treated, the record book is silent.
He was about thirty-two--the wife about twenty-seven. Especial pains
were taken to provide aid and sympathy to this family in their
destitution, fleeing under such peculiarly trying circumstances and from
such loathsome brutality. They were from Aldie P.O., London County,
Virginia, and passed through the hands of the Committee about the 11th
of June. What has been their fate since is not known.

* * * * *

SUNDRY ARRIVALS ABOUT JANUARY FIRST, 1855.

VERENEA MERCER.

The steamship Pennsylvania, on one of her regular trips from Richmond,
brought one passenger, of whom the Captain had no knowledge; no
permission had been asked of any officer of the boat. Nevertheless,
Verenea Mercer managed, by the most extraordinary strategy, to secrete
herself on the steamer, and thus succeeded in reaching Philadelphia. She
was following her husband, who escaped about nine months before her.

Verenea was about forty-one years of age, of a dark chestnut color,
prepossessing in manners, intelligent and refined. She belonged to the
slave population of Richmond, and was owned by Thomas W. Quales.
According to her testimony, she had not received severe treatment during
the eight and a half years that she had been in his hands. Previous to
his becoming the owner of Verenea, it might have been otherwise,
although nothing is recorded in proof of this inference, except that she
had the misfortune to lose her first husband by a sale. Of course she
was left a widow, in which state she remained nine years, at the
expiration of which period, she married a man by the name of James
Mercer, whose narrative may be found on p. 54.

How James got off, and where he went, Verenea knew quite well;
consequently, in planning to reach him, she resorted to the same means
by which he achieved success. The Committee rendered her the usual aid,
and sent her on direct to her husband in Canada. Without difficulty of
any kind she reached there safely, and found James with arms wide open
to embrace her. Frequent tidings reached the Committee, that they were
getting along quite well in Toronto.

On the same day (January 1st), PETER DERRICKSON and CHARLES PURNELL
arrived from Berlin, Worcester county, Maryland. Both were able-bodied
young men, twenty-four and twenty-six years of age, just the kind that a
trader, or an experienced slave-holder in the farming business, would be
mo