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
"O, indeed, you must take it; your royal highness may be ill, and you
may find it quite proper to take a little wine for your 'stomach's
sake.' Don't, my dear madam, refuse your most humble servant the
privilege of presenting this basket and its contents, wine and all, to
my royal madam."
And I saw by the starting tear that she would feel quite hurt if I
refused her, and accepted her gift.
As we steamed down the river I saw many little hillocks where were
buried the fallen soldiers who left their northern homes with high
hopes of saving the nation's life from the hand of treason. Here they
fell long before Richmond was taken. We passed Burmuda Hundred and City
Point, upon which stood General Grant's headquarters. Next came
Harrison's Landing, near President Harrison's birth-place, an ancient
appearing building situated upon a high bluff.
At Wilson's Landing and Clarmount Landing there was a high bank, upon
which lived one of the wealthiest men in the State of Virginia, William
Allen, who adopted the name of his father-in-law for the sake of his
immense wealth. William Allen, sen., had no son, but an only daughter,
and he offered his entire estate to any young man whom his daughter
might be pleased to accept, if he would assume his name; he cared not
how poor he might be, if he was only respectable. The daughter had many
suitors, but at length a young man won this bride and adopted the whole
name--William Allen. At the death of the father-in-law he came into
possession of thirteen plantations and over four thousand slaves. All
these plantations were managed by overseers. One man told me he had
seen him take a keg of gold and silver coins down to the sand-bank,
with a company of his comrades, on a holiday spree, and when they were
all thoroughly drunk he would take up a handful of gold and silver
pieces, throw them in the sand, and tell them to scramble, and he that
got the most was the best fellow. He, with the rest, "scrambled," as he
called it. William Allen declared that the Yankees had robbed him of
fifty thousand dollars worth of negroes under ten years of age, and
more than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars' worth of slaves above
that age.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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