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Show ) 196 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. when yon obtain her freecl01n, you'll make a happy fan1ily. 1 suppose, l\Iartha, you haYc no objection to 111y reading to you the letter Linda ba ... writlcn to yon.'' Ilc broke the seal , and I heard hi1n read it. The old villain! Ifc had suppressed the letter 1 \Vroto to granchnoLhcr, ancl prepared a sHh·LiLutc of hi · own, the purporL of ·which \va: a · fullO\'lS : - "Dear Grandn1othcr : I haYc long ·wanted to write to yon; but the di.'graccful1na.nn r in \vhich I left you and. n1y chilclrcn 1naclc n1e a. ·han1c l to clo it. If you kne-w ho\v 1nuch l have suffered since I ran a\vay, you \VOuld. pity anu forgive lDC. I have purcha ·eel freedon1. at a dear rate. If any arrangcn1cnt could be made for n1c to return to the south \vithont bcino· a slaYc, I would gladly co1nc. If not, I beg of yon to send 1ny chilc1ren to the norLh. I cannot liYc any longer \riLhou t thcn1. Lot n1c kno·w in tin1c, and I will n1oc t thcn1 in Now· York or Philadelphia, ·whichever place l>c t suits Iny uncle'· convenience. \Vritc as soon as possil>lc to your unhappy daughter, LINDA.'' "J t i.s Yery 1nnch as I expected it w-ould l>c," said the old hypocrite, rising to go. ''You sec the foolish girl luv r pcntecl of h er ra:hncss, and ·want.· to return. \V c lllHRt help her to clo i L, nfartha. Talk 'With Phillip alJout it. lf he ·will go for her, she \vill tnL't to bitn, a.ncl corno hack. I ~hould like an ans\vcr toll10tTO\ V. Goocl nlOlTti.ng, ~fartha." .. A.s he ;-;Loppcu out on the piazza, he sttnnuled over Co1npetition in Cunning. roy li tLlc girl. "Ah, Ellen, is that you?" ho said, in his 1nosL gracious manner. " 1 cliun't ·cc yon. llo,v do you do?'' "Prctiy '\V 11, sir,'' .-he r plied. "I heard you tell grandtnothcr Lhat n.1y n1othcr is co1niug hon1e. I want to sec her." "Y cs, JDllen, I an1 going to bring her lwn1c very soon," r ejoined. he.; "anu yon shall sec her an much as you like, you little curly-hoacleu uigger." This ·was as goocl as a cotncdy to 1no, who had heard it all ; but grandmother \Vas frightened aud di trcs cd, because the doctor \Yan Led. my uncle to go for me. The noxt evening Dr. Flint called. to talk the matter over. l\fy uncle tol<.l hin1 ihat froln what he had heard of ~fa sachn.·ctLs, he juJged he .-houlu be mobbed if he \vent there after a. runaway ~lave . "All stuff and n onsense, Phillip!" r eplied the doctor. "Do you u ppo. c I ' ant you to kie k up a fO\V in no. ton ? Tho busi11c.·s can all be <lone quietly. Linda writes that she \vants to con1c back. Yon arc her relative, and she ·would trust you. rrhc case ·would lJc d.i fTc rent if I went. he might ol>jcct to conting wilh 11w; and tho cln.n1ncd abolitionist.·, if they knew I ·was her master, \Vould not believe n1c, if I tolc1 thc1n she had bogged to go back. They \voulcl get up a row ; and I should not like to sec Linda dragged through the streets like a co1n1non negro. he has been Ycry ungrateful to 1nc for all n1y kindn ss ; but I forgive her, and want to act the part of a friend towarcls h er. I have no wi.·h to h old her a 1ny sla\ro. IIor friends can lJu v her as soon as she arrives here.'' .J 17 if |