ork in de field, I takes care ob de young un, to
keep from hearing dat awful shriek, when one mornin' I wakes up, and de
little Phillis nowhar' to be seen, and I's neber seen her since, missy."

"They could not surely have robbed you of your only comfort! O, how
dreadful!"

"Yes, missy; I inquires all round if dey see anyting ob my Phillis, but
I gets only a laugh from one, and a curse from anoder; for eben de slabe
get so used to de hard treatment ob dar massa, dat dey sometimes show de
same spirit towards dar fellows, specially if dey happens to be clean
tuck down wid the 'blue imps,' as dey calls it. At last I asks a poor,
broken-down ting, dat hab all her young uns sold away from her only a
day or two afore, if she know anyting 'bout my young un, and she tells
me dar hab been a sale ob a dozen young uns, on de plantation, and she
sees massa, long afore day-broke, pack dem into a wagon, and dey carried
off. I knows den it no use to look for her any longer, and de more I
grows to look down, 'pears like de more dey laughs at me, and dey calls
me 'dat moon-hit niggar.' I gets so stupid after a while, dat massa
threatens to sell me way down whar dey works de niggars up; and I gets
so, I don't care how much dey whips me, or anyting else, for I tinks I
neber be mysef again, when one day massa takes me wid him down to de
boats, to fotch de cotton, and I hears de captain ask, what ail dat
fellow to look so blue, and massa tells him, I got a notion dat I hab a
right to keep my wife and young uns, like I hab de feelin's ob white
folks. Den de captain talk wid massa 'bout buyin' me, and I got to be
such a torn-down critter, massa glad to let me go for most anyting, for
de sake ob gettin' rid ob me. When de bargain struck, my new masa
Grobener claps me on de shoulder, and says, 'now, my man, come wid me,
and see if we can't gib a better 'plexion to matters.' Dem was de first
kind words I eber hears from de white man, and after dat I springs right
up, like de wilted roses missy brought to life de oder day; and when de
Sea-flower come to us, I tink she sent to smooth ober de rough places,
dat hab been gathering trough de long years ob my life in slabery."

"Yours is a sad history, Vingo, and I am happy if I have helped to make
your pathway pleasanter; but do not look upon your life in slavery as
having been unprofitably spent, for the very darkness through which you
have come, serves to make brighter that glorious light which is