A Woman's Life-Work — Labors and Experiences of Laura S. HavilandHaviland, Laura S. (Laura Smith)
Religion
A Woman's Life-Work — Labors and Experiences of Laura S. Haviland
Haviland, Laura S. (Laura Smith)
Freed persons; Haviland, Laura S. (Laura Smith), 1808-1898; Underground Railroad
He followed in earnest prayer. At the close he raised his clasped
hands: "I've found him; I've got him. O, how I wish I could have voice
and strength to tell you how happy I am! I want to go to my Savior; he
is my all. But I can not tell it here; I will tell it in glory. It's
all light now; the darkness, is all gone."
He seemed much exhausted, and took leave of his mother and mister, and
sank into a stupor, and quietly passed away that afternoon.
I felt under renewed obligations to praise Him for his loving kindness
in reminding me, so vividly of the promise I made to that dying young
man, Harvey White. How careful we should be to attend, to every little
errand as we are passing through our life-work. I felt to upbraid
myself for being so inattentive to that request. Had that precious soul
left the shores of time without hope in Christ, I could never have
forgiven myself for my neglect. There are neglected duties that dot my
life here and there with regrets, that have been lessons to teach the
necessity of greater faithfulness in the Master's work.
The daughter of John Hatfield came to me with the word that there was a
woman at their house who wished to see me. Her father being a member of
the vigilance committee I went without delay, and found the woman in
great distress of mind. She said she was a slave, but had the privilege
of working in Cincinnati at house-cleaning, washing, or any jobs she
could get, by paying her mistress three dollars per week. In this way
she had managed to lay aside for herself over twenty dollars during
nearly two years. She had a husband and nine children, "An' las' year,"
said she, "missus was gwine to sell my oldes' gal an' her baby to get
money to keep her two gals in school Norf somewhars, an' she tuck her
baby an' run off for Canada, an' now she says she's got to sell my
Mary;" and her tears came as from a fountain.
"Why don't she come away as your other daughter did?" I asked.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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