UNCLE TOM'S CABIN

KEY TO UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. 35
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institutions, the schools,asylums,hospitals, of the galleries ; so low can man, created in God's
prisons, "c. With the exception of the first, image, be sunk in brutality.
there is littlehope of amelioration. I know not
how much merit there may
be in their system ;
but I do know that,in the administration of the
penalcode,there are abominations which should
bring down the fate of Sodom upon the city. If
CHAPTER IX.
Howard or Mrs. Fry ever discovered so ill-administered
a den of thieves as the New Orleans
ST. CLARE.
prisonțhey never described #. In the negro's
apartmentI saw much which made me blush that
I was a white man, and which,for a moment,
stirred up
an evil spirit in my animal nature.
Enteringa largepavedcourt-yard, around which
ran galleries filledwith slaves of all ages, sexes
and colors,I heard the snap of a whip,every
stroke of which sounded like the sharpcrack of a
brother is presented.
pistol Ị turned It has been the writer's
my head, and beheld a sight
object to separate
which absolutelychilled me to the marrow of carefully, as far as possible, the system from
my bones,and gave me, for the first time in my the men. It isher sincere belief that,while
lifețhe sensation of my
hair stiffening at the the irresponsible
roots. There lay a black girl flat power of slaveryis such
upon her face, that no human
on a board,her two thumbs beingoughtever
tied,and fastened to to
possess it,
The poor creature writhed and shrieked,and,in a
voice which showed alike her fear of death and
her dreadful agony,
screamed to her master, who
law. But think you
the poor wretch had committed
a heinous offence,and had been convicted
thereof, and sentenced to the lash? Not at all.
She was broughtby her master to be whippedby
the common executioner, without trial,judge or
jury,just at his beck or nod, for some real or supposed
offence, or to gratify his own whim or malice.
And he may bring her day after day,without
cause assigned, and inflict any number of
lashes he pleasesșhort of twenty-five, provided
noticedit,and many
were entirely indifferentto
it. They went on in their childish pursuits, and
some were laughingoutright the distant parts
dark
It is with pleasure that we turn from the
picturejustpresented, to the character
of the generous and noble-hearted St. Clare,
wherein the fairestpicture of our Southern
one end,her feet tied,and drawn tightly to the probably that power was never exercised
other end,while a strappassedover the small of more leniently than in many
cases in the
her back, and, fastened around the board,compressed
Southern States. She has been astonished
her closely to it. Below the strap she
was entirely naked. By her side,and six feetoff,
stood a huge negro, with a longwhip,which he which attend the earlypossession of
applied with dreadful power and wonderful precision.
power, all the temptations which
Every stroke broughtaway a stripof
skin,which clung to the every reflecting mind must see will arise
lash,or fellquivering on
from the
the pavement,' while the blood
possession of this
followed after it.
power in various
to see how, under all the disadvantages
only he pays the fee. in
Or, if he
society, is he who, thoughhe
choose,he may be
may
have a privatewhipping-board on his own premises,
just, generous and humane,to those whom
and brutalize himself there. A shockinghe considers his equals, is entirely insensible
part of this horrid punishmentwas itspublicity, to the wants, and sufferings, and common
as I have said ; it was in a court-yardsurrounded
by galleries, which were
humanity,of those whom he considersthe
filledwith colored persons
of all sexes,
"
runaway slaves,committed for
lower orders. The sufferings of a countess
gome crime,or slaves up for sale. You would would make him weep ; the sufferings of a
naturallysuppose they crowded forward,and seamstress are quiteanother matter.
gazed,horror-stricken, at the brutal spectacle On the other hand, the democrat isoften
below ; but they did not ; many of them hardlyfound in the highestposition of life. To
arbitrary
forms țhere are often developedsuch fine
and interesting
traitsof character. To say
that these cases are common, alas! isnot in
stood at her head,"0, spare my life! don't cut
our
my soul out!" But still fell the power. Men know human nature too
horrid lash;
stillstrip after strippeeled off from the skin well to believe
;
us, if we should. But the
gash after gash was cut in her livingflesh,until more dreadful the evilto be assailed, the
it became a lividand bloody mass of raw and quiveringmore
carefulshould we be to be justin our
muscle. It was with the greatestdifficulty apprehensions, and to balance the horror
I refrained from springing upon the torturer,and
arresting his lash which certain abuses must
; but,alas ! what could I do,
necessarily excite,
but turn aside to hide my tears for the sufferer, by a considerationof those excellent
and my blushes for humanity? This was in a and redeemingtraitswhich are often found
public and regularly-organized prison; the punishmentin
individuals connected with
was one recognizedand authorized by the system.
the The twin brothers, Alfred and Augustine
St. Clare,representtwo classes of men
which are to be found in all countries.
They are the radically aristocratic and
democratic men. The aristocratby position
is not always the aristocrat by nature, and
vice versa ; but the aristocrat by nature,
whether he be in a higher or lower position
this man, superiority to his brother is a
which he can never boldlyand nakedlyas-
thing