irl who trusted in him. Of course I saw whither all this was tending. I
knew the impassable gulf between us; but to be an object of interest to a
man who is not married, and who is not her master, is agreeable to the
pride and feelings of a slave, if her miserable situation has left her any
pride or sentiment. It seems less degrading to give one's self, than to
submit to compulsion. There is something akin to freedom in having a lover
who has no control over you, except that which he gains by kindness and
attachment. A master may treat you as rudely as he pleases, and you dare
not speak; moreover, the wrong does not seem so great with an unmarried
man, as with one who has a wife to be made unhappy. There may be sophistry
in all this; but the condition of a slave confuses all principles of
morality, and, in fact, renders the practice of them impossible.

When I found that my master had actually begun to build the lonely cottage,
other feelings mixed with those I have described. Revenge, and calculations
of interest, were added to flattered vanity and sincere gratitude for
kindness. I knew nothing would enrage Dr. Flint so much as to know that I
favored another, and it was something to triumph over my tyrant even in
that small way. I thought he would revenge himself by selling me, and I was
sure my friend, Mr. Sands, would buy me. He was a man of more generosity
and feeling than my master, and I thought my freedom could be easily
obtained from him. The crisis of my fate now came so near that I was
desperate. I shuddered to think of being the mother of children that should
be owned by my old tyrant. I knew that as soon as a new fancy took him, his
victims were sold far off to get rid of them; especially if they had
children. I had seen several women sold, with babies at the breast. He
never allowed his offspring by slaves to remain long in sight of himself
and his wife. Of a man who was not my master I could ask to have my
children well supported; and in this case, I felt confident I should obtain
the boon. I also felt quite sure that they would be made free. With all
these thoughts revolving in my mind, and seeing no other way of escaping
the doom I so much dreaded, I made a headlong plunge. Pity me, and pardon
me, O virtuous reader! You never knew what it is to be a slave; to be
entirely unprotected by law or custom; to have the laws reduce you to the
condition of a chattel, entirely subject to the will of another. You neve