I hesitated a little, and then said, "I will explain myself, Mr. De Saussure, trusting to your
honour to keep silence about it. I am a friend of the coloured
people."
"Oh! - So are we all," he said.
"And I will never be rich at their expense."
"By their means, is not necessarily at their expense," he said
gently.
"It is at their expense," I repeated. "I do not choose to be
rich so. And the religion I live by, forbids me to do to
others as I would not like they should do to me."
"I am sure, by that rule, your dependants at Magnolia would
implore you not to give them over to other hands. They will
never have so kind a mistress. Don't you see?" he said with
the same insinuating gentleness.
"I shall give them over to no other hands. I would make them
as free as myself."
"Make them free!"
"That is what I would do."
"You cannot mean it," he said.
"You see, Mr. De Saussure, that I shall be very poor."
"You are playing with me."
"I am very serious."
"It is rank Northern madness!" he said to himself. "And it is
Mrs. Randolph's daughter. The thing is impossible."
"It is Mrs. Randolph's daughter," I said, withdrawing my hand
from his arm. "I pray you not to forget it."
"Pray, forgive me!" he said eagerly. "I was bewildered, and am
yet. I did not know where I was. It seems to me I cannot have
heard you aright."
"Quite right, Mr. De Saussure."
"But just reflect!" he said. "These creatures, whose cause you
are advocating, they are but half human; they cannot take care
of themselves; their very happiness is identified with their
present position."
"It is not the view they take of it."
"They are incapable of forming any judgment on the matter."
"At least they know what they mean by happiness," I said; "and
in their mouths it is not a synonym with slavery. And if your
words are true, Mr. De Saussure, in the case of some of those
poor people, - and I know they are, - it is one of the worst
things that can be said of the system. If some of them are
brought so low as to be content with being slaves, we have
robbed them of their humanity."
"It is absolutely Northern radicalism!" said Mr. De Saussure
to himself.
"No," I said, - "it is Christian justice and mercy."
"You will allow me to represent to you, without any
presumption, that there are very many Christians, both at the
South and North, who do not look at the matter with your
eyes."
"I suppose they have never really seen it," I answered sadly.
"People that have always lived close to something, often do
not know what it is. My father has never seen it - nor, my
mother. I have."