Tired of reading? Add this page to your Bookmarks or Favorites and finish it later.
|
|
I had directed that my letters should be put into the New York post office
on the 20th of the month. On the evening of the 24th my aunt came to say
that Dr. Flint and his wife had been talking in a low voice about a letter
he had received, and that when he went to his office he promised to bring
it when he came to tea. So I concluded I should hear my letter read the
next morning. I told my grandmother Dr. Flint would be sure to come, and
asked her to have him sit near a certain door, and leave it open, that I
might hear what he said. The next morning I took my station within sound of
that door, and remained motionless as a statue. It was not long before I
heard the gate slam, and the well-known footsteps enter the house. He
seated himself in the chair that was placed for him, and said, "Well,
Martha, I've brought you a letter from Linda. She has sent me a letter,
also. I know exactly where to find her; but I don't choose to go to Boston
for her. I had rather she would come back of her own accord, in a
respectable manner. Her uncle Phillip is the best person to go for her.
With him, she would feel perfectly free to act. I am willing to pay his
expenses going and returning. She shall be sold to her friends. Her
children are free; at least I suppose they are; and when you obtain her
freedom, you'll make a happy family. I suppose, Martha, you have no
objection to my reading to you the letter Linda has written to you."
He broke the seal, and I heard him read it. The old villain! He had
suppressed the letter I wrote to grandmother, and prepared a substitute of
his own, the purport of which was as follows:--
Dear Grandmother: I have long wanted to write to you; but the
disgraceful manner in which I left you and my children made me
ashamed to do it. If you knew how much I have suffered since I
ran away, you would pity and forgive me. I have purchased freedom
at a dear rate. If any arrangement could be made for me to return
to the south without being a slave, I would gladly come. If not,
I beg of you to send my children to the north. I cannot live any
longer without them. Let me know in time, and I will meet them in
New York or Philadelphia, whichever place best suits my uncle's
convenience. Write as soon as possible to your unhappy daughter,
|