UNCLE TOM'S CABIN

'
"
quiteas
"
my
" he
she
and
and
it's
one of the promise tnat he made to dear little
Eva on her death-bed, and I should not think you
"would feel at libertyto disregard it."
Mario had her face crered with her handker-
"
"
"
"
"
"
122 UNCLE TOM S CABIN : OR,
She found Marie reclining
length
chief
upon
a
at this appeal, and begansobbing and us'.ij^
zounge, supporting herself on one elbow by pil-heiows,
"
smelling-bottle, great vehemence.
Jane, who had been out shopping, Everybodygoes against me !" she said. " Everybody
was
displaying before her certain samplesof thin
is so inconsiderate ! I should n't have
black stuffs.
expected that you would bringup all these remembrances
"
That will do," said Marie, selecting ;
of my troubles to me, so
only I 'm not sure about its beingproperlyinconsiderate! But nobody ever does consider,
"
mourning."
trials are so peculiar hard, that
"Laws, Missis," said Jane, volubly,"Mrs. when I had only one daughter "he should have
General Derbennon wore just this very thing, been taken ! when I had a nusband that just
after the generaldied,last summer ; it makes up exactly me, I 'm so hard to be suited !
lovely '
!'
should be taken ! And you
seem to have
"
What do you think?" said Marie to Miss so littlefeeling me, and keep bringing it up
Ophelia.
to me so carelessly, when you know how it
"
It 's a matter of custom, I suppose," said overcomes me ! I suppose you
mean well ; but
Miss Ophelia. " You can judgeabout it better it is very inconsiderate, very!" And Marie
than I."
sobbed,and gasped for breath,and called Mammy
"The fact is,"said Marie,"that I haven't to open the window, and to bringher the camphor-bottle,
a dress in the world that I can. wear ; and,as I
and to bathe her head, and unhook
am going to break up the establishment, and go her dress. And, in the generalconfusion that
off,next week, I must decide upon something." ensued,Miss Ophelia made her escape to her
"
Are you goingso soon?"
apartment.
"
Yes. St. Clare's brother has written,and he She saw, at once, that it would do no goodto
and the lawyerthink that the servants and furniture
say anything more ; for Marie had an indefinite
had better be put up at auction, and the
for ; and, after this,whenever
capacity hysteric
place leftwith our lawyer. ' '
her husband's or Eva's wishes with regard to
"
There 's one thing I wanted to speakwithyou
the servants were alluded to, she alwaysfound it
about," said Miss Ophelia."Augustineconvenient to set one in operation. Ophelia,
promised Tom his liberty, began the legaltherefore,
the next best thingshe could for
forms necessary to it. I hope you will use
your Tom, wrote a letter to Mrs. Shelby for him,
influenceto have it perfected."
stating his troubles, and urgingthem to send to
"Indeed, I shall do no such thing!" said his relief.
"
Marie,sharply. " Tom is one of the most valuable
servants on the place, it couldn't be
afforded, any way. Besides, what does he want
of
is."
liberty ? He 's a great
deal better off as he
"
But he does -desire it, very earnestly, and his
master promisedit," said Miss Ophelia.
"
I dare say lie does want it," said Marie;
they ail want it,just because they are a
CHAPTER XXX.
"
discontented set," alwayswanting what they
have n't got. Now, I "m principled against emancipating,
THE SLAVE WAREHOUSE.
A slave warehouse ! Perhaps some of my
care of a master, and he does well and is readers conjureup horrible visions of such a place.
respectable ; but set them free,and theygetlazy, They fancy some fpul, obscure den, some horrible
and won't work, and take to drinking, and
Tartarus '\informis, ingens, cui lumen ademftum.''''
in any case. Keep a negro under the
enough,
it tried, hundreds of times. It 's no favor to set
them free."
"But Tom is so steady,industrious, and
pious."
"0, you needn't tell me! I've seen a hundred
like him. He'll do very well,as long as
lie's taken care of," that 's all."
"
But, then, consider," said Miss Ophelia,
said Marie; "it
isn't one time in a hundred that a good fellow
gets a bad master ; most masters are good, for all
the talk that is made. I 've lived and grown up
here,in the South, and I never yetwas acquainted
"
Well," said Miss
"
Ophelia,energetically, I
know it was one of the last wishes of your husband
that Tom should have his liberty ; it was
The next day Tom and Adolph, and some hall
a dozen other servants,were marched down to a '
slave-warehouse, to await the convenience of the
trader, who was going to make up
a lot for auction.
go all
down to be mean, worthless fellows. I've seen But no, innocent friend ; in these days men have
learned the art of sinningexpertly and genteelly,
so as not to shock the eyes
and senses of respectable
society. Human property is high in the
markqt ; and is țhere fore, well fed,well cleaned,
tended,and looked after țhat it may
come to a
sale sleek,and strong, and shining. A slave
warehouse in New Orleans is a house externally
not much unlike many others,kept with neatness ;
"
when you set him up for sale țhe chances of and where every day you may
see arranged, under
his getting a bad master."
a sort of shed alongthe outside,rows of men and
"O, that's all humbug!" women, who stand there as a sign of the property
sold within.
Then you shall be courteously entreated to call
and examine, and shall find an abundance of
husbands,wives,brothers șisters,fathers,moth-
with a master that did n't treat his servants well,
well as is worth while. I don't feel or in lots to suit the convenience of the purchaser
any fears on that head."
;" and that soul immortal, once bought
and young children țo be " sold separately,
with blood and anguishby the Son of God, when
the earth shook, and the rocks rent, and the
graves were opened,can be sold,leased,mortgaged,
exchanged for groceries
or dry goodsțo
suit the phases of trade,or the fancy of the
purchaser.
It was a day or two after the conversation