening, the mind, wearied with its day's travelling, +is about to sink into that repose as necessary for it as for the body--that +repose so often compared to the one in which the tired struggler with life, +has "forever wrapped the drapery of his couch about him, and laid down to +pleasant dreams." Ere yielding, it turns with energy to the calls of +memory, though it is so soon to forget all for a while. It hears voices +long since hushed, and eyes gaze into it that have looked their last upon +earthly visions. Time is forgotten, Affection for a while holds her reign, +Sorrow appears with her train of reproachings and remorse, until +exhaustion comes to its aid, and it obtains the relief so bountifully +provided by Him who knoweth well our frames. With Mr. Weston this last hour +was well employed, for he not only read, but studied the Holy Scriptures. +Possessed of an unusually placid temperament, there had occurred in his +life but few events calculated to change the natural bent of his +disposition. The death of his wife was indeed a bitter grief; but he had +not married young, and she had lived so short a time, that after a while he +returned to his usual train of reflection. But for the constant presence of +his son, whose early education he superintended, he would have doubted if +there ever had been a reality to the remembrance of the happy year he had +passed in her society. + +With his hand resting on the sacred page, and his heart engrossed with the +lessons it taught, he was aroused from his occupation by a loud noise +proceeding from the kitchen. This was a most unusual circumstance, for +besides that the kitchen was at some distance from the house, the servants +were generally quiet and orderly. It was far from being the case at +present. Mr. Weston waited a short time to give affairs time to right +themselves, but at length determined to inquire into the cause of the +confusion. + +As he passed through the long hall, the faces of his ancestors looked down +upon him by the dim light. There was a fair young lady, with an arm white +as snow, unconcealed by a sleeve, unless the fall of a rich border of lace +from her shoulder could be called by that name. Her golden hair was brushed +back from her forehead, and fell in masses over her shoulders. Her face was +slightly turned, and there was a smile playing about her mouth. + +Next her was a grave-looking cavalier, her husband. There were old men, +with powdered hair and the rich dress of bygone times. + +There were the hoop and the brocades, and the stomacher, and the fair +bosom, against which a rose leaned, well satisfied with its lounging +place. Over the hall doors, the antlers of the stag protruded, reminding +one that the chase had been a favorite pastime with the self-exiled sons of +Merry England. + +Such things have passed away from thee, my native State! Forever have they +gone, and the times when over waxed floors thy sons and daughters +gracefully performed the minuet. The stately bow, the graceful curtsey are +seen no more; there is hospitality yet lingering in thy halls, but fashion +is making its way there too. The day when there was a tie between master +and slave,--is that departing, and why? + +Mr. Weston passed from the house under a covered way to the kitchen, and +with a firm but slow step, entered. And here, if you be an Old or a New +Englander, let me introduce you--as little at home would be Queen Victoria +holding court in the Sandwich Islands, as you here. You may look in vain +for that bane of good dinners, a cooking stove; search forever for a grain +of saleratus or soda, and it will be in vain. That large, round block, with +the wooden hammer, is the biscuit-beater; and the cork that is lifting +itself from the jug standing on it, belongs to the yeast department. + +Mr. Weston did not, nor will we, delay to glance at the well-swept earthen +floor, and the bright tins in rows on the dresser, but immediately +addressed himself to Aunt Peggy, who, seated in a rush-bottomed chair in +the corner, and rocking herself backwards and forwards, was talking +rapidly. + +And oh! what a figure had Aunt Peggy; or rather, what a face. Which was the +blacker, her eyes or her visage; or whiter, her eyeballs or her hair? The +latter, unconfined by her bandanna handkerchief as she generally wore it, +standing off from her head in masses, like snow. And who that had seen her, +could forget that one tooth projecting over her thick underlip, and in +constant motion as she talked. + +"It's no use, Mister Bacchus," said she, addressing the old man, who +looked rather the worse for wear, "it's no use to be flinging yer imperence +in my face. I'se worked my time; I'se cooked many a grand dinner, and eat +'em too. You'se a lazy wagabond yerself." + +"Peggy," interposed Mr. Weston. + +"A good-for-nothing, lazy wagabond, yerself," continued Peggy, not noticing +Mr. Weston, "you'se not worth de hommony you eats." + +"Does you hear that, master?" said Bacchus, appealing to Mr. Weston; "she's +such an old fool." + +"Hold your tongue, sir," said Mr. Weston; while Mark, ready to strangle his +fellow-servant for his impertinence, was endeavoring to drag him out of the +room. + +"Ha, ha," said Peggy, "so much for Mr. Bacchus going to barbecues. A nice +waiter he makes." + +"Do you not see me before you, Peggy?" said Mr. Weston, "and do you +continue this disputing in my presence? If you were not so old, and had not +been so faithful for many years, I would not excuse such conduct. You are +very ungrateful, when you are so well cared for; and from this time +forward, if you cannot be quiet and set a good example in the kitchen, do +not come into it." + +"Don't be afeard, master, I can stay in my own cabin. If I has been well +treated, it's no more den I desarves. I'se done nuff for you and yours, in +my day; slaved myself for you and your father before you. De Lord above +knows I dont want ter stay whar dat ole drunken nigger is, no how. Hand me +my cane, dar, Nancy, I ain't gwine to 'trude my 'siety on nobody." And +Peggy hobbled off, not without a most contemptuous look at Bacchus, who was +making unsuccessful efforts to rise in compliment to his master. + +"As for you, Bacchus," said Mr. Weston, "never let this happen again. I +will not allow you to wait at barbecues, in future." + +"Don't say so, master, if you please; dat ox, if you could a smelled him +roastin, and de whiskey-punch," and Bacchus snapped his finger, as the only +way of concluding the sentence to his own satisfaction. + +"Take him off, Mark," said Mr. Weston, "the drunken old rascal." + +"Master," said Bacchus, pushing Mark off, "I don't like de way you speak to +me; t'aint 'spectful." + +"Carry him off," said Mr. Weston, again. "John, help Mark." + +"Be off wid yourselves, both of ye," said Bacchus; "if ye don't, I'll give +you de devil, afore I quits." + +"I'll shut your mouth for you," said Mark, "talking so before master; knock +him over, John, and push him out." + +Bacchus was not so easily overcome. The god whose namesake he was, stood by +him for a time. Suddenly the old fellow's mood changed; with a patronizing +smile he turned to Mr. Weston, and said, "Master, you must 'scuse me: I +aint well dis evening. I has the dyspepsy; my suggestion aint as good as +common. I think dat ox was done too much." + +Mr. Weston could not restrain a smile at his grotesque appearance, and +ridiculous language. Mark and John took advantage of the melting mood which +had come over him, and led him off without difficulty. On leaving the +kitchen, he went into a pious fit, and sung out + + "When I can read my title clar." + +Mr. Weston heard him say, "Don't, Mark; don't squeeze an ole nigger so; do +you 'spose you'll ever get to Heaven, if you got no more feelins than +that?" + +"I hope," said Mr. Weston, addressing the other servants, "that you will +all take warning by this scene. An honest and respectable servant like +Bacchus, to degrade himself in this way--it gives me great pain to see it. +William," said he, addressing a son of Bacchus, who stood by the window, +"did you deliver my note to Mr. Walter?" + +"Yes, sir; he says he'll come to dinner; I was on my way in to tell you, +but they was making such a fuss here." + +"Very well," said Mr. Weston. "The rest of you go to bed, quietly; I am +sure there will be no more disturbance to-night." + +But, what will the Abolitionist say to this scene? Where were the whip and +the cord, and other instruments of torture? Such consideration, he +contends, was never shown in the southern country. With Martin Tupper, I +say, + + "Hear reason, oh! brother; + Hear reason and right." + +It has been, that master and slave were friends; and if this cannot +continue, at whose door will the sin lie? + +The Abolitionist says to the slave, Go! but what does he do that really +advances his interest? He says to the master, Give up thine own! but does +he offer to share in the loss? No; he would give to the Lord of that which +costs him nothing. + +Should the southern country become free, should the eyes of the world see +no stain upon her escutcheon, it will not be through the efforts of these +fanatics. If white labor could be substituted for black, better were it +that she should not have this weight upon her. The emancipation of her +slaves will never be accomplished by interference or force. Good men assist +in colonizing them, and the Creator may thus intend to christianize +benighted Africa. Should this be the Divine will, oh! that from every port, +steamers were going forth, bearing our colored people to their natural +home! + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +My readers must go with me to a military station at the North, and date +back two years from the time of my story. The season must change, and +instead of summer sunsets and roses, we will bring before them three feet +of snow, and winter's bleakest winds. + +Neither of these inconvenienced the company assembled in the comfortable +little parlor of Captain Moore's quarters, with a coal-grate almost as +large as the room, and curtains closely drawn over the old style windows: +Mrs. Moore was reduced to the utmost extremity of her wits to make the room +look modern; but it is astonishing, the genius of army ladies for putting +the best foot foremost. This room was neither square nor oblong; and though +a mere box in size, it had no less than four doors (two belonged to the +closets) and three windows. The closets were utterly useless, being +occupied by an indomitable race of rats and mice; they had an impregnable +fortress somewhere in the old walls, and kept possession, in spite of the +house-keeping artillery Mrs. Moore levelled against them. The poor woman +gave up in despair; she locked the doors, and determined to starve the +garrison into submission. + +She was far more successful in other respects, having completely banished +the spirits of formality and inhospitality that presided in these domains. +The house was outside the fort, and had been purchased from a citizen who +lived there, totally apart from his race; Mrs. Moore had the comfort of +hearing, on taking possession, that all sorts of ghosts were at home there; +but she was a cheerful kind of woman, and did not believe in them any more +than she did in clairvoyance, so she set to work with a brave heart, and +every thing yielded to her sway, excepting the aforesaid rats and mice. + +Her parlor was the very realization of home comfort. The lounge by the +three windows was covered with small figured French chintz, and it was a +delightful seat, or bed, as the occasion required. She had the legs of +several of the chairs sawed off, and made cushions for them, covered with +pieces of the chintz left from the lounge. The armchairs that looked at +each other from either side of the fireplace place, not being of velvet, +were made to sit in. + +In one corner of the room, (there were five,) a fine-toned guitar rested +against the wall; in another, was a large fly-brush of peacock's feathers, +with a most unconscionable number of eyes. In the third, was Captain +Moore's sword and sash. In the fourth, was Mrs. Moore's work-basket, where +any amount of thimbles, needles, and all sorts of sewing implements could +be found. And in the fifth corner was the baby-jumper, its fat and habitual +occupant being at this time oblivious to the day's exertions; in point of +fact, he was up stairs in a red pine crib, sound asleep with his thumb in +his mouth. + +One of Chickering's best pianos stood open in this wonderful little parlor, +and Mrs. Moore rung out sweet sounds from it evening after evening. Mrs. M. +was an industrious, intelligent Southern woman; before she met Captain +Moore, she had a sort of antipathy to dogs and Yankees; both, however, +suddenly disappeared, for after a short acquaintance, she fell desperately +in love with the captain, and allowed his great Newfoundland dog, (who had +saved the captain, and a great number of boys from drowning,) to lick her +hand, and rest his cold, black nose on her lap; on this evening Neptune lay +at her feet, and was another ornament of the parlor. Indeed, he should have +been mentioned in connection with the baby-jumper, for wherever the baby +was in the day time, there was Neptune, but he seemed to think that a +Newfoundland dog had other duties incumbent upon him in the evening than +watching babies, so he listened attentively to the music, dozing now and +then. Sometimes, during a very loud strain, he would suddenly rouse and +look intently at the coal-fire; but finding himself mistaken, that he had +only dreamed it was a river, and that a boy who was fishing on its banks +had tumbled in, and required his services to pull him out, would fall down +on the rug again and take another nap. + +I have said nothing of this rug, which Neptune thought was purchased for +him, nor of the bright red carpet, nor of the nice china candlesticks on +the mantel-piece, (which could not be reached without a step-ladder,) nor +of the silver urn, which was Mrs. Moore's great-grandmother's, nor of the +lard-lamp which lit up every thing astonishingly, because I am anxious to +come to the point of this chapter, and cannot do justice to all these +things. But it would be the height of injustice, in me, to pass by +Lieutenant Jones's moustaches, for the simple reason, that since the close +of the Mexican war, he had done little else but cultivate them. They were +very brown, glossy, and luxuriant, entirely covering his upper lip, so that +it was only in a hearty laugh that one would have any reason to suppose he +had cut his front teeth; but he had, and they were worth cutting, too, +which is not always the case with teeth. The object of wearing these +moustaches was, evidently, to give himself a warlike and ferocious +appearance; in this, he was partially successful, having the drawbacks of a +remarkably gentle and humane countenance, and a pair of mild blue eyes. He +was a very good-natured young man, and had shot a wild turkey in Mexico, +the tail of which he had brought home to Mrs. Moore, to be made into a fan. +(This fan, too, was in the parlor, of which may be said what was once +thought of the schoolmaster's head, that the only wonder was, it could +contain so much.) + +Next to Mr. Jones we will notice a brevet-second lieutenant, just attached +to the regiment, and then introduce a handsome bachelor captain. (These are +scarce in the army, and should be valued accordingly.) This gentleman was a +fine musician, and the brevet played delightfully on the flute; in fact, +they had had quite a concert this evening. Then there was Colonel Watson, +the commanding officer, who had happened in, Mrs. Moore being an especial +favorite of his; and there was a long, lean, gaunt-looking gentleman, by +the name of Kent. He was from Vermont, and was an ultra Abolitionist. They +had all just returned from the dining-room, where they had been eating cold +turkey and mince pies; and though there was a fair chance of the nightmare +some hours hence, yet for the present they were in an exceedingly high +state of health and spirits. + +Now, Mrs. Moore had brought from Carolina a woman quite advanced in life. +She had been a very faithful servant, and Mrs. Moore's mother, wishing her +daughter to have the benefit of her services, and feeling perfect +confidence in Polly's promise that under no circumstances would she leave +her daughter without just cause, had concluded that the best way of +managing affairs would be to set her free at once. She did so; but Polly +being one of those persons who take the world quietly, was not the least +elated at being her own mistress; she rather felt it to be a kind of +experiment to which there was some risk attached. Mrs. Moore paid her six +dollars a month for her services, and from the time they had left home +together until the present moment, Polly had been a most efficient servant, +and a sort of friend whose opinions were valuable in a case of emergency. + +For instance, Captain Moore was a temperance man, and in consequence, +opposed to brandy, wine, and the like being kept in his house. This was +quite a trouble to his wife, for she knew that good mince pies and pudding +sauces could not be made without a little of the wherewithal; so she laid +her difficulties before Aunt Polly, and begged her to advise what was best +to do. + +"You see, Aunt Polly, Captain Moore says that a good example ought to be +set to the soldiers; and that since the Mexican war the young officers are +more inclined to indulge than they used to be; that he feels such a +responsibility in the case that he can't bear the sight of a bottle in the +house." + +"Well, honey," said Aunt Polly, "he says he likes my mince pies, and my +puddins, mightily; and does he 'spect me to make 'em good, and make 'em out +of nothin, too?" + +"That's what I say, Aunt Polly, for you know none of us like to drink. The +captain belongs to the Temperance Society; and I don't like it, because it +gets into my head, and makes me stupid; and you never drink any thing, so +if we could only manage to get him to let us keep it to cook with." + +"As to that, child," said Aunt Polly, "I mus have it to cook with, that's a +pint settled; there aint no use 'sputin about it. If he thinks I'm gwine to +change my way of cookin in my old age, he's mightily mistaken. He need'nt +think I'm gwine to make puddins out o' one egg, and lighten my muffins with +snow, like these ere Yankees, 'kase I aint gwine to do it for nobody. I sot +out to do my duty by you, and I'll do it; but for all that, I aint bound to +set to larnin new things this time o' day. I'll cook Carolina fashion, or I +wont cook at all." + +"Well, but what shall I do?" said Mrs. Moore; "you wouldn't have me do a +thing my husband disapproves of, would you?" + +"No, that I wouldn't, Miss Emmy," said Aunt Polly. "My old man's dust and +ashes long ago, but I always done what I could to please him. Men's mighty +onreasonable, the best of 'em, but when a woman is married she ought to do +all she can for the sake of peace. I dont see what a man has got to do +interferin with the cookin, no how; a woman oughter 'tend to these +matters. 'Pears to me, Mr. Moore, (captain, as you calls him,) is mighty +fidjetty about bottles, all at once. But if he cant bear the sight of a +brandy bottle in the house, bring 'em down here to me; I'll keep 'em out of +his sight, I'll be bound. I'll put 'em in the corner of my old chist +yonder, and I'd like to see him thar, rummagin arter brandy bottles or any +thing else." + +Mrs. Moore was very much relieved by this suggestion, and when her husband +came in, she enlarged on the necessity of Polly's having her own way about +the cooking, and wound up by saying that Polly must take charge of all the +bottles, and by this arrangement he would not be annoyed by the sight of +them. + +"But, my dear," said he, "do you think it right to give such things in +charge of a servant?" + +"Why, Aunt Polly never drinks." + +"Yes, but Emmy, you don't consider the temptation." + +"La, William, do hush; why if you talk about temptation, she's had that all +her life, and she could have drank herself to death long ago. Just say yes, +and be done with it, for it has worried me to death all day, and I want it +settled, and off my mind." + +"Well, do as you like," said Captain Moore, "but remember, it will be your +fault if any thing happens." + +"Nothing is going to happen," said Mrs. Moore, jumping up, and seizing the +wine and brandy bottles by the necks, and descending to the lower regions +with them. + +"Here they are, Aunt Polly. William consents to your having them; and mind +you keep them out of sight." + +"Set 'em down in the cheer thar, I'll take care of 'em, I jist wanted some +brandy to put in these potato puddins. I wonder what they'd taste like +without it." + +But Mrs. Moore could not wait to talk about it, she was up stairs in +another moment, holding her baby on Neptune's back, and more at ease in her +mind than she had been since the subject was started, twenty-four hours +before. + +There was but one other servant in the house, a middle-aged woman, who had +run away from her mistress in Boston; or rather, she had been seduced off +by the Abolitionists. While many would have done well under the +circumstances, Susan had never been happy, or comfortable, since this +occurred. Besides the self-reproach that annoyed her, (for she had been +brought on from Georgia to nurse a sick child, and its mother, a very +feeble person, had placed her dependence upon her,) Susan was illy +calculated to shift for herself. She was a timid, delicate woman, with +rather a romantic cast of mind; her mistress had always been an invalid, +and was fond of hearing her favorite books read aloud. For the style of +books that Susan had been accustomed to listen to, as she sat at her +sewing, Lalla Rookh would be a good specimen; and, as she had never been +put to hard work, but had merely been an attendant about her mistress' +room, most of her time was occupied in a literary way. Thus, having an +excellent memory, her head was a sort of store-room for lovesick snatches +of song. The Museum men would represent her as having snatched a feather of +the bird of song; but as this is a matter-of-fact kind of story, we will +observe, that Susan not being naturally very strong-minded, and her +education not more advanced than to enable her to spell out an antiquated +valentine, or to write a letter with a great many small i's in it, she is +rather to be considered the victim of circumstances and a soft heart. She +was, nevertheless, a conscientious woman; and when she left Georgia, to +come North, had any one told her that she would run away, she would have +answered in the spirit, if not the expression, of the oft quoted, "Is thy +servant a dog?" + +She enjoyed the journey to the North, the more that the little baby +improved very much in strength; she had had, at her own wish, the entire +charge of him from his birth. + +The family had not been two days at the Revere House before Susan found +herself an object of interest to men who were gentlemen, if broadcloth and +patent-leather boots could constitute that valuable article. These +individuals seemed to know as much of her as she did of herself, though +they plied her with questions to a degree that quite disarranged her usual +calm and poetic flow of ideas. As to "Whether she had been born a slave, or +had been kidnapped? Whether she had ever been sold? How many times a week +she had been whipped, and what with? Had she ever been shut up in a dark +cellar and nearly starved? Was she allowed more than one meal a day? Did +she ever have any thing but sweet potato pealings? Had she ever been +ducked? And, finally, she was desired to open her mouth, that they might +see whether her teeth had been extracted to sell to the dentist?" + +Poor Susan! after one or two interviews her feelings were terribly +agitated; all these horrible suggestions _might become_ realities, and +though she loved her home, her mistress, and the baby too, yet she was +finally convinced that though born a slave, it was not the intention of +Providence, but a mistake, and that she had been miraculously led to this +Western Holy Land, of which Boston is the Jerusalem, as the means by which +things could be set to rights again. + +One beautiful, bright evening, when her mistress had rode out to see the +State House by moonlight, Susan kissed the baby, not without many tears, +and then threw herself, trembling and dismayed, into the arms and tender +mercies of the Abolitionists. They led her into a distant part of the city, +and placed her for the night under the charge of some people who made their +living by receiving the newly ransomed. The next morning she was to go off, +but she found she had reckoned without her host, for when she thanked the +good people for her night's lodging and the hashed cod-fish on which she +had tried to breakfast, she had a bill to pay, and where was the money? +Poor Susan! she had only a quarter of a dollar, and that she had asked her +mistress for a week before, to buy a pair of side-combs. + +"Why, what a fool you be," said one of the men; "Didn't I tell you to bring +your mistress' purse along?" + +"And did you think I was going to steal besides running off from her and +the poor baby?" answered Susan. + +"It's not stealing," said the Abolitionist. "Haven't you been a slaving of +yourself all your life for her, and I guess you've a right to be paid for +it. I guess you think the rags on your back good wages enough?" + +Susan looked at her neat dress, and thought they were very nice rags, +compared to the clothes her landlady had on; but the Abolitionist was in a +hurry. + +"Come," said he, "I'm not going to spend all my time on you; if you want to +be free, come along; pay what you owe and start." + +"But I have only this quarter," said Susan, despairingly. + +"I don't calculate to give runaway niggers their supper, and night's +lodging and breakfast for twenty-five cents," said the woman. "I aint so +green as that, I can tell you. If you've got no money, open your bundle, +and we can make a trade, like as not." + +Susan opened her bundle, (which was a good strong carpet-bag her mistress +had given her,) and after some hesitation, the woman selected as her due a +nice imitation of Cashmere shawl, the last present her mistress had given +her. It had cost four dollars. Susan could hardly give it up; she wanted to +keep it as a remembrance, but she already felt herself in the hands of the +Philistines, and she fastened up her carpet-bag and set forward. She was +carried off in the cars to an interior town, and directed to the house of +an Abolitionist, to whom she was to hire herself. + +Her fare was paid by this person, and then deducted from her wages--her +wages were four dollars a month. She cooked and washed for ten in family; +cleaned the whole house, and did all _the chores_, except sawing the wood, +which the gentleman of the house did himself. She was only required to +split the hard, large knots--the oldest son splitting the easy sticks for +her. On Saturday, the only extra duty required of her was to mend every +item of clothing worn in the family; the lady of the house making them +herself. Susan felt very much as if it was out of the frying pan into the +fire; or rather, as if she had been transferred from one master to another. +She found it took all her wages to buy her shoes and stockings and flannel, +for her health suffered very much from the harsh climate and her new mode +of life, so she ventured to ask for an increase of a dollar a month. + +"Is that your gratitude," was the indignant reply, "for all that we've done +for you? The idea of a nigger wanting over four dollars a month, when +you've been working all your life, too, for nothing at all. Why everybody +in town is wondering that I keep you, when white help is so much better." + +"But, ma'am," replied Susan, "they tell me here that a woman gets six +dollars a month, when she does the whole work of a family." + +"A _white_ woman does," said this Abolitionist lady, "but not a nigger, I +guess. Besides, if they do, you ought to be willing to work cheaper for +Abolitionists, for they are your friends." + +If "save me from my friends," had been in Lalla Rookh, Susan would +certainly have applied it, but as the quotation belonged to the heroic +rather than the sentimental department, she could not avail herself of it, +and therefore went on chopping her codfish and onions together, at the rate +of four dollars a month, and very weak eyes, till some good wind blew +Captain Moore to the command of his company, in the Fort near the town. + +After Mrs. Moore's housekeeping operations had fairly commenced, she found +it would be necessary to have a person to clean the house of four rooms, +and to help Neptune mind the baby. Aunt Polly accordingly set forward on an +exploration. She presented quite an unusual appearance as regards her style +of dress. She wore a plaid domestic gingham gown; she had several stuff +ones, but she declared she never put one of them on for any thing less than +"meetin." She had a black satin Methodist bonnet, very much the shape of a +coal hod, and the color of her own complexion, only there was a slight +shade of blue in it. Thick gloves, and shoes, and stockings; a white cotton +apron, and a tremendous blanket shawl completed her costume. She had a most +determined expression of countenance; the fact is, she had gone out to get +a house-servant, and she didn't intend to return without one. + +I forgot to mention that she walked with a cane, having had a severe attack +of rheumatics since her arrival in "the great Norrurd," and at every step +she hit the pavements in such a manner as to startle the rising generation +of Abolitionists, and it had the good effect of preventing any of them from +calling out to her, "Where did you get your face painted, you black nigger, +you?" which would otherwise have occurred. + +Susan was just returning from a grocery store with three codfish in one +hand, and a piece of salt pork and a jug of molasses in the other, when she +was startled by Aunt Polly's unexpected appearance, bearing down upon her +like a man of war. + +Aunt Polly stopped for a moment and looked at her intensely, while Susan's +feelings, which, like her poetry, had for some time been quite subdued by +constant collision with a cooking stove, got the better of her, and she +burst into tears. Aunt Polly made up her mind on the spot; it was, as she +afterwards expressed it, "'A meracle,' meeting that poor girl, with all +that codfish and other stuff in her hand." + +Susan did not require too much encouragement to tell her lamentable tale, +and Aunt Polly in return advised her to leave her place when her month was +up, informing the family of her intention, that they might supply +themselves. This Susan promised to do, with a full heart, and Aunt Polly +having accomplished her mission, set out on her return, first saying to +Susan, however, "We'll wait for you, you needn't be afeard, and I'll do +your work 'till you come, 'taint much, for we puts out our washin. And you +need'nt be sceard when you see the sogers, they aint gwine to hurt you, +though they do look so savage." + +Susan gave notice of her intention, and after a season of martyrdom set +forward to find Captain Moore's quarters. She had no difficulty, for Polly +was looking out for her, with her pipe in her mouth. "Come in, child," said +she, "and warm yourself; how is your cough? I stewed some molasses for you, +'gin you come. We'll go up and see Miss Emmy, presently; she 'spects you." + +Susan was duly introduced to Mrs. Moore who was at the time sitting in the +captain's lap with the baby in hers, and Neptune's forepaws in the baby's. +The captain's temperance principles did not forbid him smoking a good +cigar, and at the moment of Susan's entrance, he was in the act of emitting +stealthily a cloud of smoke into his wife's face. After letting the baby +fall out of her lap, and taking two or three short breaths with strong +symptoms of choking, Mrs. Moore with a husky voice and very red eyes, +welcomed Susan, and introduced her to the baby and Neptune, then told Aunt +Polly to show her where to put her clothes, and to make her comfortable in +every respect. + +Aunt Polly did so by baking her a hoe-cake, and broiling a herring, and +drawing a cup of strong tea. Susan went to bed scared with her new +happiness, and dreamed she was in Georgia, in her old room, with the sick +baby in her arms. + +Susan's _friends_, the Abolitionists, were highly indignant at the turn +affairs had taken. They had accordingly a new and fruitful subject of +discussion at the sewing societies and quilting bees of the town. In solemn +conclave it was decided to vote army people down as utterly disagreeable. +One old maid suggested the propriety of their immediately getting up a +petition for disbanding the army; but the motion was laid on the table in +consideration of John Quincy Adams being dead and buried, and therefore not +in a condition to present the petition. Susan became quite cheerful, and +gained twenty pounds in an incredibly short space of time, though strange +rumors continued to float about the army. It was stated at a meeting of the +F.S.F.S.T.W.T.R. (Female Society for Setting the World to Rights) that +"army folks were a low, dissipated set, for they put wine in their _puddin_ +sauce." + +I do not mean to say liberty is not, next to life, the greatest of God's +earthly gifts, and that men and women ought not to be happier free than +slaves. God forbid that I should so have read my Bible. But such cases as +Susan's do occur, and far oftener than the raw-head and bloody-bones' +stories with which Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe has seen fit to embellish +that interesting romance, Uncle Tom's Cabin. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +Capt. Moore suddenly seized the poker, and commenced stirring the fire +vigorously. Neptune rushed to his covert under the piano, and Mrs. Moore +called out, "Dont, dear, for heaven's sake." + +"Why, it's getting cold," said Captain Moore, apologetically. "Don't you +hear the wind?" + +"Yes, but I don't feel it, neither do you. The fire cannot be improved. See +how you have made the dust fly! You never can let well alone." + +"That is the trouble with the Abolitionists," said Colonel Watson. "They +can't let well alone, and so Mr. Kent and his party want to reorganize the +Southern country." + +"There is no well there to let alone," said Mr. Kent, with the air of a +Solomon. + +"Don't talk so, Mr. Kent," said Mrs. Moore, entreatingly, "for I can't +quarrel with you in my own house, and I feel very much inclined to do so +for that one sentence." + +"Now," said the bachelor captain, "I do long to hear you and Mr. Kent +discuss Abolition. The colonel and I may be considered disinterested +listeners, as we hail from the Middle States, and are not politicians. +Captain Moore cannot interfere, as he is host as well as husband; and Mr. +Jones and Scott have eaten too much to feel much interest in any thing just +now. Pray, tell Mr. Kent, my dear madam, of Susan's getting you to +intercede with her mistress to take her back, and see what he says." + +"I know it already," said Mr. Kent, "and I must say that I am surprised to +find Mrs. Moore inducing a fellow-creature to return to a condition so +dreadful as that of a Southern slave. After having been plucked from the +fire, it should be painful to the human mind to see her thrown in again." + +"Your simile is not a good one, Mr. Kent," said Mrs. Moore, with a +heightened color. "I can make a better. Susan, in a moment of delirium, +jumped into the fire, and she called on me to pull her out. Unfortunately, +I cannot heal all the burns, for I yesterday received an answer to my +letter to her mistress, who positively refuses to take her back. She is +willing, but Mr. Casey will not consent to it. He says that his wife was +made very sick by the shock of losing Susan, and the over-exertion +necessary in the care of her child. The baby died in Boston; and they +cannot overlook Susan's deserting it at a hotel, without any one to take +charge of it; they placing such perfect confidence in Susan, too. He thinks +her presence would constantly recall to Mrs. Casey her child's death; +besides, after having lived among Abolitionists, he fancies it would not be +prudent to bring her on the plantation. Having attained her freedom, he +says she must make the best of it. Mrs. Casey enclosed me ten dollars to +give to Susan, for I wrote her she was in bad health, and had very little +clothing when she came to me. Poor girl! I could hardly persuade her to +take the money, and soon after, she brought it to me and asked me to keep +it for her, and not to change the note that came from home. I felt very +sorry for her." + +"She deserves it," said Mr. Kent. + +"I think she does," said Mrs. Moore, smiling, "though for another reason." + +Mr. Kent blushed as only men with light hair, and light skin, and light +eyes, can blush. + +"I mean," said Mr. Kent, furiously, "she deserves her refusal for her +ingratitude. After God provided her friends who made her a free woman, she +is so senseless as to want to go back to be lashed and trodden under foot +again, as the slaves of the South are. I say, she deserves it for being +such a fool." + +"And I say," said Mrs. Moore, "she deserves it for deserting her kind +mistress at a time when she most needed her services. God did not raise her +up friends because she had done wrong." + +"You are right, Emmy, in your views of Susan's conduct; but you should be +careful how you trace motives to such a source. She certainly did wrong, +and she has suffered; that is all we can say. We must do the best we can to +restore her to health. She is very happy with us now, and will, no doubt, +after a while, enjoy her liberty: it would be a most unnatural thing if she +did not." + +"But how is it, Mr. Kent," said the colonel, "that after you induce these +poor devils to give up their homes, that you do not start them in life; set +them going in some way in the new world to which you transfer them. You do +not give them a copper, I am told." + +"We don't calculate to do that," said Mr. Kent. + +"I believe you," said Mrs. Moore, maliciously. + +Mr. Kent looked indignant at the interruption, while his discomfiture was +very amusing to the young officers, they being devoted admirers of Mrs. +Moore's talents and mince pies. They laughed heartily; and Mr. Kent looked +at them as if nothing would have induced him to overlook their impertinence +but the fact, that they were very low on the list of lieutenants, and he +was an abolition agent. "We calculate, sir, to give them their freedom, and +then let them look out for themselves." + +"That is, you have no objection to their living in the same world with +yourself, provided it costs you nothing," said the colonel. + +"We make them free," said Mr. Kent. "They have their right to life, +liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They are no longer enslaved, body +and soul. If I see a man with his hands and feet chained, and I break those +chains, it is all that God expects me to do; let him earn his own living." + +"But suppose he does not know how to do so," said Mrs. Moore, "what then? +The occupations of a negro at the South are so different from those of the +people at the North." + +"Thank God they are, ma'am," said Mr. Kent, grandly. "We have no overseers +to draw the blood of their fellow creatures, and masters to look on and +laugh. We do not snatch infants from their mothers' breasts, and sell them +for whisky." + +"Neither do we," said Mrs. Moore, her bosom heaving with emotion; "no one +but an Abolitionist could have had such a wicked thought. No wonder that +men who glory in breaking the laws of their country should make such +misstatements." + +"Madam," said Mr. Kent, "they are facts; we can prove them; and we say that +the slaves of the South shall be free, cost what it will. The men of the +North have set out to emancipate them, and they will do it if they have to +wade through fire, water, and blood." + +"You had better not talk in that style when you go South," said Captain +Moore, "unless you have an unconquerable prejudice in favor of tar and +feathers." + +"Who cares for tar and feathers?" said Mr. Kent; "there has been already a +martyr in the ranks of Abolition, and there may be more. Lovejoy died a +glorious martyr's death, and there are others ready to do the same." + +"Give me my cane, there, captain, if you please," said Colonel Watson, who +had been looking at Mr. Kent's blazing countenance and projecting eyes, in +utter amazement. "Why, Buena Vista was nothing to this. Good night, madam, +and do tell Susan not to jump into the fire again; I wonder she was not +burned up while she was there. Come, captain, let us make our escape while +we can." + +The captain followed, bidding the whole party good night, with a smile. He +had been perfectly charmed with the Abolition discussion. Mr. Jones had got +very sleepy, and he and Mr. Scott made their adieu. Mr. Kent, with some +embarrassment, bade Mrs. Moore good night. Mrs. Moore begged him to go +South and be converted, for she believed his whole heart required changing. +Captain Moore followed them to the door, and shivered as he inhaled the +north-easter. "Come, Emmy," said he, as he entered, rubbing his hands, +"you've fought for your country this night; let's go to bed." + +Mrs. Moore lit a candle, and put out the lard-lamp, wondering if she had +been impolite to Mr. Kent. She led the way to the staircase, in a +reflective state of mind; Neptune followed, and stood at the foot of the +steps for some moments, in deep thought; concluding that if there should be +danger of any one's falling into a river up there, they would call him and +let him know, he went back, laid down on the soft rug, and fell asleep for +the night. + + * * * * * + +It does not take long to state a fact. Mr. Kent went to Washington on +Abolition business,--through the introduction of a senator from his own +State he obtained access to good society. He boarded in the same house with +a Virginian who had a pretty face, very little sense, but a large fortune. +Mr. Kent, with very little difficulty, persuaded her he was a saint, ready +to be translated at the shortest notice. He dropped his Abolition notions, +and they were married. At the time that my story opens, he is a planter, +living near Mr. Weston, and we will hear of him again. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +Arthur Weston is in his college-room in that far-famed city, New Haven. He +is in the act of replacing his cigar in his mouth, after having knocked the +ashes off it, when we introduce to him the reader. Though not well +employed, his first appearance must be prepossessing; he inherited his +mother's clear brunette complexion, and her fine expressive eyes. His very +black hair he had thrown entirely off his forehead, and he is now reading +an Abolition paper which had fallen into his hands. There are two other +young men in the room, one of them Arthur's friend, Abel Johnson; and the +other, a young man by the name of Hubbard. + +"Who brought this paper into my room?" said Arthur, after laying it down on +the table beside him. + +"I was reading it," said Mr. Hubbard, "and threw it aside." + +"Well, if it makes no difference to you, Mr. Hubbard, I'd prefer not seeing +any more of these publications about me. This number is a literary +curiosity, and deserves to be preserved; but as I do not file papers at +present, I will just return it, after expressing my thanks to you for +affording me the means of obtaining valuable information about the Southern +country." + +"What is it about, Arthur," said Abel Johnson, "it is too hot to read this +morning, so pray enlighten me?" + +"Why, here," said Arthur, opening the paper again, "here is an +advertisement, said to be copied from a Southern paper, in which, after +describing a runaway slave, it says: 'I will give four hundred dollars for +him alive, and the same sum for satisfactory proof that he has been +killed.' Then the editor goes on to say, 'that when a planter loses a +slave, he becomes so impatient at not capturing him, and is so angry at the +loss, that he then does what is equivalent to inducing some person to +murder him by way of revenge.' Now, is not this infamous?" + +"But it is true, I believe," said Mr. Hubbard. + +"It is not true, sir," said Arthur, "it is false, totally and entirely +false. Why, sir, do you mean to say, that the life of a slave is in the +power of a master, and that he is not under the protection of our laws?" + +"I am told that is the case," said Mr. Hubbard. + +"Then you are told what is not true; and it seems to me, you are remarkably +ignorant of the laws of your country." + +"It is not my country," said Mr. Hubbard, "I assure you. I lay no claims to +that part of the United States where slavery is allowed." + +"Then if it is not your country, for what reason do you concern yourself so +much about its affairs?" + +"Because," replied Mr. Hubbard, "every individual has the right to judge +for himself, of his own, and of other countries." + +"No, not without proper information," said Arthur. "And as you have now +graduated and intend to be a lawyer, I trust you will have consideration +enough for the profession, not to advance opinions until you are +sufficiently informed to enable you to do so justly. Every country must +have its poor people; you have yours at the North, for I see them--we have +ours; yours are white, ours are black. I say yours are white; I should +except your free blacks, who are the most miserable class of human beings I +ever saw. They are indolent, reckless, and impertinent. The poorer classes +of society, are proverbially improvident--and yours, in sickness, and in +old age, are often victims of want and suffering. Ours in such +circumstances, are kindly cared for, and are never considered a burden; +our laws are, generally speaking, humane and faithfully administered. We +have enactments which not only protect their lives, but which compel their +owners to be moderate in working them, and to ensure them proper care as +regards their food." + +"But," said Mr. Hubbard, "you have other laws, police-laws, which deprive +them of the most innocent recreations, such as are not only necessary for +their happiness, but also for their health." + +"And if such laws do exist," said Arthur, "where is the cause? You may +trace it to the interference of meddling, and unprincipled men. They excite +the minds of the slaves, and render these laws necessary for the very +protection of our lives. But without this interference, there would be no +such necessity. In this Walsh's Appeal, which is now open before me, you +will find, where Abel left off reading, these remarks, which show that not +only the health and comfort of the slaves, but also their feelings, are +greatly considered. 'The master who would deprive his negro of his +property--the product of his poultry-house or his little garden; who would +force him to work on holidays, or at night; who would deny him common +recreations, or leave him without shelter and provision, in his old age, +would incur the aversion of the community, and raise obstacles to the +advancement of his own interest and external aims.'" + +"Then," said Mr. Hubbard, "you mean to say, he is kind from self-interest +alone." + +"No, I do not," replied Arthur; "that undoubtedly, actuates men at the +South, as it does men at the North; but I mean to say, so universal is it +with us to see our slaves well treated, that when an instance of the +contrary nature occurs, the author of it is subject to the dislike and +odium of his acquaintances." + +"But," said Mr. Hubbard, "that does not always protect the slaves--which +shows that your laws are sometimes ineffectual. They are not always secure +from ill-treatment." + +"But, do your laws always secure you from ill-treatment?" said Arthur. + +"Of course," said Mr. Hubbard, "the poorest person in New England is as +safe from injustice and oppression, as the highest in the land." + +"Nonsense," said Arthur, "don't you think I can judge for myself, as +regards that? Abel, do tell Mr. Hubbard of our little adventure in the +bakehouse." + +"With pleasure," said Abel, "especially as you two have not let me say a +word yet. Well, Mr. Hubbard, Arthur and I having nothing else to do, got +hungry, and as it was a fine evening, thought we would walk out in search +of something to satisfy our appetites, and there being a pretty girl in +Brown's bakehouse, who waits on customers, we took that direction. Arthur, +you know, is engaged to be married, and has no excuse for such things, but +I having no such ties, am free to search for pretty faces, and to make the +most of it when I find them. We walked on, arm-in-arm, and when we got to +the shop, there stood Mrs. Brown behind the counter, big as all out doors, +with a very red face, and in a violent perspiration; there was some thing +wrong with the old lady 'twas easy to see." + +"'Well, Mrs. Brown,' said Arthur, for I was looking in the glass cases and +under the counter for the pretty face, 'have you any rusk?' + +"'Yes, sir, we _always_ have rusk,' said Mrs. Brown, tartly. + +"'Will you give us some, and some cakes, or whatever you have? and then we +will go and get some soda water, Abel.' + +"Mrs. Brown fussed about like a 'bear with a sore head,' and at last she +broke out against _that gal_. + +"'Where on earth has she put that cake?' said she. 'I sent her in here +with it an hour ago; just like her, lazy, good-for-nothing Irish thing. +They're nothing but white niggers, after all, these Irish. Here, Ann,' she +bawled out, 'come here!' + +"'Coming,' said Ann, from within the glass door. + +"'Come this minute,' said the old woman, and Ann's pretty Irish face showed +itself immediately. + +"'Where's that 'lection cake I told you to bring here?' + +"'You didn't tell me to bring no cake here, Mrs. Brown,' said Ann. + +"'I did, you little liar, you,' said Mrs. Brown. 'You Irish are born liars. +Go, bring it here.' + +"Ann disappeared, and soon returned, looking triumphant. 'Mr. Brown says he +brought it in when you told him, and covered it in that box--so I aint such +a liar, after all.' + +"'You are,' said Mrs. Brown, 'and a thief too.' + +"Ann's Irish blood was up. + +"'I'm neither,' said she; 'but I'm an orphan, and poor; that's why I'm +scolded and cuffed about.' + +"Mrs. Brown's blood was up too, and she struck the poor girl in the face, +and her big, hard hand was in an instant covered with blood, which spouted +out from Ann's nose. + +"'Now take that for your impudence, and you'll get worse next time you go +disputing with me.' + +"'I declare, Mrs. Brown,' said Arthur, 'this is, I thought, a free country. +I did not know you could take the law into your own hands in that style.' + +"'That gal's the bother of my life,' said Mrs. Brown. 'Mr. Brown, he was in +New York when a ship come, and that gal's father and mother must die of the +ship-fever, and the gal was left, and Mr. Brown calculated she could be +made to save us hiring, by teaching her a little. She's smart enough, but +she's the hard-headedest, obstinatest thing I ever see. I can't make +nothin' of her. You might as well try to draw blood out of a turnip as to +get any good out of her.' + +"'You got some good blood out of her,' said I, 'at any rate,' for Mrs. +Brown was wiping her hands, and the blood looked red and healthy enough; +'but she is not a turnip, that's one thing to be considered.' + +"'Well, Mrs. Brown, good evening,' said Arthur. 'I shall tell them at the +South how you Northern people treat your white niggers.' + +"'I wish to the Lord,' said Mrs. Brown, 'we had some real niggers. Here I +am sweatin, and workin, and bakin, all these hot days, and Brown he's doin +nothin from morning 'till night but reading Abolition papers, and tendin +Abolition meetings. I'm not much better than a nigger myself, half the +time.' + +"Now," said Arthur, "Mr. Hubbard, I have been fortunate in my experience. I +have never seen a slave woman struck in my life, though I've no doubt such +things are done; and I assure you when I saw Mrs. Brown run the risk of +spoiling that pretty face for life, I wondered your laws did not protect +'these bound gals,' or 'white niggers,' as she calls them." + +"You see, Hubbard," said Abel, "your philanthropy and Arthur's is very +contracted. He only feels sympathy for a pretty white face, you for a black +one, while my enlarged benevolence induces me to stand up for all female +'phizmahoganies,' especially for the Hottentot and the Madagascar ones, and +the fair sex of all the undiscovered islands on the globe in general." + +"You don't think, then," said Mr. Hubbard, argumentatively, "that God's +curse is on slavery, do you?" + +"In what sense?" asked Arthur. "I think that slavery is, and always was a +curse, and that the Creator intended what he said, when he first spoke of +it, through Noah." + +"But, I mean," said Mr. Hubbard, "that it will bring a curse on those who +own slaves." + +"No, _sir_," said Arthur, "God's blessing is, and always has been on my +father, who is a slaveholder; on his father, who was one; and on a good +many more I could mention. In fact, I could bring forward quite a +respectable list who have died in their beds, in spite of their egregious +sin in this respect. There are Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Marshall, +Calhoun, Henry Clay, and not a few others. In this case, the North, as has +been said, says to her sister South, 'Stand aside, for I am holier than +thou!' that is, you didn't need them, and got rid of them." + +"We were all born free and equal," said Mr. Hubbard, impressively. + +"Equal!" said Abel, "there is that idiot, with his tongue hanging out of +his mouth, across the street: was he born equal with you?" + +"It strikes me," said Arthur, "that our slaves are not born free." + +"They ought to be so, then," said Mr. Hubbard. + +"Ah! there you arraign the Creator," said Arthur; "I must stop now." + +"What do you think is the meaning of the text 'Cursed be Canaan, a servant +of servants shall he be unto his brethren,' Hubbard?" said Abel. + +"I don't think it justifies slavery," said Hubbard. + +"Well, what does it mean?" said Abel. "It must mean something. Now I am at +present between two doctrines; so I am neither on your nor on Arthur's +side. If I can't live one way I must another; and these are hard times. If +I can't distinguish myself in law, divinity, or physic, or as an artist, +which I would prefer, I may turn planter, or may turn Abolition agent. I +must do something for my living. Having no slaves I can't turn planter; +therefore there is more probability of my talents finding their way to the +Abolition ranks; so give me all the information you can on the subject." + +"Go to the Bible," said Mr. Hubbard, "and learn your duty to your +fellow-creatures." + +"Well, here is a Bible my mother sent here for Arthur and myself, with the +commentaries. This is Scott's Commentary. Where is Canaan?" said he, +turning over the leaves; "he is very hard to be got at." + +"You are too far over," said Arthur, laughing, "you are not in the habit of +referring to Scott." + +"Here it is," said Abel, "'Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he +be unto his brethren.' And in another verse we see 'God shall enlarge +Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his +servant.' So we are Japheth and Shem, and the colored population are +Canaan. Is that it, Arthur?" said Abel. + +"See what Scott says, Abel," said Arthur; "I'm not a commentator." + +"Well, here it is,--'There is no authority for altering the text, and +reading, as some do, Cursed be Ham, the father of Canaan, yet the frequent +mention of Ham, as the father of Canaan, suggests the thought that the +latter was also criminal. Ham is thought to be second, and not the youngest +son of Noah; and if so, the words, 'Knew what his younger son had done,' +refers to Canaan, his grandson. Ham must have felt it a very mortifying +rebuke, when his own father was inspired on this occasion to predict the +durable oppression and slavery of his posterity. Canaan was also rebuked, +by learning that the curse would especially rest on that branch of the +family which should descend from him; for his posterity were no doubt +principally, though not exclusively, intended.'" + +"Now," continued Abel, "I shall have to turn planter, and get my niggers as +I can; for I'll be hanged if it wasn't a curse, and a predicted one, too." + +"That does not make it right," said Mr. Hubbard. + +"Don't it," said Abel; "well, if it should be fated for me to turn parson, +I shan't study divinity with you, for my mother has told me often, that +God's prophecies were right, and were fulfilled, too; as I think this one +has been." + +"I suppose, then, you think slavery will always continue, Mr. Weston?" +said Hubbard. + +"Well, I am only a man, and cannot prophesy, but I think, probably not. +Slavery is decreasing throughout the world. The slave trade is about being +abolished on the coast of Africa. You Abolitionists are getting a good many +off from our southern country, and our planters are setting a number of +theirs free, and sending them to Africa. I know a gentleman in Georgia who +liberated a number, and gave them the means to start in Liberia as free +agents and men. He told me he saw them on board, and watched the ship as +she disappeared from his sight. At last he could not detect the smallest +trace of her, and then such a feeling of intense satisfaction occupied his +breast as had been a stranger there until that time. 'Is it possible that +they are gone, and I am no longer to be plagued with them? They are free, +and I am free, too.' He could hardly give vent to his feelings of relief on +the occasion." + +"And are they such trouble to you, Arthur?" asked Abel. + +"No, indeed," said Arthur, "not the least. My father treats them well, and +they appear to be as well off as the working classes generally are. I see +rules to regulate the conduct of the master and slave in Scripture, but I +see no where the injunction to release them; nor do I find laid down the +sin of holding them. The fact is, you northern people are full of your +isms; you must start a new one every year. I hope they will not travel +south, for I am tired of them. I should like to take Deacon and Mrs. White +back home with me. Our servants would be afraid of a man who has worked +sixteen hours a day half his lifetime." + +"Deacon White is worth twenty thousand dollars," said Abel, "every cent of +which he made mending and making common shoes." + +"What does he do with it?" said Arthur. + +"Hoards it up," said Abel, "and yet an honester man never lived. Did I not +tell you of the time I hired his horse and chaise? I believe not; well, it +is worth waiting for. The deacon's old white horse is as gray and as docile +as himself; the fact is, the stable is so near the house, that the horse is +constantly under the influence of 'Old Hundred;' he has heard the good old +tune so often, that he has a solemn way of viewing things. Two or three +weeks ago I wanted to take my sister to see a relative of ours, who lives +seven or eight miles from here, and my mother would not consent to my +driving her, unless I hired the deacon's horse and chaise--the horse, she +said, could not run if he wanted to. So I got him, and Harriet asked Kate +Laune to go too, as the chaise was large enough for all three; and we had a +good time. We were gone all day, and after I took the girls home, I drove +round to the deacon's house and jumped out of the chaise to pay what I +owed. + +"You know what a little fellow the deacon is, and he looked particularly +small that evening, for he was seated in his arm-chair reading a large +newspaper which hid him all but his legs. These are so shrunken that I +wonder how his wife gets his stockings small enough for him. + +"'Good evening, Mrs. White,' said I, for the old lady was sitting on the +steps knitting. + +"'Mercy's sake, deacon,' said she, 'put down your newspaper; don't you see +Mr. Johnson?' + +"'The deacon did not even give me a nod until he had scrutinized the +condition of the horse and chaise, and then he said, 'How are you?' + +"'Not a screw loose in me, or the horse and chaise either, for I had two +girls with me, and I'm courting one of them for a quarter, so I drove very +carefully. I am in a hurry now, tell me what I am to pay you?' + +"'Twelve and a half cents,' said the deacon, slowly raising his spectacles +from his nose. + +"'No!' said I. 'Twelve and a half cents! Why, I have had the horse all +day.' + +"'That is my price,' said the deacon. + +"'For a horse and chaise, all day?' said I. 'Why, deacon, do charge me +something that I aint ashamed to pay you.' + +"'That is my regular price, and I can't charge you any more.' + +"I remonstrated with him, and tried to persuade him to take twenty-five +cents--but, no. I appealed to Mrs. White; she said the 'deacon hadn't ought +to take more than the horse and chaise was worth.' However, I induced him +to take eighteen and three-quarter cents, but he was uneasy about it, and +said he was afraid he was imposing on me. + +"The next morning I was awakened at day-dawn--there was a man, they said, +who wanted to see me on pressing business, and could not wait. I dressed in +a hurry, wondering what was the cause of the demand for college-students. I +went down, and there stood the deacon, looking as if his last hour were +come. 'Mr. Abel,' he said, 'I have passed a dreadful restless night, and I +couldn't stand it after the day broke--here's your six and a quarter +cents--I hadn't ought to have charged you more than my usual price.' I was +angry at the old fellow for waking me up, but I could not help laughing, +too." + +"''Twas very ugly of you, Mr. Abel, to persuade me to take so much,' said +he; 'you're welcome to the horse and chaise whenever you want it, but +twelve and a half cents is my usual price.'" + +"Now," said Mr. Hubbard, "he is like the Portuguese devils; when they are +good, they are too good--I should distrust that man." + +"He is close to a farthing," said Abel, "but he is as honest as the day. +Why he has the reputation of a saint. Harriet says she wishes he wore a +long-tailed coat instead of a short jacket, so that she could hang on and +get to heaven that way." + +"My sister saw Mrs. White not long ago, and complimented her on her new +bonnet being so very becoming to her. 'Now I want to know!' said Mrs. +White; 'why I thought it made me look like a fright.' + +"'But what made you get a black one,' said Harriet, 'why did you not get a +dark green or a brown one?' + +"'Why, you see,' said Mrs. White, 'the deacon's health is a failin'; he's +dreadful low in the top knots lately, and I thought as his time might come +very soon, I might as well get a black one while I was a getting. We're all +born to die, Miss Harriet; and the deacon is dwindlin' away.'" + +The young men laughed, and Arthur said "What will he do with his money? +Mrs. White will not wear the black bonnet long if she have twenty thousand +dollars; she can buy a new bonnet and a new husband with that." + +"No danger," said Abel, "Deacon White has made his will, and has left his +wife the interest of five thousand dollars; at her death the principal +goes, as all the rest, to aid some benevolent purpose. + +"But there are the letters; what a bundle for you, Arthur! That is the +penalty of being engaged. Well I must wait for the widow White, I guess +she'll let me have the use of the horse and chaise, at any rate." + +Mr. Hubbard arose to go, and Arthur handed him his newspaper. "That is a +valuable document, sir, but there is one still more so in your library +here; it is a paper published the same month and year of the Declaration of +Independence, in which are advertised in the New England States negroes for +sale! Your fathers did not think we were all born free and equal it +appears." + +"We have better views now-a-days, said Mr. Hubbard; the Rev. Mr. H. has +just returned from a tour in the Southern States, and he is to lecture +to-night, won't you go and hear him?" + +"Thank you, no," said Arthur. "I have seen some of this reverend +gentleman's statements, and his friends ought to advise him to drop the +reverend for life. He is a fit subject for an asylum, for I can't think a +man in his senses would lie so." + +"He is considered a man of veracity," said Mr. Hubbard, "by those who have +an opportunity of knowing his character." + +"Well, I differ from them," said Arthur, "and shall deprive myself of the +pleasure of hearing him. Good evening, sir." + +"Wouldn't he be a good subject for tar and feathers, Arthur? They'd stick, +like grim death to a dead nigger," said Abel. + +"He is really such a fool," said Arthur, "that I have no patience with him; +but you take your usual nap, and I will read my letters." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +We will go back to the last evening at Exeter, when we left Mr. Weston to +witness the result of Bacchus's attendance at the barbecue. There were +other hearts busy in the quiet night time. Alice, resisting the offers of +her maid to assist her in undressing, threw herself on a lounge by the open +window. The night air played with the curtains, and lifted the curls from +her brow. Her bloom, which of late had been changeful and delicate, had now +left her cheek, and languid and depressed she abandoned herself to thought. +So absorbed was she, that she was not aware any one had entered the room, +until her mother stood near, gently reproving her for thus exposing +herself to the night air. "Do get up and go to bed," she said. "Where is +Martha?" + +"I did not want her," said Alice; "and am now going to bed myself. What has +brought you here?" + +"Because I felt anxious about you," said Mrs. Weston, "and came, as I have +often before, to be assured that you were well and enjoying repose. I find +you still up; and now, my daughter, there is a question I have feared to +ask you, but can no longer delay it. By all the love that is between us, by +the tie that should bind an only child to a widowed mother, will you tell +me what are the thoughts that are oppressing you? I have been anxious for +your health, but is there not more cause to fear for your happiness?" + +"I am well enough, dear mother," said Alice, with some irritation of +manner, "Do not concern yourself about me. If you will go to bed, I will +too." + +"You cannot thus put me off," said Mrs. Weston. "Alice, I charge you, as in +the presence of God, to tell me truly: do you love Walter Lee?" + +"It would be strange if I did not," said Alice, in a low voice. "Have we +not always been as brother and sister?" + +"Not in that sense, Alice; do not thus evade me. Do you love him with an +affection which should belong to your cousin, to whom you are solemnly +engaged, who has been the companion of your childhood, and who is the son +of the best friend that God ever raised up to a widow and a fatherless +child?" + +Alice turned her head away, and after a moment answered, "Yes, I do, +mother, and I cannot help it." But on turning to look at her mother, she +was shocked at the expression of agony displayed on her countenance. Her +hand was pressed tightly over her heart, her lips quivered, and her whole +person trembled. It was dreadful to see her thus agitated; and Alice, +throwing her arms around her mother exclaimed, "What is it, dearest +mother? Be not look so deathlike. I cannot bear to see you so." + +Oh! they speak falsely who say the certainty of evil can be better borne +than suspense. Watcher by the couch of suffering, sayest thou so? Now thou +knowest there is no hope, thy darling must be given up. There is no +mistaking that failing pulse, and that up-turned eye. A few hours ago, +there was suspense, but there was hope; death was feared, but not expected; +his arm was outstretched, but the blow was not descending; now, there is no +hope. + +Mrs. Weston had long feared that all was not well with Alice--that while +her promise was given to one, her heart had wandered to another; yet she +dreaded to meet the appalling certainty; now with her there is no hope. The +keen anguish with which she contended was evident to her daughter, who was +affrighted at her mother's appearance. So much so, that for the first time +for months she entirely forgot the secret she had been hiding in her heart. +The young in their first sorrow dream there are none like their own. It is +not until time and many cares have bowed us to the earth, that we look +around, beholding those who have suffered more deeply than ourselves. + +Accustomed to self-control, Mrs. Weston was not long in recovering herself; +taking her daughter's hand within her own, and looking up in her fair face, +"Alice," she said, "you listened with an unusual interest to the details of +suffering of one whom you never saw. I mean Walter Lee's mother; she died. +I can tell you of one who has suffered, and lived. + +"It is late, and I fear to detain you from your rest, but something impels +me that I cannot resist. Listen, then, while I talk to you of myself. You +are as yet almost unacquainted with your mother's history." + +"Another time, mother; you are not well now," said Alice. + +"Yes, my love, now. You were born in the same house that I was; yet your +infancy only was passed where I lived until my marriage. I was motherless +at an early age; indeed, one of the first remembrances that I recall is the +bright and glowing summer evening when my mother was carried from our +plantation on James River to the opposite shore, where was our family +burial-ground. Can I ever forget my father's uncontrolled grief, and the +sorrow of the servants, as they followed, dressed in the deepest mourning. +I was terrified at the solemn and dark-looking bier, the black plumes that +waved over it, and all the dread accompaniments of death. I remember but +little for years after this, save the continued gloom of my father, and his +constant affection and indulgence toward me, and occasionally varying our +quiet life by a visit to Richmond or Washington. + +"My father was a sincere and practical Christian. He was averse to parting +with me; declaring, the only solace he had was in directing my education, +and being assured of my happiness. + +"My governess was an accomplished and amiable lady, but she was too kind +and yielding. I have always retained the most grateful remembrance of her +care. Thus, though surrounded by good influences, I needed restraint, where +there was so much indulgence. I have sometimes ventured to excuse myself on +the ground that I was not taught that most necessary of all lessons: the +power of governing myself. The giving up of my own will to the matured +judgment of others. + +"The part of my life that I wish to bring before you now, is the year +previous to my marriage. Never had I received an ungentle word from my +father; never in all my waywardness and selfwill did he harshly reprove me. +He steadily endeavored to impress on my mind a sense of the constant +presence of God. He would often say, 'Every moment, every hour of our +lives, places its impress on our condition in eternity. Live, then, as did +your mother, in a state of waiting and preparation for that account which +we must all surely give for the talents entrusted to our care.' Did I heed +his advice? You will hardly believe me, Alice, when I tell you how I repaid +his tenderness. I was the cause of his death." + +"It could never be, mother," said Alice, weeping, when she saw the tears +forcing their way down her mother's cheek. "You are excited and distressed +now. Do not tell me any more to-night, and forget what I told you." + +Mrs. Weston hardly seemed to hear her. After a pause of a few moments, she +proceeded: + +"It was so, indeed. I, his only child, was the cause of his death; I, his +cherished and beloved daughter, committed an act that broke his heart, and +laid the foundation of sorrows for me, that I fear will only end with my +life. + +"Alice, I read not long since of a son, the veriest wretch on earth; he was +unwilling to grant his poor aged father a subsistence from his abundance; +he embittered the failing years of his life by unkindness and reproaches. +One day, after an altercation between them, the son seized his father by +his thin, white hair, and dragged him to the corner of the street. Here, +the father in trembling tones implored his pity. 'Stop, oh! stop, my son' +he said, 'for I dragged my father here, God has punished me in your sin.' + +"Alice, can you not see the hand of a just God in this retribution, and do +you wonder, when you made this acknowledgment to me to-night, the agony of +death overcame me? I thought, as I felt His hand laid heavily upon me, my +punishment was greater than I could bear; my sin would be punished in your +sorrow; and naught but sorrow would be your portion as the wife of Walter +Lee. + +"Do not interrupt me, it is time we were asleep, but I shall soon have +finished what I have to say. My father and Mr. Weston were friends in early +life, and I was thrown into frequent companionship with my husband, from +the time when we were very young. His appearance, his talents, his +unvaried gayety of disposition won my regard. For a time, the excess of +dissipation in which he indulged was unknown to us, but on our return to +Virginia after an absence of some months in England, it could no longer be +concealed. His own father joined with mine in prohibiting all intercourse +between us. For a time his family considered him as lost to them and to +himself; he was utterly regardless of aught save what contributed to his +own pleasures. I only mention this to excuse my father in your eyes, should +you conclude he was too harsh in the course he insisted I should pursue. He +forbade him the house, and refused to allow any correspondence between us; +at the same time he promised that if he would perfectly reform from the +life he was leading, at the end of two years he would permit the marriage. +I promised in return to bind myself to these conditions. Will you believe +it, that seated on my mother's grave, with my head upon my kind father's +breast, I vowed, that as I hoped for Heaven I would never break my promise, +never see him again, without my father's permission, until the expiration +of this period; and yet I did break it. I have nearly done. I left home +secretly. I was married; and I never saw my father's face again. The shock +of my disobedience was too hard for him to bear. He died, and in vain have +I sought a place of repentance, though I sought it with tears. + +"I have suffered much; but though I cannot conceal from you that your +father threw away the best portion of his life, his death was not without +hope. I cling to the trust that his sins were washed away, and his soul +made clean in the blood of the Saviour. Then, by the memory of all that I +suffered, and of that father whose features you bear, whose dying words +gave testimony to my faithfulness and affection to him, I conjure you to +conquer this unfortunate passion, which, if yielded to, will end in your +unceasing misery. + +"There was little of my large fortune left at your father's death; we have +been almost dependant on your uncle. Yet it has not been dependance; he is +too generous to let us feel that. On your father's death-bed, he was all in +all to him--never leaving him; inducing him to turn his thoughts to the +future opening before him. He taught me where to look for comfort, and bore +with me when in my impatient grief I refused to seek it. He took you, then +almost an infant, to his heart, has cherished you as his own, and now looks +forward to the happiness of seeing you his son's wife; will you so cruelly +disappoint him?" + +"I will do whatever you ask me, dear mother," said Alice. "I will never see +Walter again, if that will content you. I have already told him that I can +never be to him more than I have always been--a sister. Yet I cannot help +loving him." + +"Cannot help loving a man whose very birth is attended with shame," said +Mrs. Weston; "whose passions are ungovernable, who has already treated with +the basest ingratitude his kindest friends? Have you so little pride? I +will not reproach you, my darling; promise me you will never see Walter +again, after to-morrow, without my knowledge. I can trust you. Oh! give up +forever the thought of being his wife, if ever you have entertained it. +Time will show you the justice of my fears, and time will bring back your +old feelings for Arthur, and we shall be happy again." + +"I will make you the promise," said Alice, "and I will keep it; but I will +not deceive Arthur. Ungrateful as I may appear, he shall know all. He will +then love some one more worthy of him than I am." + +"Let us leave the future in the hands of an unerring God, my Alice. Each +one must bear her burden, I would gladly bear yours; but it may not be. +Forget all this for a while; let me sleep by you to-night." + +Alice could not but be soothed by the gentle tone, and dear caress. Oh, +blessed tie! uniting mother and child. Earth cannot, and Heaven will not +break it. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +As absurd would it be for one of the small unsettled stars, for whose place +and wanderings we care not, to usurp the track of the Queen of night or of +the God of day, as for an unpretending writer to go over ground that has +been trodden by the master minds of the age. It was in the olden time that +Cooper described a dinner party in all its formal, but hospitable +perfection. Washington was a guest there, too, though an unacknowledged +one; we cannot introduce him at Exeter, yet I could bring forward there, +more than one who knew him well, valuing him not only as a member of +society and a hero, but as the man chosen by God for a great purpose. +Besides, I would introduce to my readers, some of the residents of L----. I +would let them into the very heart of Virginia life; and, although I cannot +arrogate to it any claims for superiority over other conditions of society, +among people of the same class in life, yet, at least, I will not allow an +inferiority. As variety is the spice of society, I will show them, that +here are many men of many minds. + +Mark, was a famous waiter, almost equal to Bacchus, who was head man, on +such occasions. They were in their elements at a dinner party, and the +sideboard, and tables, on such an occasion, were in their holiday attire. A +strong arm, a hard brush, and plenty of beeswax, banished all appearance of +use, and the old servants thought that every article in the room looked as +bright and handsome as on the occasion of their young mistress' first +presiding at her table. The blinds of the windows looking south, were +partly open; the branches of the lemon-tree, and the tendrils of the +white-jessamine, assisted in shading the apartment, making it fragrant +too. The bird-cages were hung among the branches of the flowers, and the +little prisoners sang as if they had, at last, found a way of escape to +their native woods; old-fashioned silver glittered on the sideboard, the +large china punch-bowl maintaining its position in the centre. + +William had gone to the drawing-room to announce the important +intelligence, "Dinner is ready!" and Bacchus looked around the room for the +last time, to see that every thing was, as it should be, snuffing up the +rich fumes of the soup as it escaped from the sides of the silver-covered +tureen. He perceived that one of the salt-cellars was rather near the +corner of the table, and had only time to rearrange it, when William threw +open the doors. The company entered, and with some delay and formality took +their places. We need not wait until the Rev. Mr. Aldie says grace, though +that would not detain us long; for the Rev. Mr. Aldie, besides being very +hungry, has a great deal of tact, and believes in short prayers; nor will +we delay to witness the breaking down of the strongholds of precision and +ultra propriety, that almost always solemnizes the commencement of an +entertainment; but the old Madeira having been passed around, we will +listen to the conversation that is going on from different parts of the +table. + +"We have outlived, sir," said Mr. Chapman, addressing a northern gentleman +present, "we have outlived the first and greatest era of our country. Its +infancy was its greatest era. The spirit of Washington still breathes among +us. One or two of us here have conversed with him, sat at his table, taken +him by the hand. It is too soon for the great principles that animated his +whole career to have passed from our memory. I am not a very old man, +gentlemen and ladies, yet it seems to me a great while since the day of +Washington's funeral. My father called me and my brothers to him, and while +our mother was fastening a band of black crape around our hats, 'My boys,' +said he, 'you have seen the best days of this republic.' It is so, for as +much as the United States has increased in size, and power, and wealth, +since then, different interests are dividing her." + +"Was Washington a cheerful man?" asked an English gentleman who was +present, "I have heard that he never laughed. Is it so?" + +Miss Janet, who was considered a kind of oracle when personal memories of +Washington were concerned, answered after a moment's pause, "I have seen +him smile often, I never saw him laugh but once. He rode over, one +afternoon, to see a relative with whom I was staying; it was a dark, cloudy +day, in November; a brisk wood fire was very agreeable. After some little +conversation on ordinary topics, the gentlemen discussed the politics of +the times, Washington saying little, but listening attentively to others. + +"The door opened suddenly, and a son of my relative entered, in a noisy +bustling manner. Passing the gentlemen with a nod, he turned his back to +the fire, putting his hands behind him. 'Father,' said he, scarcely waiting +until the sentence that General Washington was uttering, was finished, +'what do you think? Uncle Jack and I shot a duck in the head!' He deserved +a reproof for his forwardness; but Washington joined the rest in a laugh, +no doubt amused at the estimation in which the youth held himself and Uncle +Jack. The two together, killed a duck, and the boy was boasting of it in +the presence of the greatest man the world ever produced. The poor fellow +left the room, and for a time his sporting talents were joked about more +than he liked." + +After the ladies retired, Mr. Selden proposed the health of the amiable +George Washington. + +"Good heavens! sir," said Mr. Chapman, the veins in his temples swelling, +and his whole frame glowing with vexation, "what is that you say? Did ever +any one hear of a soldier being amiable? No, sir, I will give you a toast +that was drank just before the death of the greatest and best of men. I +picked up an old newspaper, and laid it aside in my secretary. In it I read +a toast worth giving. Fill high, gentlemen--'The man who forgets the +services of George Washington, may he be forgotten by his country and his +God.'" + +Mr. Selden, who possessed in a remarkable degree the amiableness that he +had ascribed to another, swallowed the wine and approved the toast. Mr. +Chapman was some time recovering his composure. + +"You intend to leave Virginia very soon, Mr. Lee," said Mr. Kent, +addressing Walter. + +"Very soon, sir," Walter replied. + +"Where shall you go first?" asked Mr. Kent. + +"I have not decided on any course of travel," said Walter. "I shall, +perhaps, wander toward Germany." + +"We will drink your health, then," said Mr. Weston. "A pleasant tour, +Walter, and a safe return." + + * * * * * + +"You are from Connecticut, I believe, Mr. Perkins?" said Mr. Barbour, "but +as you are not an Abolitionist, I suppose it will not be uncourteous to +discuss the subject before you. I have in my memorandum book a copy of a +law of your State, which was in existence at one time, and which refers to +what we have been conversing about. It supports the Fugitive Slave Law, in +prospect. At that time you New Englanders held not only negro, but Indian +slaves. Let me read this, gentleman. 'Be it enacted by the Governor, +Council, and Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the +authority of the same, that whatsoever negro, mulatto, or Indian servant or +servants, shall be wandering out of the bounds of the town or place to +which they belong, without a ticket or pass, in writing, under the hand of +some Assistant or Justice of the Peace, or under the hand of the master or +owner of such negro, mulatto, or Indian servant or servants, shall be +deemed and accounted as runaways, and may be treated as such. And every +person inhabiting in this colony, finding or meeting with any such negro, +mulatto, or Indian servant or servants not having a ticket as aforesaid, is +hereby empowered to seize and secure him or them, and bring him or them +before the next authority, to be examined and returned to his or their +master or owner, who shall satisfy the charge accruing thereby. + +"'And all ferrymen within the colony are hereby requested not to suffer any +Indian, mulatto, or negro servant without certificate as aforesaid, to pass +over their respective ferries by assisting them, directly or indirectly, on +the penalty of paying a fine of twenty shillings for every such offence, to +the owner of such servants.' In the same act," continued Mr. Barbour, "a +free person who receives any property, large or small, from a slave, +without an order from his master, must either make full restitution or be +openly whipped with so many stripes, (not exceeding twenty.)" + +"Now, gentlemen," said Mr. Chapman, who was an impetuous old gentleman, +"don't you see those Yankees were close enough in taking care of their own +slaves, and if they could have raised sugar and cotton, or had deemed it to +their advantage to be slaveholders to this day, they'd have had a Fugitive +Slave Law long before this. A Daniel would have come to judgment sooner +even than the immortal Daniel Webster." + +"Wait a moment, my dear sir," said Mr. Barbour. "Another paragraph of the +same act provides, 'that if any negro, mulatto, or Indian servant or slave, +shall be found abroad from home, in the night season, after nine o'clock, +without a special order from his or their master or mistress, it shall be +lawful for any person or persons to apprehend and secure such negro, +mulatto, or Indian servant or slave, so offending, and him, her, or them, +bring before the next assistant or justice of the peace, which authority +shall have full power to pass sentence upon such servant or slave, and +order him, her, or them, to be publicly whipped on the _naked_ body, not +exceeding ten stripes, &c.'" + +"Pretty tight laws you had, sir," said Mr. Chapman, addressing Mr. Perkins. +"A woman could be picked up and whipped, at the report of any body, on the +naked body. Why, sir, if we had such laws here, it would be whipping all +the time, (provided so infamous a law could be carried into execution.) +There is one thing certain, you made the most of slavery while you had it." + +"But we have repented of all our misdeeds," said Mr. Perkins, +good-humouredly. + +"Yes," said Mr. Chapman, "like the boy that stole a penny, and when he +found it wouldn't buy the jack-knife he wanted, he repented, and carried it +to the owner." + +"But you must remember the times, my dear sir," said Mr. Perkins. + +"I do, I do, sir," said Mr. Chapman. "The very time that you had come for +freedom yourself, you kidnapped the noble sons of the soil, and made +menials of them. I wonder the ground did not cry out against you. Now we +have been left with the curse of slavery upon us, (for it is in some +respects a curse on the negro and the white man,) and God may see fit to +remove it from us. But why don't the Abolitionists buy our slaves, and send +them to Liberia?" + +"That would be against their principles," said Mr. Perkins. + +"Excuse me, sir," said Mr. Chapman, "but d----n their principles; it is +against their pockets. Why don't those who write Abolition books, give the +profits to purchase some of these poor wretches who are whipped to death, +and starved to death, and given to the flies to eat up, and burned alive; +then I would believe in their principles, or at least in their sincerity. +But now the fear is for their pockets. I am a poor man. I own a few slaves, +and I will sell them to any Northern man or woman at half-price for what I +could get from a trader, and they may send them to Liberia. Lord! sir, +they'd as soon think of buying the d----l himself. You must excuse my +strong language, but this subject irritates me. Not long ago, I was in the +upper part of the State of New York, looking about me, for I do look about +me wherever I am. One morning I got up early, and walked toward the new +railroad that they were constructing in the neighborhood. I chanced to get +to the spot just in time to see a little fracas between a stout, burly +Irishman, and the superintendent of the party. + +"'I thought, be Jasus,' said the Irishman, just as I approached near enough +to hear what was going on, 'that a man could see himself righted in a free +country.' + +"'Go to your work,' said the superintendent, and if you say another word +about it, I'll knock you over.' + +"'Is it you'll knock me over, you will,' began the Irishman. + +"He was over in a moment. The superintendent, sir, gave him a blow between +the eyes, with a fist that was hard as iron. The man staggered, and fell. I +helped him up, sir; and I reckon he thought matters might be worse still, +for he slowly walked off. + +"'D----d free country,' he muttered to me, in a kind of confidential tone. +'I thought they only knocked niggers over in Ameriky. Be me soul, but I'll +go back to Ireland.' + +"I could not help expressing my astonishment to the superintendent, +repeating the Irishman's words, 'I thought only niggers could be knocked +over in this country.' + +"'Niggers!' said the superintendent, 'I guess if you had to deal with +Irishmen, you'd find yourself obliged to knock 'em down.' + +"'But don't the laws protect them?' I asked. + +"'Laws! why railroads have to be made, and have to be made the right way. +I aint afraid of the laws. I think no more of knocking an Irishman over, +sir, than I do of eating my dinner. One is as necessary as the other.' + +"Now," continued Mr. Chapman, "if an Abolitionist sees a slave knocked +over, he runs home to tell his mammy; it's enough to bring fire and +brimstone, and hail, and earthquakes on the whole country. A man must have +a black skin or his sorrows can never reach the hearts of these gentlemen. +They had better look about at home. There is wrong enough there to make a +fuss about." + +"Well," said the Englishman, "you had both better come back to the mother +country. The beautiful words, so often quoted, of Curran, may invite you: +'No matter with what solemnities he may have been devoted upon the altar of +slavery, the moment he touches the sacred soil of Britain, the altar and +the God sink together in the dust, and he stands redeemed, regenerated, and +disenthralled, by the irresistible genius of universal emancipation.'" + +"Thank you, sir, for your invitation," said Mr. Chapman, "but I'll stay in +Virginia. The old State is good enough for me. I have been to England, and +I saw some of your redeemed, regenerated, disenthralled people--I saw +features on women's faces that haunted me afterward in my dreams. I saw +children with shrivelled, attenuated limbs, and countenances that were old +in misery and vice--such men, women, and children as Dickens and Charlotte +Elizabeth tell about. My little grand-daughter was recovering from a severe +illness, not long ago, and I found her weeping in her old nurse's arms. 'O! +grandpa,' said she, as I inquired the cause of her distress, 'I have been +reading "The Little Pin-headers."' I wept over it too, for it was true. No, +sir; if I must see slavery, let me see it in its best form, as it exists in +our Southern country." + +"You are right, sir, I fear," said the Englishman. + +"Well," said Mr. Perkins, "I am glad I am not a slaveholder, for one +reason; I am sure I should never get to heaven. I should be knocking brains +out from morning till night, that is if there are brains under all that +mass of wool. Why, they are so slow, and inactive--I should be stumbling +over them all the time; though from the specimens I have seen in your +house, sir, I should say they made most agreeable servants." + +"My servants are very faithful," said Mr. Weston, "they have had great +pains taken with them. I rarely have any complaints from the overseer." + +"Your overseers,--that is the worst feature in slavery," said Mr. Perkins. + +"Why, sir," said Mr. Chapman, ready for another argument, "you have your +superintendents at the North--and they can knock their people down whenever +they see fit." + +"I beg your pardon, sir," said Mr. Perkins. "I had forgotten that." + +"Stay a little while with us," said Mr. Chapman, as Mr. Weston rose to lead +the way to the drawing-room. "You will not find us so bad as you think. We +may roast a negro now and then, when we have a barbecue, but that will be +our way of showing you hospitality. You must remember we are only 'poor +heathenish Southerners' according to the best received opinions of some who +live with you in New England." + + * * * * * + +"Alice," said Mrs. Weston, at a late hour in the evening, when the last of +the guests were taking their departure, "Walter would like to see you in +the library; but, my love, I wish you would spare yourself and him the +useless pain of parting." + +"I must see him, dear mother, do not refuse me; it is for the last +time--pray, let me go." + +"If you choose," and Alice glided away as her mother was interrupted by the +leave-taking of some of their visitors. The forms, the courtesies of life +had no claims upon her now--she was enduring her first sorrow; the +foundation of youth's slight fabric of happiness was yielding beneath her +touch. The dread "nevermore," that Edgar Poe could not drive from his heart +and sight, was oppressing her. She sought him before whom her young heart +had bowed, not the less devotedly and humbly that it was silently and +secretly. It was to be a bitter parting, not as when she watched to the +last Arthur Weston, who was dear to her as ever was brother to a sister, +for they had the promise and hope of meeting again; but now there was no +tear in her eye, no trembling in her frame, and no hope in her heart. From +the utmost depth of her soul arose the prophetic voice, "Thou shalt see him +no more." + +"Alice," said Walter, taking her hand between both of his, and gazing at +her face, as pale and sad as his own, "it is your mother's wish that from +this time we should be strangers to each other, even loving as we do; that +our paths on earth should separate, never to meet again. Is it your wish +too?" + +"We must part; you know it, Walter," said Alice, musingly, looking out +upon, but not seeing the calm river, and the stars that gazed upon its +waves, and all the solemn beauty with which night had invested herself. + +"But you love me, Alice; and will you see me go from you forever, without +hope? Will you yourself speak the word that sends me forth a wanderer upon +the earth?" said Walter. + +"What can I do?" said Alice. + +"Choose, Alice, your own destiny, and fix mine." + +"Walter, I cannot leave my mother; I would die a thousand times rather than +bring such sorrow upon her who has known so much. My uncle, too--my more +than father--oh! Walter, I have sinned, and I suffer." + +"You are wise, Alice; you have chosen well; you cling to mother, and home, +and friends; I have none of these ties; there is not upon earth a being so +utterly friendless as I am." + +"Dear Walter, you have friends, and you can make them; you have wealth, +talent, and many gifts from God. Go forth into the world and use them. Let +your noble heart take courage; and in assisting others and making them +happy, you will soon be happy yourself." + +Walter looked at her with surprise: such words were unlike her, whom he had +been accustomed to consider a loving and lovely child. But a bitter smile +passed over his countenance, and in a stern voice he said, "And you, Alice, +what are you to do?" + +"God alone knows," said Alice, forced into a consideration of her own +sorrow, and resting against a lounge near which she had been standing. She +wept bitterly. Walter did not attempt to restrain her, but stood as if +contemplating a grief that he could not wish to control. Alice again spoke, +"It must come, dear Walter, first or last, and we may as well speak the +farewell which must be spoken--but I could endure my part, if I had the +hope that you will be happy. Will you promise me you will try to be?" + +"No, Alice, I cannot promise you that; if happiness were in our own power, +I would not be looking on you, whom I have loved all my life, for the last +time. + +"But I will hope," he continued, "you may be fortunate enough to forget and +be happy." + +"Children," said Miss Janet--for she had gently approached them--"do you +know when and where happiness is to be found? When we have done all that +God has given us to do here; and in the heaven, above those stars that are +now looking down upon you. Look upon Alice, Walter, with the hope of +meeting again; and until then, let the remembrance of her beauty and her +love be ever about you. Let her hear of you as one who deserves the pure +affection of her young and trusting heart. You have lived as brother and +sister; part as such, and may the blessing of God be upon both of you +forever." + +Walter took Alice in his arms, and kissed her cheek; all sternness and +pride had gone from his handsome face, but there was such a look of +hopeless sorrow there, as we would not willingly behold on the countenance +of one so young. + +Cousin Janet led him away, and with words of solemn, deep affection, bade +him farewell--words that came again, for a time, unheeded and +unwelcomed--words that at the last brought hope and peace to a fainting +heart. + +Cousin Janet returned to Alice, whose face lay hidden within her hands: +"Alice, darling," she said, "look up--God is here; forget your own grief, +and think of one who suffered, and who feels for all who, like Him, must +bear the burden of mortality. Think of your many blessings, and how +grateful you should feel for them; think of your mother, who for years wept +as you, I trust, may never weep; think of your kind uncle, who would die to +save you an hour's pain. Trust the future, with all its fears, to God, and +peace will come with the very effort to attain it." + +"Oh, Cousin Janet," said Alice, "if Walter were not so lonely; he knows not +where he is going, nor what he is going to do." + +"It is true," said Cousin Janet, weeping too; "but we can hope, and trust, +and pray. And now, my love, let us join your mother in her room; it is a +sad parting for her, too, for Walter is dear to us all." + + * * * * * + +Reader! have so many years passed away, that thou hast forgotten the +bitterness of thy first sorrow, or is it yet to come? Thinkest thou there +is a way of escape--none, unless thou art young, and Death interpose, +saving thee from all sadness, and writing on thy grave, "Do not weep for +me, thou knowest not how much of sorrow this early tomb has saved me." + +When were thy first thoughts of death? I do not mean the sight of the +coffin, the pall, or any of its sad accompaniments, but the time when the +mind first arrested itself with the melancholy convictions of mortality. +There was a holiday for me in my young days, to which I looked forward as +the Mohammedan to his Paradise; this was a visit to a country-place, where +I revelled in the breath of the woodbines and sweetbriers, and where I sat +under tall and spreading trees, and wondered why towns and cities were ever +built. The great willows swept the windows of the chamber where I slept, +and faces with faded eyes looked upon me from their old frames, by the +moonlight, as I fell asleep, after the day's enjoyment. I never tired of +wandering through the gardens, where were roses and sweet-williams, +hyacinths and honeysuckles, and flowers of every shape and hue. This was +the fairy spot of my recollection, for even childhood has its cares, and +there were memories of little griefs, which time has never chased away. +There I used to meet two children, who often roamed through the near woods +with me. I do not remember their ages nor their names; they were younger +though than I. They might not have been beautiful, but I recollect the +bright eyes, and that downy velvet hue that is only found on the soft check +of infancy. + +Summer came; and when I went again, I found the clematis sweeping the +garden walks, and the lilies-of-the-valley bending under the weight of +their own beauty. So we walked along, I and an old servant, stopping to +enter an arbor, or to raise the head of a drooping plant, or to pluck a +sweet-scented shrub, and place it in my bosom. "Where are the little +girls?" I asked. "Have they come again, too?" + +"Yes, they are here," she said, as we approached two little mounds, covered +over with the dark-green myrtle and its purple flowers. + +"What is here?" + +"Child, here are the little ones you asked for." + +Oh! those little myrtle-covered graves, how wonderingly I gazed upon them. +There was no thought of death mingled with my meditation; there was, of +quiet and repose, but not of death. I had seen no sickness, no suffering, +and I only wondered why those fair children had laid down under the myrtle. +I fancied them with the fringed eyelids drooping over the cheeks, and the +velvet hue still there. How much did I know of death? As little as of life! + +Time passed with me, and I saw the sorrows of others. Sometimes I thought +of the myrtle-covered graves, and the children that slept beneath. Oh! how +quiet they must be, they utter no cry, they shed no tears. + +Time passed, and an angel slept in my bosom, close to my heart. Need I say +that I was happy when she nestled there? that her voice was music to my +soul, and her smile the very presence of beauty? Need I say it was joy when +she called me, Mother? Then I lived for the present; all the sorrow that I +had seen around me, was forgotten. + +God called that angel to her native heaven, and I wept. Now was the mystery +of the myrtle-covered graves open before my sight. I had seen the going +forth of a little life that was part of my own, I remembered the hard sighs +that convulsed that infant breast. I knew that the grave was meant to hide +from us, silence and pallor, desolation and decay. I was in the world, no +longer a garden of flowers, where I sought from under the myrtle for the +bright eyes and the velvet cheeks. I was in the world, and death was there +too; it was by my side. I gave my darling to the earth, and felt for myself +the bitterness of tears. + +Thus must it ever be--by actual suffering must the young be persuaded of +the struggle that is before them--well is it when there is one to say, "God +is here." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +We must bring Uncle Bacchus's wife before our readers. She is a tall, +dignified, bright mulatto woman, named Phillis; it is with the qualities of +her heart and mind, rather than her appearance, that we have to do. Bayard +Taylor, writing from Nubia, in Upper Egypt, says:--"Those friends of the +African race, who point to Egypt as a proof of what that race has done, are +wholly mistaken. The only negro features represented in Egyptian sculpture +are those of the slaves and captives taken in the Ethiopian wars of the +Pharaohs. The temples and pyramids throughout Nubia, as far as Abyssinia, +all bear the hieroglyphics of these monarchs. There is no evidence in all +the valley of the Nile that the negro race ever attained a higher degree of +civilization than is at present exhibited in Congo and Ashantee. I mention +this, not from any feeling hostile to that race, but simply to controvert +an opinion very prevalent in some parts of the United States." + +It seemed impossible to know Phillis without feeling for her sentiments of +the highest respect. The blood of the freeman and the slave mingled in her +veins; her well-regulated mind slowly advanced to a conclusion; but once +made, she rarely changed it. + +Phillis would have been truly happy to have obtained her own freedom, and +that of her husband and children: she scorned the idea of running away, or +of obtaining it otherwise than as a gift from her owner. She was a firm +believer in the Bible, and often pondered on the words of the angel, +"Return and submit thyself to thy mistress." She had on one occasion +accompanied her master and Mrs. Weston to the North, where she was soon +found out by some of that disinterested class of individuals called +Abolitionists. In reply to the question, "Are you free?" there was but a +moment's hesitation; her pride of heart gave way to her inherent love of +truth, "I'll tell no lie," she answered; "I am a slave!" + +"Why do you not _take_ your freedom?" was the rejoinder. "You are in a free +state; they cannot force you to the South, if you will take the offers we +make you, and leave your master." + +"You are Abolitionists, I 'spose?" asked Phillis. + +"We are," they said, "and we will help you off." + +"I want none of your help," said Phillis. "My husband and children are at +home; but if they wasn't, I am an honest woman, and am not in the habit of +_taking_ any thing. I'll never _take_ my freedom. If my master would give +it to me, and the rest of us, I should be thankful. I am not going to begin +stealing, and I fifty years of age." + +An eye-witness described the straightening of her tall figure, and the +indignant flashing of her eye, also the discomfited looks of her northern +friends. + +I have somewhere read of a fable of Iceland. According to it, lost souls +are to be parched in the burning heat of Hecla, and then cast for ever to +cool in its never-thawing snows. Although Phillis could not have quoted +this, her opinions would have applied it. For some reason, it was evident +to her mind (for she had been well instructed in the Bible) that slavery +was from the first ordained as a curse. It might, to her high spirit, have +been like burning in the bosom of Hecla; but taking refuge among +Abolitionists was, from the many instances that had come to her knowledge, +like cooling in its never-thawing snows. + +At the time that we introduced her to the reader, she was the mother of +twelve children. Some were quite young, but a number of them were grown, +and all of them, with the exception of one, (the namesake of his father,) +inherited their mother's energy of character. She had accustomed them to +constant industry, and unqualified obedience to her directions; and for +this reason, no one had found it necessary to interfere in their +management. + +Pride was a large ingredient in Phillis's composition. Although her husband +presented one of the blackest visages the sun ever shone upon, Phillis +appeared to hold in small esteem the ordinary servants on the plantation. +She was constantly chiding her children for using their expressions, and +tried to keep them in the house with white people as much as possible, that +they might acquire good manners. It was quite a grief to her that Bacchus +had not a more genteel dialect than the one he used. She had a great deal +of family pride; there was a difference in her mind between family servants +and those employed in field labor. For "the quality" she had the highest +respect; for "poor white people" only a feeling of pity. She had some noble +qualities, and some great weaknesses; but as a _slave!_ we present her to +the reader, and she must be viewed as such. + +Miss Janet was, in her eyes, perfection. Her children were all the better +for her kind instructions. Her youngest child, Lydia, a girl of six or +seven years old, followed the old lady everywhere, carrying her key and +knitting-basket, looking for her spectacles, and maintaining short +conversations in a confidential tone. + +One of Phillis's chiefest virtues was, that she had been able to bring +Bacchus into subjection, with the exception of his love for an occasional +spree. Spoiled by an indulgent master, his conceit and wilfulness had made +him unpopular with the servants, though his high tone of speaking, and a +certain pretension in his manner and dress, was not without its effect. He +was a sort of patriarch among waiters and carriage-drivers; could tell +anecdotes of dinners where Washington was a guest; and had been familiar +with certain titled people from abroad, whose shoes he had had the honor of +polishing. The only person in whose presence he restrained his braggadocio +style was Phillis. Her utter contempt for nonsense was too evident. +Bacchus was the same size as his master, and often fell heir to his +cast-off clothes. A blue dress-coat and buff vest that he thus inherited, +had a great effect upon him, bodily and spiritually. Not only did he +swagger more when arrayed in them, but his prayers and singing were doubly +effective. He secretly prided himself on a likeness to Mr. Weston, but this +must have been from a confusion of mind into which he was thrown, by +constantly associating himself with Mr. Weston's coats and pantaloons. + +He once said to Phillis, "You might know master was a born gentleman by de +way his clothes fits. Dey don't hang about him, but dey 'pears as if dey +had grow'd about him by degrees; and if you notice, dey fits me in de same +way. Pity I can't wear his shoes, dey's so soft, and dey don't creak. I +hates boots and shoes all time creakin, its so like poor white folks when +they get dressed up on Sunday. I wonders often Miss Anna don't send me none +of master's old ruffled shirts. 'Spose she thinks a servant oughtn't to +wear 'em. I was a wishin last Sunday, when I gin in my 'sperience in +meetin, that I had one of master's old ruffled shirts on. I know I could a +'scoursed them niggers powerful. Its a hard thing to wear a ruffled shirt. +Dey sticks out and pushes up to people's chins--I mean people dat aint born +to wear 'em. Master wears 'em as if he was born in 'em, and I could too. I +wish you'd put Miss Janet up to gittin one or two for me. Miss Janet's +mighty 'bliging for an ole maid; 'pears as if she liked to see even cats +happy. When an ole maid don't hate cats, there aint nothin to be feared +from 'em." + +Phillis ruled her husband in most things, but she indulged him in all his +whims that were innocent. She determined he should have, not an old ruffled +shirt, but a new one. She reported the case to Miss Janet, who set two of +her girls to work, and by Saturday night the shirt was made and done up, +and plaited. Bacchus was to be pleasantly surprised by it next morning +appearing on the top of his chest. + +It happened that on this identical Sunday, Bacchus had (as the best of men +will sometimes) got up wrong foot foremost, and not having taken the +trouble to go back to bed, and get up again, putting the right foot out +first, he continued in the same unhappy state of mind. He made, as was his +wont, a hasty toilet before breakfast. He wore an old shirt, and a pair of +pantaloons that did not reach much above his hips. One of his slippers had +no instep; the other was without a heel. His grizzly beard made him look +like a wild man of the woods; a certain sardonic expression of countenance +contributed to this effect. He planted his chair on its remaining hind leg +at the cabin door, and commenced a systematic strain of grumbling before he +was fairly seated in it. + +"I believe in my soul," Phillis heard him say, "dat ole Aunt Peggy al'ars +gits up wrong on a Sabbath mornin. Will any one hear her coughin? My narves +is racked a listenin to her. I don't see what she wants to live for, and +she most a hundred. I believe its purpose to bother me, Sabbath mornins. +Here, Phillis, who's this bin here, diggin up my sweet-williams I +planted?--cuss dese children--" + +"The children had nothing to do with it," said Phillis. "Master wanted some +roots to give to Mr. Kent and he asked me for 'em. I dug 'em up and they're +all the better for being thinned out." + +"I wish master'd mind his own business, and not be pryin and pilferin 'bout +other people's gardens; givin my flowers to that yallow-headed Abolitioner. +I'll speak my mind to him about it, any how." + +"You'd better," said Phillis, drily. + +"I will so," said Bacchus; "I'd rather he'd a burned 'em up. Kent's so +cussed mean, I don't b'lieve he'd 'low his flowers ground to grow in if he +could help hisself. If Miss Nannie'd let him, he'd string them niggers of +hers up, and wallop their gizzards out of 'em. I hate these Abolitioners. I +knows 'em,--I knows their pedigree." + +"Much you know about 'em," said Phillis, who was shaking the dew drops off +her "morning glory." + +"I knows enuff of 'em--I reckon Miss Nannie do, about dis time. De ole +gentleman did right, any how, when he lef 'em all to her--if he hadn't, dat +feller would a sold 'em all off to Georgia 'fore this, and a runn'd off wid +de money." + +"Well," said Phillis, "you'd better mind your own affairs; come in and eat +your breakfast, if you want any, for I aint going to keep it standin there +all day, drawing the flies." + +Bacchus kicked his slippers off and stumbled into a chair beside the table. +"I'll swar," said he, after a glance at the fried ham and eggs, "if ever a +man had to eat sich cookin as dis. Why didn't you fry 'em a little more?" +Phillis not minding him, he condescended to eat them all, and to do justice +to the meal in general. + +"The old fool," thought Phillis, amused and provoked; "talkin of master's +pilferin--never mind, I've put his ruffled shirt out, and he'll get in a +good humor when he sees it, I reckon." + +Having finished his breakfast, Bacchus put an enormous piece of tobacco in +his mouth, and commenced sharpening a small-sized scythe, that he called a +razor. In doing so, he made a noise like a high-pressure steamboat, now and +then breathing on it, and going in a severe fit of coughing with every +extra exertion. On his table was a broken piece of looking-glass, on the +quicksilver side of which, Arthur had, when a child, drawn a horse. Into +this Bacchus gave a look, preparatory to commencing operations. Then, after +due time spent in lathering, he hewed down at each shave, an amount of +black tow that was inconceivable. After he had done, he gathered up his +traps, and stowed them away in the corner of his chest. + +Phillis sat outside the door, smoking; looking in at the window, +occasionally, to observe the effect of the first sight of the new shirt. +She saw him turn toward the little red painted bureau, on which she had +laid out his clean clothes, starting with surprise and pleasure, when his +eye first took in the delightful vision. Cortez, when he stood conqueror of +Mexico, did not feel the glow of satisfaction that thrilled through +Bacchus's heart as he gently patted the plaited ruffles and examined the +wristbands, which were stitched with the utmost neatness. He got weak in +the knees with pleasure, and sat down on the chest in the corner, to +support with more ease this sudden accession of happiness, while his wife +was reaping a harvest of gratification at the success of her efforts toward +his peace of mind. All at once she saw a change pass over his visage. +Bacchus recollected that it would not do for him so suddenly to get into a +good humor; besides, he reflected it was no more than Phillis's duty to +make him ruffled shirts, and she ought to have been so doing for the last +twenty years. These considerations induced him not to show much pleasure on +the occasion, but to pretend he was not at all satisfied with the style and +workmanship of the article in question. + +"Why, lord a massy," said he, "Phillis, what do you call dis here? t'aint a +shirt? at fust I thought 'twas one of Miss Janet's short night gowns you'd +been a doing up for her." + +Phillis smoked on, looking inquiringly into the distant hills. + +"Phillis, you don't mean me to wear dis here to meetin? T'aint fit. Dese +wristbands is made out o' cotton, and I b'lieves in my soul Aunt Peggy done +dis stitchin widout any spectacles." + +Phillis knocked the ashes out of her pipe, and puffed on. + +"Look here, Phillis," said Bacchus, going to the door as fast as the +uncertain condition of his pantaloons would allow him, "did you 'spose I +was sich a fool as to wear dis to meetin to-day?" + +"Yes, I did," said Phillis. + +"Why, t'aint fit for a nigger to hoe corn in, its as big as a hay-stack." + +"Have you tried it on?" asked Phillis. + +"T'aint no use," said Bacchus, "I can tell by de looks." + +"I'm sorry you don't like it," said Phillis. + +"Like it," said Bacchus, contemptuously, "why, if it twasn't for the +trouble of going to my chist, I'd wear one of my old ones. Cuss de ruffles, +I wish you'd cut 'em off." + +Bacchus went in, and in due time made his appearance in full dress. He wore +the blue coat and buff vest, and a pair of white pantaloons, made after the +old style. His shoes were as bright as his eyes, and his hat dusted until +it only wanted an entire new nap to make it as good as new. His hair was +combed in a sort of mound in front, and the _tout ensemble_ was astounding. +He passed Phillis in a dignified way, as if she were a valuable cat that he +would not like to tread upon. + +Phillis looked after him with a most determined expression of face. If she +had been made out of stone she could not have seemed more resolved. She got +up, however, soon after, and went in to arrange matters after her lord and +master. + +Bacchus purposely passed Aunt Peggy's cabin, making her a stylish bow. +Peggy had taken off her handkerchief, to air her head, her hair standing +off every which way, appearing determined to take her up somewhere, the +point of destination being a matter of no consequence. She chuckled audibly +as she saw Bacchus. + +"Look at dat ole fool now, wid dat ruffled shirt on; he's gwine to bust dis +blessed mornin. Look at de way he's got his wool combed up. I b'lieves in +my soul he's got somebody buried up thar. He's a raal ole peacock. Dat's +de way! 'Kase I'm ole and wuthless, no matter 'bout me; and dat ole nigger +'lowed to make a fool of hisself, dressin up drunk in a ruffled shirt. No +matter, I'll be dead and out of der way, fore long." + +Bacchus prayed with great effect this morning, calling himself and the +whole congregation the most dreadful names, with the utmost satisfaction. +He made a short address too, warning the servants against sin in general, +and a love of finery in particular. On his return he beamed forth upon +Phillis like one of her own "morning glories." The rest of the day he was +brimful of jokes and religion. + +The next Sunday came around. Phillis smoked outside while Bacchus made his +toilet. + +"Phillis," said the old fellow, blandly, coming to the door, "I don't see +my ruffled shirt out here." + +"High" said Phillis, "I laid your shirt with the rest; but I'll look. Here +it is," said she, pleasantly, "jest where I put it." + +"Why, whar's the ruffles?" + +"I cut 'em off," said Phillis; "you asked me to." + +Bacchus got weak in the knees again, and had to sit down on the old chest. +Not a word escaped his lips; a deep sigh burst from the pent-up boiler of +his remorse. With an agonized countenance he seized a piece of rag which he +had used as a shaving towel, and wiped away a repentant tear. His soul was +subdued within him. He went to meeting, but declined officiating in any +capacity, pleading a pain in his stomach as an excuse. At dinner he found +it impossible to finish the remaining quarter of a very tough old rooster +Phillis had stuffed and roasted for him. At sundown he ate a small-sized +hoe-cake and a tin pan of bonnyclabber; then observing "That he believed he +was put into dis world for nothing but to have trouble," he took to his +bed. + +Phillis saw that he would be more docile for the rest of his life; for a +moment, the thought of restoring the shirt to its original splendor +occurred to her, but she chased it away as if it had been a fox, and took +the greatest satisfaction in "having given the old fool a lesson that would +last him all the days of his life." + +"To you, generous and noble-minded men and women of the South, I appeal, (I +quote the words of a late writer on Abolitionism, when I say,) Is _man_ +ever a creature to be trusted with wholly irresponsible power? Can anybody +fail to make the inference, what the practical result will be?"[A] Although +she is here speaking of slavery _politically_, can you not apply it to +matrimony in this miserable country of ours? Can we not remodel our +husbands, place them under our thumbs, and shut up the escape valves of +their grumbling forever? To be sure, St. Paul exhorts "wives to be obedient +to their own husbands," and "servants to be obedient to their own masters," +but St. Paul was not an Abolitionist. He did not take into consideration +the necessities of the free-soil party, and woman's _rights_. This is the +era of mental and bodily emancipation. Take advantage of it, wives and +negroes! But, alas for the former! there is no society formed for _their_ +benefit; their day of deliverance has not yet dawned, and until its first +gleamings arise in the _east_, they must wear their chains. Except when +some strong-minded female steps forth from the degraded ranks, and asserts +her position, whether by giving loose to that unruly member the tongue, or +by a piece of management which will give "an old fool a lesson that will +last him all the days of his life." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +Phillis was at her ironing early in the morning, for she liked to hurry it +over before the heat of the day. Her cabin doors were open, and her +flowers, which had been watered by a slight rain that fell about daybreak, +looked fresh and beautiful. Her house could be hardly called a cabin, for +it was very much superior to the others on the plantation, though they were +all comfortable. Phillis was regarded by the Weston family as the most +valuable servant they owned--and, apart from her services, there were +strong reasons why they were attached to her. She had nursed Mrs. Weston in +her last illness, and as her death occurred immediately after Arthur's +birth, she nourished him as her own child, and loved him quite as well. Her +comfort and wishes were always objects of the greatest consideration to the +family, and this was proved whenever occasion allowed. Her neatly +white-washed cottage was enclosed by a wooden fence in good condition--her +little garden laid out with great taste, if we except the rows of +stiffly-trimmed box which Phillis took pride in. A large willow tree shaded +one side of it; and on the other, gaudy sunflowers reared their heads, and +the white and Persian lilacs, contrasted with them. All kinds of small +flowers and roses adorned the front of the house, and you might as well +have sought for a diamond over the whole place, as a weed. The back of the +lot was arranged for the accommodation of her pigs and chickens; and two +enormous peacocks, that were fond of sunning themselves by the front door, +were the handsomest ornaments about the place. + +The room in which Phillis ironed, was not encumbered with much furniture. +Her ironing-table occupied a large part of its centre, and in the ample +fireplace was blazing a fire great enough to cook a repast for a moderate +number of giants. Behind the back door stood a common pine bedstead, with +an enormous bed upon it. How any bedstead held such a bed was remarkable; +for Phillis believed there was a virtue in feathers even in the hottest +weather, and she would rather have gone to roost on the nearest tree than +to have slept on any thing else. The quilt was of a domestic blue and +white, her own manufacture, and the cases to the pillows were very white +and smooth. A little, common trundle bedstead was underneath, and on it was +the bedding which was used for the younger children at night. The older +ones slept in the servants' wing in the house, Phillis making use of two +enormous chests, which were Bacchus's, and her wardrobes, for sleeping +purposes for a couple more. To the right of the bed, was the small chest of +drawers, over which was suspended Bacchus's many-sided piece of shaving +glass, and underneath it a pine box containing his shaving weapons. Several +chairs, in a disabled state, found places about the room, and Phillis's +clothes-horse stood with open arms, ready to receive the white and +well-ironed linen that was destined to hang upon it. On each side of the +fireplace was a small dresser, with plates and jars of all sizes and +varieties, and over each were suspended some branches of trees, inviting +the flies to rest upon them. There was no cooking done in this room, there +being a small shed for that purpose, back of the house; not a spot of +grease dimmed the whiteness of the floors, and order reigned supreme, +marvellous to relate! where a descendant of Afric's daughters presided. + +Lydia had gone as usual to Miss Janet, and several of the other children +were busy about the yard, feeding the chickens, sweeping up, and employed +in various ways; the only one who ever felt inclined to be lazy, and who +was in body and mind the counterpart of his father, being seated on the +door step, declaring he had a pain in his foot. + +The adjoining room was the place in which Phillis's soul delighted, the +door of it being at all times locked, and the key lost in the depths of her +capacious pocket. From this place of retirement it emerged when any of the +family honored her with their company, especially when attended by +visitors; and after their departure, traces of their feet were carefully +sought with keen and anxious eyes, and quickly obliterated with broom and +duster. + +This, her sanctum sanctorum, was a roomy apartment with three windows, each +shaded by white cotton curtains. On the floor was a home-made carpet; no +hand was employed in its manufacture save its owner's, from the time she +commenced tearing the rags in strips, to the final blow given to the last +tack that confined it to the floor. A very high post bedstead, over which +were suspended white cotton curtains, gave an air of grandeur to one side +of the room. No one had slept in it for ten years, though it was made with +faultless precision. The quilt over it contained pieces of every calico and +gingham dress that had been worn in the Weston family since the Revolution, +and in the centre had been transferred from a remnant of curtain calico, an +eagle with outstretched wings. The pillow cases were finished off with tape +trimming, Alice's work, at Cousin Janet's suggestion. Over an old +fashioned-mahogany bureau hung an oval looking glass, which was carefully +covered from the flies. An easy chair stood by the window at the foot of +the bed, which had, like most of the other ancient looking pieces of +furniture, occupied a conspicuous place in Mr. Weston's house. Six chairs +planted with unyielding stiffness against the walls seemed to grow out of +the carpet; and the very high fender enclosed a pair of andirons that any +body with tolerable eyesight could have seen their faces in. + +Over the mantel piece were suspended two pictures. One was a likeness of +Mr. Weston, cut in paper over a black surface, with both hands behind him, +and his right foot foremost; the other was a picture of the Shepherds in +Pilgrim's Progress, gazing through a spy-glass at the Celestial city. +Alice's first sampler, framed in a black frame, hung on one side of the +room, and over it was a small sword which used to swing by Arthur's side, +when receiving lessons in military science from Bacchus, who, in his own +opinion, was another Bonaparte. Into this room Phillis's children gazed +with wondering eyes; and those among the plantation servants who had been +honored with a sight of it, declared it superior, in every respect, to +their master's drawing room; holding in especial reverence a small table, +covered with white, which supported the weight of Phillis's family Bible, +where were registered in Arthur's and Alice's handwriting, the births of +all her twelve descendants, as well as the ceremony which united her to +their illustrious father. + +Phillis was ironing away with a good heart, when she was interrupted by a +summons to attend her master in the library. She obeyed it with very little +delay, and found Mr. Weston seated in his arm-chair, looking over a note +which he held in his hand. + +"Come in, Phillis," he said, in a kind but grave manner. "I want to speak +with you for a few moments; and as I have always found you truthful, I have +no doubt you will be perfectly so on the present occasion." + +"What is it, master?" Phillis said, respectfully. + +"I received a note, yesterday, from Mr. Dawson, about his servant Jim, who +ran away three weeks ago. He charges me with having permitted my servants +to shelter him for the night, on my plantation; having certain information, +that he was seen leaving it the morning after the severe storm we had about +that time. If you know any thing of it, Phillis, I require you to tell it +to me; I hardly think any of the other servants had opportunities of doing +so, and yet I cannot believe that you would so far forget yourself as to do +what is not only wrong, but calculated to involve me in serious +difficulties with my neighbors." + +"I hope you will not be angry with me, master?" said Phillis, "but I can't +tell a lie; I let Jim stay in my room that night, and I've been mightily +troubled about it; I was afeard you would be angry with me, if you heard of +it, and yet, master, I could not help it when it happened." + +"Could not help it! Phillis," said Mr. Weston. "What do you mean by that? +Why did you not inform me of it, that I might have sent him off?" + +"I couldn't find it in my heart, sir," said Phillis, the tears coming in +her fine eyes. "The poor creature come in when the storm was at its worst. +I had no candle lit; for the lightning was so bright that I hadn't no call +for any other light. Bacchus was out in it all, and I was thinking he would +be brought in dead drunk, or dead in earnest, when all at once Jim burst +open the door, and asked me to let him stay there. I know'd he had run +away, and at first I told him to go off, and not be gitting me into +trouble; but, master, while I was sending him off such a streak of +lightning come in, and such a crash of thunder, that I thought the Almighty +had heard me turn him out, and would call me to account for it, when Jim +and me should stand before him at the Judgment Day. I told Jim he had +better go back to his master, that he wouldn't have any comfort, always +hiding himself, and afeard to show his face, but he declared he would die +first; and so as I couldn't persuade him to go home agin, I couldn't help +myself, for I thought it would be a sin and shame, to turn a beast out in +such a storm as that. As soon as the day began to break, and before, too, I +woke him up, and told him never to come to my cabin again, no matter what +happened. And so, master, I've told you the whole truth, and I am sure you +couldn't have turned the poor wretch out to perish in that storm, no +matter what would have come of it after." + +Phillis had gained confidence as she proceeded, and Mr. Weston heard her +without interruption. + +"I can hardly blame you," he then said, "for what you have done; but, +Phillis, it must never be repeated. Jim is a great rascal, and if I were +his master I would be glad to be rid of him, but my plantation must not +shelter runaway slaves. I am responsible for what my servants do. I should +be inclined to hold other gentlemen responsible for the conduct of theirs. +The laws of Virginia require the rights of the master to be respected, and +though I shan't make a constable of myself, still I will not allow any such +thing to be repeated. Did Bacchus know it?" + +"No, indeed, sir; he hates Jim, and no good, may be, would have come of his +knowing it; besides, he was asleep long after Jim went off, and there was +too much whiskey in him to depend on what he'd have to say." + +"That will do, Phillis; and see that such a thing never happens again," +said Mr. Weston. + +Phillis went back to her ironing, assured her master was not angry with +her. Yet she sighed as she thought of his saying, "see that such a thing +never happens again." "If it had been a clear night," she thought within +herself, "he shouldn't have stayed there. But it was the Lord himself that +sent the storm, and I can't see that he never sends another. Anyway its +done, and can't be helped;" and Phillis busied herself with her work and +her children. + +I have not given Phillis's cottage as a specimen of the cabins of the +negroes of the South. It is described from the house of a favorite servant. +Yet are their cabins generally, healthy and airy. Interest, as well as a +wish for the comfort and happiness of the slave, dictates an attention to +his wants and feelings. "Slavery," says Voltaire, "is as ancient as war; +war as human nature." It is to be wished that _truth_ had some such +intimate connection with human nature. Who, for instance, could read +without an indignant thought, the following description from the pen of +Mrs. Stowe: "They (their cabins) were rude shells, destitute of any pieces +of furniture, except a heap of straw, foul with dirt, spread confusedly +over the floor." "The small village was alive with no inviting sounds; +hoarse, guttural voices, contending at the handmills, where their morsel of +hard corn was yet to be ground into meal to fit it for the cake that was to +constitute their only supper." But such statements need no denial; the very +appearance of the slaves themselves show their want of truth. Look at their +sound and healthy limbs, hear the odd, but sweet and musical song that +arrests the traveler as he goes on his way; listen to the ready jest which +is ever on his lips, and see if the slavery which God has permitted in all +ages to exist, is as is here described; and judge if our fair Southern land +is tenanted by such fiends as they are represented to be, by those who are +trying to make still worse the condition of a mass of God's creatures, born +to a life of toil, but comparative freedom from care. If it be His will +that men should be born free and equal, that will is not revealed in the +Bible from the time of the patriarchs to the present day. There are +directions there for the master and the slave. When the period of +emancipation advances, other signs of the times will herald it, besides the +uncalled-for interference, and the gross misrepresentations, of the men and +women of the North. + +Sidney Smith said of a man, who was a great talker, that a few flashes of +silence would make a great improvement in him. So of the Abolition cause, a +few flashes of truth would make it decidedly more respectable. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +"Come, Alice," said Mr. Barbour, "I hear, not the trump of war, but the +soul-inspiring scrape of the banjo. I notice the servants always choose the +warmest nights to dance in. Let us go out and see them." + +"We'll go to the arbor," said Alice; "where we will be near enough to see +Uncle Bacchus's professional airs. Ole Bull can't exceed him in that +respect." + +"Nor equal him," said Mr. Barbour. "Bacchus is a musician by nature; his +time is perfect; his soul is absorbed in his twangs and flourishes." + +"I must come, too," said Mr. Weston. "You are afraid of the night air, +Cousin Janet?" + +"Never mind me," said Cousin Janet; "I'll sit here and fan myself." + +"And as I prefer music, especially the banjo, at a distance, I will stay +too," said Mrs. Weston. + +Aunt Phillis was smoking outside her door, her mind divided between +speculations as to what had become of Jim, and observations on the +servants, as they were collecting from every direction, to join in the +dancing or to find a good seat to look on. + +The first sound of the banjo aroused Bacchus the younger from his dreams. +He bounded from his bed on the chest, regardless of the figure he cut in +his very slight dishabille, and proceeded to the front door, _set_, as his +mother would have said, on having his own way. + +"Oh, mammy," he said, "dare's de banjo." + +"What you doin here?" said Phillis. "Go long to bed this minute, 'fore I +take a switch to you." + +"Oh, mammy," said the boy, regardless of the threat in his enthusiastic +state of mind, "jist listen, daddy's gwine to play 'Did you ever see the +devil?'" + +"Will any body listen to the boy? If you don't go to bed"-- + +"Oh, mammy, _please_ lem me go. Dare's Jake, he's gwine to dance. Massa +said I'd beat Jake dancin one o' dese days." + +"High," said Phillis; "where's the sore foot you had this morning?" + +"Its done got well. It got well a little while ago, while I was asleep." + +"Bound for you; go long," said Phillis. + +Bacchus was about to go, without the slightest addition to his toilet. + +"Come back here," said Phillis, "you real cornfield nigger; you goin there +naked?" + +The boy turned back, and thrust his legs in a pair of pants, with twine for +suspenders. His motions were much delayed, by his nervous state of +agitation, the consequence of the music which was now going on in earnest. + +He got off finally, not without a parting admonition from his mother. + +"Look here," said she, "if you don't behave yourself, I'll skin you." + +Allusion to this mysterious mode of punishment had the effect of sobering +the boy's mind in a very slight degree. No sooner was he out of his +mother's sight than his former vivacity returned. + +His father, meanwhile, had turned down a barrel, and was seated on it. +Every attitude, every motion of his body, told that his soul, forgetful of +earth and earthly things, had withdrawn to the regions of sound. He kicked +his slippers off keeping time, and his head dodged about with every turn of +the quick tune. A stranger, not understanding the state of mind into which +a negro gets after playing "The devil among the tailors," would have +supposed he was afflicted with St. Vitus's dance. The mistake would soon +have been perceived, for two of the boys having tired themselves out with +manoeuvres of every kind, were obliged to sit down to get some breath, +and Bacchus fell into a sentimental mood, after a little tuning up. + +It was uncertain in what strain he would finally go off. First came a bar +that sounded like Auld Lang Syne, then a note or two of Days of Absence, +then a turn of a Methodist hymn, at last he went decidedly into "Nelly was +a lady." The tune of this William had learned from Alice singing it to the +piano. He begged her to teach him the words. She did so, telling him of the +chorus part, in which many were to unite. Bacchus prepared an +accompaniment; a number of them sang it together. William sang the solos. +He had a remarkably good voice and fine taste; he therefore did justice to +the sweet song. When the full but subdued chorus burst upon the ear, every +heart felt the power of the simple strain; the master with his educated +mind and cultivated taste, and the slave with the complete power of +enjoyment with which the Creator has endowed him. + +Hardly had the cadence of the last note died away, when "Shout, shout, the +devil's about," was heard from a stentorian voice. Above the peals of +laughter with which the words were received, rose Jake's voice, "Come on, +ole fiddler, play somefin a nigger kin kick up his heels to; what's de use +of singing after dat fashion; dis aint no meetin." + +"What'll you have, Jake?" said Bacchus. + +"What'll I have? Why, I never dances to but one tune," and Jake started the +first line of "Oh, plantation gals, can't you look at a body," while +Bacchus was giving a prelude of scrapes and twangs. Jake made a circle of +somersets, and come down on his head, with his heels in the air, going +through flourishes that would have astonished an uninitiated observer. As +it was, Jake's audience were in a high condition of enjoyment. They were +in a constant state of expectation as to where he would turn up, or what +would be the nature of the next caper. Now, he cut the pigeon-wing for a +length of time that made the spectators hold their breath; then he would, +so to speak, stand on his hands, and with his feet give a push to the +barrel where Uncle Bacchus was sitting, and nearly roll the old man +underneath. One moment he is dancing with every limb, making the most +curious contortions of his face, rolling out his tongue, turning his eyes +wrong side out. Suddenly, he stretches himself on the grass, snoring to a +degree that might be heard at almost any distance. Starting up, he snaps +his fingers, twirls round, first on one foot, and then on the other, till +feeling the time approaching when he must give up, he strikes up again: + + "Shout, shout, the devil's about; + Shut the door and keep him out," + +leaps frog over two or three of the servants' shoulders, disappearing from +among them in an immoderate state of conceit and perspiration. + +Bacchus is forced at this crisis to put down the banjo and wipe his face +with his sleeve, breathing very hard. He was thinking he wouldn't get near +so tired if he had a little of the "Oh, be joyful" to keep up his spirits, +but such aspirations were utterly hopeless at the present time: getting +tipsy while his master, and Mr. Barbour, and Alice were looking at him, was +quite out of the question. He made a merit of keeping sober, too, on the +ground of setting a good example to the young servants. He consoled himself +with a double-sized piece of tobacco, and rested after his efforts. His +promising son danced Juba at Mr. Weston's particular request, and was +rewarded by great applause. + +A little courting scene was going on at this time, not far distant. Esther, +Phillis's third daughter, was a neat, genteel-looking servant, entirely +above associating with "common niggers," as she styled those who, being +constantly employed about the field, had not the advantage of being called +upon in the house, and were thus very deficient in manners and appearance +from those who were so much under the eye of the family. Esther, like her +mother, was a great Methodist. Reading well, she was familiar with the +Bible, and had committed to memory a vast number of hymns. These, she and +her sister, with William, often sung in the kitchen, or at her mother's +cabin. Miss Janet declared it reminded her of the employment of the saints +in heaven, more than any church music she had ever heard; especially when +they sang, "There is a land of pure delight." + +That heart must be steeled against the sweet influences of the Christian +religion, which listens not with an earnest pleasure to the voice of the +slave, singing the songs of Zion. No matter how kind his master, or how +great and varied his comforts, he is a slave! His soul cannot, on earth, be +animated to attain aught save the enjoyment of the passing hour. Why need +he recall the past? The present does not differ from it--toil, toil, +however mitigated by the voice of kindness. Need he essay to penetrate the +future? it is still toil, softened though it be by the consideration which +is universally shown to the feelings and weaknesses of old age. Yet has the +Creator, who placed him in this state, mercifully provided for it. The +slave has not the hopes of the master, but he is without many of his cares. +He may not strive after wealth, yet he is always provided with comfort. +Ambition, with its longings for fame, and riches, and power, never +stimulates his breast; that breast is safe from its disappointments. His +enjoyments, though few, equal his expectations. His occupations, though +servile, resemble the mass of those around him. His eye can see the +beauties of nature; his ear drinks in her harmonies; his soul content +itself with what is passing in the limited world around him. Yet, he is a +slave! And if he is ever elevated above his condition, it is when praising +the God of the white man and the black; when, with uplifted voice, he sings +the songs of the redeemed; when, looking forward to the invitation which he +hopes to receive, "Come in, thou servant of the Lord." + +Christian of the South, remember who it was that bore thy Saviour's cross, +when, toiling, and weary, and fainting beneath it, he trod the hill of +Calvary. Not one of the rich, learned, or great; not one of thine +ancestors, though thou mayest boast of their wealth, and learning, and +heroic acts--it was a black man who relieved him of his heavy burden; Simon +of Cyrene was his name. + +Christian of the North, canst thou emancipate the Southern slave? Canst +thou change his employments, and elevate his condition? Impossible. Beware +then, lest thou add to his burden, and tighten his bonds, and deprive him +of the simple enjoyments which are now allowed him. + + * * * * * + +Esther, seated on the steps of a small porch attached to the side of the +house, was mentally treating with great contempt the amusements of the +other servants. She had her mother's disposition, and disliked any thing +like noisy mirth, having an idea it was not genteel; seeing so little of it +in her master's family. She was an active, cheerful girl, but free from any +thing like levity in her manner. + +She had a most devoted admirer in the neighborhood; no less a personage +than Mrs. Kent's coachman. His name was Robert, after Mrs. Kent's father. +Assuming the family name, he was known as Robert Carter. Phillis called him +a harmless goose of a fellow, and this gives the best idea of his +character. He understood all about horses, and nothing else, if we except +the passion of love, which was the constant subject of his conversation. He +had made up his mind to court Esther, and with that in view he dressed +himself in full livery, as if he were going to take his mistress an airing. +He asks Mrs. Kent's permission to be married, though he had not the +slightest reason to suppose Esther would accept him, with a confidence and +self-exultation that man in general is apt to feel when he has determined +to bestow himself upon some fortunate fair one. He went his way, passing +the dancers without any notice, and going straight to that part of the +house where he supposed he should find Esther. + +Esther received him with politeness, but with some reserve; not having a +chair to offer him, and not intending him to take a seat on the steps +beside her, she stood up, and leaned against the porch. + +They talked a little of the weather, and the health of the different +members of their respective families, during which, Robert took the +opportunity to say, "His master, (Mr. Kent) had a bilious attack, and he +wished to the Lord, he'd never get better of it." Finally, he undid one of +the buttons of his coat, which was getting too small for him, and drawing a +long breath, proceeded to lay himself (figuratively) at Esther's feet. + +He did not come to the point at once, but drove round it, as if there might +be some impediment in the way, which, though it could not possibly upset +the whole affair, might make a little unnecessary delay. Esther thought he +was only talking nonsense, as usual, but when he waxed warm and energetic +in his professions, she interrupted him with, "Look here, Robert, you're +out of your head, aint you?" + +"No deed, Miss Esther, but I'm dying in love with you." + +"The best thing you can do, is to take yourself home," said Esther. "I hope +you're sober." + +"I was never soberer in my life," said Robert, "but the fact is, Miss +Esther, I'm tired of a bachelor's life; 'pears as if it wasn't +respectable, and so I'm thinking of settling down." + +"You want settling down, for true," said Esther. + +"I'm mighty happy to hear you say so," said Robert, "and if you'll only +mention what time it'll be agreeable to you to make me the happiest man in +Virginny, I'le speak to Uncle Watty Harkins about performing the ceremony, +without you prefer a white minister to tie the knot." + +"Robert," said Esther, "you're a born fool; do you mean to say you want me +to marry you?" + +"Certainly, Esther; I shouldn't pay you no attentions, if I didn't mean to +act like a gentleman by you." + +"Well, I can tell you," said Esther, "I wouldn't marry you, to save your +life." + +"You ain't in earnest, Esther?" + +"Indeed I am," said Esther, "so you better not be coming here on any such +fool's errand again." + +"Why, Esther," said Robert, reproachfully, "after my walking home from +meeting with you, and thinking and dreaming about you, as I have for this +long time, aint you going to marry me?" + +"No, I aint," said Esther. + +"Then I'll bid you good night; and look here, Esther, to-morrow, mistress +will lose one of her most valuable servants, for I shall hang myself." + +Esther went up the steps, and shut the door on him, internally marvelling +at the impudence of men in general; Robert, with a strong inclination to +shed tears, turned his steps homeward. He told Mrs. Kent, the next morning, +that he had come to the conclusion not to be married for some time yet, +women were so troublesome, and there was no knowing how things would turn +out. Mrs. Kent saw he was much dejected, and concluded there were sour +grapes in the question. + +After due consideration, Robert determined not to commit suicide; he did +something equally desperate. He married Mrs. Kent's maid, an ugly, +thick-lipped girl, who had hitherto been his especial aversion. He could +not though, entirely erase Esther's image from his heart--always feeling a +tendency to choke, when he heard her voice in meeting. + +Esther told her mother of the offer she had had, and Phillis quite agreed +with her, in thinking Robert was crazy. She charged "Esther to know when +she was well off, and not to bring trouble upon herself by getting married, +or any such foolishness as that." + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +"I tell you what, Abel," said Arthur Weston, "the more I think about you +Northern people, the harder it is for me to come to a conclusion as to what +you are made of." + +"Can't you experiment upon us, Arthur; test us chemically?" + +"Don't believe you could be tested," said Arthur, "you are such a slippery +set. Now here is a book I have been looking over, called Annals of Salem, +by Joseph B. Felt, published in 1827. On the 109th page it says: 'Captain +Pierce, of the ship Desire, belonging to this port, was commissioned to +transport fifteen boys and one hundred women, of the captive Pequods, to +Bermuda, and sell them as slaves. He was obliged, however, to make for +Providence Island. There he disposed of the Indians. He returned from +Tortugas the 26th of February following, with a cargo of cotton, tobacco, +salt, and negroes.' In the edition of 1849, this interesting fact is +omitted. Now, was not that trading in human bodies and souls in earnest? +First they got all they could for those poor captive Pequods, and they +traded the amount again for negroes, and some _et ceteras_. You are the +very people to make a fuss about your neighbours, having been so +excessively righteous yourselves. No wonder that the author left it out in +a succeeding edition. I am surprised he ever put it in at all." + +"It seems more like peddling with the poor devils than any thing else," +said Abel. "But you must remember the _spirit of the age_, Arthur, as Mr. +Hubbard calls it?" + +"Yes," said Arthur, "I forgot that; but I wonder if Mr. Hubbard excuses the +conduct of England to her colonies in consideration of the spirit of the +age--_that_ allowed taxation and all of her other forms of oppression, I +suppose. It is a kind of charity that covers a multitude of sins. But I was +saying," continued Arthur, "that I could not make you out. While they were +carrying on two kinds of slave trade, they were discussing in Boston the +propriety of women's wearing veils, having lectures about it. Let me read +to you. 'Mr. Cotton, though while in England of an opposite opinion on this +subject, maintained that in countries where veils were to be a sign of +submission, they might be properly disused. But Mr. Endicott took different +ground, and endeavored to retain it by general argument from St. Paul. Mr. +Williams sided with his parishioner. Through his and others' influence, +veils were worn abundantly. At the time they were the most fashionable, Mr. +Cotton came to preach for Mr. Skelton. His subject was upon wearing veils. +He endeavored to prove that this was a custom not to be tolerated. The +consequence was, that the ladies became converts to his faith in this +particular, and for a long time left off an article of dress, which +indicated too great a degree of submission to the lords of creation.' Did +you ever hear of such a set of old meddlers, lecturing and preaching about +women's dressing. I suppose the men wore petticoats at that time +themselves." + +"If they did," said Abel, "I am very glad they have turned them over to +the other sex since, as they are worn in the number which the present +fashion requires. I should think they would be very uncomfortable. But, +Arthur, I heard such a good story the other day, about Lawyer Page. He +fights bravely with his tongue for other people's rights, but he daren't +say his soul's his own before his wife. Well, when that affair came out +about Morton's whipping his wife, as he was going to the Courthouse, Page +said to old Captain Caldwell, 'Do you know, captain, that before all the +facts were out in this case about Morton, they actually had it in every +direction that it was I who had whipped my wife.' 'Now Page,' said the old +captain, 'you know that's no such thing; for every body in New Haven is +well aware that when there was any flogging going on in the matrimonial +line, in your house, it was you that came off the worst.' Page did not say +a word." + +"I am glad I am not yoked with one of your New Haven belles, if turning a +Jerry Sneak is to be the consequence," said Arthur. + +"This marrying is a terrible necessity, Arthur," said Abel. "I don't know +how I'll be supported under it when my time comes; but after all, I think +the women get the worst of it. There were not two prettier girls in New +Haven than my sisters. Julia, who has been married some eight or nine +years, was really beautiful, and so animated and cheerful; now she has that +wife-like look of care, forever on her countenance. Her husband is always +reproaching her that that little dare devil of a son of hers does not keep +his clothes clean. The other evening I was at their house, and they were +having a little matrimonial discussion about it. It seems little Charlie +had been picked up out of the mud in the afternoon, and brought in in such +a condition, that it was sometime before he could be identified. After +being immersed in a bathing tub it was ascertained that he had not a clean +suit of clothes; so the young gentleman was confined to his chamber for +the rest of the evening, in a night gown. This my brother-in-law considered +a great hardship, and they were talking the matter over when I went in. + +"'Why don't you make the boy clothes enough, Julia?' said he. + +"'I am forever making and forever mending,' said Julia; 'but it is +impossible to keep that young one clean. He had twelve pairs of pantaloons +in the wash last week, and the girl was sick, and I had to iron them +myself. I guess if you had all the trouble I have with him, you would put +him to bed and make him stay there a week.' + +"'I tell you what it is, good people,' said I, 'when I go courting I intend +to ask the lady in the first place if she likes to make boys' clothes. If +she says No, I shan't have her, no matter what other recommendations she +may possess.' + +"'She'll be sure to give you the mitten for your impudence,' said Julia. +Then, there is my pretty sister Harriet, quilting quilts, trimming +nightcaps, and spoiling her bright eyes making her wedding-clothes; after a +while she'll be undergoing some of the troubles of the married state, which +will lengthen her face. The men get the best of it, decidedly; for they +have not all the petty annoyances a woman must encounter. What do you think +about it, Arthur?" + +"I hardly know," said Arthur. "I have been in love ever since I could tell +my right hand from my left. I have hardly ever looked forward to marriage; +my time has been so much occupied here, that when I get a few moments for +reflection, my thoughts go back to Alice, and the happy years I have passed +with her, rather than to anticipations of any kind. I suppose I shall find +out, though, and then you may profit by my experience." + +"You will have a sad experience with those niggers of yours, I am afraid, +Arthur," said Abel. "Our people are determined never to let them alone. I +wonder you do not employ white hands upon the plantation, and have done +with any trouble about the matter." + +"What would be done with the slaves in the mean time?" said Arthur. + +"Set 'em free," said Abel; "colonize, or hang 'em all." + +"The latter is the more practicable suggestion," said Arthur. "As to +setting them free, they could not remain in Virginia afterward if I were +willing to do so: there is a law against it. Colonizing them would be +equally difficult, for the most of them would refuse to go to Africa; and +if I have not the right to hold them slaves, I certainly have not a right +to force them into another country. Some of them would be willing and glad +to come to the North, but some would object. My father set a house-servant +free; he was absent a year, and returned voluntarily to his old condition. +Mark had got some Abolition notions in his head, and my father told him he +might have his free papers, and go: I have told you the result. The fact +is, Abel, you Yankees don't stand very well with our slaves. They seem to +consider you a race of pedlars, who come down upon them in small bodies for +their sins, to wheedle away all their little hoardings. My father has +several times brought servants to New York, but they have never run away +from him. I think Virginia would do well without her colored people, +because her climate is moderate, and white labor could be substituted. But +it is not so with the more Southern States. I would like to see a Louisiana +sun shining upon your New England States for a while--how quickly you would +fit out an expedition for Africa. It is the mere accident of climate that +makes your States free ones." + +"I suppose so," said Abel. "A great many of your slaves run away through +the year, don't they?" + +"No, indeed," said Arthur; "comparatively, very few. Just before I came to +New Haven, I went to pass a few weeks at a plantation belonging to a +family with whom we were intimate. One of the sons and I went on the river, +two of the servants rowing us. I said to one of them, a large fat negro, +'What's your name, uncle?' 'Meschach, sir,' he said. 'Meschach,' said I; +'why, you ought to have two brothers, one named Shadrach and the other +Abednego.' 'So I had, sir.' 'Well, what has become of them?' said I. +'Shadrach, he's dead,' he answered. 'And where is Abednego?' said I. 'He's +gone, too,' he replied, in a low voice. My friend gave me a look, and told +me afterwards that Abednego had ran away, and that his family considered it +a disgrace, and never spoke of him. I hear of a negro boy who absconded, +and when he was found and being brought home, an old washerwoman watched +him as he went up the street. 'La,' said she, 'who'd a thought he'd a +beginned to act bad so young,' But let us leave off Abolition and take a +walk. Our cigars are out and we will resume the subject to-morrow +afternoon, when we light some more." + + * * * * * + +"Now," said Abel, "having a couple of particularly good cigars, where did +we leave off?" + +"Its too warm for argument," said Arthur, watching the curling of the gray +smoke as it ascended. + +"We need not argue," said Abel; "I want to catechize you." + +"Begin." + +"Do you think that the African slave-trade can be defended?" + +"No, assuredly not." + +"Well," said Abel, "how can you defend your right to hold slaves as +property in the United States?" + +"Abel," said Arthur, "when a Yankee begins to question there is no reason +to suppose he ever intends to stop. I shall answer your queries from the +views of Governor Hammond, of Carolina. They are at least worthy of +consideration. What right have you New England people to the farms you are +now holding?" + +"The right of owning them," said Abel. + +"From whom did you get them?" asked Arthur. + +"Our fathers." + +"And how did they get them?" + +"From the Red men, their original owners." + +"Well," said Arthur, "we all know how these transactions were conducted all +over the country. We wanted the lands of the Red men, and we took them. +Sometimes they were purchased, sometimes they were wrested; always, the Red +men were treated with injustice. They were driven off, slaughtered, and +taken as slaves. Now, God as clearly gave these lands to the Red men as he +gave life and freedom to the African. Both have been unjustly taken away." + +"But," said Abel, "we hold property in land, you in the bodies and souls of +men." + +"Granted," said Arthur; "but we have as good a right to our _property_ as +you to yours--we each inherit it from our fathers. You must know that +slaves were recognized as _property_ under the constitution, John Q. Adams, +speaking of the protection extended to the peculiar interests of South, +makes these remarks: 'Protected by the advantage of representation on this +floor, protected by the stipulation in the constitution for the recovery of +fugitive slaves, protected by the guarantee in the constitution to owners +of this _species of property_, against domestic violence.' It was +considered in England as any other kind of commerce; so that you cannot +deny our right to consider them as property now, as well as then." + +"But can you advocate the enslaving of your fellow man?" said Abel. + +"No," said Arthur, "if you put the question in that manner; but if you come +to the point, and ask me if I can conscientiously hold in bondage slaves in +the South, I say yes, without the slightest hesitation. I'll tell you why. +You must agree with me, if the Bible allow slavery there is no sin it. Now, +the Bible does allow it. You must read those letters of Governor Hammond to +Clarkson, the English Abolitionist. The tenth commandment, your mother +taught you, no doubt: 'thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou +shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife nor his _man-servant_ nor his +_maid-servant_, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy +neighbor's.' These are the words of God, and as such, should be obeyed +strictly. In the most solemn manner, the man-servant and the maid-servant +are considered the _property_ of thy neighbor. Generally the word is +rendered slave. This command includes all classes of servants; there is the +Hebrew-brother who shall go out in the seventh year, and the hired-servant +and those 'purchased from the heathen round about,' who were to be bondmen +forever. In Leviticus, speaking of the 'bondmen of the heathen which shall +be round about' God says, 'And ye shall take them for an inheritance, for +your children after you, to inherit them for a possession they shall be +your bondmen forever.' I consider that God permitted slavery when he made +laws for the master and the slave, therefore I am justified in holding +slaves. In the times of our Saviour, when slavery existed in its worst +form, it was regarded as one of the conditions of human society; it is +evident Abolition was not shadowed forth by Christ or his apostles. 'Do +unto all men as ye would have them do unto you,' is a general command, +inducing charity and kindness among all classes of men; and does not +authorize interference with the established customs of society. If, +according to this precept of Christ, I am obliged to manumit my slaves, you +are equally forced to purchase them. If I were a slave, I would have my +master free me; if you were a slave, and your owner would not give you +freedom, you would have some rich man to buy you. From the early ages of +the world, there existed the poor and the rich, the master and the slave. + +"It would be far better for the Southern slaves, if our institution, as +regards them, were left to 'gradual mitigation and decay, which time _may_ +bring about. The course of the Abolitionists, while it does nothing to +destroy this institution, greatly adds to its hardships.' Tell me that +'man-stealing' is a sin, and I will agree with you, and will insist that +the Abolitionists are guilty of it. In my opinion, those who consider +slavery a sin, challenge the truth of the Bible. + +"Besides, Abel," continued Arthur, "what right have you to interfere? Your +Northern States abolished slavery when it was their interest to do so: let +us do the same. In the meantime, consider the condition of these dirty +vagabonds, these free blacks, who are begging from me every time I go into +the street. I met one the other day, who had a most lamentable state of +things to report. He had rheumatism, and a cough, and he spit blood, and he +had no tobacco, and he was hungry, and he had the toothache. I gave him +twenty-five cents as a sort of panacea, and advised him to travel South and +get a good master. He took the money, but not the advice." + +"But, Arthur, the danger of insurrection; I should think it would interfere +greatly with your comfort." + +"We do not fear it," said Arthur. "Mobs of any kind are rare in the +Southern country. We are not (in spite of the bad qualities ascribed to us +by the Abolitionists) a fussy people. Sometimes, when an Abolitionist comes +along, we have a little fun with him, the negroes enjoying it exceedingly. +Slaveholders, as a general thing, desire to live a peaceful, quiet life; +yet they are not willing to have their rights wrested from them." + +"One great disadvantage in a slaveholding community is, that you are apt to +be surrounded by uneducated people," said Abel. + +"We do not educate our slaves," said Arthur; "but you do not presume to say +that we do not cultivate our minds as assiduously as you do yours. Our +statesmen are not inferior to yours in natural ability, nor in the +improvement of it. We have far more time to improve ourselves than you, as +a general thing. When you have an opportunity of judging, you will not +hesitate to say, that our women can bear to be compared with yours in every +respect, in their intellect, and refinement of manners and conversation. +Our slaves are not left ignorant, like brutes, as has been charged upon us. +Where a master feels a religious responsibility, he must and does cause to +be given, all necessary knowledge to those who are dependent upon him. I +must say, that though we have fewer sects at the South, we have more +genuine religion. You will think I am prejudiced. Joining the church here +is, in a great measure, a form. I have formed this opinion from my own +observation. With us there must be a proper disregard of the customs of the +world; a profession of religion implying a good deal more than a mere +profession. Look at the thousand new and absurd opinions that have agitated +New England, while they never have been advanced with us. There is +Unitarianism, that faith that would undermine the perfect structure of the +Christian religion; that says Christ is a man, when the Scriptures style +him 'Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The +Prince of Peace.' Why, it is hardly tolerated at the South. Have you any +right to claim for yourself superior holiness? None whatever. + +"There never was any thing so perfectly false (I cannot help referring to +it again,) as that religion is discouraged among our slaves. It is +precisely the contrary. Most of them have the same opportunities of +attending worship as their owners. They generally prefer the Methodist and +Baptist denominations; they worship with the whites, or they have exclusive +occasions for themselves, which they prefer. They meet on the plantations +for prayer, for singing, or for any religious purpose, when they choose; +the ladies on the plantations instruct them in the Bible, and how to read +it. Many of them are taught to write. + +"Religion seems to be a necessary qualification of the female mind--I think +this, because I have been so fortunate in those of our own family. My +mother died soon after my birth; her friends often dwell on the early piety +so beautifully developed in her character. We have a relative, an old maid, +who lives with us; she forgets her own existence, laboring always for the +good of others. My aunt is a noble Christian woman, and Alice has not +breathed such an atmosphere in vain. We have a servant woman named Phillis, +her price is far above rubies. Her industry, her honesty, her attachment to +our family, exceeds every thing. I wish Abolitionists would imitate one of +her virtues--humility. I know of no poetry more beautiful than the hymns +she sang to me in my infancy; her whole life has been a recommendation of +the religion of the Bible. I wish my chance of Heaven were half as good as +hers. She is a slave here, but she is destined to be a saint hereafter." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +The evening is drawing on again at Exeter, and Alice and her mother are in +a little sitting room that opens on the porch. Mrs. Weston is fanning her +daughter, who has been suffering during the day from headache. Miss Janet +is there, too, and for a rare occurrence, is idle; looking from the window +at the tall peaks of the Blue Ridge upon which she has gazed for many a +year. Little Lydia stands by her side, her round eyes peering into Miss +Janet's face, wondering what would happen, that she should be unemployed. +They are awaiting Mr. Weston's return from an afternoon ride, to meet at +the last and most sociable meal of the day. + +"Miss Janet," said Lydia, "aint Miss Alice white?" + +"Very pale," said Miss Janet, looking at Alice; then, with a sigh, turning +to the mountains again. + +"What makes her so white?" asked Lydia, in an under tone. + +"She has had a headache all day. Be quiet, child," said Miss Janet. + +After a moment, Lydia said, "I wish I could have de headache all de time." + +"What do you say such a foolish thing as that for, Lydia?" + +"'Kase I'd like to be white, like Miss Alice." Miss Janet did not reply. +Again Lydia spoke, "If I was to stay all time in de house, and never go in +de sun, would I git white?" + +"No--no--foolish child; what gives you such ideas?" + +There was another pause. Mrs. Weston fanned Alice, who, with closed eyes, +laid languidly on the lounge. + +"Miss Janet," said Lydia, speaking very softly, "who made de +lightning-bugs?" + +"God made them," said Miss Janet. + +"Did God make de nanny-goats, too?" + +"You know that God made every thing," said Miss Janet. "I have often told +you so." + +"He didn't make mammy's house, ma'am; I seed de men makin it." + +"No; man makes houses, but God made all the beautiful things in nature. He +made man, and trees, and rivers, and such things as man could not make." + +Lydia looked up at the sky. The sun had set, and the moon was coming forth, +a few stars glistened there. Long, fleecy clouds extended over the arch of +heaven, and some passing ones for a moment obscured the brightness that +gilded the beautiful scene. + +"Miss Janet," said Lydia, "its mighty pretty there; but 'spose it was to +fall." + +"What was to fall?" + +"De sky, ma'am." + +"It cannot fall. God holds it in its place." + +Another interval and Lydia said: "Miss Janet, 'spose God was to die, den de +sky would broke down." + +"What put such a dreadful thought into your head, child?" said Miss Janet. +"God cannot die." + +"Yes, ma'am, he kin," said Lydia. + +"No, he cannot. Have I not often told you that God is a spirit? He created +all things, but he never was made; he cannot die." + +Lydia said inquiringly, "Wasn't Jesus Christ God, ma'am?" + +"Yes, he was the Son of God, and he was God." + +"Well, ma'am, he died onct, dat time de Jews crucified him--dat time de +ground shook, and de dead people got up--dat time he was nailed to de +cross. So, ma'am, if God died onct, couldn't he die agin?" + +Miss Janet, arousing herself from her reverie, looked at the child. There +she stood, her eyes fixed upon the sky, her soul engaged in solving this +mysterious question. Her little hands hung listlessly by her side; there +was no beauty in her face; the black skin, the projecting lips, the heavy +features, designated her as belonging to a degraded race. Yet the soul was +looking forth from its despised tenement, and eagerly essaying to grasp +things beyond its reach. + +"Could he die agin, Miss Janet?" asked Lydia. + +Poor child! thought Miss Janet, how the soul pinioned and borne down, longs +to burst its chains, and to soar through the glorious realms of light and +knowledge. I thought but now that there was no more for me to do here; that +tired of the rugged ascent, I stood as it were on the tops of those +mountains, gazing in spirit on the celestial city, and still not called to +enter in. Now, I see there is work for me to do. Thou art a slave, Lydia; +yet God has called thee to the freedom of the children that he loves; thou +art black, yet will thy soul be washed white in the blood of the Lamb; thou +art poor, yet shalt thou be made rich through Him who, when on earth, was +poor indeed. Jesus, forgive me! I murmured that I still was obliged to +linger. Oh! make me the honored instrument of good to this child, and when +thou callest me hence, how gladly will I obey the summons. + +"Lydia," she said, "the Son of God died for us all, for you and for me, but +he was then in the form of man. He died that we might live; he never will +die again. He rose from the dead, and is in heaven, at the right hand of +God. He loves you, because you think about him." + +"He don't love me like he do Miss Alice, 'kase she's so white," said Lydia. + +"He loves all who love him," said Miss Janet, "whether they are black or +white. Be a good child, and he will surely love you. Be kind and obliging +to everybody; be industrious and diligent in all you have to do; obey your +mother and father, and your master. Be truthful and honest. God hates a +liar, and a deceitful person. He will not take care of you and love you, +unless you speak the truth. Sometimes you try to deceive me. God will not +be your friend if you deceive any one. And now go to your mother, she will +put you to bed." + +Lydia made a curtsey, and said, "Good-night, ma'am." She went to Mrs. +Weston, and bade her good-night too. Then turning toward Alice, she gazed +wonderingly at her pale face. + +"Is you got de headache now, Miss Alice?" + +"Not much," said Alice, gently. + +"Good night, miss," said Lydia, with another curtesy, and she softly left +the room. "Oh, mammy," she said, as she entered her mother's cabin, "Miss +Janet say, if I'm a good child, God will love me much as he loves Miss +Alice, if I is black. Miss Alice is so white to-night; you never see'd her +look as white as she do to-night." + + * * * * * + +Mr. Weston alighted from his horse, and hurried to the sitting-room, "Have +you waited tea for me?" he said. "Why did you do so? Alice, darling, is +your head better?" + +"A great deal, uncle," said Alice. "Have you had a pleasant ride?" + +"Yes; but my child, you look very sick. What can be the matter with you? +Anna, did you send for the doctor?" + +"No--Alice objected so." + +"But you must send for him--I am sure she is seriously ill." + +"There is nothing the matter with me, but a headache," said Alice. "After +tea, I will go to bed, and will be well in the morning." + +"God grant you may, my sweet one. What has come over you?" + +"Tea is ready," said Cousin Janet. "Let us go in to it, and then have +prayers, and all go to bed early. Why Cousin Weston, you are getting quite +dissipated in your old age; coming home to tea at this hour; I suppose I +shall begin such practices next." + +Miss Janet's suggestion of retiring early, was followed. Phillis came in to +see how Alice's head was, and recommended brown paper and vinegar. She made +no comment on her appearance, but did not wonder that Lydia was struck with +the expression of her countenance. There was an uneasiness that was foreign +to it; not merely had the glow of health departed, there was something in +its place, strange there. It was like the storm passing over the beautiful +lake; the outline of rock, and tree, and surface, is to be seen, but its +tranquil beauty is gone; and darkness and gloom are resting where has been +the home of light, and love, and beauty. + +Alice undressed and went to bed; her mother raised all the windows, put out +the candle, and laid down beside her. Hoping that she would fall asleep, +she did not converse, but Alice after a few minutes, called her. + +"What is it, Alice?" + +"Did you hear what Cousin Janet said to Lydia, to-night, mother? God hates +those who deceive." + +"Why think of that now, my love?" + +"Because it refers to me. She did not mean it for me, but it came home to +my heart." + +"To _your_ heart? That has always been truth and candor itself. Try and +banish such thoughts. If you were well, fancies like these would not affect +you." + +"They are not fancies, they are realities," said Alice. She sighed and +continued, "Am I not deceiving the kind protector and friend of my +childhood? Oh, mother, if he knew all, how little would he love me! And +Arthur, can it be right for me to be engaged to him, and to deceive him, +too?" + +"Dear Alice, how often have we talked about this, and hoped you were +satisfied as to the propriety of being silent on the subject at present. +Your uncle's health is very feeble; he is subject to sudden and alarming +attacks of sickness, and easily thrown into a state of agitation that +endangers his life. Would you run such a risk? What a grief would it be to +him to know that the hopes of years were to be destroyed, and by one whom +he had nursed in his own bosom as a child. Poor Arthur, too! away from home +so long--trusting you with such confidence, looking forward with delight to +the time of his return, could you bear thus to dash his dearest prospects +to the earth?" + +"But he must know it, mother. I could not marry him with a lie in my right +hand." + +"It will not be so, Alice; you cannot help loving Arthur, above all men, +when you are with him; so noble, so generous, so gifted with all that is +calculated to inspire affection, you will wonder your heart has ever +wavered." + +"But it has," said Alice; "and he must know all." + +"Of course," said Mrs. Weston; "nothing would justify your having any +reserve with him, but this is not the time for explanation. If I believed +that you really and truly loved Walter, so as to make it impossible for you +to forget him and return Arthur's affection; if I thought you could not one +day regard Arthur as he deserves, I would not wish you to remain silent for +a day. It would be an injustice, and a sin, to do so. Yet I feel assured +that there is no such danger. + +"A woman, Alice, rarely marries her first love, and it is well that it is +so. Her feelings, rather than her judgment, are then enlisted, and both +should be exercised when so fearful a thing as marriage is concerned. You +have been a great deal with Walter, and have always regarded him tenderly, +more so of late, because the feelings strengthen with time, and Walter's +situation is such as to enlist all your sympathies; his fascinating +appearance and interesting qualities have charmed your affections. You see +him casting from him the best friends he has ever had, because he feels +condemned of ingratitude in their society. He is going forth on the voyage +of life, alone, you weep as any sister would, to see him thus. I do not +blame him for loving you; but I do censure him in the highest degree, for +endeavoring to win more than a sister's regard from you, in return; it was +selfish and dishonorable. More than all, I blame myself for not foreseeing +this. You said yesterday, you could not bear the thought of being separated +from Arthur. You do not know your own heart, many a woman does not, until +time has been her teacher; let it be yours. Cousin Janet has thus advised +you; be guided by us, and leave this thing to rest for a while; you will +have reason to rejoice in having done so. Would you leave me for Walter, +Alice?" + +"No, mother. How could you ask me?" + +"Then trust me; I would not answer for your uncle's safety were we to speak +to him on this subject. How cruel to pain him, when a few months may +restore us to the hopes and happiness which have been ours! Do what is +right, and leave the future to God." + +"But how can I write to Arthur, when I know I am not treating him as I +would wish him to treat me?" + +"Write as you always have; your letters have never been very sentimental. +Arthur says you write on all subjects but the one nearest his heart. If you +had loved him as I thought you did, you never would have allowed another to +usurp his place. But we cannot help the past. Now dear child, compose +yourself; I am fatigued, but cannot sleep until you do." + +Alice, restless for a while, at last fell asleep, but it was not the rest +that brings refreshment and repose. Her mother watched her, as with her +hand now pressed on her brow, now thrown on the pillow, she slept. Her +mind, overtaxed, tried even in sleep to release itself of its burden. The +wish to please, and the effort to do right, was too much for her sensitive +frame. It was like the traveler unaccustomed to fatigue and change, forced +to commence a journey, unassured of his way, and ignorant of his +destination. + +Her mother watched her--a deep hue was settled under her eyelashes, the +veins in her temple were fearfully distinct, and a small crimson spot +rested on her cheek. She watched her, by the moonlight that glanced over +every part of the room. She listened to her heavy breathing, and lightly +touched her dry and crimson lips. She stroked the long luxuriant curls, +that appeared to her darker than they ever had before. She closed the +nearest window, lest there should be something borne on the breath of +night, to disturb the rest of the beloved one. But, mother! it will not do; +the curse of God is still abroad in the world, the curse on sin. It falls, +like a blighting dew, on the loveliest and dearest to our hearts. It is by +our side and in our path. It is among the gay, the rich, the proud, and the +gifted of the earth; among the poor, the despised, the desolate and +forsaken. It darkens the way of the monarch and the cottager, of the maiden +and the mother, of the master and the slave. Alas! since it poisoned the +flowers in Eden, and turned the children of God from its fair walks, it is +abroad in the world--the curse of God on sin. + +There is a blessing, too, within the reach of all. He who bore the curse, +secured the blessing. Son of God! teach us to be like thee; give us of thy +spirit, that we may soften to each other the inevitable ills of life. +Prepare us for that condition to which we may aspire; for that assembly +where will be united the redeemed of all the earth, where will rejoice +forever in thy presence those of all ages and climes, who looked up from +the shadow of the curse, to the blessing which thou didst obtain, with thy +latest sigh, on Calvary! + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +After Phillis left Mrs. Weston's room, she was on her way to her cabin, +when she noticed Aunt Peggy sitting alone at the door. She was rather a +homebody; yet she reproached herself with having neglected poor old Peggy, +when she saw her looking so desolate and dejected. She thought to pay her a +visit, and bidding her good evening, sat down on the door-step. "Time old +people were in bed, Aunt Peggy," said she; "what are you settin up for, all +by yourself?" + +"Who's I got to set up wid me?" said Aunt Peggy. + +"Why don't you go to bed, then?" asked Phillis. + +"Can't sleep, can't sleep," said Aunt Peggy; "aint slep none dese two, +three nights; lays awake lookin at de moon; sees people a lookin in de +winder at me, people as I aint seen since I come from Guinea; hears strange +noises I aint never heard in dis country, aint never hearn sence I come +from Guinea." + +"All notions," said Phillis. "If you go to sleep, you'll forget them all." + +"Can't go to sleep," said Aunt Peggy; "somefin in me won't sleep; somefin I +never felt afore. It's in my bones; mebbe Death's somewhere in the +neighborhood." + +"I reckon you're sick, Aunt Peggy," said Phillis; "why didn't you let me +know you wasn't well?" + +"Aint sick, I tell you," said Aunt Peggy, angrily; "nothin the matter wid +me. 'Spose you think there's nothin bad about, 'cep what comes to me." + +Phillis was astonished at her words and manner, and looked at her intently. +Most of the servants on the plantation stood in awe of Aunt Peggy. Her +having been brought from Africa, and the many wonders she had seen there; +her gloomy, fitful temper; her tall frame, and long, skinny hands and arms; +her haughty countenance, and mass of bushy, white hair. Phillis did not +wonder most people were afraid of her. Besides, Peggy was thought to have +the power of foresight in her old age. The servants considered her a sort +of witch, and deprecated her displeasure. Phillis had too much sense for +this; yet there was one thing that she had often wondered at; that was, +that Aunt Peggy cared nothing about religion. When employed in the family, +she had been obliged to go sometimes to church: since she had been old, and +left to follow her own wishes, she had never gone. Miss Janet frequently +read the Bible, and explained it to her. Alice, seated on a low stool by +the old woman's side, read to her scenes in the life of Christ, upon which +servants love to dwell. But as far as they could judge, there were no good +impressions left on her mind. She never objected, but she gave them no +encouragement. This Phillis had often thought of; and now as she sat with +her, it occurred to her with overwhelming force. "Death's about somewhere," +said Aunt Peggy. "I can't see him, but I feels him. There's somefin here +belongs to him; he wants it, and he's gwine to have it." + +"'Pears to me," said Phillis, "Death's always about. Its well to be ready +for him when he 'comes; 'specially we old people." + +"Always ole people," said Aunt Peggy, "you want to make out that Death's +always arter ole people. No such thing. Look at the churchyard, yonder. See +any little graves thar? Plenty. Death's always arter babies; 'pears like he +loves 'em best of all." + +"Yes," said Phillis, "young people die as well as old, but 'taint no harm +to be ready. You know, Aunt Peggy, we aint never ready till our sins is +repented of, and our souls is washed in the blood of Jesus. People ought +to think of that, old and young, but they don't." + +"Death loves young people," said Aunt Peggy; "always arter 'em. See how he +took young Mr. William Jones, thar, in town, and he healthy and strong, wid +his young bride; and his father and mother old like me. See how he took +little George Mason, not long ago, that Uncle Geoffrey used to bring home +wid him from town, setting on de horse, before him. Didn't touch his ole +grandmother; she's here yet. Tell you, Death loves 'em wid de red cheeks +and bright eyes." + +Phillis did not reply, and the old woman talked on as if to herself. + +"Thinks thar's nothin bad but what comes to niggers; aint I had nuff +trouble widout Death. I aint forgot de time I was hauled away from home. +Cuss him, 'twas a black man done it; he told me he'd smash my brains out if +I made a sound. Dragged along till I come to de river; thar he sold me. I +was pushed in long wid all de rest of 'em, crying and howlin--gwine away +for good and all. Thar we was, chained and squeezed together; dead or live, +all one. Tied me to a woman, and den untied me to fling her into de +sea--dead all night, and I tied to her. Come long, cross de great sea; more +died, more flung to de sharks. No wonder it thundered and lightened, and de +waves splashed in, and de captain prayed. Lord above! de captain prayed, +when he was stealin and murderin of his fellow-creeturs. We didn't go down, +we got safe across. Some went here, some went thar, and I come long wid de +rest to Virginny. Ever sence, workin and slavin; ever sence, sweatin and +drivin; workin all day, workin all night." + +"You never worked a bit in the night time, Aunt Peggy," said Phillis; "and +you know it." + +"Worked all time," said Aunt Peggy, "niggers aint made for nothin else. +Now, kase Death's somewhar, wantin somefin, thinks it must be me." + +"I didn't say 'twas you, Aunt Peggy," said Phillis. + +"Wants somefin," said Aunt Peggy. "Tell you what, Phillis," and she +laughed, "wants Miss Alice." + +"What's come over you?" said Phillis, looking at her, terrified. "There's +nothing the matter with Miss Alice but a headache." + +"Headache!" said Aunt Peggy, "that's all?" and she laughed again. "Think I +didn't see her yesterday? Whars the red cheeks?--white about her lips, +black about her eyes; jist like Mistis when she was gwine fast, and de +young baby on her arm. Death wants Miss Alice--aint arter me." + +"Aint you ashamed to talk so about Miss Alice, when she's always coming to +you, bringing you something, and trying to do something for you?" said +Phillis. "You might as well sit here and talk bad of one of the angels +above." + +"Aint talking bad of her," said Aunt Peggy; "aint wishin her no harm. If +there is any angels she's as good as any of 'em; but it's her Death's +arter, not me; look here at my arms--stronger than yourn--" and she held +out her sinewy, tough arm, grasping her cane, to go in the house. + +Phillis saw she was not wanted there, and looking in to be assured that +Nancy (Aunt Peggy's grand-daughter, who lived with her to take care of +her,) was there, went home and thought to go to bed. But she found no +disposition to sleep within her. Accustomed, as she was, to Aunt Peggy's +fault finding, and her strange way of talking, she was particularly +impressed with it to-night. 'Twas so strange, Phillis thought, that she +should have talked about being stolen away from Guinea, and things that +happened almost a hundred years ago. Then her saying, so often that, "Death +was about." Phillis was no more nervous than her iron tea-kettle, but now +she could not feel right. She sat down by the door, and tried to compose +herself. Every one on the plantation was quiet; it seemed to her the night +got brighter and brighter, and the heavens more crowded with stars than she +had ever seen them. She looked at her children to see if they all were +well, and then gave a glance at old Bacchus, who was snoring loud enough to +wake the dead. She shook him heartily and told him to hush his clatter, but +she might as well have told a twenty-four pounder to go off without making +a noise. Then she sat down again and looked at Alice's window, and could +not avoid seeing Aunt Peggy's house when she turned in that direction; thus +she was reminded of her saying, "Death was about and arter somefin." +Wondering what had come over her, she shut the door and laid down without +undressing herself. + +She slept heavily for several hours, and waked with the thought of Aunt +Peggy's strange talk pressing upon her. She determined not to go to bed +again, but opened the door and fixed the old rush-bottomed chair within it. +Bacchus, always a very early riser, except on Sunday, was still asleep; +having had some sharp twinges of the rheumatism the day before, Phillis +hoped he might sleep them off; her own mind was still burdened with an +unaccountable weight. She was glad to see the dawning of "another blue +day." + +Before her towered, in their majestic glory, Miss Janet's favorite +mountains, yet were the peaks alone distinctly visible; the twilight only +strong enough to disclose the mass of heavy fog that enveloped them. The +stars had nearly all disappeared, those that lingered were sadly paling +away. How solemn was the stillness! She thought of the words of Jacob, +"Surely God is here!"--the clouds were flying swiftly beneath the arch of +Heaven, as if from God's presence. Many thoughts were suggested to her by +the grandeur of the scene, for my reader must remember, that an admiration +of the glories of nature is not unfrequently a characteristic of an +uneducated mind. Many verses of Scripture occurred to her, "From the rising +of the sun, unto the going down of the same, the Lord's name be praised. +The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is +like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high? Who humbleth himself to +behold the things that are in Heaven, and in the earth." The soul of the +slave-woman rejoiced in the Lord, her Maker and her Redeemer. + +Gradually a soft light arose above the mountains; the fog became +transparent through its influence. A red hue gilded the top of the mist, +and slowly descended toward it, as it sank away. All the shadows of the +night were disappearing, at the command once given, "Let there be light," +and re-obeyed at the birth of every day. Phillis's heart warmed with +gratitude to God who had given to her a knowledge of himself. She thought +of her many mercies, her health, her comforts, and the comparative +happiness of each member of her family; of the kindness of her master and +the ladies; all these considerations affected her as they never had before, +for gratitude and love to God ever inspires us with love and kindness to +our fellow creatures. + +Her thoughts returned to Alice, but all superstitious dread was gone; Aunt +Peggy's strange wanderings no longer oppressed her; her mind was in its +usual healthy state. "The good Lord is above us all," she said, "and Miss +Alice is one of his children." She saw the house door open, and William +coming toward her on his way to the stable. It was without any agitation +that she asked what was the matter? "Miss Alice is very sick," said +William, "and I am going for the doctor." + +"I am glad I happened to be here," said Phillis, "may be they want me." + +"You better not go in now," said William, "for she's asleep. Miss Anna +told me to walk very easy, for she would not have her waked for all the +world." + +So Phillis, seeing Aunt Peggy's door open, thought she would step over and +find out if the old lady had slept off her notions. + +Aunt Peggy's cabin had two rooms, in one of which, she and her +granddaughter slept, in the other Nancy cooked and washed, and occupied +herself with various little matters. Nancy had been up a short time and was +mixing some Indian bread for their breakfast. She looked surprised, at +having so early a visitor. + +"How is your grandmother, child?" said Phillis; "did she sleep well?" + +"Mighty well," said Nancy. "She aint coughed at all as I heard, since she +went to bed." + +"Well, I'm glad to hear it," said Phillis, "for I thought she was going to +be sick, she was so curious last night." + +"She didn't complain, any way," said Nancy, going on with her breadmaking, +so Phillis got up to go home. As she passed the door of the other room, she +could but stop to look in at the hard, iron features of the old creature, +as she lay in slumber. Her long black face contrasted most remarkably with +the white pillow on which it was supported, her hair making her head look +double its actual size, standing off from her ears and head. One long black +arm lay extended, the hand holding to the side of the bed. Something +impelled Phillis to approach. At first she thought of her grumbling +disposition, her bitter resentment for injuries, most of which were +fanciful, her uncompromising dislike to the servants on the plantation. She +almost got angry when she thought "the more you do for her, the more she +complains." Then she recalled her talk the night before; of her being torn +away from her mother, and sold off, tied to a dead woman, and the storm and +the sharks; a feeling of the sincerest pity took the place of her first +reflections, and well they did--for the next idea--Phillis' knees knocked +together, and her heart beat audibly, for what was before her? + +What but death! with all his grimness and despair, looking forth from the +white balls that were only partially covered with the dark lids--showing +his power in the cold hands whose unyielding grasp had closed in the +struggle with him. Setting his seal on brow and lips, lengthening the +extended form, that never would rouse itself from the position in which the +mighty conqueror had left it, when he knew his victory was accomplished. +What but death, indeed! For the heart and the pulse were still forever, and +the life that had once regulated their beatings, had gone back to the Giver +of life. + +The two slave women were alone together. She who had been, had gone with +all her years, her wrongs, and her sins, to answer at the bar of her Maker. +The fierce and bitter contest with life, the mysterious curse, the dealings +of a God with the children of men. Think of it, Oh! Christian! as you gaze +upon her. The other slave woman is with the dead. She is trembling, as in +the presence of God. She knows he is everywhere, even in the room of death. +_She_ is redeemed from the slavery of sin, and her regenerate soul looks +forward to the rest that remaineth to the people of God. She "submits +herself to an earthly master," knowing that the dispensation of God has +placed her in a state of servitude. Yet she trusts in a Heavenly Master +with childlike faith, and says, "May I be ready when he comes and calls for +me." + +Phillis was perfectly self-possessed when she went back to the kitchen. +"Nancy," she said, "didn't you think it was strange your grandmother slept +so quiet, and laid so late this morning? She always gets up so early." + +"I didn't think nothin about it," said Nancy, "for I was 'sleep myself." + +"Well there's no use putting it off," said Phillis. "I might as well tell +you, first as last. She's dead." + +"Dead, what do you mean?" said Nancy. + +"I mean she's dead," said Phillis, "and cold, and very likely has been so, +for most of the night. Don't be frightened and make a noise, for Miss Alice +is very sick, and you're so near the house." + +Nancy went with her to the other room. A child would have known there was +no mistake about death's being there, if the idea had been suggested to it. +Nancy was in a moment satisfied that such was the case, but she shed very +few tears. She was quite worn out taking care of the old woman, and the +other servants were not willing to take their turns. They said they +"couldn't abide the cross, ill-natured old thing." + +Phillis went home for a few moments, and returned to perform the last +offices. All was order and neatness under her superintendence; and they who +avoided the sight of Aunt Peggy when alive, stood with a solemn awe beside +her and gazed, now that she was dead. + +All but the children. Aunt Peggy was dead! She who had been a kind of +scarecrow in life, how terrible was the thought of her now! The severest +threat to an unruly child was, "I will give you to Aunt Peggy, and let her +keep you." But to think of Aunt Peggy in connection with darkness, and +silence, and the grave, was dreadful indeed. All day the thought of her +kept them awed and quiet; but as evening drew on, they crept close to their +mothers' side, turning from every shadow, lest she should come forth from +it. Little Lydia, deprived of Miss Janet's company in consequence of +Alice's sickness, listened to the pervading subject of conversation all +day, and at night dreamed that the old woman had carried her off to the top +of the highest of the mountains that stood before them; and there she sat +scowling upon her, and there, they were to be forever. + +When the next afternoon had come, and the body was buried, and all had +returned from the funeral, Phillis locked up the vacant cabin. Nancy was +to be employed in the house, and sleep in the servants' wing. Then Phillis +realized that death had been there, and she remembered once more, Aunt +Peggy's words, "He's arter somefin, wants it, and he's gwine to have it; +but it ain't me." + +There is one thing concerning death in which we are apt to be sceptical, +and that is, "Does he want me?" + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +Aunt Peggy's funeral was conducted quietly, but with that respect to the +dead which is universal on Southern plantations. There was no hurry, no +confusion. Two young women remained with the corpse during the night +preceding the burial; the servants throughout the plantation had holiday, +that they might attend. At Mr. Weston's request, the clergyman of the +Episcopal church in X read the service for the dead. He addressed the +servants in a solemn and appropriate manner. Mr. Weston was one of the +audience. Alice's sickness had become serious; Miss Janet and her mother +were detained with her. The negroes sung one of their favorite hymns, + + "Life is the time to serve the Lord," + +their fine voices blending in perfect harmony. Mr. Caldwell took for his +text the 12th verse of the 2d chapter of Thessalonians, "That ye would walk +worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and his glory." + +He explained to them in the most affectionate and beautiful manner, that +_they_ were called unto the kingdom and glory of Christ. He dwelt on the +glories of that kingdom, as existing in the heart of the believer, inciting +him to a faithful performance of the duties of life; as in the world, +promoting the happiness and welfare of all mankind, and completed in +heaven, where will be the consummation of all the glorious things that the +humble believer in Jesus has enjoyed by faith, while surrounded by the +temptations and enduring the trials of the world. He told them _they_ were +all called. Christ died for all; every human being that had heard of Jesus +and his atonement, was called unto salvation. He dwelt on the efficacy of +that atonement on the solemn occasion when it was made, on the perfect +peace and reconciliation of the believer. He spoke of the will of God, +which had placed them in a condition of bondage to an earthly master; who +had given them equal hope of eternal redemption with that master. He +reminded them that Christ had chosen his lot among the poor of this world; +that he had refused all earthly honor and advantage. He charged them to +profit by the present occasion, to bring home to their hearts the unwelcome +truth that death was inevitable. He pointed to the coffin that contained +the remains of one who had attained so great an age, as to make her an +object of wonder in the neighborhood. Yet her time had come, like a thief +in the night. There was no sickness, no sudden failing, nothing unusual in +her appearance, to intimate the presence of death. God had given her a long +time of health to prepare for the great change; he had given her every +opportunity to repent, and he had called her to her account. He charged +them to make their preparation now closing, by bringing before their minds +that great day when the Judge of the earth would summon before him every +soul he had made. None could escape his all-piercing eye; the king and his +subject, the rich and the poor the strong and the weak, the learned and the +ignorant the white and the colored, the master and his slave! each to +render his or her account for the deeds done in the body. + +The servants were extremely attentive, listening with breathless interest +as he enlarged upon the awful events of the Judgment. Many a tear fell, +many a heart throbbed, many a soul stretched forth her wings toward the +kingdom and glory which had been the clergyman's theme. + +After he concluded, their attention was absorbed by the preparation to +remove the body to its final resting place. The face was looked upon, then +covered; the coffin lid screwed down; strong arms lifting and bearing it to +the bier. Nancy and Isaac, her only relatives, were near the coffin, and +Mr. Weston and the clergyman followed them. The rest formed in long +procession. With measured step and appropriate thought they passed their +cabins toward the place used for the interment of the slaves on the +plantation. + +They had gone a little way, when a full, rich female voice gently broke in +upon the stillness; it was Phillis's. Though the first line was sung in a +low tone, every one heard it. + + "Alas! and did my Saviour bleed!" + +They joined in, following the remains of their fellow-servant, and +commemorating the sufferings of one who became as a servant, that He might +exalt all who trust in Him. + +It might be there was little hope for the dead, but not less sufficient the +Atonement on Calvary, not less true that for each and all "did he devote +that sacred head;" that for pity which he felt for all, + + "He hung upon the tree: + Amazing pity, grace unknown! + And love beyond degree!" + +While the voices swept through the air, a tribute of lowly hearts ascended +to God. + +They had now reached the burial ground; all was in readiness, and the men +deposited their burden in the earth. Deep and solemn thought was portrayed +on every face; music had softened their feelings, and the reflections +suggested by the hymn prepared them for kind sentiments toward the dead, +though no one had loved her in life. The first hard clod that rattled on +the coffin, opened the fountain of their tears; she who had been the object +of their aversion was gone from them forever; they could not now show her +any kindness. How many a heart reproached itself with a sneering word, +hasty anger, and disdainful laugh. But what was she now? dust and ashes. +They wept as they saw her hidden from their eyes, turning from the grave +with a better sense of their duties. + +Reader, it is well for the soul to ponder on the great mystery, Death! Is +there not a charm in it? The mystery of so many opposite memories, the +strange union of adverse ideas. The young, the old, the gay, the proud, the +beautiful, the poor, and the sorrowful. Silence, darkness, repose, +happiness, woe, heaven and hell. Oh! they should come now with a startling +solemnity upon us all, for while I write, the solemn tolling of the bells +warns me of a nation's grief; it calls to millions--its sad resonance is +echoed in every heart. + +HENRY CLAY IS DEAD! Well may the words pass from lip to lip in the +thronged street. The child repeats it with a dim consciousness of some +great woe; it knows not, to its full extent, the burden of the words it +utters. The youth passes along the solemn sentence; there is a throb in his +energetic heart, for he has seen the enfeebled form of the statesman as it +glided among the multitude, and has heard his voice raised for his +country's good; he is assured that the heart that has ceased to beat glowed +with all that was great and noble. + +The politician utters, too, the oft-repeated sound--Henry Clay is dead! +Well may he bare his breast and say, for _what_ is my voice raised where +his has been heard? Is it for my country, or for my party and myself? Men +of business and mechanics in the land, they know that one who ever +defended their interests is gone, and who shall take his place? The +mother--tears burst from her eyes, when looking into her child's face, she +says, Henry Clay is dead! for a nation's freedom is woman's incalculable +blessing. She thinks with grief and gratitude of him who never ceased to +contend for that which gives to her, social and religious rights. + +Henry Clay is dead! His body no longer animated with life; his spirit gone +to God. How like a torrent thought rushes on, in swift review, of his +wonderful and glorious career. His gifted youth, what if it were attended +with the errors that almost invariably accompany genius like his! Has he in +the wide world an enemy who can bring aught against him? Look at his +patriotism, his benevolence, his noble acts. Recall his energy, his +calmness, his constant devotion to the interests of his country. Look, +above all, at his patience, his humility, as the great scenes of life were +receding from his view, and futurity was opening before him. Hear of the +childlike submission with which he bowed to the Will that ordained for him +a death-bed, protracted and painful. "Lead me," he said to a friend, "where +I want to go, to the feet of Jesus." + +Listen to the simplicity with which he commended his body to his friends, +and his spirit, through faith in Jesus Christ, to his God. Regard him in +all his varied relations of Christian, patriot, statesman, husband, father, +_master_, and friend, and answer if the sigh that is now rending the heart +of his country is not well merited. + +Yes! reader, thoughts of death are useful to us all, whether it be by the +grave of the poor and humble, or when listening to the tolling of the bell +which announces to all that one who was mighty in the land has been +summoned to the judgment seat of God. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +Mr. Weston and Phillis returned to the sick-room from the funeral. Fever +was doing its work with the fair being, the beloved of many hearts, who was +unconscious of aught that was passing around her. There was a startling +light from the depths of her blue eyes; their natural softness of +expression gone. The crimson glow had flushed into a hectic; the hot breath +from her parted lips was drying away their moisture. The rich, mournful +tones of her voice echoed in sad wailing through the chambers; it +constantly and plaintively said Mother! though that mother answered in vain +to its appeal. The air circulated through the room, bearing the odor of the +woods, but for her it had no reviving power; it could not stay the beatings +of her pulse, nor relieve the oppression of her panting bosom. Oh! what +beauty was about that bed of sickness. The perfect shape of every feature, +the graceful turn of the head, the luxuriant auburn hair, the contour of +her rounded limbs. There was no vacancy in her face. Alas! visions of +sorrow were passing in her mind. A sad intelligence was expressed in every +glance, but not to the objects about her. The soul, subdued by the +suffering of its tenement, was wandering afar off, perchance endeavoring to +dive into the future, perchance essaying to forget the past. + +What says that vision of languishing and loveliness to the old man whose +eyes are fixed in grief upon it? "Thou seest, O Christian! the uselessness +of laying up thy treasures here. Where are now the hopes of half thy +lifetime, where the consummation of all thy anxious plans? She who has been +like an angel by thy side, how wearily throbs her young heart! Will she +perpetuate the name of thy race? Will she close thine eyes with her loving +hand? Will she drop upon thy breast a daughter's tear?" + +What does the vision say to thee, oh! aged woman? "There is still more for +thee to do, more for thee to suffer. It is not yet enough of this mortal +strife! Thou mayest again see a fair flower crushed by the rude wind of +death; perchance she may precede thee, to open for thine entrance the +eternal gates!" + +And what to thee, thou faithful servant? + +"There are tears in thine eye, and for me. For me! Whom thou thoughtest +above a touch of aught that could bring sorrow or pain. Thou seest, not +alone on thy doomed race rests a curse; the fierce anger of God, denounced +against sin--the _curse_, falls upon his dearest children. I must, like +you, abide by God's dealing with the children of men. But we shall be +redeemed." + +What to thee, oh, mother? Thou canst not read the interpretation--a cloud +of darkness sweeps by thy soul's vision. Will it pass, or will it rest upon +thee forever? + +Yet the voice of God speaks to each one; faintly it may be to the mother, +but even to her. There is a rainbow of hope in the deluge of her sorrow; +she sees death in the multitude that passes her sight, but there is another +there, one whose form is like unto the Son of God. She remembers how He +wept over Lazarus, and raised him from the dead; oh! what comfort to place +her case in his pitying bosom! + +Many were the friends who wept, and hoped, and prayed with them. Full of +grief were the affectionate servants, but most of all, Phillis. + +It was useless to try and persuade her to take her usual rest, to remind +her of her children, and her cares; to offer her the choice morsel to tempt +her appetite, the refreshing drink she so much required. She wanted nothing +but to weep with those who wept--nor rest, nor food, nor refreshing. + + * * * * * + +It is universal, the consideration that is shown to the servants at the +South, as regards their times of eating and of rest. Whatever may have +occurred, whatever fatigue the different members of the family may feel +obliged to undergo, a servant is rarely called upon for extra attendance. +In the Northern country the whole labor of a family is frequently performed +by one female, while five or six will do the same amount of work in the +South. A servant at the South is rarely called upon at night; only in cases +of absolute necessity. Negroes are naturally sleepy-headed--they like to +sit up late at night,--in winter, over a large fire, nodding and bumping +their heads against each other, or in summer, out of doors; but they take +many a nap before they can get courage to undress and go regularly to bed. +They may be much interested in a conversation going on, but it is no +violation of their code of etiquette to smoke themselves to sleep while +listening. Few of the most faithful servants can keep awake well enough to +be of real service in cases of sickness. There is a feeling among their +owners, that they work hard during the day and should be allowed more rest +than those who are not obliged to labor. "Do not disturb servants when they +are eating," is the frequent charge of a Southern mother, "they have not a +great many pleasures within their reach; never do any thing that will +lessen their comforts in the slightest degree." Mrs. Weston, even in her +own deep sorrow, was not unmindful of others; she frequently tried to +induce Phillis to go home, knowing that she must be much fatigued. "I +cannot feel tired, Phillis; a mother could not sleep with her only child as +Alice is; I do not require the rest that you do." + +"You needs it more, Miss Anna, though you don't think so now. I can take +care of myself. Unless you drive me away, I shan't go until God's will be +done, for life or death." + +Miss Janet often laid down and slept for an hour or two, and returned +refreshed to the sick chamber. Her voice retained its cheerfulness and kept +Mrs. Weston's heart from failing. "Hope on, Anna," she would say, "as long +as she breathes we must not give her up; how many have been thought +entirely gone, and then revived. We must hope, and God will do the rest." + +This "hoping on" was one great cause of Cousin Janet's usefulness during a +long life; religion and reason alike demand it of us. Many grand and noble +actions have been done in the world, that never could have been +accomplished without hoping on. When we become discouraged, how heavy the +task before us; it is like drooping the eyes, and feebly putting forth the +hands to find the way, when all appears to us darkness; but let the eye be +lifted and the heart hope on, and there is found a glimmering of light +which enables the trembling one to penetrate the gloom. Alice's symptoms +had been so violent from the first, her disease had progressed so rapidly, +that her condition was almost hopeless; ere Mr. Weston thought of the +propriety of informing Arthur of her condition. The first time it occurred +to him, he felt convinced that he ought not to delay. He knew that Arthur +never could be consoled, if Alice, his dearly loved, his affianced wife, +should die without his having the consolation of a parting word or look. He +asked Cousin Janet her opinion. + +She recalled all that had passed previous to Alice's illness. As she looked +into Mr. Weston's grieved and honest face, the question suggested +itself,--Is it right thus, to keep him in ignorance? She only wavered a +moment. Already the traces of agitation caused by his niece's illness, were +visible in his flushed face and nervous frame; what then might be the +result of laying before him a subject in which his happiness was so nearly +concerned? Besides, she felt convinced that even should Alice improve, the +suffering which had been one cause of her sickness, might be renewed with +double force if suggested by Arthur's presence. + +"I know, my dear cousin," she said, "it will be a terrible grief to Arthur, +should Alice be taken from us, yet I think you had better not write. Dr. +Lawton says, that a very short time must decide her case; and were the +worst we fear to occur, Arthur could not reach here in time to see her with +any satisfaction. If he lose her, it will probably be better for him to +remember her in health and beauty." + +Mr. Weston trembled, and burst into tears. "Try and not give way," said +Miss Janet again; "we are doing all we can. We must hope and pray. I feel a +great deal of hope. God is so merciful, he will not bring this stroke upon +you in your old age, unless it is necessary. Why do you judge for him? He +is mighty to save. 'The Lord on high, is mightier than the noise of many +waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.' Think of His mercy and +power to save, and trust in Him." + +In these most trying scenes of life, how little do we sympathize with the +physician. How much oppressed he must feel, with the charge upon him. He is +the adviser--to him is left the direction of the potions which may be the +healing medicine or the deadly poison. He may select a remedy powerful to +cure, he may prescribe one fatal to the invalid. How is he to draw the nice +line of distinction? he must consider the disease, the constitution, the +probable causes of the attack. His reputation is at stake--his +happiness--for many eyes are turned to him, to read an opinion he may not +choose to give in words. + +If he would be like the great Healer, he thinks not only of the bodily +sufferings that he is anxious to assuage, but of the immortal soul on the +verge of the great Interview, deciding its eternal destiny. He trembles to +think, should he fail, it may be hurried to its account. If he be a friend, +how do the ties of association add to his burden. Here is one whom he has +loved, whose voice he is accustomed to hear; shall he, through neglect or +mismanagement, make a void in many hearts? Shall he, from want of skill, +bring weeping and desolation to a house where health and joy have been? +Alice was very dear to Dr. Lawton, she was the companion of his daughters; +he had been accustomed to regard her as one of them; he was untiring in his +attendance, but from the first, had feared the result. Mrs. Weston had +concealed nothing from him, she knew that he considered a physician bound +in honour to know the affairs of a family only among themselves--she had no +reserves, thus giving him every assistance in her power, in conducting the +case. She detailed to him, explicitly, all that might have contributed to +produce it. + +"You know, my dear madam," the doctor said, "that at this season we have, +even in our healthy country, severe fevers. Alice's is one of the usual +nature; it could have been produced by natural causes. We cannot say, it +may be that the circumstances you have been kind enough to confide to me, +have had a bad effect upon her. The effort to do right, and the fear lest +she should err, may have strained her sensitive mind. She must have felt +much distress in parting with Walter, whom she has always loved as a +brother. You have only done your duty. I should not like to see a daughter +of mine interested in that young man. I fear he inherits his father's +violent passions, yet his early training may bring the promised blessing. +Alice has that sort of mind, that is always influenced by what is passing +at the time; remember what a child she was when Arthur left. There are no +more broken hearts now-a-days--sometimes they bend a little, but they can +be straightened again. If Alice gets well, you need not fear the future; +though you know I disapprove of cousins marrying." + +"Doctor," said Mrs. Weston, "I know you have not given her up!" + +"I never give anybody up," said the doctor. "Who will say what God intends +to do? I trust she will struggle through. Many a storm assails the fair +ship on her first voyage over the seas. She may be sadly tossed about with +the wind and waves; but may breast it gallantly, and come back safe, after +all. We must do what we can, and hope for the best." These words +strengthened the mother's heart to watch and hope. + +The doctor laid down to sleep for an hour or two in the afternoon. Cousin +Janet, Mrs. Weston, and Phillis kept their watch in silence. The latter +gently fanned Alice, who lay gazing, but unconscious; now looking +inquiringly into her mother's face, now closing her eyes to every thing. +There was no tossing or excitement about her, _that_ was over. Her cheek +was pale, and her eyes languid and faded. One would not have believed, to +have looked upon her, how high the fever still raged. Suddenly she repeated +the word that had often been on her lips--"Mother." Then, with an effort to +raise herself, she sank back upon her pillow, exhausted. A sorrowful look, +like death, suffused itself over her countenance. Ah! how throbbed those +hearts! Was the dreaded messenger here? + +"Miss Anna," whispered Phillis, "she is not gone, her pulse is no lower; it +is the same." + +"Is it the same? are you sure?" said Mrs. Weston, who, for a few moments, +had been unable to speak, or even to place her finger on the pulse. + +"It is no worse, if you'll believe me," said Phillis; "it may be a little +better, but it is no worse." + +"Had I not better wake the doctor?" said Mrs. Weston, who hardly knew what +to believe. + +Miss Janet gently touched the wrist of the invalid. + +"Do not wake him, my dear; Phillis is right in saying she is no worse; it +was a fainting, which is passing away. See! she looks as usual. Give her +the medicine, it is time; and leave her quiet, the doctor may be disturbed +to-night." + +The night had passed, and the morning was just visible, as symptoms of the +same nature affected the patient. Dr. Lawton had seen her very late at +night, and had requested them to awaken him should there be any change in +her appearance or condition. Oh, how these anxious hearts feared and hoped +through this night. What might it bring forth; joy or endless weeping? + +This dread crisis past, and what would be the result? + +"Doctor," said Phillis, gently awaking him, "I'm sorry to disturb you. Miss +Alice has had another little turn, and you'd better see her." + +"How is her pulse?" said the doctor, quickly. "Is it failing?" + +"'Pears to me not, sir; but you can see." + +They went to the room, and the doctor took Alice's small wrist, and lightly +felt her pulse. Then did the mother watch his face, to see its writing. +What was there? + +Nothing but deep attention. The wrist was gently laid down, and the +doctor's hand passed lightly over the white arm. Softly it touched the +forehead, and lay beneath the straying curl. There is no expression yet; +but he takes the wrist again, and, laying one hand beneath it, he touches +the pulse. Softly, like the first glance of moonlight on the dark waters, a +smile is seen on that kind face. There is something else besides the smile. +Large tears dropped from the physician's eyes; tears that he did not think +to wipe away. He stooped towards the fragile sufferer, and gently as the +morning air breathes upon the drooping violet, he kissed her brow. "Alice, +sweet one," he said, "God has given you to us again." + +Where is that mother? Has she heard those cheering words? She hears them, +and is gone; gone even from the side of her only one. The soul, when there +is too much joy, longs for God. She must lay her rich burden at the +mercy-seat. Now, that mother kneels, but utters no word. The incense of her +heart knows no language and needs none; for God requires it not. The +sacrifice of praise from a rejoicing heart, is a grateful offering that he +accepts. + +"Miss Anna," said Phillis, with trembling voice, but beaming eye, "go to +bed now; days and nights you have been up. How can you stand it? The doctor +says she is a great deal better, but she may be ill for a good while yet, +and you will give out. I will stay with her if you will take a sleep." + +"Sleep;" said Mrs. Weston. "No, no, faithful Phillis not yet; joy is too +new to me. God for ever bless you for your kindness to me and my child. You +shall go home and sleep, and to-night, if she continue to do well, I will +trust her with you, and take some rest myself." + +Mr. Weston awoke to hear glad tidings. Again and again, through the long +day, he repeated to himself his favorite Psalm, "Praise the Lord, oh my +soul." + +Miss Janet's joy, deep but silent, was visible in her happy countenance. +Nor were these feelings confined to the family; every servant on the estate +made his master's joy his own. They sorrowed with him when he sorrowed, but +now that his drooping head was lifted up, many an honest face regarded him +with humble congratulation, as kindly received as if it had come from the +highest in the land. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +Alice steadily, though slowly, improved; and Phillis again employed herself +with her children and her work. Things had gone on very well, with one of +her daughter's constant superintendence; but Bacchus had taken advantage of +being less watched than usual, and had indulged a good deal, declaring to +himself that without something to keep up his spirits he should die, +thinking about Miss Alice. Phillis, lynx-eyed as she always was, saw that +such had been the case. + +It was about a week after Alice commenced to improve, that Phillis went to +her house in the evening, after having taken charge of her for several +hours, while Mrs. Weston slept. Alice was very restless at night, and Mrs. +Weston generally prepared herself for it, by taking some repose previously; +this prevented the necessity of any one else losing rest, which, now that +Alice was entirely out of danger, she positively refused to permit. As +Phillis went in the door, Lydia was on her knees, just finishing the little +nightly prayer that Miss Janet had taught her. She got up, and as she was +about to go to bed, saw her mother, and bade her good night. + +"Good night, and go to bed like a good child. Miss Alice says you may come +to see her again to-morrow," Phillis replied. + +Lydia was happy as a queen with this promise. Aunt Phillis took her pipe, +and her old station outside the door, to smoke. Bacchus had his old, crazy, +broken-backed chair out there already, and he was evidently resolving +something in his mind of great importance, for he propped the chair far +back on its one leg, and appeared to be taking the altitude of the +mountains in the moon, an unfailing sign of a convulsion of some kind in +the inner man. + +"Phillis," said he, after a long silence, "do you know, it is my opinion +that that old creature," pointing with his thumb to Aunt Peggy's house, "is +so long used to grumblin' and fussin', that she can't, to save her life, +lie still in her grave." + +"What makes you think so?" said Phillis. + +"Bekase, I believes in my soul she's back thar this minute." + +"People that drink, Bacchus, can't expect nothin' else than to be troubled +with notions. I was in hopes Aunt Peggy's death would have made you afeered +to go on sinning. 'Stead of that, when we was all in such grief, and didn't +know what was comin' upon us, you must go drinking. You'd better a been +praying, I tell you. But be sure your 'sin will find you out' some day or +other. The Lord above knows I pray for you many a time, when I'm hard at +work. My heart is nigh breaking when I think where the drunkards will be, +when the Lord makes up his jewels. They can't enter the kingdom of Heaven; +there is no place for them there. Why can't you repent? 'Spose you die in a +drunken fit, how will I have the heart to work when I remember where you've +got to; 'where the worm never dieth, and the fire is not quenched.'" + +Bacchus was rather taken aback by this sudden appeal, and he moved uneasily +in his chair; but after a little reflection, and a good long look at the +moon, he recovered his confidence. + +"Phillis," said he, "do you b'lieve in sperrits?" + +"No, I don't," said Phillis, drily, "of no kind." + +Bacchus was at a loss again; but he pretended not to understand her, and +giving a hitch to his uncertain chair, he got up some courage, and said, +doggedly, + +"Well, I do." + +"I don't," said Phillis, positively, "of no kind." + +Bacchus was quite discomposed again, but he said in an appealing voice to +his wife, "Phillis, I couldn't stand it; when Miss Alice was so low, you +was busy, and could be a doin somethin for her; but what could I do? Here I +sot all night a cryin, a thinkin about her and young master. I 'spected for +true she was gwine to die; and my blessed grief! what would have come of us +all. Master Arthur, he'd a come home, but what would be the use, and she +dead and gone. Every which way I looked, I think I see Miss Alice going up +to Heaven, a waving her hand good-by to us, and we all by ourselves, weepin +and wailin. 'Deed, Phillis, I couldn't stand it; if I hadn't had a little +whiskey I should a been dead and cold afore now." + +"You'll be dead and cold afore long with it," said Phillis. + +"I couldn't do nothing but cry, Phillis," said Bacchus, snuffing and +blowing his nose; "and I thought I might be wanted for somethin, so I jest +took a small drop to keep up my strength." + +Phillis said nothing. She was rather a hard-hearted woman where whiskey was +concerned; so she gave Bacchus no encouragement to go on excusing himself. + +"I tell you why I believes in ghosts," said Bacchus, after a pause. "I've +see'd one." + +"When?" said Phillis. + +"I was telling you that while Miss Alice was so ill," said Bacchus, "I used +to set up most of de night. I don't know how I kep up, for you know niggers +takes a sight of sleep, 'specially when they aint very young, like me. +Well, I thought one time about Miss Alice, but more about old Aunt Peggy. +You know she used to set outside de door thar, very late o' nights. It +'peared like I was 'spectin to see her lean on her stick, and come out +every minute. Well, one night I was sure I hear somethin thar. I listened, +and then somethin gin a kind o' screech, sounded like de little niggers +when Aunt Peggy used to gin 'em a lick wid her switch. Arter a while I see +de curtain lifted up. I couldn't see what it was, but it lifted it up. I +hearn some more noise, and I felt so strange like, that I shut de door to, +and went to bed. Well, I seed dat, and heard it for two or three nights. I +was gettin scared I tell you; for, Phillis, there's somethin awful in +thinkin of people walking out of their graves, and can't get rest even +thar. I couldn't help comin, every night, out here, 'bout twelve o'clock, +for that's time sperrits, I mean ghosts, is so uneasy. One night, de very +night Miss Alice got better, I hearn de screech an de fuss, and I seed de +curtain go up, and pretty soon what do you think I saw. I'm tellin' you no +lie, Phillis. I seed two great, red eyes, a glarin out de winder; a glarin +right at me. If you believe me, I fell down out of dis very cheer, and when +I got up, I gin one look at de winder, and thar was de red eyes glarin +agin, so I fell head-foremost over de door step, tryin to get in quick, and +then when I did get in, I locked de door. My soul, wasn't I skeered. I +never looked no more. I seen nuff dat time." + +"Your head was mighty foolish," said Phillis, "and you just thought you saw +it." + +"No such thing. I saw de red eyes--Aunt Peggy's red eyes." + +"High!" said Phillis, "Aunt Peggy hadn't red eyes." + +"Not when she was 'live?" said Bacchus. "But thar's no knowin what kind of +eyes sperrits gets, 'specially when they gets where it aint very +comfortable." + +"Well," said Phillis, "these things are above us. We've got our work to do, +and the Lord he does his. I don't bother myself about ghosts. I'm trying to +get to heaven, and I know I'll never get there if I don't get ready while +I'm here. Aunt Peggy aint got no power to come back, unless God sends her; +and if He sends her, its for some good reason. You better come in now, and +kneel down, and ask God to give you strength to do what is right. We've got +no strength but what He gives us." + +"I wish you'd pray loud to-night," said Bacchus; "for I aint felt easy of +late, and somehow I can't pray." + +"Well, I can't do much, but I can ask God to give us grace to repent of our +sins, and to serve him faithfully," said Phillis. + +And they both kneeled down, and prayer went forth from an earnest heart; +and who shall say that a more welcome offering ascended to His ear in that +time of prayer, than the humble but believing petition of the slave! + +Phillis was of a most matter-of-fact disposition, and possessed, as an +accompaniment, an investigating turn of mind; so, before any one was +stirring in her cottage, she dressed herself, and took from a nail a +large-sized key, that was over the mantel-piece. She hung it to her little +finger, and made straight for Aunt Peggy's deserted cabin. She granted +herself a search-warrant, and determined to find some clue to Bacchus's +marvellous story. Her heart did not fail her, even when she put the key in +the lock, for she was resolved as a grenadier, and she would not have +turned back if the veritable red eyes themselves had raised the cotton +curtain, and looked defiance. The lock was somewhat out of repair, +requiring a little coaxing before she could get the key in, and then it was +some time before she succeeded in turning it; at last it yielded, and with +one push the door flew open. + +Now Phillis, anxious as she was to have the matter cleared up, did not care +to have it done so instantaneously, for hardly had she taken one step in +the house before she, in the most precipitous manner, backed two or three +out of it. + +At first she thought Aunt Peggy herself had flown at her, and she could +hardly help calling for assistance, but making a great effort to recover +her composure, she saw at a glance that it was Aunt Peggy's enormous black +cat, who not only resembled her in color, but disposition. Jupiter, for +that was the cat's name, did not make another grab, but stood with his +back raised, glaring at her, while Phillis, breathing very short, sunk into +Aunt Peggy's chair and wiped the cold perspiration from her face with her +apron. + +"Why, Jupiter," said Phillis, "is this you? How on earth did I happen to +forget you. Your eyes is red, to be sure, and no wonder, you poor, +half-starved creature. I must a locked you up here, the day after the +funeral, and I never would a forgot you, if it hadn't been my mind was so +taken up with Miss Alice. Why, you're thin as a snake,--wait a minute and +I'll bring you something to eat." + +Jupiter, who had lived exclusively on mice for a fortnight, was evidently +subdued by the prospects of an early breakfast. The apology Phillis had +made him seemed not to be without its effect, for when she came back, with +a small tin pan of bread and milk, and a piece of bacon hanging to a fork, +his back was not the least elevated, and he proceeded immediately to the +hearth where the provender was deposited, and to use an inelegant +Westernism, "walked into it;" Phillis meanwhile going home, perfectly +satisfied with the result of her exploration. Bacchus's toilet was +completed, he was just raising up from the exertion of putting on his +slippers, when Phillis came in, laughing. + +This was an unusual phenomenon, so early in the morning, and Bacchus was +slightly uneasy at its portent, but he ventured to ask her what was the +matter. + +"Nothing," said Phillis, "only I've seen the ghost." + +"Lord! what?" + +"The ghost!" said Phillis, "and its got red eyes, too, sure enough." + +"Phillis," said Bacchus, appealingly, "you aint much used to jokin, and I +know you wouldn't tell an ontruth; what do you mean?" + +"I mean," said Phillis, "that the very ghost you saw, and heard +screeching, with the red eyes glarin at you through the window, I've seen +this morning." + +"Phillis," said Bacchus, sinking back in his chair, "'taint possible! What +was it a doin?" + +"I can tell you what its doing now," said Phillis, "its eating bread and +milk and a piece of bacon, as hard as it can. Its eyes is red, to be sure, +but I reckon yours would be red or shut, one, if you'd a been nigh a +fortnight locked up in an empty house, with now and then a mouse to eat. +Why, Bacchus, how come it, you forgot old Jupiter? I was too busy to think +about cats, but I wonder nobody else didn't think of the poor animal." + +"Sure enough," said Bacchus, slowly recovering from his astonishment, "its +old Jupiter--why I'd a sworn on the Bible 'twas Aunt Peggy's sperrit. Well, +I do b'lieve! that old cat's lived all this time; well, he aint no cat any +how--I always said he was a witch, and now I knows it, that same old +Jupiter. But, Phillis, gal, I wouldn't say nothin at all about it--we'll +have all dese low niggers laughin at us." + +"What they going to laugh at me about?" said Phillis. "I didn't see no +ghost." + +"Well, its all de same," said Bacchus, "they'll laugh at me--and man and +wife's one--'taint worth while to say nothin 'bout it, as I see." + +"I shan't say nothing about it as long as you keep sober; but mind, you go +pitching and tumbling about, and I aint under no kind of promise to keep +your secret. And its the blessed truth, they'd laugh, sure enough, at you, +if they did know it." + +And the hint had such a good effect, that after a while, it was reported +all over the plantation that Bacchus "had give up drinkin, for good and +all." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +It was in answer to Arthur's letter, expressing great anxiety to hear from +home, in consequence of so long a time having passed without his receiving +his usual letters, that Mr. Weston wrote him of Alice's illness. She was +then convalescing, but in so feeble and nervous a condition, that Dr. +Lawton advised Arthur's remaining where he was--wishing his patient to be +kept even from the excitement of seeing so dear a relative. Mr. Weston +insisted upon Arthur's being contented with hearing constantly of her +improvement, both from himself and Mrs. Weston. This, Arthur consented to +do; but in truth he was not aware of the extent of the danger which had +threatened Alice's life, and supposed it to have been an ordinary fever. +With what pleasure did he look forward, in his leisure moments, to the time +when it would be his privilege always to be near her; and to induce the +tedious interval to pass more rapidly, he employed himself with his +studies, as constantly as the season would allow. He had formed a sincere +attachment to Abel Johnson, whose fine talents and many high qualities made +him a delightful companion. Mr. Hubbard was a connection of young +Johnson's, and felt privileged often to intrude himself upon them. It +really was an intrusion, for he had at present a severe attack of the +Abolition fever, and he could not talk upon any other subject. This was +often very disagreeable to Arthur and his friend, but still it became a +frequent subject of their discussion, when Mr. Hubbard was present, and +when they were alone. + +In the mean time, the warm season was passing away, and Alice did not +recover her strength as her friends wished. No place in the country could +have been more delightful than Exeter was at that season; but still it +seemed necessary to have a change of scene. September had come, and it was +too late to make their arrangements to go to the North, and Alice added to +this a great objection to so doing. A distant relation of Mr. Weston, a +very young girl, named Ellen Graham, had been sent for, in hopes that her +lively society would have a good effect on Alice's unequal spirits; and +after much deliberation it was determined that the family, with the +exception of Miss Janet, should pass the winter in Washington. Miss Janet +could not be induced to go to that Vanity Fair, as she called it; and if +proper arrangements for her comfort could not be made, the project would +have to be given up. After many proposals, each one having an unanswerable +difficulty, the old lady returned from town one day, with a very satisfied +countenance, having persuaded Mrs. Williams, a widow, and her daughter, to +pass the winter at Exeter with her. Mrs. Williams was a much valued friend +of the Weston family, and as no objection could be found to this +arrangement, the affair was settled. Alice, although the cause of the move, +was the only person who was indifferent on the subject. Ellen Graham, young +and gay as she was, would like to have entered into any excitement that +would make her forget the past. She fancied it would be for her happiness, +could the power of memory be destroyed. She had not sufficient of the +experience of life to appreciate the old man's prayer, "Lord, keep my +memory green." + +Ellen at an early age, and an elder brother, were dependent, not for +charity, but for kindness and love, on relatives who for a long time felt +their guardianship a task. They were orphans; they bore each other company +in the many little cares of childhood; and the boy, as is not unusual in +such a case, always looked to his sister for counsel and protection, not +from actual unkindness, but from coldness and unmerited reproof. They +never forgot their parting with their mother--the agony with which she +held them to her bosom, bitterly reflecting they would have no such +resting-place in the cold world, in which they were to struggle. + +Yet they were not unkindly received at their future home. Their uncle and +aunt, standing on the piazza, could not without tears see the delicate +children in their deep mourning, accompanied only by their aged and +respectable colored nurse, raise their eyes timidly, appealing to them for +protection, as hand in hand they ascended the steps. It was a large and +dreary-looking mansion, and many years had passed since the pictures of the +stiff looking cavalier and his smiling lady, hanging in the hall, had +looked down upon children at home there. The echoes of their own voices +almost alarmed the children, when, after resting from their journey, they +explored the scenes of their future haunts. On the glass of the large +window in the hall, were the names of a maiden and her lover, descended +from the cavaliers of Virginia. This writing was cut with a diamond, and +the children knew not that the writing was their parents'. The little ones +walked carefully over the polished floors; but there seemed nothing in all +they saw to tell them they were welcome. They lifted the grand piano that +maintained its station in one of the unoccupied rooms of the house; but the +keys were yellow with age, and many of them soundless--when at last one of +them answered to the touch of Ellen's little hand, it sent forth such a +ghostly cry that the two children gazed at each other, not knowing whether +to cry or to laugh. + +Children are like politicians, not easily discouraged; and Ellen's "Come +on, Willy," showed that she, by no means, despaired of finding something to +amuse them. They lingered up stairs in their own apartment, William +pointing to the moss-covered rock that lay at the foot of the garden. + +"Willy, Willy, come! here is something," and Willy followed her through a +long passage into a room, lighted only by the rays that found entrance +through a broken shutter. "Only see this," she continued, laying her hand +on a crib burdened with a small mattress and pillow; "here too," and she +pointed to a little child's hat that hung over it, from which drooped three +small plumes. "Whose can they be?" + +"Come out o' here, children," said the nurse, who had been seeking them. +"Your aunt told me not to let you come into this part of the house; this +was her nursery once, and her only child died here." + +The children followed their nurse, and ever afterward the thought of death +was connected with that part of the house. Often as they looked in their +aunt's face they remembered the empty crib and the drooping plumes. + +Time does not always fly with youth; yet it passed along until Ellen had +attained her sixteenth year, and William his eighteenth year. Ellen shared +all her brother's studies, and their excellent tutor stored their minds +with useful information. Their uncle superintended their education, with +the determination that it should be a thorough one. William did not intend +studying a profession; his father's will allowed him to decide between +this, or assuming, at an early age, the care of his large estate, with +suitable advisers. + +Ellen made excellent progress in all her studies. Her aunt was anxious she +should learn music, and wished her to go to Richmond or to Alexandria for +that purpose, but Ellen begged off; she thought of the old piano and its +cracked keys, and desired not to be separated from her brother, professing +her dislike to any music, but her old nurse's Methodist hymns. + +William was tall and athletic for his age, passionate when roused by +harshness or injustice, but otherwise affectionate in his disposition, +idolizing his sister. His uncle looked at him with surprise when he saw him +assume the independence of manner, which sat well upon him; and his aunt +sometimes checked herself, when about to reprove him for the omission of +some unimportant form of politeness, which in her days of youth was +essential. Ellen dwelt with delight upon the approaching time, when she +would be mistress of her brother's establishment, and as important as she +longed to be, on that account. Though she looked upon her uncle's house as +a large cage, in which she had long fluttered a prisoner, she could not but +feel an affection for it; her aunt and uncle often formal, and uselessly +particular, were always substantially kind. It was a good, though not a +cheerful home, and the young look for joy and gaiety, as do the flowers for +birds and sunshine. Ellen was to be a ward of her uncle's until she was of +age, but was to be permitted to reside with her brother, if she wished, +from the time he assumed the management of his estate. + +The young people laid many plans for housekeeping. William had not any love +affair in progress, and as yet his sister's image was stamped on all his +projects for the future. + +Two years before Ellen came to Exeter, William stood under his sister's +window, asking her what he should bring her from C----, the neighboring +town. "Don't you want some needles," he said, "or a waist ribbon, or some +candy? make haste, Ellen; if I don't hurry, I can't come home to-night." + +"I don't want any thing, Willie; but will you be sure to return to-night? I +never sleep well when you are away. Aunt and I are going on Tuesday to +C----; wait and we will stay all night then." + +"Oh, no," said William, "I must go; but you may depend upon my being back: +I always keep my promises. So good-by." + +Ellen leaned from the window, watching her handsome brother as he rode down +the avenue leading into the road He turned in his saddle, and bowed to +her, just before he passed from her sight. + +"Oh, mammy," she said to her attendant, for she had always thus +affectionately addressed her; "did you ever see any one as handsome as +Willie?" + +"Yes, child," she replied, "his father was, before him. You both look like +your father; but Master Willie favors him more than you do. Shut down the +window, Miss Ellen, don't you feel the wind? A strong March wind aint good +for nobody. Its bright enough overhead to-day, but the ground is mighty +damp and chilly. There, you're sneezin; didn't I tell you so?" + +Late in the same day Ellen was seated at the window, watching her brother's +return; gaily watching, until the shadows of evening were resting on his +favorite rocks. Then she watched anxiously until the rocks could no longer +be seen; but never did he come again, though hope and expectation lingered +about her heart until despair rested there in their place. + +William was starting on horseback, after an early dinner at the tavern in +C----. As he put his foot in the stirrups, an old farmer, who had just +driven his large covered wagon to the door, called to him. + +"You going home, Mr. William?" said he. + +"Yes, I am; but why do you ask me?" + +"Why, how are you going to cross Willow's Creek?" asked the old man. + +"On the bridge," said William, laughing; "did you think I was going to jump +my horse across?" + +"No, but you can't cross the bridge," said the farmer, "for the bridge is +broken down." + +"Why, I crossed it early this morning," said William. + +"So did I," said the farmer, "and, thank God, I and my team did not go down +with it. But there's been a mighty freshet above, and Willow's Creek is +something like my wife--she's an angel when she aint disturbed, but she's +the devil himself when any thing puts her out. Now, you take my advice, and +stay here to-night, or at any rate don't get yourself into danger." + +"I must go home to-night," said William; "I have promised my sister to do +so. I can ford the creek;" and he prepared again to start. + +"Stop, young man," said the farmer, solemnly, "you mind the old saying, +'Young people think old people fools, but old people know young people are +fools.' I warn you not to try and ford that creek to-night; you might as +well put your head in a lion's mouth. Havn't I been crossing it these fifty +years? and aint I up to all its freaks and ways? Sometimes it is as quiet +as a wearied baby, but now it is foaming and lashing, as a tiger after +prey. You'd better disappoint Miss Ellen for one night, than to bring a +whole lifetime of trouble upon her. Don't be foolhardy, now; your horse +can't carry you safely over Willow's Creek this night." + +"Never fear, farmer," said William. "I can take care of myself." + +"May the Lord take care of you," said the farmer, as he followed the youth, +dashing through the town on his spirited horse. "If it were not for this +wagon-load, and there are so many to be clothed and fed at home, I would +follow you, but I can't do it." + +William rode rapidly homeward. The noonday being long passed, the skies +were clouding over, and harsh spring winds were playing through the woods. + +William enjoyed such rides. Healthy, and fearing nothing, he was a stranger +to a feeling of loneliness. Alternately singing an old air, and then +whistling with notes as clear and musical as a flute, he at last came in +sight of the creek which had been so tranquil when he crossed it in the +morning. There was an old house near, where lived the people who received +the toll. A man and his wife, with a large family of children, poor +people's inheritance, had long made this place their home, and they were +acquainted with all the persons who were in the habit of traveling this +way. + +William, whom they saw almost daily, was a great favorite with the +children. Not only did he pay his toll, but many a penny and sixpence to +the small folks besides, and he was accustomed to receive a welcome. + +Now the house was shut up. It had rained frequently and heavily during the +month, and the bright morning, which had tempted the children out to play, +was gone, and they had gathered in the old house to amuse themselves as +they could. + +The bridge had been partly carried away by the freshet. Some of the beams +were still swinging and swaying themselves with restless motion. The creek +was swollen to a torrent. The waters dashed against its sides, in their +haste to go their way. The wind, too, howled mournfully, and the old trees +bent to and fro, nodding their stately heads, and rustling their branches +against each other. + +"Oh, Mr. William, is it you?" said the woman, opening the door. "Get off +your horse, and come in and rest; you can't go home to-night." + +"Yes, I can though," said William, "I have often forded the creek, and +though I never saw it as it is now, yet I can get safely over it, I am +sure." + +"Don't talk of such things, for the Lord's sake," said Mrs. Jones. "Why, my +husband could not ford the creek now, and you're a mere boy." + +"No matter for that," said William. "I promised my sister to be at home +to-night, and I must keep my word. See how narrow the creek is here! +Good-by, I cannot wait any longer, it is getting dark." + +"Don't, try it, please don't, Mr. William," again said Mrs. Jones. All the +children joined her, some entreating William, others crying out at the +danger into which their favorite was rushing. + +"Why, you cowards," cried William, "you make more noise than the creek +itself. Here's something for gingerbread." None of the children offered to +pick up the money which fell among them, but looked anxiously after +William, to see what he was going to do. + +"Mr. William," said Mrs. Jones, "come back; look at the water a roaring and +tossing, and your horse is restless already with the noise. Don't throw +your life away; think of your sister." + +"I'm thinking of her, good Mrs. Jones. Never fear for me," said he, looking +back at her with a smile, at the same time urging his horse toward the edge +of the creek, where there was a gradual descent from the hill. + +As Mrs. Jones had said, the horse had already become restless, he was +impatiently moving his head, prancing and striking his hoofs against the +hard ground. William restrained him, as he too quickly descended the path, +and it may be the young man then hesitated, as he endeavored to check him, +but it was too late. The very check rendered him more impatient; springing +aside from the path he dashed himself from rock to rock. William saw his +danger, and with a steady hand endeavored to control the frightened animal. +This unequal contest was soon decided. The nearer the horse came to the +water the more he was alarmed,--at last he sprang from the rock, and he and +his rider disappeared. + +"Oh, my God!" said Mrs. Jones, "he is gone. The poor boy; and there is no +one to help him." She at first hid her eyes from the appalling scene, and +then approached the creek and screamed as she saw the horse struggling and +plunging, while William manfully tried to control him. Oh! how beat her +heart, as with uplifted hands, and stayed breath, she watched for the +issue--it is over now. + +"Hush! hush! children," said their mother, pale as death, whose triumph she +had just witnessed. "Oh! if your father had been here to have saved +him--but who could have saved him? None but thou, Almighty God!" and she +kneeled to pray for, she knew not what. + +"Too late, too late!" yet she knelt and alternately prayed and wept. + +Again she gazed into the noisy waters--but there was nothing there, and +then calling her frightened and weeping children into the house, she +determined to set forth alone, for assistance--for what? + + * * * * * + +Oh! how long was that night to Ellen, though she believed her brother +remained at C----. She did not sleep till late, and sad the awakening. +Voices in anxious whispers fell upon her ear; pale faces and weeping eyes, +were everywhere around her--within, confusion; and useless effort without. +Her uncle wept as for an only son; her aunt then felt how tenderly she had +loved him, who was gone forever. The farmer, who had warned him at the +tavern-door, smote his breast when he heard his sad forebodings were +realized. The young and the old, the rich and the poor, assembled for days +about the banks of the creek, with the hopes of recovering the body, but +the young rider and his horse were never seen again. Ah! Ellen was an +orphan now--father, mother, and friend had he been to her, the lost one. +Often did she lay her head on the kind breast of their old nurse, and pray +for death. + +As far as was in their power, her uncle and aunt soothed her in her grief. +But the only real comfort at such a time, is that from Heaven, and Ellen +knew not that. How could she have reposed had she felt the protection of +the Everlasting Arms! + +But time, though it does not always heal, must assuage the intensity of +grief; the first year passed after William's death, and Ellen felt a wish +for other scenes than those where she had been accustomed to see him. She +had now little to which she could look forward. + +Her chief amusement was in retiring to the library, and reading old +romances, with which its upper shelves were filled; this, under other +circumstances, her aunt would have forbidden, but it was a relief to see +Ellen interested in any thing, and she appeared not to observe her thus +employing herself. + +So Ellen gradually returned to the old ways; she studied a little, and +assisted her industrious aunt in her numerous occupations. As of old, her +aunt saw her restlessness of disposition, and Ellen felt rebellious and +irritable. With what an unexpected delight, then, did she receive from her +aunt's hands, the letters from Mrs. Weston, inviting her to come at once to +Exeter, and then to accompany them to Washington. She, without any +difficulty, obtained the necessary permission, and joyfully wrote to Mrs. +Weston, how gladly she would accept the kind invitation. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +There was an ancient enmity between Jupiter and Bacchus. While the former +was always quiet when Phillis came to see his mistress during her life, +Bacchus never went near him without his displaying symptoms of the greatest +irritation; his back was invariably raised, and his claws spread out ready +for an attack on the slightest provocation. Phillis found it impossible to +induce the cat to remain away from Aunt Peggy's house; he would stand on +the door-step, and make the most appalling noises, fly into the windows, +scratch against the panes, and if any children approached him to try and +coax him away, he would fly at them, sending them off in a disabled +condition. Phillis was obliged to go backward and forward putting him into +the house and letting him out again. This was a good deal of trouble, and +his savage mood continuing, the servants were unwilling to pass him, +declaring he was a good deal worse than Aunt Peggy had ever been. Finally, +a superstitious feeling got among them, that he was connected in some way +with his dead mistress, and a thousand absurd stories were raised in +consequence. Mr. Weston told Bacchus that he was so fierce that he might do +some real mischief, so that he had better be caught and drowned. The +catching was a matter of some moment, but Phillis seduced him into a bag by +putting a piece of meat inside and then dexterously catching up the bag and +drawing the string. It was impossible to hold him in, so Bacchus fastened +the bag to the wheelbarrow, and after a good deal of difficulty, he got him +down to the river under the bridge, and threw him in. He told Phillis when +he got home, that he felt now for the first time as if Aunt Peggy was +really dead, and they all might hope for a little comfort. Twenty-four +hours after, however, just as the moon was rising, Bacchus was taken +completely by surprise, for Jupiter passed him with his back raised, and +proceeded to the door of his old residence, commencing immediately a most +vociferous demand to be admitted. + +Bacchus was speechless for some moments, but at last made out to call +Phillis, who came to the door to see what was the trouble. "Look thar," +said he, "you want to make me b'lieve that aint ole Aunt Peggy's +wraith--ground can't hold her, water can't hold him--why I drowned him +deep--how you 'spose he got out of that bag?" + +Phillis could not help laughing. "Well, I never did see the like--the cat +has scratched through the bag and swam ashore." + +"I b'lieves you," said Bacchus, "and if you had throw'd him into the fire, +he wouldn't a got burned; but I tell you, no cat's a gwine to get the +better of me--I'll kill Jupiter, yet." + +Phillis, not wanting the people aroused, got the key, and unlocked the +door, Jupiter sprang in, and took up his old quarters on the hearth, where +he was quiet for the night. In the morning she carried some bread and milk +to him, and told Bacchus not to say any thing about his coming back to any +one, and that after she came home from town, where she was going on +business for Mrs. Weston, they would determine what they would do. But +Bacchus secretly resolved to have the affair settled before Phillis should +return, that the whole glory of having conquered an enemy should belong to +him. + +Phillis was going on a number of errands to L----, and she expected to be +detained all day, for she understood shopping to perfection, and she went +charged with all sorts of commissions; besides, she had to stop to see one +or two sick old colored ladies of her acquaintance, and she told Mrs. +Weston she might as well make a day of it. Thus it was quite evening when +she got home--found every thing had been well attended to, children in bed, +but Bacchus among the missing, though he had promised her he would not +leave the premises until her return. + +Now, if there is a severe trial on this earth, it is for a wife (of any +color) who rarely leaves home,--to return after a day of business and +pleasure, having spent all the money she could lay her hands on, having +dined with one friend and taken a dish of tea and gossiped with another--to +return, hoping to see every thing as she expected, and to experience the +bitter disappointment of finding her husband gone out in spite of the most +solemn asseverations to the contrary. Who could expect a woman to preserve +her composure under such circumstances? + +Poor Phillis! she was in such spirits as she came home. How pretty the +flowers look! She thought, after all, if I am a slave, the Lord is mighty +good to me. I have a comfortable home, and a good set of children, and my +old man has done so much better of late--Phillis felt really happy; and +when she went in, and delivered all her parcels to the ladies, and was +congratulated on her success in getting precisely the desired articles, her +heart was as light as a feather. She thought she would go and see how all +went on at home, and then come back to the kitchen and drink a cup of good +tea, for the family had just got through with theirs. + +What a disappointment, then, to find any thing going wrong. It was not that +Bacchus's society was so entirely necessary to her, but the idea of his +having started on another spree. The fear of his being brought home +sometime to her dead, came over her with unusual force, and she actually +burst into tears. She had been so very happy a few minutes before, that she +could not, with her usual calmness, make the best of every thing. She +forgot all about the pleasant day she had passed; lost her wish for a cup +of tea; and passing even her pipe by, with a full heart she took her seat +to rest at the door. For some time every thing seemed to go wrong with her. +All at once she found out how tired she was. Her limbs ached, and her arm +hurt her, where she had carried the basket. She had a great many troubles. +She had to work hard. She had more children than anybody else to bother +her; and when she thought of Bacchus she felt very angry. He might as well +kill himself drinking, at once, for he was nothing but a care and disgrace +to her--had always been so, and most likely would be so until they were +both under the ground. + +But this state of mind could not last long. A little quiet, rest, and +thought had a good effect. She soon began again to look at the bright side +of things, and to be ashamed of her murmuring spirit. "Sure enough he has +kept very sober of late, and I can't expect him to give it up entirely, all +of a sudden. I must be patient, and go on praying for him." She thought +with great pity of him, and her heart being thus subdued, her mind +gradually turned to other things. + +She looked at Aunt Peggy's house, and wondered if the old woman was better +off in another world than she was in this; but she checked the forbidden +speculation. And next she thought of Jupiter, and with this recollection +came another remembrance of Bacchus and his antipathy both to the mistress +and her cat. All at once she recalled Bacchus's determination to kill +Jupiter, and the strange ferocity the animal evinced whenever Bacchus went +near him; and she got up to take the key and survey the state of things at +the deserted house. There was no key to be found; and concluding some one +had been after Jupiter, she no longer delayed her intention of finding out +what had occurred in that direction. She found the key in the door, but +every thing was silent. With some caution she opened it, remembering +Jupiter's last unexpected onset; when, looking round by the dim light, she +perceived him seated opposite Aunt Peggy's big chest, evidently watching +it. On hearing the door open, though, he got up and raised his back, on the +defensive. + +Phillis, having an indefinable feeling that Bacchus was somehow or other +connected with the said elevation, looked carefully round the room, but saw +nothing. Gradually the chest lid opened a little way, and a sepulchral +voice, issuing from it, uttered in a low tone these words: + +"Phillis, gal, is that you?" + +The cat looked ready to spring, and the chest lid suddenly closed again. +But while Phillis was recovering herself the lid was cautiously opened, and +Bacchus's eyes glaring through the aperture. The words were repeated. + +"Why, what on earth?" said the astonished woman: "Surely, is that you, +Bacchus?" + +"It is, surely," said Bacchus; "but put that devil of a tiger out of de +room, if you don't want me to die dis minute." + +Phillis's presence always had an imposing effect upon Jupiter; and as she +opened the door to the other room, and called him in, he followed her +without any hesitation. + +She shut him in, and then hurried back to lift up the chest lid, to release +her better half. + +"Why, how," said she, as Bacchus, in a most cramped condition endeavored to +raise himself, "did the lid fall on you?" + +"No," groaned Bacchus. "Are you sure de middle door's shut. Let me git out +o' dis place quick as possible, for since ole Peggy left, de ole boy +hisself has taken up his abode here. 'Pears as if I never should git +straight agin." + +"Why, look at your face, Bacchus," said his wife. "Did Jupiter scratch you +up that way." + +"Didn't he though? Wait till I gits out of reach of his claws, and I'll +tell you about it;" and they both went out, Phillis locking the door to +keep Jupiter quiet, that night at least. After having washed the blood off +his face and hands, and surveyed himself with a dismal countenance in the +looking-glass, Bacchus proceeded to give an account of his adventure. + +After dinner he thought he would secure Jupiter, and have him effectually +done for before Phillis came back. He mustered up all his courage, and +unlocking the house, determined to catch and tie him, then decide on a mode +of death that would be effectual. He had heard some officer from Mexico +describe the use of the lasso, and it occurred to him to entrap Jupiter in +this scientific manner. But Jupiter was an old bird; he was not to be +caught with chaff. Bacchus's lasso failed altogether, and very soon the cat +became so enraged that Bacchus was obliged to take a three-legged stool, +and act on the defensive. He held the stool before his face, and when +Jupiter made a spring at him, he dodged against him with it. Two or three +blows excited Jupiter's anger to frenzy, and after several efforts he +succeeded in clawing Bacchus's face in the most dreadful manner, so that it +was with the greatest difficulty he could clear himself. Desperate with +pain and fright, he looked for some way of escape. The door was shut, and +Jupiter, who seemed to be preparing for another attack, was between him and +it. He had but one resource, and that was to spring into Aunt Peggy's great +chest, and close the lid to protect himself from another assault. + +Occasionally, when nearly suffocated, he would raise the lid to breathe, +but Jupiter immediately flew at him in such a furious manner, that he saw +it would be at the risk of his life to attempt to escape, and he was +obliged to bide his time. What his meditations were upon while in the +chest, would be hard to decide; but when once more protected by the shadow +of his own roof, he vowed Jupiter should die, and be cut in pieces before +he was done with him. + +Phillis went to Miss Janet, and gave her an account of the whole affair, +with Bacchus's permission, and the kind old lady came to him with some +healing ointment of her own manufacture, and anointed his wounds. + +William was sent for; and the result of the discussion was, that he and his +father should, early next morning, shoot the much dreaded cat effectually. + +This resolution was carried into effect in the following manner. Phillis +went a little in advance with a large bowl of bread and milk, and enticed +Jupiter to the hearth. As he was very hungry, he did not perceive William +entering with a very long gun in his hand, nor even Bacchus, his ancient +enemy, with a piece of sticking-plaster down his nose and across his +forehead. + +William was quite a sportsman. He went through all the necessary +formalities. Bacchus gave the word of command in a low voice: Make ready, +take aim, fire--bang, and William discharged a shower of shot into +Jupiter's back and sides. He gave one spring, and all was over, Bacchus +looking on with intense delight. + +As in the case of Aunt Peggy, now that his enemy was no more, Bacchus +became very magnanimous. He said Jupiter had been a faithful old animal, +though mighty queer sometimes, and he believed the death of Aunt Peggy had +set him crazy, therefore he forgave him for the condition in which he had +put his face, and should lay him by his mistress at the burial-ground. +Lydia begged an old candle-box of Miss Janet, for a coffin, and assisted +her father in the other funeral arrangements. With a secret satisfaction +and a solemn air, Bacchus carried off the box, followed by a number of +black children, that Lydia had invited to the funeral. They watched Bacchus +with great attention while he completed his work, and the whole party +returned under the impression that Aunt Peggy and Jupiter were perfectly +satisfied with the morning's transactions. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +The time had come to leave home, and the Westons had but one more evening. +Neither Mr. Weston nor Alice were well, and all hoped the change would +benefit them. They were to travel in their own carriage, and the +preparations were completed. The three ladies' maids were to go by the +stage. Miss Janet had a number of things stowed away in the carriage, which +she thought might be useful, not forgetting materials for a lunch, and a +little of her own home-made lavender, in case of a headache. The pleasure +of going was very much lessened by the necessity of leaving the dear old +lady, who would not listen to their entreaties to accompany them. "You, +with your smooth cheeks and bright eyes, may well think of passing a winter +in Washington; but what should I do there? Why, the people would say I had +lost my senses. No, we three ladies will have a nice quiet time at Exeter, +and I can go on with my quilting and patchwork. You see, Miss Alice, that +you come back with red cheeks. The birds and the flowers will be glad to +see you again when the spring comes." + +"Ring the bell, Alice," said Mr. Weston. "I must know how Mr. Mason's +little boy is. I sent Mark shortly after dinner; but here he is. Well, +Mark, I hope the little fellow is getting well?" + +"He is _receased_, sir," said Mark, solemnly. + +"He is what?" said Mr. Weston. "Oh! ah! he is dead--I understand you. Well, +I am truly sorry for it. When did he die?" + +"Early this morning, sir," said Mark. "Have you any more orders to give, +sir? for as I am to be up mighty early in the morning, I was thinking of +going to bed when you are done with me." + +"Nothing more," said Mr. Weston; and Mark retired. + +"Mark," continued Mr. Weston, "has the greatest propensity for using hard +words. His _receased_ means deceased. He was excessively angry with Bacchus +the other day for interfering with him about the horses. 'Nobody,' said he, +'can stand that old fellow's airs. He's got so full of tomposity, that he +makes himself disagreeable to everybody.' By _tom_posity, I suppose you all +know he meant pomposity. Bacchus is elated at the idea of going with us. I +hope I shall not have any trouble with him." + +"Oh! no, uncle," said Alice; "he is a good old fellow, and looks so +aristocratic with his gray hair and elegant bows. Ellen and I will have to +take him as a beau when you are out. Aunt Phillis says, that he has +promised her not to drink a drop of any thing but water, and she seems to +think that he has been so sober lately that he will keep his word." + +"It is very doubtful," said Mr. Weston; "but the fact is he would be +troublesome with his airs and his _tomposity_ were I to leave him; so I +have no choice." + +"Dear Alice," said Ellen, fixing her large dark eyes on her; "how can I +ever be grateful enough to you?" + +"For what?" asked Alice. + +"For getting sick, and requiring change of air, which is the first cause of +my being here on my way to the great metropolis. Whoever likes a plantation +life is welcome to it; but I am heartily sick of it. Indeed, Miss Janet, +good as you are, you could not stand it at uncle's. Ten miles from a +neighbor--just consider it! Uncle disapproves of campmeetings and +barbecues; and aunt is sewing from morning till night; while I am required +to read the Spectator aloud. I have a mortal grudge against Addison." + +"But, my dear," said Miss Janet, "you must remember you are to return to +your uncle's, and you must not learn to love the great world too much." + +"Perhaps," said Mr. Barbour, who was much depressed at the approaching +parting, "Miss Ellen may not mean to return to her uncle's. A young lady +with good looks, and a heavy purse, will be found out in Washington. She +will just suit a great many there--clerks with small salaries, army and +navy men with expensive habits; and foreign attachés, who, being nothing in +their own country, turn our young ladies' heads when they come here." + +"So you think I am destined for no other fate than to pay a +fortune-hunter's debts. Thank you, Mr. Barbour!" + +"The fact is, Mr. Barbour wants you himself, Ellen, and he is afraid +somebody will carry you off. He will pay us a visit this winter, I expect," +said Mrs. Weston. + +"Well," said Ellen laughingly, "I'd rather take up with him than to go back +to my old life, now that I see you are all so happy here." + +"But your aunt and uncle," said Miss Janet, "you must not feel unkindly +toward them." + +"No, indeed," said Ellen, "they are both good and kind in their way, but +uncle is reserved, and often low-spirited. Aunt is always talking of the +necessity of self-control, and the discipline of life. She is an +accomplished teaze. Why, do you know," continued Ellen, laughingly, as she +removed Miss Janet's hand from her mouth, the old lady thus playfully +endeavoring to check her, "after I had accepted Mrs. Weston's kind +invitation, and mammy and I were busy packing, aunt said I must not be too +sanguine, disappointments were good for young people, and that something +might occur which would prevent my going. I believe I should have died +outright, if it had turned out so." + +"And so," said Mr. Barbour, "to get rid of a dull home, you are determined +to fly in the face of fate, and are going to Washington after a husband. +Ah! Miss Ellen, beware of these young men that have nothing but their +whiskers and their epaulettes. Let me tell you of a young friend of mine, +who would marry the man of her choice, in spite of the interference of her +friends, and one April morning in the honey moon they were seen +breakfasting under a persimmon tree. However, as you are a young lady of +fortune, you will always be sure of coffee and hot rolls; your good father +has made such a sensible will, that the principal never can be touched. How +many fine fortunes would have been saved, if Southerners had taken such +precautions long ago. You will have a fine time young ladies, you must keep +an account of your conquests, and tell me of them when you come back." + +"Its only Ellen who is going in search of love adventures, Mr. Barbour," +said Alice. + +"Make yourself easy, Mr. Barbour," said Ellen. "I mean to have a delightful +time flirting, then come back to marry you, and settle down. Mammy says I +can't help getting good, if I live near Miss Janet." + +"Well, I will wait for you," said Mr. Barbour. "And now Alice, sing me a +sweet old Scotch song. Sing, ''Twas within half a mile of Edinburgh town'." + +"I can't come quite so near it as that," said Alice, "but I will sing +''Twas within a mile.'" She sang that, and then "Down the burn Davie." Then +Miss Janet proposed 'Auld lang syne,' in which they all joined; in singing +the chorus, Mr. Barbour, as usual, got very much excited, and Alice a +little tired, so that the music ceased and Alice took her seat by her uncle +on the sofa. + +"Miss Janet," said Mr. Barbour, "you look better than I have seen you for a +long time." + +"Thank you," said Miss Janet. "Mr. Washington asked me the other day if I +were ever going to die. I suppose, like Charles II., I ought to apologize +for being so long in dying; but I am so comfortable and happy with my +friends, that I do not think enough of the journey I soon must take to +another world. How many comforts I have, and how many kind friends! I feel +now that we are about to be separated, that I should thank you all for your +goodness to me, lest in the Providence of God we should not meet again. +Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, my poor thanks are most +gratefully offered." + +"Oh! Cousin Janet," said Alice, with her eyes full of tears, "why will you +not go with us; your talking so makes me dread to part with you." + +"My darling, we must all try to get to Heaven, where there are no partings. +I cannot be a great while with you; remember, I am eighty-five years old. +But I will not grieve you. We will, I trust, all meet here in the spring. +God is here, and He is in the great city; we are all safe beneath His care. +Next summer He will bring Arthur home again." + +"Partings should be as short as possible," said Mr. Barbour. "So I mean to +shake hands with everybody, and be off. Young ladies, be generous; do not +carry havoc and desolation in your train; take care of your uncle, and come +back again as soon as possible." + +He then took a friendly leave of Mr. and Mrs. Weston, and mounted his horse +to return home. + +"What a nice old beau Mr. Barbour would make," said Ellen, "with his fine +teeth and clear complexion. I wonder he never married." + +"Upon my word!" said Miss Janet, "you will be wondering next, why I never +married. But know, Miss Ellen, that Mr. Barbour once had a romantic +love-affair--he was to have been married to a lovely girl, but death envied +him his bride, and took her off--and he has remained true to her memory. It +was a long time before he recovered his cheerfulness. For two years he was +the inmate of an asylum." + +"Poor old gentleman," said Ellen. "I do believe other people besides me +have trouble." + +"Ah! when you look around you, even in the world, which you anticipate with +so much pleasure, you will see many a smiling face that tries to hide a +sad and aching heart; a heart that has ached more painfully than yours." + +"No," said Ellen, looking up from the ottoman at Miss Janet's feet, where +she was seated; and then bursting into tears. "Oh! thoughtless and +frivolous as I am, I shall never forget _him_. If you knew how I have wept +and suffered, you would not wonder I longed for any change that would make +me forget." + +"Dear child," said Miss Janet, laying her hand on that young head, "I did +not mean to reprove you. When God brings sorrow on the young, they must +bear it with resignation to his will. He delights in the happiness of his +creatures, and it is not against his will that the young should enjoy the +innocent pleasures of life. Then go you and Alice into the world, but be +not of the world, and come back to your homes strengthened to love them +more. Cousin Weston has the Bible opened, waiting for us." + + * * * * * + +In the mean time, Bacchus has received a good deal of wholesome advice from +Phillis, while she was packing his trunk, and in return, he has made her +many promises. He expresses the greatest sorrow at leaving her, declaring +that nothing but the necessity of looking after his master induces him to +do so, but he is secretly anticipating a successful and eventful campaign +in Washington. All the servants are distressed at the prospect of the +family being away for so long a time; even old Wolf, the house-dog, has +repeatedly rubbed his cold nose against Alice's hand, and looked with the +most doleful expression into her beautiful face; but dogs, like their +masters, must submit to what is decreed, and Wolf, after prayers, went off +peaceably with William to be tied up, lest he should attempt, as usual, to +follow the carriage in the morning. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +You are very much mistaken in your estimate of the character of a +Virginian, if you suppose he allows himself, or his horses, to be driven +post-haste, when there is no urgent necessity for it. It is altogether +different with a Yankee; there is no enjoyment for him from the time he +starts on a journey until he reaches the end of it. He is bound to be in a +hurry, for how knows he but there may be a bargain depending, and he may +reach his destination in time to whittle successfully for it. + +The Westons actually lingered by the way. There were last looks to be taken +of home, and its neighborhood; there were partings to be given to many +objects in nature, dear from association, as ancient friends. Now, the long +line of blue hills stands in bold relief against the hazy sky--now, the +hills fade away and are hid by thick masses of oak and evergreen. Here, the +Potomac spreads her breast, a mirror to the heavens, toward its low banks, +the broken clouds bending tranquilly to its surface. There, the river +turns, and its high and broken shores are covered with rich and twining +shrubbery, its branches bending from the high rocks into the water, while +the misty hue of Indian summer deepens every tint. + +Fair Alice raises her languid head, already invigorated by the delightful +air and prospect. The slightest glow perceptible is making its way to her +pale cheek, while the gay and talkative Ellen gazes awhile at the scenery +around her, then leans back in the carriage, closes her brilliant eyes, and +yields, oh! rare occurrence, to meditation. + +Two days are passed in the journey, and our party, arrived safely at +Willard's, found their comfortable apartments prepared for them, and their +servants as glad of their arrival as if they had been separated a year, +instead of a day. + +And now, dear reader, I do not intend discussing Washington society. It +must be a more skilful pen than mine that can throw a sun of light upon +this chaos of fashionable life, and bring forth order and arrangement. We +are only here for relaxation and change of air, and when our invalids feel +their good effects, we must return with them to their quiet, but not +unuseful life. + +There were many preparations to be made, for our young ladies proposed to +enter into the gayeties of the season. Ellen was to throw off her mourning, +and her old nurse begged her and Alice "to buy a plenty of nice new +clothes, for they might as well be out of the world as out of the fashion." +They both agreed with her, for they were determined to be neither unnoticed +nor unknown among the fair ones of the Union who were congregated at the +capital. + +Do not be astonished; there is already a tinge of red beneath the brown +lashes on Alice's cheek. And as for her heart, oh! that was a great deal +better, too; for it has been found by actual experiment, that diseases of +the heart, if treated with care, are not fatal any more than any other +complaints. Mrs. Weston grew happier every day; and as to Alice's uncle, he +hardly ever took his eyes off her, declaring that there must be something +marvellously strengthening in the atmosphere of our much abused city; while +Alice, hearing that Walter Lee was mixing in all the gayeties of Richmond, +already began to question her attachment to him, and thinking of Arthur's +long-continued and devoted affection, trembled lest she should have cast +away the love of his generous heart. + +Mr. Weston often felt the time hang heavily upon him, though he saw many +valued friends. He would not have exchanged the life of a country gentleman +for all the honors that politics could offer to her favorite votary; and +for the ordinary amusements which charmed Alice and Ellen, even in +advance, the time had come for him to say, "I have no pleasure in them." +But thinking of Alice's health only, and, above all, anxious that her +marriage with his son should be consummated during his lifetime, no +sacrifice appeared to him too great to make. + +The weather was still delightful, and as the soirées, assemblies, and +matinées had not yet commenced, a party was formed to go to Mount Vernon. +The day fixed upon was a brilliant one, in the latter part of November. A +number of very agreeable persons boarding in the hotel were to accompany +them. Bacchus was exceedingly well pleased at the prospect. "'Deed, Miss +Alice," he said, "I is anxious to see de old gentleman's grave; he was a +fine rider; the only man as ever I seed could beat master in de saddle." +Mark objected to his carriage and horses being used over such rough roads, +so a large omnibus was engaged to carry the whole party, Mark and Bacchus +going as outriders, and a man in a little sort of a carry-all having charge +of all the eatables, dishes, plates, &c., which would be required. The +company were in good spirits, but they found traveling in the State of +Virginia was not moving over beds of roses. Where are such roads to be +found? Except in crossing a corduroy road in the West, where can one hope +to be so thoroughly shaken up? I answer, nowhere! And have I not a right to +insist, for my native State, upon all that truth will permit? Am I not a +daughter of the Old Dominion, a member of one of the F.F.V's? Did not my +grandfather ride races with General Washington? Did not my father wear +crape on his hat at his funeral? Let that man or woman inclined to deny me +this privilege, go, as I have, in a four-horse omnibus to Mount Vernon. Let +him rock and twist over gullies and mud-holes; let him be tumbled and +jostled about as I was, and I grant you he will give up the point. + +Our party jogged along. At last the old gates were in sight, and the +ragged little negroes stood ready to open them. Here we should begin to be +patriotic, but do not fear being troubled with a dissertation on this +worn-out subject. I will not even observe that by the very gate that was +opened for the Westons did the Father of his country enter; for it would be +a reflection on the memory of that great and good man to suppose that he +would have put his horse to the useless trouble of jumping the fence, when +there was such a natural and easy way of accomplishing his entrance. Ellen, +however, declared "that she firmly believed those remarkable-looking +children that opened the gates, were the same that opened them for +Washington; at any rate, their clothes were cut after the same pattern, if +they were not the identical suits themselves." + +There was a gentleman from the North on the premises when they arrived. He +joined the party, introduced himself, and gave information that he was +taking, in plaster, the house, the tomb, and other objects of interest +about the place, for the purpose of exhibiting them. He made himself both +useful and agreeable, as he knew it was the best way of getting along +without trouble, and he was very talkative and goodnatured. But some, as +they approached the grave, observed that Mr. Weston, and one or two others, +seemed to wish a certain quietness of deportment to evince respect for the +hallowed spot, and the jest and noisy laugh were suddenly subdued. Had it +been a magnificent building, whose proportions they were to admire and +discuss; had a gate of fair marble stood open to admit the visitor; had +even the flag of his country waved where he slept, they could not have felt +so solemnized--but to stand before this simple building, that shelters his +sarcophagus from the elements; to lean upon unadorned iron gates, which +guarded the sacred spot from intrusion; to look up and count the little +birds' nests in the plastered roof, and the numberless hornets that have +made their homes there too; to pluck the tendrils of the wild grapes that +cluster here--this simple grandeur affected each one. He was again in life +before them, steadily pursuing the great work for which he was sent, and +now, reposing from his labor. + +And then they passed on to the old, empty grave. It was decaying away, +yawning with its open mouth as if asking for its honored tenement. Ellen +gazed down and sprang in, and ere the others could recover from their +astonishment, or come forward to offer her assistance, she looked up in her +beauty from the dark spot where she was standing. + +"Let me get out alone," said she; "I have such a prize;" and she held in +her hand a bird's nest, with its three little white eggs deposited therein. + +"Oh! Ellen," said Mrs. Weston, robbing a bird's nest. "Put it back, my +dear." + +"No, indeed, Mrs. Weston, do not ask me. Think of my finding it in +Washington's grave. I mean to have it put on an alabaster stand, and a +glass case over it, and consider it the most sacred gem I possess. There, +Uncle Bacchus, keep it for me, and don't crush the eggs." + +"I won't break 'em, Miss Ellen," said Bacchus, whose thoughts were apt to +run on "sperrits." "I thought for certain you had see'd de old gentleman's +ghost, and he had called you down in dat dark hole. But thar aint no danger +of his comin back agin, I reckon. 'Pears as if it hadn't been long since I +followed him to dis very grave." + +"What!" said the Northern gentleman, "were niggers allowed to attend +Washington's funeral?" + +"Colored people was, sir," said Bacchus, in a dignified manner. "We aint +much used to being called niggers, sir. We calls ourselves so sometimes, +but gentlemen and ladies, sir, mostly calls us colored people, or servants. +General Washington hisself, sir, always treated his servants with +politeness. I was very well acquainted with them, and know'd all about the +general's ways from them." + +Mr. Weston could not but smile at the reproof Bacchus had given. He turned +and apologized to the gentleman for his servant's talkativeness, saying he +was an old and much indulged servant. + +They turned away from that empty grave. The young girls round whom so many +affections clustered; the fond and anxious mother; the aged and +affectionate relative; the faithful and valued servant--turned away from +that empty grave. When will stay the tumultuous beatings of their hearts? +When will they sleep in the shadow of the old church? Each heart asked +itself, When? + +Ere they left this hallowed spot, Mr. Weston addressed a gentleman who +lingered with him. This gentleman was an Abolitionist, but he acknowledged +to Mr. Weston that he had found a different state of things at the South +from what he expected. + +"Sir," said he to Mr. Weston, "there is a melancholy fascination in this +hollow, deserted grave. It seems to be typical of the condition in which +our country would be, should the spirit that animated Washington no longer +be among us." + +Mr. Weston smiled as he answered, "Perhaps it is good for you to be here, +to stand by the grave of a slaveholder, and ask yourself 'Would I dare here +utter the calumnies that are constantly repeated by the fanatics of my +party?' On this spot, sir, the Abolitionist should commune with his own +heart, and be still. Well was it said by one of your own statesmen, 'My +doctrines on the slavery question are those of my ancestors, modified by +themselves, as they were in an act of Confederation. In this one respect +they left society in the political condition in which they found it. A +reform would have been fearful and calamitous. A political revolution with +one class was morally impracticable. Consulting a wise humanity, they +submitted to a condition in which Providence had placed them. They settled +the question in the deep foundations of the Constitution.' Would you then, +sir, destroy the fabric, by undermining the Constitution? Alas! this would +be the consequence, were it possible to carry out the views of the +Abolition party." + + * * * * * + +The beautiful words of Harrison G. Otis, delivered in Faneuil Hall, Boston, +Aug. 22d, 1835, would have been appropriate here, too. Speaking of the +formation of Anti-slavery Societies, he said, "Suppose an article had been +proposed to the Congress that framed the instrument of Confederation, +proposing that the Northern States should be at liberty to form +Anti-slavery Associations, and deluge the South with homilies upon slavery, +how would it have been received? The gentleman before me apostrophized the +image of Washington. I will follow his example, and point to the portrait +of his associate, Hancock, which is pendant by its side. Let us imagine an +interview between them, in the company of friends, just after one had +signed the commission for the other; and in ruminating on the lights and +shadows of futurity, Hancock should have said, 'I congratulate my country +upon the choice she has made, and I foresee that the laurels you gained in +the field of Braddock's defeat, will be twined with those which shall be +earned by you in the war of Independence; yet such are the prejudices in my +part of the Union against slavery, that although your name and services may +screen you from opprobrium, during your life, your countrymen, when +millions weep over your tomb, will be branded by mine as man-stealers and +murderers; and the stain of it consequently annexed to your memory.'" + +But, alas! the Abolitionist will not reflect. He lives in a whirlpool, +whither he has been drawn by his own rashness. What to him is the love of +country, or the memory of Washington? John Randolph said, "I should have +been a French Atheist had not my mother made me kneel beside her as she +folded my little hands, and taught me to say, 'Our Father.'" Remember +this, mothers in America; and imprint upon the fair tablet of your young +child's heart, a reverence for the early institutions of their country, and +for the patriots who moulded them, that "God and my country" may be the +motto of their lives. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + +"Alice," said Mrs. Weston, as they sat together one morning, before it was +time to dress for dinner, "if you choose, I will read to you the last part +of Cousin Janet's letter. You know, my daughter, of Walter's gay course in +Richmond, and it is as I always feared. There is a tendency to recklessness +and dissipation in Walter's disposition. With what a spirit of deep +thankfulness you should review the last few months of your life! I have +sometimes feared I was unjust to Walter. My regret at the attachment for +him which you felt at one time, became a personal dislike, which I +acknowledge, I was wrong to yield to; but I think we both acted naturally, +circumstanced as we were. Dear as you are to me, I would rather see you +dead than the victim of an unhappy marriage. Love is not blind, as many +say. I believe the stronger one's love is, the more palpable the errors of +its object. It was so with me, and it would be so with you. That you have +conquered this attachment is the crowning blessing of my life, even should +you choose never to consummate your engagement with Arthur. I will, at +least, thank God that you are not the wife of a man whose violent passions, +even as a child, could not be controlled, and who is destitute of a spark +of religious principle. I will now read you what Cousin Janet says. + + "'I have received a long letter from Mr. C., the Episcopal + clergyman in Richmond, in answer to mine, inquiring of Walter. All + that I feared is true. Walter is not only gay, but dissipated. Mr. + C. says he has called to see him repeatedly, and invited him to + his house, and has done all that he could to interest him in those + pleasures that are innocent and ennobling; but, alas! it is + difficult to lay aside the wine cup, when its intoxicating touch + is familiar to the lips, and so of the other forbidden pleasures + of life. To one of Walter's temperament there is two-fold danger. + Walter is gambling, too, and bets high; he will, of course, be a + prey to the more experienced ones, who will take advantage of his + youth and generosity to rob him. For, is a professed gambler + better than a common thief? + + "'It is needless for me to say, I have shed many tears over this + letter. Tears are for the living, and I expect to shed them while + I wear this garment of mortality. Can it be that in this case the + wise Creator will visit the sins of the father upon the child? Are + are all my tears and prayers to fail? I cannot think so, while He + reigns in heaven in the same body with which He suffered on earth. + In the very hand that holds the sceptre is the print of the nails; + under the royal crown that encircles His brow, can still be traced + the marks of the thorns. He is surely, then, touched with a + feeling of our infirmities, and He will in the end, bring home + this child of my love and my adoption. I often say to myself, + could I see Alice and Arthur and Walter happy, how happy should I + be! I would be more than willing to depart; but there would be + still a care for something in this worn-out and withered frame. It + will be far better to be with Jesus, but He will keep me here as + long as He has any thing for me to do. The dear girls! I am glad + they are enjoying themselves, but I long to see them again. I hope + they will not be carried away by the gay life they are leading. I + shall be glad when they are at their home duties again. + + "'It will be well with Arthur and Alice; you know old maids are + always the best informed on other people's love affairs. When + Arthur left home Alice felt only a sisterly affection for him; + when Walter went away it was really no more for him either, but + her kind heart grieved when she saw him so situated: and sympathy, + you know, is akin to love. She must remember now the importance + that attaches itself to an engagement of marriage, and not give + Arthur any more rivals. She was off her guard before, as her + feeling an affection for Arthur was considered rather too much a + matter of course; but she cannot fail at some future day to return + his devoted affection. In the mean time, the young people are + both, I trust, doing well. Arthur, so long in another section of + his own dear country, will be less apt to be unduly prejudiced in + favor of his own; and Alice will only mingle in the gay world + enough to see the vanity of its enjoyments. She will thus be + prepared to perform with fidelity the duties that belong to her + position as the wife of a country gentleman. No wonder that my + spectacles are dim and my old eyes aching after this long letter. + Love to dear Cousin Weston, to the girls, to yourself, and all the + servants. + + "'From COUSIN JANET.' + + "'Phillis says she has not enough to do to keep her employed. She + has not been well this winter; her old cough has returned, and she + is thinner than I ever saw her. Dr. L. has been to see her several + times, and he is anxious for her to take care of herself. She bids + me say to Bacchus that if he have broken his promise, she hopes he + will be endowed with strength from above to keep it better in + future. How much can we all learn from good Phillis!'" + +Alice made no observation as her mother folded the letter and laid it on +her dressing table; but there lay not now on the altar of her heart a spark +of affection for one, who for a time, she believed to be so passionately +beloved. The fire of that love had indeed gone out, but there had lingered +among its embers the form and color of its coals--these might have been +rekindled, but that was past forever. The rude but kind candor that +conveyed to her the knowledge of Walter's unworthiness had dissolved its +very shape; the image was displaced from its shrine. Walter was indeed +still beloved, but it was the affection of a pure sister for an erring +brother; it was only to one to whom her soul in its confiding trust and +virtue could look up, that she might accord that trusting devotion and +reverence a woman feels for the chosen companion of her life. + +And this, I hear you say, my reader, is the awakening of a love dream so +powerful as to undermine the health of the sleeper--so dark as to cast a +terror and a gloom upon many who loved her; it is even so in life, and +would you have it otherwise? Do you commend that morbid affection which +clings to its object not only through sorrow, but sin? through sorrow--but +not in sin. Nor is it possible for a pure-minded woman to love unworthily +and continue pure. + +This Alice felt, and she came forth from her struggle stronger and more +holy; prizing above all earthly things the friends who had thus cleared for +her her pathway, and turning with a sister's love, which was all indeed she +had ever known, to that one who, far away, would yet win with his +unchanging affection her heart to his own. + +Walter Lee's case was an illustration of the fact that many young men are +led into dissipation simply from the want of proper occupation. There was +in him no love of vice for itself; but disappointed in securing Alice's +consent to his addresses, and feeling self-condemned in the effort to win +her affections from Arthur, he sought forgetfulness in dissipation and +excitement. He fancied he would find happiness in the ball-room, the +theatre, the midnight revel, and at the gambling table. Have you not met in +the changing society of a large city, one whose refined and gentle manners +told of the society of a mother, a sister, or of some female friend whose +memory, like an angel's wing, was still hovering around him? Have you not +pitied him when you reflected that he was alone, far away from such good +influences? Have you not longed to say to him, I wish I could be to you +what _she_ has been, and warn you of the rocks and quicksands against which +you may be shipwrecked. + +There were many who felt thus towards Walter; his strikingly handsome face +and figure, his grace and intelligence, with a slight reserve that gave a +charm to his manner. To few was his history familiar; the world knew of his +name, and to the world he was an object of importance, for gold stamps its +owner with a letter of credit through life. + +Walter launched into every extravagance that presented itself. He was +flattered, and invited to balls and parties; smiles met him at every step, +and the allurements of the world dazzled him, as they had many a previous +victim. Sometimes, the thought of Alice in her purity and truth passed like +a sunbeam over his heart; but its light was soon gone. She was not for him; +and why should he not seek, as others had done, to drown all care? Then the +thought of Cousin Janet, good and holy Cousin Janet, with her Bible in her +hand, and its sacred precepts on her lips, would weigh like a mountain on +his soul; but he had staked all for pleasure, and he could not lose the +race. + +It is not pleasant to go down, step after step, to the dark dungeon of +vice. We will not follow Walter to the revel, nor the gaming-table. We will +close our ears to the blasphemous oaths of his companions, to the +imprecations on his own lips. The career of folly and of sin was destined +to be closed; and rather would we draw a veil over its every scene. Step by +step, he trod the path of sin, until at last, urged by worldly and false +friends to a quarrel, commenced on the slightest grounds, he challenged one +who had really never offended him; the challenge was accepted, and +then--Walter Lee was a murderer! He gazed upon the youthful, noble +countenance; he felt again and again the quiet pulse, weeping when he saw +the useless efforts to bring back life. + +He was a murderer, in the sight of God and man! for he had been taught that +He who gave life, alone had the power to take it away. He knew that God +would require of him his brother's blood. He knew, too, that though the +false code of honor in society would acquit him, yet he would be branded, +even as Cain. He could see the finger of scorn pointed towards him; he +could hear men, good men, say, "There is Walter Lee, who killed a man in a +duel!" + +Ah! Cousin Janet, not in vain were your earnest teachings. Not in vain had +you sung by his pillow, in boyhood, of Jesus, who loved all, even his +enemies. Not in vain had you planted the good seed in the ground, and +watered it. Not in vain are you now kneeling by your bedside, imploring God +not to forsake forever the child of your prayers. Go to your rest in peace, +for God will yet bring him home, after all his wanderings; for Walter Lee, +far away, is waking and restless; oppressed with horror at his crime, +flying from law and justice, flying from the terrors of a burdened +conscience--he is a murderer! + +Like Cain, he is a wanderer. He gazes into the depths of the dark sea he is +crossing; but there is no answering abyss in his heart, where he can lose +the memory of his deed. He cannot count the wretched nights of watching, +and of thought. Time brings no relief, change no solace. When the soul in +its flight to eternity turns away from God, how droop her wings! She has no +star to guide her upward course; but she wanders through a strange land, +where all is darkness and grief. + +He traversed many a beautiful country; he witnessed scenes of grandeur; he +stood before the works of genius and of art; he listened to music, sweet +like angels' songs; but has he peace? Young reader, there is no peace +without God. Now in this world, there is many a brow bending beneath the +weight of its flowers. Could we trace the stories written on many hearts, +how would they tell of sorrow! How many would say, in the crowded and noisy +revel, "I have come here to forget; but memory will never die!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + + +Alice and Ellen, accompanied by Mrs. Weston, and some gentlemen from their +section of the country, were to attend a private ball, expected to be one +of the most brilliant of the season. Mr. Weston, not feeling well, retired +early, preferring to listen to the young ladies' account of the evening, +after his breakfast and newspaper the next morning. When they were ready to +go, they came into Mr. Weston's parlor, to obtain his commendation on their +taste. Mrs. Weston was there awaiting them; and her own appearance was too +striking to be passed over without notice. She was still really a handsome +woman, and her beauty was greatly enhanced by her excellent taste in dress. +Her arms, still round and white, were not uncovered. The rich lace sleeves, +and the scarf of the same material that was thrown over her handsome neck +and shoulders, was far more becoming than if she had assumed the bare arms +and neck which was appropriate to her daughter. Her thick dark hair was +simply put back from her temples, as she always wore it, contrasting +beautifully with the delicate white flowers there. Her brocade silk, +fitting closely to her still graceful figure, and the magnificent diamond +pin that she wore in her bosom; the perfect fitness of every part of her +apparel gave a dignity and beauty to her appearance, that might have +induced many a gay lady who mixes, winter after winter, in the amusements +of our city, to go and do likewise. When youth is gone forever, it is +better to glide gracefully into middle age; and if half the time and +thought that is expended on the choice of gay colors and costly material, +were passed in properly arranging what is suitable to age and appearance, +the fashionable assemblies of the present day would not afford such +spectacles, as cannot fail both to pain and amuse. + +Mr. Weston turned to the door as it opened, expecting the girls to enter; +and a little impatient, too, as it was already half-past ten o'clock. The +gentlemen had been punctual to their appointed hour of ten, but declared +that three quarters of an hour was an unusually short time to be kept +waiting by ladies. Ellen came first, her tall but well-proportioned figure +arrayed in a rose-colored silk of the most costly material. She wore a +necklace and bracelet of pearl, and a string of the same encircled her +beautifully-arranged hair. The rich color that mantled in her cheeks +deepened still more, as she acknowledged the salutation of the gentlemen; +but Alice, who entered immediately after her, went at once to her uncle, +and putting her hand in his, looked the inquiry, "Are you pleased with me?" +No wonder the old man held her hand for a moment, deprived of the power of +answering her. She stood before him glowing with health again, the coral +lips parted with a smile, awaiting some word of approval. The deep-blue +eyes, the ivory skin, the delicately-flushed cheeks, the oval face, the +auburn curls that fell over brow and temple, and hung over the rounded and +beautiful shoulders; the perfect arm, displayed in its full beauty by the +short plain sleeve; the simple dress of white; the whole figure, so fair +and interesting, with no ornaments to dim its youthful charms; but one +flower, a lily, drooping over her bosom. The tears gathered in his large +eyes, and drawing her gently towards him, he kissed her lips. "Alice, my +beloved," he said, "sweetest of God's earthly gifts, you cannot be always +as fair and young as you are now; but may God keep your heart as pure and +childlike, until he take you to the Heaven which is your destiny." Before +any one could reply, he had bowed to the rest of the company and left the +room; and even Alice, accustomed as she was to his partial affection, felt +solemnized at the unusual earnestness with which he had addressed her; but +Mrs. Weston hurried them off to the scene of fashion and splendor which +they had been anticipating. + + * * * * * + +Mr. Weston was about to retire, when Bacchus suddenly entered the room, +preceded by a slight knock. He was very much excited, and evidently had +information of great importance to communicate. + +"Master," said he, without waiting to get breath, "they're all got took." + +"What is the matter, Bacchus?" + +"Nothing, sir, only they're all cotched, every mother's son of 'em." + +"Of whom are you speaking?" + +"Of them poor misguided niggers, sir, de Abolitioners got away; but they're +all cotched now, and I'm sorry 'nuff for 'em. Some's gwine to be sold, and +some's gwine to be put in jail; and they're all in the worst kind of +trouble." + +"Well, Bacchus, it serves them right; they knew they were not free, and +that it was their duty to work in the condition in which God had placed +them. They have nobody to blame but themselves." + +"'Deed they is--'scuse me for contradictin you--but there's them as is to +blame a heap. Them Abolitioners, sir, is the cause of it. They wouldn't let +the poor devils rest until they 'duced them to go off. They 'lowed, they +would get 'em off, and no danger of their being took agin. They had the +imperance, sir, to 'suade those poor deluded niggers that they were born +free, when they knowed they were born slaves. I hadn't no idea, sir, they +was sich liars; but I've been up to de place whar the servants is, and its +heart-breaking to hear 'em talk. Thar's Simon, that strapping big young +man, as drives Mrs. Seymour's carriage; they got him off. He's a crying up +thar, like a baby a month old. He's been a hidin and a dodgin for a +week--he's nigh starved. And now he's cotched, and gwine to be sold. He's a +raal spilt nigger: his master dressed him like a gentleman, and he had +nothin to do all day but to drive de carriage; and he told me hisself, when +he was out late at night wid de young ladies, at parties, he never was woke +in de mornin, but was 'lowed to sleep it out, and had a good hot breakfast +when he did wake. Well, they got him off. They made out he'd go to the +great Norrurd, and set up a trade, or be a gentleman, may be; and like as +not they told him he stood a good chance of being President one of dese +days. They got him off from his good home, and now he's done for. He's +gwine to be sold South to-morrow. He's a beggin young Mr. Seymour up thar +not to sell him, and makin promises, but its no use; he's goin South. I bin +hearin every word he said to his young master. 'Oh, Master George,' says +he, 'let me off dis time. I didn't want to go till the Abolitioners told me +you had no right to me, kase God had made me free; and you, they said, was +no better than a thief, keepin me a slave agin natur and the Bible too.'" + +"'But, Simon,' said young Mr. Seymour, 'you stole a suit of my new clothes +when you went off; and you got money, too, from Mrs. Barrett, saying I had +sent you for it. How came you to do that?' + +"'I will 'fess it all, sir,' said Simon, 'and God knows I'm speakin truth. +I took de suit of clothes. The Abolitioner, he said I'd be a gentleman when +I got North, and I must have somethin ready to put on, to look like one. So +he said you'd always had the use of me, and twasn't no harm for me to take +de suit, for I was 'titled to it for my sarvices. He axed me if any body +owed my mistis money, as I know'd of. I told him, yes, Mrs. Barrett did, +and mistis often sent me after it without any order, for she know'd I'd +bring it straight to her. Now, my boy, said the Abolitioner, dis money is +yourn--its your wages. You've got a better right to it than ever your +mistis had. You can't start on a journey without money; so you go to dis +lady and tell her you was sent for money by your mistis, and you keep de +money for your own use. Here's de money,' said he, 'Master George, take it +to mistis, and tell her de truth.' + +"'Damn the rascals,' says young Mr. Seymour, 'they're not content with +man-stealing, but they're stealing money and clothes, and every thing they +can lay their hands upon. So much for your Abolition friends, Simon,' says +he. 'I wish you joy of them. They've brought you to a pretty pass, and lost +you as good a home as ever a servant had.' + +"'Oh, master,' said Simon, 'won't you take me back? Indeed I will be +faithful.' + +"'Can't trust you, Simon,' said Mr. Seymour; 'besides, none of your +fellow-servants want you back. You have no relations. My mother bought you, +when you was a little boy, because she knew your mother; and after she died +you were knocked about by the other servants. My sister taught you how to +read the Bible, and you have been a member of the Methodist church. If you +was a poor ignorant fellow, that didn't know what was right, I would take +you back; but you've done this wid your eyes open. Our servants say they +wants no runaways to live 'long o' them. Now, if you can get any of your +Abolition friends to buy you, and take you North, and make a gentleman of +you, I'll sell you to them; but they wouldn't give a fip to keep you from +starving. I am sorry its so, but I can't take you back.' He said these very +words, sir. He felt mighty bad, sir; he talked husky, but he went out. +Simon called after him, but he didn't even look back; so I know Simon's +goin for true." + +"I am really sorry for the servants, Bacchus," said Mr. Weston, "but they +won't take warning. I'm told that since Abolitionists have come to live in +Washington, and have been going among the colored people, that it is almost +impossible to employ an honest servant; it is on this account that the +Irish are so much employed. Some years ago the families had no trouble with +their domestics, but Abolition has ruined them. What a wretched looking +class they are, too! lazy and dirty; these are the consequences of taking +bad advice." + +"Well, master," said Bacchus, "I wish to de Lord we could take 'em all to +Virginny, and give 'em a good coat of tar and feathers; thar's all them +feathers poor Aunt Peggy had in them barrels. We aint got no call for 'em +at home. I wish we could put 'em to some use. I wouldn't like no better fun +than to spread de tar on neat, and den stick de feathers on close and +thick." + +"Well, Bacchus," said Mr. Weston, "its near bedtime, and I am not well; so +I will retire." + +"Certainly, master; you must 'scuse me, I'm afeard I've kep you up; I felt +mightily for them poor creaturs, thar. Lor', master, I aint nigh so weakly +as you, and think I nussed you, and used to toat you on my back when you +was a little boy. You was mighty fat, I tell you--I used to think my back +would bust, sometimes, but I'm pretty strong yet. 'Pears like I could toat +you now, if I was to try." + +"Not to-night, thank you, Bacchus. Though if any thing should occur to make +it necessary, I will call you," said Mr. Weston. + +Bacchus slept in a kind of closet bedroom off his master's, and he went in +accordingly, but after a few moments returned, finding Mr. Weston in bed. + +"Will you have any thing, sir?" + +"Nothing, to-night." + +"Well, master, I was thinkin to say one thing more, and 'tis, if dese +Abolitioners, dat has so much larnin, if they only had some of the Bible +larnin my wife has, how much good 'twould do 'em. My wife says, 'God put +her here a slave, and she's a gwine to wait for Him to set her free; if he +aint ready to do so till he calls her to Heaven, she's willin to wait.' +Lord, sir, my wife, she sets at de feet of Jesus, and larns her Bible. I +reckon de Abolitioners aint willin to do that; they don't want to get so +low down; 'pears as if they aint willin to go about doin good like Jesus +did, but they must be puttin up poor slaves to sin and sorrow. Well, +they've got to go to their account, any how." + +Bacchus finally retired, but it was with difficulty he composed himself to +sleep. He was still mentally discussing that great subject, Abolition, +which, like a mighty tempest, was shaking the whole country. All at once it +occurred to him "that it wouldn't do no good to worry about it," so he +settled himself to sleep. A bright idea crossed his mind as he closed his +eyes upon the embers that were fading on the hearth in his master's room; +in another moment he was reposing, in utter oblivion of all things, whether +concerning his own affairs or those of the world in general. + +The next morning, just as Mr. Weston had finished his paper, Bacchus came +in with a pair of boots, shining astonishingly. "I believe," said Mr. +Weston, "I won't put them on yet, our ladies have not come down to +breakfast, and its hardly time, for it is but half-past nine o'clock; I +think it must have been morning when they came home." + +"Yes sir," said Bacchus; "they aint awake yet, Aunt Marthy tells me." + +"Well, let them sleep. I have breakfasted, and I will sit here and enjoy +this good fire, until they come." + +Bacchus lingered, and looked as if he could not enjoy any thing that +morning. + +"Any thing the matter, Bacchus?" said Mr. Weston. + +"Well," said Bacchus, "nothin more I 'spose than what I had a right to +expect of 'em. Simon's got to go. I done all I could for him, but it aint +nothin, after all." + +"What could you do?" said Mr. Weston. + +"Well, master, I was nigh asleep last night, when all at once I thought +'bout dis here Abolition gentleman, Mr. Baker, that boards long wid us. +Now, thinks I, he is a mighty nice kind of man, talks a heap 'bout God and +the Gospel, and 'bout our duty to our fellow-creaturs. I know'd he had a +sight of money, for his white servant told me he was a great man in Boston, +had a grand house thar, his wife rode in elegant carriages, and his +children has the best of every thing. So, I says to myself, he aint like +the rest of 'em, he don't approve of stealing, and lying, and the like o' +that; if he thinks the Southern gentlemen oughter set all their niggers +free, why he oughter be willin to lose just a little for one man; so I went +straight to his room to ask him to buy Simon." + +"That was very wrong, Bacchus," said Mr. Weston, sternly. "Don't you know +your duty better than to be interfering in the concerns of these people? I +am excessively mortified. What will this gentleman think of me?" + +"Nothin', master," said Bacchus. "Don't be oneasy. I told him I come to ax +him a favor on my own 'sponsibility, and that you didn't know nothin' about +it. Well, he axed me if I wanted a chaw of tobacco. 'No sir,' says I, 'but +I wants to ax a little advice.' 'I will give you that with pleasure,' says +he. + +"'Mr. Baker,' says I, 'I understands you think God made us all, white and +colored, free and equal; and I knows you feels great pity for de poor +slaves that toils and frets in de sun, all their lives like beasts, and +lays down and dies like beasts, clean forgot like 'em too. I heard you say +so to a gentleman at de door; I thought it was mighty kind of you to +consider so much 'bout them of a different color from your own. I heard you +say it was de duty of de gentlemen of de South to set their slaves free, +if it did make 'em poor, kase Jesus Christ, he made hisself poor to set us +all free. Warn't dat what you said, sir?' + +"'Exactly,' says he. 'I didn't know you had such a good memory.' + +"'Now, Mr. Baker,' says I, 'you're a Christian yourself, or you couldn't +talk dat way. I know Christians must like to make other people happy; +they're bound to, for their Master, Christ, did. Well, sir, all de poor +creturs dat de Abolitionists got off is cotched--they're gwine to be sold, +and thar's one young man thar, that had a good home and a good mistis, and +him they 'suaded off, and now he's gwine to be sold South, whar he'll toil +and sweat in de hot sun. Now, Mr. Baker, if de Southern gentlemen's duty's +so plain to you, that they oughter make themselves poor, to make their +slaves free and happy, surely you'll buy this one poor man who is frettin' +hisself to death. It won't make you poor to buy jist this one; his master +says he'll sell him to any Abolitioner who'll take him to the great +Norrurd, and have him teached. Buy him, sir, for de Lord's sake--de poor +fellow will be so happy; jist spend a little of your money to make dat one +poor cretur happy. God gave it all to you, sir, and he aint gave none to de +poor slaves, not even gave him his freedom. You set dis one poor feller +free, and when you come to die, it will make you feel so good to think +about it; when you come to judgment, maybe Christ may say, "You made dis +poor man free, and now you may come into de kingdom and set down wid me +forever." Oh! sir,' says I, 'buy him, de Lord will pay you back, you won't +lose a copper by him.'" + +"Well," said Mr. Weston, "what did he say?" + +"Why, sir," said Bacchus, "he got up and stood by de fire, and warmed +hisself, and says he, 'Ole felur, if I'd a had de teaching of you, I'd a +larned you to mind your own business. I'll let you know I didn't come to +Washington to buy niggers.' 'Here,' says he, to dat white nigger that +waits on him, 'Next time dis feller wants me, tell him to go 'bout his +business.' + +"'Good mornin' sir,' says I, 'I shan't trouble you agin. May de Lord send +better friends to de slaves than de like of you.'" + +"Well, Bacchus," said Mr. Weston, "you did very wrong, and I hope you will +not again take such a liberty with any person. You see for yourself what an +Abolitionist is. I wish those poor runaways had had some such experience, +it would have saved them from the trouble they are now in." + +"Yes, indeed, master. I've been down thar agin, to-day. I went right early; +thar's an ole woman thar that tried to run away. She's gwine too, and she +leaves her husband here. She aint a cryin, though, her heart's too full for +tears. Oh! master," said Bacchus, sighing deeply, "I think if you'd seed +her, you'd do more than the Abolitioners." + + * * * * * + +In the afternoon Mr. Weston usually walked out. He did not dine with the +ladies at their late hour, as his complaint, dyspepsia, made it necessary +for him to live lightly and regularly. Bacchus attended him in his walks, +and many a person turned back to look upon the fine-looking old gentleman +with his gold-headed cane, and his servant, whose appearance was as +agreeable as his own. Bacchus was constantly on the lookout for his master, +but he managed to see all that was going on too, and to make many +criticisms on the appearance and conduct of those he met in his rambles. + +Bacchus followed his master, and found that he was wending his steps to the +place where the arrested runaways were confined. This was very agreeable to +him, for his heart was quite softened towards the poor prisoners, and he +had an idea that his master's very presence might carry a blessing with +it. "Bacchus," said Mr. Weston, as they were going in, "you need not point +out the servants to me. I will observe for myself, and I do not wish to be +conspicuous." + +There were a great many lounging about, and looking round there. Some were +considering the scene as merely curious; some were blaming the slaves; some +their masters, some the Abolitionists. There was confusion and constant +going in and out. But though the countenances of the runaways expressed +different emotions, it was evident that one feeling had settled in each +breast, and that was, there was no hope that any thing would occur to +relieve them from their undesirable position. + +Mr. Weston easily recognized Simon, from Bacchus's description. He had a +boyish expression of disappointment and irritation on his countenance, and +had evidently been recently weeping. There were several men, one or two of +them with bad faces, and one, a light mulatto, had a fine open countenance, +and appeared to be making an effort not to show his excessive +disappointment. In the corner sat the woman, on a low bench--her head was +bent forward on her lap, and she was swaying her body slightly, keeping +motion with her foot. + +"What is the woman's name, Bacchus?" asked Mr. Weston in a low tone. + +"I axed her dis mornin, sir. Its Sarah--Sarah Mills." + +Mr. Weston walked up nearer to her, and was regarding her, when she +suddenly looked up into his face. Finding herself observed, she made an +effort to look unconcerned, but it did not succeed, for she burst into +tears. + +"I'm sorry to see you here, Sarah," said Mr. Weston, "you look too +respectable to be in such a situation." Sarah smoothed down her apron, but +did not reply. "What induced you to run away? You need not be afraid to +answer me truthfully. I will not do you any harm." + +"My blessed grief!" said Bacchus. "No, master couldn't do no harm to a +flea." + +"Hush, Bacchus," said Mr. Weston. + +There was something in Mr. Weston's appearance that could not be mistaken. +The woman gave him a look of perfect confidence, and said-- + +"I thought I could better myself, sir." + +"In what respect? Had you an unkind master?" said Mr. Weston. + +"No," said the woman, "but my husband I was afear'd might be sold, and I +thought I could make so much money at the North, that I could soon help him +to buy himself. He's a barber, sir, lives on the Avenue, and his master, +when he was young, had him taught the barber's trade. Well, his master told +him some time ago that he might live to himself, and pay him so much a +month out o' what he made, but seemed as if he couldn't get along to do it. +My husband, sir, drinks a good deal, and he couldn't do it on that account; +so, a year or two ago his master sent for him, and told him that he was +worthless, and unless he could buy himself in three years he would sell +him. He said he might have himself for five hundred dollars, and he could +have earned it, if he hadn't loved whiskey so, but 'pears as if he can't do +without that. We aint got no children, thank God! so when the Abolitionists +advised me to go off, and told me they would take care of me until I got +out of my master's reach, and I could soon make a sight of money to buy my +husband, I thought I would go; and you see, sir, what's come of it." + +Sarah tried to assume the same look of unconcern, and again she wept +bitterly. + +"I don't mean to reproach you, now that you are in trouble," said Mr. +Weston, "but you colored people in this city have got into bad hands. God +has made you slaves, and you should be willing to abide by his will, +especially if he give you a good master." + +"Yes, sir, it was mighty hard though, to think of my poor husband's being +sold,--he and I don't belong to the same person." + +"So, I suppose," said Mr. Weston; "but you have only made your condition +worse." + +"Yes, sir; but I didn't think things would turn out so. The Abolitionists +said they would see that I got off free." + +"They ought to be cotched, and tied up, and have a good whaling besides," +said Bacchus, indignantly. + +"'Taint no use wishin 'em harm," said Sarah; "the Lord's will be done," at +the same time her pale lips quivered with emotion. + +Mr. Weston paused a few moments in deep thought, then went into the other +room. When he returned, she was sitting as when he first entered, her face +buried in her lap. + +"Sarah," he said, and she looked up as before, without any doubt, in his +open countenance, "are you a good worker?" + +"I am, at washin and ironin. I have been makin a good deal for my master +that way." + +"Well," said Mr. Weston, "if I were to purchase you, so as you could be +near your husband, would you conduct yourself properly; and if I wish it, +endeavor to repay me what I have given for you?" + +Such a thought had not entered the despairing woman's mind. She was +impressed with the idea that she should never see her husband again; other +things did not effect her. It was necessary, therefore, for Mr. Weston to +repeat what he had said before she comprehended his meaning. When she heard +and understood, every energy of her soul was aroused. Starting from her +seat, she clasped her hands convulsively together; her face became +deathlike with agitation. + +"Would I, sir? Oh! try me! Work! what is work if I could be near my poor +husband as long as I can. Buy me, sir, only for Jesus' sake, buy me. I will +work day and night to pay you, and the blessing of God Almighty will pay +you too, better than any money I could earn." + +Bacchus, the tears rolling down his cheeks, looked earnestly at his +master's face. + +"Buy her, master, buy her, for the love of God," he said. + +"Sarah," said Mr. Weston, "I do not like to be in a public place; do not, +therefore, become excited, and say any thing that will draw observation to +me. I have bought you, and I will not require you to repay me. Come to me +to-night, at Willard's, and I will give you your free papers; I will see +also what I can do for your husband. In the mean time, Bacchus will help +you take your things from this place. Stay here though a few moments, until +he gets me a carriage to go home in, and he will return to you." + +Sarah perfectly understood that Mr. Weston wanted no thanks at that time. +With streaming eyes, now raised to heaven--now to her benefactor, she held +her peace. Mr. Weston gladly left the dreadful place. Bacchus assisted him +to a hack, and then came back to fulfil his directions as regards the +woman. + +Oh! noble heart, not here thy reward! Thy weak and trembling frame attests +too well that the scene is too trying to afford thee pleasure. The +All-seeing Eye is bent upon thee, and thine own ear will hear the +commendation from the lips of Christ: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the +least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Nor thou alone! Many +a generous act is done by the slaveholder to the slave. God will remember +them, though here they be forgotten or unknown. + +We need not dwell on the unhoped-for meeting between Sarah and her husband, +nor on Bacchus's description of it to his master. It suffices to close the +relation of this incident by saying, that at night Sarah came to receive +directions from Mr. Weston; but in their place he gave her the necessary +free papers. "You are your own mistress, now, Sarah," said he. "I hope you +will prove yourself worthy to be so. You can assist your husband to pay for +himself. If you are honest and industrious, you cannot fail to do well." + +Sarah's heart overflowed with unlooked-for happiness. She thanked Mr. +Weston over and over again, until, fearing to be troublesome, she withdrew. +Bacchus went as far as the corner, and promised to look in upon herself and +husband, repeatedly; which he did. He impressed his new acquaintances with +a proper sense of his own importance. With the exception of one grand spree +that he and Sarah's husband had together, the three enjoyed a very pleasant +and harmonious intercourse during the remainder of the Westons' stay at +Washington. + + * * * * * + +The gay winter had passed, and spring had replaced it; but night after +night saw the votaries of fashion assembled, though many of them looked +rather the worse for wear. Ellen and Alice tired of scenes which varied so +little, yet having no regular employment, they hardly knew how to cease the +round of amusements that occupied them. Ellen said, "Never mind, Alice, we +will have plenty of time for repentance, and we might as well quaff to the +last drop the cup of pleasure, which may never be offered to our lips +again." Very soon they were to return to Virginia, and now they proposed +visiting places of interest in the neighborhood of the city. + +One morning, after a gay party, and at a later hour than usual, the three +ladies entered the breakfast-room. Mr. Weston was waiting for them. "Well, +young ladies," he said, "I have read my paper, and now I am ready to hear +you give an account of your last evening's triumphs. The winter's campaign +is closing; every little skirmish is then of the greatest importance. How +do you all feel?" + +"I do not know how I feel, uncle," said Alice, languidly. + +"Alice has expressed my feelings exactly, and Mrs. Weston's too, I fancy," +said Ellen. + +Mr. Weston smiled, but said he should not excuse them from their promise of +giving him a faithful description of the scene. + +"Well, my dear sir," said Ellen, "I have a decided talent for description; +but remember, Mrs. Weston, my genius must not be cramped. Do not break the +thread of my discourse by 'Ellen, do not talk so!' A Washington party is +what you have called it, Mr. Weston, a skirmish. You remember how the wind +blew last night. When we reached Mr. ----'s front door, the people had +collected in such crowds in the hall, to get a little air, that it was +fully ten minutes before we could get in. We had the benefit of a strong +harsh breeze playing about our undefended necks and shoulders. As soon as +we were fairly in, though, we were recompensed for our sufferings in this +respect. We went from the arctic to the torrid zone; it was like an August +day at two o'clock. + +"We tried to make our way to the lady of the house, but understood, after a +long search, that she had been pushed by the crowd to the third story; and +being a very fat person, was seen, at the last accounts, seated in a +rocking-chair, fanning herself violently, and calling in vain for +ice-cream. After a while we reached the dancing-room, where, in a very +confined circle, a number were waltzing and Polka-ing. As this is a +forbidden dance to Alice and me, we had a fine opportunity of taking notes. +Mrs. S. was making a great exhibition of herself; she puffed and blew as if +she had the asthma; her ringlets streamed, and her flounces flew. I was +immensely anxious for the little lieutenant her partner. He was invisible +several times; lost in the ringlets and the flounces. There were people of +all sizes and ages dancing for a wager. I thought of what our good bishop +once said: 'It was very pretty to see the young lambs gambolling about; +but when the old sheep began to caper too, he'd rather not look on.' There +was poor old Mr. K., with his red face and his white hair, and his heels +flying in every direction. (I am ashamed of you for laughing at Mr. K., +Mrs. Weston, when I am trying to impress upon Alice's mind the folly of +such a scene.) I dare say Mr. K.'s wife was at that very moment, five +hundred miles off, darning her children's stockings. + +"All the people did not dance the Polka," continued Ellen; "and I was +dazzled with the pretty faces, and the wise-looking heads. Mr. Webster was +there, with his deep voice, and solemn brow, and cavernous eyes; and close +up to him, where she could not move or breathe, there was a young face, +beautiful and innocent as a cherub's, looking with unfeigned astonishment +upon the scene. There was Gen. Scott, towering above everybody; and Mr. +Douglass, edging his way, looking kindly and pleasantly at every one. There +were artists and courtiers; soldiers and sailors; foolish men, beautiful +women, and sensible women; though I do not know what they wanted there. +There were specimens of every kind in this menagerie of men and women. Dear +Mr. Weston, I have not quite done. There was a lady writer, with a faded +pink scarf, and some old artificial flowers in her hair. There was _a she +Abolitionist too_; yes, a genuine female Abolitionist. She writes for the +Abolition papers. She considers Southerners heathens; looks pityingly at +the waiters as they hand her ice-cream. She wants Frederick Douglass to be +the next President, and advocates amalgamation. I am quite out of breath; +but I must tell you that I looked at her and thought Uncle Bacchus would +just suit her, with his airs and graces; but I do not think she is stylish +enough for him." + +"But, my dear," said Mrs. Weston, "you forget Bacchus has a wife and twelve +children." + +"That is not of the least consequence, my dear madam," said Ellen; "I can +imagine, when a woman approves of amalgamation, she is so lost to every +sense of propriety that it makes no difference to her whether a man is +married or not. Now, Alice, I resign my post; and if you have any thing to +say I will give you the chair, while I run up to my room and write aunt a +good long letter." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + + +"The afternoon is so delightful," said Mr. Weston, "that we had better take +our ride to the Congress burial ground. Your time is short, young ladies; +you cannot afford to lose any of it, if all your plans are to be carried +out." + +The ladies gladly agreed to go, and were not long in their preparation. +Mark was a perfect prince of a driver. When the ladies had occasion to go +into the country, he entreated them to hire a carriage, but he was always +ready to display his handsome equipage and horses in the city, especially +on the Avenue. + +He drove slowly this afternoon, and Mrs. Weston remembered, as she +approached Harper's, that she had one or two purchases to make. Fearing it +might be late on their return, she proposed getting out for a few moments. + +A stream of gayly-dressed people crowded the pavements. The exquisite +weather had drawn them out. Belles with their ringlets and sun-shades, and +beaux with canes and curled moustaches. Irish women in tawdry finery, and +_ladies_ of color with every variety of ornament, and ridiculous imitation +of fashion. Now and then a respectable-looking negro would pass, turning +out of the way, instead of jostling along. + +"Truly," said Mr. Weston, "Pennsylvania Avenue is the great bazaar of +America. Here are senators and members--three and four walking arm in arm. +Here are gay young men, dressed in the latest style; here is the army and +navy button; old people and young children with their nurses; foreigners +and natives; people of every shade and hue. There is our President, walking +unattended, as a republican president should walk. And see! there are a +number of Indians, noble-looking men, and a white boy throwing a stone at +them. I wish I had the young rascal. On our right, in their carriages, are +the wives and children of the rich; while, scattered about, right and left, +are the representatives of the poor. But what is this, coming along the +side-walk?" + +The girls put their heads out of the window, and saw a colored man, +sauntering along in an impudent, dont-carish manner. His dress--indeed his +whole appearance--was absurd. He wore a stylish, shiny black hat; the rim +slightly turned up in front, following the direction of the wearer's nose, +which had "set its affections on things above." His whiskers were immense; +so were his moustaches, and that other hairy trimming which it is the +fashion to wear about the jaws and chin; and for which I know no better +name than that which the children give--goatee; a tremendous shirt collar; +brass studs in his bosom; a neck handkerchief of many colors, the ends of +which stood out like the extended wings of a butterfly; a gorgeous watch +chain; white kid gloves; pantaloons of a large-sized plaid, and fitting so +very tightly that it was with the greatest difficulty he could put out his +feet; patent leather gaiter-boots, and a cane that he flourished right and +left with such determined strokes, that the children kept carefully out of +his way. Several persons looked back to wonder and laugh at this strange +figure, the drollery of which was greatly enhanced by his limber style of +walking, and a certain expression of the whole outer man, which said, "Who +says I am not as good as anybody on this avenue; Mr. Fillmore, or any one +else?" + +Now it happened, that walking from the other direction toward this +representative of the much-injured colored race, was a stranger, who had +come to Washington to look about him. He was from Philadelphia, but not +thinking a great deal of what he saw in our capital on a former visit, he +had quite made up his mind that there was nothing to make it worth his +while to come again; but hearing of the convalescing turn the city had +taken since the immortal supporters of the Compromise and the Fugitive +Slave law had brought comparative harmony and peace, where there had been +nought but disorder and confusion, he suddenly fancied to come and see for +himself. He was not an Abolitionist, nor a Secessionist, nor one of those +unfortunate, restless people, who are forever stirring up old difficulties. +He had an idea that the Union ought to be preserved in the first place; and +then, whatever else could be done to advance the interests of the human +race in general, without injury to our national interests, should be +attended to. He was always a good-tempered man, and was particularly +pleasant this afternoon, having on an entire new suit of clothes, each +article, even the shirt-collar, fitting in the most faultless manner. + +As he walked along, he noticed the colored man advancing towards him, and +observed, too, what I forgot to mention, that he held a cigar, and every +now and then put it to his mouth, emitting afterwards a perfect cloud of +smoke. + +The thought occurred to him that the man did not intend to turn out of the +way for anybody, and as they were in a line, he determined not to deviate +one way or the other, but just observe what this favorite of fashion would +do. They walked on, and in a minute came up to each other, the colored man +not giving way in the least, but bumping, hat, goatee, cane, cigar, and +all, against our Philadelphian, who, with the greatest coolness and +presence of mind, doubled up his fist and giving the colored Adonis two +blows with it, (precisely on the middle brass stud which confined his +frilled shirt-bosom,) laid him full length upon the pavement. + +"Now," said the Philadelphian, "you've had a lesson; the next time you see +a gentleman coming along, turn out of the way for him, and you'll save your +new clothes." Without another glance at the discomfited beau, who was +brushing his plaid pantaloons with his pocket-handkerchief, and muttering +some equivocal language that would not do here, he went on his way to see +the improvements about the City Hall. + +Mark's low laugh was heard from the driver's seat, and Bacchus, who was +waiting to open the carriage door for Mr. Weston, stood on the first step, +and touching his hat, said, with a broad grin, "Dat's de best thing we've +seen sence we come to Washington. Dat beats Ole Virginny." + +Mrs. Weston came from the store at the same moment, and Bacchus gallantly +let down the steps, and, after securing the door, took his place beside +Mark, with the agility of a boy of sixteen. + +Mr. Weston, much amused, described the scene. Mrs. Weston declared "it +served him right; for that the negroes were getting intolerable." + +"I can hardly believe," she said, "the change that has been made in their +appearance and conduct. They think, to obtain respect they must be +impertinent. This is the effect of Abolition." + +"Yes," said Mr. Weston, "this is Abolition. I have thought a great deal on +the condition of the negroes in our country, of late. I would like to see +every man and woman that God has made, free, could it be accomplished to +their advantage. I see the evils of slavery, it is sometimes a curse on the +master as well as the slave. + +"When I purchased Sarah; when I saw those grieving, throbbing souls, my +own was overwhelmed with sympathy for them. This is slavery, I said to +myself. Poor creatures, though you have done wrong, how severe your +punishment; to be separated from all that your life has had to make it +pleasant, or even tolerable. This is slavery indeed, and where is the man, +come from God, who will show us a remedy? I look at the free blacks of the +North and South. I say again, this is Abolition! How worthless, how +degraded they are, after they imbibe these ridiculous notions. When I +behold the Southern country, and am convinced that it is _impossible_ to +manumit the slaves, I conclude that here, at least, they are in their +natural condition. Heretofore, I feel that I have only done my duty in +retaining mine, while I give them every means of comfort, and innocent +enjoyment, that is in my power. Now I have seen the result of the Abolition +efforts, I am _more_ convinced that my duty has been, and will be, as I +have said. Could they be colonized from Virginia, I would willingly consent +to it, as in our climate, white labor would answer; but _farther_ South, +_only the negro_ can labor, and this is an unanswerable objection to our +Southern States becoming free. Those servants that are free, the benevolent +and generous Abolitionists ought to take North, build them colleges, and +make good to them all the promises they held out as baits to allure them +from their owners and their duties." + +Mr. Weston found he had not two very attentive listeners in the young +ladies, for they were returning the many salutations they received, and +making remarks on their numerous acquaintances. The carriage began slowly +to ascend Capitol Hill, and they all remarked the beautiful prospect, to +which Washingtonians are so much accustomed that they are too apt not to +notice it. Their ride was delightful. It was one of those lovely spring +days when the air is still fresh and balmy, and the promise of a summer's +sun lights up nature so joyfully. + +There were many visitors at the burial-ground, and there had been several +funerals that day. A woman stood at the door of the house, at the entrance +of the cemetery, with a baby in her arms; and another child of two years +old was playing around a large bier, that had been left there until it +should be wanted again. + +Mrs. Weston met with an acquaintance, soon after they entered the ground, +and they stopped to converse, while Mr. Weston and the younger ladies +walked on. Near a large vault they stopped a moment, surprised to see two +or three little boys playing at marbles. They were ruddy, healthy-looking +boys, marking out places in the gravel path for the game; shooting, +laughing, and winning, and so much occupied that if death himself had come +along on his pale horse, they would have asked him to wait a while till +they could let him pass, if indeed they had seen him at all. Mr. Weston +tried to address them several times, but they could not attend to him until +the game was completed, when one of them sprang upon the vault and began to +count over his marbles, and the others sat down on a low monument to rest. + +"Boys," said Mr. Weston, "I am very sorry to see you playing marbles in a +burial-ground. Don't you see all these graves around you?" + +"We don't go on the dead people," said an honest-faced little fellow. "You +see the grass is wet there; we play here in the walk, where its nice and +dry." + +"But you ought to play outside," said Mr. Weston. "This is too sacred a +place to be made the scene of your amusements." + +"We don't hurt any body," said the largest boy. "When people are dead they +don't hear nothin; where's the harm?" + +"Well," said Mr. Weston, "there's one thing certain, none of you have any +friends buried here. If you had, you would not treat them so unkindly." + +"My mother is buried over yonder," said the boy on the vault; "and if I +thought there was any thing unkind in it, I would never come here to play +again." + +"You are a good boy," said Mr. Weston. "I hope you will keep your word. If +you were buried there, I am sure your mother would be very sad and quiet by +your grave." + +The boy drew the string to his bag, and walked off without looking back. + +"I wish," said Mr. Weston, "you would all follow his example. We should +always be respectful in our conduct, when we are in a burial-ground." + +As soon as they were gone, the boys laughed and marked out another game. + +Mrs. Weston joined her party, and they went towards the new portion of the +cemetery that is so beautifully situated, near the river. + +"I think," said Mr. Weston, "this scene should remind us of our +conversation this morning. If Washington be the meeting-place of all +living, it is the grand cemetery of the dead. Look around us here! We see +monuments to Senators and Members; graves of foreigners and strangers; +names of the great, the rich, the powerful, men of genius and ambition. +Strewed along are the poor, the lowly, the unlearned, the infant, and the +little child. + +"Read the inscriptions--death has come at last, watched and waited for; or +he has come suddenly, unexpected, and undesired. There lies an author, a +bride, a statesman, side by side. A little farther off is that simple, but +beautiful monument." + +They approached, and Alice read the line that was inscribed around a cross +sculptured in it, "Other refuge have I none!" Underneath was her name, +"Angeline." + +"How beautiful, how much more so in its simplicity than if it had been +ornamented, and a labored epitaph written upon it," said Mr. Weston. "Here +too are members of families, assembled in one great family. As we walk +along, we pass mothers, and husbands, and children; but in life, they who +lie here together, were possibly all strangers." + +"What is that large vault open to-day for?" said Ellen, to a man who seemed +to have some charge in the place. + +"That is the public receptacle," said the man. "We are obliged to air it +very often, else we could never go in and out with the coffins we put +there. There's a good many in there now." + +"Who is there?" said Mr. Weston. + +"Well," said the man, "Mrs. Madison is there, for one, and there are some +other people, who are going to be moved soon. Mrs. Madison, she's going to +be moved, too, some time or another, but I don't know when." + +Ellen stooped down and looked in, but arose quickly and turned away. Two +gentlemen were standing near observing her, and one of them smiled as she +stepped back from the vault. Mr. Weston knew this person by sight; he was a +clergyman of great talent, and almost equal eccentricity, and often gave +offence by harshness of manner, when he was only anxious to do good to the +cause in which his heart was absorbed. + +"Ah! young ladies," he said, looking kindly at them both, "this is a good +place for you to come to. You are both beautiful, and it may be wealthy; +and I doubt not, in the enjoyments of the passing season, you have +forgotten all about death and the grave. But, look you! in there, lies the +mortal remains of Mrs. Madison. What an influence she had in this gay +society, which you have doubtless adorned. Her presence was the guarantee +of propriety, as well as of social and fashionable enjoyment; the very +contrast that she presented to her husband made her more charming. Always +anxious to please, she was constantly making others happy. She gave +assistance and encouragement to all, when it was in her power. She had more +political influence than any woman in our country has had, before or since. +But think of her now! You could not bear to approach the coffin that +contains her remains. Where is her beauty--and her grace and talent? Ah! +young ladies," he continued, "did she rightly use those talents?" + +"It is hardly a fair question to ask now," said Mr. Weston. "Let us tread +lightly o'er the ashes of the dead." + +"Let the living learn a lesson from the dead," said the clergyman, sternly. +"You are leading, it may be, a heartless life of pleasure, but, young +ladies, forget not this grave. She could not escape it, nor will you. Pause +from your balls, and your theatres, and your gay doings, and ask, what is +the end of it all. Trifle not with the inestimable gift of life. Be not +dead while you live. Anticipate not the great destroyer. Hear the appeal of +one who was once the idol of every heart; she speaks to you from the grave, +'Even as I am, shalt thou be!'" + +He turned from them, and wandered over the ground. Mr. Weston led the way +to the carriage, and Ellen and Alice thought, that if a lesson of life was +to be learned in the gay ball of the night before, a still more necessary +one was found in the cemetery which they were now leaving, as the shadows +of the evening were on the simple monument and the sculptured slab, and +their silent tenants slept on, undisturbed by the gambols of thoughtless +children, or the conversation of the many who came to visit their abode. + + * * * * * + +The next morning, Bacchus brought no letter for Mr. Weston, but one for +each lady; for Ellen from her aunt, for Alice from Arthur, and Cousin +Janet's handwriting was easily recognized on the outside of Mrs. Weston's. +Hardly had the girls arisen from the table to take theirs' to their rooms +for a quiet perusal, when an exclamation from Mrs. Weston, detained them. + +"Is anything the matter at home, Anna?" said Mr. Weston, "Is Cousin +Janet--?" + +"Cousin Janet is well, my dear brother," said Mrs. Weston. "I was very +thoughtless, but our dear neighbor, Mrs. Kent, is no more." + +"Can it be possible?" said Mr. Weston, much agitated. "Read the letter +aloud." + +Mrs. Weston, turned to the beginning, and read aloud, + + "MY DEAR ANNA: + + "The time is near which will bring you all in health and + happiness, I trust, to your home; and could you see how lovely it + looks, I think you would be tempted to fix upon an earlier day. + You see how selfish I am, but I confess that I quite count the + days, as a child does to Christmas, and am ashamed of my + impatience. + + "Throughout the winter I had no care. My kind friends did all the + housekeeping, and the servants in the house, and on the + plantation, were so faithful, that I feel indebted to all who have + made my time so easy; and your absence has not, I am sure, been + attended with any ill effects, without you find me a little cross + and complaining, and Mr. Barbour out of his senses with joy, on + your return. Good Mr. Barbour! he has superintended and encouraged + the servants, and visited us forlorn ladies frequently, so that he + must come in for a portion of our thanks too. + + "You will perhaps think I ought only to write you cheerful news, + but it is best to let you know as well as I can, the condition + that you will find us in, on your return. Phillis is the only one + of us, whose concerns are of any immediate importance, but I am + sorry to have to tell you that she is now seriously indisposed. + Her cough has never really yielded--her other symptoms have + varied; but for the last few weeks, her disease has not only + progressed, but assumed a certain form. She is in consumption, and + has no doubt inherited the disease from her mother. + + "I have, throughout the winter, felt great anxiety about her, and + have not permitted her to work, though sometimes I found it hard + to prevent her. Her children have been constantly with her; + indeed, I have passed a great deal of my own time in her cabin, + which, under Martha's superintendence, is so neat and comfortable. + + "You will all perhaps blame me that I have not been thus plain + with you before, but Dr. Lawton said it was not necessary, as she + has never been in any immediate danger, and Phillis would not + consent to my doing so. She wanted you to enjoy yourselves, and + Alice to have a good chance to regain her health. 'No doubt, Miss + Janet,' she said, 'the Lord will spare me to see them yet, and I + have every thing I want now--they couldn't stop my pains any more + than you, and I feel that I am in the Lord's hands, and I am + content to be.' She has not been confined to her bed, but is fast + losing strength, though from my window now I see her tying up her + roses, that are beginning to bud. Some other hand than hers will + care for them when another Spring shall come. + + "Her nights are very restless, and she is much exhausted from + constant spitting of blood; the last week of pleasant weather has + been of service to her, and the prospect of seeing you all at home + gives her the most unfeigned pleasure. + + "I have even more painful intelligence to give you. Our young + neighbor, Mrs. Kent, has done with all her trials, and I trust + they sanctified her, in preparation for the early and unexpected + death which has been her lot. You are not yet aware of the extent + of her trials. A fortnight ago her little boy was attacked with + scarlet fever, in its most violent form. From the first moment of + his illness his case was hopeless, and he only suffered + twenty-four hours. I went over as soon as I heard of his death; + the poor mother's condition was really pitiable. She was helpless + in her sorrow, which was so unexpected as to deprive her at first + of the power of reason. The Good Shepherd though, had not + forgotten her--he told her that he had taken her little lamb, and + had gently folded it in his bosom, and that he would wander with + it in the lovely pastures of Paradise. She was soon perfectly + reconciled to the sad dispensation; sad indeed, for the child was + her only earthly solace. Victim of an unhappy marriage, the dear + engaging little boy was a great consolation to her, and his + amusement and instruction occupied her mind, and passed away + happily many a weary hour. + + "She insisted upon attending the funeral, and I accompanied her. + Mr. Kent was with her, too, much distressed, for this hard man + loved his child, and keenly felt his loss. + + "She got out of the carriage to hear the funeral service read, and + was calm until they took up the coffin to lower it into the grave. + Then it was impossible to control her. Placing her arms upon it, + she looked around appealingly to the men; and so affected were + they, that they turned from her to wipe away their own tears. Her + strength gave way under the excitement, and she was carried, + insensible, to the carriage, and taken home. + + "I found her very feverish, and did not like to leave her, + thinking it probable that she might also have the disease which + had carried off her child. Before night she became really ill, and + Dr. Lawton pronounced her complaint scarlet fever. The disease was + fearfully rapid, and soon ended her life. She was, I think, well + prepared to go. Her solemn and affectionate farewell to her + husband cannot fail to make an impression upon him. + + "I shall have a great deal to tell you of her when you return. The + past winter has been a sad one; a constant coolness existing + between her and her husband. A short time ago he was brutally + striking that faithful old man of her father's, Robert, and Mrs. + Kent interfered, insisting upon Robert's returning to his cabin, + and in his presence forbidding Mr. Kent again to raise his hand + against one servant on the plantation; Mr. Carter's will, + allowing Mr. Kent no authority over his servants, and commending + them to his daughter's kindness and care, showed great + discrimination of character. This, though, has been a constant + source of irritation to Mr. Kent, and he has never been kind to + the people. Mrs. Kent, usually so timid, was roused into anger by + his treatment of Robert, and interfered, as I have related to you. + She told me of this, and said how unhappy it had made her, though + she could not blame herself. Since then there has only been a + formal politeness between them; Mr. Kent not forgiving his wife + for the part she took against him. Poor little woman! Robert had + been her father's faithful nurse in his long illness, and I do not + wonder at her feelings on seeing him struck. + + "Yesterday the will was read, and Dr. Lawton, who was present, + informed us of the result. Mrs. Kent has left most of her property + to her husband, but her servants free! The plantation is to be + sold, and the proceeds expended in preparing those who are willing + to go to Liberia, or where they choose; as they cannot, + manumitted, remain in Virginia. The older servants, who prefer + staying in Virginia as they are, she has left to you, with an + allowance for their support, considering you as a kind of + guardian; for in no other way could she have provided for their + staying here, which they will like better. + + "Who would have thought she could have made so wise a will? + + "Dr. Lawton says that Mr. Kent showed extreme anger on hearing it + read. He intends returning to the North, and his $30,000 will be a + clear gain, for I am told he had not a cent when he married her. + + "Write me when you have fixed the time for your return, and + believe me, with love to all, + + "Your affectionate relative, + JANET WILMER." + +Bacchus entered in time to hear the latter part of this letter. He had his +master's boots in his hands. When Mrs. Weston stopped reading, he said, +"That's good; bound for Mister Kent. I'm glad he's gwine, like Judas, to +his own place." + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + + +The carriage was slowly ascending the road to the old church, a familiar +and dear object to each member of the Weston family. A village churchyard +fills up so gradually, that one is not startled with a sudden change. Mr. +Weston looked from the window at the ivy, and the gothic windows, and the +family vault, where many of his name reposed. + +The inmates of the carriage had been conversing cheerfully, but as they +approached the point where they would see home, each one was occupied with +his or her musings. Occasionally, a pleasant word was exchanged, on the +appearance of the well-known neighborhood, the balmy air, and the many +shades of green that the trees presented; some of them loaded with white +and pink blossoms, promising still better things when the season should +advance. + +Alice leaned from the window, watching for the first glimpse of the +well-remembered house. She greeted every tree they passed with a lively +look, and smiled gaily as the porter's lodge presented itself. The gates of +it flew open as the carriage approached, and Exeter in its beauty met their +view. "Oh, uncle," she said, turning from the window, "look! look! Is there +any place in the world like this?" + +"No, indeed, Alice;" and he took a survey of the home which had been so +blessed to him. "How beautiful every thing looks! and how we will enjoy it, +after a crowded, noisy hotel. Anna, you are not sorry to see its familiar +face again. Ellen, my darling, we have not forgotten you--Exeter is your +home, too; you are as welcome as any of us. Why, you look sober; not +regretting Washington already?" + +"No sir," said Ellen, "I was thinking of other things." + +"Well," said Mrs. Weston, "we must look very happy this evening. I wonder, +Ellen, Mr. Barbour has not met us." + +"I suppose," said Alice, laughing, "he is too much agitated at the thought +of meeting Ellen again--he will be over this evening, I dare say." + +"I am sorry I can't keep my word with Mr. Barbour," said Ellen, "but I have +concluded to marry Abel Johnson, on Arthur's recommendation, and I ought +not to give good Mr. Barbour any false expectations." + +"You must know, dear uncle," said Alice, "that Ellen and Arthur have been +carrying on a postscript correspondence in my letters, and Arthur has +turned matchmaker, and has been recommending Abel Johnson to Ellen. They +have fallen in love with each other, without having met, and that was the +reason Ellen was so hard-hearted last winter." + +"Ah! that is the reason. But you must take care of these Yankee husbands, +Miss Ellen, if Mr. Kent be a specimen," said Mrs. Weston. + +"I am quite sure," said Alice, "Arthur would not have such a friend." + +Mr. Weston smiled, and looked out again at home. They were rapidly +approaching the gates, and a crowd of little darkies were holding them open +on each side. "I wish Arthur were here," said he. "How long he has been +away! I associate him with every object about the place." + +Alice did not answer; Arthur was in her thoughts. This was his home, every +object with which she was surrounded breathed of him. She had thought of it +as her home, but she had no right here--she was really only a guest. The +thought was new and painful to her. Could the whole of her past existence +have been dreamed away?--had she indeed no claim to the place she loved +best on earth--was she dependant on the will of others for all the gay and +joyous emotions that a few moments before filled her breast? She thought +again of Arthur, of his handsome appearance, his good and generous heart, +his talents, and his unchanging love to her--of Walter, and of all with +which he had had to contend in the springtime of his life. Of his faults, +his sin, and his banishment; of his love to her, too, and the delusion +under which she had labored, of her returning it. Arthur would, ere long, +know it all, and though he might forgive, her proud spirit rebelled at the +idea that he would also blame. + +She looked at her uncle, whose happy face was fixed on the home of his +youth and his old age--a sense of his protecting care and affection came +over her. What might the short summer bring? His displeasure, too--then +there would be no more for her, but to leave Exeter with all its happiness. + +Poor child! for, at nearly nineteen, Alice was only a child. The +possibility overpowered her, she leant against her uncle's bosom, and wept +suddenly and violently. + +"Alice, what is the matter?" said her mother. "Are you ill?" + +"What _is_ the matter?" said her uncle, putting his arm around her, and +looking alarmed. + +"Nothing at all," said Alice, trying to control herself. "I was only +thinking of all your goodness to me, and how I love you." + +"Is that all," said Mr. Weston, pressing her more closely to his bosom. +"Why, the sight of home has turned your little head. Come, dry up your +tears, for my old eyes can distinguish the hall door, and the servants +about the house collecting to meet us." + +"I can see dear Cousin Janet, standing within--how happy she will be," said +Mrs. Weston. + +"Well," said Ellen, "I hope Abel will make a fuss over me, for nobody else +ever has." + +"If you are to be married," said Alice, smiling through her tears, "you +must have his name changed, or always call him Mr. Johnson." + +"Never," said Ellen. "I have a perfect passion for the name of Abel. There +was a picture in my room of Abel lying down, and Cain standing, holding the +club over him. Whenever I got into a passion when I was a child, mammy used +to take me to the picture and say, 'Look there, honey, if you don't learn +how to get the better of your temper, one of these days you will get in a +passion like Cain and kill somebody. Just look at him, how ugly he +is--because he's in such a rage.' But I always looked at Abel, who was so +much prettier. I have no doubt Abel Johnson looks just as he does in the +picture." + +They were about to pass through the gates leading to the grounds; some of +the servants approached the carriage, and respectfully bowing, said, +'Welcome home, master,' but passed on without waiting to have the +salutation returned. Mrs. Weston guessed the cause of there not being a +general outbreak on the occasion of their return. Miss Janet had spoken to +a number of the servants, telling them how unable Mr. Weston was to bear +any excitement, and that he would take the earliest opportunity of seeing +them all at their cabins. As he was much attached to them and might feel a +good deal at the meeting after so long a separation, it would be better not +to give him a noisy welcome. + +She had, however, excepted the children in this prohibition, for Miss Janet +had one excellent principle in the management of children, she never +forbade them doing what she knew they could not help doing. Thus, as the +carriage passed the lodge, a noisy group of small-sized darkies were making +a public demonstration. "Massa's come home," says one. "I sees Miss Alice," +says another. "I sees Miss Anna, too," said a third, though, as yet, not a +face was visible to one of them. They put their heads out of the carriage, +notwithstanding, to speak to them, and Alice emptied a good-sized basket of +sugar-plums, which she had bought for the purpose, over their heads. + +"Take care, Mark," said Mr. Weston, "don't cut about with that whip, while +all these children are so near." + +"If I didn't, sir," said Mark, "some of 'em would a been scrunched under +the carriage wheels 'fore now. These little niggers," he muttered between +his teeth, "they're always in the way. I wish some of 'em would get run +over." Mark's wife was not a very amiable character, and she had never had +any children. + +"Hurrah! daddy, is that you?" said an unmistakeable voice proceeding from +the lungs of Bacchus the younger. "I been dansin juba dis hole blessed +day--I so glad you come. Ask mammy if I aint?" + +"How is your mother, Bacchus?" said Mr. Weston, looking out the window. + +"Mammy, she's well," said the young gentleman; "how's you, master?" + +"Very well, I thank you, sir," said Mr. Weston. "Go down there and help +pick up the sugar-plums." + +Bacchus the elder, now slid down from the seat by Mark, and took a short +cut over to his cabin. + +"Poor Aunt Phillis!" said Mrs. Weston, looking after him, "I hope she will +get well." + +"Ah!" said Mr. Weston, "I had forgotten Phillis on this happy day. There is +something, you see, Anna, to make us sigh, even in our happiest moments. + +"But you shall not sigh, dearest uncle," said Alice, kissing his hand, "for +Aunt Phillis will get well now that we are all back. Oh, there is Cousin +Janet, and little Lydia--I wish the carriage would stop." + +"You are the most perfect child I ever saw, Alice," said Mrs. Weston. "I +think you are out of your senses at the idea of getting home." + +The carriage wheeled round, and William let down the steps, with a face +bright as a sunflower. Miss Janet stood at the top of the portico steps, in +her dove-colored gown, and her three-cornered handkerchief, with open arms. +Alice bounded like a deer, and was clasped within them. Then Mrs. Weston, +then Ellen; and afterwards, the aged relatives warmly embraced each other. +Little Lydia was not forgotten, they all shook hands with her, but Alice, +who stooped to kiss her smooth, black cheek. William was then regularly +shaken hands with, and the family entered the large, airy hall, and were +indeed at home. + +Here were collected all the servants employed about the house, each in a +Sunday dress, each greeted with a kind word. Alice shook hands with them +two or three times over, then pointing to the family pictures, which were +arranged along the hall, "Look at them, uncle," said she; "did you ever see +them so smiling before?" + +They went to the drawing-room, all but Alice, who flew off in another +direction. + +"She is gone to see Phillis," said Mr. Weston, gazing after her. "Well, I +will rest a few moments, and then go too." + +Never did mother hold to her heart a child dearer to her, than Phillis, +when she pressed Alice to her bosom. Alice had almost lived with her, when +she, and Walter, and Arthur were children. Mrs. Weston knew that she could +not be in better hands than under the care of so faithful and respectable a +servant. Phillis had a large, old clothes' basket, where she kept the toys, +all the little plates and cups with which they played dinner-party, the +dolls without noses, and the trumpets that would not blow. Her children +were not allowed to touch them when the owners were not there, but they +took a conspicuous part in the play, being the waiters and ladies' maids +and coach-drivers of the little gentlemen and Alice. After Walter and +Arthur went away, Alice was still a great deal with Phillis, and she, +regarding her as Arthur's future wife, loved her for him as well as for +herself. Alice loved Phillis, too, and all her children, and they +considered her as a little above mortality. Bacchus used to insist, when +she was a child, that she never would live, she was _too good_. When, +during her severe illness, Phillis would go to her cabin to look around, +Bacchus would greet her with a very long face, and say, "I told you so. I +know'd Miss Alice would be took from us all." Since her recovery, he had +stopped prophesying about her. + +"Aunt Phillis," said Alice, "you don't look very sick. I reckon you _will_ +work when you ought not. Now I intend to watch you, and make you mind, so +that you will soon be well." + +"I am a great deal better than I was, Miss Alice, but there's no knowing; +howsomever, I thank the Lord that he has spared me to see you once more. I +want to give Master time to talk to Miss Janet a little while, then I am +going in to see him and Miss Anna." + +"Oh! come now," said Alice, "or he will be over here." + +Phillis got up, and walked slowly to the house, Alice at her side, and +Bacchus stumping after her. As they went in, Alice tripped on first, and +opened the drawing-room door, making way for Phillis, who looked with a +happy expression of face towards her master. + +"Is this you, Phillis?" said Mr. Weston, coming forward, and taking her +hand most kindly. Mrs. Weston and Ellen got up to shake hands with her, +too. "I am very glad to find you so much better than I expected," continued +Mr. Weston; "you are thin, but your countenance is good. I hope you will +get perfectly well, now that we are going to have summer weather." + +"Thank you, sir," said Phillis. "I am a great deal better. Thank God, you +all look so well, Miss Anna and all. Miss Janet began to be mighty +lonesome. I've been a great trouble to her." + +"No, you have not," said Miss Janet; "you never were a trouble to any one." + +"Master," said Bacchus, "I think the old ooman looks right well. She aint +nigh so bad as we all thought. I reckon she couldn't stand my bein away so +long; she hadn't nobody to trouble her." + +"You will never give her any more trouble," said Alice. "Aunt Phillis, you +don't know how steady Uncle Bacchus has been; he is getting quite a +temperance man." + +"Old Nick got the better of me twice, though," said Bacchus. "I did think, +master, of tryin to make Phillis b'lieve I hadn't drank nothin dis winter; +but she'd sure to find me out. There's somefin in her goes agin a lie." + +"But that was doing very well," said Alice; "don't you think so, Aunt +Phillis? Only twice all through the winter." + +"Its an improvement, honey," said Phillis; "but what's the use of getting +drunk at all? When we are thirsty water is better than any thing else; and +when we aint thirsty, what's the use of drinking?" + +Phillis had been sitting in an arm-chair, that Mrs. Weston had placed for +her. When she first came in, her face was a little flushed from pleasure, +and the glow might have been mistaken as an indication of health. The +emotion passed, Mrs. Weston perceived there was a great change in her. She +was excessively emaciated; her cheek-bones prominent, her eyes large and +bright. The whiteness of her teeth struck them all. These symptoms, and the +difficulty with which she breathed, were tokens of her disease. She became +much fatigued and Miss Janet advised her to go home and lie down. "They +shan't tell you of their grand doings to-night, Phillis," she said; "for +you have been excited, and must keep quiet. In the morning you will be able +to listen to them. Don't tell any long stories, Bacchus," she continued. +"Dr. Lawton wants her to keep from any excitement at night, for fear she +should not sleep well after it. All you travelers had better go to bed +early, and wake up bright in the morning." + +Alice went home with Phillis, and came back to welcome Mr. Barbour, who had +just arrived. The happy evening glided away; home was delightful to the +returned family. + +Bacchus gave glowing descriptions of scenes, in which he figured largely, +to the servants; and Bacchus the younger devoutly believed there had not +been so distinguished a visitor to the metropolis that winter, as his +respected father. + +Dr. Lawton came regularly to see Phillis, who frequently rallied. Her +cheerfulness made her appear stronger than she was; but when Alice would +tell her how well she looked, and that the sight of Arthur would complete +her recovery, she invariably answered, "I want to see him mightily, child; +but about my gettin well, there's no telling. God only knows." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + + +"Do sit down, my dear cousin," said Miss Janet to Mr. Weston, who was +walking up and down the drawing-room. "Here, in August, instead of being +quiet and trying to keep cool, you are fussing about, and heating yourself +so uselessly." + +"I will try," said Mr. Weston, smiling, and seating himself on the sofa; +but you must recollect that for three years I have not seen my only son, +and that now he is coming home to stay. I cannot realize it; it is too much +happiness. We are so blessed, Cousin Janet, we have so much of this world's +good, I sometimes tremble lest God should intend me to have my portion +here." + +"It is very wrong to feel so," said Cousin Janet; "even in this world, He +can give his beloved rest." + +"But am I one of the beloved?" asked Mr. Weston, thoughtfully. + +"I trust so," said Cousin Janet. "I do not doubt it. How lamentable would +be your situation and mine, if, while so near the grave, we were deprived +of that hope, which takes from it all its gloom." + +"Are you talking of gloom?" said Mrs. Weston, "and Arthur within a few +miles of us? It is a poor compliment to him. I never saw so many happy +faces. The servants have all availed themselves of their afternoon's +holiday to dress; they look so respectable. Esther says they have gone to +the outer gate to welcome Arthur first; Bacchus went an hour ago. Even poor +Aunt Phillis has brightened up. She has on a head-handkerchief and apron +white as snow, and looks quite comfortable, propped up by two or three +pillows. + +"Arthur will be sadly distressed to see Phillis, though he will not realize +her condition at first. The nearer her disease approaches its consummation, +the brighter she looks." + +"It seems but yesterday," said Mr. Weston, "that Phillis sat at her cabin +door, with Arthur (a baby) in her arms, and her own child, almost the same +age, in the cradle near them. She has been no eye-servant. Faithfully has +she done her duty, and now she is going to receive her reward. I never can +forget the look of sympathy which was in her face, when I used to go to her +cabin to see my motherless child. She always gave Arthur the preference, +putting her own infant aside to attend to his wants. Phillis is by nature a +conscientious woman; but nothing but the grace of God could have given her +the constant and firm principle that has actuated her life. But this +example of Christian excellence will soon be taken from us; her days are +numbered. Her days _here_ are numbered; but how blessed the eternity! +Sometimes, I have almost reproached myself that I have retained a woman +like Phillis as a slave. She deserves every thing from me: I have always +felt under obligations to her." + +"You have discharged them," said Mrs. Weston. "Phillis, though a slave, has +had a very happy life; she frequently says so. This is owing, in a great +measure, to her own disposition and rectitude of character. Yet she has had +every thing she needed, and a great deal more. You have nothing with which +to reproach yourself." + +"I trust not," said Mr. Weston. "I have endeavored, in my dealings with my +servants, to remember the All-seeing eye was upon me, and that to Him who +placed these human beings in a dependant position, would I have to render +my account. Ah! here are the girls. Alice, we had almost forgotten Arthur; +you and Ellen remind us of him." + +"Really," said Ellen, "I am very unhappy; I have no lover to expect. You +see that I am arrayed in a plain black silk, to show my chagrin because Mr. +Johnson could not come now. Alice has decked herself so that Arthur can +read her every thought at the first glance. She has on her blue barège +dress, which implies her unvarying constancy. Then--" + +"I did not think of that," said Alice, blushing deeply, and looking down at +her dress; "I only--" + +"Miss Alice," said Lydia, "I hears somethin." + +"No, no," said Miss Janet, looking from the window, "there is nothing--" + +"Deed the is," said Lydia. "Its Mas' Arthur's horse, I know." + +Mr. Weston went out on the porch, and the ladies stood at the windows. The +voices of the servants could be distinctly heard. From the nature of the +sound, there was no doubt they were giving a noisy welcome to their young +master. + +"He _is_ coming," said Miss Janet, much agitated; "the servants would not +make that noise were he not in sight." + +"I hear the horses, too," said Ellen; "we will soon see him where the road +turns." + +"There he comes," said Mrs. Weston. "It must be Arthur. William is with +him; he took a horse for Arthur to the stage house." + +The father stood looking forward, the wind gently lifting the thin white +hair from his temples; his cheek flushed, his clear blue eye beaming with +delight. The horseman approached. The old man could not distinguish his +face, yet there was no mistaking his gay and gallant bearing. The spirited +and handsome animal that bore him flew over the gravelled avenue. Only a +few minutes elapsed from the time he was first seen to the moment when the +father laid his head upon his son's shoulder; and while he was clasped to +that youthful and manly heart experienced sensations of joy such as are not +often felt here. + +Alice had known, too, that it was he. But when we long to be assured of +happiness, we are often slow to believe. It was not until her eyes could +distinguish every feature that her heart said, "It is Arthur." Then all was +forgotten--all timidity, all reserve--all, save that he was the dearly +loved brother of her childhood; the being with whom her destiny had long +been associated. She passed from the drawing-room to the porch as he +alighted from his horse, and when his father released him from a long +embrace, Arthur's eyes fell upon the dear and unchanged countenance, fixed +upon him with a look of welcome that said more than a thousand words. + + * * * * * + +"Aunt," said Arthur, a week after his return, as he sat with Mrs. Weston +and Alice in the arbor, "before you came, Alice had been trying to persuade +me that she had been in love with Walter; but I can't believe it." + +"I never did believe it for a moment. She thought she was, and she was +seized with such a panic of truth and honor that she made a great +commotion; insisted on writing to you, and making a full confession; wanted +to tell her uncle, and worry him to death; doing all sorts of desperate +things. She actually worked herself into a fever. It was all a fancy." + +"I have too good an opinion of myself to believe it," said Arthur. + +"I am sorry," said Alice, "for it is true. It is a pity your vanity cannot +be a little diminished." + +"Why, the fact is Alice, I remember Uncle Bacchus's story about General +Washington and his servant, when the general's horse fell dead, or rather +the exclamation made by the servant after relating the incident: 'Master, +_he_ thinks of everything.' I do too. When we were children, no matter how +bad Walter was, you took his part. I remember once he gave William such a +blow because he stumbled over a wagon that he had been making, and broke +it. I asked him if he were not ashamed to do so, and you said, 'Hush, +Arthur, he feels bad; if you felt as sorry as he does, you would behave +just in the same way.' So, the fact is, last summer you saw he _felt bad_, +and your tender heart inundated with sympathy." + +"That was it," said Mrs. Weston; "it was a complete inundation." + +"You are not in love with him now, are you, Alice?" said Arthur, smiling. + +"No, indeed," said Alice, "I am not in love with him, or you either--if +being in love is what it is described in novels. I never have palpitation +of the heart, never faint away, and am not at all fond of poetry. I should +make a sad heroine, I am such a matter-of-fact person." + +"So as you make a good wife," said Arthur, "no matter about being a +heroine." + +"A planter's wife has little occasion for romance," said Mrs. Weston; "her +duties are too many and too important. She must care for the health and +comfort of her family, and of her servants. After all, a hundred servants +are like so many children to look after." + +"Ellen would make an elegant heroine," said Alice. "She was left an orphan +when very young; had an exacting uncle and aunt; was the belle of the +metropolis; had gay and gallant lovers; is an heiress--and has fallen in +love with a man she never saw. To crown all, he is not rich, so Ellen can +give him her large fortune to show her devotion, and they can go all over +the world together, and revel in romance and novelty." + +"Well," said Arthur, "I will take you all over the world if you wish it. +When will you set out, and how will you travel? If that is all you complain +of in your destiny, I can easily change it." + +"I do not complain of my destiny," said Alice, gaily. "I was only +contrasting it with Ellen's. I shall be satisfied never to leave Exeter, +and my migrations need not be more extended than were Mrs. Primroses's, +'from the green room to the brown.' Poor Walter! I wish he would fall in +love with some beautiful Italian, and be as happy as we are." + +"Do not fear for Walter," said Mrs. Weston. "He will take care of himself; +his last letter to Cousin Janet was very cheerful. I shall have to diminish +your vanity, Alice, by telling you Walter will never 'die for love of Alice +Weston.' He will be captivated some day with a more dashy lady, if not an +Italian countess. I have no doubt he will eventually become a resident of +Europe. A life of repentance will not be too much for a man whose hands are +stained with the blood of his fellowman. The day is past in our country, +and I rejoice to say it, when a duellist can be tolerated. I always shudder +when in the presence of one, though I never saw but one." + +Mr. Weston now entered, much depressed from a recent interview with +Phillis. This faithful and honored servant was near her departure. Angels +were waiting at the throne of the Eternal, for his command to bear her +purified spirit home. + + * * * * * + +The master and the slave were alone. No eye save their Maker's looked upon +them; no ear save his, heard what passed between them. + +Mr. Weston was seated in the easy chair, which had been removed from the +other room, and in which his wife had died. + +Phillis was extended on a bed of death. Her thin hands crossed on her +bosom, her eyes fearfully bright, a hectic glow upon her cheek. + +"Master," she said, "you have no occasion to feel uneasy about that. I have +never had a want, I nor the children. There was a time, sir, when I was +restless about being a slave. When I went with you and Miss Anna away from +home, and heard the people saying colored people ought to be free, it made +me feel bad. I thought then that God did not mean one of his creatures to +be a slave; when I came home and considered about it, I would often be put +out, and discontented. It was wicked, I know, but I could not help it for a +while. + +"I saw my husband and children doing well and happy, but I used to say to +myself, they are slaves, and so am I. So I went about my work with a heavy +heart. When my children was born, I would think 'what comfort is it to give +birth to a child when I know its a slave.' I struggled hard though, with +these feelings, sir, and God gave me grace to get the better of them, for I +could not read my Bible without seeing there was nothing agin slavery +there; and that God had told the master his duty, and the slave his duty. +You've done your duty by me and mine, sir; and I hope where I have come +short you will forgive me, for I couldn't die in peace, without I thought +you and I was all right together." + +"Forgive you, Phillis," said Mr. Weston, much affected. "What have I to +forgive? Rather do I thank you for all you have done for me. You were a +friend and nurse to my wife, and a mother to my only child. Was ever +servant or friend so faithful as you have been!" + +Phillis smiled and looked very happy. "Thank you, master," she said, "from +my heart. How good the Lord is to me, to make my dying bed so easy. It puts +me in mind of the hymn Esther sings. She's got a pleasant voice, hasn't +she, sir? + + 'And while I feel my heart-strings break, + How sweet the moments roll! + A mortal paleness on my cheek + And glory in my soul.' + +"Oh! master, its sweet for me to die, for Jesus is my friend; he makes all +about me friends too, for it seems to me that you and Miss Janet, and all +of you are my friends. Poor Bacchus! he takes on sadly about me; he always +was a tender-hearted soul. Master, when I am gone, I know you will be good +to him and comfort him, but, please sir, do something else. Talk to him, +and pray for him, and read the blessed Book to him! Oh! if he would only +give up liquor! I trust in the Lord he will live and die a sober man, else +I know we'll never meet again. We won't be on the same side at the Judgment +Seat. There's no drunkards in that happy place where I am going fast. No +drunkards in the light of God's face--no drunkards at the blessed feet of +Jesus." + +"I think Bacchus has perfectly reformed," said Mr. Weston, "and you may +feel assured that we will do every thing for his soul as well as his body, +that we can. But, Phillis, have you no wishes to express, as regards your +children?" + +Phillis hesitated--"My children are well off," she said; "they have a good +master; if they serve him and God faithfully they will be sure to do well." + +"If there is any thing on your mind," said Mr. Weston, "speak it without +fear. The distinction between you and me as master and slave, I consider no +longer existing. You are near being redeemed from my power, and the power +of death alone divides you from your Saviour's presence. That Saviour whose +example you have tried to follow, whose blood has washed your soul from all +its sin. I am much older than you, and I live in momentary expectation of +my summons. We shall soon meet, I hope, in that happy place, where the +distinctions of this world will be forgotten. I have thought of you a great +deal, lately, and have been anxious to relieve your mind of every care. It +is natural that a mother, about to leave such a family as you have, should +have some wishes regarding them. + +"I have thought several times," continued Mr. Weston, "of offering to set +your children free at my death, and I will do so if you wish. You must be +aware that they could not remain in Virginia after they were manumitted. +In the Middle and Northern states free blacks are in a degraded condition. +There is no sympathy for or with them. They have no more rights than they +have as slaves with us, and they have no one to care for them when they are +sick or in trouble. You have seen a good deal of this in your occasional +visits to the North. In Washington, since the Abolitionists have +intermeddled there, the free blacks have become intolerable; they live from +day to day in discomfort and idleness. I mean as a general thing; there +are, of course, occasional exceptions. Bacchus is too old to take care of +himself; he would not be happy away from Exeter. Consider what I say to +you, and I will be guided by your wishes as regards your children. + +"They might go to Liberia; some of them would be willing, no doubt. I have +talked to William, he says he would not go. Under these circumstances they +would be separated, and it is doubtful whether I would be doing you or them +a favour by freeing them. Be perfectly candid, and let me know your +wishes." + +"As long as you, or Master Arthur and Miss Alice live, they would be better +off as they are," said Phillis. + +"I believe they would," said Mr. Weston, "but life and death cannot be too +much considered in connection with each other. I must soon go. I am only +lingering at the close of a long journey. Arthur will then have control, +and will, I am certain, make his servants as happy as he can. My family is +very small; you are aware I have no near relations. I have made my will, +and should Arthur and Alice die without children, I have left all my +servants free. Your children I have thus provided for. At my death they are +free, but I would not feel justified in turning them into the world without +some provision. The older children can take care of themselves; they are +useful and have good principles. I have willed each one of them to be free +at the age of twenty years. Thus, you see, most of them will soon be free, +while none will have to wait very long. In the mean time they will be well +taught and cared for. My will is made, and all the forms of law attended +to. Arthur and Alice are very much pleased with it. Your older children +know it; they are very happy, but they declare they will never leave Exeter +as long as there is a Weston upon it.[B] And now, Phillis, are you +satisfied? I shall experience great pleasure in having been able to relieve +you of any anxiety while you have so much pain to bear." + +"Oh! master," said Phillis, "what shall I say to you? I haven't no +learning. I am only a poor, ignorant woman. I can't thank you, master, as I +ought. My heart is nigh to bursting. What have I done that the Lord is so +good to me. He has put it into your heart to make me so happy; Thank you, +master, and God for ever bless you." + +The tears streamed down her cheeks, as Mr. Weston arose to go. Esther had +come to see if her mother wanted any thing. + +"Master," said Phillis, "wait one moment--there's nothing between me and +Heaven now. Oh! sir, I shall soon be redeemed from all sin and sorrow. I +think I see the glory that shines about the heavenly gates. I have never +felt myself ready to go until now, but there is nothing to keep me. The +Lord make your dying bed as easy as you have mine." + +Mr. Weston endeavored to compose himself, but was much agitated. "Phillis," +he said, "you have deserved more than I could ever do for you. If any thing +should occur to you that I have not thought of, let me know, it shall, if +possible, be done. Would you like again to see Mr. Caldwell, and receive +the communion?" + +"No, master, I thank you. You and Miss Janet, and Miss Anna, and poor +Bacchus, took it with me last week, and I shall soon be where there will +be no more need to remind me of the Lamb that was slain; for I shall be +with him; I shall see him as he is. And, master, we will all meet there. We +will praise him together." + +Esther was weeping; and Mr. Weston, quite overcome, left the room. + +"Esther, child," said Phillis, "don't do so. There's nothing but glory and +peace. There's no occasion for tears. God will take care of you all here, +and will, I hope and pray, bring you to heaven at last. Poor master! To +think he is so distressed parting with me. I thought I should have stood by +his dying bed. The Lord knows best." + +"Mother," said Esther, "will you take this medicine--it is time?" + +"No, honey. No more medicine; it won't do me no good. I don't want +medicine. Jesus is what I want. He is all in all." + + * * * * * + +Reader! have you ever stood by the dying bed of a slave? It may be not. +There are those who are often there. The angels of God, and One who is +above the angels. One who died for all. He is here now. Here, where stand +weeping friends--here, where all is silence. You may almost hear the +angel's wings as they wait to bear the redeemed spirit to its heavenly +abode. Here, where the form is almost senseless, the soul fluttering +between earth and heaven. Here, where the Spirit of God is over-shadowing +the scene. + +"Master," said Phillis, "all is peace. Jesus is here. I am going home. You +will soon be there, and Miss Janet can't be long. Miss Anna too. Bacchus, +the good Lord will bring you there. I trust in Him to save you. My +children, God bless them, little Lydia and all." + +"Master Arthur," said she, as Arthur bent over her, "give my love to Master +Walter. You and Miss Alice will soon be married. The Lord make you happy. +God bless you, Miss Ellen, and make you his child. Keep close, children to +Jesus. Seems as if we wasn't safe when we can't see him. I see him now; he +is beckoning me to come. Blessed Jesus! take me--take me home." + +Kind master, weep not. She will bear, even at the throne of God, witness to +thy faithfulness. Through thee she learned the way to heaven, and it may be +soon she will stand by thee again, though thou see her not. She may be one +of those who will guide thee to the Celestial City; to the company of the +redeemed, where will be joy forever. Weep not, but see in what peace a +Christian can die. Watch the last gleams of thought which stream from her +dying eyes. Do you see any thing like apprehension? The world, it is true, +begins to shut in. The shadows of evening collect around her senses. A dark +mist thickens, and rests upon the objects which have hitherto engaged her +observation. The countenances of her friends become more and more +indistinct. The sweet expressions of love and friendship are no longer +intelligible. Her ear wakes no more at the well-known voice of her +children, and the soothing accents of tender affection die away unheard +upon her decaying senses. To her the spectacle of human life is drawing to +its close, and the curtain is descending which shuts out this earth, its +actors, and its scenes. She is no longer interested in all that is done +under the sun. Oh! that I could now open to you the recesses of her soul, +that I could reveal to you the light which darts into the chambers of her +understanding. She approaches that world which she has so long seen in +faith. The imagination now collects its diminished strength, and the eye of +faith opens wide. + +"Friends! do not stand thus fixed in sorrow around this bed of death. Why +are you so still and silent? Fear not to move; you cannot disturb the +visions that enchant this holy spirit. She heeds you not; already she sees +the spirits of the just advancing together to receive a kindred soul. She +is going to add another to the myriads of the just, that are every moment +crowding into the portals of heaven. She is entering on a noble life. +Already she cries to you from the regions of bliss. Will you not join her +there? Will you not taste the sublime joys of faith? There are seats for +you in the assembly of the just made perfect, in the innumerable company of +angels, where is Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, and God, the +Judge of all." + + + + +CONCLUDING REMARKS. + + +I must be allowed to quote the words of Mrs. Harriet B. Stowe: + +"The writer has often been (or will be) inquired of by correspondents from +different parts of the country, whether this narrative is a true one; and +to these inquiries she will give one general answer. The separate incidents +that compose the narrative are to a very great extent authentic, occurring, +many of them, either under her own observation, or that of her personal +friends. She or her friends have observed characters the counterpart of +almost all that are here introduced; and many of the sayings are word for +word as heard herself, or reported to her." + +Of the planter Legree, (and, with the exception of Prof. Webster, such a +wretch never darkened humanity,) she says: + +"Of him her brother wrote, he actually made me feel of his fist, which was +like a blacksmith's hammer or a nodule of iron, telling me that it was +calloused with knocking down niggers." + +Now as a parallel to this, I will state a fact communicated to me by a +clergyman, (a man of great talent, and goodness of character, and undoubted +veracity,) that a superintendent of Irishmen, who were engaged on a +Northern railroad, told him he did not hesitate to knock any man down that +gave him the least trouble; and although the clergyman did not "examine his +fist and pronounce it like a blacksmith's hammer," yet, I have not the +slightest doubt it was "calloused with knocking down Irishmen." At any +rate, I take the license of the writers of the day, and say it was. + +Mrs. Stowe goes on to say, "That the tragical fate of Tom also has too many +times had its parallel, there are living witnesses all over our land to +testify." Now it would take the smallest portion of common sense to know +that there is no witness, dead or living, who could testify to such a fact, +save a _false witness_. This whole history is an absurdity. No master would +be fool enough to sell the best hand on his estate; one who directed, and +saved, and managed for him. No master would be brutish enough to sell the +man who had nursed him and his children, who loved him like a son, _even +for urgent debt_, had he another article of property in the wide world. But +Mr. Shelby does so, according to Mrs. Stowe, though he has a great many +other servants, besides houses and lands, &c. Preposterous! + +And such a saint as Uncle Tom was, too! One would have thought his master, +with the opinion he had of his religious qualifications, would have kept +him until he died, and then have sold him bone after bone to the Roman +Catholics. Why, every tooth in his head would have brought its price. St. +Paul was nothing but a common man compared with him, for St. Paul had been +wicked once; and even after his miraculous conversion, he felt that sin was +still impelling him to do what he would not. But not so with Uncle Tom! He +was the very perfection of a saint. Well might St. Clare have proposed +using him for a family chaplain, or suggested to himself the idea of +ascending to heaven by Tom's skirts. Mrs. Stowe should have carried out one +of her ideas in his history, and have made him Bishop of Carthage. I have +never heard or read of so perfect a character. All the saints and martyrs +that ever came to unnatural deaths, could not show such an amount of +excellence. I only wonder he managed to stay so long in this world of sin. + +When, after fiery trials and persecutions, he is finally purchased by a Mr. +Legree, Mrs. Stowe speaks of the horrors of the scene. She says though, "it +can't be helped." Did it ever occur to her, that Northerners might go +South, and buy a great many of these slaves, and manumit them? They do go +South and buy them, but they keep them, and work them as slaves too. A +great deal of this misery _might_ be helped. + +Tom arrives at Legree's plantation. How does he fare? Sleeps on a little +foul, dirty straw, jammed in with a lot of others; has every night toward +midnight enough corn to stay the stomach of one small chicken; and is +thrown into a most dreadful state of society--men degraded, and women +degraded. We will pass over scenes that a woman's pen should never +describe, and observe the saint-like perfection of Tom. He was, or +considered himself, a missionary to the negroes, evidently liked his +sufferings, and died, by choice, a martyr's death. He made the most +astonishing number of conversions in a short time, and of characters worse +than history records. So low, so degraded, so lost were the men and women +whose wicked hearts he subdued, that their conversion amounted to nothing +less than miracles. No matter how low, how ignorant, how depraved, the very +sight of Tom turned them into advanced, intelligent Christians. + +Tom's lines were indeed cast in a sad place. I have always believed that +the Creator was everywhere; but we are told of Legree's plantation "The +Lord never visits these parts." This might account for the desperate +wickedness of most of the characters, but how Tom could retain his holiness +under the circumstances is a marvel to me. His religion, then, depended on +himself. Assuredly he was more than a man! + +Legree had several ways of keeping his servants in order--"they were burned +alive; scalded, cut into inch pieces; set up for the dogs to tear, or hung +up and whipped to death." Now I am convinced that Mrs. Stowe must have a +credulous mind; and was imposed upon. She never could have conceived such +things with all her talent; the very conception implies a refinement of +cruelty. She gives, however, a mysterious description of a certain "place +way out down by the quarters, where you can see a black blasted tree, and +the ground all covered with black ashes." It is afterward intimated that +this was the scene of a negro burned alive. Reader, you may depend, it was +a mistake; that's just the way a tree appears when it has been struck by +lightning. Next time you pass one, look at it. I have not the slightest +doubt that this was the way the mistake was made. We have an occasional wag +at the South, and some one has practised upon a soft-hearted New Englander +in search of horrors; this is the result. She mentions that the ashes were +black. Do not infer from this that it must have been a black man or negro. +But I will no longer arraign your good sense. It was not, take my word for +it, as Mrs. Stowe describes it, some poor negro "tied to a tree, with a +slow fire lit under him." + +Tom tells Legree "he'd as soon die as not." Indeed, he proposes whipping, +starving, burning; saying, "it will only send him sooner where he wants to +go." Tom evidently considers himself as too good for this world; and after +making these proposals to his master, he is asked, "How are you?" He +answers: "The Lord God has sent his angel, and shut the lion's mouth." +Anybody can see that he is laboring under a hallucination, and fancies +himself Daniel. Cassy, however, consoled him after the style of Job's +friends, by telling him that his master was going "to hang like a dog at +his throat, sucking his blood, bleeding away his life drop by drop." + +In what an attitude, O Planters of the South, has Mrs. Stowe taken your +likenesses! + +Tom dies at last. How could such a man die? Oh! that he would live forever +and convert all our Southern slaves. He did not need any supporting grace +on his deathbed. Hear him--"The Lord may help me, or not help, but I'll +hold on to him." + +I thought a Christian could not hold on to the Lord without help. "Ye can +of yourself do nothing." But Tom is an exception--to the last he is +perfect. All Christians have been caught tripping sometimes, but Tom never +is. He is "bearing everybody's burdens." He might run away, but he will +not. He says, "The Lord has given me a work among these yer poor souls, and +I'll stay with 'em, and bear my cross with 'em to the end." Christian +reader, we must reflect. We know where to go for _one_ instance of human +perfection, where the human and the Divine were united, but we know not of +another. + +Tom converts Cassy, a most infamous creature from her own accounts, and we +are to sympathize with her vileness, for she has no other traits of +character described. Tom converts her, but I am sorry to see she steals +money and goods, and fibs tremendously afterwards. We hope the rest of his +converts did him more credit. + +The poor fellow dies at last--converting two awful wretches with his +expiring breath. The process of conversion was very short. "Oh! Lord, give +me these two more souls, I pray." That prayer was answered. + +The saddest part of this book would be, (if they were just,) the inferences +to be drawn from the history of this wretch, Legree. Mrs. Stowe says, "He +was rocked on the bosom of a mother, cradled with prayer and pious hymns, +his now seared brow bedewed with the waters of baptism. In early childhood, +a fair-haired woman had led him, at the sound of Sabbath bells, to worship +and to pray. Far in New England that mother had trained her only son with +long unwearied love and patient prayers." Believe it not, Christian mother, +North or South! Thou hast the promises of Scripture to the contrary. Rock +thy babe upon thy bosom--sing to him sweet hymns--carry him to the +baptismal font--be unwearied in love--patient in prayers; he will never be +such a one. He may wander, but he will come back; do thy duty by him, and +God will not forget his promises. "He is not man that he will lie; nor the +son of man that he will repent." + +Legree is a Northerner. Time would fail me to notice all the crimes with +which Southern men and women are charged; but their greatness and number +precludes the possibility of their being believed. According to Mrs. Stowe, +mothers do not love their beautiful children at the South. The husbands +have to go to New England and bring back old maids to take care of them, +and to see to their houses, which are going to rack and ruin under their +wives' surveillance. Oh! these Southern husbands, a heart of stone must +pity them. + +Then again, Southern planters keep dogs and blood-hounds to hunt up +negroes, tear women's faces, and commit all sorts of _doggish_ atrocities. +Now I have a charitable way of accounting for this. I am convinced, too, +this is a misapprehension; and I'll tell you why. + +I have a mortal fear of dogs myself. I always had. No reasoning, no +scolding, ever had the slightest effect upon me. I never passed one on my +way to church with my prayer-book in my hand, without quaking. If they wag +their tails, I look around for aid. If they bark, I immediately give myself +up for lost. I have died a thousand deaths from the mere accident of +meeting dogs in the street. I never did meet one without believing that it +was his destiny to give my children a step-mother. In point of fact, I +would like to live in a world without dogs; but as I cannot accomplish +this, I console myself by living in a house without one. I always expect my +visitors to leave their dogs at home; they may bring their children, but +they must not bring their dogs. I wish dogs would not even look in my +basement windows as they pass. + +I am convinced therefore, that some Northerner has passed a plantation at +the South, and seen dogs tied up. Naturally having a horror of dogs, he has +let his imagination loose. After a great deal of mental exercise, the +brain jumps at a conclusion, "What are these dogs kept here for?" The +answer is palpable: "To hunt niggers when they run away." Reader, imitate +my charity; it is a rare virtue where white faces are concerned. + +All the rest of Mrs. Stowe's horrors can be accounted for satisfactorily. +It is much better to try and find an excuse for one's fellow-creatures than +to be always calling them "story-tellers," and the like. I am determined to +be charitable. + +But still it is misrepresentation; for if they took proper means, they +would find out the delusions under which they labor. + +Abolitionists do not help their cause by misrepresentation. It will do well +enough, in a book of romance, to describe infants torn from the arms of +their shrieking mothers, and sold for five and ten dollars. It tells well, +for the mass of readers are fond of horrors; but it is not true. It is on a +par with the fact stated, that masters advertise their slaves, and offer +rewards for them, dead or alive. How did the snows of New England ever give +birth to such brilliant imaginations! + +Family relations are generally respected; and when they are not, it is one +of the evils attendant on an institution which God has permitted in all +ages, for his inscrutable purposes, and which he may in his good time do +away with. + +The Jews ever turn their eyes and affections toward Jerusalem, as their +home; so should the free colored people in America regard Liberia. Africa, +once their mother country, should, in its turn, be the country of their +adoption. + +As regards the standard of talent among negroes, I fancy it has been +exaggerated; though no one can, at present, form a just conclusion. Slavery +has, for ages, pressed like a band of iron round the intellect of the +colored man. Time must do its work to show what he is, without a like +hindrance. + +The instance mentioned in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," of a young mulatto, George +Harris, inventing a machine, is _very solitary_. The negroes, like a good +many of their owners, are opposed to innovations. They like the good old +way. The hot sun under which they were born, and the hotter one that +lighted the paths of their ancestors, prejudices them against any new +effort. I think, _when they do get in Congress_, they will vote for +agricultural against manufacturing interests. I am sure they would rather +pick cotton than be confined to the din and dust of a factory. An old negro +prefers to put his meal bags in a covered wagon, and drive them to market +at his leisure, with his pocket full of the tobacco he helped to raise, and +the whole country for a spit-box, to being whirled away bodily in a +railroad car, in terror of his life, deaf with the whistling and the +puffing of the engine. When Liberia or Africa does become a great nation, +(Heaven grant it may soon,) they will require many other buildings there, +before a patent office is called for. + +George Harris is a _natural_ Abolitionist, with a dark complexion. He is a +remarkable youth in other respects, though I should first consider the +enormous fact of George's master appropriating to himself the benefit of +his servant's cleverness. Even with a show of right this may be a mean +trick, but it is the way of the world. A large portion of New England men +are at this time claiming each other's patents. I know of an instance down +East, for Southerners can sometimes "tak notes, and prent 'em too." A +gentleman took a friend to his room, and showed him an invention for which +he was about to apply for a patent. The friend walked off with his hands in +his pocket; his principles had met, and passed an appropriation bill; the +invention had become his own--in plain English, he stole it. Washington is +always full of people claiming each other's brains. The lawyers at the +Patent Office have their hands full. They must keep wide awake, too. Each +inventor, when he relates his grievances, brings a witness to maintain his +claim. There is no doubt that, after a while, there will be those who can +testify to the fact of having seen the idea as it passed through the +inventor's mind. The way it is settled at present is this--whoever can pay +the most for the best lawyer comes off triumphantly! Poor George is not the +only smart fellow in the world outdone by somebody better off than himself. + +George positively refuses to hear the Bible quoted. He believes in a higher +law, no doubt, Frederic Douglas being editorial expounder; a sort of Moses +of this century, a little less meek, though, than the one who instructed +the Israelites. George won't hear the Bible; he prefers, he says, appealing +to the Almighty himself. This makes me fear his Abolitionist friends are +not doing right by him; putting him up to shooting, and turning Spanish +gentleman, and all sorts of vagaries; to say nothing of disobeying the laws +of the country. No one blames him, though, for escaping from a hard master; +at least, I do not. + +It would be a grand thing to stand on the shore of a new country, and see +before you, _free_, every slave and prisoner on the soil of the earth; to +hear their Te Deum ascend to the listening heavens. Methinks the sun would +stand still, as it did of old, and earth would lift up her voice, and lead +the song of her ransomed children; but, alas! this cannot be yet--the time +is not come. Oppression wears her crown in every clime, though it is +sometimes hidden from the gaze of her subjects. + +George declares he knows more than his master; "he can read and write +better;" but his logic is bad. He thus discusses the indications of +Providence. A friend reminds him of what the apostle says, "Let every man +abide in the condition in which he is called," and he immediately uses this +simile: "I wonder, Mr. Wilson, if the Indians should come, and take you a +prisoner, away from your wife and children, and want to keep you all your +life hoeing corn for them, if you'd think it your duty to abide in that +condition in which you were called. I rather think, that you'd think the +first stray horse you could find an indication of Providence--shouldn't +you?" + +This does not apply to slavery. A man born a slave, in a country where +slavery is allowed by law, should feel the obligation of doing his duty +while a slave; but Mr. Wilson, carried off by Indians, would feel as if he +had been called to a state of life previous to the one in which he was so +unfortunate to be doomed, while he was among savages. + +George goes on to say--"Let any man take care that tries to stop me, for I +am desperate, and I'll fight for my liberty. You say your fathers did it: +if it was right for them, it is right for me." + +Too fast, George! You are out in your history, too. Your master must be a +remarkably ignorant man if you know more than he. Our glorious ancestors +were never condemned to slavery, they nor their fathers, by God himself. +Neither have they ever been considered in the light of runaways; they came +off with full permission, and having _honestly_ and _honorably_ attained +their liberties, they fought for them. + +Besides being of a prettier complexion, and coming of a better stock than +you, they were _prepared_ to be free. There is a great deal in that. + +Then, those very ancestors of ours--ah! there's the rub--(and the ancestors +of the Abolitionists, too,) they got us and you into this difficulty--think +of it! They had your ancestors up there in New England, until they found +you were so lazy, and died off so in their cold climate, that it _did not +pay to keep you_. So I repeat to you the advice of Mr. Wilson, "Be careful, +my boy; don't shoot anybody, George, unless--well--you'd better not shoot, +I reckon; at least, I wouldn't hit anybody, you know." + +As regards the practice of marking negroes in the hand, I look upon it as +one of the imaginary horrors of the times--delusion like spiritual +rappings, got up out of sheer timidity of disposition, though I have heard +of burning old women for witches in New England, and placing a scarlet +letter on the bosom of some unhappy one, who had already sorrow and sin +enough to bear. + +It won't do; the subject has, without doubt, been duly investigated +already. I'd be willing (were I not opposed to betting) to bet my best +collar and neck ribbon, that a committee of investigation has been +appointed, consisting of twelve of Boston's primmest old maids, and they +have been scouring the plantations of the South, bidding the negroes hold +out their hands, (not as the poor souls will at first suppose, that they +may be crossed with a piece of silver,) and that they are now returning, +crest-fallen, to their native city, not having seen a branded hand in all +their journeying. Could aught escape _their_ vigilance? But they will say +they saw a vast number, and that will answer the purpose. + +(Ah! Washington Irving, well mayest thou sigh and look back at the ladies +of the Golden Age. "These were the honest days, in which every woman stayed +at home, read the Bible, and wore pockets." These days are for ever gone. +Prophetic was thy lament! Now we may wear pockets--but, alas! we neither +stay at home, nor read our Bible. We form societies to reform the world, +and we write books on slavery!) + +Talking of our ancestors, George, in the time of the Revolution, +(by-the-by, yours were a set of dear, honest old creatures, for there were +no Abolitionists then among us,) reminds me of an anecdote about George +Washington and a favorite servant. Billy Lee was an honest, faithful man, +and a first-rate groom, and George Washington--you need not blush to be a +namesake of his, though he was a slaveholder. + +The two were in a battle, the battle of Monmouth, the soldiers fighting +like sixty, and Billy Lee looking on at a convenient distance, taking +charge of a led horse, in case Washington's should be shot from under him. + +O, but it was a hot day! Washington used to recall the thirst and the +suffering attendant upon the heat, (thinking of the soldiers' suffering, +and not of his own.) As for Billy Lee, if he did not breathe freely, he +perspired enough so to make up for it. I warrant you he was anxious for the +battle to be over, and the sun to go down. But there he stood, true as +steel--honest, old patriot as he was--quieting the horse, and watching his +noble master's form, as proud and erect it was seen here and there, +directing the troops with that union of energy and calmness for which he +was distinguished. Washington's horse fell under him, dying from excessive +heat; but hear Billy Lee describe it: + +"Lord! sir, if you could a seen it; de heat, and dust, and smoke. De +cannons flyin, and de shot a whizzin, and de dust a blowing, and de horses' +heels a kickin up, when all at onct master's horse fell under him. It +warn't shot--bless your soul, no. It drapped right down dead wid de heat. +Master he got up. I was scared when I see him and de horse go; but master +got up. He warn't hurt; couldn't hurt him. + +"Master he got up, looked round at me. 'Billy,' says he, 'give me the other +horse, and you take care of the new saddle on this other poor fellow.' + +"Did you ever hear de like?" added Billy Lee, "thinking of de saddle when +de balls was a flyin most in our eyes. But it's always de same wid master. +He thinks of every thing." + +I agree with the humane jurist quoted by Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe: "The +worst use you can put a man to is to hang him." She thinks slavery is worse +still; but when "I think of every thing," I am forced to differ from her. + +The most of our Southern slaves are happy, and kindly cared for; and for +those who are not, there is hope for the better. But when a man is hung up +by the neck until he is dead, he is done for. As far as I can see, there is +nothing that can be suggested to better his condition. + +I have no wish to uphold slavery. I would that every human being that God +has made were free, were it in accordance with His will;--free bodily, free +spiritually--"free indeed!" + +Neither do I desire to deny the evils of slavery, any more than I would +deny the evils of the factory system in England, or the factory and +apprenticeship system in our own country. I only assert the necessity of +the existence of slavery at present in our Southern States, and that, as a +general thing, the slaves are comfortable and contented, and their owners +humane and kind. + +I have lived a great deal at the North--long enough to see acts of +oppression and injustice there, which, were any one so inclined, might be +wrought into a "living dramatic reality." + +I knew a wealthy family. All the labor of the house was performed by a +"poor relation," a young and delicate girl. I have known servants struck by +their employers. At the South I have never seen a servant struck, though I +know perfectly well such things are done _here_ and _everywhere_. Can we +judge of society by a few isolated incidents? If so, the learned professors +of New England borrow money, and when they do not choose to pay, they +murder their creditors, and cut them in pieces! or men kill their sleeping +wives and children! + +Infidelity has been called a magnificent lie! Mrs. Stowe's "living +dramatic reality" is nothing more than an interesting falsehood; nor ought +to be offered, as an equivalent for truth, the genius that pervades her +pages; rather it is to be lamented that the rich gifts of God should be so +misapplied. + +Were the exertions of the Abolitionists successful, what would be the +result? The soul sickens at the thought. Scenes of blood and horror--the +desolation of our fair Southern States--the final destruction of the +negroes in them. This would be the result of immediate emancipation here. +What has it been elsewhere? Look at St. Domingo. A recent visitor there +says, "Though opposed to slavery, I must acknowledge that in this instance +the experiment has failed." He compares the negroes to "a wretched +gibbering set, from their appearance and condition more nearly allied to +beasts than to men." Look at the free colored people of the North and in +Canada. + +I have lived among them at the North, and can judge for myself. Their +"friends" do not always obtain their affection or gratitude. A colored +woman said to me, "I would rather work for any people than the +Abolitionists. They expect us to do so much, and they say we ought to work +cheaper for them because they are 'our friends.'" Look at them in Canada. +An English gentleman who has for many years resided there, and who has +recently visited Washington, told me that they were the most miserable, +helpless human beings he had ever seen. In fact he said, "They were +nuisances, and the people of Canada would be truly thankful to see them out +of their country." He had never heard of "a good missionary" mentioned by +Mrs. Stowe, "whom Christian charity has placed there as a shepherd to the +outcast and wandering." He had seen no good results of emancipation. On one +occasion he hired a colored man to drive him across the country. + +"How did you get here?" he said to the man. "Are you not a runaway?" + +"Yes, sir," the man replied. "I came from Virginny." + +"Well, of course you are a great deal happier now than when you were a +slave?" + +"No, sir; if I could get back to Virginny, I would be glad to go." He +looked, too, as if he had never been worse off than at that time. + +The fact is, liberty like money is a grand thing; but in order to be happy, +we must know how to use it. + +It cannot always be said of the fugitive slave,-- + + "The mortal puts on immortality, + When mercy's hand has turned the golden key, + And mercy's voice hath said, Rejoice, thy soul is free." + +The attentive reader will perceive that I am indebted to Mrs. Stowe for the +application of this and other quotations. + +The author of Uncle Tom's Cabin speaks of good men at the North, who +"receive and educate the oppressed" (negroes). I know "lots" of good men +there, but none good enough to befriend colored people. They seem to me to +have an unconquerable antipathy to them. But Mrs. Stowe says, _she_ +educates them in her own family with her own children. I am glad to hear +she feels and acts kindly toward them, and I wish others in her region of +country would imitate her in this respect; but I would rather _my_ children +and negroes were educated at different schools, being utterly opposed to +amalgamation, root and branch. + +She asks the question, "_What_ can any individual do?" 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THOMAS +SCOTT, D.D.; + +WITH EXTENSIVE + +EXPLANATORY, CRITICAL AND PHILOLOGICAL NOTES, + +Selected from Scott, Doddridge, Gill, Adam Clarke, Patrick, Poole, Lowth, +Burder, Banner, Calmet, Rosenmueller, Bloomfield, Stuart, Bush, Dwight, and +many other writers on the Scriptures. + +The whole designed to be a digest and combination of the advantages of the +best Bible Commentaries, and embracing nearly all that is valuable in + +HENRY, SCOTT, AND DODDRIDGE. + +Conveniently arranged for family and private reading, and, at the same +time, particularly adapted to the wants of Sabbath-School Teachers and +Bible Classes; with numerous useful tables, and a neatly engraved Family +Record. + +Edited by Rev. WILLIAM JENKS, D.D., + +PASTOR OF GREEN STREET CHURCH, BOSTON. + +Embellished with five portraits, and other elegant engravings, from steel +Plates; with several maps and many wood-cuts, illustrative of Scripture +Manners, Customs, Antiquities, &c. In 6 vols. super-royal 8vo. Including +Supplement, bound in cloth, sheep, calf, &c., varying in + +Price from $10 to $15. + +The whole forming the most valuable as well as the cheapest Commentary +published in the world. + + * * * * * + +NOTICES AND RECOMMENDATIONS + +OF THE + +COMPREHENSIVE COMMENTARY. + +The Publishers select the following from the testimonials they have +received as to the value of the work: + +We, the subscribers, having examined the _Comprehensive Commentary_, issued +from the press of Messrs. L., G. & Co., and highly approving its character, +would cheerfully and confidently recommend it as containing more matter and +more advantages than any other with which we are acquainted; and +considering the expense incurred, and the excellent manner of its +mechanical execution, we believe it to be one of the _cheapest_ works ever +issued from the press. We hope the publishers will be sustained by a +liberal patronage, in their expensive and useful undertaking. We should be +pleased to learn that every family in the United States had procured a +copy. + + B.B. WISNER, D.D., Secretary of Am. Board of Com. for For. Missions. + WM. COGSWELL, D.D., " " Education Society. + JOHN CODMAN, D.D., Pastor of Congregational Church, Dorchester. + Rev. HUBBARD WINSLOW, " " Bowdoin street, + Dorchester. + Rev. SEWALL HARDING, Pastor of T.C. Church, Waltham. + Rev. J.H. FAIRCHILD, Pastor of Congregational Church, South Boston. + GARDINER SPRING, D.D., Pastor of Presbyterian Church, New York city. + CYRUS MASON, D.D., " " " " " + THOS. McAULEY. D.D., " " " " " + JOHN WOODBRIDGE, D.D., " " " " " + THOS. DEWITT, D.D., " Dutch Ref. " " " + E.W. BALDWIN, D.D., " " " " " + Rev. J.M. McKREBS, " Presbyterian " " " + Rev. ERSKINE MASON, " " " " " + Rev. J.S. SPENCER, " " " Brooklyn " + EZRA STILES ELY, D.D., Stated Clerk of Gen. Assem. of Presbyterian Church. + JOHN McDOWELL, D.D., Permanent " " " " + JOHN BRECKENRIDGE, Corresponding Secretary of Assembly's Board of Education. + SAMUEL B. WYLIE, D.D., Pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. + N. LORD, D.D., President of Dartmouth College. + JOSHUA BATES, D.D., President of Middlebury College. + H. HUMPHREY, D.D., " Amherst College. + E.D. GRIFFIN, D.D., " Williamstown College. + J. WHEELER, D.D., " University of Vermont, at Burlington. + J.M. MATTHEWS, D.D., " New York City University. + GEORGE E. PIERCE, D.D., " Western Reserve College, Ohio. + Rev. Dr. BROWN, " Jefferson College, Penn. + LEONARD WOODS, D.D., Professor of Theology, Andover Seminary. + THOS. H. SKINNER, D.D., " Sac. Rhet. " " + Rev. RALPH EMERSON, " Eccl. Hist. " " + Rev. JOEL PARKER, Pastor of Presbyterian Church, New Orleans. + JOEL HAWES, D.D., " Congregational Church, Hartford, Conn. + N.S.S. BEAMAN. D.D., " Presbyterian Church, Troy, N.Y. + MARK TUCKER, D.D., " " " " " + Rev. E.N. KIRK, " " " Albany, N.Y. + Rev. E.B. EDWARDS, Editor of Quarterly Observer. + Rev. STEPHEN MASON, Pastor First Congregational Church, Nantucket. + Rev. ORIN FOWLER, " " " " Fall River. + GEORGE W. BETHUNE, D.D., Pastor of the First Reformed Dutch Church, Phila., + Pa. + Rev. LYMAN BEECHER, D.D., Cincinnati, Ohio. + Rev. C.D. MALLORY, Pastor Baptist Church, Augusta, Ga. + Rev. S.M. NOEL, " " " Frankfort, Ky. + +_From the Professors at Princeton Theological Seminary._ + +The Comprehensive Commentary contains the whole of Henry's Exposition in a +condensed form, Scott's Practical Observations and Marginal References and +a large number of very valuable philological and critical notes, selected +from various authors. The work appears to be executed with judgment, +fidelity, and care; and will furnish a rich treasure of scriptural +knowledge to the Biblical student, and to the teachers of Sabbath-Schools +and Bible Classes. + + A. ALEXANDER, D.D. + SAMUEL MILLER, D.D. + CHARLES HODGE, D.D. + + * * * * * + +The Companion to the Bible. + +In one super-royal volume. + +DESIGNED TO ACCOMPANY + +THE FAMILY BIBLE, + +OR HENRY'S, SCOTT'S, CLARKE'S, GILL'S, OR OTHER COMMENTARIES: + +CONTAINING + +1. A new, full, and complete Concordance; + +Illustrated with monumental, traditional, and oriental engravings, founded +on Butterworth's, with Cruden's definitions; forming, it is believed, on +many accounts, a more valuable work than either Butterworth, Cruden, or any +other similar book in the language. + +The value of a Concordance in now generally understood; and those who have +used one, consider it indispensable in connection with the Bible. + +2. A Guide to the Reading and Study of the Bible; + +being Carpenter's valuable Biblical Companion, lately published in London, +containing a complete history of the Bible, and forming a most excellent +introduction to its study. It embraces the evidences of Christianity, +Jewish antiquities, manners, customs, arts, natural history, &c., of the +Bible, with notes and engravings added. + +3. Complete Biographies of Henry, by Williams; Scott, by his son; +Doddridge, by Orton; + +with sketches of the lives and characters, and notices of the works, of the +writers on the Scriptures who are quoted in the Commentary, living and +dead, American and foreign. + +This part of the volume not only affords a large quantity of interesting +and useful reading for pious families, but will also be a source of +gratification to all those who are in the habit of consulting the +Commentary; every one naturally feeling a desire to know some particulars +of the lives and characters of those whose opinions he seeks. Appended to +this part, will be a + +BIBLIOTHECA BIBLICA, + +or list of the best works on the Bible, of all kinds, arranged under their +appropriate heads. + +4. A complete Index of the Matter contained in the Bible Text. + +5. A Symbolical Dictionary. + +A very comprehensive and valuable Dictionary of Scripture Symbols, +(occupying about _fifty-six_ closely printed pages,) by Thomas Wemyss, +(author of "Biblical Gleanings," &c.) Comprising Daubux, Lancaster, +Hutcheson, &c. + +6. The Work contains several other Articles, + +Indexes, Tables, &c. &c., and is, + +7. Illustrated by a large Plan of Jerusalem, + +identifying, as far as tradition, &c., go, the original sites, drawn on the +spot by F. Catherwood, of London, architect. Also, two steel engravings of +portraits of seven foreign and eight American theological writers, and +numerous wood engravings. + +The whole forms a desirable and necessary fund of instruction for the use +not only of clergymen and Sabbath-school teachers, but also for families. +When the great amount of matter it must contain is considered, it will be +deemed exceedingly cheap. + +"I have examined 'The Companion to the Bible,' and have been surprised to +find so much information introduced into a volume of so moderate a size. It +contains a library of sacred knowledge and criticism. It will be useful to +ministers who own large libraries, and cannot fail to be an invaluable help +to every reader of the Bible." + +HENRY MORRIS, + +Pastor of Congregational Church, Vermont. + +The above work can be had in several styles of binding. Price varying from +$1.75 to $5.00. + + * * * * * + +ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, + +In one super-royal volume. + +DERIVED PRINCIPALLY FROM THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, ANTIQUITIES, TRADITIONS, AND +FORMS OF SPEECH, RITES, CLIMATE, WORKS OF ART, AND LITERATURE OF THE +EASTERN NATIONS: + +EMBODYING ALL THAT IS VALUABLE IN THE WORKS OF + +ROBERTS, HARMER, BURDER, PAXTON, CHANDLER, + +And the most celebrated oriental travellers. Embracing also the subject of +the Fulfilment of Prophecy, as exhibited by Keith and others; with +descriptions of the present state of countries and places mentioned in the +Sacred Writings. + +ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS LANDSCAPE ENGRAVINGS, + +FROM SKETCHES TAKEN ON THE SPOT. + +Edited by Rev. GEORGE BUSH, + +Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Literature in the New York City +University. + +The importance of this work mast be obvious, and, being altogether +_illustrative_, without reference to doctrines, or other points in which +Christians differ, it is hoped it will meet with favour from all who love +the sacred volume, and that it will be sufficiently interesting and +attractive to recommend itself, not only to professed Christians of _all_ +denominations, but also to the general reader. The arrangement of the texts +illustrated with the notes, in the order of the chapters and verses of the +authorized version of the Bible, will render it convenient for reference to +particular passages; while the copious _Index_ at the end will at once +enable the reader to turn to every subject discussed in the volume. + +_This volume is not designed to take the place of Commentaries, but is a +distinct department of biblical instruction, and may be used as a companion +to the Comprehensive or any other Commentary, or the Holy Bible._ + +THE ENGRAVINGS + +In this volume, it is believed, will form no small part of its attractions. +No pains have been spared to procure such as should embellish the work, +and, at the same time, illustrate the text. Objections that have been made +to the pictures commonly introduced into the Bible, as being mere creations +of fancy and the imagination, often unlike nature, and frequently conveying +false impressions, cannot be urged against the pictorial illustrations of +this volume. Here the fine arts are made subservient to utility, the +landscape views being, without an exception, _matter-of-fact views of +places mentioned in Scripture, as they appear at the present day_; thus in +many instances exhibiting, in the most forcible manner, _to the eye_, the +strict and _literal_ fulfilment of the remarkable prophecies; "the present +ruined and desolate condition of the cities of Babylon, Nineveh, Selah, +&c., and the countries of Edom and Egypt, are astonishing examples, and so +completely exemplify, in the most minute particulars, every thing which was +foretold of them in the height of their prosperity, that no better +description can now be given of them than a simple quotation from a chapter +and verse of the Bible written nearly two or three thousand years ago." The +publishers are enabled to select from several collections lately published +in London, the proprietor of one of which says that "several distinguished +travellers have afforded him the use of nearly _Three Hundred Original +Sketches_" of Scripture places, made upon the spot. "The land of Palestine, +it is well known, abounds in scenes of the most picturesque beauty. Syria +comprehends the snowy heights of Lebanon, and the majestic ruins of Tadmor +and Baalbec." + +The above work can be had in various styles of binding. + +Price from $1.50 to $5.00. + + * * * * * + +THE ILLUSTRATED CONCORDANCE, + +In one volume, royal 8vo. + +A new, full, and complete Concordance; illustrated with monumental, +traditional, and oriental accounts, a more valuable work than either +Butterworth, Cruden, or any other similar book in the language. + +The value of a Concordance is now generally understood; and those who have +used one, consider it indispensable in connection with the Bible. Some of +the many advantages the Illustrated Concordance has over all the others, +are, that it contains near two hundred appropriate engravings; it is +printed on fine white paper, with beautiful large type. + +Price One Dollar. + + * * * * * + +LIPPINCOTT'S EDITION OF + +BAGSTER'S COMPREHENSIVE BIBLE. + +In order to develope the peculiar nature of the Comprehensive Bible, it +will only be necessary to embrace its more prominent features. + +1st. The SACRED TEXT is that of the Authorized Version, and is printed from +the edition corrected and improved by Dr. Blaney, which, from its accuracy, +is considered the standard edition. + +2d. The VARIOUS READINGS are faithfully printed from the edition of Dr. +Blaney, inclusive of the translation of the proper names, without the +addition or diminution of one. + +3d. In the CHRONOLOGY, great care has been taken to fix the date of the +particular transactions, which has seldom been done with any degree of +exactness in any former edition of the Bible. + +4th. The NOTES are exclusively philological and explanatory, and are not +tinctured with sentiments of any sect or party. They are selected from the +most eminent Biblical critics and commentators. + +It is hoped that this edition of the Holy Bible will be found to contain +the essence of Biblical research and criticism, that lies dispersed through +an immense number of volumes. + +Such is the nature and design of this edition of the Sacred Volume, which, +from the various objects it embraces, the freedom of its pages from all +sectarian peculiarities, and the beauty, plainness, and correctness of the +typography, that it cannot fail of proving acceptable and useful to +Christians of every denomination. + +In addition to the usual references to parallel passages, which are quite +full and numerous, the student has all the marginal readings, together with +a rich selection of _Philological, Critical, Historical, Geographical_, and +other valuable notes and remarks, which explain and illustrate the sacred +text. Besides the general introduction, containing valuable essays on the +genuineness, authenticity, and inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, and +other topics of interest, there are introductory and concluding remarks to +each book--a table of the contents of the Bible, by which the different +portions are so arranged as to read in an historical order. + +Arranged at the top of each page is the period in which the prominent +events of sacred history took place. The calculations are made for the year +of the world before and after Christ, Julian Period, the year of the +Olympiad, the year of the building of Rome, and other notations of time. At +the close is inserted a Chronological Index of the Bible, according to the +computation of Archbishop Ussher. Also, a full and valuable index of the +_subjects_ contained in the Old and New Testaments, with a careful analysis +and arrangement of texts under their appropriate subjects. + +Mr. Greenfield, the editor of this work, and for some time previous to his +death the superintendent of the editorial department of the British and +Foreign Bible Society, was a most extraordinary man. In editing the +Comprehensive Bible, his varied and extensive learning was called into +successful exercise, and appears in happy combination with sincere piety +and a sound judgment. The Editor of the Christian Observer, alluding to +this work, in an obituary notice of its author, speaks of it as a work of +"prodigious labour and research, at once exhibiting his varied talents and +profound erudition." + + * * * * * + +LIPPINCOTT'S EDITION OF + +THE OXFORD QUARTO BIBLE. + +The Publishers have spared neither care nor expense in their edition of the +Bible; it is printed on the finest white vellum paper, with large and +beautiful type, and bound in the most substantial and splendid manner, in +the following styles: Velvet, with richly gilt ornaments; Turkey super +extra, with gilt clasps; and in numerous others, to suit the taste of the +most fastidious. + +OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. + +"In our opinion, the Christian public generally will feel under great +obligations to the publishers of this work for the beautiful taste, +arrangement, and delicate neatness with which they have got it out. The +intrinsic merit of the Bible recommends itself; it needs no tinsel ornament +to adorn its sacred pages. In this edition every superfluous ornament has +been avoided, and we have presented us a perfectly chaste specimen of the +Bible, without note or comment. It appears to be just what is needed in +every family--'the _unsophisticated_ word of God.' + +"The size is quarto, printed with beautiful type, on white, sized vellum +paper, of the finest texture and most beautiful surface. The publishers +seem to have been solicitous to make a perfectly unique book, and they have +accomplished the object very successfully. We trust that a liberal +community will afford them ample remuneration for all the expense and +outlay they have necessarily incurred in its publication. It is a standard +Bible. + +"The publishers are Messrs. Lippincott, Grambo & Co., No. 14 North Fourth +street, Philadelphia."--_Baptist Record._ + +"A beautiful quarto edition of the Bible, by L., G. & Co. Nothing can +exceed the type in clearness and beauty; the paper is of the finest +texture, and the whole execution is exceedingly neat. No illustrations or +ornamental type are used. Those who prefer a Bible executed in perfect +simplicity, yet elegance of style, without adornment, will probably never +find one more to their taste."--_M. Magazine_. + +"A beautiful quarto edition of the Bible, by L., G. & Co. Nothing can exceed +the type in clearness and beauty; the paper is of the finest texture, and +the whole execution is exceedingly neat. No illustrations or ornamental +type are used. Those who prefer a Bible executed in perfect simplicity, yet +elegance of style, without adornment, will probably never find one more to +their taste."--_M. Magazine._ + + * * * * * + +LIPPINCOTT'S EDITIONS OF + +THE HOLY BIBLE. + +SIX DIFFERENT SIZES, + +Printed in the best manner, with beautiful type, on the finest sized paper, +and bound in the most splendid and substantial styles. Warranted to be +correct, and equal to the best English editions, at much less price. To be +had with or without plates; the publishers having supplied themselves with +over fifty steel engravings, by the first artists. + +Baxter's Comprehensive Bible, + +Royal quarto, containing the various readings and marginal notes; +disquisitions on the genuineness, authenticity, and inspiration of the Holy +Scriptures; introductory and concluding remarks to each book; philological +and explanatory notes; table of contents, arranged in historical order; a +chronological index, and various other matter; forming a suitable book for +the study of clergymen, Sabbath-school teachers, and students. + +In neat plain binding, from $4.00 to $5.00.--In Turkey morocco, extra, gilt +edges, from $8.00 to $12.00.--In do., with splendid plates, $10.00 to +$15.00.--In do., bevelled side, gilt clasps and illuminations, $15.00 to +$25.00. + +The Oxford Quarto Bible, + +Without note or comment, universally admitted to be the most beautiful +Bible extant. In neat plain binding, from $4.00 to $5.00.--In Turkey +morocco, extra, gilt edges, $8.00 to $12.00.--In do., with steel +engravings, $10.00 to $15.00.--In do., clasps, &c., with plates and +illuminations, $15.00 to $25.00.--In rich velvet, with gilt ornaments, +$25.00 to $50.00. + +Crown Octavo Bible, + +Printed with large clear type, making a most convenient hand Bible for +family use. + +In neat plain binding, from 75 cents to $1.50.--In English Turkey morocco, +gilt edges, $1.00 to $2.00.--In do., imitation, &c., $1.50 to $3.00.--In +do., clasps, &c., $2.50 to 56.00.--In rich velvet, with gilt ornaments, +$5.00 to $10.00. + +The Sunday-School Teacher's Polyglot Bible, with Maps, &c., + +In neat plain binding, from 60 cents to $1.00.--In imitation gilt edge. +$1.00 to $1.50.--In Turkey, super extra, $1.75 to $2.25.--In do. do., with +clasps, $2.50 to $3.75.--In velvet, rich gilt ornaments, $3.50 to $8.00. + +The Oxford 18mo., or Pew Bible, + +In neat plain binding, from 50 cents to $1.00.--In imitation gilt edge, +$1.00 to $1.50.--In Turkey super extra, $1.75 to $2.25.--In do. do., with +clasps, $2.50 to $3.75.--In velvet, rich gilt ornaments, $3.50 to $8.00. + +Agate 32mo. Bible, + +Printed with larger type than any other small or pocket edition extant. + +In neat plain binding, from 50 cents to $1.00.--In tucks, or pocket-book +style, 75 cents to $1.00.--In roan, imitation gilt edge, $1.00 to +$1.50.--In Turkey, super extra, $1.00 to $2.00.--In do. do. gilt clasps, +$2.50 to $3.50.--In velvet, with rich gilt ornaments, $3.00 to $7.00. + +32mo. Diamond Pocket Bible; + +The neatest, smallest, and cheapest edition of the Bible published. + +In neat plain binding, from 30 to 50 cents.--In tucks, or pocket-book +style, 60 cents to $1.00.--In roan, imitation gilt edge, 75 cents to +$1.25.--In Turkey, super extra, $1.00 to $1.50.--In do. do. gilt clasps, +$1.50 to $2.00.--In velvet, with richly gilt ornaments, $2.50 to $6.00. + +CONSTANTLY ON HAND, + +A large assortment of BIBLES, bound in the most splendid and costly styles, +with gold and silver ornaments, suitable for presentation; ranging in price +from $10.00 to $100.00. + +A liberal discount made to Booksellers and Agents by the Publishers. + + * * * * * + +ENCYCLOPÆDIA OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE; + +OR, DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE, THEOLOGY, RELIGIOUS BIOGRAPHY, ALL RELIGIONS, +ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, AND MISSIONS. + +Designed as a complete Book of Reference on all Religious Subjects, and +Companion to the Bible; forming a cheap and compact Library of Religious +Knowledge. Edited by Rev. J. Newton Brown. Illustrated by wood-cuts, maps, +and engravings on copper and steel. In one volume, royal 8vo. Price, +$4.00. + + * * * * * + +Lippincott's Standard Editions of + +THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, + +IN SIX DIFFERENT SIZES, + +ILLUSTRATED WITH A NUMBER OF STEEL PLATES AND ILLUMINATIONS. COMPREHENDING +THE MOST VARIED AND SPLENDID ASSORTMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. + +THE ILLUMINATED OCTAVO PRAYER-BOOK, + +Printed in seventeen different colours of ink, and illustrated with a +number of Steel Plates and Illuminations; making one of the most splendid +books published. To be had in any variety of the most superb binding, +ranging in prices. + +In Turkey, super extra, from $5.00 to $8.00.--In do. do., with clasps, +$6.00 to $10.00.--In do. do., bevelled and panelled edges, $8.00 to +$15.00.--In velvet, richly ornamented, $12.00 to $20.00. + +8vo. + +In neat plain binding, from $1.50 to $2.00.--In imitation gilt edge, $2.00 +to $3.00.--In Turkey, super extra, $2.50 to $4.50.--In do. do., with +clasps, $3.00 to $5.00.--In velvet, richly gilt ornaments, $5.00 to $12.00. + +16mo. + +Printed throughout with large and elegant type. + +In neat plain binding, from 75 cents to $1.50.--In Turkey morocco, extra, +with plates, $1.75 to $3.00.--In do. do., with plates, clasps, &c., $2.50 +to $5.00.--In velvet, with richly gilt ornaments, $4.00 to $9.00. + +18mo. + +In neat plain binding, from 25 to 75 cents.--In Turkey morocco, with +plates, $1.25 to $2.00.--In velvet, with richly gilt ornaments, $3.00 to +$8.00. + +32mo. + +A beautiful Pocket Edition, with large type. + +In neat plain binding, from 50 cents to $1.00.--In roan, imitation gilt +edge, 75 cents to $1.50.--In Turkey, super extra, $1.25 to $2.00.--In do. +do., gilt clasps, $2.00 to $3.00.--In velvet, with richly gilt ornaments, +$3.00 to $7.00. + +32mo., Pearl type. + +In plain binding, from 25 to 37 1-2 cents.--Roan, 37 1-2 to 50 +cents.--Imitation Turkey, 50 cents to $1.00.--Turkey, super extra, with +gilt edge. $1.00 to $1.50.--Pocket-book style, 60 to 75 cents. + +PROPER LESSONS. + +18mo. + +A BEAUTIFUL EDITION, WITH LARGE TYPE. + +In neat plain binding, from 50 cents to $1.00.--In roan, imitation gilt +edge, 75 cents to $1.50.--In Turkey, super extra, $1.50 to $2.00.--In do. +do., gilt clasps, $2.50 to $3.00.--In velvet, with richly gilt ornaments, +$3.00 to $7.00. + +THE BIBLE AND PRAYER-BOOK, + +In one neat and portable volume. + +32mo., in neat plain binding, from 75 cents to $1.00.--In imitation Turkey, +$1.00 to $1.50.--In Turkey, super extra, $1.50 to $2.50. + +18mo., in large type, plain, $1.75 to $2.50.--In imitation, $1.00 to +$1.75.--In Turkey, super extra, $1.75 to $3.00. Also, with clasps, velvet, +&c. &c. + + * * * * * + +The Errors of Modern Infidelity Illustrated and Refuted. + +BY S.M. SCHMUCKER, A.M. + +In one volume, 12mo.; cloth. Just published. + +We cannot but regard this work, in whatever light we view it in reference +to its design, as one of the most masterly productions of the age, and +fitted to uproot one of the most fondly cherished and dangerous of all +ancient or modern errors. God must bless such a work, armed with his own +truth, and doing fierce and successful battle against black infidelity, +which would bring His Majesty and Word down to the tribunal of human +reason, for condemnation and annihilation.--_Alb. Spectator_ + + * * * * * + +The Clergy of America: + +CONSISTING OF + +ANECDOTES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE CHARACTER OF MINISTERS OF RELIGION IN THE +UNITED STATES, + +BY JOSEPH BELCHER, D.D., + +Editor of "The Complete Works of Andrew Fuller," "Robert Hall," &c. + +"This very interesting and instructive collection of pleasing and solemn +remembrances of many pious men, illustrates the character of the day in +which they lived, and defines the men more clearly than very elaborate +essays."--_Baltimore American_. + +"We regard the collection as highly interesting, and judiciously +made."--_Presbyterian_. + + * * * * * + +JOSEPHUS'S (FLAVIUS) WORKS, + +FAMILY EDITION. + +BY THE LATE WILLIAM WHISTON, A.M. + +FROM THE LAST LONDON EDITION, COMPLETE. + +One volume, beautifully illustrated with Steel Plates, and the only +readable edition published in this country. + +As a matter of course, every family in our country has a copy of the Holy +Bible; and as the presumption is that the greater portion often consult its +pages, we take the liberty of saying to all those that do, that the perusal +of the writings of Josephus will be found very interesting and instructive. + +All those who wish to possess a beautiful and correct copy of this valuable +work, would do well to purchase this edition. It is for sale at all the +principal bookstores in the United States, and by country merchants +generally in the Southern and Western States. + +Also, the above work in two volumes. + + * * * * * + +BURDER'S VILLAGE SERMONS; + +Or, 101 Plain and Short Discourses on the Principal Doctrines of the +Gospel. + +INTENDED FOR THE USE OF FAMILIES, SUNDAY-SCHOOLS, OR COMPANIES ASSEMBLED +FOR RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN COUNTRY VILLAGES. + +BY GEORGE BURDER. + +To which is added to each Sermon, a Short Prayer, with some General Prayers +for Families, Schools. &c., at the end of the work. + +COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO. + +These sermons, which are characterized by a beautiful simplicity, the +entire absence of controversy, and a true evangelical spirit, have gone +through many and large editions, and been translated into several of the +continental languages. "They have also been the honoured means not only of +converting many individuals, but also of introducing the Gospel into +districts, and even into parish Churches, where before it was comparatively +unknown." + +"This work fully deserves the immortality it has attained." + +This is a fine library edition of this invaluable work: and when we say +that it should be found in the possession of every family, we only +reiterate the sentiments and sincere wishes of all who take a deep interest +in the eternal welfare of mankind. + + * * * * * + +FAMILY PRAYERS AND HYMNS, + +ADAPTED TO FAMILY WORSHIP, + +AND + +TABLES FOR THE REGULAR READING OF THE SCRIPTURES, + +By Rev. S.C. WINCHESTER, A.M., + +Late Pastor of the Sixth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia; and the +Presbyterian Church at Natchez, Miss. + +One volume, 12mo. + + * * * * * + +SPLENDID LIBRARY EDITIONS. + +ILLUSTRATED STANDARD POETS. + +ELEGANTLY PRINTED, ON FINE PAPER, AND UNIFORM IN SIZE AND STYLE. + +The following Editions of Standard British Poets are illustrated with +numerous Steel Engravings, and may be had in all varieties of binding. + +BYRON'S WORKS. + +COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO. + +INCLUDING ALL HIS SUPPRESSED AND ATTRIBUTED POEMS; WITH SIX BEAUTIFUL +ENGRAVINGS. + +This edition has been carefully compared with the recent London edition of +Mr. Murray, and made complete by the addition of more than fifty pages of +poems heretofore unpublished in England. Among these there are a number +that have never appeared in any American edition; and the publishers +believe they are warranted in saying that this is _the most complete +edition of Lord Byron's Poetical Works_ ever published in the United +States. + + +THE POETICAL WORKS OF MRS. HEMANS. + +Complete in one volume, octavo; with seven beautiful Engravings. + +This is a new and complete edition, with a splendid engraved likeness of +Mrs. Hemans, on steel, and contains all the Poems in the last London and +American editions. With a Critical Preface by Mr. Thatcher, of Boston. + +"As no work in the English language can be commended with more confidence, +it will argue bad taste in a female in this country to be without a +complete edition of the writings of one who was an honour to her sex and to +humanity, and whose productions, from first to last, contain no syllable +calculated to call a blush to the cheek of modesty and virtue. There is, +moreover, in Mrs. Hemans's poetry, a moral purity and a religious feeling +which commend it, in an especial manner, to the discriminating reader. No +parent or guardian will be under the necessity of imposing restrictions +with regard to the free perusal of every production emanating from this +gifted woman. There breathes throughout the whole a most eminent exemption +from impropriety of thought or diction; and there is at times a pensiveness +of tone, a winning sadness in her more serious compositions, which tells of +a soul which has been lifted from the contemplation of terrestrial things, +to divine communings with beings of a purer world." + + +MILTON, YOUNG, GRAY, BEATTIE, AND COLLINS'S POETICAL WORKS. + +COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO. + +WITH SIX BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS. + + +COWPER AND THOMSON'S PROSE AND POETICAL WORKS. + +COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO. + +Including two hundred and fifty Letters, and sundry Poems of Cowper, never +before published in this country; and of Thomson a new and interesting +Memoir, and upwards of twenty new Poems, for the first time printed from +his own Manuscripts, taken from a late Edition of the Aldine Poets, now +publishing in London. + +WITH SEVEN BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS. + +The distinguished Professor Silliman, speaking of this edition, observes: +"I am as much gratified by the elegance and fine taste of your edition, as +by the noble tribute of genius and moral excellence which these delightful +authors have left for all future generations; and Cowper, especially, is +not less conspicuous as a true Christian, moralist and teacher, than as a +poet of great power and exquisite taste." + + * * * * * + +THE POETICAL WORKS OF ROGERS, CAMPBELL, MONTGOMERY, LAMB, AND KIRKE WHITE. + +COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO. + +WITH SIX BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS. + +The beauty, correctness, and convenience of this favourite edition of these +standard authors are so well known, that it is scarcely necessary to add a +word in its favour. It is only necessary to say, that the publishers have +now issued an illustrated edition, which greatly enhances its former value. +The engravings are excellent and well selected. It is the best library +edition extant. + + +CRABBE, HEBER, AND POLLOK'S POETICAL WORKS. + +COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO. + +WITH SIX BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS. + +A writer in the Boston Traveller holds the following language with +reference to these valuable editions:-- + +"Mr. Editor:--I wish, without any idea of puffing, to say a word or two +upon the 'Library of English Poets' that is now published at Philadelphia, +by Lippincott, Grambo & Co. It is certainly, taking into consideration the +elegant manner in which it is printed, and the reasonable price at which it +is afforded to purchasers, the best edition of the modern British Poets +that has ever been published in this country. Each volume is an octavo of +about 500 pages, double columns, stereotyped, and accompanied with fine +engravings and biographical sketches; and most of them are reprinted from +Galignani's French edition. As to its value, we need only mention that it +contains the entire works of Montgomery, Gray, Beattie, Collins, Byron, +Cowper, Thomson, Milton, Young, Rogers, Campbell, Lamb, Hemans, Heber, +Kirke White, Crabbe, the Miscellaneous Works of Goldsmith, and other +masters of the lyre. The publishers are doing a great service by their +publication, and their volumes are almost in as great demand as the +fashionable novels of the day; and they deserve to be so: for they are +certainly printed in a style superior to that in which we have before had +the works of the English Poets." + +No library can be considered complete without a copy of the above beautiful +and cheap editions of the English Poets; and persons ordering all or any of +them, will please say Lippincott, Grambo & Co.'s illustrated editions. + + * * * * * + +A COMPLETE + +Dictionary of Poetical Quotations: + +COMPRISING THE MOST EXCELLENT AND APPROPRIATE PASSAGES IN THE OLD BRITISH +POETS; WITH CHOICE AND COPIOUS SELECTIONS FROM THE BEST MODERN BRITISH AND +AMERICAN POETS. + +EDITED BY SARAH JOSEPHA HALE. + + As nightingales do upon glow-worms feed, + So poets live upon the living light + Of Nature and of Beauty. + + _Bailey's Festus._ + +Beautifully illustrated with Engravings. In one super-royal octavo volume, +in various bindings. + +The publishers extract, from the many highly complimentary notices of the +above valuable and beautiful work, the following: + +"We have at last a volume of Poetical Quotations worthy of the name. It +contains nearly six hundred octavo pages, carefully and tastefully selected +from all the home and foreign authors of celebrity. It is invaluable to a +writer, while to the ordinary reader it presents every subject at a +glance.--_Godey's Lady's Book_. + +"The plan or idea of Mrs. Hale's work is felicitous. It is one for which +her fine taste, her orderly habits of mind, and her long occupation with +literature, has given her peculiar facilities; and thoroughly has she +accomplished her task in the work before us."--_Sartain's Magazine_. + +"It is a choice collection of poetical extracts from every English and +American author worth perusing, from the days of Chaucer to the present +time."--_Washington Union_. + +"There is nothing negative about this work; it is _positively_ +good."--_Evening Bulletin_. + + * * * * * + +THE DIAMOND EDITION OF BYRON. + +THE POETICAL WORKS OF LORD BYRON, + +WITH A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE. + +COMPLETE IN ONE NEAT DUODECIMO VOLUME, WITH STEEL PLATES. + + +The type of this edition is so perfect, and it is printed with so much +care, on fine white paper, that it can be read with as much ease as most of +the larger editions. This work is to be had in plain and superb binding, +making a beautiful volume for a gift. + +"_The Poetical Works of Lord Byron_, complete in one volume; published by +L., G. & Co., Philadelphia. We hazard nothing in saying that, take it +altogether, this is the most elegant work ever issued from the American +press. + +"'In a single volume, not larger than an ordinary duodecimo, the publishers +have embraced the whole of Lord Byron's Poems, usually printed in ten or +twelve volumes; and, what is more remarkable, have done it with a type so +clear and distinct, that, notwithstanding its necessarily small size, it +may be read with the utmost facility, even by failing eyes. The book is +stereotyped; and never have we seen a finer specimen of that art. +Everything about it is perfect--the paper, the printing, the binding, all +correspond with each other; and it is embellished with two fine engravings, +well worthy the companionship in which they are placed. + +"'This will make a beautiful Christmas present.' + +"We extract the above from Godey's Lady's Book. The notice itself, we are +given to understand, is written by Mrs. Hale. + +"We have to add our commendation in favour of this beautiful volume, a copy +of which has been sent us by the publishers. The admirers of the noble bard +will feel obliged to the enterprise which has prompted the publishers to +dare a competition with the numerous editions of his works already in +circulation; and we shall be surprised if this convenient travelling +edition does not in a great degree supersede the use of the large octavo +works, which have little advantage in size and openness of type, and are +much inferior in the qualities of portability and +lightness."--_Intelligencer_. + + * * * * * + + +THE DIAMOND EDITION OF MOORE. + +(CORRESPONDING WITH BYRON.) + +THE POETICAL WORKS OF THOMAS MOORE, + +COLLECTED BY HIMSELF. + +COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME. + +This work is published uniform with Byron, from the last London edition, +and is the most complete printed in the country. + + * * * * * + + +THE DIAMOND EDITION OF SHAKSPEARE, + +(COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME,) + +INCLUDING A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE. + +UNIFORM WITH BYRON AND MOORE. + +THE ABOVE WORKS CAN BE HAD IN SEVERAL VARIETIES OF BINDING. + + * * * * * + + +GOLDSMITH'S ANIMATED NATURE. + +IN TWO VOLUMES, OCTAVO. + +BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED WITH 385 PLATES. + +CONTAINING A HISTORY OF THE EARTH, ANIMALS, BIRDS, AND FISHES; FORMING THE +MOST COMPLETE NATURAL HISTORY EVER PUBLISHED. + +This is a work that should be in the library of every family, having been +written by one of the most talented authors in the English language. + +"Goldsmith can never be made obsolete while delicate genius, exquisite +feeling, fine invention, the most harmonious metre, and the happiest +diction, are at all valued." + + * * * * * + +BIGLAND'S NATURAL HISTORY + +Of Animals, Birds, Fishes, Reptiles, and Insects. Illustrated with numerous +and beautiful Engravings. By JOHN BIGLAND, author of a "View of the World." +"Letters on Universal History," &c. Complete in 1 vol., 12 mo. + + * * * * * + +THE POWER AND PROGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. + +THE UNITED STATES; Its Power and Progress. + +BY GUILLAUME TELL POUSSIN, + +LATE MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF FRANCE TO THE UNITED STATES. + +FIRST AMERICAN, FROM THE THIRD PARIS EDITION. + +TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY EDMOND L. DU BARRY, M.D., + +SURGEON U.S. NAVY. + +In one large octavo volume. + + * * * * * + +SCHOOLCRAFT'S GREAT NATIONAL WORK ON THE INDIAN TRIBES OF THE UNITED +STATES, + +WITH BEAUTIFUL AND ACCURATE COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS. + +HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION + +RESPECTING THE + +HISTORY, CONDITION AND PROSPECTS + +OF THE + +Indian Tribes of the United States. + +COLLECTED AND PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, +PER ACT OF MARCH 3, 1847, + +BY HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT, LL.D. + +ILLUSTRATED BY S. EASTMAN, CAPT. U.S.A. + +PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF CONGRESS. + + * * * * * + +THE AMERICAN GARDENER'S CALENDAR, + +ADAPTED TO THE CLIMATE AND SEASONS OF THE UNITED STATES. + +Containing a complete account of all the work necessary to be done in the +Kitchen Garden, Fruit Garden, Orchard, Vineyard, Nursery, Pleasure-Ground, +Flower Garden, Green-house, Hot-house, and Forcing Frames, for every month +in the year; with ample Practical Directions for performing the same. + +Also, general as well as minute instructions for laying out or erecting +each and every of the above departments, according to modern taste and the +most approved plans; the Ornamental Planting of Pleasure Grounds, in the +ancient and modern style; the cultivation of Thorn Quicks, and other plants +suitable for Live Hedges, with the best methods of making them, &c. To +which are annexed catalogues of Kitchen Garden Plants and Herbs; Aromatic, +Pot, and Sweet Herbs; Medicinal Plants, and the most important Grapes, &c., +used in rural economy; with the soil best adapted to their cultivation. +Together with a copious Index to the body of the work. + +BY BERNARD M'MAHON. + +Tenth Edition, greatly improved. In one volume, octavo. + + * * * * * + +THE USEFUL AND THE BEAUTIFUL; + +OR, DOMESTIC AND MORAL DUTIES NECESSARY TO SOCIAL HAPPINESS, + +BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED. + +16mo. square cloth. Price 50 and 75 cents. + + * * * * * + +THE FARMER'S AND PLANTER'S ENCYCLOPÆDIA, + +The Farmer's and Planter's Encyclopædia of Rural Affairs. + +BY CUTHBERT W. JOHNSON. + +ADAPTED TO THE UNITED STATES BY GOUVERNEUR EMERSON. + +Illustrated by seventeen beautiful Engravings of Cattle, Horses, Sheep, the +varieties of Wheat, Barley, Oats, Grasses, the Weeds of Agriculture. &c.; +besides numerous Engravings on wood of the most important implements of +Agriculture, &c. + +This standard work contains the latest and best information upon all +subjects connected with farming, and appertaining to the country; treating +of the great crops of grain, hay, cotton, hemp, tobacco, rice, sugar, &c. +&c.; of horses and mules; of cattle, with minute particulars relating to +cheese and butter-making; of fowls, including a description of +capon-making, with drawings of the instruments employed; of bees, and the +Russian and other systems of managing bees and constructing hives. Long +articles on the uses and preparation of bones, lime, guano, and all sorts +of animal, mineral, and vegetable substances employed as manures. +Descriptions of the most approved ploughs, harrows, threshers, and every +other agricultural machine and implement; of fruit and shade trees, forest +trees, and shrubs; of weeds, and all kinds of flies, and destructive worms +and insects, and the best means of getting rid of them; together with a +thousand other matters relating to rural life, about which information is +so constantly desired by all residents of the country. + +IN ONE LARGE OCTAVO VOLUME. + + * * * * * + +MASON'S FARRIER--FARMERS' EDITION. + +Price, 62 cents. + +THE PRACTICAL FARRIER, FOR FARMERS: + +COMPRISING A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE NOBLE AND USEFUL ANIMAL, + +THE HORSE; + +WITH MODES OF MANAGEMENT IN ALL CASES, AND TREATMENT IN DISEASE. + +TO WHICH IS ADDED, + +A PRIZE ESSAY ON MULES; AND AN APPENDIX, + +Containing Recipes for Diseases of Horses, Oxen, Cows, Calves, Sheep, Dogs, +Swine, &c. &c. + +BY RICHARD MASON, M.D., + +Formerly of Surry County. Virginia. + +In one volume, 12mo.; bound in cloth, gilt. + + * * * * * + +MASON'S FARRIER AND STUD-BOOK--NEW EDITION. + +THE GENTLEMAN'S NEW POCKET FARRIER: + +COMPRISING A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE NOBLE AND USEFUL ANIMAL, + +THE HORSE; + +WITH MODES OF MANAGEMENT IN ALL CASES, AND TREATMENT IN DISEASE. + +BY RICHARD MASON, M.D., + +Formerly of Surry County, Virginia. + +To which is added, A PRIZE ESSAY ON MULES; and AN APPENDIX, containing +Recipes for Diseases of Horses, Oxen, Cows, Calves, Sheep, Dogs, Swine, &c. +&c.; with Annals of the Turf, American Stud-Book. Rules for Training, +Racing, &c. + +WITH A SUPPLEMENT, + +Comprising an Essay on Domestic Animals, especially the Horse; with Remarks +on Treatment and Breeding; together with Trotting and Racing Tables, +showing the best time on record at one, two, three and four mile heats; +Pedigrees of Winning Horses, since 1839, and of the most celebrated +Stallions and Mares; with useful Calving and Lambing Tables. By J.S. +SKINNER, Editor now of the Farmer's Library, New York, &c. &c. + + * * * * * + +HINDS'S FARRIERY AND STUD-BOOK--NEW EDITION. + +FARRIERY, + +TAUGHT ON A NEW AND EASY PLAN: + +BEING + +A Treatise on the Diseases and Accidents of the Horse; + +With Instructions to the Shoeing Smith, Farrier, and Groom; preceded by a +Popular Description of the Animal Functions in Health, and how these are to +be restored when disordered. + +BY JOHN HINDS, VETERINARY SURGEON. + +With considerable Additions and Improvements, particularly adapted to this +country, + +BY THOMAS M. SMITH, + +Veterinary Surgeon, and Member of the London Veterinary Medical Society. + +WITH A SUPPLEMENT, BY J.S. SKINNER. + +The publishers have received numerous flattering notices of the great +practical value of these works. The distinguished editor of the American +Farmer, speaking of them, observes:--"We cannot too highly recommend these +books, and therefore advise every owner of a horse to obtain them." + +"There are receipts in those books that show how _Founder_ may be cured, +and the traveller pursue his journey the next day, by giving a _tablespoon +of alum_. This was got from Dr. P. Thornton, of Montpelier, Rappahannock +county, Virginia, as founded on his own observation in several cases." + +"The constant demand for Mason's and Hinds's Farrier has induced the +publishers, Messrs. Lippincott, Grambo & Co., to put forth new editions, +with a 'Supplement' of 100 pages by J.S. Skinner, Esq. We should have +sought to render an acceptable service to our agricultural readers, by +giving a chapter from the Supplement, 'On the Relations between Man and the +Domestic Animals, especially the Horse, and the Obligations they impose;' +or the one on 'The Form of Animals;' but that either one of them would +overrun the space here allotted to such subjects." + +"Lists of Medicines, and other articles which ought to be at hand about +every training and livery stable, and every Farmer's and Breeder's +establishment, will be found in these valuable works." + + * * * * * + +TO CARPENTERS AND MECHANICS. + +Just Published. + +A NEW AND IMPROVED EDITION OF + +THE CARPENTER'S NEW GUIDE, + +BEING A COMPLETE BOOK OF LINES FOR + +CARPENTRY AND JOINERY; + +Treating fully on Practical Geometry, Saffu's Brick and Plaster Groms, +Niches of every description, Sky-lights, Lines for Roofs and Domes: with a +great variety of Designs for Roofs, Trussed Girders, Floors, Domes, +Bridges. &c., Angle Bars for Shop Fronts, &c., and Raking Mouldings. + +ALSO, + +Additional Plans for various Stair-Cases, with the Lines for producing the +Face and Falling Moulds never before published, and greatly superior to +those given in a former edition of this work. + +BY WILLIAM JOHNSON, ARCHITECT, + +OF PHILADELPHIA. + +The whole founded on true Geometrical Principles; the Theory and Practice +well explained and fully exemplified, on eighty-three copper plates, +including some Observations and Calculations on the Strength of Timber. + +BY PETER NICHOLSON, + +Author of "The Carpenter and Joiner's Assistant," "The Student's Instructor +to the Five Orders," &c. + +Thirteenth Edition. One volume. 4to., well bound. + + * * * * * + +A DICTIONARY OF SELECT AND POPULAR QUOTATIONS, WHICH ARE IN DAILY USE. + +TAKEN FROM THE LATIN, FRENCH, GREEK, SPANISH AND ITALIAN LANGUAGES. + +Together with a copious Collection of Law Maxims and Law Terms, translated +into English, with Illustrations, Historical and Idiomatic. + +NEW AMERICAN EDITION, CORRECTED, WITH ADDITIONS. + +One volume, 12mo. + +This volume comprises a copious collection of legal and other terms which +are in common use, with English translations and historical illustrations; +and we should judge its author had surely been to a great "Feast of +Languages," and stole all the scraps. A work of this character should have +an extensive sale, as it entirely obviates a serious difficulty in which +most readers are involved by the frequent occurrence of Latin, Greek, and +French passages, which we suppose are introduced by authors for a mere show +of learning--a difficulty very perplexing to readers in general. This +"Dictionary of Quotations," concerning which too much cannot be said in its +favour, effectually removes the difficulty, and gives the reader an +advantage over the author; for we believe a majority are themselves +ignorant of the meaning of the terms they employ. Very few truly learned +authors will insult their readers by introducing Latin or French quotations +in their writings, when "plain English" will do as well; but we will not +enlarge on this point. + +If the book is useful to those unacquainted with other languages, it is no +less valuable to the classically educated as a book of reference, and +answers all the purposes of a Lexicon--indeed, on many accounts, it is +better. It saves the trouble of tumbling over the larger volumes, to which +every one, and especially those engaged in the legal profession, are very +often subjected. It should have a place in every library in the country. + + * * * * * + +RUSCHENBERGER'S NATURAL HISTORY, COMPLETE, WITH NEW GLOSSARY + +THE ELEMENTS OF NATURAL HISTORY, EMBRACING ZOOLOGY, BOTANY AND GEOLOGY: FOR +SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND FAMILIES. + +BY W.S.W. RUSCHENBERGER, M.D. + +IN TWO VOLUMES. + +WITH NEARLY ONE THOUSAND ILLUSTRATIONS, AND A COPIOUS GLOSSARY. + +Vol. I. contains _Vertebrate Animals_. Vol. II. contains _Invertebrate +Animals, Botany, and Geology_. + + * * * * * + +A Beautiful and Valuable Presentation Book. + +THE POET'S OFFERING. + +EDITED BY MRS. HALE. + +With a Portrait of the Editress, a Splendid Illuminated Title-Page, and +Twelve Beautiful Engravings by Sartain. Bound in rich Turkey Morocco, and +Extra Cloth, Gilt Edge. + +To those who wish to make a present that will never lose its value, this +will be found the most desirable Gift-Book ever published. + +"We commend it to all who desire to present a friend with a volume not only +very beautiful, but of solid intrinsic value."--_Washington Union_. + +"A perfect treasury of the thoughts and fancies of the best English and +American Poets. The paper and printing are beautiful, and the binding rich, +elegant, and substantial; The most sensible and attractive of all the +elegant gift-books we have seen."--_Evening Bulletin_. + +"The publishers deserve the thanks of the public for so happy a thought, so +well executed. The engravings are by the best artists, and the other +portions of the work correspond in elegance."--_Public Ledger_. + +"There is no book of selections so diversified and appropriate within our +knowledge."--_Pennsylv'n_. + +"It is one of the most valuable as well as elegant books ever published in +this country."--_Godey's Lady's Book_. + +"It is the most beautiful and the most useful offering ever bestowed on the +public. No individual of literary taste will venture to be without +it."--_The City Item_. + + * * * * * + +THE YOUNG DOMINICAN; + +OR, THE MYSTERIES OF THE INQUISITION, + +AND OTHER SECRET SOCIETIES OF SPAIN. + +BY M.V. DE FEREAL. + +WITH HISTORICAL NOTES, BY M. MANUEL DE CUENDIAS, + +TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH. + +ILLUSTRATED WITH TWENTY SPLENDID ENGRAVINGS BY FRENCH ARTISTS + +One volume, octavo. + + * * * * * + +SAY'S POLITICAL ECONOMY. + +A TREATISE ON POLITICAL ECONOMY; + +Or, The Production, Distribution and Consumption of Wealth. + +BY JEAN BAPTISTE SAY. + +FIFTH AMERICAN EDITION, WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES, BY C.C. BIDDLE, +ESQ. + +In one volume, octavo. + +It would be beneficial to our country if all those who are aspiring to +office, were required by their constituents to be familiar with the pages +of Say. + +The distinguished biographer of the author, in noticing this work, +observes: "Happily for science, he commenced that study which forms the +basis of his admirable Treatise on _Political Economy_; a work which not +only improved under his hand with every successive edition, but has been +translated into most of the European languages." + +The Editor of the North American Review, speaking of Say, observes, that +"he is the most popular, and perhaps the most able writer on Political +Economy, since the time of Smith." + + * * * * * + +LAURENCE STERNE'S WORKS, + +WITH A LIFE OF THE AUTHOR: + +WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. + +WITH SEVEN BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS, ENGRAVED BY GILBERT AND GIHON, FROM +DESIGNS BY DARLEY. + +One volume, octavo; cloth, gilt. + +To commend or to criticise Sterne's Works, in this age of the world, would +be all "wasteful and extravagant excess." Uncle Toby--Corporal Trim--the +Widow--Le Fevre--Poor Maria--the Captive--even the Dead Ass,--this is all +we have to say of Sterne; and in the memory of these characters, histories, +and sketches, a thousand follies and worse than follies are forgotten. The +volume is a very handsome one. + + * * * * * + +THE MEXICAN WAR AND ITS HEROES; + +BEING + +A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE MEXICAN WAR, + +EMBRACING ALL THE OPERATIONS UNDER GENERALS TAYLOR AND SCOTT. + +WITH A BIOGRAPHY OF THE OFFICERS. + +ALSO, + +AN ACCOUNT OF THE CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO, + +Under Gen. Kearny, Cols. Doniphan and Fremont. Together with Numerous +Anecdotes of the War, and Personal Adventures of the Officers. Illustrated +with Accurate Portraits, and other Beautiful Engravings. + +In one volume, 12mo. + + * * * * * + +NEW AND COMPLETE COOK-BOOK. + +THE PRACTICAL COOK-BOOK, + +CONTAINING UPWARDS OF + +ONE THOUSAND RECEIPTS, + +Consisting of Directions for Selecting, Preparing, and Cooking all kinds of +Meats, Fish, Poultry, and Game; Soups, Broths, Vegetables, and Salads. +Also, for making all kinds of Plain and Fancy Breads, Pastes, Puddings, +Cakes, Creams, Ices, Jellies, Preserves, Marmalades, &c. &c. &c. Together +with various Miscellaneous Recipes, and numerous Preparations for Invalids. + +BY MRS. BLISS. + +In one volume, 12mo. + + * * * * * + +The City Merchant; or The Mysterious Failure. + +BY J.B. JONES, + +AUTHOR OF "WILD WESTERN SCENES," "THE WESTERN MERCHANT," &c. + +ILLUSTRATED WITH TEN ENGRAVINGS. + +In one volume, 12mo. + + * * * * * + +EL PUCHERO; or, A Mixed Dish from Mexico. + +EMBRACING GENERAL SCOTT'S CAMPAIGN, WITH SKETCHES OF MILITARY LIFE IN FIELD +AND CAMP; OF THE CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY, MANNERS AND WAYS OF THE PEOPLE, +&c. + +BY RICHARD M'SHERRY, M.D., U.S.N., + +LATE ACTING SURGEON OF REGIMENT OF MARINES. + +In one volume, 12mo. + +WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. + + * * * * * + +MONEY-BAGS AND TITLES: + +A HIT AT THE FOLLIES OF THE AGE. + +TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF JULES SANDEAU. + +BY LEONARD MYERS. + +One volume, 12mo. + +"'_Money-Bags and Titles_' is quite a remarkable work, amounts to a kindly +exposure of the folly of human pride, and also presents at once the evil +and the remedy. If good-natured ridicule of the impostures practised by a +set of self-styled reformers, who have nothing to lose, and to whom change +must be gain--if, in short, a delineation of the mistaken ideas which +prevent, and the means which conduce to happiness, be traits deserving of +commendation,--the reader will find much to enlist his attention and win +his approbation in the pages of this unpretending, but truly meritorious +publication." + + * * * * * + +WHAT IS CHURCH HISTORY? + +A VINDICATION OF THE IDEA OF HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS, + +BY PHILIP SCHAF. + +TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN. + +In one volume, 12mo. + + * * * * * + +DODD'S LECTURES. + +DISCOURSES TO YOUNG MEN. + +ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS HIGHLY INTERESTING ANECDOTES. + +BY WILLIAM DODD, LL.D., + +CHAPLAIN IN ORDINARY TO HIS MAJESTY GEORGE THE THIRD. + +FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, WITH ENGRAVINGS. + +One volume, 18mo. + + * * * * * + +THE IRIS: + +AN ORIGINAL SOUVENIR. + +With Contributions from the First Writers in the Country. + +EDITED BY PROF. JOHN S. HART. + +With Splendid Illuminations and Steel Engravings. Bound in Turkey Morocco +and rich Papier Mache Binding. + +IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO. + +Its contents are entirely original. Among the contributors are names well +known in the republic of letters; such as Mr. Boker, Mr. Stoddard, Prof. +Moffat, Edith May, Mrs. Sigourney, Caroline May, Mrs. Kinney, Mrs. Butler, +Mrs. Pease, Mrs. Swift, Mr. Van Bibber, Rev. Charles T. Brooks, Mrs. Dorr, +Erastus W. Ellsworth, Miss E.W. Barnes, Mrs. Williams, Mary Young, Dr. +Gardette, Alice Carey, Phebe Carey, Augusta Browne, Hamilton Browne, +Caroline Eustis, Margaret Junkin, Maria J.B. Browne, Miss Starr, Mrs. +Brotherson, Kate Campbell, &c. + + * * * * * + +GEMS FROM THE SACRED MINE; + +OR, HOLY THOUGHTS UPON SACRED SUBJECTS. + +BY CLERGYMEN OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. + +EDITED BY THOMAS WYATT, A.M. + +In one volume, 12mo. + +WITH SEVEN BEAUTIFUL STEEL ENGRAVINGS. + +The contents of this work are chiefly by clergymen of the Episcopal Church. +Among the contributors will be found the names of the Right Rev. Bishop +Potter, Bishop Hopkins, Bishop Smith, Bishop Johns, and Bishop Doane; and +the Rev. Drs. H.V.D. Johns, Coleman, and Butler; Rev. G.T. Bedell, M'Cabe, +Ogilsby, &c. The illustrations are rich and exquisitely wrought engravings +upon the following subjects:--"Samuel before Eli," "Peter and John healing +the Lame Man," "The Resurrection of Christ," "Joseph sold by his Brethren," +"The Tables of the Law." "Christ's Agony in the Garden," and "The Flight +into Egypt." These subjects, with many others in prose and verse, are ably +treated throughout the work. + + * * * * * + +HAW-HO-NOO: + +OR, THE RECORDS OF A TOURIST. + +BY CHARLES LANMAN, + +Author of "A Summer in the Wilderness," &c. In one volume, 12mo. + +"In the present book, '_Haw-ho-noo_,' (an Indian name, by the way, for +America,) the author has gathered up some of the relics of his former +tours, and added to them other interesting matter. It contains a number of +carefully written and instructive articles upon the various kinds of fish +in our country, whose capture affords sport for anglers; reminiscences of +unique incidents, manners, and customs in different parts of the country; +and other articles, narrative, descriptive, and sentimental. In a +supplement are gathered many curious Indian legends. They are related with +great simplicity and clearness, and will be of service hereafter to the +poem makers of America. Many of them are quite beautiful."--_National +Intelligencer_. + + * * * * * + +LONZ POWERS; Or, The Regulators. + +A ROMANCE OF KENTUCKY. + +FOUNDED ON FACTS. + +BY JAMES WEIR, ESQ. + +IN TWO VOLUMES. + + +The scenes, characters, and incidents in these volumes have been copied +from nature, and from real life. They are represented as taking place at +that period in the history of Kentucky, when the Indian, driven, after many +a hard-fought field, from his favourite hunting-ground, was succeeded by a +rude and unlettered population, interspersed with organized bands of +desperadoes, scarcely less savage than the red men they had displaced. The +author possesses a vigorous and graphic pen, and has produced a very +interesting romance, which gives us a striking portrait of the times he +describes. + + * * * * * + +THE WESTERN MERCHANT. + +A NARRATIVE, + +Containing useful Instruction for the Western Man of Business, who makes +his Purchases in the East. Also, Information for the Eastern Man, whose +Customers are in the West. Likewise, Hints for those who design emigrating +to the West. Deduced from actual experience. + +BY LUKE SHORTFIELD, A WESTERN MERCHANT. + +One volume, 12mo. + + +This is a new work, and will be found very interesting to the Country +Merchant, &c. &c. + +A sprightly, pleasant book, with a vast amount of information in a very +agreeable shape. Business, Love, and Religion are all discussed, and many +proper sentiments expressed in regard to each. The "moral" of the work is +summed up in the following concluding sentences: "Adhere steadfastly to +your business; adhere steadfastly to your first love; adhere steadfastly to +the church." + + * * * * * + +A MANUAL OF POLITENESS, + +COMPRISING THE + +PRINCIPLES OF ETIQUETTE AND RULES OF BEHAVIOUR + +IN GENTEEL SOCIETY, FOR PERSONS OF BOTH SEXES. + +18mo., with Plates. + + * * * * * + +Book of Politeness. + +THE GENTLEMAN AND LADY'S + +BOOK OF POLITENESS AND PROPRIETY OF DEPORTMENT + +DEDICATED TO THE YOUTH OF BOTH SEXES. + +BY MADAME CELNART. + +Translated from the Sixth Paris Edition, Enlarged and Improved. + +Fifth American Edition. + +One volume, 18mo. + + * * * * * + +THE ANTEDILUVIANS; Or, The World Destroyed. + +A NARRATIVE POEM, IN TEN BOOKS. + +BY JAMES M'HENRY, M.D. + +One volume, 18mo. + + * * * * * + +Bennett's (Rev. John) Letters to a Young Lady, + +ON A VARIETY OF SUBJECTS CALCULATED TO IMPROVE THE HEART, TO FORM THE +MANNERS, AND ENLIGHTEN THE UNDERSTANDING. + +"That our daughters may be as polished corners of the temple." + +The publishers sincerely hope (for the happiness of mankind) that a copy of +this valuable little work will be found the companion of every young lady, +as much of the happiness of every family depends on the proper cultivation +of the female mind. + + * * * * * + +THE DAUGHTER'S OWN BOOK: + +OR, PRACTICAL HINTS FROM A FATHER TO HIS DAUGHTER. + +One volume, 18mo. + +This is one of the most practical and truly valuable treatises on the +culture and discipline of the female mind, which has hitherto been +published in this country; and the publishers are very confident, from the +great demand for this invaluable little work, that ere long it will be +found in the library of every young lady. + + * * * * * + +THE AMERICAN CHESTERFIELD: + +Or, "Youth's Guide to the Way to Wealth, Honour, and Distinction" &c. 18mo. + +CONTAINING ALSO A COMPLETE TREATISE ON THE ART OF CARVING. + +"We most cordially recommend the American Chesterfield to general +attention: but to young persons particularly, as one of the best works of +the kind that has ever been published in this country. It cannot be too +highly appreciated, nor its perusal be unproductive of satisfaction and +usefulness." + + * * * * * + +SENECA'S MORALS. + +BY WAY OF ABSTRACT TO WHICH IS ADDED, A DISCOURSE UNDER THE TITLE OF AN +AFTER-THOUGHT. + +BY SIR ROGER L'ESTRANGE, KNT. + +A new, fine edition; one volume, 18mo. + +A copy of this valuable little work should be found in every family +library. + + * * * * * + +NEW SONG-BOOK. + +Grigg's Southern and Western Songster; + +BEING A CHOICE COLLECTION OF THE MOST FASHIONABLE SONGS, MANY OF WHICH ARE +ORIGINAL. + +In one volume, 18mo. + +Great care was taken, in the selection, to admit no song that contained, in +the slightest degree, any indelicate or improper allusions; and with great +propriety it may claim the title of "The Parlour Song-Book, or Songster." +The immortal Shakspeare observes-- + + "The man that hath not music in himself, + Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, + Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils." + + * * * * * + +ROBOTHAM'S POCKET FRENCH DICTIONARY, + +CAREFULLY REVISED, + +AND THE PRONUNCIATION OF ALL THE DIFFICULT WORDS ADDED. + + * * * * * + +THE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF TRISTRAM SHANDY, GENTLEMAN. + +COMPRISING THE HUMOROUS ADVENTURES OF + +UNCLE TOBY AND CORPORAL TRIM. + +BY L. STERNE. + +Beautifully Illustrated by Darley. Stitched. + + * * * * * + +A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY. + +BY L. STERNE. + +Illustrated as above by Darley. Stitched. + +The beauties of this author are so well known, and his errors in style and +expression so few and far between, that one reads with renewed delight his +delicate turns, &c. + + * * * * * + +THE LIFE OF GENERAL JACKSON, + +WITH A LIKENESS OF THE OLD HERO. + +One volume, 18mo. + + * * * * * + +LIFE OF PAUL JONES. + +In one volume, 12mo. + +WITH ONE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS + +BY JAMES HAMILTON. + +The work is compiled from his original journals and correspondence, and +includes an account of his services in the American Revolution, and in the +war between the Russians and Turks in the Black Sea. There is scarcely any +Naval Hero, of any age, who combined in his character so much of the +adventurous, skilful and daring, as Paul Jones. The incidents of his Life +are almost as startling and absorbing as those of romance. His achievements +during the American Revolution--the fight between the Bon Homme Richard and +Serapis, the most desperate naval action on record--and the alarm into +which, with so small a force, he threw the coasts of England and +Scotland--are matters comparatively well known to Americans; but the +incidents of his subsequent career have been veiled in obscurity, which is +dissipated by this biography. A book like this, narrating the actions of +such a man, ought to meet with an extensive sale, and become as popular as +Robinson Crusoe in fiction, or Weems's Life of Marion and Washington, and +similar books, in fact. It contains 400 pages, has a handsome portrait and +medallion likeness of Jones, and is illustrated with numerous original wood +engravings of naval scenes and distinguished men with whom he was familiar. + + * * * * * + +THE GREEK EXILE; + +Or, A Narrative of the Captivity and Escape of Christophoros Plato +Castanis, DURING THE MASSACRE ON THE ISLAND OF SCIO BY THE TURKS TOGETHER +WITH VARIOUS ADVENTURES IN GREECE AND AMERICA. + +WRITTEN BY HIMSELF, + +Author of an Essay on the Ancient and Modern Greek Languages; +Interpretation of the Attributes of the Principal Fabulous Deities; The +Jewish Maiden of Scio's Citadel; and the Greek Boy in the Sunday-School. + +One volume, 12mo. + + * * * * * + +THE YOUNG CHORISTER; + +Collection of New and Beautiful Tunes, adapted to the use of +Sabbath-Schools, from some of the most distinguished composers; together +with many of the author's compositions. + +EDITED BY MINARD W. WILSON. + + * * * * * + +CAMP LIFE OF A VOLUNTEER, + +A Campaign in Mexico; Or, A Glimpse at Life In Camp. + +BY "ONE WHO HAS SEEN THE ELEPHANT." + + * * * * * + +Life of General Zachary Taylor, + +COMPRISING A NARRATIVE OF EVENTS CONNECTED WITH HIS PROFESSIONAL CAREER, +AND AUTHENTIC INCIDENTS OF HIS EARLY YEARS. + +BY J. REESE FRY AND R.T. CONRAD. + +With an original and accurate Portrait, and eleven elegant illustrations, +by Darley. + +In one handsome 12mo. volume. + +"It is by far the fullest and most interesting biography of General Taylor +that we have ever seen."--_Richmond (Whig) Chronicle_. + +"On the whole, we are satisfied that this volume is the most correct and +comprehensive one yet published."--_Hunt's Merchants' Magazine_. + +"The superiority of this edition over the ephemeral publications of the day +consists in fuller and more authentic accounts of his family, his early +life, and Indian wars. The narrative of his proceedings in Mexico is drawn +partly from reliable private letters, but chiefly from his own official +correspondence." + +"It forms a cheap, substantial, and attractive volume, and one which should +be read at the fireside of every family who desire a faithful and true life +of the Old General." + + * * * * * + +GENERAL TAYLOR AND HIS STAFF: + +Comprising Memoirs of Generals Taylor, Worth, Wool, and Butler; Cols. May, +Cross, Clay, Hardin, Yell, Hays, and other distinguished Officers attached +to General Taylor's Army. Interspersed with + +NUMEROUS ANECDOTES OF THE MEXICAN WAR, + +and Personal Adventures of the Officers. Compiled from Public Documents and +Private Correspondence. With + +ACCURATE PORTRAITS, AND OTHER BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS. + +In one volume, 12mo. + + * * * * * + +GENERAL SCOTT AND HIS STAFF: + +Comprising Memoirs of Generals Scott, Twiggs, Smith, Quitman, Shields, +Pillow, Lane, Cadwalader, Patterson, and Pierce; Cols. Childs, Riley, +Harney, and Butler; and other distinguished officers attached to General +Scott's Army. + +TOGETHER WITH + +Notices of General Kearny, Col. Doniphan, Col. Fremont, and other officers +distinguished in the Conquest of California and New Mexico; and Personal +Adventures of the Officers. Compiled from Public Documents and Private +Correspondence. With + +ACCURATE PORTRAITS, AND OTHER BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS. + +In one volume, 12mo. + + * * * * * + +THE FAMILY DENTIST, + +INCLUDING THE SURGICAL, MEDICAL AND MECHANICAL TREATMENT OF THE TEETH. + +Illustrated with thirty-one Engravings. + +By CHARLES A. DU BOUCHET, M.D., Dental Surgeon. + +In one volume, 18mo. + + * * * * * + +MECHANICS FOR THE MILLWRIGHT, ENGINEER AND MACHINIST, CIVIL ENGINEER, AND +ARCHITECT: + +CONTAINING + +THE PRINCIPLES OF MECHANICS APPLIED TO MACHINERY + +Of American models, Steam-Engines, Water-Works, Navigation, +Bridge-building, &c. &c. By + +FREDERICK OVERMAN, + +Author of "The Manufacture of Iron," and other scientific treatises. + +Illustrated by 150 Engravings. In one large 12mo. volume. + + * * * * * + +WILLIAMS'S TRAVELLER'S AND TOURIST'S GUIDE + +Through the United States, Canada, &c. + +This book will be found replete with information, not only to the +traveller, but likewise to the man of business. In its preparation, an +entirely new plan has been adopted, which, we are convinced, needs only a +trial to be fully appreciated. + +Among its many valuable features, are tables showing at a glance the +_distance_, _fare_, and _time_ occupied in travelling from the principal +cities to the most important places in the Union; so that the question +frequently asked, without obtaining a satisfactory reply, is here answered +in full. Other tables show the distances from New York, &c., to domestic +and foreign ports, by sea; and also, by way of comparison, from New York +and Liverpool to the principal ports beyond and around Cape Horn, &c., as +well as _via_ the Isthmus of Panama. Accompanied by a large and accurate +Map of the United States, including a separate Map of California, Oregon, +New Mexico and Utah. Also, a Map of the Island of Cuba, and Plan of the +City and Harbor of Havana; and a Map of Niagara River and Falls. + + * * * * * + +THE LEGISLATIVE GUIDE: + +Containing directions for conducting business in the House of +Representatives; the Senate of the United States; the Joint Rules of both +Houses; a Synopsis of Jefferson's Manual, and copious Indices; together +with a concise system of Rules of Order, based on the regulations of the +U.S. Congress. Designed to economise time, secure uniformity and despatch +in conducting business in all secular meetings, and also in all religious, +political, and Legislative Assemblies. + +BY JOSEPH BARTLETT BURLEIGH, LL. D. + +In one volume, 12mo. + +This is considered by our Judges and Congressmen as decidedly the best work +of the kind extant. Every young man in the country should have a copy of +this book. + + * * * * * + +THE INITIALS; A Story of Modern Life. + +THREE VOLUMES OF THE LONDON EDITION COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME 12MO. + +A new novel, equal to "Jane Eyre." + + * * * * * + +WILD WESTERN SCENES: + +A NARRATIVE OF ADVENTURES IN THE WESTERN WILDERNESS. + +Wherein the Exploits of Daniel Boone, the Great American Pioneer, are +particularly described. Also, Minute Accounts of Bear, Deer, and Buffalo +Hunts--Desperate Conflicts with the Savages--Fishing and Fowling +Adventures--Encounters with Serpents, &c. + +By LUKE SHORTFIELD, Author of "The Western Merchant." + +BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED. One volume, 12mo. + + * * * * * + +POEMS OF THE PLEASURES: + +Consisting of the PLEASURES OF IMAGINATION, by Akenside; the PLEASURES OF +MEMORY by Samuel Rogers; the PLEASURES OF HOPE, by Campbell; and the +PLEASURES OF FRIENDSHIP, by McHenry. With a memoir of each Author, prepared +expressly for this work. 18mo. + + * * * * * + +BALDWIN'S PRONOUNCING GAZETTEER. + +A PRONOUNCING GAZETTEER: + +CONTAINING + +TOPOGRAPHICAL, STATISTICAL, AND OTHER INFORMATION, OF ALL THE MORE +IMPORTANT PLACES IN THE KNOWN WORLD, FROM THE MOST RECENT AND AUTHENTIC +SOURCES. + +BY THOMAS BALDWIN. + +_Assisted by several other Gentlemen._ + +To which is added an APPENDIX, containing more than TEN THOUSAND ADDITIONAL +NAMES, chiefly of the small Towns and Villages, &c., of the United States +and of Mexico. + +NINTH EDITION, WITH A SUPPLEMENT, + +Giving the Pronunciation of near two thousand names, besides those +pronounced in the Original Work: Forming in itself a Complete Vocabulary of +Geographical Pronunciation. + +ONE VOLUME 12MO.--PRICE, $1.50. + + * * * * * + +Arthur's Library for the Household. + +Complete in Twelve handsome 18mo. Volumes, bound in Scarlet Cloth. + + 1. WOMAN'S TRIALS; OR, TALES AND SKETCHES FROM THE LIFE AROUND US. + 2. MARRIED LIFE; ITS SHADOWS AND SUNSHINE. + 3. THE TWO WIVES; OR LOST AND WON. + 4. THE WAYS OF PROVIDENCE; OR, "HE DOETH ALL THINGS WELL." + 5. HOME SCENES AND HOME INFLUENCES. + 6. STORIES FOR YOUNG HOUSEKEEPERS. + 7. LESSONS IN LIFE, FOR ALL WHO WILL READ THEM. + 8. SEED-TIME AND HARVEST; OR, WHATSOEVER A MAN SOWETH THAT SHALL HE + ALSO REAP. + 9. STORIES FOR PARENTS. + 10. OFF-HAND SKETCHES, A LITTLE DASHED WITH HUMOR. + 11. WORDS FOR THE WISE. + 12. THE TRIED AND THE TEMPTED. + +The above Series are sold together or separate, as each work is complete in +itself. No Family should be without a copy of this interesting and +instructive Series. Price Thirty-seven and a Half Cents per Volume. + + * * * * * + +FIELD'S SCRAP BOOK.--New Edition. + +Literary and Miscellaneous Scrap Book. + +Consisting of Tales and Anecdotes--Biographical, Historical, Patriotic, +Moral, Religious, and Sentimental Pieces, in Prose and Poetry. + +COMPILED BY WILLIAM FIELDS. + +SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND IMPROVED. + +In one handsome 8vo. Volume. Price, $2.00. + + * * * * * + +THE ARKANSAW DOCTOR. + +THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF AN ARKANSAW DOCTOR. + +BY DAVID RATTLEHEAD, M.D. "_The Man of Scrapes._" + +WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. PRICE FIFTY CENTS. + + * * * * * + +THE HUMAN BODY AND ITS CONNEXION WITH MAN. + +ILLUSTRATED BY THE PRINCIPAL ORGANS. + +BY JAMES JOHN GARTH WILKINSON, + +Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. + +IN ONE VOLUME, 12MO--PRICE $1.25. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote A: Uncle Tom's Cabin.] + +[Footnote B: A number of slaves have been manumitted recently at the +South--in one instance more than half preferred to remain in slavery in New +Orleans, to going to the North.] + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Aunt Phillis's Cabin, by Mary H. 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