The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1855-06-07
VOL. TX.

| very well knew.
The lady arched her tinted eyebrows con
temptuously, and made an inquiry, in Spanish
of the servant, who giggled, and finally TOLD
her something's know not what-which start
ed her up to her full height. Her eyes flashed
sparks of fire on me; her face was conyulseG
with rage, and she ground her teeth, as if she
could have torn me in pieces. A torrent O
Spanish was poured on my ears, of which
could not well understand a word only, hal
frightened to DEATH l turned, and ran. / die
not stop until had reached the quarters, ant
hidden myself among the negroes, crying anc
sobbing for hours. The next day, the head
waiting woman brought down an order to the
overseer, that was to be kept among the ser
wants, and never seen again in the house.
was to be kindly treated, so heard but never
to be trusted out of sight.
Il had no desire to go to the house again
after my fright; only did use to wish that
Captain l.. would some day come to the quar-
ters to see me, and give me bon-bons, as he
had always done. Once or twice / saw him
from distance and once, unluckily, when
had been harshly punished, l ran away from
the overseer, and watched in the stable.yard
until the Captain came. He started when he
saw me; and when he had heard my complaints
patted me on the head, and gave me real,
and told me to go back to the quarters, be a
good girl, and he would attend to the matter.
al think this was the reason of change,
which happened soon after; for | am sure
saw his lady watching us from window. When
he next went away for a journey, she-sold
me to slave-drover from the coast!"
You I" exclaimed Kitty, vehemently, the
color rushing anew into her cheek.
Yes-me" returned Oriana, sadly. "From
The t;yna 7 moo cayar voorc old I wao oloyo
in name. And acho is a slave in rigMa
any first master was a citizen of Matanzas,
Creole. His family, like himself, were indo-
lent yet indulgent, except when some sudden
passion was aroused, or when their orders were
disputed or disobeyed. /, undrilled in my sla-
very, tried resistance until | found it to be of
no use; and many's the mark and scar on
head, arms, and back, that l shall carry to my
grave, from that place."
"Heathen brutesl" was Laura's indignant
exclamation.
"There are worse heather nearer home,
lady," calmly responded the narrator. "Be-
cause my skin was not so black as that God
had given to others, who were bought with
money, like me, had / claim to be treated
differently from them?
:" AT last, as the house was overrun with half
grown servants, | was fortunately hired into the
service of an invalid lady from the neighbor-
hood of Tallahassee, who, with her son, was
spending a winter in Cuba for her health. 1t
was a new life for me-a blessed life for she
took an interest in me at the first glance and
very soon grew to love me truly and dearly.
When she was going to leave, she bought me.
l remember her son laughed, and said it was
bad speculation; for what should l ever be worth
to her as a slave? / had horror of him from
that moment, and used never to speak to him
when could possibly avoid it.
"She took me to Florida, and taught me, and
cared for me, as if had been free child. In
deed, she could hardly have done more for an
own daughter-dear Mrs. Withers She suffer
ed so much, that she seldom left her room; and
we hardly ever had visitors, being quite out of
the world. So she leaned on me, and chung to
me, as if had been truly her own. She believed
my story, and wrote to Madame de Martigny
soon after | went to her. But the letter was
never answered; perhaps it miscarried. She
did not try again; / think she had horror of
my being taken from her, by that time and
thought, as long as she could make me so hap
Ply, she had a right to keep me, as | had no near
relatives. But she dropped, year by year, and
the angels drew her nearer and yet nearer their
home; and one night-it was that of my twen-
tieth birthday-they took her suddenly away
from me, without word of warning!
"She could not have rested in her marble
tomb, dear lady if she had known what was to
befall the dove she left in the talons of the vul-
ture. When they buried her, / tried to throw
myself into her grave, 1 recollect; though, God
knows, then saw only the shadow of the great
evil that rose before mel
"Mr. Withers, the son of my mistress, had
always sneered at his mothers projects for my
freedom. When she had urged him to push
inquiries more actively, at first he had replied
"a pretty parcel of travelling agents it
would keep, to follow up every salow-faced
slaves storyl No, madam I'll have nothing
to do with this foolish business
"Thts man was now my master! For five
long, dreadful months -
Oriana stopped, pressed her hands over her
eyes, and shuddered from head to foot, before
proceeding.
81 had read of the furnace of fire seven
times heated and of the Shining One,' that
walked with the three children there and if
tie had not been with me in my fiery furnace,
and brought me through-oh, ho1c much !-un-
harmed and unscathed, had never been alive
this day to tell you. At last / was sold, at
Pensacola"
"You! publicly sold at that age !" exclaimed
Kitty, with eyes flashing fire.
1t seems lifetime-the three years that
have passed since them" she went on, slowly,
without directly noticing Kitty's outburst. 81
am young in years, but i have white hairs in
my head; have had them ever since that day
stood on the auction-block in the city sale
room, hopeless and desperate. / saw and
heard little distinctly except the Horrible, harsh
Jargon of the auctioneer, and the narrowing
toss of his hammer, until an elderly gentleman,
stranger in Pensacola, stepped up and laid
bQn Oh
this is a disgrace to the nineteenth century,
| lifted my despairing eyes, for the voice was
kind and when | saw look in the face that
was kind, too, like that of my buried lady. fell
down on my knees at that good mans feet, and
begged him, for the love of God and his crea-
lures, to save me.
He wept-the strong-hearted man. And
as he stood there, his hand upon my head, my
prosecutors one by one slipped away for the
finger of conscience was pointing at each heart.
was left, and sold to the kind-hearted Mr..
Grey, for the sum of twenty-five hundred dol
lars"
M. Grey!" repeated both, in breath.
see you have never heard "-Oriana be-
gan; but, checking herself, asked, "Did Hamil-
ton never tell you about his mother?"
"Only that she died years ago." replied
Laura, with puzzled look.
"Then must interrupt my own story a little
The first Mrs. Grey was beautiful lady-a
proud lady-of what the world calls highest
birth. She had but two children-Hamilton,
and his younger brother, James, who died
abroad. Mr.. Grey did not formerly, as now,
reside on plantation, but was supercargo of
brig which he owned, and very much away from
his family, who lived in ST. Augustine:
"Mrs. Grey-her name was Katharine
must have been a seraph upon earth. She was
too dreamy, sensitive, and ETHEREAL being for
this work-day world. Her children idolized
her HamiItop esnecially grew mn her second