The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1861-10-15
HglE BLACK sANoNs.


Or hra4 With ils eea esssom III 81 ease,
Woei4 laugh away Il seosn the ssd.woge rhsin,
Wh:eh sheig oga blisdness fesgnoj Cor aaamant
wrone ever hailds or qaicksands; hui the right
10 the 6rla crntfr iays ,ss noysiess base.
~ Il. Lolosli
The Toll0wing story, which i very sng-
gesiiYe II this crisis, is strictly true. The
( southern gentleman, who visited the swamp
in Disguise. and heard the speeches of the
{ slaves, repeated them, as nearly o. he
could recoIleci, % friend of Mrs. Child,
and be committed them 70 writing. The
incidents occurred during the war of 1872,
wien the probability Of ,hc British land
ing on our coast was much talked Of.
Mr.. Duncan was sitting alone % his el.
egaBlly furnished parlor, in the vicinity Of
Charleston. South Carolina. Before him
lay an open volume, Thierry's History OF
lie Norman Conquest. From the natural
kindness Of bis character, and the demo-
cratic theories deeply imbibcd in his
childhood, his thoughts dwelt more with
q nation pros trated and kept in base SUBJ
lection by the strong arm Of violence, thaa
with The geiiDwned rethers. wllo.seizesl
their rich possessions, and haughiily tram
Piled on their dearest rights.
and so tllai bold aud beautiful race
/ became slaves z thought he. The brave
and free sonlcd lIaroids, strong Of heart
aud strong of arm; the iair-hircd lslths,
in their qucenly beauty, noble N soul q
well ms ancestry these all sank to the
condition Of slases. fhey lameiy submit
ted to their lot, till their free, bright beauty
passed under the heavy cloud Of animal
dulness, and the coutemptuous Norman
cpitl.ei oil base Saxon churls was but
too significantly true. Yet not without
elfolls did they thus sink. How often re-
newed. or how bravely sustained, we know
not; for troubadours rarely sing Of ile
/ defeated, aud conquerors write their own
history That they did not relinquish
freedom without struggle, is proved BY
Robin Hood and his bold followers, i'oal-
ing IN dim and shadowy glory on the out
skirts OF history brave outlaws Of the
I free forest. aud the Wild mountain passes,
I takiIig iaeh, ia the very tecth 81 ciinse r,
precarious subsistence from the rich pos
sessions tlat were once their own; and
/ therefore stycd thieves and traitors by
the robbers WHO had beggared Them
/ Doubtless they had Ministries Of their
own, unknown in plincely halls, untrum-
peied by fame, yet singing Of their ex-
ploits in spini-stiuing tones, TO hearts
/ burning with sense OF wrong. Troubled
must be the sleep of those who rule a con-
/ quered nation
These thoughts were passing through
/ his mind, when dark muatto opened the
door, and making seryile reverence, said
in wheedling tones, Would massa be 50
good as Glib pass TO 20 TO Methodist
meelin'y"
+ Mr.. Duncan was pro5erbially indul-
gent MASTER and he at once replied, " les,
Jack, you may haze pass; but you must
mind and not stay out all night
4 "Oh, no, massa. Tom never preach
more than two hours
Scarcely was the pass written leforc
another servant appeared with 4 similar
request and presently another; and yet
another. When these Interruptions ceas-
ed Mr.. Duncan resumed his book and
quietly read Of the oppressed SaXons, un-
+ I'll tile wish for glass Of water induced
him TO ring the bell. No servant obeycd
4 the summons. With an impatient jerk Of
1 the rope lie rang a second Time, muttcring
TO himself, " What a curse il is 70 be wait
ed upon by slaves If were dying the
lazy looms would take their own time, and
come dragging their heavy heels along an
hour after was in the land Of spirits.
Nv nciehbors tell me il is because new
er fog them. | believe they are IN the
right. 1t is d hard case, too, to force a
man 10 be a tyrant, whether be will or no.
A third time he rang the bell more loud
ly but waited in vain for the sound OF
coming footsteps Then il occurred to him
that be had given every one Of his slaves
a pass 10 60 to the Methodist meeting
This was instantly followed by the rcmem-
brance that the same thing had happened
a few days before.
We were then At war with Great Brit
ain; and though Mr.. Duncan often boasled
the attachment Of his slaves, and declared
them TO be the most eonienied and happy
laborers in the world, who would not take
their freedom II they could, yet by some
coincidence of thought the frequency Of
Methodist meetings Immediately suggested
Tie common report that British troops
were near the coast, and about to land in
Charleston. Simultaneously came the re-
membrance Of Bie-boned Dick, who,many
months before. had absconded from u
neighboring planter, and was suspected oi
holding rendezvous for runaways 10 the
swampy depths Of some dark forest. The
existence Of such gang was Indicated By
the rapid disappearance Of young corn
swee, potatoes, fat hogs, etc, from the
plantations for many miles around.
. The black rascal r exclaimed he; i
my boys are ia league with him
The coming threat was arrested By q
voice niihin. which, Ike a chorus from
some invisible choir al at once struck up
ile lively ballad q Robin Hood. ard thus