I became quite familiar with the
texts, "Servants be obedient to your masters."--"Not with eye service as
men pleasers."--"He that knoweth his master's will and doeth it not, shall
be beaten with many stripes," and others of this class: for they formed
the basis of most of these public instructions to us. The first
commandment impressed upon our minds was to obey our masters, and the
second was like unto it, namely, to do as much work when they or the
overseers were not watching us as when they were. But connected with these
instructions there was more or less that was truly excellent; though mixed
up with much that would sound strangely in the ears of freedom. There was
one very kind hearted Episcopal minister whom I often used to hear; he was
very popular with the colored people. But after he had preached a sermon
to us in which he argued from the Bible that it was the will of heaven
from all eternity we should be slaves, and our masters be our owners, most
of us left him; for like some of the faint hearted disciples in early
times we said,--"This is a hard saying, who can bear it?"
My manumission, as I shall call it; that is, the bill of sale conveying me
to Mr.
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