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Show 164 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. The event. of the day had not co1nc to 1ny kno,vlcdge. And now I will tell yon smncthing that happened to me; thouo·h yon " 'ill, perhaps, think it illu ·tratc the stq cr~tition of 'laYc . 1 sat in 1ny nsnal place on the flour ncar the window, where I coulJ hear nu1 ch thn.t 'vas aiel in the street without being seen. The family had retired for the 11ight, and all 'va: till. I sat there thinking of 1ny children, when 1 heard a low strain of 1nusic. ..A. baud of ·erenadcr were under the windo·w·, playing "Ilotnc, . wcct hon1c.' ' I li. ·Lcncd till the sounds did not sec1n lil .. c 1nusic, but like the n1oaning of children. It seetncd as if n1y heart 'vould burst. I rose fron1 1ny ittiug po turc, and knelt. A streak of n1oonli rrh t \vas on the floor before n1e, and in the n1idst of it appeared the forms of 111y two children. rrhcy Yani hed; but I had seen them di tinctly. On1e will call it a dre~un, other a vi.·ion. I kno·w not how to account for it, but it n1adc a strong in1pres ion on my mind, and I felt certain so1ncthing had happened to my little ones. I had not seen Betty since 1norning. Now I heard her softly turning the key. As soon as she entered, I clung to her, and begged her to let n1c know " ·hcther Iny children ·were dead, or 'vhethcr they 'vere sold; for I had seen their spirits in my rootn, and I was sure something had happened to the1n. "Lor, chilo," aid she, putting her arms round n1e, "you's got de hio·h- • b stencs. I'll sleep wid you to-night, 'cause you'll 1nake a noi e, and ruin m1 sts. So1nething has ~tirred you up n1ightily. '\Vhen you i ·<lone cryin, I'll talk wicl you. De chillern is well, and. 1nighty happy. I ·ocd '0111 n1y, self. Do,;:, dat "-aLisiy you '? Dar, ehile, be !::i till! Son10- ' The Children Sold. body vill hear you." I tried to ohey her. She lay clow11, and wa~ f-'OOn ~o nnd a~lcep; lJut no .·lcep would come to 1ny rye licls. l.t dawn, n (~ uy \\·a. up and ofr to the kitchen . The honrs pitf-\SeU Oil, an ( 1 the Yifion or the l1 igh t kept constantly recurring to 1ny thonghtf-\. After a while I hearcl the voices of two '\ro1nen in the n Lry. ] n one of thcn1 I recognized the hon tnaid. rrhc oth(\r f'aid to her, "Diu yon kno'v Lincla nrenL' .· Cllihlrcn ·was sold. to tho peculator yesterday. They sny ole tna~f-;a Flint was 1nighty ghul to c 'cn1 ch·ore out of to·wn; l>nt they say they've con1c hack agin. I 'f-lpect it's all their dacluy's doings. They . ay he's ll0ugl1 t '\Yillirun too. Lor! bow it will take hold of ole 1n a~sa Flint! l'tn going roun' to aunt ~Iarthy' · to soc 'honL it." I bit 1ny lip.· till tho 1Jlooc1 can1e to keep frmn crying out. \V ere n1y ch ildrcn wi Lh t11 eir grandn1otbcr, or had the speculator carried thCin off'? Tho .·u~prnf-le was dreadful. \Voulcl Betty 'iWl,cr c01ne, and tell 1no the truth about it? At last she can1c, anc.l ] cao·rrly repeatcu what I had overheard. J r or face wa: olle broad, bright sn1ilc. " Lor, yon foolish ting! " ·ai<l she. "I' c g·wine to tell yon all 'bout i L Do gal, is eating thar Lrcakfa t, and 1ni .. ·u. tole 1nc to let her tell you; but, poor cr ootcr! t'aint rjght to kc{ p you waitin', and I'se gwinc to tell yon. Brnclclor, chillern, all is bought by do daddy! l'sc laugh 1norc clan nuff, tinking 'bout ole 1na:sa Flint. Lor, how he uill s·war! ITo's got ketchccl dis tin1c, any how; but 1 n1n~ -t be gcLtiug out o' dis, or ucn1 gal: Yill co1nc and ketch me .n BeLLy went off laughin g ; and 1 said to 1ny:clf, '' Can it be trnc that 1ny chilclren arc free? 1 have not suffered i~n· thc1n in vain. Thank GoJ!" |