Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-06-27
Prom the Free Presbyterian.
OF A FEMALE SLAVE.

[The following most interesting account of the
author of this book, Miss Matte Griffith. is furn-
ished by distinguished literary lady OF Massacnu-
sets, in letter to her sister, residing in this will.
age by whom it has been kindly handed to us for
publication. We have only seen as yet a few ex-
tracts from the book but if they are fair specl
men, it is work Of more thrilling power and IN
terest than Uncle Toms Cabin We hope our
brethren of the press in tho West will copy this
letter or in some other way bring the book to the
notice of their readers, and thus aid in extending
its circulation.-Ed Free Presbyterian.
My DEAR A.: will certainly tell you all know
Of Matte Griffith. Matte Griffith is an EUd that
has gracn up, and was not among those children
of whom Mrs. Stowe says in Uncle Toms Cabin,
they always have their name gravestones,"
early gathered to the angels because they are an
gels astray, Matte was born among Shareholders,
and never, till year ago. was acquainted with
any one who did not defend slave-holding. she
has a sister,a person of exceeding beauty-lnoeeu'
they look like two fowers-and they have no for
tune but negroes, who have been hired out and up
on whose wages they have always lived. Her
mother died before she can remember, and her fath
er then married Louisiana lady, owner OF large
plantation, and died there. His little girls were
left at their grand fathers in Kentucky. lie was
kind.hearted old gentlman, whose conscience how
ever. told him that he had right to live on
the labor of slaves. Matte, like all southern
children, had negro nurse whom she called nam
my" and whom she loved as Eva loved her nurse.
One day when she was but five years old, she was
standing on the banks of the Ohio and saw coming
up the river nanny and her children, weeping and
wrngiDg their hand ne in the extremity of anguish
She ran to enquire the cause, and found that NAM
my's husband whO belonged to another plantation.
had been sold to 60 to New-Orleans. When she
heard that "Uncle Dick" sold, she did not re-
alize all the horrible consequences so much dread
ed by the negroes, of being sold "down south"
but her quick heart realized that Nanny and her
children were in distress, and that Uncle DICK
had no chance of ever seeing them again. She
says that the cruelty and injustice OF 1t were
perfectly clear to her then. She entered into their
sorrow with such interest that she began to shrek
100, when Nanny took her in her arms and tried
to soothe her, and gave her piece OF candy, but
this love for her and forgetiulDess OF self only
made her cry more frantically and bitterly. She
was carried home and in the midst OF her scream
ing sorrow she protested ii tcaS not right. lier
grandfather, aunts and uncles tried to pacify her
and told her he waS only Niger, and even SAID
Uncle Dick bad man but this only exasperat-
ed her grief and anger. At last they sent for the
doctor to calm her. fearing she might seriously in
jure herself by such frantic grief She cried her
self to sleep that nightbut ever after she was the
friend and champion of the slave. The whole
plantation knew her and how she felt. Happily
her grand father was as | said, knd-hearted, and
always left unfulflled his daily threatenings OF
punishment but the neighborhood was full 0f oc-
currences of bodily cruelty. At home this cruel
Matte did not realize this distinction in her child
hood, but the slaves in the neighborhood, knowing
her sympathy, would show her their marked ana
mangled bodies, and she would secretly carry them
: grease to ease their smarting wounds. She would
also 90 to their owners and pour out her childish
Indignation and for this impolienesS was punished
at home by her own relatives, 1t was all IN valn'
0 however they could not shut her mouth ana II
never was closed until she found 1t made the slaves
far worse. When for this reason she suppressed
all expression of her misery her health began to
fail and her friends sent her and her sister to a
-. convent to be educated. and out Of the way of
Il slaves. They thought she would take different
view of the matter when older Her poetic imag-
nation was attracted and occupied by the artistic
syHbolism of that part of the Christian experience
which Catholicism recognizes but when she became
of age and resolved to emancpate her slaves, her
confessor forbade it because it would t1ure The
church. Then she broke away from the Catholic
Church, for she did not believe that could be
the Church of Christ which would consen: to such
an iniquity as slavehold:ng. Meantime, her sis
ter had been married, somewhat against their
will, to a Catholic physician, who sold all her
slaves entirely against her will
Just about this time, while she was in vain
endeavoring to find way TO accom- plish her pur-
pose, the first volume of UncleTom's Cabin was put
into her hands, and then she determined to write
a book, for she knew far more OF the subject than
Mrs. Stowe. She belonged TO the largest slave
holding clan of Kenctucky stretching into Nir'
gina and Maryland, and after she left the convent,
visited all around for herself. Everywhere she
found slavery intolerable, and wholly contrary TO
the light Of divine love that shone around her
soulSShe wrote her book in secret without an
erasure in her manuscript but what could she do
with itS BY strange accident Mr.. Summers
Kansas Nebraska speech fell in her way, She
wrote to him that she was young girl with SIX
slaves whom she wished to emancipate, and that
she had written book.-Could he tell her what
to do next? lie told her to 20 North and print
the book which she did, and the publishing of 1t
has of course made her exile from her State
and family. Her sisters husband abandoned her
when there were no longer slaves to be sold for
his pleasure, and because she sympathised with