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Show • Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. were indebted to her for nlany more ilnportant ser ... vices. · t Such were the unusually fortunat? Clrcu1ns ances of my early childhood. When I was Sl~ years olu, n1y motl 1 cr d1. 0 d ,. and then ' for the fir t tuuc, I learned, , by tho talk around n1c, that I was a slave. My nl~thel~ s nu·s t ress was tl1n d"nghter of n1y b(J 'randmother s lUis- \j (." tress. She ·was the foster si tor of nly lnothor ; they were both nourished at Iny granun.1nthcr's breast. In fact, 111y 111other had been weaned ~t three .months old, that tho babe of the 1nistross 1n1ght. obtau1 sufficient food. They played together as clnldron ; and, when they bccatnc \vomcn, n1y 1nothcr was a most faithful servant to her whiter foster . i tor. On her death-bed her mistress pron1ised that her children should never suffer for any thing; and during her lifetime she kept her word. They all spoke kindly of my dead n1other, who had been a slave merely in natnc but in nature was noble and ·won1anly. I grieve' d for her, and 1ny young 1nincl ·was trouLled with the thought -vvho ·would no-vv take care of n1c and 1ny little brother. I was told that n1y bon1e was now to be with her mistress ; and I found it a happy one. No toilsome or eli ·agreeable duties were in1poscd upon n1c. ~Iy 1nistrcss was so kind to 1nc that I ·was always glad to do her bidding, and proud to labor for l1cr as much as my young years would pern1it. I woulcl sit by her side for hours, sewing diljgcnt1y, ·with a heart as free fron1 care as that of any free-born ·white chilo. \Vhon she thought I \vas tired, she would . end me out to run and jninp; and away I bounclec1, to gather berries or flowers to decorate her roorn. Those wore Childhood. 15 happy days- too happy to last. The slave child had no thought for the ll101TO\V; but there caine that Lliaht . 1 1 . b ' 1vlnc 1 too sure y "\Yaits on ev-ery human being born to be a cha ttcl. When I \Vas n early twclv·c year olcl, 1ny kind n1istress sickened and died. As I a\v tho check gro\v paler, and the eye rnoro glassy, how carne.,1ly I prayed in n1y h eart tl1n.t :::;he n1ight liv·c! I loYocl her· for :;;he l1ad been altnost like a 1nother to 1nc. f.f y prayc rs ·were not an \vered. ~ 1hc died, and they 1ntricd her in the little churchyan.l, where, day after day, n1y tears fell upon her graYe. I was sent to spend. a ·week with 1ny grancl n1other. I was now old enot~gh to l cgin to tl1iuk of the futuro; and again and again I ask ed n1y~elf what they would do w·ith 1nc. I felt .·n1·e I shouhl HeYer ftnd another n1istrcss so kind a. the 011e who \va: gone. She harl. pro1uisod n1y dying n1 oihor that h er ch ild ron should never uficr for any thing; and when I r e1nmube refl that, and recall eel l1 cr nutny proofs of attacluncn t io 1ne, I could not help having f'Olnc hopes that . ·he hacl left 1110 free . ~fy friend s " ·or aln1ost certain it ·would Lc so. They thouo·h t f'hc wotthl Le .1.n·c io do it ou account of n1y n1other's love and faithCul s lT'i ee. But, alas ! \\'C all know that the nlctnory of a fai thfal -1nxe <1o s not avail 1nuch to f'UYC hor children fro1n the attction block. .After a brief period of' f:n:penf'e, the \rjll of n1y 1nistress was r oad, a11d \\rC learned that ·he had l>eqneat1l ed 1110 to l1 c r si::-;ter's daughter, a chil<l of' live year old. So Yani. lwd our hnprf.i. ~fy 111i:·dross had taught n1e tho precepts of Cod's \Yord: "Thou shalt |