Autobiography of a Female SlaveBrowne, Martha Griffith
History
Autobiography of a Female Slave
Browne, Martha Griffith
African American women -- Fiction; Didactic fiction; Enslaved women -- Fiction; Kentucky -- Fiction; Slavery -- Fiction
When Louise, Biddy and I, under the protection of Mr. Worth, sailed on a
pleasant steamer from the land of slavery, I could but thank my God that
I was leaving forever the State, beneath the sanction of whose laws the
vilest outrages and grossest inhumanities were committed!
Our trip would, indeed, have been delightful, but that I was constantly
contrasting it in my own mind with what it might have been, had HE not
fallen a victim to the white man's cupidity.
Often I stole away from the company, and, in the privacy of my own room,
gave vent to my pent-up grief. Biddy and Louise were in ecstacies with
everything that they saw.
All along the route, after passing out of the Slave States, we met with
kind friends and genuine hospitality. The Northern people are noble,
generous, and philanthropic; and it affords me pleasure to record here a
tribute to their worth and kindness.
In New York we met with the best of friends. Everywhere I saw smiling,
black faces; a sight rarely beheld in the cities and villages of the
South. I saw men and women of the despised race, who walked with erect
heads and respectable carriage, as though they realized that they were
men and women, not mere chattels.
When we reached Boston I was made to feel this in a particular manner.
There I met full-blooded Africans, finely educated, in the possession of
princely talents, occupying good positions, wielding a powerful
political influence, and illustrating, in their lives, the oft-disputed
fact, that the African intellect is equal to the Caucasian. Soon after
my arrival in Boston I found out, from Mr. Worth, the residence of Mr.
Trueman, and called to see him.
I was politely ushered by an Irish waiter into the study, where I found
Mr. Trueman engaged with a book. At first he did not recognize me; but I
soon made myself known, and received from him a most hearty welcome.
I related all the incidents in my life that had occurred since I had
seen him last. He entered fully into my feelings, and I saw the tear
glisten in his calm eyes when I spoke of poor Henry's awful fate.
I told him of Miss Nancy's kindness, and the tears rolled down his
cheeks. I did not speak of what she had told me in relation to their
engagement; I merely stated that she had referred to him as a particular
personal friend, and when I gave him the letter he received it with a
tremulous hand, uttered a fearful groan, and buried his face among the
papers that lay scattered over his table. Without a spoken good-bye, I
withdrew.
I saw him often after this; and from him received the most signal acts
of kindness. He thanked me many times for what he termed my fidelity to
his sainted friend. He never spoke of her without a quiver of the lip,
and I honored him for his constancy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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