My light of hope now went out. My prop seemed to have
given way from under me. Sunk in the very night of despair respecting my
freedom, I discovered myself, as though I had never known it before, a
husband, the father of two children, a family looking up to me for bread,
and I a slave, penniless, and well watched by my master, his wife and his
children, lest I should, perchance, catch the friendly light of the stars
to make something in order to supply the cravings of nature in those with
whom my soul was bound up; or lest some plan of freedom might lead me to
trim the light of diligence after the day's labor was over, while the rest
of the world were enjoying the hours in pleasure or sleep.
At this time an event occurred, which, while it cast a cloud over the
prospects of some of my fellow slaves, was a rainbow over mine. My master
died, and his widow, by the will, became sole executrix of his property.
To the surprize of all, the bank of which he had been cashier presented a
claim against the estate for forty thousand dollars.
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