Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-02-21

Jnat we We're DeinS IOIloWeuI ana Sue Wep6 |
and trembled so that reproached myself
bitterly for having made so mad an at
tempt. At length Clarice declared she
could walk no farther, and | saw that it
would be cruelty to urge her. We sat
down mournfully by the roadside, where,
Graded in my arms, Clarice fell asleep
We were not half mile from the village
we had left, and it was inevitable that we
should be discovered. Some villagers who
had seen us perform, going early to their
work, caught sight of us, and questioned
us, and with the cruel joy that all men
feel when helpless creatures are being
hunted down, they carried the news to our
master that his two dancing girls were run
ming away. He fastened to us in a furious
passion and dragged us before ma gistrate,
threatening US on the way with the most
dreadful penalties.
For my own part. think 1 should
have the courage to defy him, but Clarice
took all the strength out of me; the wild
beating of her heart as 1 pressed her to
my side was torture to me-
To the magistrate our master related a
smooth and plausible story, telling of the
obligations our father was under to him, of
the friendship that existed between them,
of the pain and annoyance we systemati-
cally caused that kindest of men, of being
appointed guardian to us until we were 81
years of age, with detailed accounts of our
acts Of ingratitude-all of which inven-
tons made me culver with Indignation.
His story was conclusive, my denial of its
truth was received with contempt, and the
magistrate treated us to homily upon our
monstrous conduct, telling us that we
could be put into prison for our disobe-
dience and rebellion nay, he assisted the
case against us by saying that he doubted
not the very clothes in which we ran
away We're the property of our mas
ter, and that we could be severely
punished for the theft. Our master
replied, it was true he could charge
us with theft, but he would not do so out of
consideration for our youth, and because
he intended to fulfill, to the best of his
poor ability, the trust reposed in him by
his dear dead friend our father. He did
not say that it would not suit his purpose
that we should be imprisoned although
knew it well enough-and he begged for
( our discharge; so we were released, with
warnings and admonitions from the magis-
trate, in whom we should rather have
found friend than an enemy.
"There was no help for us we had been
given into slavery, and by dear father
who would have shed his hearts blood
for us. But it cannot last forever, I
thought when Clarice and l are women
J we shall be free the villain will no
longer have power over us; till then
we must submit SO l schooled my
self to patience. We were worked
harder than ever, and we must have
earned a great deal of money, for our per-
formances found favor wherever we went
He was cunning this master of ours if
we performed to his satisfaction the hard
tasks he set for us, he gave US better food
and fine promises; if we did not please
him, or if money did not flow in plentifully,
he placed the coarsest food before us, with
blows for a sauce.
"'Cannot you see, he said to me one
day, what fools you are to thwart me !?
Do as l bid you, and your lives will be
easy and comfortable. All l want is to
make money out of you.
"The villain had no regard for US as hu-
man creatures he and humanity were
strangers, and he used us as though we
were chattels, devoid of heart or feeling.
"He had one consuming passionate was
gambler, and all our earnings were squan-
dered at the gaming tables That is why
we were always poor, and why he never let
us rest Despite the hard life We lead,
Clarice grew daily more beautiful to see
her once, was to remember her always she
seemed to belong more to heaven than to
earth, and | used to gaze upon her with a
kind of worship. No wonder she was adj
mired by the common people we played to
in the villages; they had never looked
upon'a fairer face and form. Our master
had the same distaste for large cities as
our father had he avoided them most
carefully, and we wandered in out-of-the-
way places for eight or nine months until
Clarice fell i'll, and, much against our
masters wish, we were compelled to rest
until she recovered.
During this time it was that began
to sing to Clarice, and our master discov-
cred had a musical voice which could be
turned to profitable account 1t was a
discovery to us as well as to him the
parts played in our little comedies were
speaking parts, and no opportunity had
been afforded me of using my chief gift.
Coming in one night while l was sing
ing, our master babe Clarice dance
to my voice. She obeyed him, and as
1 sang she moved gracefully about, in &C.
cordance with the suggestion of the mel
ody, now slowly, now with spirit, and now
with a sweet and innocent abandon that
captivated him as well as me. The child
had nearly recovered from her sickness,
and she was grateful for returning health /;
her disposition was naturally gay, and her
slavery had not yet lasted long enough to
crush all joyousness out of her. There
was something spiritual in her move
ments; the room was but dimly lighted,
and, as she glided in and out of the shad-
ows, was overtaken by fear that she
might fade from our sight, and that we
should see her no more.