Page:The Under-Ground Railroad.djvu/82

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foundation of social society. Their dear little child, (a girl), increased in beauty as she advanced in age: unfortunately the mother died when the child was quite young. The father was a humane man: though a Slaveholder, he was not a trader in Slaves. The mother was a Quadroon and the father a white man, therefore there was no appearance of African blood coursing the veins of the lovely child, of whom the father thought so much. He sustained double relationship to this child, both as father and master; but for this the child would have been a precious jewel in social society. The thought of being a Slave never once entered her bosom, to ripple the peaceful stream of pleasure in her onward journey of life. As she ripened into womanhood, her kind father educated her in his own house, though contrary to law, his infringement was tolerated through the influential position of the father in the community. At a proper age she became the mistress of his house, which, to some extent, precluded the necessity for his marrying, which, had he done, the child's condition might have been made known to herself and others. Eventually, this Planter failed in business, and then came hard times for his poor daughter, whose name was Mary, The farm and all the field-hands, with other property, were taken to satisfy his creditors. His legal adviser balanced his accounts, and found the Planter still minus 1,000 dollars,