第12章 Chapter IV.(1)
About midnight following， the cell door opened， andBurch and Radburn entered， with lanterns in their hands.
Burch， with an oath， ordered us to roll up our blanketswithout delay， and get ready to go on board the boat. Heswore we would be left unless we hurried fast. He arousedthe children from their slumbers with a rough shake， andsaid they were d—d sleepy， it appeared. Going out intothe yard， he called Clem Ray， ordering him to leave the038
loft and come into the cell， and bring his blanket withhim. When Clem appeared， he placed us side by side，and fastened us together with hand-cuffs—my left handto his right. John Williams had been taken out a day ortwo before， his master having redeemed him， greatlyto his delight. Clem and I were ordered to march， Elizaand the children following， We were conducted into theyard， from thence into the covered passage， and up aflight of steps through a side door into the upper room，where I had heard the walking to and fro. Its furniturewas a stove， a few old chairs， and a long table， coveredwith papers. It was a white-washed room， without anycarpet on the floor， and seemed a sort of office. By oneof the windows， I remember， hung a rusty sword， whichattracted my attention. Burch’s trunk was there. Inobedience to his orders， I took hold of one of its handleswith my unfettered hand， while he taking hold of theother， we proceeded out of the front door into the streetin the same order as we had left the cell.
It was a dark night. All was quiet. I could see lights，or the reflection of them， over towards PennsylvaniaAvenue， but there was no one， not even a straggler， tobe seen. I was almost resolved to attempt to break away.
Had I not been hand-cuffed the attempt would certainlyhave been made， whatever consequence might havefollowed. Radburn was in the rear， carrying a large stick，and hurrying up the children as fast as the little onescould walk. So we passed， hand-cuffed and in silence， through the streets of Washington through the Capitalof a nation， whose theory of government， we are told，rests on the foundation of man’s inalienable right to life，LIBERTY， and the pursuit of happiness！ Hail！ Columbia，happy land， indeed！
Reaching the steamboat， we were quickly hustledinto the hold， among barrels and boxes of freight. Acolored servant brought a light， the bell rung， and soonthe vessel started down the Potomac， carrying us weknew not where. The bell tolled as we passed the tombof Washington！ Burch， no doubt， with uncovered head，bowed reverently before the sacred ashes of the man whodevoted his illustrious life to the liberty of his country.
None of us slept that night but Randall and littleEmmy. For the first time Clem Ray was wholly overcome.
To him the idea of going south was terrible in theextreme. He was leaving the friends and associations ofhis youth every thing， that was dear and precious to hisheart—in all probability never to return. He and Elizamingled their tears together， bemoaning their cruel fate.
For my own part， difficult as it was， I endeavored to keepup my spirits. I resolved in my mind a hundred plans ofescape， and fully determined to make the attempt the firstdesperate chance that offered. I had by this time becomesatisfied， however， that my true policy was to say nothingfurther on the subject of my having been born a freeman.
It would but expose me to mal-treatment， and diminishthe chances of liberation.
After sunrise in the morning we were called up on deckto breakfast. Burch took our hand-cuffs off， and we satdown to table. He asked Eliza if she would take a dram.
She declined， thanking him politely. During the meal wewere all silent—not a word passed between us. A mulattowoman who served at table seemed to take an interestin our behalf—told us to cheer up， and not to be so castdown. Breakfast over， the hand-cuffs were restored， andBurch ordered us out on the stern deck. We sat downtogether on some boxes， still saying nothing in Burch’spresence. Occasionally a passenger would walk out towhere we were， look at us for a while， then silently return.
It was a very pleasant morning. The fields along theriver were covered with verdure， far in advance of whatI had been accustomed to see at that season of the year.
The sun shone out warmly； the birds were singing inthe trees. The happy birds—I envied them. I wished forwings like them， that I might cleave the air to where mybirdlings waited vainly for their father’s coming， in thecooler region of the North.
In the forenoon the steamer reached Aquia Creek.
There the passengers took stages—Burch and his fiveslaves occupying one exclusively. He laughed with thechildren， and at one stopping place went so far as topurchase them a piece of gingerbread. He told me to holdup my head and look smart. That I might， perhaps， geta good master if I behaved myself. I made him no reply.
His face was hateful to me， and I could not bear to look upon it. I sat in the corner， cherishing in my heart thehope， not yet extinct， of some day meeting the tyrant onthe soil of my native State.