第 四十三 章 · Results

. Results

The rest of our story is soon told. George Shelby, interested, as any

other young man might be, by the romance of the incident, no less than

by feelings of humanity, was at the pains to send to Cassy the bill of

sale of Eliza; whose date and name all corresponded with her own

knowledge of facts, and felt no doubt upon her mind as to the identity

of her child. It remained now only for her to trace out the path of the

fugitives.

Madame de Thoux and she, thus drawn together by the singular

coincidence of their fortunes, proceeded immediately to Canada, and

began a tour of inquiry among the stations, where the numerous

fugitives from slavery are located. At Amherstberg they found the

missionary with whom George and Eliza had taken shelter, on their first

arrival in Canada; and through him were enabled to trace the family to

Montreal.

George and Eliza had now been five years free. George had found

constant occupation in the shop of a worthy machinist, where he had

been earning a competent support for his family, which, in the mean

time, had been increased by the addition of another daughter.

Little Harry—a fine bright boy—had been put to a good school, and was

making rapid proficiency in knowledge.

The worthy pastor of the station, in Amherstberg, where George had

first landed, was so much interested in the statements of Madame de

Thoux and Cassy, that he yielded to the solicitations of the former, to

accompany them to Montreal, in their search,—she bearing all the

expense of the expedition.

The scene now changes to a small, neat tenement, in the outskirts of

Montreal; the time, evening. A cheerful fire blazes on the hearth; a

tea-table, covered with a snowy cloth, stands prepared for the evening

meal. In one corner of the room was a table covered with a green cloth,

where was an open writing-desk, pens, paper, and over it a shelf of

well-selected books.

This was George’s study. The same zeal for self-improvement, which led

him to steal the much coveted arts of reading and writing, amid all the

toil and discouragements of his early life, still led him to devote all

his leisure time to self-cultivation.

At this present time, he is seated at the table, making notes from a

volume of the family library he has been reading.

“Come, George,” says Eliza, “you’ve been gone all day. Do put down that

book, and let’s talk, while I’m getting tea,—do.”

And little Eliza seconds the effort, by toddling up to her father, and

trying to pull the book out of his hand, and install herself on his

knee as a substitute.

“O, you little witch!” says George, yielding, as, in such

circumstances, man always must.

“That’s right,” says Eliza, as she begins to cut a loaf of bread. A

little older she looks; her form a little fuller; her air more matronly

than of yore; but evidently contented and happy as woman need be.

“Harry, my boy, how did you come on in that sum, today?” says George,

as he laid his hand on his son’s head.

Harry has lost his long curls; but he can never lose those eyes and

eyelashes, and that fine, bold brow, that flushes with triumph, as he

answers, “I did it, every bit of it, _myself_, father; and _nobody_

helped me!”

“That’s right,” says his father; “depend on yourself, my son. You have

a better chance than ever your poor father had.”

At this moment, there is a rap at the door; and Eliza goes and opens

it. The delighted—“Why! this you?”—calls up her husband; and the good

pastor of Amherstberg is welcomed. There are two more women with him,

and Eliza asks them to sit down.

Now, if the truth must be told, the honest pastor had arranged a little

programme, according to which this affair was to develop itself; and,

on the way up, all had very cautiously and prudently exhorted each

other not to let things out, except according to previous arrangement.

What was the good man’s consternation, therefore, just as he had

motioned to the ladies to be seated, and was taking out his

pocket-handkerchief to wipe his mouth, so as to proceed to his

introductory speech in good order, when Madame de Thoux upset the whole

plan, by throwing her arms around George’s neck, and letting all out at

once, by saying, “O, George! don’t you know me? I’m your sister Emily.”

Cassy had seated herself more composedly, and would have carried on her

part very well, had not little Eliza suddenly appeared before her in

exact shape and form, every outline and curl, just as her daughter was

when she saw her last. The little thing peered up in her face; and

Cassy caught her up in her arms, pressed her to her bosom, saying,

what, at the moment she really believed, “Darling, I’m your mother!”

In fact, it was a troublesome matter to do up exactly in proper order;

but the good pastor, at last, succeeded in getting everybody quiet, and

delivering the speech with which he had intended to open the exercises;

and in which, at last, he succeeded so well, that his whole audience

were sobbing about him in a manner that ought to satisfy any orator,

ancient or modern.

They knelt together, and the good man prayed,—for there are some

feelings so agitated and tumultuous, that they can find rest only by

being poured into the bosom of Almighty love,—and then, rising up, the

new-found family embraced each other, with a holy trust in Him, who

from such peril and dangers, and by such unknown ways, had brought them

together.

The note-book of a missionary, among the Canadian fugitives, contains

truth stranger than fiction. How can it be otherwise, when a system

prevails which whirls families and scatters their members, as the wind

whirls and scatters the leaves of autumn? These shores of refuge, like

the eternal shore, often unite again, in glad communion, hearts that

for long years have mourned each other as lost. And affecting beyond

expression is the earnestness with which every new arrival among them

is met, if, perchance, it may bring tidings of mother, sister, child or

wife, still lost to view in the shadows of slavery.

Deeds of heroism are wrought here more than those of romance, when

defying torture, and braving death itself, the fugitive voluntarily

threads his way back to the terrors and perils of that dark land, that

he may bring out his sister, or mother, or wife.

One young man, of whom a missionary has told us, twice re-captured, and

suffering shameful stripes for his heroism, had escaped again; and, in

a letter which we heard read, tells his friends that he is going back a

third time, that he may, at last, bring away his sister. My good sir,

is this man a hero, or a criminal? Would not you do as much for your

sister? And can you blame him?

But, to return to our friends, whom we left wiping their eyes, and

recovering themselves from too great and sudden a joy. They are now

seated around the social board, and are getting decidedly

companionable; only that Cassy, who keeps little Eliza on her lap,

occasionally squeezes the little thing, in a manner that rather

astonishes her, and obstinately refuses to have her mouth stuffed with

cake to the extent the little one desires,—alleging, what the child

rather wonders at, that she has got something better than cake, and

doesn’t want it.

And, indeed, in two or three days, such a change has passed over Cassy,

that our readers would scarcely know her. The despairing, haggard

expression of her face had given way to one of gentle trust. She seemed

to sink, at once, into the bosom of the family, and take the little

ones into her heart, as something for which it long had waited. Indeed,

her love seemed to flow more naturally to the little Eliza than to her

own daughter; for she was the exact image and body of the child whom

she had lost. The little one was a flowery bond between mother and

daughter, through whom grew up acquaintanceship and affection. Eliza’s

steady, consistent piety, regulated by the constant reading of the

sacred word, made her a proper guide for the shattered and wearied mind

of her mother. Cassy yielded at once, and with her whole soul, to every

good influence, and became a devout and tender Christian.

After a day or two, Madame de Thoux told her brother more particularly

of her affairs. The death of her husband had left her an ample fortune,

which she generously offered to share with the family. When she asked

George what way she could best apply it for him, he answered, “Give me

an education, Emily; that has always been my heart’s desire. Then, I

can do all the rest.”

On mature deliberation, it was decided that the whole family should go,

for some years, to France; whither they sailed, carrying Emmeline with

them.

The good looks of the latter won the affection of the first mate of the

vessel; and, shortly after entering the port, she became his wife.

George remained four years at a French university, and, applying

himself with an unintermitted zeal, obtained a very thorough education.

Political troubles in France, at last, led the family again to seek an

asylum in this country.

George’s feelings and views, as an educated man, may be best expressed

in a letter to one of his friends.

“I feel somewhat at a loss, as to my future course. True, as you have

said to me, I might mingle in the circles of the whites, in this

country, my shade of color is so slight, and that of my wife and family

scarce perceptible. Well, perhaps, on sufferance, I might. But, to tell

you the truth, I have no wish to.

“My sympathies are not for my father’s race, but for my mother’s. To

him I was no more than a fine dog or horse: to my poor heart-broken

mother I was a _child_; and, though I never saw her, after the cruel

sale that separated us, till she died, yet I _know_ she always loved me

dearly. I know it by my own heart. When I think of all she suffered, of

my own early sufferings, of the distresses and struggles of my heroic

wife, of my sister, sold in the New Orleans slave-market,—though I hope

to have no unchristian sentiments, yet I may be excused for saying, I

have no wish to pass for an American, or to identify myself with them.

“It is with the oppressed, enslaved African race that I cast in my lot;

and, if I wished anything, I would wish myself two shades darker,

rather than one lighter.

“The desire and yearning of my soul is for an African _nationality_. I

want a people that shall have a tangible, separate existence of its

own; and where am I to look for it? Not in Hayti; for in Hayti they had

nothing to start with. A stream cannot rise above its fountain. The

race that formed the character of the Haytiens was a worn-out,

effeminate one; and, of course, the subject race will be centuries in

rising to anything.

“Where, then, shall I look? On the shores of Africa I see a republic,—a

republic formed of picked men, who, by energy and self-educating force,

have, in many cases, individually, raised themselves above a condition

of slavery. Having gone through a preparatory stage of feebleness, this

republic has, at last, become an acknowledged nation on the face of the

earth,—acknowledged by both France and England. There it is my wish to

go, and find myself a people.

“I am aware, now, that I shall have you all against me; but, before you

strike, hear me. During my stay in France, I have followed up, with

intense interest, the history of my people in America. I have noted the

struggle between abolitionist and colonizationist, and have received

some impressions, as a distant spectator, which could never have

occurred to me as a participator.

“I grant that this Liberia may have subserved all sorts of purposes, by

being played off, in the hands of our oppressors, against us. Doubtless

the scheme may have been used, in unjustifiable ways, as a means of

retarding our emancipation. But the question to me is, Is there not a

God above all man’s schemes? May He not have over-ruled their designs,

and founded for us a nation by them?

“In these days, a nation is born in a day. A nation starts, now, with

all the great problems of republican life and civilization wrought out

to its hand;—it has not to discover, but only to apply. Let us, then,

all take hold together, with all our might, and see what we can do with

this new enterprise, and the whole splendid continent of Africa opens

before us and our children. _Our nation_ shall roll the tide of

civilization and Christianity along its shores, and plant there mighty

republics, that, growing with the rapidity of tropical vegetation,

shall be for all coming ages.

“Do you say that I am deserting my enslaved brethren? I think not. If I

forget them one hour, one moment of my life, so may God forget me! But,

what can I do for them, here? Can I break their chains? No, not as an

individual; but, let me go and form part of a nation, which shall have

a voice in the councils of nations, and then we can speak. A nation has

a right to argue, remonstrate, implore, and present the cause of its

race,—which an individual has not.

“If Europe ever becomes a grand council of free nations,—as I trust in

God it will,—if, there, serfdom, and all unjust and oppressive social

inequalities, are done away; and if they, as France and England have

done, acknowledge our position,—then, in the great congress of nations,

we will make our appeal, and present the cause of our enslaved and

suffering race; and it cannot be that free, enlightened America will

not then desire to wipe from her escutcheon that bar sinister which

disgraces her among nations, and is as truly a curse to her as to the

enslaved.

“But, you will tell me, our race have equal rights to mingle in the

American republic as the Irishman, the German, the Swede. Granted, they

have. We _ought_ to be free to meet and mingle,—to rise by our

individual worth, without any consideration of caste or color; and they

who deny us this right are false to their own professed principles of

human equality. We ought, in particular, to be allowed _here_. We have

_more_ than the rights of common men;—we have the claim of an injured

race for reparation. But, then, _I do not want it_; I want a country, a

nation, of my own. I think that the African race has peculiarities, yet

to be unfolded in the light of civilization and Christianity, which, if

not the same with those of the Anglo-Saxon, may prove to be, morally,

of even a higher type.

“To the Anglo-Saxon race has been intrusted the destinies of the world,

during its pioneer period of struggle and conflict. To that mission its

stern, inflexible, energetic elements, were well adapted; but, as a

Christian, I look for another era to arise. On its borders I trust we

stand; and the throes that now convulse the nations are, to my hope,

but the birth-pangs of an hour of universal peace and brotherhood.

“I trust that the development of Africa is to be essentially a

Christian one. If not a dominant and commanding race, they are, at

least, an affectionate, magnanimous, and forgiving one. Having been

called in the furnace of injustice and oppression, they have need to

bind closer to their hearts that sublime doctrine of love and

forgiveness, through which alone they are to conquer, which it is to be

their mission to spread over the continent of Africa.

“In myself, I confess, I am feeble for this,—full half the blood in my

veins is the hot and hasty Saxon; but I have an eloquent preacher of

the Gospel ever by my side, in the person of my beautiful wife. When I

wander, her gentler spirit ever restores me, and keeps before my eyes

the Christian calling and mission of our race. As a Christian patriot,

as a teacher of Christianity, I go to _my country_,—my chosen, my

glorious Africa!—and to her, in my heart, I sometimes apply those

splendid words of prophecy: ‘Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated,

so that no man went through thee; _I_ will make thee an eternal

excellence, a joy of many generations!’

“You will call me an enthusiast: you will tell me that I have not well

considered what I am undertaking. But I have considered, and counted

the cost. I go to _Liberia_, not as an Elysium of romance, but as to _a

field of work_. I expect to work with both hands,—to work _hard_; to

work against all sorts of difficulties and discouragements; and to work

till I die. This is what I go for; and in this I am quite sure I shall

not be disappointed.

“Whatever you may think of my determination, do not divorce me from

your confidence; and think that, in whatever I do, I act with a heart

wholly given to my people.

“GEORGE HARRIS.”

George, with his wife, children, sister and mother, embarked for

Africa, some few weeks after. If we are not mistaken, the world will

yet hear from him there.

Of our other characters we have nothing very particular to write,

except a word relating to Miss Ophelia and Topsy, and a farewell

chapter, which we shall dedicate to George Shelby.

Miss Ophelia took Topsy home to Vermont with her, much to the surprise

of the grave deliberative body whom a New Englander recognizes under

the term “_Our folks_.” “Our folks,” at first, thought it an odd and

unnecessary addition to their well-trained domestic establishment; but,

so thoroughly efficient was Miss Ophelia in her conscientious endeavor

to do her duty by her _èléve_, that the child rapidly grew in grace and

in favor with the family and neighborhood. At the age of womanhood, she

was, by her own request, baptized, and became a member of the Christian

church in the place; and showed so much intelligence, activity and

zeal, and desire to do good in the world, that she was at last

recommended, and approved as a missionary to one of the stations in

Africa; and we have heard that the same activity and ingenuity which,

when a child, made her so multiform and restless in her developments,

is now employed, in a safer and wholesomer manner, in teaching the

children of her own country.

P.S.—It will be a satisfaction to some mother, also, to state, that

some inquiries, which were set on foot by Madame de Thoux, have

resulted recently in the discovery of Cassy’s son. Being a young man of

energy, he had escaped, some years before his mother, and been received

and educated by friends of the oppressed in the north. He will soon

follow his family to Africa.