Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs. Read it now for Free! Read Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by author Harriet Jacobs, FREE, online. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Written by Herself, by Harriet Ann Jacobs, 1813-1897. Free summary and analysis of Chapter 10 in Harriet Jacobsâ. We promise. Harriet Ann Jacobs. Incidents in the life of a slavegirl. THE SLAVE WHO DARED TO FEEL LIKE. By perseverance. and unwearied industry, she was now mistress. She would have been happy could her children. There remained but. But I, and Benjamin. We reasoned. that it was much more the will of God that we should. We longed for a home like. There we always found sweet balsam for our. She was so loving, so sympathizing! She. always met us with a smile, and listened with patience. She spoke so hopefully, that. There. was a grand big oven there, too, that baked bread and. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by Project Gutenberg. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl study guide contains a biography of Harriet Jacobs, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes. Free summary and analysis of Chapter 5 in Harriet Jacobsâ. We promise.Benjamin was now a. My. brother William, now twelve years old, had the same. I was his confidant. He. came to me with all his troubles. I remember one. instance in particular. It was on a lovely spring. I marked the sunlight dancing. O, how I. despised him! I thought how glad I should be, if. O, Linda, isn't this a bad world? Every. body seems so cross and unhappy. I wish I had died. But we, who were slave- children, without. We. must be good; perhaps that would bring us contentment. They are all the time troubling me. It seemed that the brother. Nicholas had pleased himself with making. William. Master Nicholas said he. Whereupon. he went to work; but William fought bravely, and the. He failed in. that likewise. By dint of kicking and fisting, William. On such occasions he. William had other charges to. One was his rubbing up pennies. William. was often sent to buy fruit, and he earnestly inquired. I assured him the. William thought it. He said. he did not mind the smart of the whip, but he did not. It was. the very knowledge of my own shortcomings that. God- given nature. I had not lived fourteen. I had felt, seen, and. The war of my life had. God's most powerless creatures. I resolved never to be conquered. Alas, for. owner knew of it, and sought in every way to render. He did not resort to corporal punishment. It was. in the month of February. My grandmother had. I needed them; for several inches of snow had. When I walked. through Mrs. Flint's room, their creaking grated. She called me to her. I had about me that made such a. I told her it was my new shoes. She then. sent me a long distance, on an errand. As I went. through the snow, my bare feet tingled. That night I. was very hoarse; and I went to bed thinking the next. What was. my grief on waking to find myself quite well! It was my ignorance of that mistress that gave. Flint occasionally had high prices offered for. She. is my daughter's property, and I have no right to sell. My young mistress was. I could look for no protection from. I loved her, and she returned my affection. I. once heard her father allude to her attachment to me. This put unpleasant doubts into my mind. Did. the child feign what she did not feel? I concluded it must be the latter. I said to. myself, . My mistress had been accusing. I assured her I was perfectly. I saw, by the contemptuous curl. I was telling a lie. As I sat musing. thus, the door opened softly, and William came in. He resisted. Master and slave fought. Benjamin had. cause to tremble; for he had thrown to the ground his. I anxiously. awaited the result. My. grandmother had gone to spend a day or two with an. I am going away. I. I implored him not. He said he. was no longer a boy, and every day made his yoke. He had raised his hand against his. I told him he might be. No, I will. not stay. Let them bring me back. We don't die. but once. Poor. mother! The captain said. This alarmed Benjamin. His embarrassment was. To port they went. There. the advertisement met the captain's eye. Benjamin so. exactly answered its description, that the captain laid. The storm passed. New York. Before. Benjamin managed to get off his. He escaped from. the vessel, but was pursued, captured, and carried back. Yes, news was heard. The. master was rejoicing over a letter, announcing the. I saw him led through the streets in. His face was ghastly pale, yet full of. He had begged one of the sailors to. She yearned to see him, and she went. At midnight he opened the jail door for my. When. we entered the cell not a sound broke the stillness. There. was a jingle of chains. The moon had just risen, and. We did not speak. Sobs were heard, and. Benjamin's lips were unsealed; for his mother was. How vividly does memory bring. Mother and son talked together. She said she had nothing to forgive; she could not. He told her that when. She asked if he did. God. I fancied I saw his face grow. He answered, . When a man is hunted like a wild beast. God, a heaven. He forgets every. Be humble, my child, and your master will. For not letting him. I will never humble myself. I have worked for him for nothing all my life. I am repaid with stripes and imprisonment. Here. I will stay till I die, or till he sells me. I think he. felt it; for when he next spoke, his voice was. I ain't worth it. You. bear every thing patiently, just as though you thought it. I wish I could. She besought. He was immovable. He said Benjamin. However, he. afterwards relented in some degree. The chains were. taken off, and we were allowed to visit him. One day he was heard to. This piece of indecorum was told to his. He worked at his chains till he. He passed them. through the bars of the window, with a request that. The old ones were burned up. He calmly answered, . We that loved him waited to bid him a. A slave trader had bought. You remember, I told you what price he. Now he was more. than twenty years old, and sold for three hundred dollars. He said he would give any price. We thanked God. that he was not. She had had an interview. Benjamin could be purchased. She was told it was. He promised that he would. New Orleans. Benjamin must be free. Day and. night she labored. The trader's price would treble. She begged him to. Benjamin, and he willingly favored. When he saw Benjamin, and stated his. He. knew he had tried to obtain a high price for him, and. This encouraged him to make. So one morning, long before. Benjamin was missing. He was riding over. Baltimore. Benjamin was taken sick, and compelled. Baltimore three weeks. His strength. was slow in returning; and his desire to continue his. How could he. get strength without air and exercise? He resolved. to venture on a short walk. A by- street was selected. He turned to confront his. He thought it was all over with. That man was a. miracle. He possessed a goodly number of slaves. I guess I gave you something of a start. You. had a pretty tough time of it, and you may go on. But I would advise. Good by, Ben. On his return, he told my. It happened that my grandmother's. Through God's providence. You may be sure it was a happy. In the old jail he had not valued it. He had heard those who profess to be. His brother told him it would. Would he be bought? And do you suppose. I would turn mother out of her home in her old age? For you know she will. Tell her to buy you, Phil. You. have been a comfort to her, and I have been a trouble. Phil. you don't know what a life they lead her. She has told. me something about it, and I wish old Flint was dead. When I was in jail, he asked her if. She told him, No; that. I didn't want to go back. He got mad, and said we. I never despised my own master half. I do that man. There is many a worse. I would. not be his slave. But he did. not part with a little pin I fastened in his bosom when. It was the most valuable thing I owned. I thought none more worthy to wear it. He. had it still. We never heard from him. I have seen him in New York. She raised her hands, and exclaimed. Let us thank him. Then Phillip must sit down and repeat to her. Benjamin had said. He told her all; only. Why should he distress her when she could. After a while she. Phillip. She paid eight hundred. The happy mother and son. We. all concluded by saying, . Flint's. family, I was accustomed to share some indulgences. Though this seemed. I was grateful for it, and. But I now entered on my fifteenth year—a. My master began. to whisper foul words in my ear. Young as I was, I. I tried to. treat them with indifference or contempt. The. master's age, my extreme youth, and the fear that his. He was a. crafty man, and resorted to many means to. Sometimes he had stormy. Of the two, I preferred his. He. tried his utmost to corrupt the pure principles my. He peopled my young. I turned from him with. But he was my master. I was. compelled to live under the same roof with. I saw a man forty years my senior. He told me I was his property; that I. My soul. revolted against the mean tyranny. But where could I. No matter whether the slave girl. In. either case, there is no shadow of law to protect her. The mistress, who ought to protect the helpless. The degradation, the wrongs, the. I can. describe. They are greater than you would willingly. Surely, if you credited one half the truths that. You surely would refuse to do for. Even the little child, who. Perhaps the child's own mother is. She listens to violent outbreaks of. She will become prematurely knowing in. Soon she will learn to tremble when she hears. She. will be compelled to realize that she is no longer a. If God has bestowed beauty upon her, it will. That which commands admiration. I know that some are too. I cannot tell how. I suffered in the presence of these wrongs, nor. I am still pained by the retrospect. My master. met me at every turn, reminding me that I belonged. If I went out for. If I knelt by my mother's grave. The light. heart which nature had given me became heavy with. The other slaves in my master's. Many of them pitied me. They had no need. They knew too well the guilty practices. I would have. given the world to have laid my head on my grandmother's. Flint swore he would kill me, if I was not as. Then, although my grandmother. I feared her as well as loved her. I was very young, and. I knew her to be very strict on such subjects. I had been told that she once chased. I dreaded the consequences. But though I did not confide in. Though she had been a. Dr. Flint was afraid of her. He dreaded her. scorching rebukes. Moreover, she was known and. It was lucky for me. I did not live on a distant plantation, but in a. Bad as are the laws and customs. Reader, it is not to awaken sympathy.
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