The Princeton union., 1901-10-31
CHAPTER I.
ANITY


ture of 1857. OF medium
height, broad of shoulder, deep chested
and brown haired and brown eyed,
with a countenance brave and frank,
he was regarded as the Adonis of the
house. His dress of milk white cassi-
mere, ruff1ed shirt and deep Byronic
collar gave warrant to the poetic ap-
prasal of the women. But his col
leagues set a different estimate upon
him. To them he was known as 4 well
trained lawyer, close student. 4
young man much given to philosophic
research and meditation, one of learn
ing and gravity unusual at his age,
true, courageous, but Of seriousness
bordering upon melancholy. He was a
forceful debater, though his years were
but "a, and his utterances were always
heard with sincere respect.
Though himself slaveowner, he had
from motives of humanity eloquently
but unsuccessfully opposed the bill
which enacted:
'That from and after the passage of
this act no slave shall be emancipated
in this state"
His speech had been published in full
by the leading journals, and its perora-
ton was long remembered.
"Can it be-" he exclaimed, ''that in
this part of Christendom, in a time of
profound peace and tranquility, an
American legislative body will from
the black cloud of slavery tear the
narrow fringe Of hope and in it's stead
inscribe by statute the frightful legend
seen by Dante over the portals Of hell?
Can it be that enlightened citizens will
forbid the reward of liberty to the slave
who serves the state? Will the law
making power deny to the master the
exercise Of the noblest virtue Of his
nature by prohibiting him from confer
ring the boon Of freedom upon the
slave who has stood between his life
and the knife Of the assassin or safely
borne his fainting wife through the
flames Of the burning mansion or
plunged into the down sucking Missis-
sippi to bring back the fair haired child
to the frantic mother? Can it be that
the flower of civilization will make
unlawful that kindness to a faithful
human slave which it approves to a
dog or horse? l cannot believe it.
But If l mistake the sense of the house
then let me say that the logical conse-
quence of this measure will be the sti-
fling Of moral growth in the master,
the removal Of incentives to loyalty
in the slave; the one must become
more narrow and cruel the other des-
perate and ferocious; the sense Of JUS
tice Of other communities will be
shocked and their righteous anger will
be provoked; decade cannot fail to
bring some frightful catastrophe on
our state as the fruit Of this unholy
measure. I protest against it. l ap-
peal to my colleagues to be true to
their better nature and prove by their
negative votes that the white race in
Louisiana can defend itself and yet be
not ungenerous"
His appeal was ineffective. The bill
was passed by pronounced majority,
was approved by the governor and be-
came law.
After the adjournment of the legisla-
ture Oakfell returned to the parish Of
Avoyelles, taking passage on the steam
boat Red Queen. The vessel was one
of those popularity called Floating pal
aces.' of which score piled the lower
Mississippi and it's tributaries during
the decade preceding the civil war,
when no railroads had been laid in that
part Of Louisiana lying west of the
great river. She was a side wheeler,
with high pressure engines, capable Of
great speed and with accommodation
for over $50 passengers There were
profusion Of white paint upon her
exterior and a plenitude of gliding
and low hanging chandeliers within
the cabin.
The boat carried some 60 passengers,
many of whom were planters returning
from their annual spring visits to New
Orleans factories to settle accounts of
the past planting year and arrange
credits for the new. Some were ac-
companied by their wives and daugh-
tiers, and a sociability prevailed among
the company which is wholly wanting
in the commercial travel of the present
day.
Three were planters in Avoyelles, one
of whom, DR.. De Roux, added the busi-
ness of physician to that of cotton
raising. His plantation was near the
Marais des Cygnes, in the Avoyelles
prairie. The second was Constant
euillebert. low browed, long nosed
Gascon Frenchman who had lived on
Bayou des CLASSES for 20 years, but
had never married or become an Amer
lean citizen. The third was Leonidas
Latiolais Of Bayou Rouge, a man of 60,
whose hair was white and whose blue
eyes and short chin bespoke a kindly
but weak character. OF the three La
tiolais alone threw any warmth into
the salutation Of Oakfell. The others
referred to the legislative incident in a
purely polite manner, as if tenderness
for him required that it be quickly
passed over. Latiolais., however, spoke
regretfully Of the result, but rather out
of sympathy for the young legislator