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Show 44 I nc1. d ents 1· 11 the Life of a Slave Girl. v. TilE TRIALS OF GIRLIIOOD. D tl .r. ·st "rears of my service in Dr. Flint's URING 1e 111 J • .r, .1 I accu. torned to share sorno 1ndnlgcnc:el) 1<-UUI y, ·wa . · 1 1 1 ·1·, ·e 1 w1t of n1y 111istre s. Though tlns seo1ncll 1 t 1e C ll ul 1 . 'O t]1n 11 to me no mor rirrht I was grateful for rt, and u o ' . . tried to mcri t tho kindness by tho farthful dtscharge of 111y duties. But I now entered on my .fifteenth year- a sad epoch in tho lifo of .a slave grrl. ~Iy ma. s tor beaan to whisper foul words 111 n1y car. Young b • • as I was, I coulu not remain ignorant of thou' nnport. I tried to treat them with indifference or conton1pt. The 111aster's age, my cxtren1e youth, and tho fear that his conduct would be reported to 1ny granclrnothcr, 1nacle hin1 bear this troat1nent for 1nany months. lle ·was a crafty n1an, and resorted to rnany means to acc01nplish his purposes. Sornetirncs he had stonny, terrific ways, that made his victin1s trornblo ; son1etin1es he as un1ed a gentleno s that he thought n1u ·t surely subdue. Of the two, I preferred his stonuy moods, although they loft me tren1bling. IIe tried his utrnost to corrupt tho pure principles rny grandrnother had instilled. He peopled my young mind ·with unclean in1ages, such as only a vile monster could think of. I turned frorn hirn with disgust and hatred. ~ut he was my n1astcr. I was cornpellod to live under tho san1o roof with him- where I saw a man forty years my senior daily violating tho n1ost sacred con1n1and- ' rfhe Trials of Girlhood. 45 roents of nature. IIo told me I was his property; that I n1ust be uhj oc:t to his \vill in all thing . ~fy soul rovolto<l again -t tho rnoan tyranny. But ·whore could I turn for protection ? No n1attcr 1vhothor the slave girl be a· black as ebony or as fair as her nlistress. In either case, there is no shadow· of law to protect her frotn insult, fro1n violence, or O\TOn frmn death; all the ·c arc inflicted by fiend.· who boar the shape of men. Tho n1istrcss, 1vho ought to protect the helpless victin1, bas no other fcc lin o· · towards her bnt those of joalou ·y and rage. Tho <logradation, tho wrongs, the vices, that gro·w out of ·laYcry, arc n1ore than I can describe. They arc greater than you ·would willingly believe. Surely, if you credited one half tho truths that arc told you concerning tho holplo ·s lnillions suffering in this cruel bondage, you at tho north woul<lnot help to tighten tho yoke. You ·urely \voulJ.. refu e to do for the nut tor, on yonr own ·oil, the rnoan and cruel \York \Yhich trainoJ.. bloodhounds and Lho lowest class of ·whites do for bin1 at the south. Every whore tho years bring to all enough of sin and sorTO\V ; but in slavery tho Yory dawn of lifo is darkened by those shado·w. . Evon tho li ttlo child, who is accu tomed to \Yait on her rni trc ·s and her children, \Yill learn, before ·he i · twol ve years old, why it is that h er mi tress hates such and nch a one among tho slaves. Perhaps tho child's own rnothcr is an1ong those hated ones. She lif-ltons to violent outbreaks of jealous pa sion, and cannot help understanding what is the cause. '1hc 'vill boco111C prolnaturoly kno,vin o· in evil thin <rs. Soon she will learn to b b trmnblo when she hears her n1astcr's footfall. She |