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Show ) Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. daughter con1e to sec n1c. She can1c and hronght a n1e · ·ao·c fron1 1\[r . IIolJln"', inYilino· n1e to her house b ' and a ·suring 1110 that lHeed not haYe any fear . 'rho convcr ·ationl had with 1ny child <lid not leave 1ny 1nind at ea c. \Vhen I a ·keel if she 1va 1vell treatcu, he an wercd yes; but there ·was no heartiness in the tone and it sccn1cd to n1c that he ,'aid it fro1n an ' uln\rillingnc. s to have 111 trou Lied on her account. Before she left 1110, she a ·ked very carne tly, "l\Iothor, when ·will you take n1e to li \~C ·with you ? " 1 t llliH1c me ad to think that I could not give her a hon1o till I 'vent to ·work and earn \d the n1can · ; a1ul that might take n1c a long tin1c. \Vhcn ~he \'la · placed with 1\Irs. IIohhs, the agrecn1ent was that ·he ·houlu be sent to chool. he had been there two ycal's, and was now 11inc year old, aud she ·earccly know her letter ·. 'I'hcre ·wa. no exclt.·e for this, for there were good public schools in Brooklyn, to \vhieh she could have Leon sent \vithout cxpenfle. fhe staid with 111e till dark, and l went hon1o with her. I \Va rccei ved in a frj cndly 1nauner l>y tho family, and all agreed in . ·aying that Ellen ·was a useful, good girl. l\fr . IIobb, looked 1nc coolly in tho face, aucl said, "I uppo ·c yon kno\v that n1y con. ·in, ~fr. Sand , has given her to n1y eltlcf-it <langhtcr. .._'he will make a nice waiting-1naid for her -when he grows up." I did not au ·wcr a ·word. IT \V could f'hc, \rho knew by experience the stren oth of a n1othcr's loYo, and who was perfectly a\vare of the relation :Jfr. 8ands bore to my chilurcu,- ho\v could ~he look 1nu in tho face, while she thrust such a dagger iuto n1y llCftrt? I 1vas no longer surprised that they hacl kept her in such a state of ignorance. l\fr. IIobbs had fonnerly • ( The Meeting of Mother and Daughter. hoen wealthy, hut he hau failed, and afterwards obtained a subordinate situation in the Custon 1 II . OlL C. Perhaps they expected to retlll:n to the ·outh some day ; and hllcn's lrnowledgc was qu1Lc : 1drlcient for a f;lavo s couditiun. 1 was ilupaticnt to go to \rorlr and earn n1oncy, that I 1njght change the uncertain po.·jtion of my chilJrcn. ~Ir. ~antls had not kept his prm11 iHo to cn1ancipaLc thctn. I hacl also been deceived about Ellen. '\Vhat security had. l with regard io Benjmnin? I felt that l had none. I returned to n1y friend's hon~e jn an unca.·y Late of 1nind. ln order to protect n1y chiltlrcn, it was necessary that I should. own Inysolr. l called 111y ·elf free, and son1cti1nes felt ·o; L>nt l knew l wa: in ·ecure. I sat down that High t and wroLc a ci \'il letter to Dr, Flint, a 'king hirn to state the lowc~t tonns on which he would sell Inc; and a: I bclollgcd by law to his daughter, I wrote to her al. ·o, n1 akin rr a si1uilar rcCl_uost. Since n1y arri Yal at iltc north I hacl not been unInindfu1 of 1ny dear brother '\ri1lian1. l hacl n1adc diligent inquiries for hitn, and haYing heard of hiln in Boston, I \vent thither. ,V.hcn I arrived thoro, I found he had gone to N' cw n 'd forcl. l wrote to that place, and was inforn1ccl he had gone on a whaling voyage, and 1vonld not return for some 1nonth . I went Lack to N e\v York to g t c1n ploy1ncnt ncar Ellen. I received an ans\vcr fr 111 Dr. Fliut, which gaYo 1ne no encouragement. IIc adYi."cd 1110 to return and submit n1ysclf to rny rightful owners, and then any request I n1ight 1nake 'vould he granted. I lent this letter to a friend, who lost it; otherwise I would present a copy to tny readers. OC) "'-4 |