UNCLE TOM'S CABIN

"
Tom,
great,burly,gruff
JTFE AMONG THE LOWLY. 125
in a circle for a last review,before they are |selecting, out of two hundred men, one who was
marched up to the Bourse.
| to become your absolute owner and disposer,
Mr. Skeggs, with his palmetto on and his you
cigarwould, perhaps,realize, just as Tom did, how
in his mouth, walks around to putfarewell touches
on his wares.
in beingmade over to. Tom saw abuni
dance of men,
"
How 's this V he said,stepping in front of
"
men ; little,
"
Susan and Emmeline. Where 's your curls, chirping,dried men ; long-favored, lank,hard
gcll .-''
men ; and every varietyof stubbed-looking, com-
The gir looked timidly at her mother, who, |mon placemen, who pickup their fellow-men as
with the smooth adroitness common among her
j one picks up chips,puttingthem into the fireor a
class,answers,
basket with equal unconcern, according to their
"
I was tellingher,last night țo put up
her ; convenience ; but he saw no St. Clare.
hair smooth and neat, and not haviu' it flying ; A little before the sale commenced, a short,
about in curls ; looks more respectable so."
in a checked shirt considerably
"Bother!" said the man, peremptorily, turning
to the girl; "you go rightalong,and curl
yourself real smart !"' lie added,giving a crack
to a rattan he held in his hand, " And be back in
quicktime, too!"
From
"
You go and help her,",he added, to the the moment that Tom saw him approaching, he
him,
mother.
"
Them curls may make a hundred dollars
felt an immediate and revolting horror at
difference in the sale of her."
that increased as he came near. He was evidently,
Beneath a splendiddome were men of all nations,
moving to and fro,over the marble pave.
the area, were now occupiedby brilliant and tal-
gentlemen, enthusiastically forcingup, in
On every side of the circular area were little
tribunes,or stations, for the use of speakers and
au" tioneers. Two of these, on opposite sides of
ented
English and French commingled
țhe bids of connoisseurs
in their various wares. A third one,
surrounded
on the other sideștillunoccupied, was
very foul "condition. This man proceeded to a
by a group, waiting the moment of sale to begin. very free personal examination of the lot. He
And here we may recognize the St. Clare servants,
seized Tom by the jaw, and pulled open hismouth
Adolph, and others; and there, to inspect his teeth ; made him strip up his
too, Susan and Emmeline, awaiting
their turn sleevețo show his muscle ; turned him round,
with anxious and dejected faces. Various spectators,
made him jump and spring, to show his paces.
intending to purchase,or not intending, "Where was you raised7" he added, briefly,
as the case mightbe,gathered around the group, to these investigations.
handling,examining, and commentingon their
"
In Kintuck,Mas'r,"said Tom, looking about
various pointsand faces with the same freedom
that a set of jockeysdiscuss the merits of a
horse.
"
Catch me over buyingany of St. Clare's people
! Spoiltniggers,every one. Impudent as
the devil !" said the other.
" Never fear that !" said the first. " If I get the suffering she had been goingthrough at every
'em,I '11 soon have theirairs out of them ; they'11 motion of the hideous stranger.
soon find that they 've another kind of master to The girlwas frightened, and began to cry.
deal with than Monsieur St. Clare. Ton
my "Stop that, you
minx!" said the salesman;
word, I'll buy that fellow. I like the shape of "no the sale is gcing to
whimperinghere,"
him."
"
lTou '11find it'11take all you 've got to keep
him. He 's deucedlyextravagant !"
"
Yes, but my lord will find that he can't be
extravagant with me. Just let him be sent to
the calaboose a few times,and thoroughly dressed
down! I '11 tell you if it don't bringhim to a
sense of his ways ! 0, I '11 reform him, up hill
and down," you'll see. I buy him, that's
flat!"
Tom had been standingwistfully examiningthe
multitude of faces thronging around him, for one
whom he would wish to call master. And if
you should ever be under the necessity, sir,of
j
broad,muscular oian,
: few there were that you would feelat all comfortable
open at the bosom, and pantaloons much
the worse for dirt and wear, elbowed his way
through the crowd,like one who is goingactively
into a business ; and,comingup to the group,
began to examine them systematically.
though short,of giganticstrength Ḥis
round, bullet head, large,light-gray eyes, with
their shaggy,sandyeye-brows,and stiff,winy șunburned
hair,were rather unprepossessing items,
it is to be confessed ; his large, coarse mouth was
distended with tobaccoțhe juiceof which,from
time to time,he ejectedfrom him with greatdecision
and explosive force ; his hands were immensely
large,hairy șun-burned, freckled,and
very dirty, and garnished with longnails,in a
as
if for deliverance.
"
AYhat have you done?"
"
Had care of Mas'r's farm," said Tom.
"
Halloa,Alf! what bringsyou here?*' said
"
a Likelystory !" said the other,shortly, young exquisite, slappingthe shoulder of a passedon. He paused a moment before Dolph ;
sprucely-dressed young man, who was examiningthen
spitting discharge of tobacco-juice on his
Adolph throughan eye-gh
"
Well, I was wanting a valet,and I heard
that St. Clare's lot was going. I thought I 'd
just look at his "
well-blacked boots,and giving a contemptuous
Umph, he walked on. Again he stoppedbefore
Susan and Emmeline. He put out his heavy
dirtyhand, and drew the girl towards him ,
passedit over her neck and bust, felt her arms,
looked at her teeth,and then pushed her back
against her mother,whose patient face showed
begin." And accordingly the sale begun.
Adolph was knocked off,at a good sum, to the
young gentleman who had previously stated his
intention of buying him ; and the other servants
of the St. Clare lot went to various bidders.
"
Now, up with you, boy! d'ye
the auctioneer
to Tom.
hear?" said
Tom stepped upon the block, gave
a few anxious
looks round ; all seemed mingledin a common,
indistinct "
noise, the
clatter of the salesman
crying off his qualifications in French and
Englishțhe quick fire of French and English
bids ; and almost in a moment came the final
thump of the hammer, and the clear ring on