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Show Incidents in the I_jfe of a Slave Girl. The day before his departure for \Vashington I made arrangc1ncnt , towards evening, to get fron1 n1y hiding-place into the storeroon1 bel w. I found lnysclf so stiff and clumsy that it ·was with great difEculty I could hitch fron1 one rc ting place to another. When I reached the storcroon1 1ny ankles gaYc wrty under 1ne, and I sank cxhau ·tccl on the floor. It seemed as if I could never u sc n1y li1nl>. again. But the pnrpo c I had in vic·w rou ·cd all the tr n o'Lh I had. I crawled on my hand and knees to the ·window, and, screened behind a barrel, I "'NaiLed for his con1ing. The clock struck nine, and I knew the tc::unboat would leave between ten and. eleven. ~fy hope· ·were failing. Bnt presently I heard his voice, ayiug to son1c one, " Wait for 1nc a 1no1ncnt. I wi ·h to sec aunt ~[a rtha." When he carne out, as he pas ·cd the 'vindo'v, I saic1, "Stop one n1o1nent, and let n1c speak for n1y chihlrcn." lie tartccl, hcsitatcu, and then pa . cd on, and went out of the gate. I closed. the ·huttcr I had parLia1ly opened, and sank down behind the barrel. I had .·uffcrcd 1nuch ; but seldom h~Lcl I experienced a keener pang than I then felt. IIad 1ny children, then, bccon1c of o little consequence to hi1n? A.nd had he so little feeling for their wretched mother that he would not listen a moment \Vhilc she pleaded for them? Painful mc1norics \Vcrc so busy within n1e, that I forgot I had not hooked the shutter, till I heard so1nc one opening it. I looked up. lie had come back. " Who called 1110 ? " said he, in a lovv tone. " I <lid,'' I replied. " Oh, Linda,'' said he, "I knew your voice; but I was afrai<l to answer, lest rny friend should hear 1nc. 'Vhy do you cornc here ? Is it pos- ( The Candidate for Congrefs. 191 sible you :·i ·k your elf in this house ? rrhcy arc l11ad to allow 1t. l ·hall expect to hear that you a,, ll · d " I 1· l · 1 · · 1 ru.1 nc . cu.. not wrs 1 to nup] tcatc hin1 , by 1c ._c~ L ·t an g hnn know n1y place of conccaln1cut; so 1 111crcly f-'nid "I thought you \VOulJ COlUC to Lid granchnoLhcr o·ood by, and so l . ca1.n c here to speak a few wonls to J" ou abont crnancrpa~tng my c~1ilurcn. 1Iany changes 1nay take ~)lace dur1ng. the s1x 1nonths you arc gone to Waslnngton, and 1t docs not ·cc1n right for you to expose thon1 to the risk of such changes. I wan·t nothin~ for 1nysclf; all. I ask is, that you will free 1ny clnldrcn, or authonze son1e friend to do it, before you go." H~ pro1niscd he ·would do it, and also expressed a readu1ess to 1nakc auy arrangc1ncnts whereby I could be purchased. I heard footsteps approaching, and closed the shutter hastily. I '\ranted to crawl back to n1y den without letting tho fmnily kno·w what I had done ; for~ I knew they would dcc1n it very imprudent. But he stepped back into the house, to tell rny grandn1other that he had spoken with me at the storcroo1n window, and to beg of her not to allo·w rnc to remain in the house over night. lie said it ·was the height of madness for me to be there; that we should cc!·tainly all be ruined. Luckily, he \Vas in too much of a hurry to wait for a reply, or the dear old woman would surely haYc told him all. I tried to go back to my den bnt found it more difficult to go up than I had to co:nc down. Now that mY ml.S SI.O n was fulfilled, the little strength that had supported 1ne through it ·was gone, and I sank help- |