章节正文
said that he was suffering from a complication of
complaints, and was going to Philadelphia, where
he thought he could get more suitable advice than
in Georgia.
The gentleman said my master could obtain the
very best advice in Philadelphia. Which turned
out to be quite correct, though he did not receive
it from physicians, but from kind abolitionists who
understood his case much better. The gentleman
also said, "I reckon your master's father hasn't any
more such faithful and smart boys as you." "O,
yes, sir, he has," I replied, "lots on 'em." Which
was literally true. This seemed all he wished to
know. He thanked me, gave me a ten-cent piece,
and requested me to be attentive to my good
master. I promised that I would do so, and have
ever since endeavoured to keep my pledge. During
the gentleman's absence, the ladies and my master
had a little cosy chat. But on his return, he said,
"You seem to be very much afflicted, sir." "Yes,
sir," replied the gentleman in the poultices.
"What seems to be the matter with you, sir; may
I be allowed to ask?" "Inflammatory rheumatism,
sir." "Oh! that is very bad, sir," said the kind
gentleman: "I can sympathise with you; for I know
from bitter experience what the rheumatism is."
If he did, he knew a good deal more than Mr.
Johnson.
The gentleman thought my master would feel
better if he would lie down and rest himself; and as
he was anxious to avoid conversation, he at once
acted upon this suggestion. The ladies politely
rose, took their extra shawls, and made a nice
pillow for the invalid's head. My master wore a
fashionable cloth cloak, which they took and covered
him comfortably on the couch. After he had been
lying a little while the ladies, I suppose, thought
he was asleep; so one of them gave a long sigh, and
said, in a quiet fascinating tone, "Papa, he seems to
be a very nice young gentleman." But before papa
could speak, the other lady quickly said, "Oh!
dear me, I never felt so much for a gentleman in
my life!" To use an American expression, "they
fell in love with the wrong chap."
After my master had been lying a little while he
got up, the gentleman assisted him in getting on
his cloak, the ladies took their shawls, and soon
they were all seated. They then insisted upon Mr.
Johnson taking some of their refreshments, which
of course he did, out of courtesy to the ladies.
All went on enjoying themselves until they reached
Richmond, where the ladies and their father left
the train. But, before doing so, the good old
Virginian gentleman, who appeared to be much
pleased with my master, presented him with a
recipe, which he said was a perfect cure for the
inflammatory rheumatism. But the invalid not
being able to read it, and fearing he should hold it
upside down in pretending to do so, thanked the
donor kindly, and placed it in his waistcoat pocket.
My master's new friend also gave him his card, and
requested him the next time he travelled that way
to do him the kindness to call; adding, "I shall be
pleased to see you, and so will my daughters."
Mr. Johnson expressed his gratitude for the prof-
fered hospitality, and said he should feel glad to
call on his return. I have not the slightest doubt
that he will fulfil the promise whenever that return
takes place. After changing trains we went on a
little beyond Fredericksburg, and took a steamer
to Washington.
At Richmond, a stout elderly lady, whose whole
demeanour indicated that she belonged (as Mrs.
Stowe's Aunt Chloe expresses it) to one of the
"firstest families," stepped into the carriage, and
took a seat near my master. Seeing me passing
quickly along the platform, she sprang up as if
taken by a fit, and exclaimed, "Bless my soul!
there goes my nigger, Ned!"
My master said, "No; that is my boy."
The lady paid no attention to this; she poked
her head out of the window, and bawled to me,
"You Ned, come to me, sir, you runaway rascal!"
On my looking round she drew her head in, and
said to my master, "I beg your pardon, sir, I was
sure it was my nigger; I never in my life saw two
black pigs more alike than your boy and my
Ned."
After the disappointed lady had resumed her
seat, and the train had moved off, she closed her
eyes, slightly raising her hands, and in a sanctified
tone said to my master, "Oh! I hope, sir, your
boy will not turn out to be so worthless as my Ned
has. Oh! I was as kind to him as if he had been
my own son. Oh! sir, it grieves me very much to
think that after all I did for him he should go off
without having any cause whatever."
"When did he leave you?" asked Mr. Johnson.
"About eighteen months ago, and I have never
seen hair or hide of him since."
"Did he have a wife?" enquired a very respect-
able-looking young gentleman, who was sitting near
my master and opposite to the lady.
"No, sir; not when he left, though he did have
one a little before that. She was very unlike him;
she was as good and as faithful a nigger as any one
need wish to have. But, poor thing! she became
so ill, that she was unable to do much work; so I
thought it would be best to sell her, to go to New
Orleans, where the climate is nice and warm."
"I suppose she was very glad to go South for the
restoration of her health?" said the gentleman.
"No; she was not," replied the lady, "for
niggers never know what is best for them. She
took on a great deal about leaving Ned and the
little nigger; but, as she was so weakly, I let her
go."
"Was she good-looking?" asked the young pas-
senger, who was evidently not of the same opinion
as the talkative lady, and therefore wished her to
tell all she knew.
"Yes; she was very handsome, and much whiter
than I am; and therefore will have no trouble in
getting another husband. I am sure I wish her
well. I asked the speculator who bought her to
sell her to a good master. Poor thing! she has my
prayers, and I know she prays for me. She was a
good Christian, and always used to pray for my
soul. It was through her earliest prayers," con-
tinued the lady, "that I was first led to seek for-
giveness of my sins, before I was converted at the
great camp-meeting."
This caused the lady to snuffle and to draw from
her pocket a richly embroidered handkerchief, and
apply it to the corner of her eyes. But my master
could not see that it was at all soiled.
The silence which prevailed for a few moments
was broken by the gentleman's saying, "As your
'July' was such a very good girl, and had served
you so faithfully before she lost her health, don't
you think it would have been better to have eman-
cipated her?"
"No, indeed I do not!" scornfully exclaimed
the lady, as she impatiently crammed the fine
handkerchief into a little work-bag. "I have no
patience with people who set niggers at liberty. It
is the very worst thing you can do for them. My
dear husband just before he died willed all his
niggers free. But I and all our friends knew very
well that he was too good a man to have ever
thought of doing such an unkind and foolish thing,
had he been in his right mind, and, therefore we
had the will altered as it should have been in the
first place."
"Did you mean, madam," asked my master,
"that willing the slaves free was unjust to yourself,
or unkind to them?"
"I mean that it was decidedlyunkind to the
servants themselves. It always seems to me such
a cruel thing to turn niggers loose to shift for
themselves, when there are so many good masters
to take care of them. As for myself," continued
the considerate lady, "I thank the Lord my dear
husband left me and my son well provided for.
Therefore I care nothing for the niggers, on my
own account, for they are a great deal more trouble
than they are worth, I sometimes wish that there
was not one of them in the world; for the un-
grateful wretches are always running away. I have
lost no less than ten since my poor husband died.
It's ruinous, sir!"
"But as you are well provided for, I suppose you
do not feel the loss very much," said the pas-
senger.
"I don't feel it at all," haughtily continued the
good soul; "but that is no reason why property
should be squandered. If my son and myself had
the money for those valuable niggers, just see what a
great deal of good we could do for the poor, and in
sending missionaries abroad to the poor heathen,
who have never heard the name of our blessed Re-
deemer. My dear son who is a good Christian minis-
ter has advised me not to worry and send my soul
to hell for the sake of niggers; but to sell every
blessed one of them for what they will fetch, and go
and live in peace with him in New York. This I
have concluded to do. I have just been to Rich-
mond and made arrangements with my agent to
make clean work of the forty that are left."
"Your son being a good Christian minister,"
said the gentleman, "It's strange he did not advise
you to let the poor negroes have their liberty and
go North."
"It's not at all strange, sir; it's not at all
strange. My son knows what's best for the nig-
gers; he has always told me that they were much
better off than the free niggers in the North. In
fact, I don't believe there are any white labouring
people in the world who are as well off as the
slaves."
"You are quite mistaken, madam," said the
complaints, and was going to Philadelphia, where
he thought he could get more suitable advice than
in Georgia.
The gentleman said my master could obtain the
very best advice in Philadelphia. Which turned
out to be quite correct, though he did not receive
it from physicians, but from kind abolitionists who
understood his case much better. The gentleman
also said, "I reckon your master's father hasn't any
more such faithful and smart boys as you." "O,
yes, sir, he has," I replied, "lots on 'em." Which
was literally true. This seemed all he wished to
know. He thanked me, gave me a ten-cent piece,
and requested me to be attentive to my good
master. I promised that I would do so, and have
ever since endeavoured to keep my pledge. During
the gentleman's absence, the ladies and my master
had a little cosy chat. But on his return, he said,
"You seem to be very much afflicted, sir." "Yes,
sir," replied the gentleman in the poultices.
"What seems to be the matter with you, sir; may
I be allowed to ask?" "Inflammatory rheumatism,
sir." "Oh! that is very bad, sir," said the kind
gentleman: "I can sympathise with you; for I know
from bitter experience what the rheumatism is."
If he did, he knew a good deal more than Mr.
Johnson.
The gentleman thought my master would feel
better if he would lie down and rest himself; and as
he was anxious to avoid conversation, he at once
acted upon this suggestion. The ladies politely
rose, took their extra shawls, and made a nice
pillow for the invalid's head. My master wore a
fashionable cloth cloak, which they took and covered
him comfortably on the couch. After he had been
lying a little while the ladies, I suppose, thought
he was asleep; so one of them gave a long sigh, and
said, in a quiet fascinating tone, "Papa, he seems to
be a very nice young gentleman." But before papa
could speak, the other lady quickly said, "Oh!
dear me, I never felt so much for a gentleman in
my life!" To use an American expression, "they
fell in love with the wrong chap."
After my master had been lying a little while he
got up, the gentleman assisted him in getting on
his cloak, the ladies took their shawls, and soon
they were all seated. They then insisted upon Mr.
Johnson taking some of their refreshments, which
of course he did, out of courtesy to the ladies.
All went on enjoying themselves until they reached
Richmond, where the ladies and their father left
the train. But, before doing so, the good old
Virginian gentleman, who appeared to be much
pleased with my master, presented him with a
recipe, which he said was a perfect cure for the
inflammatory rheumatism. But the invalid not
being able to read it, and fearing he should hold it
upside down in pretending to do so, thanked the
donor kindly, and placed it in his waistcoat pocket.
My master's new friend also gave him his card, and
requested him the next time he travelled that way
to do him the kindness to call; adding, "I shall be
pleased to see you, and so will my daughters."
Mr. Johnson expressed his gratitude for the prof-
fered hospitality, and said he should feel glad to
call on his return. I have not the slightest doubt
that he will fulfil the promise whenever that return
takes place. After changing trains we went on a
little beyond Fredericksburg, and took a steamer
to Washington.
At Richmond, a stout elderly lady, whose whole
demeanour indicated that she belonged (as Mrs.
Stowe's Aunt Chloe expresses it) to one of the
"firstest families," stepped into the carriage, and
took a seat near my master. Seeing me passing
quickly along the platform, she sprang up as if
taken by a fit, and exclaimed, "Bless my soul!
there goes my nigger, Ned!"
My master said, "No; that is my boy."
The lady paid no attention to this; she poked
her head out of the window, and bawled to me,
"You Ned, come to me, sir, you runaway rascal!"
On my looking round she drew her head in, and
said to my master, "I beg your pardon, sir, I was
sure it was my nigger; I never in my life saw two
black pigs more alike than your boy and my
Ned."
After the disappointed lady had resumed her
seat, and the train had moved off, she closed her
eyes, slightly raising her hands, and in a sanctified
tone said to my master, "Oh! I hope, sir, your
boy will not turn out to be so worthless as my Ned
has. Oh! I was as kind to him as if he had been
my own son. Oh! sir, it grieves me very much to
think that after all I did for him he should go off
without having any cause whatever."
"When did he leave you?" asked Mr. Johnson.
"About eighteen months ago, and I have never
seen hair or hide of him since."
"Did he have a wife?" enquired a very respect-
able-looking young gentleman, who was sitting near
my master and opposite to the lady.
"No, sir; not when he left, though he did have
one a little before that. She was very unlike him;
she was as good and as faithful a nigger as any one
need wish to have. But, poor thing! she became
so ill, that she was unable to do much work; so I
thought it would be best to sell her, to go to New
Orleans, where the climate is nice and warm."
"I suppose she was very glad to go South for the
restoration of her health?" said the gentleman.
"No; she was not," replied the lady, "for
niggers never know what is best for them. She
took on a great deal about leaving Ned and the
little nigger; but, as she was so weakly, I let her
go."
"Was she good-looking?" asked the young pas-
senger, who was evidently not of the same opinion
as the talkative lady, and therefore wished her to
tell all she knew.
"Yes; she was very handsome, and much whiter
than I am; and therefore will have no trouble in
getting another husband. I am sure I wish her
well. I asked the speculator who bought her to
sell her to a good master. Poor thing! she has my
prayers, and I know she prays for me. She was a
good Christian, and always used to pray for my
soul. It was through her earliest prayers," con-
tinued the lady, "that I was first led to seek for-
giveness of my sins, before I was converted at the
great camp-meeting."
This caused the lady to snuffle and to draw from
her pocket a richly embroidered handkerchief, and
apply it to the corner of her eyes. But my master
could not see that it was at all soiled.
The silence which prevailed for a few moments
was broken by the gentleman's saying, "As your
'July' was such a very good girl, and had served
you so faithfully before she lost her health, don't
you think it would have been better to have eman-
cipated her?"
"No, indeed I do not!" scornfully exclaimed
the lady, as she impatiently crammed the fine
handkerchief into a little work-bag. "I have no
patience with people who set niggers at liberty. It
is the very worst thing you can do for them. My
dear husband just before he died willed all his
niggers free. But I and all our friends knew very
well that he was too good a man to have ever
thought of doing such an unkind and foolish thing,
had he been in his right mind, and, therefore we
had the will altered as it should have been in the
first place."
"Did you mean, madam," asked my master,
"that willing the slaves free was unjust to yourself,
or unkind to them?"
"I mean that it was decidedlyunkind to the
servants themselves. It always seems to me such
a cruel thing to turn niggers loose to shift for
themselves, when there are so many good masters
to take care of them. As for myself," continued
the considerate lady, "I thank the Lord my dear
husband left me and my son well provided for.
Therefore I care nothing for the niggers, on my
own account, for they are a great deal more trouble
than they are worth, I sometimes wish that there
was not one of them in the world; for the un-
grateful wretches are always running away. I have
lost no less than ten since my poor husband died.
It's ruinous, sir!"
"But as you are well provided for, I suppose you
do not feel the loss very much," said the pas-
senger.
"I don't feel it at all," haughtily continued the
good soul; "but that is no reason why property
should be squandered. If my son and myself had
the money for those valuable niggers, just see what a
great deal of good we could do for the poor, and in
sending missionaries abroad to the poor heathen,
who have never heard the name of our blessed Re-
deemer. My dear son who is a good Christian minis-
ter has advised me not to worry and send my soul
to hell for the sake of niggers; but to sell every
blessed one of them for what they will fetch, and go
and live in peace with him in New York. This I
have concluded to do. I have just been to Rich-
mond and made arrangements with my agent to
make clean work of the forty that are left."
"Your son being a good Christian minister,"
said the gentleman, "It's strange he did not advise
you to let the poor negroes have their liberty and
go North."
"It's not at all strange, sir; it's not at all
strange. My son knows what's best for the nig-
gers; he has always told me that they were much
better off than the free niggers in the North. In
fact, I don't believe there are any white labouring
people in the world who are as well off as the
slaves."
"You are quite mistaken, madam," said the
- suffering [´sʌfəriŋ]
n.痛苦；灾害 (初中英语单词) - suitable [´su:təbəl, ´sju:-] a.合适的，适当的 (初中英语单词)
- obtain [əb´tein] v.获得；买到；得到承认 (初中英语单词)
- reckon [´rekən] v.计算；认为；估计 (初中英语单词)
- faithful [´feiθfəl] a.忠实的；可靠的 (初中英语单词)
- attentive [ə´tentiv] a.注意的；殷勤的 (初中英语单词)
- pledge [pledʒ] n.信物；誓约vt.使发誓 (初中英语单词)
- absence [´æbsəns] n.不在，缺席；缺乏 (初中英语单词)
- anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)
- suggestion [sə´dʒestʃən] n.建议，提议；暗示 (初中英语单词)
- fascinating [´fæsineitiŋ] a.迷人，使神魂颠倒的 (初中英语单词)
- gratitude [´grætitju:d] n.感激，感谢 (初中英语单词)
- fulfil [ful´fil] vt.履行；完成；执行 (初中英语单词)
- whenever [wen´evə] conj.&ad.无论何时 (初中英语单词)
- carriage [´kæridʒ] n.马车；客车；货运 (初中英语单词)
- platform [´plætfɔ:m] n.(平)台；讲台；站台 (初中英语单词)
- sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)
- pardon [´pɑ:dən] n.&vt.原谅；饶恕；赦免 (初中英语单词)
- slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)
- unlike [,ʌn´laik] a.不同的 prep.不象... (初中英语单词)
- unable [ʌn´eibəl] a.不能的；无能为力的 (初中英语单词)
- climate [´klaimit] n.气候；特殊气候地带 (初中英语单词)
- evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)
- therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)
- handkerchief [´hæŋkətʃif] n.手帕，手绢 (初中英语单词)
- willing [´wiliŋ] a.情愿的，乐意的 (初中英语单词)
- account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)
- running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
- valuable [´væljuəbəl, -jubəl] a.有价值的，贵重的 (初中英语单词)
- abroad [ə´brɔ:d] ad.海外；到处；广泛 (初中英语单词)
- literally [´litərəli] ad.逐字地；实际上 (高中英语单词)
- comfortably [´kʌmfətəbli] ad.舒适地 (高中英语单词)
- courtesy [´kə:tisi] n.礼貌；殷勤；好意 (高中英语单词)
- hospitality [,hɔspi´tæliti] n.好客，殷勤 (高中英语单词)
- seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)
- worthless [´wə:θləs] a.无价值的 (高中英语单词)
- saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
- faithfully [´feiθfəli] ad.忠实地；诚恳地 (高中英语单词)
- decidedly [di´saididli] ad.坚决地，果断地 (高中英语单词)
- mistaken [mis´teikən] mistake的过去分词 (高中英语单词)
- complication [,kɔmpli´keiʃən] n.复杂；混乱；纠纷 (英语四级单词)
- rheumatism [´ru:mətizəm] n.风湿病 (英语四级单词)
- invalid [in´vælid] n.病人 a.无效的 (英语四级单词)
- elderly [´eldəli] a. 较老的，年长的 (英语四级单词)
- richly [´ritʃli] ad.富裕地；浓厚地 (英语四级单词)
- impatiently [im´peiʃəntli] ad.不耐烦地，急躁地 (英语四级单词)
- unkind [,ʌn´kaind] a.不客气的；不和善的 (英语四级单词)
- unjust [ʌn´dʒʌst] a.不公平(正)的 (英语四级单词)
- blessed [´blesid] a.享福的；神圣的 (英语四级单词)
- taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
- waistcoat [´weskət, ´weiskəut] n.背心，马甲 (英语六级单词)
- runaway [´rʌnəwei] n.逃跑(者) a.逃亡的 (英语六级单词)
- speculator [´spekjuleitə] n.思索者；投机者(商) (英语六级单词)
- considerate [kən´sidərit] a.考虑周到的；体谅的 (英语六级单词)
- haughtily [´hɔ:tili] ad.傲慢地，高傲地 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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