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Page 67
"The next day was the Sabbath. The bells called the people to the
different places of worship. Methodists sang, and Baptists immersed, and
Presbyterians sprinkled, and Episcopalians read their prayers, while the
ministers of the various sects preached that Christ died for all; yet
there were some twenty-five or thirty of us poor creatures confined in
the '_Negro Pen_' awaiting the close of the Holy Sabbath, and the dawn
of another day, to be again taken into the market, there to be examined
like so many beasts of burden. I need not tell you with what anxiety we
waited for the advent of another day. On Monday we were again brought
out, and placed in rows to be inspected; and fortunately for me, I was
sold before we had been on the stand an hour. I was purchased by a
gentleman residing in the city, for a waiting-maid for his wife, who was
just on the eve of starting for Mobile, to pay a visit to a near
relation. I was then dressed to suit the situation of a maid-servant;
and, upon the whole, I thought that in my new dress I looked as much the
lady as my mistress.
"On the passage to Mobile, who should I see among the passengers, but
the tall, long-haired man that had eyed me so closely in the
slave-market a few days before. His eyes were again on me, and he
appeared anxious to speak to me, and I as reluctant to be spoken to. The
first evening after leaving New Orleans, soon after twilight had let her
curtain down, and pinned it with a star, and while I was seated on the
deck of the boat, near the ladies' cabin, looking upon the rippled
waves, and the reflection of the moon upon the sea, all at once I saw
the tall young man standing by my side. I immediately rose from my seat,
and was in the act of returning to the cabin, when he in a broken
accent said, 'Stop a moment; I wish to have a word with you. I am your
friend.' I stopped and looked him full in the face, and he said, 'I saw
you some days since in the slave-market, and I intended to have
purchased you to save you from the condition of a slave. I called on
Monday, but you had been sold and had left the market. I inquired and
learned who the purchaser was, and that you had to go to Mobile, so I
resolved to follow you. If you are willing, I will try and buy you from
your present owner, and you shall be free.' Although this was said in an
honest and off-hand manner, I could not believe the man to be sincere in
what he said. 'Why should you wish to set _me_ free?' I asked. 'I had an
only sister,' he replied, 'who died three years ago in France, and you
are so much like her, that had I not known of her death, I would most
certainly have taken you for her.' 'However much I may resemble your
sister, you are aware that I am not her, and why take so much interest
in one whom you never saw before?' 'The love,' said he, 'which I had for
my sister is transferred to you.' I had all along suspected that the
man was a knave, and this profession of love confirmed me in my former
belief, and I turned away and left him.
"The next day, while standing in the cabin and looking through the
window, the French gentleman (for such he was) came to the window while
walking on the guards, and again commenced as on the previous evening.
He took from his pocket a bit of paper and put into my hand, and at the
same time saying, 'Take this, it may some day be of service to you,
remember it is from a friend,' and left me instantly. I unfolded the
paper, and found it to be a 100 dols. bank note, on the United States
Branch Bank, at Philadelphia. My first impulse was to give it to my
mistress, but upon a second thought, I resolved to seek an opportunity,
and to return the hundred dollars to the stranger. Therefore, I looked
for him, but in vain; and had almost given up the idea of seeing him
again, when he passed me on the guards of the boat and walked towards
the stem of the vessel. It being now dark, I approached him and offered
the money to him. He declined, saying at the same time, 'I gave it to
you--keep it.' 'I do not want it,' I said. 'Now,' said he, 'you had
better give your consent for me to purchase you, and you shall go with
me to France.' 'But you cannot buy me now,' I replied, 'for my master is
in New Orleans, and he purchased me not to sell, but to retain in his
own family.' 'Would you rather remain with your present mistress, than
be free?' 'No,' said I. 'Then fly with me to-night; we shall be in
Mobile in two hours from this, and, when the passengers are going on
shore, you can take my arm, and you can escape unobserved. The trader
who brought you to New Orleans exhibited to me a certificate of your
good character, and one from the Minister of the Church to which you
were attached in Virginia; and upon the faith of these assurances, and
the love I bear you, I promise before high heaven that I will marry you
as soon as it can be done.' This solemn promise, coupled with what had
already transpired, gave me confidence in the man; and rash as the act
may seem, I determined in an instant to go with him. My mistress had
been put under the charge of the captain; and as it would be past ten
o'clock when the steamer would land, she accepted an invitation of the
captain to remain on board with several other ladies till morning. I
dressed myself in my best clothes, and put a veil over my face, and was
ready on the landing of the boat. Surrounded by a number of passengers,
we descended the stage leading to the wharf and were soon lost in the
crowd that thronged the quay. As we went on shore we encountered several
persons announcing the names of hotels, the starting of boats for the
interior, and vessels bound for Europe. Among these was the ship
_Utica_, Captain Pell, bound for Havre. 'Now,' said Mr. Devenant, 'this
is our chance.' The ship was to sail at 12 o'clock that night, at high
tide; and following the men who were seeking passengers, we went
immediately on board. Devenant told the Captain of the ship that I was
his sister, and for such we passed during the voyage. At the hour of
twelve the _Utica_ set sail, and we were soon out at sea.
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