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Show 40 - Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. tl t knew hinl; but a voice callc<.l out, any one U1 . l . o· ~ • ? " " Ila.lloo, Ben, lHY boy ! ·what arc you ~ otnb tel e . IIi . fu· ·t inlpnlse wa to run ; lJut Ins legs trclnl)lc.u l t I 1,1 110t stir lie turncu to confront lns so t H), lC co u u .._ . . · t d 1·cho1 d there stooJ Ius olJ nut tor's · antao·onl , an u ' . . t ncx ,u, oor . o·1tlJor-- I Ilc thou crh t 1 t '\VUS all over \VlLh HC10 • b \ I 11·1 11 now,. 1u. n t 1't l)l'OYed otherwise. rl'hat 1nan \VaS a · 1 lie 1•1111rac c. ' 0 ~·· or.-.,,· cd a gooulJ" r nun1• bcr of slaves, andy twas not <tnitc deaf to that n1yst1: clock, whose tickiJl<l' i. rarely Iwarcl in the ·la\·ehohlcr . breast. "B~n, yon arc sick," aiJ he. " \Vh~, yon .look like a crho. t. I guess I gave you 'OlllCtlnng of a start. . N~ver 1nina, Ben, I an1 not going to touch you. You had a pretty tough tjtnc of it, and you n1ay go on your way rrjoici ng for aU n1e. But I .'voul<l adYi ·c yon to get out of this place plagny quick, for thoro arc several gontlon1cn here fro1u our town. '' IJ c de. scribed the nearest and safe t rou Lc to N" ew York, and ' adJed, " 1 shall lJo glaJ to tell your n1othcr l have scou you. Good by, Ben." Bonj:unin turned. away, filled ·with gratituue, and surprised that the town he hated containcJ such a gon1- a gcn1 ·worthy of a purer setting. This gontlcn1an was a Northerner by birth, and had · married a ·outhorn lady. On his return, he told my granutnothcr that he had seen her son, and of tho er· Yice he had rendered him. Bonja1nin roached New York safely, ancl concluded to stop there until he had gained strength enough to proceed further. It happened that n1y granchuothcr's only ro1naining son had sailccl for the s~uuc city on 1 business for his lllistrcss. 1'hrough a od 's proviJencc, The Slave who Dared to Feel like a Man. 41 tho brothers 1nct. You n1ay be sure it \Vas a happy meeting. " 0 Phil,'' cxclaiincu Benja1nin, " I a1n here at last." Then he told. hin1 how ncar he ca1uc to dying, almost in sjght of free land, anJ how he prayed that he might live to get one breath of free air. IIc said life -vvas ·worth so1ncthing now, anJ it \Vould be haru to die. In the olcl jail he hau not val ned it; once, he was te1nptcd to de troy it; but son1cthing, he did not kno\v what, hall prcvcnteJ hin1; porhap · it was fear. lie ha<.l heard those who profe:s to Lc religious declare there \Va • no heaven for self-n1urderer:; and as his life hacl 1Jecn pretty hot here, he did not desire a continuation of the mnc in another \Vorld. "If I die now," he cxclai1ncd, " thank God, I shall die a frc01nan ! '' lie bco·ged my uncle Phillip not to return south; hut stay anu \York \vith him, till they earned enough to Luy those at hon1e. IIis brother told hitn it woul<l kill their 1nothcr if he deserted her in her trouble. Hhc had pledged her house, and \vith difficulty had raised 1uoncy to buy him. Would he be bought? "No, never!" he rcrlied. "Do yon suppose, PhjJ, when l have got ·o far out of their clutcbo ·, I ·will give then1 one rcJ con t? No ! And lo you suppose I would turn 1nothcr out of her hotnc in her old age? That I would let h er pay all tho c barJ-carncJ dollars for n1o, and never to sec n1c ? For you kno·w she ·will stay south as long as her other children arc slav . \Vhat a good 1nothcr! Toll her to buy yon, Phil. You have boon a co1nfort to her, and I have been a tronl>lo. And Linda, poor Li.ncla; \\r1w.rll beco1no of lter '? Phil, you Jon't know what a life they lead h er. She ha~ Lulu 4 A. |
