OCR Text |
Show ) 226 Incid nts in the Life of a Slave Girl. 1night r ·kon year· of suffering during that fc, tival so joyous to the free. On the C\V Y car' · day preceding lllY aunt'. ueath, one of 11lY friend.·, 1Hl.lned Panny, \\ras to be ·old at auction, to pay h er rna tor's clcbLs. 1\fy thought· w·ere \Vith her during all the day, and at nigh t l anxiou~ly inquired. ·what h ad been her fate. I \vas told that she had. boon sold to one ma.-ter, and her four li ttlc girls to another nutster, far distant; that she had c ·caped fron1 her pnrcha ·er , and \vas not to Le fouucl. IIcr 1nothcr was tho olcl A.ggie I have ·poken of. Hhc liYcd in a snutll tcnctnont belonging to n1y granchnother, and built on the san1e lot \Yith her own house. lfcr dwelling \VaS ·earched ancl Watched, and. that brought tho patrols so ncar n1e that I was ol>liged to keep very close in 1ny clcn. The hunters were soiueh ow eluded.; and. not long afterward· Bonny accidentally caught sight of Fanny in h er 1nothcr': hut. lie tolu his granchnothcr, \Vho charged him n cYcr to ·peak of it, explaining to hitn the frightful conscqu nee ; and he neYer betrayed the trn t. Aggie little drean1cu that 1ny granc.ln1othcr knew \vhcre her daughter \\'as concealed, and that the stooping fonn of her old n eighbor \Vas bending under a ~ i1nilar burden of anxiety and. fear; but these dangerous secrets deepened ihc sympathy bet-ween the two old. per ·ecutcu mother . ~Iy friend. Fanny and I retnained. nu1ny week· hidden within call of each other; but she wa unconsciou · of tho fact. l longed to have her share 1ny den, "\Yhich soen1ecl a 1norc ecnre r e treat than her own; but 1 had brought so 1nnch trouble on n1y granun1othcr, that iL see1ned. \Vroug to a ·k her lo incur great er ri~ks. ~ly Preparations for Ef<~ape. 227 re.·tlessncss in creased. I had live(l too long in boaily pain and ano·niBh of ·pirit. Alway.· I was in d.reau that hy ,·on1c acci<lcnt, or son1c contrjvanco, sl an~ ry would ·uccccu in ·natching n1y children fron11ne. This thought <lrove 1ne n early frantic, anu 1 detenuincd Lo steer for the North ~ 1tar at all ha:~.ards . At this crisis, Providence opened an unexpectc<l way for n1c to e.·cape. My friend P eter ca1nc one evening, a11<l a~kecl to speak with n1c. "Your day ha · con1c, Lincla," saitl he. "1 have found a chance for you to go to the ] r 'e States. You have a fortnight to decide." The 11cw.· sc01ned too good to be true; but l'etcr explained hi.' arrangements, and told. 1ne all tlw,t wa.· neccs~ary was for 1ne to say I ·woulcl go. I wa.s goi no· to anf-iwer 11 i 111 with a joyful yes, "\vhen the thou )'ht of Benny ·tunc to my 1nind. I told hiln the tmnptation wa · exceedingly strong, but I \Vas terribly a.l'raid of Dr. Fl i ul' · alleged po\vcr over 1ny child anll that I ·oulc1 noL go and leave hi1n behind. P eter r •tnotL·tratcd 'al'll('~ily . He sai<l ·uch a goou chance 1night llCY 'r occur ~H.?.·ain ; that Benny "\Vas free, and coldd Lc f-i ·nL Lo 111e; and that for the sake of lllY children's we1 rare I ouo·ht llOt to he itate a mo1nent. 1 tolu hin1 I would con.·ult with uncle Phillip. :Dfy uncle rcjoiccu in the plan, antl ba<le me go by all n1ca1L '. llc pron1i ·eel, if hi.· life was spared, that he wonlcl 'i thor lJrj ng or ·end 1ny ~on to n1c as .·oon a· I reached a place of ·afety. l resolved to o·o but thou o·ht uothiu bo· had better be ·aid to b ' 0 rriy grancl1nother till very ncar the tin1c of departure. But n1y uncle t hought :he \VOttl(l feel it n1orc keenly if l left her o suducnly. "I will rca ·on with her," said he " and conviuce her ho"\v necessary it i ·, not ' |