e number that accompanied him. He had a strong
desire to learn to read, but there was no possible way of his gaining
the light; this he felt to be a great drawback.

The name of the man who had made merchandise of Plymouth was Nat Horsey,
of Horsey's Cross Roads. The most striking characteristic in Horsey's
character, according to Plymouth's idea was, that he was very "hard to
please, did not know when a slave did enough, had no idea that they
could get tired or that they needed any privileges." He was the owner of
six slaves, was engaged in farming and mercantile pursuits, and the
postmaster of the borough in which he lived.

When Plymouth parted with his wife with a "full heart," he bade her
good-night, without intimating to her that he never expected to see her
again in this world; she evidently supposed that he was going home to
his master's place as usual, but instead he was leaving his companion
and three children to wear the yoke as hitherto. He sympathized with
them deeply, but felt that he could render them no real good by
remaining; he could neither live with his wife nor could he have any
command over one of his children. Slavery demanded all, but allowed
nothing.

Notwithstanding, Plymouth admitted that he had been treated even more
favorably than most slaves. The family thus bound consisted of his wife
Jane, and four children, as follows: Dorsey, William Francis, Mary
Ellen, and baby.

Horatio was a little in advance of Plymouth in years, being forty-four
years of age. His physical outlines gave him a commanding appearance for
one who had worn the yoke as he had for so many years. He was of a
yellow complexion, and very tall.

As a slave laborer he had been sweating and toiling to enrich a man by
the name of Thomas J. Hodgson, a farmer on a large scale, and owning
about a dozen slaves.

Horatio gave him the character of being "a man of a hidden temper," and
after the election of Buchanan he considered him a great deal worse than
ever. Horatio told of a visit which his master made to Canada, and
which, on his return, he had taken much pains to report to the slaves to
the effect that he had been there the previous summer, and saw the
country for himself, adding in words somewhat as follows: "Canada is the
meanest part of the globe that I ever found or heard of;--did not see
but one black or colored person in Canada,--inquired at the custom-house
to know what became of all the blacks from the South,