And though she
has been but a slave, there is a glow of gentleness pervading her
countenance, over which a playful smile now sheds a glow of
vivacity, as if awakening within her bosom new hopes of the future.
The suddenness with which they embarked served to confuse and dispel
all traces of recognition; and even the stranger, as they advanced
toward him, hesitated ere he greeted Annette and extended his hand.
But they soon joined in conversation, promenaded and mingled with
the passengers. Cautious not to enter the main cabin, they remained,
supperless, on the upper deck, until near midnight. That social
prejudice which acts like a crushing weight upon the slave's mind
was no longer to deaden her faculties; no, she seemed like a new
being, as, with childish simplicity, her soul bounded forth in
rhapsody of praise and thankfulness. Holding Franconia by the hand,
she would kiss her, fondle her head on her bosom, and continue to
recount the pleasure she anticipated when meeting her long-lost
mother. "They'll sell me no more, Franconia, will they?" she would
exclaim, looking enquiringly in her face.
"No, my poor child; you won't be worth selling in a land of
freedom!" Franconia would answer, jocosely. After charging Maxwell
to be a father and a brother to the fugitive girl,--to remember that
a double duty was to be performed in his guardianship over the being
who had just escaped from slavery, they retired below, and on the
following morning found themselves safely landed at Wilmington,
where, after remaining about six hours, Franconia bid Annette and
Maxwell adieu! saw them on their way to New York, and returned to
Charleston by the same steamer.
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