Such as this is the fate of the
plantation slaves generally, but such was not my lot. My way was
comparatively light, and what is better, it conducted to freedom. And my
wife and children were with me. After my master died, my mistress sold a
number of her slaves from their families and friends--but not me. She sold
several children from their parents--but my children were with me still.
She sold two husbands from their wives--but I was still with mine. She
sold one wife from her husband--but mine had not been sold from me. The
master of my wife, Mr. Smith, had separated members of families by
sale--but not of mine. With me and my house, the tenderer tendrils of the
heart still clung to where the vine had entwined; pleasant was its shade
and delicious its fruit to our taste, though we knew, and what is more, we
_felt_ that we were slaves. But all around I could see where the vine had
been torn down, and its bleeding branches told of vanished joys, and of
new wrought sorrows, such as, slave though I was, had never entered into
my practical experience.
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