SOJOUBNEB TBUTH'S 
 NARRATIVE AND BOOK OF LIFE.
 
 8 <IJ URNJSR TR VIM., 
 
 " THE LIBYAN SIBYL. "
 
 NARRATIVE 
 
 OP 
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH; 
 
 Jl 0tt0si0man 0f te f inw, 
 
 EMANCIPATED BY THE NEW YORK LEGISLATURE IN THE EARLY 
 PART OF THE PRESENT CENTURY) 
 
 WITH A HISTORY OF HEE 
 
 and Correspondence, 
 
 DRAWN FROM HER 
 
 BOOK OIF LIFE." 
 
 BOSTON: 
 PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR. 
 
 1875.
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, 
 
 BY MRS. FRANCES W. TITUS, 
 In tne Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
 
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 TO THE KEADEK. 
 
 THE first 128 pages of this work are reprinted from 
 stereotype plates, made in 1850. This will account 
 for the style of the Preface, and portions of the Nar- 
 rative, which were especially adapted to those dark 
 days of oppression. 
 
 An extract on page 134 represents Sojourner as the 
 mother of thirteen children. It should read five chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Lines in the middle of page 186 should be trans- 
 posed so as to read thus : " Street cars are designed 
 for poor white and colored folks, and will take them 
 two or three miles for sixpence. Then ask for a nig- 
 ger car ! ! Carriages are for ladies and gentlemen." 
 
 200039
 
 e 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE following is the unpretending narrative of the life 
 ^ of a remarkable and meritorious woman a life which 
 ? has been checkered by strange vicissitudes, severe hard- 
 
 ships, and singular adventures. Born a slave, and held 
 ^ x in that brutal condition until the entire abolition of slavery 
 in the State of New York in 1827, she has known what 
 it is to drink to the dregs the bitterest cup of human 
 degradation. That one thus placed on a level with cattle 
 and swine, and for so many years subjected to the most 
 K demoralizing influences, should have retained her moral 
 integrity to such an extent, and cherished so successfully 
 ^ * the religious sentiment in her soul, shows a mind of no 
 common order, while it heightens the detestation that is 
 felt in every humane bosom, of that system of oppres- 
 sion which seeks to cripple the intellect, impair the un- 
 derstanding, and deprave the hearts of its victims a 
 system which has subjected to its own foul purposes, in 
 the United States, all that is wealthy, talented, influen- 
 tial, and reputedly pious, in an overwhelming measure ! 
 O the ' fantastic tricks' which the American people are 
 
 200039
 
 VI PEEFACE. 
 
 4 playing before high Heaven !' O their profane use of 
 the sacred name of Liberty ! O their impious appeals 
 to the God of the oppressed, for his divine benediction, 
 while they are making merchandise of his image ! Do they 
 not blush 1 Nay, they glory in their shame ! Once a year 
 they take special pains to exhibit themselves to the world, 
 in all their republican deformity and Christian barbarity, 
 insanely supposing that they thus excite the envy, admi- 
 ration and applause of mankind. The nations are look- 
 ing at the dreadful spectacle with disgust and amaze- 
 ment. However sunken and degraded they may be, 
 they are too elevated, too virtuous, too humane to be 
 guilty of such conduct. Their voice is heard, saying 
 ' Americans ! we hear your boasts of liberty, your shouts 
 of independence, your declarations of hostility to every 
 form of tyranny, your assertions that all men are 
 created free and equal, and endowed by their Creator 
 with an inalienable right to liberty, the merry peal of 
 your bells, and the deafening roar of your artillery ; but, 
 mingling with all these, and rising above them all, we also 
 hear the clanking of chains ! the shrieks and wailings of 
 millions of your own countrymen, whom you wickedly 
 hold in a state of slavery as much more frightful than 
 the oppression which your fathers resisted unto blood, as 
 the tortures of the Inquisition surpass the stings of an 
 insect! We see your banner floating proudly in the 
 breeze from every flag-staff and mast-head in the land ; 
 but its blood-red stripes are emblematical of your own
 
 PREFACE. Vii 
 
 slave-driving cruelty, as you apply the lash to the flesh 
 of your guiltless victim, even tne flesh of a wife and 
 mother, shrieking for the restoration of the babe of her 
 bosom, sold to the remorseless slave speculator ! We 
 catch the gleam of your illuminated hills, everywhere 
 blazing with bonfires ; we mark your gay processions ; 
 we note the number of your, orators ; we listen to the 
 recital of your revolutionary achievements : we see you 
 kneeling at the shrine of Freedom, as her best, her truest, 
 her sincerest worshippers ! Hypocrites ! liars ! adul- 
 terers ! tyrants ! men-stealers ! atheists ! Professing to 
 believe in the natural equality of the human race yet 
 dooming a sixth portion of your immense population to 
 beastly servitude, and ranking them among your goods 
 and chattels ! Professing to believe in the existence of 
 a God yet trading in his image, and selling those in the 
 shambles for whose redemption the Son of God laid 
 down his life ! Professing to be Christians yet with- 
 holding the Bible, the means of religious instruction, even 
 the knowledge of the alphabet, from a benighted multi- 
 tude, under terrible penalties ! Boasting of your de- 
 nrocracy yet determining the rights of men by the 
 texture of their hair and the -color of their skin ! As- 
 suming to be ' the land of the free and the home of the 
 brave,' yet keeping in chains more slaves than any other 
 nation, not excepting slave-cursed Brazil! Prating of 
 your morality and honesty yet denying the rites of 
 marriage to three millions of human beings, and plun
 
 Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 dering them of all their hard earnings! Affecting to be 
 horror-struck in view of the foreign slave-trade yet 
 eagerly pursuing a domestic traffic equally cruel and un- 
 natural, and reducing to slavery not less than seventy 
 thousand new victims annually ! Vaunting of your free- 
 dom of speech and of the press your matchless Consti- 
 tution and your glorious Union yet denouncing as 
 traitors, and treating as outlaws, those who have the 
 courage and fidelity to plead for immediate, untram- 
 melled, universal emancipation ! Monsters that ye are ! 
 how can ye expect to escape the scorn of the world, and 
 the wrath of Heaven 1 Emancipate your slaves, if you 
 would redeem your tarnished character if you would 
 obtain forgiveness here, and salvation hereafter ! Until 
 you do so, " there will be a stain upon your national 
 escutcheon, which all the waters of the Atlantic cannot 
 wash out !" ' 
 
 It is thus that, as a people, we are justly subjected to 
 the reproach, the execration, the derision of mankind, and 
 are made a proverb and a hissing among the nations. 
 We cannot plead not guilty ; every accusation that is 
 registered against us is true ; the act of violence is in 
 our hands ; the stolen property is in our possession ; our 
 fingers are stained with blood ; the cup of our iniquity 
 is full. 
 
 ' J ust Grod I and shall we calmly rest, 
 
 The Christian's scorn the Heathen's mirth- 
 Content to live the lingering jest 
 And by- word of a mocking earth ?
 
 PREFACE. ii 
 
 Shall our own glorious land retain 
 
 That curse which Europe scorns to bear ? 
 
 Shall our own brethren drag the chain, 
 Which not even Russia's menials wear ?' 
 
 It is useless, it is dreadful, it is impious for this nation 
 longer to contend with the Almighty. All his attributes 
 are against us, and on the side of the oppressed. Is it 
 not a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living 
 God ? Who may abide the day of his coming, and who 
 shall stand when he appeareth as ' a swift witness against 
 the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against 
 those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, 
 and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from 
 his right ?' Woe to this bloody land ! it is all full of lies 
 and robbery the prey departeth not, and the sound of 
 a whip is heard continually. ' Judgment is turned away 
 backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fall- 
 en in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth 
 faileth ; and he that departeth from evil, maketk himself 
 a prey.'' The Lord sees it, and is displeased that there 
 is no judgment ; and he hath put on the garments of ven- 
 geance for clothing, and is clad with zeal as a cloak, 
 and, unless we repent by immediately undoing the heavy 
 burdens and letting the oppressed go free, according to 
 our deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adver- 
 saries, recompense to his enemies. ' The Lord execu- 
 teth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.' 
 ' O give thanks unto the Lord ; for he is good : for his
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 mercy endureth for ever. To him that smote Egypt in 
 their first-born : for his mercy endureth for ever. And 
 overthrew Pharaoh and his hosts in the Red sea : for his 
 mercy endureth for ever.' ' Sing unto the Lord, for he 
 hath triumphed gloriously : the horse and his rider hath 
 he thrown into the sea. Thou didst blow with thy wind, 
 the sea covered them : they sank as lead in the mighty 
 waters.' ' Even so, Lord God Almighty, for so it 
 seemeth good in thy sight.' ' Who is like unto thee, O 
 Lord, among the gods ? who is like thee, glorious in holi- 
 ness, fearful in praises, doing wonders ?' 
 
 In this great contest of Right against Wrong, of Liber- 
 ty against Slavery, who are the wicked, if they be not 
 those, who, like vultures and vampyres, are gorging 
 themselves with human blood ? if they be not the plun- 
 derers of the poor, the spoilers of the defenceless, the 
 traffickers in ' slaves and the souls of men V Who are 
 the cowards, if not those who shrink from manly argu- 
 mentation, the light of truth, the concussion of mind, 
 and a fair field ? if not those whose prowess, stimulated 
 by whisky potations, or the spirit of murder, grows 
 rampant as the darkness of night approaches; whose 
 shouts and yells are savage and fiend-like ; who furiously 
 exclaim, ' Down with free discussion ! down with the 
 liberty of the press ! down with the right of petition ! 
 down with constitutional law !' who rifle mail-bags, 
 throw types and printing-presses into the river, burn 
 public halls dedicated to ' Virtue, Liberty and Indepen-
 
 PREFACE. XI 
 
 dence,' and assassinate the defenders of inalienable 
 human rights ? And who are the righteous, in this case, 
 if they be not those who will ' have no fellowship with 
 the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them ;' 
 who maintain that the laborer is worthy of his hire, that 
 the marriage institution is sacred, that slavery is a system 
 accursed of God, that tyrants are the enemies of mankind, 
 and that immediate emancipation should be given to all 
 who ai*e pining in bondage ! Who are the truly brave, 
 if not those who demand for truth and error alike, free 
 speech, a free press, an open arena, the right of petition, 
 AND NO QUARTERS ? if not those, who, instead of skulking 
 from the light, stand forth in the noontide blaze of day, 
 and challenge their opponents to emerge from their wolf- 
 like dens, that, by a rigid examination, it may be seen 
 who has stolen the wedge of gold, in whose pocket are 
 the thirty pieces of silver, and whose garments are stain- 
 ed with the blood of innocence "? 
 
 It is hoped that the perusal of the following Narrative 
 may increase the sympathy -that is felt for the suffering 
 colored population of this country, and inspire to re- 
 newed efforts for the liberation of all who are pining in 
 bondage on the American soil. 
 
 I. LLOYD GARRISON.
 
 NAKEATIVE 
 
 OF 
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH 
 
 HER BIRTH AND PARENTAGE. 
 
 THE subject of this biography, SOJOURNER TRUTH, as 
 she now calls herself but whose name, originally, was 
 Isabella was born, as near as she can now calculate, be- 
 tween the years 1797 and 1800. She was the daughter 
 of James and Betsey, slaves of one Colonel Ardinburgh, 
 Hurley, Ulster County, New York. 
 
 Colonel Ardinburgh belonged to that class of people 
 called Low Dutch. 
 
 Of her first master, she can give no account, as she 
 must have been a mere infant when he died ; and she, 
 with her parents and some ten or twelve other fellow hu- 
 man chattels, became the legal property of his son, 
 Charles Ardinburgh. She distinctly remembers hearing 
 her father and mother say, that their lot was a fortunate 
 one, as Master Charles was the best of the family, be- 
 ing, comparatively speaking, a kind master to his slaves. 
 
 James and Betsey having, by their faithfulness, docil- 
 ity, and respectful behavior, won his particular regard, 
 
 13
 
 14 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 received from him particular favors amoi/g which was 
 a lot of land, lying back on the slope of a mountain, 
 where, by improving the pleasant evenings and Sundays, 
 they managed to raise a little tobacco, corn, or flax; 
 which they exchanged for extras, in the articles of food or 
 clothing for themselves and children. She has no remem- 
 brance that Saturday afternoon was ever added to their 
 own time, as it is by some masters in the Southern States. 
 
 ACCOMMODATIONS. 
 
 Among Isabella^ earliest recollections was the removal 
 of her master, Charles Ardinburgh, into his new house, 
 which he had built for a hotel, soon after the decease of 
 his father. A cellar, under this hotel, was assigned to his 
 slaves, as their sleeping apartment, all the slaves he 
 possessed, of both sexes, sleeping (as is quite common ir> 
 a state of slavery) in the same room. She carries in her 
 mind, to this day, a vivid picture of this dismal chamber ; 
 its only lights consisting of a few panes of glass, through 
 which she thinks the sun never shone, but with thrice re- 
 flected rays ; and the space between the loose boards of 
 the floor, and the uneven earth below, was often filled 
 with mud and water, the uncomfortable splashings of 
 which were as annoying as its noxious vapors must have 
 been chilling and fatal to health. She shudders, even 
 now, as she goes back in memory, and revisits this cellar, 
 and sees its inmates, of both sexes and all ages, sleeping 
 on those damp boards, like the horse, with a little straw 
 and a blanket ; and she wonders not at the rheumatisms, 
 and fever-sores, and palsies, that distorted the limbs and 
 racked the bodies of those fellow-slaves in after-life.
 
 SOJOURNEK TRUTH. 15 
 
 Still, she does not attribute this cruelty for cruelty it 
 certainly is, to be so unmindful of the health and comfort 
 of any being, leaving entirely out of sight his more im- 
 portant part, his everlasting interests, so much to any 
 innate or constitutional cruelty of the master, as to that 
 gigantic inconsistency, that inherited habit among slave- 
 holders, of expecting a willing and intelligent obedience 
 from the slave, because he is a MAN at the same time 
 every thing belonging to the soul-harrowing system does 
 its best to crush the last vestige of a man within him ; 
 and when it is crushed, and often before, he is denied the 
 comforts of life, on the plea that he knows neither the 
 want nor the use of them, and because he is considered 
 to be little more or little less than a beast. 
 
 HER BROTHERS AND SISTERS. 
 
 Isabella's father was very tall and straight, when young, 
 which gave him the name of ' Bomefree ' low Dutch for 
 tree at least, this is SOJOUKNER'S pronunciation of it 
 and by this name 'he usually went. The most familiar 
 appellation of her mother was ' Mau-mau Bett.' She was 
 the mother of some ten or twelve children ; though So- 
 journer is far from knowing the exact number of her 
 brothers and sisters ; she being the youngest, save one, 
 and all older than herself having been sold before her re- 
 membrance. She was privileged to behold six of them 
 while she remained a slave. 
 
 Of the two that immediately preceded her in age, a 
 boy of five years, and a girl of three, who were sold 
 when she was an infant, she heard much ; and she wishes 
 that all who would fain believe that slave parents have 
 not natural affection for their offspring could have listen
 
 16 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 ed as she did, while Bomefree and Mau-mau Bett, their 
 dark cellar lighted by a blazing pine-knot, would sit for 
 hours, recalling and recounting every endearing, as well 
 as harrowing circumstance that taxed memory could 
 supply, from the histories of those dear departed ones, of 
 whom they had been robbed, and for whom their hearts 
 still bled. Among the rest, they would relate how the 
 little boy, on the last morning he was with them, arose 
 with the birds, kindled a fire, calling for his Mau-mau to 
 ' come, for all was now ready for her ' little dreaming 
 of the dreadful separation which was so near at hand, but 
 of which his parents had an uncertain, but all the more 
 cruel foreboding. There was snow on the ground, at the 
 time of which we are speaking ; and a large old-fashioned 
 sleigh was seen to drive up to the door of the late Col. 
 Ardinburgh. This event was noticed with childish pleas- 
 ure by the unsuspicious boy ; but when he was taken and 
 put into the sleigh, and saw his little sister actually shut 
 and locked into the sleigh box, his eyes were at once 
 opened to their intentions ; and, like a frightened deer 
 he sprang from the sleigh, and running into the house, 
 concealed himself under a bed. But this availed him lit- 
 tle. He was re-conveyed to the sleigh, and separated for 
 ver from those whom God had constituted his natural 
 guardians and protectors, and who should have found 
 him, in return, a stay and a staff to them in their declin- 
 ing years. But I make no comments on facts like these, 
 knowing that the heart of every slave parent will make 
 its own comments, involuntarily and correctly, as soon 
 as each heart shall make the case its own. Those who 
 are not parents will draw their conclusions from the 
 promptings of humanity and philanthropy : these, en- 
 lightened by reason and revelation, are also unerring.
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 17 
 
 HER RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. 
 
 Isabella and Peter, her youngest brother, remained, 
 with their parents, the legal property of Charles Ardin- 
 burgh till his decease, which took place when Isabella was 
 near nine years old. 
 
 After this event, she was often surprised to find her 
 mother in tears ; and when, in her simplicity, she inquired, 
 ' Mau-mau, what makes you cry ?' she would answer, ' Oh 
 my child, 1 am thinking of your brothers and sisters that 
 have been sold away from me.' And she would proceed 
 to detail many circumstances respecting them. But 
 Isabella long since concluded that it was the impending 
 fate of her only remaining children, which her mother but 
 too well understood, even then, that called up those mem- 
 ories from the past, and made them crucify her heart 
 afresh. 
 
 In the evening, when her mother's work was done, she 
 would sit down under the sparkling vault of heaven, and 
 calling her children to her, would talk to them of the only 
 Being that could effectually aid or protect them. Her 
 teachings were delivered in Low Dutch, her only language, 
 and, translated into English, ran nearly as follows : 
 
 4 My children, there is a God, who hears and sees you.' 
 ' A God, mau-mau ! Where does he live V asked the 
 children. ' He lives in the sky,' she replied ; ' and when 
 you are beaten, or cruelly treated, or fall into any trouble, 
 you must ask help of him, and he will always hear and 
 help you.' She taught them to kneel and say the Lord's 
 prayer. She entreated them to refrain from lying and 
 stealing, and to strive to obey their masters. 
 
 At times, a groan would escape her, and she would 
 2*
 
 18 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 break cut in the language of the Psalmist ' Oh Lord, how 
 long V ' Oh Lord, how long 1 ?' And in reply to Isabella's 
 question ' What ails you, mau-naau V her only answer 
 was, ' Oh, a good deal ails me' ' Enough ails me.' Then 
 again, she would point them to the stars, and say, in her 
 peculiar language, ' Those are the same stars, and that is 
 the same moon, that look down upon your brothers and 
 sisters, and which they see as they look up to them, though 
 they are ever so far away from us, and each other.' 
 
 Thus, in her humble way, did she endeavor to show 
 them their Heavenly Father, as the only being who could 
 protect them in their perilous condition ; at the same time, 
 she would strengthen and brighten the chain of family 
 affection, which she trusted extended itself sufficiently to 
 connect the widely scattered members of her precious 
 flock. These instructions of the mother were treasured 
 up and held sacred by Isabella, as our future narrative 
 will show. 
 
 THE AUCTION. 
 
 At length, the never-to be-forgotten day of the terrible 
 auction arrived, when the ' slaves, horses, and other cattle' 
 of Charles Ardinburgh, deceased, were to be put under 
 the hammer, and again change masters. Not only Isabella 
 and Peter, but their mother, was now destined to the 
 auction block, and would have been struck off with the 
 rest to the highest bidder, but for the following circum- 
 stance : A question arose among the heirs, ' Who shall be 
 burdened with Bomefree, when we have sent away his 
 faithful Mau-mau Bett V He was becoming weak and in- 
 firm ; his limbs were painfully rheumatic and distorted
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 19 - 
 
 more from exposure and hardship than from old age, 
 though he was several years older than Mau-mau Bett : 
 he was no longer considered of value, but must soon be a 
 burden and care to some one. After some contention on 
 the point at issue, none being willing to be burdened with 
 him, it was finally agreed, as most expedient for the heirs, 
 that the price of Mau-mau Bett should be sacrificed, and 
 she receive her freedom, on condition that she take care 
 of and support her faithful James, faithful, not only 
 to her as a husband, but proverbially faithful as a slave 
 to those who would not willingly sacrifice a dollar for 
 his comfort, now that he had commenced his descent into 
 the dark vale of decrepitude and suffering. This import- 
 ant decision was received as joyful news indeed to our an- 
 cient couple, who were the objects of it, and who were try- 
 ing to prepare their hearts for a severe struggle, and one 
 altogether new to them, as they had never before been 
 separated ; for, though ignorant, helpless, crushed in spirit, 
 and weighed down with hardship and cruel bereavement, 
 they were still human, and their human hearts beat within 
 them with as true an affection as ever caused a human 
 heart to beat. And their anticipated separation now, in 
 the decline of life, after the last child had been torn from 
 them, must have been truly appalling. Another privilege 
 was granted them that of remaining occupants of the 
 same dark, humid cellar I have before described : other- 
 wise, they were to support themselves as they best could. 
 And as her mother was still able to do considerable work, 
 and her father a little, they got on for some time very 
 comfortably. The strangers who rented the house were 
 humane people, and very kind to them ; they were not 
 rich, and owned no slaves. How long this state of things 
 continued, we are unable to say, as Isabella had not then
 
 20 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 sufficiently cultivated her organ of time to calculate years, 
 or even weeks or hours. But she thinks her mother must 
 have lived several years after the death of Master Charles. 
 She remembers going to visit her parents some three or 
 four times before the death of her mother, and a good 
 deal of time seemed to her to intervene between each 
 visit. 
 
 At length her mother's health began to decline a 
 fever-sore made its ravages on one of her limbs, and the 
 palsy began to shake her frame; still, she and James 
 tottered about, picking up a little here and there, which, 
 added to the mites contributed by their kind neighbors, 
 sufficed to sustain life, and drive famine from the door. 
 
 DEATH OF MAU-MAU BETT. 
 
 One morning, in early autumn, (from the reason above 
 mentioned, we cannot tell what year,) Mau-mau Bett told 
 James she would make him a loaf of rye-bread, and get 
 Mrs. Simmons, their kind neighbor, to bake it for them, 
 as she would bake that forenoon. James told her he had 
 engaged to rake after the cart for his'neighbors that morn- 
 ing ; but before he commenced, he would pole off some 
 apples from a tree near, which they were allowed to 
 gather ; and if she could get some of them baked with 
 the bread, it would give it a nice relish for their dinner. 
 He beat off the apples, and soon after, saw Mau-mau 
 Bett come out and gather them up. 
 
 At the blowing of the horn for dinner, he groped his 
 way into his cellar, anticipating his humble, but warm 
 and nourishing meal ; when, lo ! instead of being cheered 
 by the sight and odor of fresh-baked bread and the savory
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 21 
 
 apples, h 3 cellar seemed more cheerless than usual, and 
 at first neither sight nor sound met eye or ear. But, on 
 groping his way through the room, his staff, which he 
 used as a pioneer to go before, and warn him of danger, 
 seemed to be impeded in its progress, and a low, gurgling, 
 choking sound proceeded from the object before him, 
 giving him the first intimation of the truth as it was, that 
 Mau-mau Bett, his bosom companion, the only remaining 
 member of his large family, had fallen hi a fit of the 
 palsy, and lay helpless and senseless on the earth ! Who 
 among us, located in pleasant homes, surrounded with 
 every comfort, and so many kind and sympathizing 
 friends, can picture to ourselves the dark and desolate 
 state of poor old James penniless, weak, lame, and near- 
 ly blind, as he was at the moment he found his compa- 
 nion was removed from him, and he was left alone in the 
 world, with no one to aid, comfort, or console him ? for 
 she never revived again, and lived only a few hours after 
 being discovered senseless by her poor bereaved James. 
 
 LAST DAYS OF BOMEFREE. 
 
 Isabella and Peter were permitted to see the remains 
 of their mother laid in their last narrow dwelling, and to 
 make their bereaved father a little visit, ere they returned 
 to their servitude. And most piteous were the lamenta- 
 tions of the poor old man, when, at last, they also were 
 obliged to bid him " Farewell !" Juan Fernandes, on his 
 desolate island, was not so pitiable an object as this poor 
 lame man. Blind and crippled, he was too superannuated 
 to think for a moi lent of taking care of himself, and he 
 greatly feared no persons would interest themselves in
 
 22 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 his behalf. ' Oh,' he would exclaim, ' I had thought God 
 would take me first, Mau-mau was so much smarter 
 than I, and could get about and take care of herself; 
 and I am so old, and so helpless. What is to become of 
 me ] I can't do any thing more my children are all 
 gone, and here I am left helpless and alone.' ' And then, 
 as I was taking leave of him,' said his daughter, in relat- 
 ing it, ' he raised his voice, and cried aloud like a child 
 Oh, how he DID cry ! I HEAR it now and remember it as 
 well as if it were but yesterday poor old man ! ! ! He 
 thought God had done it all and my heart bled within 
 me at the sight of his misery. He begged me to get per- 
 mission to come and see him sometimes, which I readily 
 and heartily promised him.' But when all had left him, 
 the Ardinburghs, having some feeling left for their faith- 
 ful and favorite slave, ' took turns about' in keeping him 
 permitting him to stay a few weeks at one house, and 
 then a while at another, and so around. If, when he made 
 a removal, the place where he was going was not too far 
 off, he took up his line of march, staff in hand, and asked 
 for no assistance. If it was twelve or twenty miles, they 
 gave him a ride. While he was living hi this way, Isa- 
 bella was twice permitted to visit him. Another time 
 she walked twelve miles, and carried her infant in her 
 arms to see him, but when she reached the place where 
 she hoped to find him, he had just left for a place some 
 twenty miles distant, and she never saw him more. The 
 last time she did see him, she found him seated on a rock, 
 by the-road side, alone, and far from any house. He 
 was then migrating from the house of one Ardinburgh 
 to that of another, several miles distant. His hair was 
 white like wool he was almost blind and his gait was 
 more a creep than a walk but the weather was warm
 
 SOJOURXER TRUTH. 23 
 
 and pleasant, and he did not dislike the journey. When 
 Isabella addressed him, he recognized her voice, and was 
 exceeding glad to see her. He was assisted to mount 
 the wagon, was carried back to the famous cellar of 
 which we have spoken, and there they held their last 
 earthly conversation. He again, as usual, bewailed his 
 loneliness, spoke in tones of anguish of his many chil- 
 dren, saying, "They are all taken away from me ! I have 
 now not one to give me a cup of cold water why should 
 I live and not die T' Isabella, whose heart yearned over 
 her father, and who would have made any sacrifice to 
 have been able to be with, and take care of him, tried to 
 comfort, by telling him that ' she had heard the white 
 folks say, that all the slaves hi the State would be freed 
 hi ten years, and that then she would come and take care 
 of him.' ' I would take just as good care of you as Ma-u- 
 rn au would, if she was here' continued Isabel. 'Oh, my 
 child.' replied he, ' I cannot live that long.' ' Oh do, dad- 
 dy, do live, and I will take such good care of you,' was her 
 rejoinder. She now says, ' Why, I thought then, in my 
 ignorance, that he could live, if he would. I just as much 
 thought so, as I ever thought any thing in my life and I 
 insisted on his living : but he shook his head, and insisted 
 he could not.' 
 
 But before Bomefree's good constitution would yield 
 either to age, exposure, or a strong desire to die, the Ar- 
 dinburghs again tired of him, and offered freedom to two 
 old slaves Caesar, brother of Mau-mau Bett, and his 
 wife Betsey on condition that they should take care of 
 James. (I was about to say, ' their brother-in-law' but as 
 slaves are neither husbands nor wives in law. the idea of 
 their being brothers-in-law is truly ludicrous.) And al- 
 though they were too old and infirm to take care of them-
 
 24 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 selves, (Csesar having been afflicted for a long time with 
 fever-sores, and his wife with the jaundice,) they eagerly 
 accepted the boon of freedom, which had been the life-long 
 desire of their souls though at a time when emancipa- 
 tion was to them little more than destitution, and was a 
 freedom more to be desired by the master than the slave. 
 Sojouruer declares of the slaves in their ignorance, that 
 * their thoughts are no longer than her finger.' 
 
 DEATH OF BOMEFREE. 
 
 A rude cabin, in a lone wood, far from any neighbors, 
 was granted to our freed friends, as the only assistance 
 they were now to expect. Bomefree, from this time, 
 found his poor needs hardly supplied, as his new providers 
 were scarce able to administer to their own wants. How- 
 ever, the time drew near when things were to be decidedly 
 worse rather than better ; for they had not been together 
 long, before Betty died, and shortly after, Caesar followed 
 her to ' that bourne from whence no traveller returns' 
 leaving poor James again desolate, and more helpless 
 than ever before ; as, this time, there was no kind family 
 in the house, and the Ardinburghs no longer invited him 
 to their homes. Yet, lone, blind and helpless as he was, 
 James for a time lived on. One day, an aged colored 
 woman, named Soan, called at his shanty, and James be- 
 sought her, in the most moving manner, even with tears, 
 to tarry awhile and wash and mend him up, so that he 
 might once more be decent and comfortable ; for he was 
 suffering dreadfully with the filth and vermin that had 
 collected upon him. 
 
 Soan was herself an emancipated slave, old and weak,
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 25 
 
 with no one to care for her ; and she lacked the courage 
 to undertake a job of such seeming magnitude, fearing she 
 might herself get sick, and perish there without assistance ; 
 and with great reluctance, and a heart swelling with pity, 
 as she afterwards declared, she felt obliged to leave him in 
 his wretchedness and filth. And shortly after her visit, this 
 faithful slave, this deserted wreck of humanity, was found 
 on his miserable pallet, frozen and stiff in death. The kind 
 angel had come at last, and relieved him of the many mise- 
 ries that his fellow-man had heaped upon him. Yes, he 
 had died, chilled" and starved, with none to speak a kindly 
 word, or do a kindly deed for him, in that last dread hour 
 of need ! 
 
 The news of his death reached the ears of John Ardin- 
 burgh, a grandson of the old Colonel ; and he declared 
 that ' Bomefree, who had ever been a kind and faithful 
 slave, should now have a good funeral.' And now, gentle 
 reader, what think you constituted a good funernl ] An- 
 swer some black paint for the coffin, and a jug of ar- 
 dent spirits ! What a compensation for a life of toil, of 
 patient submission to repeated robberies of the most ag- 
 gravated kind, and, also, far more than murderous neg- 
 lect ! ! Mankind often vainly attempt to atone for un- 
 kindness or cruelty to the living, by honoring the same 
 after death ; but John Ardinburgh undoubtedly meant 
 his pot of paint and jug of whisky should act as an opiate 
 on his slaves, rather than on his own seared conscience. 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF ISABELLA'S TRIALS IN LIFE. 
 
 Having seen the sad end of her parents, so far as it 
 relates to this earthly life, we will return with Isabella to
 
 26 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 thai memorable auction which threatened to separate her 
 father and mother. A slave auction is a terrible affair to 
 its victims, and its incidents and consequences are graven 
 on their hearts as with a pen of burning steel. 
 
 At this memorable tune, Isabella was struck off, for the 
 sum of one hundred dollars, to one John Nealy, of Ulster 
 County, New York ; and she has an impression that in 
 this sale she was connected with a lot of sheep. She was 
 now nine years of age, and her trials in life may be dated 
 from this period. She says, with emphasis, ' Now t/tc war 
 begun.'' She could only talk Dutch and the Nealys 
 could only talk English. Mr. Nealy could understand 
 Dutch, but Isabel and her mistress could neither of them 
 understand the language of the other and this, of itself, 
 was a formidable obstacle in the way of a good under- 
 standing between them, and for some time was a fruitful 
 source of dissatisfaction to the mistress, and of punish- 
 ment and suffering to Isabella. She says, ' If they sent 
 me for a frying-pan, not knowing what they meant, per- 
 haps I carried them the pot-hooks and trammels. Then, 
 oh ! how angry mistress would be with me !' Then she 
 suffered ' terribly terribly? with the cold. During the 
 winter her feet were badly frozen, for want of proper 
 covering. They gave her a plenty to eat, and also a plenty 
 of whippings. One Sunday morning, in particular, she 
 was told to go to the barn ; on going there, she found 
 her master with a bundle of rods, prepared hi the em- 
 bers, and bound together with cords. When he had 
 tied her hands together before her, he gave her the most 
 cruel whipping she was ever tortured with. He whipped 
 her till the flesh was deeply lacerated, and the blood stream- 
 ed from her wounds and the scars remain to the present 
 day, to testify to the fact. ' And now,' she *ays, ' when I
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 27 
 
 hear 'em tell of whipping women on the bare flesh, ii 
 makes my flesh crawl, and my very hair rise on my head ! 
 Oh ! my God !' she continues, ' what a way is this of treat- 
 ing human beings ?' In these hours of her extremity, 
 she did not forget the instructions of her mother, to go to 
 God in all her trials, and every affliction ; and she not only 
 remembered, but obeyed : going to him, ' and telling him 
 all and asking Him if He thought it was right,' and 
 begging him to protect and shield her from her persecu- 
 tors. 
 
 S~ She always asked with an unwavering faith that she 
 ' should receive just what she plead for, ' And now,' she 
 says. ' though it seems curious, I do not remember ever 
 asking for any thing but what I got it. And I always re- 
 ceived it as an answer to my prayers. When I got beaten, 
 I never knew : t long enough beforehand to pray ; and I 
 always thought if I only had had time to pray to God for 
 help, I should have escaped the beating.' She had no idet 
 God had any knowledge of her thoughts, save what she 
 told him ; or heard her prayers, unless they were spoken 
 v audibly. And consequently, she could not pray unless 
 v she had time and opportunity to go by herself, where she 
 V_could talk to God without being overheard. 
 
 TRIALS CONTINUED. 
 
 When she had been at Mr. Nealy's several months, 
 she began to beg God most earnestly to send her father 
 /"to her, and as soon as she commenced to pray, she began 
 / as confidently to look for his coming, and, ere it was long, 
 \ tc her great joy, he came. She had no opportunity to 
 k to him of the troubles that weighed so heavily on
 
 28 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 her spirit, while h3 remained; hut when he left, she fol- 
 lowed him to the gate, and unburdened her heart to him, 
 inquiring if he could not do something to get her a new 
 and better place. In this way the slaves often assist each 
 other, by ascertaining who are kind to their slaves, com- 
 paratively ; and then using their influence to get such an 
 one to hire or buy their friends ; and masters, often from 
 policy, as well as from latent humanity, allow those they 
 are about to sell or let, to choose their own places, if the 
 persons they happen to select for masters are considered 
 safe pay. He promised to do all he could, and they part- 
 ed. But, every day, as long as the snow lasted, (for 
 there was snow on the ground at the time,) she returned 
 to the spot where they separated, and walking in the 
 tracks her father had made in the snow, repeated her 
 prayer that ' God would help her father get her a new 
 and better place.' 
 
 A long time had not elapsed, when a fisherman by the 
 name of Scriver appeared at Mr. Nealy's, and inquired 
 of Isabel ' if she would like to go and live with him.' 
 She eagerly answered ' Yes,' nothing doubting but he was 
 sent in answer to her prayer ; and she soon starred off 
 with him, walking while he rode ; for he had bought her 
 at the suggestion of her father, paying one hum! red and 
 five dollars for her. He also lived in Ulster County, but 
 some five or six miles from Mr. Nealy's. 
 
 Scriver, besides being a fisherman, kept a tavern for the 
 accommodation of people of his own class for his was a 
 rude, uneducated family, exceedingly profane in their 
 language, but, on the whole, an honest, kind and well-dis- 
 posed people. 
 
 They owned a large farm, but left it wholly unim- 
 proved ; attending mainly to their vocations of fishing
 
 SOJOUKNER TRUTH. 29 
 
 and inn-keeping. Isabella declares she can ill describe 
 the life she led with them. It was a wild, out-of-door 
 kind of lief. She was expected to carry fish, to hoe corn, 
 to bring roots and herbs from the wood for beers, go to 
 the Strand for a gallon of molasses or liquor as the case 
 might require, and ' browse around,' as she expresses it. 
 It was a life that suited her well for the time being as 
 devoid of hardship or terror as it was of improvement ; 
 a need which had not yet become a want. Instead of im 
 proving at this place, morally, she retrograded, as theii 
 example taught her to curse ; and it was here that she 
 took her first oath. After living with them about a year" 
 and a half, she was sold to one John J. Dumont, for the 
 sum of seventy pounds. This was in 1810. Mr. Du- 
 mont lived in the same county as her former masters, in 
 the town of New Paltz. and she remained with him till a 
 short time previous to her emancipation by the State, in 
 1828. 
 
 HER STANDING WITH HER NEW MASTER AND 
 MISTRESS. 
 
 Had Mrs. Dumont possessed that vein of kindness and 
 consideration for the slaves, so perceptible in her hus- 
 band's character, Isabella would have been as comforta- 
 ble here, as one had best be, if one must be a slave. Mr. 
 Dumont had been nursed in the very lap of slavery, and 
 being naturally a man of kind feelings, treated his slaves 
 with all the consideration he did his other animals, and 
 wore, perhaps. But Mrs. Dumont, who had been born 
 and educated in a non-slaveholding family, and, like many 
 others, used only to work-people, who, under the most
 
 30 NAREAT1VE OP 
 
 st .mulating of human motives, were willing to put forth 
 their every energy, could not have patience with th 
 creeping gait, the dull understanding, or see any cause 
 for the listless manners and careless, slovenly habits of 
 the poor down-trodden outcast entirely forgetting that 
 every high and efficient motive had been removed far 
 from him ; and that, had not his very intellect been 
 crushed out of him, the slave would find little ground for 
 aught but hoj eless despondency. From this source arose 
 a long series of trials in the life of our heroine, which we 
 must pass over In silence ; some from motives of deli- 
 cacy, and others, because the relation of them might 
 inflict undeserved pain on some now living, whom Isabel 
 remembers only vith esteem and love; therefore, the 
 reader will not be surprised if our narrative appear some- 
 what tame at this point, and may rest assured that it is 
 not for want of facts, as the most thrilling incidents of 
 this portion of her life are from various motives sup- 
 pressed. 
 
 One comparatively trifling incident she wishes related, 
 as it made a deep impression on her mind at the time 
 showing, as she thinks, how God shields the innocent, and 
 causes them to triumph over their enemies, and also how 
 she stood between master and mistress. In her family, 
 Mrs. Dumont employed two white girls, one of whom, 
 named Kate, evinced a disposition to ' lord it over' Isabel, 
 and, in her emphatic language, ' to grind her down? Her 
 master often shielded her from the attacks and accusations 
 of others, praising her for her readiness and ability to 
 work, and these praises seemed to foster a spirit of hos- 
 tility to her, in the minds of Mrs. Dumont and her white 
 servant, the latter of whom took every opportunity to 
 cry up her faults, lessen her in the esteem of her master
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 31 
 
 and increase against her the displeasure of her mistress, 
 which was already more than sufficient for Isabel's com- 
 fort. Her master insisted that she could do as much 
 work as half a dozen common people, and do it well, too ; 
 whilst her mistress insisted that the first >ras true, only 
 because it ever came from her hand but half performed. 
 A good deal of feeling arose from this difference of opin- 
 ion, which was getting to rather an uncomfortable height, 
 when, all at once, the potatoes that Isabel cooked for 
 breakfast assumed a dingy, dirty look. Her mistress 
 blamed her severely, asking her masfer to observe ' a fine 
 specimen of Bell's work !' adding, ' it is the way all her 
 work is done.' Her master scolded also this time, and 
 commanded her to be more careful in future. Kate join- 
 ed with zest in the censures, and was very hard upon her. 
 Isabella thought that she had done all she well could tc 
 have them nice ; and became quite distressed at these ap- 
 pearances, and wondered what she should do to avoid 
 them. In this dilemma, Gertrude Dumont, (Mr. D.'s* 
 eldest child, a good, kind-hearted girl of ten years, who 
 pitied Isabel sincerely,) when she heard them all blame 
 her so unsparingly, came forward, offering her sympathy 
 and assistance ; and when about to retire to bed, on the 
 night of Isabella's humiliation, she advanced to Isabel, and 
 told her, if she would wake her early next morning, she 
 would get up and attend to her potatoes for her, while 
 she (Isabella) went to milking, and they would see if they 
 could not have them m'ce, and not have ' Poppee,' hef 
 word for father, and ' Matty,' her word for mother, am. 
 all of 'em, scolding so terribly. 
 
 Isabella gladly availed herself of this kindness, which 
 touched her to the heart, amid so much of an opposit, 
 spirit. When Isabella had put the potatoes over to bol
 
 82 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 Getty told her she would herself tend the fire, while Isa- 
 bel milked. She had not long been seated by the fire, 
 hi performance of her promise, when Kate entered, and 
 requested Gertrude to go out of the room and do some- 
 thing for her, r, nich she refused, still keeping her place in 
 the corner. While there, Kate came sweeping about the 
 fire, caught up a chip, lifted some ashes with it, and dash- 
 ed them into the kettle. Now the mystery was solved, 
 the plot discovered ! Kate was working a little too fast 
 at making her rnisjress's words good, at showing that 
 Mrs. Dumont and herself were on the right side of the 
 dispute, and consequently at gaining power over Isabella. 
 Yes, she was quite too fast, inasmuch as she had over- 
 looked the little figure of justice, which sat in the corner, 
 with scales nicely balanced, waiting to give all their dues. 
 
 But the time had come when she was to be overlooked 
 no longer. It was Getty's turn to speak now. ' Oh, 
 Poppee ! oh, Poppee !' said she, ' Kate has been putting 
 ashes in among the potatoes ! I saw her do it ! Look at 
 those that fell on the outside of the kettle ! You can 
 now see what made the potatoes so dingy every morning, 
 though Bell washed them clean !' And she repeated her story 
 to every new comer, till the fraud was made as public as 
 the censure of Isabella ha^ been. Her mistress looked 
 blank, and remained dumb her master muttered some- 
 thing which sounded very like an oath and poor Kate 
 was so chop-fallen, she looked like a convicted criminal, 
 who would gladly have hid herself, (now that the base- 
 ness was out,) to conceal her mortified pride and deep 
 chagrin. 
 
 It was a fine triumph for Isabella and her master, and 
 she became more ambitious than ever to please him ; 
 id he stimulated her ambition by his commendation, and
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 33 
 
 by boasting of her to his friends, telling them that ' tha, 
 wench ' (pointing to Isabel) ' is better to me than a ma* 
 for she will do a good family's washing hi the night, 
 and be ready in the morning to go into the field, where 
 she will do as much at raking and binding as my best 
 hands.' Her ambition and desire to please were so great, 
 that she often worked several nights hi succession, sleep- 
 ing only short snatches, as she sat in her chair ; and some 
 nights she would not allow herself to take any sleep, save 
 what she could get resting herself against the wall, fear- 
 ing that if she sat down, she would sleep too long. 
 These extra exertions to please, and the praises conse- 
 quent upon them, brought upon her head the envy 
 of her fellow-slaves, and they taunted her with being 
 the ' white folks' 1 nigyer." 1 On the other hand, she receiv- V 
 ed a larger share of the confidence of her master, 
 and many small favors that were by them unattain- 
 able. I asked her if her master, Dumont, ever whipped 
 her ? She answered, ' Oh yes, he sometimes whipped me"~ , 
 soundly, though never cruelly. And the most severe 
 whipping he ever give me was because / was cruel to 9>^J 
 cat.' At this time she looked upon her master as a God ; 
 and believed that he knew of and could see her at all 
 times, even as God himself. And she used sometimes to 
 confess her delinquencies, from the conviction that he al- 
 ready knew them, and that she should fare better if she 
 confessed voluntarily : and if any one talked to her of 
 the injustice of her being a slave, she answered them 
 \\ ith contempt and immediately told her master. She 
 then firmly believed that slavery was right and honora- 
 ble. Yet she now sees very clearly the false position 
 they were all in, both masters and slaves ; and she looks 
 back, with utter astoi ishment, at the absurdity of the 
 3
 
 34 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 t. so arrogantly set up by the masters, over beings 
 designed by God to be as free as kings ; and at the per- 
 fect stupidity of the slave, in admitting for one moment 
 the validity of these claims. 
 
 In obedience to her mother's instructions, she had edu- 
 cated herself to such a sense of honesty, that, when she 
 had become a mother, she would sometimes whip her 
 child when it cried to her for bread, rather than give it a 
 piece secretly, lest it should learn to take what was not 
 its own! And the writer of this knows, from personal 
 observation, that the slaveholders of the South feel it to 
 be a religious duty to teach their slaves to be honest, and 
 never to take what is not their own ! Oh consistency, 
 art thou not a jewel ? Yet Isabella glories in the fact 
 that she was faithful and true to her master ; she says, 
 ' It made me true to my God' meaning, that it helped to 
 * s -ftfrm in her a character that loved truth, and hated a lie, 
 and had saved her from the bitter pains and fears that 
 are sure to follow in the wake of insincerity and hypocrisy. 
 A.S she advanced in years, an attachment sprung up 
 between herself and a slave named Robert. But his 
 master, an Englishman by the name of Catlin, anxious 
 that no one's property but his own should be enhanced 
 by the increase of his slaves, forbade Robert's visits to 
 Isabella, and commanded him to take a wife among his 
 fellow-servants. Notwithstanding this interdiction, Rob- 
 ert, following the bent of his inclinations, continued his 
 visits to Isabel, though very stealthily, and, as he believ- 
 ed, without exciting the suspicion of his master ; but one 
 Saturday afternoon, hearing that Bell was ill, he took the 
 liberty to go and see her. The first intimation she had 
 f his visit was the appearance of her master, inquiring 
 if she had seen Bob.' On her answering in the negative,
 
 SOJOURNEB TRUTH. 36 
 
 he said to her, ' If you see him, tell him to take care of 
 himself, for the Catlins are after him.' Almost at that 
 instant, Bob made his appearance ; and the first people he 
 met were his old and his young masters. They were 
 terribly enraged at finding him there, and the eldest be- 
 gan cursing, and calling upon his son to ' Knock dowr. 
 
 the d d black rascal ;' at the. same time, they both 
 
 fell upon him like tigers, beating him with the heavy 
 ends of their canes, bruising and mangling his head and 
 face in the most awful manner, and causing the blood, 
 which streamed from his wounds, to cover him like a 
 slaughtered beast, constituting him a most shocking spec- 
 tacle. Mr. Dumont interposed at this point, telling the 
 ruffians they could no longer thus spill humaw blood on 
 his premises he would have ' no niggers killed there.' 
 The Catlins then took a rope they had taken with them 
 for the purpose, and tied Bob's hands behind him hi such 
 a manner, that Mr. Durnont insisted on loosening the 
 cord, declaring that no brute should be tied in tlutt man- 
 ner, where he was. And as they led him away, like the 
 greatest of criminals, the more humane Dumont followed 
 them to their homes, as Robert's protector ; and when 
 he returned, he kindly went to Bell, as he called her, tell- 
 ing her he did not think they would strike him any more, as 
 their wrath had greatly cooled before he left them. Isa- 
 bella had witnessed this scene from her window, and was 
 greatly shocked at the murderous treatment of poor 
 Robert, whom she truly loved, and whose only crime, in 
 the eye of his persecutors, was his affection for her. This 
 beating, and we know not what after treatment, com- 
 pletely subdued the spirit of its victim, for Robert ven- 
 tured no more to visit Isabella, but like an obedient and 
 faithful chattel, took himself a wife from the house of
 
 36 NABRATIVE OF 
 
 his master. Robert did not live many years after his 
 last visit to Isabel, but took his departure to that coun- 
 try, where ' they neither marry nor are given in marriage,' 
 and where the oppressor cannot molest. 
 
 ISABELLA'S MARRIAGE. 
 
 Subsequently, Isabella was married to a fellow-slave, 
 named Thomas, who had previously had two wives, one 
 of whom, if not both, had been torn from him and sold 
 far away. And it is more than probable, that he was 
 not only allowed but encouraged to take another at each 
 successive sale. I say it is probable, because the writer 
 of this knows from personal observation, that such is 
 the custom among slaveholders at the present day ; and 
 that in a twenty months' residence among them, we never 
 knew any one to open the lip against the practice ; and 
 when we severely censured it, the slaveholder had nothing 
 to say ; and the slave pleaded that, under existing cir- 
 cumstances, he could do no betjter. 
 
 Such an abominable state of things is silently tolerated, 
 to say the least, by slaveholders deny it who may. 
 And what is that religion that sanctions, even by its 
 silence, all that is embraced in the ' Peculiar Institution ?' 
 If there can be any thing more diametrically opposed to 
 the religion of Jesus, than the working of this soul-kill- 
 ing system which is as truly sanctioned by the religion 
 of America as are her ministers and churches we wish 
 to be shown where it can be found. 
 
 We have said, Isabella was married to Thomas she 
 was, after the fashion of slavery, one of the slaves per- 
 forming the ceremony for them ; as no true minister of
 
 SOJOURNEK TRUTH. 37 
 
 Christ can perform, as in the presence of God, what he 
 knows to be a mere farce, a mock marriage, unrecognized 
 by any civil law, and liable to be annulled any moment, 
 when the interest or caprice of the master should dictate. 
 
 With what feelings must slaveholders expect us to 
 listen to their horror of amalgamation in prospect, while 
 they are well aware that we know how calmly and qui- 
 etly they contemplate the present state of licentiousness 
 their own wicked laws have created, not only as it regards 
 the slave, but as it regards the more privileged portion 
 of the population of the South ? 
 
 Slaveholders appear to me to take the same notice of 
 the vices of the slave, as one does of the vicious disposi- 
 tion of his horse. They are often an inconvenience ; fur- 
 ther than that, they care not to trouble themselves about 
 the matter. 
 
 ISABELLA AS A MOTHER. 
 
 In process of time, Isabella found herself the mother of 
 five children, and she rejoiced in being permitted to be 
 the instrument of increasing the property of her oppres- 
 sors ! Think, dear reader, without a blush, if you can, 
 for one moment, of a mother thus willingly, and with pride, 
 laying her own children, the ' flesh of her flesh,' on the 
 altar of slavery a sacrifice to the bloody Moloch ! But 
 we must remember that beings capable of such sacrifices 
 are not mothers ; they are only ' things,' ' chattels,' ' pro- 
 perty.' 
 
 But since that time, the subject of this narrative has 
 made some advances from a state of chattelism towards 
 that of a woman and a mother ; and she now looks back 
 upon her thoughts and feelings there, in her state of igno-
 
 38 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 ranee and degradation, as one does on the dark imagery 
 of a fitful dream. One moment it seems but a frightful 
 illusion ; again it appears a terrible reality. I would to 
 God it were but a dreamy myth, and not, as it now stands, 
 a horrid reality to some three millions of chattelized hu- 
 man beings. 
 
 I have already alluded to her care not to teach her chil- 
 dren to steal, by her example ; and she says, with groan- 
 ings that cannot be written, ' The Lord only knows how 
 many times I let my children go hungry, rather than take 
 secretly the bread I liked not to ask for.' All parents 
 who annul their preceptive teachings by their daily prac- 
 tices would do well to profit by her example. 
 
 Another proof of her master's kindness of heart is found 
 in the following fact. If her master came into the house 
 and found her infant crying, (as she could not always at- 
 tend to its wants and the commands of her mistress at 
 the same time,) he would turn to his wife with a look of 
 reproof, and ask her why she did not see the child taken 
 care of; saying, most earnestly, ' I will not hear this cry- 
 ing ; I can 't bear it, and I will not hear any child cry so. 
 Here, Bell, take care of this child, if no more work is 
 done for a week.' And he would linger to see if his or- 
 ders were obeyed, and not countermanded. 
 
 When Isabella went to the field to work, she used to 
 put her infant in a basket, tying a rope to each handle, 
 and suspending the basket to a branch of a tree, set ano- 
 ther small child to swing it. It was thus secure from rep- 
 tiles, and was easily administered to, and even lulled to 
 sleep, by a child too young for other labors. I was quite 
 struck with the ingenuity of such a baby-tender, as I have 
 sometimes been with the swinging hammock the native 
 mother prepares for her sick infant apparently so much
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 39 
 
 easier than aught we have in our more civilized homes; 
 easier for the child, because it gets the motion without 
 the least jar ; and easier for the nurse, because the ham- 
 mock is strung so high as to supersede the necessity of 
 stooping. 
 
 SLAVEHOLDER'S PROMISES. 
 
 After emancipation had been decreed by the State, 
 some years before the time fixed for its consummation, 
 Isabella's master told her if she would do well, and be 
 faithful, he would give her ' free papers,' one year before 
 she was legally free by statute. In the year 1826, she 
 had a badly diseased hand, which greatly diminished her 
 usefulness ; but on the arrival of July 4, 1827, the time 
 specified for her receiving her 'free papers,' she claimed the 
 fulfilment of her master's promise ; but he refused grant- 
 ing it, on account (as he alleged) of the loss he har) sus- 
 tained by her hand. She plead that she had worked all 
 the time, and done many things she was not wholly able 
 to do, although she kn^w she had been less useful than 
 formerly; but her master remained inflexible. Her very 
 faithfulness probably operated against her now, and he 
 found it less easy than he thought to give up the profits 
 of his faithful Bell, who had so long done him efficient 
 service. 
 
 But Isabella inwardly determined tha f . she would re- 
 main quietly with him only until she had spun his wool 
 about one hundred pounds and then she would leave 
 him, taking the rest of the time to herself. ' Ah !' she 
 says, with emphasis that cannot be written, ' the slave- 
 holders are TERRIBLE for promising to give you this or
 
 40 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 that, or such and such a privilege, if you will do thus and 
 so ; and when the time of fulfilment comes, and one 
 claims the promise, they, forsooth, recollect nothing of 
 the kind ; and you are, like as not, taunted with being a 
 LIAR ; or, at best, the slave is accused of not having per- 
 formed his part or condition of the contract.' ' Oh !' said 
 she, ' I have felt as if I could not live through the opera- 
 tion sometimes. Just think of us ! so eager for our plea- 
 sures, and just foolish enough to keep feeding and feeding 
 ourselves up with the idea that we should get what had 
 been thus fairly promised ; and when we think it is 
 almost in our hands, find ourselves flatly denied ! Just 
 think ! how could we bear it ? Why, there was Charles 
 Brodhead promised his slave Ned, that when harvesting 
 was over, he might go and see his wife, who lived some 
 twenty or thirty miles off. So Ned worked early and 
 late, and as soon as the harvest was all in, he claimed the 
 promised boon. His master said, he had merely told 
 him he ' would see if he could go, when the harvest was 
 over; but now he saw that he could not go? But Ned, 
 who still claimed a positive promise, on which he had 
 fully depended, went on cleaning his shoes. His master 
 asked him if he intended going, and on his replying 'yes ,' 
 took up a sled-stick that lay near him, and gave him such 
 a blow on the head as broke his skull, killing him dead 
 on the spot. The poor colored people all felt struck 
 down by the blow.' Ah ! and well they might. Yet it 
 was but one of a long series of bloody, and other most 
 effectual blows, struck against their liberty and their 
 lives.* But to return from our digression. 
 
 The subject of this narrative as to have been free 
 
 * Yet no official notice was taken of his more than brutal mur- 
 der.
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 41 
 
 July 4, 1827, but she continued with her master till the 
 wool was spun, and the heaviest of the 'fall's work' 
 closed up, when she concluded to take her freedom into 
 her own hands, and seek her fortune in some other place. 
 
 HER ESCAPE. 
 
 The question in her mind, and one not easily solved, 
 now was, ' How can I get away T So, as was her usual 
 custom, she ' told God she was afraid to go in the nightj 
 and in the day every body would see her.' At length, 
 the thought came to her that she could leave just before 
 the day dawned, and get out of the neighborhood where 
 she was known before the people were much astir. 
 ' Yes,' said she, fervently, ' that's a good thought ! Thank 
 you, God, for that thought !' So, receiving it as coming 
 direct from God, she acted upon it, and one fine morning, 
 a little before day-break, she might have been seen step- 
 ping stealthily away from the rear of Master Dumont's 
 house, her infant on one arm and her wardrobe on the 
 other ; the bulk and weight of which, probably, she never 
 found so convenient as on the present occasion, a cotton 
 handkerchief containing both her clothes and her pro- 
 visions. 
 
 As she gained the summit of a high hill, a considerable 
 distance from her master's, the sun offended her by com- 
 ing forth in all his pristine splendor. She thought it 
 never was so light before ; indeed, she thought it much 
 too light. She stopped to look about her, and ascertain 
 if her pursuers were yet in sight. No one appeared, and, 
 for the first time, the question came up for settlement, 
 ' Where, and to whom, shall I go In all her thoughts 
 >f getting away, she had not once asked herself whither
 
 42 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 she should direct her steps. She sat down, fed her infant, 
 and again turning her thoughts to God, her only help, she 
 prayed him to direct her to some safe asylum. And soon 
 it occurred to her, that there was a man living some- 
 where in the direction she had been pursuing, by the 
 name of Levi Rowe, whom she had known, and who, she 
 thought, would be likely to befriend her. She accord- 
 ingly pursued her way to his house, where she found him 
 ready to entertain and assist her, though he was then on 
 his death-bed. He bade her partake of the hospitalities 
 of his house, said he knew of two good places where she 
 might get in, and requested his wife to show her where 
 they were to be found. As soon as she came in sight of 
 the first house, she recollected having seen it and its inhab- 
 itants before, and instantly exclaimed, ' That's the place 
 for me ; I shall stop there.' She went there, and found 
 the good people of the house, Mr. and Mrs. Van Wage- 
 ner, absent, but was kindly received and hospitably en- 
 tertained by their excellent mother, till the return of her 
 children. When they arrived, she made her case known 
 to them. They listened to her story, assuring her they 
 never turned the needy away, and willingly gave her 
 employment. 
 
 She had not been there long before her old master, Du- 
 mont, appeared, as she had anticipated ; for when she 
 took French leave of him, she resolved not to go too far 
 from him, and not put him to as much trouble in looking 
 her up for the latter he was sure to do as Tom and 
 Jack had done when they ran away from him, a short 
 time before. This was very considerate in her, to say 
 the least, and a proof that ' like begets like.' He had 
 often considered her feelings, though not always, and she 
 was equally considerate.
 
 8OJOURNER TRUTH. 43 
 
 When her master saw her, he said, ' Well, Bell, so 
 you've run away from me.' ' No, I did not run away ; I 
 walked away by day-light, and all because you had pro- 
 mised me a year of my time.' His reply was, 'Ymi 
 must go back with me.' Her decisive answer was, ' No, 
 I won't go back with you.' He said, ' Well, I shall take 
 the child? This also was as stoutly negatived. 
 
 Mr. Isaac S. Van Wagener then interposed, saying, he 
 had never been in the practice of buying and selling slaves ; 
 he did not believe in slavery ; but, rather than have Isa- 
 bella taken back by force, he would buy her services for 
 the balance of the year for which her master charged 
 twenty dollars, and five in addition for the child. The 
 sum was paid, and her master Dumont departed ; but not 
 till he had heard Mr. Van Wagener tell her not to call 
 him master, adding, ' there is but one master ; and he 
 who is your master is my master.' Isabella inquired what 
 she should call him 1 He answered, ' Call me Isaac Van 
 Wagener, and my wife is Maria_Van Wagener.' Isa- 
 bella could not understand this, and thought it a 
 mighty change, as it most truly was from a master 
 whose word was law, to simple Isaac S. Van Wage- 
 ner, who was master to no one. With these noble 
 people, who, though they could not be the masters of 
 slaves, were undoubtedly a portion of God's nobility, she 
 resided one year, and from them she derived the name of 
 Van Wagener ; he being her last master in the eye of 
 the law, and a slave's surname is ever the same as his 
 master ; that is, if he is allowed to have any other name 
 than Tom, Jack, or Guffin. Slaves have sometimes been 
 severely punished for adding their master's name to their 
 own. But when they have no particular title to it, it is 
 no particular offence.
 
 44 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 ILLEGAL SALE OF HER SON. 
 
 A little previous to Isabel's leaving her old master, he 
 had sold her child, a boy of five years, to a Dr. Ged- 
 ney, who took him with him as far as New York city, on 
 his way to England ; but finding the boy too small for 
 nis service, he sent him back to his brother, Solomon 
 Gedney. This man disposed of him to his sister's hus- 
 oand, a wealthy planter, by the name of Fowler, who 
 took him to his own home in Alabama. 
 
 This illegal and fraudulent transaction had been perpe- 
 trated some months before Isabella knew of it, as she was 
 now living at Mr. Van Wagener's. The law expressly 
 prohibited the sale of any slave out of the State, and 
 all minors were to be free at twenty-one years of age ; 
 and Mr. Dumont had sold Peter with the express under- 
 standing, that he was soon to retui-n to the State of New 
 York, and be emancipated at the specified time. 
 
 When Isabel heard that her son had been sold South, 
 she immediately started on foot and alone, to find the 
 man who had thus dared, in the face of all law, human 
 and divine, to sell her child out of the State ; and if pos- 
 sible, to bring him to account for the deed. 
 
 Arriving at New Paltz, she went directly to her former 
 mistress, Dumont, complaining bitterly of the removal 
 of her son. Her mistress heard her through, and then re- 
 plied ' Ugh ! a fine fuss to make about a little nigger ! 
 Why, have n't you as many of 'em left as you can see to 
 and take care of? A pity 'tis, the niggers are not all in 
 Guinea ! ! Making such a halloo-balloo about the neigh- 
 borhood ; and all for a paltry nigger ! ! ! ' Isabella heard 
 her through, and after a moment's hesitation, answered, in
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 45 
 
 tones of deep determination ' I'll have my child again.'' 
 ' Have your child again ! ' repeated her mistress her tonei 
 big with contempt, and scorning the absurd idea of her 
 getting him. ' How can you get him 1 And what have 
 you to support him with, if you could 1 Have you any 
 money 1 ' ' No,' answered Bell, ' I have no money, but 
 God has enough, or what's better ! And I'll have my 
 child again.' These words were pronounced in the most 
 slow, solemn and determined measure and manner. And 
 in speaking of it, she says, ' Oh, my God ! I know'd I'd 
 have him agin. I was sure God would help me to get 
 him. Why, I felt so tall within I felt as if the power of 
 a nation was with me ! ' 
 
 The impressions made by Isabella on her auditors, when 
 moved by lofty or deep feeling, can never be transmitted 
 to paper, (to use the words of another,) till by some Da- 
 guerrian art, we are enabled to transfer the look, the ges- 
 ture, the tones of voice, in connection with the quaint, yet 
 fit expressions used, and the spirit-stirring animation that, 
 at such a time, pervades all she says. 
 
 After leaving her mistress, she called on Mrs. Gedney, 
 mother of him who had sold her boy ; who, after listening 
 to her lamentations, her grief being mingled with indigna- 
 tion at the sale of her son, and her declaration that she 
 would have him again said, ' Dear me ! What a disturb- 
 ance to make about your child ! What, is your child bet- 
 ter than my child 1 My child is gone out there, and yours 
 is gone to live with her, to have enough of everything, 
 and to be treated like a gentleman ! ' And here she laugh- 
 ed at Isabel's absurd fears, as she would represent them to 
 be. 'Yes,' said Isabel, 'your child has gone there, but 
 she is married and my boy has gone as a slave, and he is 
 too little to go so far from his mother. Oh, I must have
 
 46 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 my child.' And here the continued laugh of Mrs. G. 
 seemed to Isabel, in this time of anguish and distress, al- 
 most demoniacal. And well it was for Mrs. Gedney, that, 
 at that time, she could not even dream of the awful fate 
 awaiting her own beloved daughter, at the hands of him 
 whom she had chosen as worthy the wealth of her love 
 and confidence, and in whose society her young heart had 
 calculated on a happiness, purer and more elevated than 
 was ever conferred by a kingly crown. But, alas ! she 
 was doomed to disappointment, as we shall relate by and 
 by. At this point, Isabella earnestly begged of God that 
 he would show to those about her that He was her helper ; 
 and she adds, in narrating, ' And He did ; or, if He did 
 not show them, he did me.' 
 
 IT IS OFTEN DARKEST JUST BEFORE DAWN. 
 
 This homely proverb was illustrated in the case of our 
 sufferer ; for, at the period at which we have arrived in 
 our narrative, to her the darkness seemed palpable, and 
 the waters of affliction covered her soul ; yet light was 
 about to break in upon her. 
 
 Soon after the scenes related in our last chapter, which 
 had harrowed up her very soul to agony, she met a man, 
 (we would like to tell you who, dear reader, but it would 
 be doing him no kindness, even at the present day, to do 
 so,) who evidently sympathized with her, and counselled 
 her to go to the Quakers, telling her they were already 
 feeling very indignant at the fraudulent sale of her son, 
 and assuring her that they would readily assist her, and 
 direct her what to do. He pointed out to her two houses, 
 where lived some of those people, who formerly, more
 
 SOJOURXER TRUTH. 47 
 
 tHan any other sect, perhaps, lived out the principles of 
 the gospel o f Christ. She wended her way to their dwell- 
 ings, was listened to, unknown as she personally was to 
 them, with patience, and soon gained their sympathies and 
 active co-operation. 
 
 They gave her lodgings for the night ; and it is very 
 amusing to hear her tell of the ' nice, high, clean, white, 
 beautiful bed' assigned her to sleep in, which contrasted 
 so strangely with her former pallets, that she sat down and 
 contemplated it, perfectly absorbed in wonder that such a 
 bed should have been appropriated to one like herself. 
 For some time she thought that she would lie down be- 
 neath it, on her usual bedstead, the floor. ' 1 did, indeed,' 
 says she, laughing heartily at her former self. However, 
 she finally concluded to make use of the bed, for fear that 
 not to do so might injure the feelings of her good hostess. 
 In the morning, the Quaker saw that she was taken and set 
 down near Kingston, with directions to go to the Court 
 House, and enter complaint to the Grand Jury. 
 
 By a little inquiry, she found which was the building she 
 sought, went into the door, and taking the first man she 
 saw of imposing appearance for the grand jury, she com- 
 menced her complaint. But he very civilly informed 
 her there was no Grand Jury there ; she must go up 
 stairs. When she had with some difficulty ascended the 
 flight through the crowd that filled them, she again turned 
 to the ' grandest" 1 looking man she could select, telling him 
 she had come to enter a complaint to the Grand Jury. 
 For his own amusement, he inquired what her complaint 
 was ; but, when he saw it was a serious matter, he said to 
 her, ' This is no place to enter a complaint go ii? there, 
 pointing in a particular direction. 
 
 She then went in, where she found the Grand Jurors
 
 48 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 indeed sitting, and again commenced to relate her injuries. 
 After holding some conversation among themselves, one 
 of them rose, and bidding her follow him, led the way to 
 a side office, where he heard her story, and asked her ' if 
 she could swear that the child she spoke of was her son?' 
 1 Yes,' she answered, 'I swear it's my son.' ' Stop, stop !' 
 said the lawyer, ' you must swear by this book' giving 
 her a book, which she thinks must have been the Bible. 
 She took it, and putting it to her lips, began again to swear 
 it was her child. The clerks, unable to preserve their grav- 
 ity any longer, burst into an uproarious laugh ; and one 
 of them inquired of lawyer Chip of what use it could be 
 to make her swear. ' It will answer the law,' replied the 
 officer. He then made her comprehend just what he 
 wished her to do, and she took a lawful oath, as far as the 
 outward ceremony could make it one. All can judge how 
 far she understood its spirit and meaning. 
 
 He now gave her a writ, directing her to take it to the 
 constable of New Paltz, and have him serve it on Solomon 
 Gedney. She obeyed, walking, or rather trotting, in her 
 haste, some eight or nine miles. 
 
 But while the constable, through mistake, served the 
 writ on a brother of the real culprit, Solomon Gedney 
 slipped into a boat, and was nearly across the North 
 River, on whose banks they were standing, before the dull 
 Dutch constable was aware of his mistake. Solomon 
 Gedney, meanwhile, consulted a lawyer, who advised him 
 to go to Alabama and bring back the boy, otherwise it 
 might cost him fourteen years' imprisonment, and a 
 thousand dollars in cash. By this time, it is hoped he 
 began to feel that selling slaves unlawfully was not so 
 good a business as he had wished to find it. He secreted 
 himself till due preparations coy Id be made, and soon set
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 49 
 
 sail for Alabama. Steamboats and railroads had not 
 then annihilated distance to the extent they now have, 
 and although he left in the fall of the year, spring came 
 ere he returned, bringing the boy with him but holding 
 on to him as his property. It had ever been Isabella's 
 prayer, not only that her son might be returned, but 
 that he should be delivered from bondage, and into her 
 own hands, lest he should be punished out of mere spite 
 to her, who was so greatly annoying and irritating to her 
 oppressors ; and if her suit was gained, her very triumph 
 would add vastly to their irritation. 
 
 She again sought advice of Esquire Chip, whose 
 counsel was, that the aforesaid constable serve the before- 
 mentioned writ upon the right person. This being done, 
 soon brought Solomon Gedney up to Kingston, where he 
 gave bonds for his appearance at court, in the sum of 
 
 Esquire Chip next informed his client, that her case 
 must now lie over till the next session of the court, 
 some months in the future. 'The law must take its 
 course,' said he. 
 
 'What! wait another court! wait months?' said the 
 persevering mother. ' Why, long before that time, he 
 can go clear oif, and take my child with him no one 
 knows where. I cannot wait; I must have him now, 
 whilst he is to be had.' 'Well,' said the lawyer, very 
 coolly, 'if he puts the boy out of the way, he must pay 
 the $600 one half of which will be yours ;' supposing, 
 perhaps, that $300 would pay for a 'heap of children,' in 
 the eye of a slave who never, in all her life, called a dol- 
 lar her own. But in this instance, he was mistaken in his 
 reckoning. She assured him, that she had not been seek- 
 ing money, neither would money satisfy her ; it was her 
 4
 
 60 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 son, and her son alone she wanted, and her son she must 
 have. Neither could she wait court, not she. The law- 
 yer used his every argument to convince her, that she 
 ought to be very thankful for what they had done for 
 her ; that it was a great deal, and it was but reasonable 
 that she should now wait patiently the time of the court. 
 Yet she never felt, for a moment, like being influenced 
 by these suggestions. She felt confident she was to 
 receive a full and literal answer to her prayer, the burden 
 of which had been ' O Lord, give my son into my 
 hands, and that speedily ! Let not the spoilers have him 
 any longer.' Notwithstanding, she very distinctly saw 
 that those who had thus far helped her on so kindly were 
 wearied of her, and she feared God was wearied also. 
 She had a short time previous learned that Jesus was a 
 Saviour, and an intercessor ; and she thought that if Jesus 
 could but be induced to plead for her in the present trial, 
 God would listen to him, though he were wearied of her 
 importunities. To him, of course, she applied. ' As she 
 was walking about, scarcely knowing whither she went, 
 asking within herself, ' Who will show me any good, and 
 lend a helping hand in this matter,' she was accosted 
 by a perfect stranger, and one whose name she has never 
 learned, in the fol] owing terms: 'Halloo, there; how do 
 you get along with your boy 1 ? do they give him up to 
 you?' She told him all, adding that now every body was 
 tired, and she had none to help her. He said, 'Look 
 here! I'll tell you what you'd better do. Do you see 
 that stone house yonder?' pointing in a particular direc- 
 tion. 'Well, lawyer Demain lives there, and do you go 
 to him, and lay your case before him; I think he'll help 
 you. Stick to him. Don't give him peace till he does. 
 I feel sure if you press him, he'll do it for you.' She
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 51 
 
 needed no further urging, but trotted off at her peculiar 
 gait in the direction of his house, as fast as possible, and 
 she was not encumbered with stockings, shoes, or any 
 other heavy article of dress. When she had told him her 
 story, in her impassioned manner, he looked at her a 
 few moments, as if to ascertain if he were contemplating 
 a new variety of the genus homo, and then told her, if 
 she would give him five dollars, he would get her son for 
 her, in twenty-four hours. 'Why,' she replied, '7 have 
 no money, and never had a dollar in my life ! ' Said ho, 
 ' If you will go to those Quakers in Poppletown, who 
 carried you to court, they will help you to five dollars in 
 cash, I have no doubt ; and you shall have your son in 
 twenty-four hours, from the time you bring me that sum.' 
 She performed the journey to Poppletown, a distance of 
 some ten miles, very expeditiously ; collected consid- 
 erable more than the sum specified by the barrister; then, 
 shutting the money tightly in her hand, she trotted back, 
 and paid the lawyer a larger fee than he had demanded. 
 When inquired of by people what she had done with the 
 overplus, she answered, ' Oh, I got it for lawyer Demain, 
 and I gave it to him.' They assured her she was a fool 
 to do so ; that she should have kept all over five dollars, 
 and purchased herself shoes with it ' Oh, I do not want 
 money or clothes now, I only want my son ; and if five 
 dollars will get him, more will surely get him.' And if 
 the lawyer had returned it to her, she avers she would 
 not have accepted it. She was perfectly willing he should 
 have every coin she could raise, if he would but restore 
 her lost son to her. Moreover, the five dollars he 
 required were for the remuneration of him who should go 
 after her son and his master, and not for his own services. 
 The lawyer now renewed his promise, that she should
 
 62 .NARRATIVE OF 
 
 have her son in twenty-four hours. But Isabella, having 
 no idea of this space of time, went several times in a 
 day, to ascertain if her son had come. Once, when the 
 servant opened the door and saw her, she said, in a tone 
 expressive, of much surprise, ' Why, this woman's come 
 again !' She then wondered if she went too often. When 
 the lawyer appeared, he told her the twenty-four hours 
 would not expire till the next morning ; if she would call 
 then, she would see her son. The next morning saw 
 Isabel at the lawyer's door, while he was yet in his bed. 
 He now assured her it was morning till noon ; and that 
 before noon her son would be there, for he had sent the 
 famous 'Matty Styles' after him, who would not fail to 
 have the boy and his master on hand in due season, either 
 dead or alive ; of that he was sure. Telling her she 
 need not come again ; he would himself inform her of 
 their arrival. 
 
 After dinner, he appeared at Mr. Rutzer's, (a place the 
 lawyer had procured for her, while she awaited the 
 arrival of her boy,) assuring her, her son had come ; but 
 that he stoutly denied having any mother, or any relatives 
 in that place ; and said, ' she must go over and identify 
 him.' She went to the office, but at sight of her the boy 
 cried aloud, and regarded her as some terrible being, who 
 was about to take him away from a kind and loving 
 friend. He knelt, even, and begged them, with tears, 
 not to take him away from his dear master, who had 
 brought him from the dreadful South, and been so kind 
 to him. 
 
 When he was questioned relative to the bad scar on 
 his forehead, he said, ' Fowler's horse hove him.' And 
 of the one on his cheek, 'That was done by running 
 against the carriage.' In answering these questions he
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 53 
 
 looked imploringly at his master, as much as to say, ' If 
 they are falsehoods, you bade me say them ; may they 
 be satisfactory to you, at least.' 
 
 The justice, noting his appearance, bade him forget his 
 master and attend only to him. But the boy persisted 
 in denying his mother, and clinging to his master, saying 
 his mother did not live in such a place as that. How- 
 ever, they allowed the mother to identify her son ; and 
 Esquire Demain pleaded that he claimed the boy for her, 
 on the ground that he had been sold out of the State, 
 contrary to the laws in such cases made and provided 
 spoke of the penalties annexed to said crime, and of the 
 sum of money the delinquent was to pay, in case any one 
 chose to prosecute hinufor the offence he had committed. 
 Isabella, who was sitting in a corner, scarcely daring to 
 breathe, thought within herself, ' If I can but get the boy, 
 the $200 may remain for whoever else chooses to prose- 
 cute / have done enough to make myself enemies al- 
 ready' and she trembled at the thought of the formida- 
 ble enemies she had probably arrayed against herself 
 helpless and despised as she was. When the pleading 
 was at an end, Isabella understood the Judge to declare, 
 as the sentence of the Court, that the ' boy be delivered 
 into the hands of the mother having no other master, 
 no other controller, no other conductor, but his mother.' 
 This sentence was obeyed; he was delivered into her 
 hands, the boy meanwhile begging, most piteously, not 
 to be taken from his dear master, saying she was not his 
 mother, and that his mother did not live in such a place 
 as that. And it was some time before lawyer Demain, 
 the clerks, and Isabella, could collectively succeed in 
 calming the child's fears, and in convincing him that Isa- 
 bella was not some terrible monster, as he had for the
 
 64 NAKKATIVE OF 
 
 last -months, probably, been trained to believe; and who, 
 in taking him away from his master, was taking him from 
 all good, and consigning him to all evil. 
 
 When at last kind words and bon bons had quieted his 
 fears, and he could listen to their explanations, he said to 
 Isabella ' Well, you do look like my mother used to ;' 
 and she was soon able to make him comprehend some of 
 the obligations he was under, and the relation he stood in, 
 both to herself and his master. She commenced as soon 
 as practicable to examine the boy, and found, to her utter 
 astonishment, that from the crown of his head to the sole 
 of his foot, the callosities and indurations on his entire 
 body were most frightful to behold. His back she de- 
 scribed as being like her fingers, as she laid them side by 
 side. 
 
 'Heavens ! what is all this?" 1 said Isabel. He answer- 
 ed, ' It is where Fowler whipped, kicked, and beat me.' 
 She exclaimed, ' Oh, Lord Jesus, look ! see my poor 
 child ! Oh Lord, " render unto them double" for all this ! 
 Oh my God \ Pete, how did you bear it ?' 
 
 'Oh, this -is nothing, mammy if you should see Phil- 
 lis, I guess you'd scare ! She had a little baby, and 
 Fowler cut her till the milk as well as blood ran down 
 her body. You would scare to see Phillis, mammy.' 
 
 When Isabella inquired, ' What did Miss Eliza* say, 
 Pete, when you were treated so badly ?' he replied, ' Oh, 
 mammy, she said she wished I was with Bell. Some- 
 times I crawled under the stoop, mammy, the blood run- 
 ning all about me, and my back would stick to the boards; 
 and sometimes Miss Eliza would come and grease my 
 sores, when all were abed and asleep.' 
 
 * Moaning Mrs. Eliza Fowler.
 
 SOJOUENER TRUTH. 55 
 
 DEATH OF MRS. ELIZA FOWLER. 
 
 As soon as possible she procured a place for Peter, as 
 tender of locks, at a place called Wahkendall, near Green- 
 kills. After he was thus disposed of, she visited her sister 
 Sophia, who resided at Newburg, and spent the winter in 
 several different families where she was acquainted. She 
 remained some time in the family of a Mr. Latin, who was 
 a visiting relative of Solomon Gedney ; and the latter, 
 when he found Isabel with his cousin, used all his influence 
 to persuade him she was a great mischief-maker and a very 
 troublesome person, that she had put him to some hun 
 dreds of dollars expense, by fabricating lies about him, and 
 especially his sister and her family, concerning her boy, 
 when the latter was living so like a gentleman with them ; 
 and, for his part, he would not advise his friends to harbor 
 or encourage her. However, his cousins, the Latins, could 
 not see with the eyes of his feelings, and consequently his 
 words fell powerless on them, and they retained her in their 
 service as long as they had aught for her to do. 
 
 She then went to visit her former master, Dumont. She 
 had scarcely arrived there, when Mr. Fred. Waring en- 
 tered, and seeing Isabel, pleasantly accosted her, and asked 
 her ' what she was driving at now-a-days.' On her an- 
 swering ' nothing particular,' he requested her to go over 
 to his place, and assist his folks, as some of them were 
 sick, and they needed an extra hand. She very gladly 
 assented. When Mr. W. retired, her master wanted to 
 know why she wished to help people, that called her the 
 'worst of devils,' as Mr. Waring had done in the court- 
 house for he was the uncle of Solomon Gedney, and at- 
 tended the trial we have described and declared 'that she
 
 66 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 was a fool to ; he wouldn't do it.' ' Oh,' she told him, ' she 
 would not mind that, but was very glad to have people for- 
 get their anger towards her.' She went over, but too happy 
 to feel that their resentment was passed, and commenced 
 her work with a light heart and a strong will. She had not 
 worked long in this frame of mind, before a young daugh- 
 ter of Mr. Waring rushed into the room, exclaiming, with 
 uplifted hands ' Heavens and earth, Isabella ! Fowler's 
 murdered Cousin Eliza !' ' Ho,' said Isabel, ' that's nothing 
 he liked to have killed my child ; nothing saved him but 
 God.' Meaning, that she was not at all surprised at it, for 
 a man whose heart was sufficiently hardened to treat a 
 mere child as hers had been treated, was, in her opinion, 
 more fiend than human, and prepared for the commission 
 of any crime that his passions might prompt him to. The 
 child further informed her, that a letter had arrived by 
 mail bringing the news. 
 
 Immediately after this announcement, Solomon Gedney 
 and his mother came in, going direct to Mrs. Waring's 
 room, where she soon heard tones as of some one reading. 
 She thought something said to her inwardly, ' Go up 
 stairs and hear.' At first she hesitated, but it seemed to 
 press her the more ' Go up and hear ! ' She went up, 
 unusual as it is for slaves to leave their work and enter 
 unbidden their mistress's room, for the sole purpose of 
 seeing or hearing what may be seen or heard there. But 
 on this occasion, Isabella says, she walked in at the door, 
 shut it, placed her back against it, and listened. She saw 
 . them and heard them read ' He knocked her down with 
 his fist, jumped on her with his knees, broke her collar 
 bone, and tore out her wind-pipe ! He then attempted 
 his escape, but was pursued and arrested, and put in an 
 iron bank for safe-keeping ! ' And the friends were re-
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 57 
 
 quested to go down and take away the poor innocent 
 children who had thus been made in one short day more 
 than orphans. 
 
 If this narrative should ever meet the eye of those 
 innocent sufferers for another's guilt, let them not be too 
 deeply affected by the relation ; but, placing their confi- 
 dence in Him who sees the end from the beginning, and 
 controls the results, rest secure in the faith, that, although 
 they may physically suffer for the sins of others, if they re- 
 main but true to themselves, their highest and more en- 
 during interests can never suffer from such a cause. 
 This relation should be suppressed for their sakes, were 
 it not even now so often denied, that slavery is fast under- 
 mining all true regard for human life. We know this 
 one instance is not a demonstration to the contrary ; but, 
 adding this to the lists of tragedies that weekly come up 
 to us through the Southern mails, may we not admit 
 them as proofs irrefragable ? The newspapers confirm 
 this account of the terrible affair. 
 
 When Isabella had heard the letter, all being too much 
 absorbed in their own feelings to take note of her, she 
 returned to her work, her heart swelling with conflicting 
 emotions. She was awed at the dreadful deed ; she 
 mourned the fate of the loved Eliza, who had in such an 
 undeserved and barbarous manner been put away from 
 her labors and watchings as a tender mother ; and, ' last 
 though not least,' in the development of her character 
 and spirit, her heart bled for the afflicted relatives ; even 
 those of them who ' laughed at her calamity, and mock- 
 ed when her fear came. ' Her thoughts dwelt long and 
 intently en the subject, and the wonderful chain of events 
 that had conspired to bring her that day to that house, to 
 listen to that piece of intelligence to that house, where-
 
 58 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 she never was before or afterwards in her life, and invit- 
 ed there by people who had so lately been hotly 
 incensed against her. It all seemed very remarkable to 
 her, and she viewed it as flowing from a special providence 
 of God. She thought she saw clearly, that their unnatu- 
 ral bereavement was a blow dealt in retributive justice : 
 but she found it not in her heart to exult or rejoice over 
 them. She felt as if God had more than answered her 
 petition, when she ejaculated, in her anguish of mind, 
 ' Oh, Lord, render unto them double ! ' She said, ' I 
 dared not find fault with God, exactly ; but the language 
 of my heart was, ' Oh. my God ! that's too much I did 
 not mean quite so much, God ! ' It was a terrible blow 
 to the friends of the deceased ; and her selfish mother 
 (who, said Isabella, made such a ' to-do about Tier boy, 
 not from affection, ' but to have her own will and way') 
 went deranged, and walking to and fro in her delirium, 
 called aloud for her poor murdered daughter ' Eliza ! 
 Eliza!'' 
 
 The derangement of Mrs. G. was a matter of hearsay, 
 as Isabella saw her not after the trial ; but she has no 
 reason to doubt the truth of what she heard. Isabel 
 could never learn the subsequent fate of Fowler, but 
 heard in the spring of '49 that his children had been 
 seen in Kingston one of whom was spoken of as a fine, 
 interesting girl, albeit a halo of sadness fell like a veil 
 about her. 
 
 ISABELLA'S RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE. 
 
 We will now turn from the outward and temporal to 
 the inward and spiritual life of our subject. It is ever 
 both interesting and instructive to trace the exercises o
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 59 
 
 a human mini, through the trials and mysteries of life ; 
 and especially a naturally powerful mind, left as hers was 
 almost entirely to its own workings, and the chance in- 
 fluences it met on its way ; and especially to note its 
 reception of that divine ' light, that lighteth every man 
 that cometh into the world.' 
 
 We see, as knowledge dawns upon it, truth and error 
 strangely commingled ; here, a bright spot illuminated 
 by truth and there, one darkened and distorted by 
 error ; and the state of such a soul may be compared to 
 a landscape at early dawn, where the sun is seen superbly 
 gilding some objects, and causing others to send forth 
 their lengthened, distorted, and sometimes hideous shad- 
 ows. 
 
 Her mother, as we have already said, talked to her of 
 God. From these conversations, her incipient mind drew 
 the conclusion, that God was ' a great man ; ' greatly su- 
 perior to other men in power ; and being located ' high 
 in the sky,' could see all that transpired on the earth. 
 She believed he not only saw, but noted down all her ac- 
 tions in a great book, even as her master kept a record 
 of whatever he wished not to forget. But she had no 
 idea that God knew a thought of hers till she had uttered 
 it aloud. 
 
 As we have before mentioned, she had ever been mind- 
 ful of her mother's injunctions, spreading out in detail all 
 her troubles before God, imploring and firmly trusting 
 him to send her deliverance from them. Whilst yet a 
 child, she listened to a story of a wounded soldier, left 
 alone in the trail of a flying army, helpless and starving, 
 who hardened the very ground about him with kneeling 
 in his supplications to God for relief, until it arrived. 
 From this narrative, she was deeply impressed with the
 
 6U JNAKRATIVE OF 
 
 idea, that if she also were to present her petitions under 
 the open canopy of heaven, speaking very loud, she 
 should the more readily be heard ; consequently, she 
 sought a fitting spot for this, her rural sanctuary. The 
 place she selected, in which to offer up her daily orisons, 
 was a small island in a small stream, covered with large 
 willow shrubbery, beneath which the sheep had made 
 their pleasant winding paths ; and sheltering themselves 
 from the scorching rays of a noon-tide sun, luxuriated in 
 the cool shadows of the graceful willows, as they listened 
 to the tiny falls of the silver waters. It was a lonely 
 spot, and chosen by her for its beauty, its retirement, and 
 because she thought that there, in the noise of those 
 waters, she could speak louder to God, without being 
 overheard by any who might pass that way. When she 
 had made choice of her sanctum, at a point of the island 
 where the stream met, after having been separated, she 
 improved it by pulling away the branches of the shrubs 
 from the centre, and weaving them together for a wall 
 on the outside, forming a circular arched alcove, made 
 entirely of the graceful willow. To this place she re- 
 sorted daily, and in pressing times much more frequently. 
 
 At this time, her prayers, or, more appropriately, 
 ' talks with God,' were perfectly original and unique, and 
 would be well worth preserving, were it possible to give 
 the tones and manner with the words ; but no adequate 
 idea of them can be written while the tones and manner 
 remain inexpressible. 
 
 She would sometimes repeat, ' Our Father in heaven,' 
 in her Low Dutch, as taught her by her mother , after 
 that, all was from the suggestions of her own rude mind. 
 She related to God, in minute detail, all her troubles and 
 sufferings, inquiring, a c she proceeded, ' Do you think
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 61 
 
 that's right, God ? ' and closed by begging to be delivered 
 from the evil, whatever it might be. 
 
 She talked to God as familiarly as if he had been a 
 creature like herself; and a thousand times more so, than 
 if she had been in the presence of some earthly potentate. 
 She demanded, with little expenditure of reverence or 
 fear, a supply of all her more pressing wants, and at 
 times her demands approached very near to commands. 
 She felt as if God was under obligation to her, much 
 more than she was to him. He seemed to her benighted 
 vision in some manner bound to do her bidding. 
 
 Her heart recoils now, with very dread, when she re 
 calls these shocking, almost blasphemous conversations 
 with the great Jehovah. And well for herself did she 
 deem it, that, unlike earthly potentates, his infinite cha- 
 racter combined the tender father with the omniscient 
 and omnipotent Creator of the universe. 
 
 She at first commenced promising God, that if he would 
 help her out of all her difficulties, she would pay him by 
 being very good ; and this goodness she intended as a re- 
 muneration to God. She could think of no benefit that 
 was to accrue to herself or her fellow-creatures, from her 
 leading a life of purity and generous self-sacrifice for the 
 good of others ; as far as any but God was concerned, 
 she saw nothing in it but heart-trying penance, sustained 
 by the sternest exertion ; and this she soon found much 
 more easily promised than performed. 
 
 Days wore away new trials came God's aid was in- 
 voked, and the same promises repeated ; and every suc- 
 cessive night found her part of the contract unfulfilled. 
 She now began to excuse herself, by telling God she could 
 not be good in her present circumstances ; but if he 
 would give her a new place, and a good master and mis-
 
 62 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 tress, she could and would be good ; and she expressly 
 stipulated, that she would be good one day to show God 
 how good she would be all of the time, when he should 
 surround her with the right influences, and she should be 
 delivered from the temptations that then so sorely beset 
 her. But, alas ! when night came, and she became con- 
 scious that she had yielded to all her temptations, and 
 entirely failed of keeping her word with God, having 
 prayed and promised one hour, and fallen into the sins of 
 anger and profanity the next, the mortifying reflection 
 weighed on her mind, and blunted her enjoyment. Still, 
 she did not lay it deeply to heart, but continued to repeat 
 her demands for aid, and her promises of pay, with full 
 purpose of heart, at each particular time, that that day 
 she would not fail to keep her plighted word. 
 
 Thus perished the inward spark, like a flame just ignit- 
 ing, when one waits to see whether it will burn on or die 
 out, till the long desired change came, and she found her- 
 self in a new place, with a good mistress, and one who 
 never instigated an otherwise kind master to be unkind 
 to her ; in short, a place where she had literally nothing 
 to complain of, and where, for a time, she was more hap- 
 py than she could well express. ' Oh, every thing there 
 was so pleasant, and kind, and good, and all so comforta- 
 ble ; enough of every thing ; indeed, it was beautiful ! ' 
 she exclaimed. 
 
 Here, at Mr. Van Wagener's, as the reader will read- 
 ily perceive she must have been, she was so happy and 
 satisfied, that God was entirely forgotten. Why should 
 her thoughts turn to Him, who was only known to her as 
 a help in trouble ? She had no trouble now ; her every 
 prayer had been answered in every minute particular. 
 She had been delivered fron: her persecutors and temp-
 
 SOJOURXER TRUTH. 63 
 
 tations, her youngest child had been given her, and the 
 others she knew she had no means of sustaining if she had 
 them with her, and was content to leave them behind. 
 Their father, who was much older than Isabel, and who 
 preferred serving his time out in slavery, to the trouble 
 and dangers of the course she pursued, remained with 
 and could keep an eye on them though it is comparatively 
 little that they can do for each other while they remain in 
 slavery ; and this little the slave, like persons in every 
 other situation of life, is not always disposed to perform. 
 There are slaves, who, copying the selfishness of their su- 
 periors in power, in their conduct towards their fellows 
 who may be thrown upon their mercy, by infirmity or 
 illness, allow them to suffer for want of that kindness and 
 care which it is fully in their power to render them. 
 
 The slaves in this country have ever been allowed to 
 celebrate the principal, if not some of the lesser festivals 
 observed by the Catholics and Church of England ; many 
 of them not being required to do the least service for 
 several days, and at Christmas they have almost univer- 
 sally an entire week to themselves, except, perhaps, the 
 attending to a few duties, which are absolutely required 
 for the comfort of the families they belong to. If much 
 service is desired, they are hired to do it, and paid for it 
 as if they were free. The more sober portion of them 
 spend these holidays in earning a little money. Most of 
 them visit and attend parties and balls, and not a few of 
 them spend it in the lowest dissipation. This respite from 
 toil is granted them by all religionists, of whatever per- 
 suasion, and probably originated from the fact that many 
 of the first slaveholders were members of the Church of 
 England. 
 
 Frederick Douglass, who has devoted his great heart
 
 64 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 and noble talents entirely to the furtherance of the cause 
 of his down-trodden race, has said ' From what I know 
 of the effect of their holidays upon the slave, 1 believe 
 them to be among the most effective means, in the hands 
 of the slaveholder, in keeping down the spirit of insur- 
 rection. Were the slaveholders at once to abandon this 
 practice, I have not the slightest doubt it would lead to 
 an immediate insurrection among the slaves. These hol- 
 idays serve as conductors, or safety-valves, to carry off 
 the rebellious spirit of enslaved humanity. But for these, 
 the slave would be forced up to the wildest desperation ; 
 and woe betide the slaveholder, the day he ventures to 
 remove or hinder the operation of those conductors ! I 
 warn him that, in such an event, a spirit will go forth in 
 their midst, more to be dreaded than the most appalling 
 earthquake.' 
 
 When Isabella had been at Mr. Van Wagener's a few 
 months, she saw in prospect one of the festivals approach- 
 ing. She knows it by none but the Dutch name, Pingster, 
 as she calls it but I think it must have been Whit- 
 suntide, in English. She says she ' looked back into Egypt,' 
 and everything looked ' so pleasant there,' as she saw ret- 
 rospectively all her former companions enjoying their 
 freedom for at least a little space, as well as their wonted 
 convivialities, and in her heart she longed to be with them. 
 With this picture before her mind's eye, she contrasted 
 the quiet, peaceful life she was living with the excellent 
 people of Wahkendall, and it seemed so dull and void of 
 incident, that the very contrast served but to heighten her 
 desire to return, that, at least, she might enjoy with them, 
 (Mice more, the coming festivities. These feelings had oc- 
 cupied a secret corner of her breast for some time, when, 
 one morning, she told Mrs. Van Wagener that her old
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 65 
 
 master Dumont would come that day, and that she should 
 go home with him on his return. They expressed some sur- 
 prise, and asked her where she obtained her information. 
 She replied, that no one had told her, but she felt that he 
 would come. 
 
 It seemed to have been one of those ' events that cast 
 their shadows before;' for, before night, Mr. Dumont 
 made his appearance. jShe informed him of her inten- 
 tion to accompany him home. He answered, with a 
 smile, ' I shall not take you back again ; you ran away 
 from me.' Thinking his manner contradicted his words, 
 she did not feel repulsed, but made herself and child 
 ready ; and when her former master had seated himself in 
 the open dearborn, she walked towards it, intending to 
 place herself and child in the rear, and go with him. But, 
 ere she reached the vehicle, she says that God revealed 
 himself to her, with all the suddenness of a flash of light- 
 ning, showing her, 'in the twinkling of an eye, that he was 
 all over"* that he pervaded the universe ' and that there 
 was no place where God was not.' She became instantly 
 conscious of her great sin hi forgetting her almighty 
 Friend and ' ever-present help in time of trouble.' All 
 her unfulfilled promises arose before her, like a vexed sea 
 whose waves run mountains high ; and her soul, which 
 seemed but one mass of lies, shrunk back aghast from 
 the 'awful look' of Him whom she had formerly talked 
 to, as if he had been a being like herself; and she would 
 now fain have hid herself in the bowels of the earth, to 
 have escaped his dread presence. But she plainly saw 
 there was no place, not even in hell, where he was not : 
 and where could she flee ? Another such 'a look,' as she 
 expressed it, and she feli that she must be extinguished 
 5
 
 66 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 forever, even as one, with the breath of his mouth, ' blows 
 out a lamp,' so that no spark remains. 
 
 A dire dread of annihilation now seized her, and she 
 waited to see if, by ' another look,' she was to be stricken 
 from existence, swallowed up, even as the fire licketh up 
 the oil with which it comes in contact. 
 
 When at last the second look came not, and her atten- 
 tion was orfce more called to outward things, she obser- 
 ved her master had left, and exclaiming aloud, ' Oh, God, 
 I did not know you were so big,' walked into the house, 
 and made an effort to resume her work. But the work- 
 ings of the inward man were too absorbing to admit of 
 much attention to her avocations. She desired to talk to 
 God, but her vileness utterly forbade it, and she was not 
 able to prefer a petition. ' What !' said she, ' shall I lie 
 again to God ? I have told him nothing but lies ; and 
 shall I speak again, and tell another lie to God 1 ' She 
 could not ; and now she began to wish for some one to 
 speak to God for her. Then a space seemed opening be- 
 tween her and God, and she felt that if some one, who 
 was worthy in the sight of heaven, would but plead for 
 her in their own name, and not let God know it came 
 from her, who was so unworthy, God might grant it. At 
 length a friend appeared to stand between herself and an 
 insulted Deity ; and she felt as sensibly refreshed as when, 
 on a hot day, an umbrella had been interposed between 
 her scorching head and a burning sun. But who was this 
 friend ? became the next inquiry. Was it Deencia, who 
 had so often befriended her ? She looked at her with hei 
 new power of sight and, lo ! she, too, seemed all ' bruises 
 and putrifying sores,' like herself No, it was some one 
 very different from Deencia.
 
 SOJOUKNER TRUTH. 67 
 
 ' Who are you V she exclaimed, as the vision brightened 
 into a form, distinct, beaming with the beauty of holiness, 
 and radiant with love. She then said, audibly address- 
 ing the mysterious visitant ' I know you, and I don't 
 know you.' Meaning, ' You seem perfectly familiar ; I 
 feel that you not only love me, but that you always have 
 loved me yet I know you not I cannot call you by 
 name.' When she said, ' I know you,' the subject of the 
 vision remained distinct and quiet. When she said, * I 
 don't know you,' it moved restlessly about, like agitated 
 waters. So while she repeated, without intermission, ' I 
 know you, I know you,' that the vision might remain 
 ' Who are you ?' was the cry of her heart, and her whole 
 soul was in one deep prayer that this heavenly personage 
 might be revealed to her, and remain with her. At 
 length, after bending both soul and body with the inten- 
 sity of this desire, till breath and strength seemed failing, 
 and she could maintain her position no longer, an answer 
 came to her, saying distinctly, ' It is Jesus.' ' Yes,' she 
 responded, ' it is Jesus. ,' 
 
 Previous to these exercises of mind, she heard Jesus 
 mentioned in reading or speaking, but had received from 
 what she heard no impression that he was any other than 
 an eminent man, like a Washington or a Lafayette. Now 
 he appeared to her delighted mental vision as so mild, so 
 good, and so every way lovely, and he loved her so much ! 
 And, how strange that he had always loved her, and she 
 had never known it ! And how great a blessing he con- 
 ferred, in that he should stand between her and God ! 
 And God was no longer a terror and a dread to her. 
 
 She stopped not to argue the point, even in her own 
 mind, whether he had reconciled her to God, or God to 
 herself, (though she thinks the former now,) being but
 
 68 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 too happy that God was no longer to her as a consuming 
 fire, and Jesus was ' altogether lovely.' Her heart was 
 now full of joy and gladness, as it had been of terror, 
 and at one time of despair. In the light of her great 
 happiness, the world was clad in new beauty, the very 
 air sparkled as with diamonds, and was redolent of heaven. 
 She contemplated the unapproachable barriers that exist- 
 ed between herself and the great of this world, as the 
 world calls greatness, and made surprising comparisons 
 between them, and the union existing between herself and 
 Jesus, Jesus, the transcendently lovely as well as great 
 and powerful ; for so he appeared to her, though he seem- 
 ed but human ; and she watched for his bodily appearance, 
 feeling that she should know him, if she saw him ; and 
 when he came, she should go and dwell with him, as with 
 a dear friend. 
 
 It was not given her to see that he loved any other ; 
 and she thought if others came to know and love him, as 
 she did, she should be thrust aside and forgotten, being 
 herself but a poor ignorant slave, with little to recom- 
 mend her to his notice. And when she heard him spoken 
 of, she said mentally 'What! others know Jesus! I 
 thought no one knew Jesus but me !' and she felt a sort 
 of jealousy, lest she should be robbed of her newly found 
 treasure. 
 
 She conceived, one day, as she listened to reading, that 
 she heard an intimation that Jesus was married, and has- 
 tily inquired if Jesus had a wife. ' What !' said the read- 
 er, ' God have a wife V ' Is Jesus God ? inquired Isabella. 
 ' Yes, to be sure he is,' was the answer returned. From 
 this time, her conceptions of Jesus became more eleva- 
 ted and spiritual ; and she sometimes spoke of him as 
 God, in accordance with th? teaching she had received.
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 
 
 69 
 
 But when she was simply told, that the Christian world 
 was much divided on the subject of Christ's nature some 
 believing him to be coequal with the Father to be God 
 in and of himself, ' very God, of very God ;' some, that 
 he is the ' well-beloved,' ' only begotten Son of God ;' 
 and others, that he is, or was, rather, but a mere man- 
 she said, ' Of that I only know as I saw. I did not see 
 him to be God ; else, how could he stand between me 
 and God ? I saw him as a friend, standing between me 
 and God, through whom, love flowed as from a fountain.' 
 Now, so far from expressing her views of Christ's char- 
 acter and office in accordance with any system of theolo- 
 gy extant, she says she believes Jesus is the same spirit 
 that was in our first parents, Adam and Eve, in the be- 
 ginning, when they came from the hand of their Creator. 
 When they sinned through disobedience, this pure spirit 
 forsook them, and fled to heaven ; that there it remained, 
 until it returned again in the person of Jesus ; and that, 
 previous to a personal union with him, man is but a 
 brute, possessing only the spirit of an animal. 
 
 She avers that, in her darkest hours, she had no fear of 
 any worse hell than the one she then carried in her bosom ; 
 though it had ever been pictured to her in its deepest 
 colors, and threatened her as a reward for all her misde- 
 meanors. Her vileness and God's holiness and all-per- 
 vading presence, which filled immensity, and threatened 
 her with instant annihilation, composed the burden of her 
 vision of terror. Her faith in prayer is equal to her jaith in 
 theloye of Jesus^/Her language is, 'Let others say what 
 Tey^will 61 the efficacy of prayer, /believe in it, and/ shall 
 pray. Thank God ! Yes, I shall a Iways pray? she exclaims, 
 putting her hands together with the greatest enthusiasm^ 
 
 For some time subsequent to the
 
 70 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 have spoken of, Isabella's prayers partook largely of 
 their former character ; and while, in deep affliction, she 
 labored for the recovery of her son, she prayed with 
 constancy and fervor ; and the following may be taken 
 as a specimen : ' Oh, God, you know how much I am 
 distressed, for I have told you again and again. Now, 
 God, help me get my son. If you were in trouble, as I 
 am, and I could help you, as you can me, think I would n't 
 do it 1 Yes, God, you know I would do it.' ' Oh, God, 
 you know I have no money, but you can make the peo- 
 ple do for me, and you must make the people do for me. 
 I will never give you peace till you do, God.' ' Oh, 
 God, make the people hear me don't let them turn me 
 off, without hearing and helping me.' And she has not a 
 particle of doubt, that God heard her, and especially dis- 
 posed the hearts of thoughtless clerks, eminent lawyers, 
 and grave judges and others between whom and herself 
 there seemed to her almost an infinite remove to listen 
 to her suit with patient and respectful attention, backing 
 it up with all needed aid. The sense of her nothingness, 
 in the eyes of those vith whom . she contended for her 
 ^rights, sometimes fell on her like a heavy weight, which 
 nothing but her unwavering confidence in an arm which 
 she believed to be stronger than all others combined 
 could have raised from her sinking spirit. ' Oh ! how 
 little I did feel,' she repeated, with a powerful emphasis. 
 ' Neither would you wonder, if you could have seen me, 
 in my ignorance and destitution, trotting about the streets, 
 meanly clad, bare-headed, and bare-footed ! Oh, God 
 only could have made such people hear me ; and he did 
 it in answer to my prayers.' And this perfect trust, 
 based on the rock of Deity, was a soul-protecting fortress, 
 which, raising her above the battlements of fear, and
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 71 
 
 shielding her from the machinations of the enemy, im- 
 pelled her onward in the struggle, till the foe was van- 
 quished, and the victory gained. 
 
 We have now seen Isabella, her youngest daughter, 
 and her only son, in possession of, at least, their nomi- 
 nal freedom. It has been said that the freedom of the 
 most free of the colored people of this country is but 
 nominal ; but stinted and limited as it is, at best, it is 
 an immense remove from chattel slavery. This fact is 
 disputed, I know ; but I have no confidence in the honesty 
 of such questionings. If they are made in sincerity, I 
 honor not the judgment that thus decides. 
 
 Her husband, quite advanced in age, and infirm of 
 health, was emancipated, with the balance of the adult 
 slaves of the State, according to law, the following sum- 
 mer, July 4, 1828. 
 
 For a few years after this event, he was able to earn a 
 scanty living, and when he failed to do that, he was de- 
 pendent on the ' world's cold charity,' and died in a poor- 
 house. Isabella had herself and two children to provide for ; 
 her wages were trifling, for at that time the wages of 
 females were at a small advance from nothing ; and she . 
 doubtless had to learn the first elements of economy 
 for what slaves, that were never allowed to make any 
 stipulations or calculations for themselves, ever possess- 
 ed an adequate idea of the true value of time, or, in fact, 
 of any material thing in the universe? To such, 'pru- 
 dent using ' is meanness and ' saving' is a word to be 
 sneered at. Of course, it was not in her power to make 
 to herself a home, around whose sacred hearth- 
 stone she could collect her family, as they gradually 
 emerged from their prison-house of bondage ; a home, 
 where she could cultivate their affection, administer to
 
 72 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 their wants, and instil into the opening minds of her chil- 
 dren those principles of virtue, and that love of purity, 
 truth and benevolence, which must ever form the foun- 
 dation of a life of usefulness and happiness. No all this 
 was far beyond her power or means, in more senses than 
 one; and it should be taken into the account, whenever 
 a comparison is instituted between the progress made 
 by her children in virtue and goodness, and the progress 
 of those who have been nurtured in the genial warmth of 
 a sunny home, where good influences cluster, and bad 
 ones are carefully excluded where ' line upon line, and 
 precept upon precept,' are daily brought to their quoti- 
 dian tasks and where, in short, every appliance is 
 brought in requisition, that self-denying parents can 
 bring to bear on one of the dearest objects of a parent's 
 life, the promotion of the welfare of their children. But 
 God forbid that this suggestion should be wrested from 
 its original intent, and made to shield any one from merit- 
 ed rebuke! Isabella's children are now of an age to know 
 good from evil, and may easily inform themselves on any 
 point where they may yet be in doubt ; and if they now suf- 
 fer themselves to be drawn by temptation into the paths of 
 the destrover. or forget what is due to the mother who 
 has done and suffered so much for them, and who, now 
 that she is descending into the vale of years, and feels 
 her healtn and strength declining, will turn her expects 
 ing eyes to them for aid and comfort, just as instinctively 
 as the child turns its confiding eye to its fond parent, 
 when it seks for suitor or for sympathy (for it is now 
 their turn to do the work, and bear the burdens of life, 
 as all must bear them in turn, as the wheel of life rolls 
 on) if, I sav. they forget this, their duty and their happi- 
 ness, and pursue an opposite course of sin and folly, they
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 73 
 
 must lose the respect of the wise and good, and find, 
 when too late, that ' the way of the transgressor is hard.' 
 
 NEW TRIALS. 
 
 The reader will pardon this passing homily, while we 
 return to our narrative. 
 
 We were saying that the day-dreams of Isabella and her 
 husband the plan they drew of what they would do, and 
 the comforts they thought to have, when they should obtain 
 their freedom, and a little home of their own had all 
 turned to ' thin air,' by the postponement of then* freedom 
 to so late a day. These delusive hopes were never to be 
 realized, and a new set of trials was gradually to open 
 before her. These were the heart- wasting trials of watch- 
 ing over her children, scattered, and imminently exposed 
 to the temptations of the adversary, with few, if any, fixed 
 principles to sustain them. 
 
 ' Oh,' she says, ' how little did I know myself of the best 
 way to instruct and counsel them ! Yet I did the best I 
 then knew, when with them. I took them to the religious 
 meetings ; I talked to, and prayed for and with them ; when 
 they did wrong, I scolded at and whipped them.' 
 
 Isabella and her son had been free about a year, when 
 they went to reside in the city of New York ; a place which 
 she would doubtless have avoided, could she have seen what 
 was there in store for her ; for this view into the future 
 would have taught her what she only learned by bitter ex- 
 perience, that the baneful influences going up from such a 
 city were not the best helps to education, commenced as 
 the education of her children had been. 
 
 Her son Peter was, at the time of which we are speak-
 
 74 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 ing, just at that age whcii no lad should be subjected to 
 the temptations of such a place, unprotected as he was, 
 save by the feeble arm of a mother, herself a servant 
 there. He was growing up to be a tall, well-formed, ac- 
 tive lad, of quick perceptions, mild and cheerful in his dis- 
 position, with much that was open, generous and winning 
 about him, but with little power to withstand temptation, 
 and a ready ingenuity to provide himself with ways and 
 means to carry out his plans, and conceal from his mother 
 and her friends, all such as he knew would not meet their 
 approbation. As will be readily believed, he was soon 
 drawn into a circle of associates who did not improve either 
 his habits or his morals. 
 
 Two years passed before Isabella knew what character 
 Peter was establishing for himself among his low and 
 worthless comrades passing under the assumed name of 
 Peter Williams ; and she began to feel a parent's pride in 
 the promising appearance of her only son. But, alas ! this 
 pride and pleasure were shortly dissipated, as distressing 
 facts relative to him came one by one to her astonished ear. 
 A friend of Isabella's, a lady, who was much pleased with 
 the good humor, ingenuity, and open confessions of Peter, 
 when driven into a corner, and who, she said, 'was so 
 smart, he ought to have an education, if any one ought,' 
 paid ten dollars, as tuition fee, for him to attend a naviga- 
 tion school. But Peter, little inclined to spend his leisure 
 hours in study, when he might be enjoy ing himself in the 
 dance, or otherwise, with his boon companions, went regu- 
 larly and made some plausible excuses to the teacher, who 
 received them as genuine, along with the ten dollars of Mrs. 
 
 , and while his mother and her friend believed him 
 
 improving at school, he was, to their latent sorrow, im- 
 proving in a very different place or places, and on entirely
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 75 
 
 opposite principles. They also procured him an excellent 
 place as a coachman. But, wanting money, he sold his 
 livery, and other things belonging to his master ; who, hav- 
 ing conceived a kind regard for him, considered his youth, 
 and prevented the law from falling, with all its rigor, upon 
 his head. Still he continued to abuse his privileges, and 
 to involve himself in repeated difficulties, from which his 
 mother as often extricated him. At each time, she talked 
 much, and reasoned and remonstrated with him ; and he 
 would, with such perfect frankness, lay open his whole soul 
 to her, telling her he had never intended doing harm, 
 how he had been led along, little by little, till, before he 
 was aware, he found himself in trouble how he had tried 
 to be good and how, when he would have been so, 'evil 
 was present with him,' indeed he knew not how it was. 
 
 His mother, beginning to feel that the city was no place 
 for him, urged his going to sea, and would have shipped 
 him on board a man-of-war ; but Peter was not disposed 
 to consent to that proposition, while the city and its plea 
 sures were accessible to him. Isabella now became a 
 prey to distressing fears, dreading lest the next day or 
 hour come fraught with the report of some dreadful 
 crime, committed or abetted by her son. She thanks the 
 Lord for sparing her that giant sorrow, as all his wrong 
 doings never ranked higher, in the eye of the law, than 
 misdemeanors. But as she could see no improvement in 
 Peter, as a last resort, she resolved to leave him, for a 
 time, unassisted, to bear the penalty of his conduct, ana 
 see what effect that would have on him. In the trial hour, 
 she remained firm in her resolution. Peter again fell into 
 the hands of the police, and sent for his mother, as usual ; 
 but she went not to his relief. In his extremity, he sent 
 for Peter Williams, a respectable colored barber, whos*j
 
 76 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 name he had been wearing, and who sometimes helped 
 young culprits out of their troubles, and sent them from 
 city dangers, by shipping them on board of whaling vessels. 
 
 The curiosity of this man was awakened by the cul- 
 prit's bearing his own name. He went to the Tombs and 
 inquired into his case, but could not believe what Peter 
 told him respecting his mother and family. Yet he re- 
 deemed him, and Peter promised to leave New York in 
 a vessel that was to sail in the course of a week. He 
 went to see his mother, and informed her of what had 
 happened to him. She listened incredulously, as to an 
 idle tale. He asked her to go with him and see for her- 
 self. She went, giving no credence to his story till she 
 found herself in the presence of Mr. Williams, and heard 
 him saying to her, ' I am very glad I have assisted your 
 son ; he stood in great need of sympathy and assistance ; 
 but I could not think he had such a mother here, although 
 he assured me he had.' 
 
 Isabella's great trouble now was, a fear lest her son 
 should deceive his benefactor, and be missing when the 
 vessel sailed ; but he begged her earnestly to trust him, 
 for he said he had resolved to do better, and meant to 
 abide by the resolve. Isabella's heart gave her no peace 
 till the time of sailing, when Peter sent Mr. Williams 
 and another messenger whom she knew, to tell her he 
 had sailed. But for a month afterwards, she looked to 
 see him emerging from some by-place in the city, and 
 appearing before her ; so afraid was she that he was still 
 unfaithful, and doing wrong. But he did not appear, and 
 at length she believed him really gone. He left in the 
 summer of 1839, and his friends heard nothing further 
 from him till his mother received the following letter, 
 dated 'October 17, 1840':
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 77 
 
 Mr DEAR AND BELOVED MOTHER : 
 
 ' I take this opportunity to write to you and inform you 
 that I am well, and in hopes for to find you the same. I 
 am got on board the same unlucky ship Done, of Nan- 
 tucket. I am sorry for to say, that I have been punished 
 once severely, by shoving my head in the fire for other 
 folks. We have had bad luck, but in hopes to have bet- 
 ter. We have about 230 on board, but in hopes, if do n't 
 kave good luck, that my parents will receive me with 
 thanks. I would like to know how my sisters are. Does 
 my cousins live in New York yet ? Have you got my 
 letter ? If not, inquire to Mr. Pierce Whiting's. I wish 
 you would write me an answer as soon as possible. I am 
 your only son, that is so far from your home, in the wide, 
 briny ocean. I have seen more of the world than ever I 
 expected, and if I ever should return home safe, I will tell 
 you all my troubles and hardships. Mother, I hope you 
 do not forget me, your dear and only son. I should like 
 to know how Sophia, and Betsey, and Hannah, come on. 
 J hope you all will forgive me for all that I have done. 
 ' Your son, PETER VAN WAGENER.' 
 
 Another letter reads as follows, dated 'March 22, 
 1841': 
 
 * MY DEAR MOTHER : 
 
 ' I take this opportunity to write to you, and inform 
 you that I have been well and in good health. I have 
 wrote you a letter before, but have received no answer 
 from you, and was very anxious to see you. I hope to 
 see you in a short time. I have had very hard luck, but 
 are in hopes to have better in time to come. I should
 
 78 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 like if my sisters are well, and all the people round the 
 neighborhood. I expect to be home in twenty-two 
 months or thereabouts. I have seen Samuel Laterett. 
 Beware ! There has happened very bad news to tell 
 you. that Peter Jackson is dead. He died within two 
 days' sail of Otaheite, one of the Society Islands. The 
 Peter Jackson that used to live at Laterett's ; he died on 
 board the ship Done, of Nantucket, Captain Miller, in the 
 latitude 15 53, and longitude 148 30 W. I have no more 
 to say at present, but write as soon as possible. 
 'Your only son, 
 
 'PETER VAN WAGENER.' 
 
 Another, containing the last intelligence she has had 
 from her son, reads as follows, and was dated ' Sept. 19, 
 1841 ' : 
 
 ' DEAR MOTHER : 
 
 ' 1 t$ke this opportunity to write to you and inform 
 you that I am well and in good health, and in hopes to 
 find you in the same. This is the fifth letter that I have 
 wrote to you, and have received no answer, and it makes 
 me very uneasy. So pray write as quick as you can, and 
 tell me how all the people is about the neighborhood. 
 We are out from home twenty-three months, and in 
 hopes to be home in fifteen months. I have not much to 
 say ; but tell me if you have been up home since I left 
 or not. I want to know what sort of a time is at home. 
 We had very bad luck when we first came out, but since 
 we have had very good ; so I am in hopes to do well yet ; 
 but if I do n't do well, you need not expect me home these 
 five years. So write as quick as you can, won't you 1 So 
 now I am going to put an end to my writing, at present.
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 79 
 
 Notice when thi yon see, remember me, and place me 
 in your mind. 
 
 Get me to my nome, that's in the far distant west, 
 To the scenes of my childhood, that I like the best ; 
 There the tall cedars grow, and the bright waters flow, 
 Where my parents will greet me, white man, let me go I 
 
 Let me go to the spot where the cateract plays, 
 Where oft I have sported in my boyish days ; 
 And there is my poor mother, whose heart ever flows, 
 At the sight of her poor child, to her let me go, let me go! 
 
 ' Your only son, 
 
 'PETER VAN WAGENER.' 
 
 Since the date of the last letter, Isabella has heard no 
 tidings from her long-absent son, though ardently does 
 her mother's heart long for such tidings, as hw thoughts 
 follow him around the world, in his perilous vocation, 
 saying within herself ' He is good now, I have no doubt ; 
 I feel sure that he has persevered, and kept the resolve 
 he made before he left home ; he seemed so different 
 before he went, so determined to do better.' His letters 
 are inserted here for preservation, in case they prove the 
 last she ever hears from him in this world. 
 
 FINDING A BROTHER AND SISTER. 
 
 When Isabella had obtained the freedom of her son, 
 she remained in Kingston, where she had been drawn by 
 the judicial process, about a year, during which time she 
 became a member of the Methodist Church there : and 
 when she went to New York, she took a letter missive 
 from that church to the Methodist Church in John street
 
 80 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 Afterwards, she withdrew her connection with that church, 
 and joined Zioir's Church, in Church street, composed 
 entirely of colored people. With the latter church she 
 remained until she went to reside with Mr. Pierson, 
 after which, she was gradually drawn into the ' kingdom' 
 set up by the prophet Matthias, in the name of God the 
 Father; for he said tne spirit of God the Father dwelt 
 in him. 
 
 While Isabella was in New York, her sister Sophia 
 came from Newburg to reside in the former place. Isabel 
 had been favored with occasional interviews \^th this 
 sister, although at one time she lost sight of her for the 
 space of seventeen years almost the entire period of 
 of her being at Mr. Dumont's and when she appeared 
 before her again, handsomely dressed, she did not recog 
 nize her, till informed who she was. Sophia informed 
 her that her brother Michael a brother she had never 
 seen was in the city ; and when she introduced him to 
 Isabella, he informed her that their sister Nancy had been 
 living in the city, and had deceased a few months before. 
 He described her features, her dress, her manner, and 
 said she had for some time been a member in Zion's 
 Church, naming the class she belonged to. Isabella 
 almost instantly recognized her as a sister in the church, 
 with whom she had Knelt at the altar, and with whom 
 she had exchanged the speaking pressure of the hand, in 
 recognition of their spiritual sisterhood ; little thinking, 
 at the time, that they were also children of the same 
 earthly parents even Bomefree and Mau-mau Bett. As 
 inquiries and answers rapidly passed, and the conviction 
 deepened that this was their sister, the very sister they 
 had heard so much of, but had never seen, (for she was 
 the self-same sister that had been locked in the great old
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 81 
 
 fashioned sleigh-box, when she was taken away, never to 
 behold her mother's face again this side the spirit-land, 
 and Michael, the narrator, was the brother who had 
 
 shared her fate,) Isabella thought, ' D h ! here she 
 
 was ; we met ; and was I not, at the time, struck with 
 the peculiar feeling of her hand the bony hardness so 
 just like mine 1 and yet I could not know she was my 
 sister ; and now I see she looked so like my mother ' ' 
 And Isabella wept, and not alone ; Sophia wept, and the 
 strong man, Michael, mingled his tears with theirs. ' Oh 
 Lord,' inquired Isabella, ' what is this slavery, that it can 
 do such dreadful things 1 what evil can it not do 1 ' Well 
 may she ask ; for surely the evils it can and does do, 
 daily and hourly, can never be summed up, till we can see 
 them as they are recorded by him who writes no errors, 
 and reckons without mistake. This account, which now 
 varies so widely in the estimate of different minds, will 
 be viewed alike by all. 
 
 Think you, dear reader, when that day comes, the most 
 ' rabid abolitionist ' will say ' Behold, I saw all this whiU 
 on the earth 1 ' Will he not rather say, ' Oh, who has 
 conceived the breadth and depth of this moral malaria, 
 this putrescent plague-spot 1 ' Perhaps the pioneers in 
 the slave's cause will be as much surprised as any to find 
 that with all their looking, there remained so much 
 unseen. 
 
 GLEANINGS. v^ 
 
 There are some hard things that crossed Isabella's life 
 while in slavery, that she has no desire to publish, for va- 
 rious reasons. First, because the parties from whose 
 hands she suffered them have rendered up their account 
 6
 
 82 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 to a higher trib mal, and their innocent friends alone are 
 living, to have their feelings injured by the recital ; sec- 
 ondly, because they are not all for the public ear, from 
 their very nature ; thirdly, and not least, because, she 
 says, were she to tell all that happened to her as a slave 
 all that she knows is 'God's truth' it would seem to 
 others, especially the uninitiated, so unaccountable, so un- 
 reasonable, and what is usually called so unnatural, 
 (though it may be questioned whether people do not 
 always act naturally,) they would not easily believe it. 
 ' Why, no !' she says, 'they'd call me a liar ! they would, 
 indeed ! and I do not wish to say anything to destroy my 
 own character for veracity, though what I say is strictly 
 true.' Some things have been omitted through forget- 
 fulness, which not having been mentioned in their places, 
 can only be briefly spoken of here ; such as, that her 
 father Bomefree had had two wives before he took Mau 
 man Bett ; one of whom, if not both, were torn from him 
 by the iron hand of the ruthless trafficker in human flesh ; 
 that her husband, Thomas, after one of his wives had 
 been sold away from him, ran away to New York City, 
 where he remained a year or two, before he was dis- 
 covered and taken back to the prison-house of slavery ; 
 that her master Dumont, when he promised Isabella 
 one year of her time, before the State should make her 
 free, made the same promise to her husband, and in ad- 
 dition to freedom, they were promised a log cabin foi a 
 home of their own ; all of which, with the one-thousand- 
 and-one day-dreams resulting therefrom, went into the re- 
 pository of unf ilfilled promises and unrealized hopes ; 
 that she had often heard her father repeat a thrilling 
 story of a little slave-child, which, because it annoyed 
 the family with its cries, was caught up by a white man.
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 83 
 
 who dashed its brains out against the wall. An Indian 
 (for Indians were plenty in that region then) passed along 
 as the bereaved mother washed the bloody corpse of her 
 murdered child, and learning the cause of its death, said, 
 with characteristic vehemence, 'If I had been here, I 
 would have put my tomahawk in his head ! ' meaning the 
 murderer's. 
 
 Of the cruelty of one Hasbrouck. He had a sick slave- 
 woman, who was lingering with a slow consumption, 
 whom he made to spin, regardless of her weakness and 
 suffering ; and this woman had a child, that was unable to 
 walk or talk, at the age of five years, neither could it cry 
 like other children, but made a constant, piteous, moan- 
 ing sound. This exhibition of helplessness and imbecil- 
 ity, instead of exciting the master's pity, stung his cupid- 
 ity, and so enraged him, that he would kick the poor 
 thing about like a foot-ball. 
 
 Isabella's informant had seen this brute of a man, when 
 the child was curled up under a chair, innocently amusing 
 itself with a few sticks, drag it thence, that he might have 
 the pleasure of tormenting it. She had seen him, with one 
 blow of his foot, send it rolling quite across the room, and 
 down the steps at the door. Oh, how she wished it might 
 instantly die ! ' But,' she said, ' it seemed as tough as a 
 moccasin.' Though it did die at last, and made glad the 
 heart of its friends ; and its persecutor, no doubt, rejoiced 
 with them, but from very different motives. But the day 
 of his retribution was not far off for he sickened, and his 
 reason fled. It was fearful to hear his old slave soon tell 
 how, in the day of his calamity, she treated him. 
 
 She was very strong, and was therefore selected to sup- 
 port her master, as he sat up in bed, by putting her arms 
 around, while she stood behind him. It was then that she
 
 84 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 did her best to wreak her vengeance on him. She would 
 clutch his feeble frame in her iron grasp, as in a vice; 
 and, when her mistress did not see, would give him a 
 squeeze, a shake, and lifting him up, set him down again, 
 as hard as possible. If his breathing betrayed too tight a 
 grasp, and her mistress said7~*"Be careful, don't hurt him, 
 Soan !' her ever-ready answer was, ' Oh no, Missus, no,' 
 in her most pleasant tone and then, as soon as Missus's 
 eyes and ears were engaged away, another grasp another 
 shake another bounce. She was afraid the disease alone 
 would let him recover, ah event she dreaded more than 
 to do wrong herself. Isabella asked her, if she were not 
 afraid his spirit would haunt her. ' Oh, no,' says Soan ; 
 ' he was so wicked, the devil will never let him out of hell 
 long enough for that.' 
 
 Many slaveholders boast of the love of their slaves. 
 How would it freeze the blood of some of them to know 
 what kind of love rankles in the bosoms of slaves for 
 them ! Witness the attempt to poison Mrs. Calhoun, and 
 hundreds of similar cases. Most ' surprising ' to every 
 body, because committed by slaves supposed to be so 
 grateful for their chains. 
 
 These reflections bring to mind a discussion on this 
 point, between the writer and a slaveholding friend in 
 Kentucky, on Christmas morning, 1846. We had as- 
 serted, that until mankind were far in advance of what 
 they now are, irresponsible power over our fellow-beings 
 would be, as it is, abused. Our friend declared it his 
 conviction, that the cruelties of slavery existed chiefly hi 
 
 imagination, and that no person in D County, where we 
 
 then were, but would be above ill-treating a helpless slave. 
 We answered, that if his belief was well-founded, the peo- 
 ple in Kentucky were greatlv in advance of the people of
 
 SOJOURN ER TRUTH. 85 
 
 New England for we would not dare say as much as 
 that of any school-district there, letting alone counties. 
 No, we would not answer for our own conduct even on so 
 delicate a point. 
 
 The next evening, he very magnanimously overthrew 
 his own position and established ours, by informing us 
 that, on the morning previous, and as near as we could 
 learn, at the very hour in which we were earnestly dis- 
 cussing the probabilities of the case, a young woman of 
 fine appearance, and high standing in society, the pride of 
 her husband, and the mother of an infant daughter, only 
 
 a few miles from us, ay, in D County, too, was 
 
 actually beating in the skull of a slave-woman called 
 Tabby ; and not content with that, had her tied up and 
 whipped, after her skull was broken, and she died hanging 
 to the bedstead, to which she had been fastened. When 
 informed that Tabby was dead, she answered, ' I am glad 
 of it, for she has worried my life out of me.' But Tab- 
 by's highest good was probably not the end proposed by 
 
 Mrs. M , for no one supposed she meant to kill her. 
 
 Tabby was considered quite lacking in good sense, and no 
 doubt belonged to that class at the South, that are silly 
 enough to 'die of moderate correction.' 
 
 A mob collected around the house for an hour or two, 
 in that manner expressing a momentary indignation. But 
 was she treated as a murderess ? Not at all ! She was 
 allowed to take boat (for her residence was near the beau- 
 tiful Ohio) that evening, to spend a few months with her 
 absent friends, after which she returned and remained 
 with her husband, no one to 'molest or make her afraid.' 
 
 Had she been left to the punishment of an outraged con- 
 science from right motives, I would have ' rejoiced with 
 exceeding joy.' But to see the life of one woman, and she
 
 86 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 a murderess, put in the balance against the lives of three 
 millions of innocent slaves, and to contrast her punish- 
 ment with what I felt would be the punishment of one 
 who was merely suspected of being an equal friend of all 
 mankind, regardless of color or condition, caused my 
 blood to stir within me, and my heart to sicken at the 
 
 thought. The husband of Mrs. M was absent from 
 
 home, at the time alluded to ; and when he arrived, some 
 weeks afterwards, bringing beautiful presents to his cher- 
 ished companion, he beheld his once happy home deserted, 
 Tabby murdered and buried in the garden, and the wife 
 of his bosom, and the mother of his child, the doer of the 
 dreadful deed, a murderess ! 
 
 When Isabella went to New .York city, she went in 
 company with a Miss Grear, who introduced her to the 
 family of Mr. James Latourette, a wealthy merchant, and 
 a Methodist in religion ; but who, the latter part of his 
 life, felt that he had outgrown ordinances, and advocated 
 free meetings, holding them at his own dwelling-house for 
 several years previous to his death. She worked for 
 them, and they generously gave her a home while she 
 labored for others, and in their kindness made her as one 
 of their own. 
 
 At that time, the 'moral reform' movement was 
 awakening the attention of the benevolent in that city. 
 Many women, among whom were Mrs. Latourette and 
 Miss Grear, became deeply interested in making an at- 
 tempt to reform their fallen sisters, even the most de- 
 graded of them ; and in this enterprise of labor and dan- 
 ger, they enlisted Isabella and others, who for a time put 
 forth their most zealous efforts, and performed the work 
 of missionaries with much apparent success. Isabella 
 accompanied those ladies to the most wretched abodes of
 
 SOJOUKNEE TRUTH. 87 
 
 vice and misery, and sometimes she went where they 
 dared not follow. They even succeeded hi eatablishing 
 prayer-meetings in several places, where such a thing 
 might least have been expected. 
 
 But these meetings soon became the most noisy, shouting, 
 ranting, and boisterous of gatherings; where they became 
 delirious with excitement, and then exhausted from over- 
 action. Such meetings Isabel had not much sympathy 
 with, at best. But one evening she attended one of them, 
 where the members of it, in a fit of ecstasy, jumped upon 
 her cloak in such a manner as to drag her to the floor 
 and then, thinking she had fallen in a spiritual trance, they 
 increased their glorifications on her account, jumping, 
 shouting, stamping, and clapping of hands ; rejoicing so 
 much over her spirit, and so entirely overlooking her body, 
 that she suffered much, both from fear and bruises ; and 
 ever after refused to attend any more such meetings, doubt- 
 ing much whether God had any thing to do with such 
 worship. 
 
 THE MATTHIAS DELUSION. 
 
 We now come to an eventful period in the life of Isa- 
 bella, as identified with one of the most extraordinary re- 
 ligious delusions of modern times; but the limits pre- 
 scribed for the present work forbid a minute narration of 
 all the occurrences that transpired in relation to it. 
 
 After sjie had^ joined the African Church in Church 
 street, and during her membership there, she frequently 
 attended Mr. Latourette's meetings, at one of which, Mr. 
 Smith invited her to go to a prayer-meeting, or to instruct 
 the girls at the Magdalene Asylum, Bowery Hill, then un- 
 der the protection of Mr. Pierson, and some other persons,
 
 88 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 chiefly respectable females. To reach the Asylum, Isa- 
 bella called on Katy, Mr. Pierson's colored servant, of 
 whom she had some knowledge. Mr. Pierson saw her 
 there, conversed with her, asked her if she had been bap- 
 tized, and was answered, characteristically, ' by the Holy 
 Ghost.' After this, Isabella saw Katy several times, and 
 occasionally Mr. Pierson, who engaged her to keep his 
 house while Katy went to Virginia to see her children. 
 This engagement was considered an answer to prayer by 
 Mr. Pierson, who had both fasted and prayed on the sub- 
 ject, while Katy and Isabella appeared to see in it the 
 hand of God. 
 
 Mr. Pierson was characterized by a strong devotional 
 spirit, which finally became highly fanatical. He assumed 
 the title of Prophet, asserting that God had called him in 
 an omnibus, in these words : ' Thou art Elijah, the Tish- 
 bite. Gather unto me all the members of Israel at the 
 foot of Mount Carmel' ; which he understood as meaning 
 the gathering of his friends at Bowery Hill. Not long 
 afterward, he became acquainted with the notorious Mat- 
 thias, whose career was as extraordinary as it was brief. 
 Robert. Matthews, or Matthias, (as he was usually called,) 
 was of Scotch extraction, but a native of Washington 
 county, New York, and at that time about forty-seven yean 
 of age. He was religiously brought up, among the Anti- 
 Burghers, a sect of Presbyterians ; the clergyman, the Rev. 
 Mr. Bevridge, visiting the family after the manner of the 
 church, and being pleased with Robert, put his hand on 
 his head, when a boy, and pronounced a blessing, and this 
 blessing, with his natural qualities, determined his charac 
 ter ; for he ever after thought he should be a distinguished 
 man. Matthias was brought up a farmer till nearly eigh- 
 teen years of age, but acquired indirectly the art of a car-
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 89 
 
 penter, without any regular apprenticeship, and showed 
 considerable mechanical skill. He obtained property from 
 his uncle, Robert Thompson, and then he went into busi- 
 ness as a store-keeper, was considered respectable, and 
 became a member of the Scotch Presbyterian Church. He 
 married in 1813, and continued in business in Cambridge. 
 In 1816, he ruined himself by a building speculation, and 
 the derangement of the currency which denied bank facili- 
 ties, and soon after he came to New York with his family, 
 and worked at his trade. He afterwards removed to Al- 
 bany, and became a hearer at the Dutch Reformed Church, 
 then under Dr. Ludlow's charge. Hs was frequently much 
 excited on religious subjects. V 
 
 In 1829, he was well known, if not for street preaching, 
 for~"Ioud discussions ~~sHcT pavement exhortations, but he 
 did not make set sermons. In the beginning of 1830, he 
 was only considered zealous ; but in the same year he 
 prophesied the destruction of the Albanians and their 
 capital, and while preparing to shave, with the Bible be- 
 fore him, he suddenly put down the soap and exclaimed, 
 ' I have found it ! I have found a text which proves that 
 "no man wh.0 .5havjea__his_beard can be a true Christian ;' 
 and shortly afterwards, without shaving, he went to the 
 Mission House to deliver an address which he had prom- 
 ised, and in this address he proclaimed his new character, 
 pronounced vengeance on the land, and that the law of 
 God was the only rule of government, and that he was 
 commanded to take possession of the world in the name 
 of the King of kings. His harangue was cut short by the 
 trustees putting out the lights. About this time, Mat- 
 thias laid by his implements of industry, and in June, he 
 advised his wife to fly with him from the destruction 
 which awaited them in the city ; and on her refusal,
 
 90 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 partly on account of Matthias calling himself a Jew, 
 whom she was unwilling to retain as a husband, he left 
 her, taking some of the children to his sister in Argyle> 
 forty miles from Albany. At Argyle he entered the 
 church and interrupted the minister, declaring the con- 
 gregation in darkness, and warning them to repentance. 
 He was, of course, taken out of the church, and as he was 
 advertised in the Albany papers, he was sent back to his 
 family. His beard had now obtained a respectable 
 length, and thus he attracted attention, and easily ob- 
 tained an audience in the streets. For this he was some- 
 times arrested, once by mistake for Adam Patne, who 
 collected the crowd, and then left Matthias with it on the 
 approach of the officers. He repeatedly urged his wife 
 to accompany him on a mission to convert the world, de- 
 claring that food could be obtained from the roots of the 
 forest, if not administered otherwise. At this time he 
 assumed the name of Matthias, called himself a Jew, and 
 set out ofTaTnissrofi, taking a western course, anct visit- 
 ing a brother at Rochester, a skilful mechanic, since dead. 
 Leaving his brother, he proceeded on his mission over 
 the Northern States, occasionally returning to Albany. 
 
 After visiting Washington, and passing through Penn- 
 sylvania, he came to New York. His appearance at that 
 time was mean, but grotesque, and his sentiments were 
 but little known. 
 
 On May the 5th, 1832, he first called on Mr. Pierson, 
 in Fourth street, in his absence. Isabella was alone in 
 the house, in which she had lived since the p~revlousau- 
 tumn. On opening the door, she, for the first time, be- 
 held ^Matthias, and hp.r early imprp-smnn^nf^sfiRi'mr Jesus 
 in the flesh rushed into her mind. She heard his inquiry, 
 and invited him into the parlor ; and being naturally cu-
 
 SOJOURXER TRUTH. 91 
 
 rious, and much excited, and possessing a good deal of 
 tact, she drew him into conversation, stated her own 
 opinions, and heard his replies and explanations. Her 
 faith was at first staggered by his declaring himself a 
 Jew ; but on this point she was relieved by his saying, 
 ' Do you not remember how Jesus prayed 1 ' and re- 
 peated part of the Lord's prayer, in proof that the 
 Father's kingdom was to come, and not the Son's. She 
 then understood him to be a converted Jew, and in the 
 conclusion she says she 'felt as if God had sent him to 
 set up the kingdom.' Thus Matthias at once secured the 
 good will of Isabella, and we may suppose obtained from 
 her some information in relation to Mr. Pierson, espe- 
 cially that Mrs. Pierson declared there was no true 
 church, and approved of Mr. Pierson's preaching. Mat- 
 thias left the house, promising to return on Saturday 
 evening. Mr. P. at this time had not seen Matthias. 
 
 Isabella, desirous of hearing the expected conversation 
 between Matthias and Mr. Pierson on Saturday, hurried 
 her work, got it finished, and was permitted to be present. 
 Indeed, the sameness of belief made her familiar with 
 her employer, while her attention to her work, and cha- 
 racteristic faithfulness, increased his confidence. This in- 
 timacy, the result of holding the same faith, and the 
 principle afterwards adopted of having but one table, and 
 all things hi common, made her at once the domestic and 
 the equal, and the depositary of very curious, if not valua 
 ble information. To this object, even her color assisted. 
 Persons who have travelled in the South know the man- 
 ner in which the colored people, and especially slaves, 
 are treated^ they are scarcely regarded as being present.""" 
 This i traitTin otTi' Amui'lum eluiacLei lias been frequently 
 noticed by foreign travellers. One English lady remarks
 
 92 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 that she discovered, in course of conversation with a 
 Southern married gentleman, that a colored girl slept in 
 his bedroom, in which also was his wife ; and when he 
 saw that it occasioned some surprise, he remarked, 
 ' What would he do if he wanted a glass of water in the 
 night ] ' Other travellers have remarked that the presence 
 of colored people never seemed to interrupt conversation 
 of any kind for one moment. Isabella, then, was present 
 at the first interview between Matthias and Pierson. At 
 this interview, Mr. Pierson asked Matthias if he had a 
 family, to which he replied in the affirmative ; he asked 
 him about his beard, and he gave a scriptural reason, as- 
 serting also that the Jews did not shave, and that Adam 
 had a beard. Mr. Pierson detailed to Matthias his ex- 
 perience, and Matthias gave his, and they mutually dis- 
 covered that they held the same sentiments, both admit- 
 ting the direct influence of the Spirit, and the transmission 
 of spirits from one body to another. Matthias admitted 
 the call of Mr. Pierson, in the omnibus in Wall street, 
 which, on this occasion, he gave in these words : ' Thou 
 art Elijah the Tishbite, and thou shalt go before me in 
 the spirit and power of Elias, to prepare my way before 
 me.' And Mr. Pierson admitted Matthias' call, who 
 completed his declaration on the 20th of June, in Argyle, 
 which, by a curious coincidence, was the very day on 
 which Pierson had received his call in the omnibus. 
 Such singular coincidences have a powerful effect on ex- 
 cited minds. From that discovery, Pierson and Matthias^ 
 rejoiced in each other, and became kindred spirits Mat- 
 thias, however, claiming to be the Father ? orto possess 
 the spirit of the Father he was Gfod upon earthTbecause 
 
 the spirit of" God dwelt in him ; while Pierson then un- 
 derstood that his mission was like that of John the Bap-
 
 SOJOUENER TRUTH. 93 
 
 tist, which the name Elias meant. This conference ended 
 with an invitation to supper, and Matthias and Pierson 
 washing each other's feet. Mr. Pierson preached on the 
 following Sunday, but after which, he declined in favor of 
 Matthias, and some of the party believed that the 'king- 
 dom had then come.' 
 
 As a specimen of Matthias' preaching and sentiments, 
 the following is said to be reliable : 
 
 ' The spirit that built the Tower of Babel is now in the 
 world it is the spirit of the devil. The spirit of man 
 never goes upon the clouds ; all who think so are Babylo- 
 nians. The only heaven is on the earth. All who a-re 
 ignorant of truth are Ninevites. The Jews did not cru- 
 cify Christ it was the Gentiles. Every Jew has his 
 guardian angel attending him in this world. God don't 
 speak through preachers ; he speaks through me, his 
 prophet. 
 
 '"John the Baptist," (addressing Mr. Pierson,) "read 
 the tenth chapter of Revelations." After the reading of 
 the chapter, the prophet resumed speaking, as follows : 
 
 ' Ours is the mustard-seed kingdom which is to spread 
 all over the earth. Our creed is truth, and no man can 
 find truth unless he obeys John the Baptist, and comes 
 clean into the church. 
 
 ' All real men will be saved ; all mock men will be 
 damned. When a person has the Holy Ghost, then he is 
 a man, and not till then. They who teach women are of 
 the wicked. The communion is all nonsense; so is 
 prayer. Eating a nip of bread and drinking a little wine 
 won't do any good. All who admit members into their 
 church, and suffer them to hold their lands and houses, 
 their sentence is, " Depart, ye wicked, I know you not." 
 All females who lecture their husbands, their sentence is
 
 94 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 the same. The sons of truth are to enjoy all the good 
 things of this world, and must use their means to bring 
 it about. Every thing that has the smell of woman will 
 be destroyed. Woman is the capsheaf of the abomina- 
 tion of desolation full of all deviltry. In a short time, 
 the world will take fire and dissolve ; it is combustible 
 already. All women, not obedient, had better become 
 so as soon as possible, and let the wicked spirit depart, 
 and become temples of truth. Praying is all mocking. 
 When you see any one wring the neck of a fowl, instead 
 of cutting off its head, he has not got the Holy Ghost. 
 (Cutting gives the least pain.) 
 
 'All who eat swine's flesh are of the devil ; and just as 
 certain as he eats it, he will tell a lie in less than half an 
 hour. If you eat a piece of pork, it will go crooked 
 through you, and the Holy Ghost will not stay in you, 
 but one or the other must leave the house pretty soon. 
 The pork will be as crooked in you as rams' horns, and 
 as great a nuisance as the hogs in the street. 
 
 ' The cholera is not the right word ; it is choler, which 
 means God's wrath. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are now 
 in this world ; they did not go up in the clouds, as some 
 believe why should they go there 1 They don't want to 
 go there to box the compass from one place to another. 
 The Christians now-a-days are for setting up the Son's 
 kingdom. It is not his ; it is the Father's kingdom. It 
 puts me in mind of the man in the country, who took his 
 son in business, and had his sign made, " Hitchcock & 
 Son ;" but the son wanted it " Hitchcock & Father " and 
 that is the way with your Christians. They talk of the 
 Son's kingdom first, and not the Father's kingdom.' 
 
 Matthias and his disciples at this time did not believe 
 in a resurrection of the body, but that the spirits of the
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 95 
 
 former saints would enter the bodies of the present gen- 
 eration, and thus begin heaven upon earth, of which he and 
 Mr. Pierson were the first fruits. 
 
 Matthias made the residence of Mr. Pierson his own ; 
 but the latter, being apprehensive of popular violence in 
 his house, if Matthias remained there, proposed a monthly 
 allowance to him, and advised him to occupy another 
 dwelling. Matthias accordingly took a house in Clark- 
 son street, and then sent for his family at Albany, but 
 they declined coming to the city. However, his bro- 
 ther George complied with a similar offer, bringing his 
 family with him, where they found very comfortable 
 quarters. Isabella was employed to do the housework. 
 In May, 1833, Matthias left his house, and placed the fur- 
 niture, part of which was Isabella's, elsewhere, living him- 
 self at the hotel corner of Marketfield and West streets. 
 Isabella found employment at Mr. Whiting's, Canal 
 street, and did the washing for Matthias by Mrs. Whit- 
 ing's permission. 
 
 Of the subsequent removal of Matthias to the farm and 
 residence of Mr. B. Folger, at Sing Sing, where he was 
 joined by Mr. Pierson, and others laboring under a simi- 
 lar religious delusion the sudden, melancholy and 
 somewhat suspicious death of Mr. Pierson, and the arrest 
 of Matthias on the charge of his murder, ending in a 
 verdict of not guilty the criminal connection that sub- 
 sisted between Matthias, Mrs. Folger, and other mem- 
 bes of the ' Kingdom,' as ' match-spirits ' the final dis- 
 person of this deluded company, and the voluntary 
 exilement of Matthias hi the far West, after his release 
 &c. &c., we do not deem it useful or necessary to give 
 any particulars. Those who are curious to know what 
 there transpired are referred to a work published in New
 
 96 NAxlKATIVlfi OF 
 
 York in 1835, entitled ' Fanaticism ; its Sources and In- 
 fluence ; illustrated by the simple Narrative of Isabella, 
 in the case of Matthias, Mr. and Mrs. B. Folger, Mr. 
 Pierson, Mr. Mills, Catharine, Isabella, &c. &c. By 
 G. Vale, 84 Eoosevelt street.' Suffice it to say, that 
 while Isabella was a member of the household at Sing 
 Sing, doing much laborious service in the spirit of religi- 
 ous disinterestedness, and gradually getting her vision 
 purged and her mind cured of its illusions, she happily 
 escaped the contamination that surrounded her, assid 
 uously endeavoring to discharge all her duties hi a be- 
 coming manner. 
 
 FASTING. 
 
 When Isabella resided with Mr: Pierson, he was in the 
 habit of fasting every Friday ; not eating or drinking 
 anything from Thursday evening to six o'clock on Friday 
 evening. 
 
 Then, again, he would fast two nights and three days, 
 neither eating nor drinking ; refusing himself even a cup 
 of cold water till the third day at night, when he took 
 supper again, as usual. 
 
 Isabella asked him why he fasted. He answered, that 
 fasting gave him great light in the things of God; which 
 Answer gave birth to ^he following train of thought in 
 The mincTof his auditor : 'Well, if tasting will give light 
 inwardly and spiritually, I need it as much as any body, 
 and HI fast too. If Mr. Pierson needs to fast two 
 nights and three days, then I, who need light more than 
 he does, ought to fast more, and I will fast three nights 
 and three days. ' 
 
 This resolution she carried out to the letter, putting
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 97 
 
 not so much as a drop of water in her mouth for 
 three whole days and nights. The fourth morning, as she 
 arose to her feet, not having power to stand, she fell to 
 the floor; but recovering herself sufficiently7~she made 
 HeT"way~to iKe "pantry, and feeling herself quite voracious, 
 and fearing that she might now offend God by her vora- 
 city, compelled_herself to breakfast on dry bread and water 
 eating a large six-penny loaf before she felt at all stay- 
 ed or satisfied. She says she did get light, but it was all 
 in her body and none in her mind and this lightness of 
 body lasted a long time. Oh ! she was so light, and felt so 
 well, she could ' skim around like a gull. ' 
 
 THE CAUSE OF HER LEAVING THE CITY. 
 
 The first years spent by Isabella in the city, she accu- 
 mulated more than enough to supply all her wants, and 
 she placed all the overplus in the Savings' Bank. After- 
 wards, while living with Mr. Pierson, he prevailed on her 
 to take it thence, and invest it in a common fund which 
 he was about establishing, as a fund to be drawn from by 
 all the faithful; the faithful, of course, were the handful 
 that should subscribe to his peculiar creed. This fund, 
 commenced by Mr. Pierson, afterwards became part and 
 parcel of the kingdom of which Matthias assumed to be 
 head ; and at the breaking up of the kingdom, her little 
 property was merged in the general ruin or went to en- 
 rich those who profited by the loss of others, if any such 
 there were. Mr. Pierson and others had so assured her, 
 that the fund would supply all her wants, at all times, 
 and in all emergencies, and to the end of life, that she 
 became perfectly careless on the subject asking for no 
 interest when she drew her money from the bank, and 
 7
 
 98 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 taking no account of the sum she placed in the fund. 
 She recovered a few articles of furniture from the "wreck 
 of the kingdom, and received a small sum of money 
 from Mr. B. Folger, as the price of Mrs. Folger's attempt 
 to convict her of murder. With this to start upon, she 
 commenced anew her labors, in the hope of yet being 
 able to accumulate a sufficiency to make a little home 
 for herself, in her advancing age. With this stimulus 
 before her, she toiled hard, working early and late, doing 
 a great deal for a little money, and turning her hand to 
 almost any thing that promised good pay. Still, she did 
 not prosper ; and somehow, could not contrive to lay by 
 a single dollar for a ' rainy day.' 
 
 When this had been the state of her affairs some time, 
 she suddenly paused, and taking a retrospective view of 
 what had passed, inquired within herself, why it was that, 
 for all her unwearied labors, she had nothing to show ; 
 why it was that others, with much less care and labor, 
 could hoard up treasures for themselves and children ? 
 She became more and more convinced, as she reasoned, 
 that every thing she had undertaken in the city jf New York 
 had finally proved a failure ; and where her hopes had 
 been raised the highest, there she felt the failure had been 
 the greatest, and the disappointment most severe. 
 
 After turning it in her mind for some lime, she came 
 to the conclusion, that she had been taking part in a great 
 drama, which was, in itself, but one great system of rob- 
 bery and wrong. ' Yes,' she said, ' the rich rob the poor, 
 and the poor rob one another.' True, she had not receiv- 
 ed labor from others, and stinted their pay, as she felt 
 had been practised against her ; but she had taken their 
 work from them, which was their only means to get 
 money, and was the same to them in the end. For in
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH 99 
 
 stance a gentleman wh".ro ?hp lived would give her a 
 half dollar to hire a poor man to clear the new-fallen 
 snow from the steps and side-walks. She would arise 
 early, and perform the labor herself, putting the money 
 into her own pocket. A poor man would come along, 
 saying she ought to have let him have the job ; he was 
 poor, and needed the pay for his family. She would har- 
 den her heart against him, and answer ' I am poor too, 
 and I need it for mine.' But, in her retrospection, she 
 thought of all the misery she might have been adding to, 
 in her selfish grasping, and it troubled her conscience 
 sorely ; and this insensibility to the claims of human 
 brotherhood, and the wants of the destitute and wretched 
 poor, she now saw, as she never had done before, to be 
 unfeeling, selfish and wicked. These reflections and con- 
 victions gave rise to a sudden revulsion of feeling in the 
 
 property with great indifference, if not contempt -being 
 atjthat time unable, probably, to discern any difference 
 between a miserly grasping at and hoarding of money 
 and means, and a true use of the good things of this life 
 for one's own comfort, and the relief of such as she 
 might be enabled to befriend and assist. One thing she 
 was sure of- that the precepts, f Do unto others as ye 
 would that others should do unto you,' ^ovejrour jiejgb- 
 bor as yourself,' and so forth, were maxims that had 
 been but little thought of by herself, or practised by 
 those about her. 
 
 Her next decision was, that she must leave the city ; 
 it was no place for her ; yea, she felt called in spirit to 
 leave it, and to travel east and lecture. She had never 
 been further east than the city, neither had she any fi'iends 
 there of whom she had particular reason to expect any
 
 100 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 thing; yet to he>- if, wns plain that, her inJssicn lay in the 
 east, and that she would nna friends there. She deter- 
 mined on leaving ; but these determinations and convic- 
 tions she kept close locked in her own breast, hnowing 
 that if her children and friends were aware of it, they would 
 make such an ado about it as would render it very un- 
 pleasant, if not distressing to all parties. Having made 
 what preparations for leaving she deemed necessary, 
 which was, to put up a few articles of clothing in a pil- 
 low-case, all else being deemed an unnecessary incum- 
 brance, about an hour before she left, she informed Mrs. 
 Whiting, the woman of the house where she was stopping, 
 that her name was no longer Isabella, but SOJOURNER ; 
 and that she was going east. And to her inquiry, 'What 
 are you going east for V her answer was, ' The Spirit calls 
 me there, and I must go.' 
 
 She left the city on the morning of the 1st of June, 
 1843, crossing over to Brooklyn, L. I. ; and taking the 
 rising sun for her only compass and guide, she ' remem- 
 bered Lot's wife,' and hoping to avoid her fate, she re- 
 solved not to look back till she felt sure the wicked city 
 from which she was fleeing was left too far behind to be visi- 
 ble in the distance ; and when she first ventured to look 
 back, she could just discern the blue cloud of smoke that 
 hung over it, and she thanked the Lord that she was thus 
 far removed from what seemed to her a second Sodom. 
 
 She was now fairly started on her pilgrimage ; her 
 bundle in one hand, and a little basket of provisions in 
 the other, and two York shillings in her purse her heart 
 strong in the faith that her true work lay before her, and 
 that the Lord was her director ; and she doubted not he 
 would provide for and protect her, and that it would be 
 very censurable in her to burden herself with any thing
 
 SOJOURXEE TRUTH. 101 
 
 more than a moderate supply for her then present needs. 
 Her mission was not merely to travel east, but to ' lec- 
 ture,' as she designated it ; ' testifying of the hope that 
 was in her' exhorting the people to embrace Jesus, and 
 refrain from sin, the nature and origin of which she ex- 
 plained to them in accordance with her own most curious 
 and original views. Through her life, and all its chequer- 
 ed changes, she has ever clung fast to her first permanent 
 impressions on religious subjects. 
 
 Wherever night overtook her, there she sought foi 
 lodgings free, if she might if not, she paid ; at a 
 tavern, if she chanced to be at one if not, at a private 
 dwelling ; with the rich, if they would receive her if not, 
 with the poor. 
 
 But she soon discovered that the largest houses were 
 nearly always full ; if not quite full, company was soon 
 expected ; and that it was much easier to find an unoc- 
 cupied corner in a small house than in a large one ; and 
 if a person possessed but a miserable roof over his head, 
 you might be sure of a welcome to part of it. 
 
 But this, she had penetration enough to see, was quite 
 as much the effect of a want of sympathy as of benevo- 
 lence ; and this was also very apparent in her religious 
 conversations with people who were strangers to her. She 
 said, ' she never could find out that the rich had any re- 
 ligion. If / had been rich and accomplished, I could ; for 
 the rich could always find religion in the rich, and 1 could 
 find it among the poor.' 
 
 At first, she attended such meetings as she heard of, in 
 the vicinity of her travels, and spoke to the people as she 
 found them assembled. Afterwards, she advertised meet- 
 ings of her own, and held forth to large audiences, hav- 
 ing, as she said, ' a good time.'
 
 102 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 When she became weary of travelling, and wished a 
 place to stop a while and rest herself, she said some open- 
 ing for her was always near at hand ; and the first time 
 she needed rest, a man accosted her as she was walking, 
 inquiring if she was looking for work. She told him that 
 was not the object of her travels, but that she would will- 
 ingly work a few days, if any one wanted. He requested 
 her to go to his family, who were sadly in want of assist- 
 ance, which he had been thus far unable to supply. She 
 went to the house where she was directed, and was re- 
 ceived by his family, one of whom was ill, as a ' God- 
 send ;' and when she felt constrained to resume her jour- 
 ney, they were very sorry, and would fain have detained 
 her longer ; but as she urged the necessity of leaving, 
 they offered her what seemed in fyer eyes a great deal of 
 money as a remuneration for her labor, and an expression 
 of their gratitude for her opportune assistance ; but she 
 would only receive a very little of it ; enough, as she 
 says, to enable her to pay tribute to Caesar, if it was de- 
 manded of her ; and two or three York shillings at a time 
 were all she allowed herself to take ; and then, with purse 
 replenished, and strength renewed, she would once more 
 set out to perform her mission. 
 
 THE CONSEQUENCES OF REFUSING A TRAVELLER A 
 NIGHT'S LODGING. 
 
 As she drew near the centre of the Island, she com- 
 menced, one evening at nightfall, to solicit the favor of a 
 night's lodging. She had repeated her request a great 
 many, it seomed to her some twenty times, and as many 
 times she received a negative answer. She walked on, 
 the stars and the tiny horns oi the netf nrxm shed but a
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 103 
 
 dim light on her lonely way, when she was familiarly ac- 
 costed by two Indians, who took her for an acquaintance. 
 She told them they were mistaken in the person ; she 
 was a stranger there, and asked them the direction to a 
 tavern. They informed her it was yet a long way some 
 two miles or so ; and inquired if she were alone. Not 
 wishing for their protection, or knowing what might be 
 the character of their kindness, she answered, ' No, not 
 exactly,' and passed on. At the end of a weary way, she 
 came to the tavern, or, rather, to a large building, which 
 was occupied as court-house, tavern, and jail, and on 
 asking for a night's lodging, was informed she could stay, 
 if she would consent to be locked in. This to her mind 
 was an insuperable objection. To have a key turned on 
 her was a thing not to be thought of, at least not to be 
 endured, and she again took up her line of march, prefer- 
 ring to walk beneath the open sky, to being locked up by 
 a stranger in such a place. She had not walked far, be- 
 fore she heard the voice of a woman under an open shed ; 
 she ventured to accost her, and inquired if she knew 
 where she could get in for the night. The woman an- 
 swered, that she did not, unless she went home with them ; 
 and turning to her ' good man,' asked him if the stranger 
 could not share their home for the night, to which he 
 cheerfully assented. Sojourner thought it evident he had 
 been taking a drop too much, but as he was civil and 
 good-natured, and she did not feel inclined to spend the 
 night alone in the open air, she felt driven to the neces- 
 sity of accepting their hospitality, whatever it might prove 
 to be. The woman soon informed her that there was a 
 ball in the place, at which they would like to drop in a 
 while, before they went to their home. 
 
 Balls being no part of Sojourner's mission, she was not
 
 104 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 desirous of attending ; but her hostess could be satisfied 
 with nothing short of a taste of it, and she was forced to 
 go with her, or relinquish their company at once, in which 
 move there might be more exposure than in accompany- 
 ing her. She went, and soon found herself surrounded by 
 an assemblage of people, collected from the very dregs 
 of society, too ignorant and degraded to understand, 
 much less entertain, a high or bright idea, in a dirty 
 hovel, destitute of every comfort, and where the fumes 
 of whisky were abundant and powerful. 
 
 Sojourner's guide there was too much charmed with 
 the combined entertainments of the place to be able to 
 tear herself away, till she found her faculties for enjoy 
 ment failing her, from a too free use of liquor ; and she 
 betook herself to bed till she could recover them. So- 
 journer, seated in a corner, had time for many reflections, 
 and refrained from lecturing them in obedience to the re- 
 commendation, ' Cast not your pearls,' &c. When the 
 night was far spent, the husband of the sleeping woman 
 aroused the sleeper, and reminded her that she was not very 
 polite to the woman she had invited to sleep at her house, 
 and of the propriety of returning home. They once 
 more emerged into the pure air, which to .our friend So- 
 journer, after so long breathing the noisome air of the 
 ball-room, was most refreshing and grateful. Just as day 
 dawned, they reached the place they called their home. 
 Sojourner now saw that she had lost nothing in the shape 
 of rest by remaining so long at the ball, as their miserable 
 cabin afforded but one bunk or pallet for sleeping ; and 
 had there been many such, she would have preferred sit- 
 ting up all night to occupying one like it. They very 
 politely offered her the bed, if she would use it ; but 
 civilly declining, she waited for morning with an eagerness
 
 SOJOJKNER TRUTH. 105 
 
 of desire she never felt before on the subject, and was 
 never more happy than when the eye of day shed its 
 golden light once more over the earth. She was once 
 more free, and while day-light should last, independent, 
 and needed no invitation to pursue her journey. Let 
 these facts teach us, that every pedestrian in the world is 
 not a vagabond, and that it is a dangerous thing to com- 
 pel any one to receive that hospitality from the vicious 
 and abandoned which they should have received from us, 
 as thousands can testify, who have thus been caught in 
 the snares of the wicked. 
 
 The fourth of July, Isabella arrived at Huntingdon ; 
 from thence she went to Cold Springs, where she found 
 the people making preparations for a mass temperance- 
 meeting. With her usual alacrity, she entered into their 
 labors, getting up dishes a la New York, greatly to the 
 satisfaction of those she assisted. After remaining at Cold 
 Springs some three weeks, she returned to Huntingdon, 
 where she took boat for Connecticut. Landing at Bridge- 
 port, she again resumed her travels towards the north-east, 
 lecturing some, and working some, to get wherewith to 
 pay tribute to Caesar, as she called it ; and in this manner 
 she presently came to the city of New Haven, where she 
 found many meetings, which she attended at some of 
 which, she was allowed to express her views freely, and 
 without reservation. She also called meetings expressly 
 *o give herself an opportunity to be heard ; and found in 
 the city many true friends of Jesus, as she judged, with 
 whom she held communion of spirit, having no preference 
 for one sect more than another, but being well satisfied 
 rith all who gave her evidence of having known or loved 
 jae Saviour. 
 
 After thus delivering her testimony in this pleasant city,
 
 106 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 feeling she lad not as yet found an abiding place, she went 
 from thence to Bristol, at the request of a zealous sister, 
 who desired her to go to the latter place, and hold a religious 
 conversation with some friends of hers there. She went 
 as requested, found the people kindly and religiously dis- 
 posed, and through them she became acquainted with 
 several very interesting persons. 
 
 A spiritually-minded brother in Bristol, becoming inter- 
 ested in her new views and original opinions, requested as 
 a favor that she would go to Hartford, to see and converse 
 with friends of his there. Standing ready to perform any 
 service in the Lord, she went to Hartford as desired, bear- 
 ing in her hand the following note from this brother : 
 
 * SISTER, I send you this living messenger, as I believe 
 her to be one that God loves. Ethiopia is stretching forth 
 her hands unto God. You can see by this sister, that God 
 does by his Spirit alone teach his own children things to 
 come. Please receive her, and she will tell you some 
 new things. Let her tell her story without interrupting 
 her, and give close attention, and you will see she has got 
 the lever of truth, that God helps her to pry where but 
 few can. She cannot read or write, but the law is in 
 her heart. 
 
 * Send her to brother , brother , and where 
 
 she can do the most good. 
 
 ' From your brother, II. L. B.' 
 
 SOME OF HER VIEWS AND REASONINGS. 
 
 As soon as Isabella saw God as an all-powerful, all- 
 pervading spirit, she became desirous of hearing" all that 
 had been written of him, ard listened to the account of
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 107 
 
 the creation of the world and its first inhabitants, as con- 
 tained in the first chapters of Genesis, -with peculiar in- 
 terest. For some time she received it all literally, though 
 it appeared strange to her that 'God worked by the day, 
 got tired, and stopped to rest,' &c. But after a little time, 
 she began to reason upon it, thus ' Why, if God works 
 by the day, and one day's work tires him, and he is obliged 
 to rest, either from weariness or on account of darkness, 
 or if he waited for the "cool of the day to walk in the 
 garden," because he was inconvenienced by the heat of the 
 sun, why then it seems that God cannot do as much as / 
 can ; for / can bear the sun at noon, and work several 
 days and nights in succession without being much tired. 
 Or, if he rested nights because of the darkness, it is very 
 queer that he should make the night so dark that he could 
 not see himself. If / had been God, I would have made 
 the night light enough for my own convenience, surely.' 
 But the moment she placed this idea of God by the side 
 of the impression she had once so suddenly received of 
 his inconceivable greatness and entire spirituality, that mo- 
 ment she exclaimed mentally, ' No, God does not stop to 
 rest, for hf.vM^spjrit, pH vpr-nnt tire^ he cannot want 
 for light, for he hath all light in himself. And if " God is 
 all in all," and " worketh all in all," as I have heard them 
 read, then it is impossible he should rest at all ; for if he 
 did, every other thing would stop and rest too ; the wa- 
 ters would not flow, and the fishes could not swim ; and 
 all motion must cease. God could have no pauses in his 
 work, and he needed no Sabbaths of rest. Man _might 
 need them, and he should take them when he needed them, 
 whenever he required rest. As it regarded the worship 
 of God, he was to be worshipped at all times and in all
 
 108 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 places; and one portion of time never seemed to her 
 more holy than another.' 
 
 These views, which were the result of the workings of 
 her OAvn mind, assisted solely by the light of her own ex- 
 perience and very limited knowledge, were, for a long 
 time after their adoption, closely locked in her own breast, 
 fearing lest their avowal might bring upon her the impu- 
 tation of ' infidelity,' the usual charge preferred by all 
 religionists, against those who entertain religious views 
 and feelings differing materially from their own. If, from 
 their own sad experience, they are withheld from shout- 
 ing the cry of ' infidel,' they fail not to see and to feel, ay, 
 and to say, that the dissenters are not of the right spirit, 
 and that their spiritual eyes have never been unsealed. 
 
 While travelling in Connecticut, she met a minister, 
 with whom she held a long discussion on these points, as 
 well as on various other topics, such as the origin of all 
 things, especially the origin of evil, at the same time bear- 
 ing her testimony strongly against a paid ministry. He 
 belonged to that class, and, as a matter of course, as 
 strongly advocated his own side of the question. 
 
 I had forgotten to mention, in its proper place, a very 
 important fact, that when she was examining the Scrip- 
 tures, she wished to hear them without comment ; but if 
 she employed adult persons to read them to her, and she 
 asked them to read a passage over again, they invariably 
 commenced to explain, by giving her their version of it ; 
 and in this way, they tried her feelings exceedingly. In 
 consequence of this, she ceased to ask adult persons to 
 read the Bible to her, and substituted children in their 
 stead. Children, as soon as they could read distinctly, 
 would re-read the same sentence to her. as often as she
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 109 
 
 wished, and without comment ; and in that way she was 
 enabled Jtojsee what her own mind could make out of the 
 rejcordr-and that, she said, was what she wanted, and not . 
 what others thought it to mean. She wished to compare 
 the teachings of the Bible with the witness within her ; and 
 she came to the conclusion, that the spirit of truth spoke 
 hi those records, but that the recorders of those truths had 
 intermingled with them ideas and suppositions of their 
 own. This is one among the many proofs of her energy 
 and independence of character. 
 
 When it became known to her children, that Sojourner / 
 had left New York, they were filled with wonder and 
 alarm. Where could she have gone, and why had she 
 left 1 were questions no one could answer satisfactorily. 
 Now, their imaginations painted her as a wandering 
 maniac and again they feared she had been left to com- 
 mit suicide ; and many were the tears they shed at the 
 loss of her. 
 
 But when she reached Berlin, Conn., she wrote to them 
 by amanuensis, informing them of her whereabouts, and 
 waiting an answer to her letter ; thus quieting their fears, 
 and gladdening their hearts once more with assurances 
 of her continued life and her love. 
 
 THE SECOND ADVENT DOCTRINES. 
 
 In Hartford and vicinity, she met with several persona 
 who believed in the ^Second Advent ' doctrines ; or, the 
 immediate personal appearance of Jesus Christ. At 
 first she tKought'slleliadliever heard of ' Second Advent.' 
 But when it was explained to her, she recollected having 
 once attended Mr. Miller's meeting in New York, where 
 she saw a great many enigmatical pictures hanging Dn
 
 110 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 the wall, which she could not understand, and which, 
 being out of the reach of her understanding, failed to 
 interest her. In this section of country, she attended 
 two camp-meetings of the believers in these doctrines 
 the ' second advent ' excitement being then at its greatest 
 height. The last meeting was at Windsor Lock. The 
 people, as a matter of course, eagerly inquired of her 
 concerning her belief, as it regarded their most important 
 tenet. She told them it had not been revealed to her ; 
 perhaps, if she could read, she might see it differently. 
 Sometimes, to their eager inquiry, ' Oh, don't you believe 
 the Lord is coming ?' she answered, ' I believe the Lord 
 is as near as he can be, and not be it.' With these eva- 
 sive and non-exciting answers, she kept their minds calm 
 as it respected her unbelief, till she could have an oppor- 
 tunity to hear their views fairly stated, in order to judge 
 more understandingly of this matter, and see if, in her 
 estimation, there was any good ground for expecting an 
 event which was, in the minds of so many, as it were, 
 shaking the very foundations of the universe. She was 
 invited to join them in their religious exercises, and ac- 
 cepted the invitation praying, and talking in her own 
 peculiar style, and attracting many about her by her 
 singing. 
 
 When she had convinced the people that she was a 
 lover of God and his cause, and had gained a good stand- 
 ing with them, so that she could get a hearing among 
 them, she had become quite sure hi her own mind that 
 they were laboring under a delusion, and she commenced 
 to use her influence to calm the fears of the people, and 
 pour oil upon the troubled waters. In one part of the 
 grounds, she found a knot of people greatly excited : she 
 mounted a stump and called out, ' Hear ! hear !' When
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. Ill 
 
 the people had gathered around her, as they -were in a 
 state to listen to any thing new, she addressed them as 
 ' children,' and asked them why they made such a ' To-do ; 
 are you not commanded to " watch and pray ?" You 
 are neither watching nor praying.' And she bade them, 
 with the tones of a kind mother, retire to their tents, and 
 there watch and pray, without noise or tumult, for the 
 Lord would not come to such a scene of confusion ; ' the 
 Lord came still and quiet.' She assured them, ' the Lord 
 might come, move all through the camp, and go away 
 again, and they never know it,' in the state they then 
 were. 
 
 They seemed glad to seize upon any reason for being 
 less agitated and distressed, and many of them suppress- 
 ed their noisy terror, and retired to their tents to ' watch 
 and pray ; ' begging others to do the same, and listen to 
 the advice of the good sister. She felt she had done 
 some good, and then went to listen further to the preach- 
 ers. They appeared to her to be doing their utmost to 
 agitate and excite the people, who were already too much 
 excited ; and when she had listened till her feelings 
 would let her listen silently no longer, she arose and ad- 
 dressed the preachers. The following are specimens of 
 her speech : 
 
 ' Here you are talking about being " changed in the 
 twinkling of an eye. " If the Lord should come, he'd 
 change you to nothing ! for there is nothing to you. 
 
 'You seem to be expecting to go to some parlor away 
 up somewhere, and when the wicked have been burnt, 
 you are coming back to walk in triumph over their 
 ashes this is to be your New Jerusalem ! ! Now / can't 
 see any thing so very nice in that, coming back to such 
 a muss as that will be, a world covered with the ashes
 
 112 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 of the wicked ! Besides, if the Lord comes and burns 
 as you say he will- -I am not going away ; /am going 
 to stay here and stand the fire, like Shadrach, Meshach, 
 and Abednego ! And Jesus will walk with me through 
 the fire, and keep me from harm. Nothing belonging to 
 God can burn, any more than God himself; such shall 
 have no need to go away to escape the fire ! No, / shall 
 remain. Do you tell me that God's children can't stand 
 fire ? ' And her manner and tone spoke louder than 
 words, saying, ' It is absurd to think so ! ' 
 
 The ministers were taken quite aback at so unexpected 
 an opposer, and one of them, in the kindest possible man- 
 ner, commenced a discussion with her, by asking her 
 questions, and quoting scripture to her ; concluding 
 finally, that although she had learned nothing of the great 
 doctrine which was so exclusively occupying their minds 
 at the time, she had learned much that man had never 
 taught her. 
 
 At this meeting, she received the address of different 
 persons, residing in various places, with an invitation to 
 visit them. She promised to go soon to Cabotville, 
 and started, shaping her course for that place. She ar- 
 rived at Springfield one evening at six o'clock, and im- 
 mediately began to search for a lodging for the night. 
 She walked from six till past nine, and was then on the 
 road from Springfield to Cabotville, before she found any 
 one sufficiently hospitable to give her a night's shelter 
 under their roof. Then a man gave her twenty-five 
 cents, and bade her go to a tavern and stay all night. 
 She did so, returning in the morning to thank him, assur- 
 ing him she had put his money to its legitimate use. 
 She found a number of the friends she had seen at Wind- 
 sor when she reached the manufacturing town of Cabot-
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 113 
 
 ville, (which has lately taken the name of Chicopee,) and 
 with them she spent a pleasant week or more ; after 
 which, she left them to visit the Shaker village in En- 
 field. She how began to think of finding a resting place, 
 at least, for a season ; for she had performed quite a long 
 journey, considering she had walked most of the way ; 
 and she had a mind to look in upon the Shakers, and see 
 how things were there, and whether there was any open- 
 ing there for her. But on her way back to Springfield, 
 she called at a house and asked for a piece of bread ; her 
 request was granted, and she was kindly invited to tarry 
 all night, as it was getting late, and she would not be 
 able to stay at every house in that vicinity, which invita- 
 tion she cheerfully accepted. When the man of the house 
 came in, he recollected having seen her at the camp-meet- 
 ing, and repeated some conversations, by which she re- 
 cognized him again. He soon proposed having a meeting 
 that evening, went out and notified his friends and neigh- 
 bors, who came together, and she once more held forth 
 to them in her peculiar style. Through the agency of 
 this meeting, she became acquainted with several people 
 residing in Springfield, to whose houses she was cordially 
 invited, and with whom she spent some pleasant time. 
 
 One of these friends, writing of her arrival there, speaks 
 as follows. After saying that she and her people be- 
 longed to that class oTpcroomfwha believecLm tfoTsecond 
 adv^nt^^octrines ; and that this class, believing also in 
 frepiJnTn of fipp.p.fth a.gd action, often found at their meet- 
 ings many singular people, who did not agree with them 
 in their principal doctrine ; and that, being thus prepared 
 to hear new and strange things, ' They listened eagerly to 
 Sojourner, and drank in all she said ; ' and also, that she 
 ' soon became a favorite among them ; that when she
 
 114 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 arose to speak in their assemblies, her commanding figure 
 and aignified manner hushed every trifler into silence, and 
 her singular and sometimes uncouth modes of expression 
 never provoked a laugh, but often were the whole audi- 
 ence melted into tears by her touching stories.' She also 
 adds, ' Many were the lessons of wisdom and faith I have 
 delighted to learn from her.' . . . . ' She continued a great 
 favorite in our meetings, both on account of her remarka- 
 ble gift in prayer, and still more remarkable talent for 
 singing, . . . and the aptness and point of her remarks, 
 frequently illustrated by figures the most original and ex- 
 pressive. 
 
 ' As we were walking the other day, she said she had 
 often thought what a beautiful world this would be, when 
 we should see every thing right side up. Now, we see 
 every thing topsy-turvy, and all is confusion.' For a per- 
 son who knows nothing of this fact in the science of op- 
 tics, this seemed quite a remarkable idea. 
 
 ' We also loved her for her sincere and ardent piety, 
 her unwavering faith in God, and her contempt of what 
 the world calls fashion, and what we call folly. 
 
 ' She was in search of a quiet place, where a way-worn 
 traveller might rest. She had heard of Fruitlands, and 
 was inclined to go there ; but the friends she found here 
 thought it best for her to visit Northampton. She passed 
 her time, while with us, working wherever her work was 
 needed, and talking where work was not needed. 
 
 ' She would not receive money for her work, saying 
 she worked for the Lord ; and if her wants were sup- 
 plied, she received it as from the Lord. 
 
 ' She remained with us till far into winter, when we in- 
 troduced her at the Northampton Association.' . . . . ' She 
 wrote to me from thence, that she had found the quiet
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 115 
 
 resting place she had so long desired. A.nd she has re 
 mained there ever since.' 
 
 ANOTHER CAMP-MEETING. 
 
 When Sojourner had been at Northampton a few 
 months, she attended another camp-meeting, at which she 
 performed a very important part. 
 
 A party of wild young men, with no motive but that 
 of entertaining themselves by annoying and injuring the 
 feelings of others, had assembled at the meeting, hooting 
 and yelling, and in various ways interrupting the services, 
 and causing much disturbance. Those who had the charge 
 of the meeting, having tried their persuasive powers in 
 vain, grew impatient and tried threatening. 
 
 The young men, considering themselves insulted, col- 
 lected their friends, to the number of a hundred or more, 
 dispersed themselves through the grounds, making the 
 most frightful noises, and threatening to fire the tents. It 
 was said the authorities of the meeting sat in grave con- 
 sultation, decided to have the ring-leaders arrested, and 
 sent for the constable, to the great displeasure of some of 
 the company, who were opposed to such an appeal to 
 force and arms. Be that as it may, Sojourner, seeing 
 great consternation depicted in every countenance, caught 
 the contagion, and, ere she was aware, found herself 
 quaking with fear. 
 
 Under the impulse of this sudden emotion, she fled to 
 the most retired corner of a tent, and secreted herself be- 
 hind a trunk, saying to herself, ' I am the only colored 
 person here, and on me, probably, their wicked mischief 
 will fall first, and perhaps fatally.' But feeling how great 
 was her insecurity even there, as the very tent began to
 
 116 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 shake from its foundations, she began to soliloquize as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 ' Shall I run away and hide from the Devil ? Me, a 
 servant of the living God 1 Have I not faith enough to 
 go out and quell that mob, when I know it is written 
 "One shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to 
 flight'"? I know there are not a thousand here; and 
 I know I am a servant of the living God. I'll go to 
 the rescue, and the Lord shall go with and protect me. 
 
 ' Oh,' said she, ' I felt as if I had three hearts ! and that 
 they were so large, my body could hardly hold them ! ' 
 
 She now came forth from her hiding-place, and invited 
 several to go with her and see what they could do to still 
 the raging of the moral elements. They declined, and 
 considered her wild to think of it. 
 
 The meeting was in the open fields the full moon shed 
 its saddened light over all and the woman who was that 
 evening to address them was trembling on the preachers' 
 stand. The noise and confusion were now terrific. So- 
 journer left the tent alone and unaided, and walking some 
 thirty rods to the top of a small rise of ground, com- 
 menced to sing, in her most fervid manner, with all the 
 strength of her most powerful voice, the hymn on the 
 resurrection of Christ 
 
 It was early in the morning it was early in the morning, 
 Just at the break of day 
 When he rose when he rose when he rose, 
 And went to heaven on a cloud." 
 
 All who have ever heard her sing this hymn will proba- 
 bly remember it as long as they remember her. The 
 hymn, the tune, the style, are each too closely associated 
 with to be easily separated from herself, anfl when sung
 
 SOJOURNEK TRUTH. 117 
 
 in one of her most animated moods, in the open air, with 
 the utmost strength of her most powerful voice , must 
 have been truly thrilling. 
 
 As she commenced to sing, the younj; men made a 
 rush towards her, and she was immediately encircled by 
 a dense body of the rioters, many of them armed with 
 sticks or clubs as their weapons of defence, if not of 
 attack. As the circle narrowed around her, she ceased 
 singing, and after a short pause, inquired, in a gentle but 
 firm tone, ' Why do you come about me with clubs and 
 sticks ? I am not doing harm to any one.' ' We ar'n't 
 a going to hurt you, old woman ; we came to hear you 
 sing,' cried many voices, simultaneously. ' Sing to us, 
 old woman,' cries one. 'Talk to us, old woman,' says 
 another. ' Pray, old woman,' says a third. ' Tell us 
 your experience,' says a fourth. ' You stand and smoke 
 so near me, I cannot sing or talk,' she answered. 
 
 ' Stand back,' said several authoritative voices, with not 
 the most gentle or courteous accompaniments, raising 
 their rude weapons in the air. The crowd suddenly gave 
 back, the circle became larger, as many voices again called 
 for singing, talking, or praying, backed,by assurances that 
 no one should be allowed to hurt her the speakers de- 
 claring with an oath, that they would ' knock down* any 
 person who should offer her the least indignity. 
 
 She looked about her, and with her usual discrimination, 
 said inwardly ' Here must be many young men in all this 
 assemblage, bearing within them hearts susceptible of 
 good impressions. I will speak tc them.' She did 
 speak ; they silently heard, and civilly asked her many 
 questions, it seemed to her to be given her at the time 
 to answer them with truth and wisdom beyond herself. 
 Her speech had operated on the roused passions of the
 
 118 NARRATIVE OP 
 
 mob like oil on agitated waters ; they were, as a whole, 
 entirely subdued, and only clamored when she ceased 
 to speak or sing. Those who stood in the background, 
 after the circle was enlarged, cried out, 'Sing aloud, old 
 woman, we can't hear.' Those who held the sceptre ot 
 power among them requested that she should make a 
 pulpit of a neighboring wagon. She said, ' If I do, they'll 
 overthrow it.' ' No, they sha'n't he who dares hurt 
 you, we'll knock him down instantly, d n him,' cried 
 the chiefs. ' No we won't, no we won't, nobody shall 
 hurt you,' answered the many voices of the mob. They 
 kindly assisted her to mount the wagon, from which she 
 spoke and sung to them about an hour. Of all she said 
 to them on the occasion, she remembers only the follow- 
 ing : 
 
 'Well, there are two congregations on this ground. 
 It is written that there shall be a separation, and the sheep 
 shall be separated from the goats. The other preachers 
 have the sheep, / have the goats. And I have a few 
 sheep among my goats, but they are very ragged.' This 
 exordium produced great laughter. When she became 
 wearied with talking, she began to cast about her to con- 
 trive some way to induce them to disperse. While she 
 paused, they loudly clamored for ' more,' ' more,' ' sing,' 
 ' sing more.' She motioned them to be quiet, and called 
 out to them : ' Children, I have talked and sung to you, 
 as you asked me ; and now I have a request to make of 
 you : will you grant it ?' ' Yes, yes, yes,' resounded from 
 every quarter. ' Well, it is this,' she answered : ' if I 
 will sing one more hymn for you, will you then go away, 
 and leave us this night in peace ?' ' Yes, yes,' came 
 faintly, feebly from a few. ' I repeat it,' says Sojourner, 
 ' and I want an answer from you all, as of one ao,cord.
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 119 
 
 If 1 will sing you one more, you will go away, and leave 
 us this night in peace V ' Yes, yes, yes,' shouted many 
 voices, with hearty emphasis. ' I repeat my request 
 once more,' said she, ' and I want you all to answer.' 
 And she reiterated the words again. This time a long, 
 loud ' Yes yes yes,' came up, as from the multitudi 
 nous mouth of the entire mob. ' AMEN ! it is SEALED, 
 repeated Sojourner, in the deepest and most solemn tones 
 of her powerful and sonorous voice. Its effect ran 
 through the multitude, like an electric shock; and the 
 most of them considered themselves bound by their 
 promise, as they might have failed to do under less 
 imposing circumstances. Some of them began instantly 
 to leave ; others said, ' Are we not to have one more 
 hymn ? ' ' Yes,' answered their entertainer, and she 
 commenced to sing : 
 
 ' I bless the Lord I've got my seal to-day and to-day- 
 To slay Goliath in the field to-day and to-day ; 
 The good old way is a righteous way, 
 I mean to take the kingdom in the good old way.' 
 
 While singing, she heard some enforcing obedience to 
 their promise, while a few seemed refusing to abide by it. 
 But before she had quite concluded, she saw them turn 
 froi n her, and in the course of a few minutes, they were 
 runnirjg as fast as they well could in a solid body ; and 
 she says she can compare them to nothing but a swarm 
 of bees, so dense was their phalanx, so straight their 
 course, so hurried their march. As they passed with a 
 rush very near the stand of the other preachers, the 
 hearts of the people were smitten with fear, thinking that 
 their entertainer had failed to enchain them longer with 
 her spell, and that they were coming upon them with re- 
 doubled and remorseless fury. But they found they were
 
 120 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 mistaken, ' and that their fears were groundless ; for, 
 before they could well recover from their surprise, every / 
 rioter was gone, and not one was left on the grounds, or 
 seen there again during the meeting. Sojourner was 
 informed that as her audience reached the main road, 
 some distance from the tents, a few of the rebellious 
 spirits refused to go on, and proposed returning ; but 
 their leaders said, ' No we have promised to leave all 
 promised, and we must go, all go, and you shall none 
 you return again.' 
 
 She did not fall in love at first sight with the Northamp- 
 ton Association, for she arrived there at a time when ap- 
 pearances did not correspond with the ideas of associa- 
 tionists, as they had been spread out in their writings ; 
 for their phalanx was a factory, and they were wanting in 
 means to carry out their ideas of beauty and elegance, as 
 they would have done in different circumstances. But 
 she thought she would make an effort to tarry with them 
 one night, though that seemed to her no desirable affair. 
 But as soon as she saw that accomplished, literary and 
 refined persons were living in that plain and simple man- 
 ner, and submitting to the labors and privations incident 
 to such an infant institution, she said, ' Well, if these can 
 live here, / can.' Afterwards, she gradually became 
 pleased with, and attached to, the place and the people, 
 as well she might ; for it must have been no small thing 
 to have found a home in a ' Community composed < f 
 some of the choicest spirits of the age,' where all was 
 characterized by an equality of feeling, a liberty of 
 thought and speech, and a largeness of soul, she could 
 not have before met with, to the same extent, in any of 
 her wanderings. 
 
 Our first knowledge of her was derived from a friend
 
 SOJOUKNEK TRUTH. 121 
 
 who had resided for a time in the ' Community,' and who, 
 after describing her, and singing one of her hymns, 
 wished that we might see her. But we little thought, at 
 that time, that we should ever pen these ' simple annals' 
 of this child of nature. 
 
 When we first saw her, she was working with a hearty 
 good will ; saying she would not be induced to take reg- 
 ular wages, believing, as once before, that now Provi- 
 dence had provided her with a never- failing fount, from 
 which her every want might be perpetually supplied 
 through her mortal life. In this, she had calculated too 
 fast. For the Associationists found, that, taking every 
 thing into consideration, they would find it most expe- 
 dient to act individually ; and again, the subject of this 
 sketch found her dreams unreal, and herself flung back 
 upon her own resources for the supply of her needs. 
 This she might have found more inconvenient at her time 
 of life for labor, exposure and hardship had made sad 
 inroads upon her iron constitution, by inducing chronic 
 disease and premature old age had she not remained 
 under the shadow of one,* who never wearies in doing 
 good, giving to the needy, and supplying the wants of 
 the destitute. She has now set her heart upon having a 
 little home of her own, even at this late hour of life, 
 where she may feel a greater freedom than she can hi 
 the house of another, and where she can repose a little, 
 after her day of action has passed by. And for such a 
 ' home ' she is now dependent on the charities of the 
 benevolent, and to them we appeal with confidence. 
 
 Through all the scenes of her eventful life may be 
 traced the energy of a naturally powerful mind the fear- 
 lessness and child-like simplicity of one untrammelled by 
 
 * GEORGE W. BENSON.
 
 122 NAREATIVE OF 
 
 education or conventional customs purity of character 
 an unflinching adherence to principle and a native en- 
 thusiasm, which, under different circumstances, might 
 easily have produced another Joan of Arc. 
 
 With all her fervor, and enthusiasm, and speculation, 
 her religion is not tinctured in the least with gloom. No 
 doubt, no hesitation, no despondency, spreads a cloud 
 over her soul ; but all is bright, clear, positive, and at 
 
 times ecstatic. TTp.r trust, fc ip ftnrl ; nnrl from him she 
 
 looks fOT good, and not evil. She feels that ' perfect love 
 ca'sTethout fear.' 
 
 Having more than once found herself awaking from a 
 mortifying delusion, as in the case of the Sing-Sing king- 
 dom, and resolving not to be thus deluded again, she 
 has set suspicion to guard the door of her heart, and al- 
 lows it perhaps to be aroused by too slight causes, on 
 certain subjects her vivid imagination assisting to mag- 
 nify the phantoms of her fears into gigantic proportions, 
 much beyond their real size ; instead of resolutely adher- 
 ing to the rule we all like best, when it is to be applied 
 to ourselves that of placing every thing we see to the 
 account of the best possible motive, until time and cir- 
 cumstance prove that we were wrong. Where no good 
 motive can be assigned, it may become our duty to sus- 
 pend our judgment till evidence can be had. 
 
 In the application of this rule, it is an undoubted duty 
 to exercise a commendable prudence, by refusing to re- 
 pose any important trust to the keeping of persons who 
 may be strangers to us, and whose trustworthiness we 
 have never seen tried. But no possible good, but incal- 
 culable evil may and does arise from the too common 
 practice of placing all conduct, the source of which we 
 do not fully understand, to the worst of intentions. How
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 123 
 
 often is the gentle, timid soul discouraged, and driven 
 perhaps to despondency, by finding its ' good evil spoken 
 of;' and a well-meant but mistaken action loaded with 
 an evil design ! 
 
 If the world would but sedulously set about reforming 
 itself on this one point, who can calculate the change it 
 would produce the evil it would annihilate, and the hap- 
 piness it would confer ! None but an all-seeing eye could 
 at once embrace so vast a result. A result, how desira- 
 ble ! and one that can be brought about only by the most 
 simple process that of every individual seeing to it that 
 he commit not this sin himself. For why should we all 
 low in ourselves, the very fault we most dislike, when 
 committed against us 1 Shall we not at least aim at 
 consistency ? 
 
 Had she possessed less generous self-sacrifice, more 
 knowledge of the world and of business matters in gene- 
 ral, and had she failed to take it for granted that others 
 were like herself^ and would, when her turn came to need, 
 do as she had done, and find it ' more blessed to give than 
 to receive,' she might have laid by something for the fu- 
 ture. For few, perhaps, have ever possessed the power 
 and inclination, in the same degree, at one and the same 
 time, to labor as she has done, both day and night, for so 
 long a period of time. And had these energies been well- 
 directed, and the proceeds well husbanded, since she has 
 been her own mistress, they would have given her an in- 
 dependence during her natural life. But her constitu- 
 tional biases, and her early training, or rather want of 
 training, prevented this result ; and it is too late now to 
 remedy the great mistake. Shall she then be left to 
 want 1 Who will not answer, ' No !'
 
 124 NARRATIVE OF 
 
 LAST INTERVIEW WITH HER MASTER. 
 
 In the spring of 1849, Sojourner made a visit to her eld- 
 est daughter, Diana, who has ever suffered from ill health, 
 and remained with Mr. Dumont, Isabella's humane master. 
 She found him still living, though advanced in age, and 
 reduced in property, (as he had been for a number of 
 years,) but greatly enlightened on the subject of slavery. 
 He saidTie could then see, thai ' slavery vva.b the, wiukud-* 
 ast thing in the world, the greatest curse the earth had ever 
 felt -thajt it was then very clear to his mind that it was 
 so, though, while he was a slaveholder himself, he did not 
 see it so, and thought it was as right as holding any other 
 property.' Sojourner remarked to him, that it might be 
 the same with those who are now slaveholders. ' O, no,' 
 replied he, with warmth, ' it cannot be. For, now, the 
 sin of slavery is so clearly written out, and so much talked 
 against, (why, the whole world cries out against it !) 
 that if any one says he don't know, and has not heard, he 
 must, I think, be a liar. In my slaveholding days, there 
 were few that spoke against it, and these few made little 
 impression on any one. Had it been as it is now, think 
 you I could have held slaves ? No ! I should not have 
 dared to do it, but should have emancipated every one of 
 them. Now, it is very different ; all may hear if they 
 
 win' 
 
 Yes,reajier, if any one feels that the tocsin of alarm, 
 
 sound a louder note be- 
 
 fore^they__can_hear it, one would think they must be very 
 hard of hearing yea, that they belong to that class, of 
 whom it may be truly said, ' they have stopped their ears 
 that they may not hear.'
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 125 
 
 She received a letter from her daughter Diana, dated 
 Hyde Park, December 19, 1849, which informed her that 
 Mr. Dumont had 'gone West' with some of his sons 
 that he had taken along with him, probably through mis- 
 take, the few articles of furniture she had left with him. 
 ' Never mind,' says Sojourner, ' what we give to the poor, 
 we lend to the Lord.' She thanked the Lord with fervor, 
 that she had lived to hear her master say such blessed 
 things ! She recalled the lectures he used to give his 
 slaves, on speaking the truth and being honest, and laugh- 
 ing, she says he taught us not to lie and steal, when he 
 was stealing all the time himself and did not know it ! 
 Oh ! how sweet to my mind was this confession ! And 
 what a confession for a master to make to a slave ! A 
 slaveholding master turned to a brother ! Poor old man, 
 may the Lord bless him, and all slaveholders partake of 
 his spirit !
 
 "BOOK OF LIFE.'
 
 PART SECOND, 
 
 BOOK OF LIFE 
 
 THE preceding narrative lias given us a partial his- 
 tory of Sojoiirner Truth. This biography was pub- 
 lished not many years after her freedom had been se- 
 cured to her. Having but recently emerged from the 
 gloomy night of slavery, ignorant and untaught in all 
 that gives value to human existence, she was still suf- 
 fering from the burden of acquired and transmitted 
 habits incidental to her past condition of servitude. 
 Yet she was one whose life forces and moral percep- 
 tions were so powerful and clear cut that she not only 
 came out from this moral gutter herself, but largely 
 assisted in elevating others of her race from a similar 
 state of degradation. It was the " oil of divine ori- 
 gin " which quickened her soul and fed the vital spark, 
 that her own indomitable courage fanned to an undy- 
 ing llame. rSlie was one of t.hft fivsfr in pnli^f. jn the 
 war against slavery, 
 
 doin'by the side of its_no.l>le loader^. 
 
 A true sentinel, she slumbered not at her post.' To 
 hasten the enfranchisement of her own people way 
 the great work to which she consecrated her life ; yet, 
 A (129)
 
 130 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 ever responsive to the calls of humanity, she cheer- 
 I fully lent her aid to the advancement of other reforms, 
 especially woman's rights and temperance. 
 
 During the last twenty-five years, she has traveled 
 thousands of miles, lectured in many States of the 
 Union, spoken in Congress, and has received tokens 
 of friendship such as few can produce. The following 
 article was published in a Washington Sunday paper 
 vi during the administration of President Lincoln : 
 
 " It was our good fortune to be in the marble room 
 of the senate chamber, a few days ago, when thaold 
 land-mark of the past the representative of the for- 
 ever-gone age Sojourner Truth, made her appear- 
 ance. It was an hour not soon to be forgotten ; for 
 it is not often, even in this magnanimous age of prog- 
 ress, that we see reverend senators even him that 
 holds the second chair in the gift of the Republic 
 vacate their seats in the hall of State, to extend the 
 hand of welcome, the meed of praise, and substantial 
 blessings, to a poor negro woman, whose poor old form, 
 bending under the burden of nearly four-score and 
 ten years, tells but too plainly that her marvelously 
 strange life is drawing to a close. iBut it was as re- 
 freshing as it was strange to see her who had served in 
 the shackles of slavery in the great State of New York 
 for nearly a quarter of a century before a majority of 
 these senators were born now holding a levee with 
 them in the marble room, where less than a decade 
 ago she would have been spurned from its outer cor- 
 ridor by the lowest menial, much less could she have 
 taken the hand of a senator. Truly, the spirit of prog- 
 ress is abroad in the land, and the leaven of love is
 
 A LECTURING TOUR. 131 
 
 working in the hearts of the people, pointing with un- 
 erring certainty to the not far distant future, when the 
 ties of affection shall cement all nations, kindreds and 
 tongues into one common brotherhood." 
 
 She carries with her a book that she calls the Book 
 of Life, which contains the autographs of many distin- 
 giiished personages the good and great of the land. 
 No better idea can be given of the estimation in which 
 she is held than by transcribing these testimonials and 
 giving them to the public. It will be difficult to 
 arrange these accounts in the chronological order of 
 events, but no effort has been spared to furnish cor- 
 rect dates. 
 
 In the year 1851 she left her home in Northampton, /- 
 Mass., for a lecturing tour in Western New York,jic- 
 companied by the Hon. George Thompson of England, 
 andofRSTTtLstinguished abolitionists. To advocate the 
 cause of tmTenslaved at tiilsfperiod was both unpopu- 
 lar and unsafe. Their meetings were frequently dis- 
 turbed or broken xip by the pro-slavery mob, and their 
 lives imperiled. At such times, Sojourner fearlessly 
 maintained her ground, and by her dignified manner 
 and opportune remarks would disperse the rabble and 
 restore order. 
 
 She spent several months in Western New York, 
 making Rochester her head-quarters. Leaving this 
 State, she traveled westward, and the next glimpse we 
 get of her is in a Woman's Rights Convention at 
 Akron, Ohio. Mrs. Frances D. Gage, who presided_ 
 at that meeting, relates the following : 
 
 "The cause was unpopular then. The_leadej s of 
 the movement trembled on seeing a tall, gaunt black
 
 132 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 woman, in a gray dress and white turban, surmounted 
 by an uncouth sun-bonnet, march deliberately into the 
 church, walk with the air of a queen up the aisle, and 
 take her seat upon the pulpit steps. A buzz of dis- 
 approbation was heard all over the house, and such 
 words as these fell upon listening ears : 
 
 " ' An abolition affair ! ' ' Woman's rights and nig- 
 gers ! ' ' We told you so ! ' ' Go it, old darkey ! ' 
 
 "I chanced upon that occasion to wear my fiist 
 laurels in public life as pi'esident of the meeting. At 
 niy request, order was restored and the business of the 
 hour went on. The morning session was held ; the 
 evening exercises came and went. Old Sojourner, 
 qjiiet^and reticent as the ' Ltby-anJstatue^sat crouched 
 againstthe wall on the corner of the pulpit stairs, 
 her smi-bonnet -shading Tier eyes, her elbows on her 
 knees, and her chin resting upon her broad, hard palm. 
 At intermission she was busy, selling ' The Life of 
 Sojourner Truth,' a narrative of her own strange and 
 adventurous life. Again and again timorous and 
 trembling ones came to me and said with earnestness, 
 ' Do n't let her speak, Mrs. Gage, it will ruin us. 
 Every newspaper in the land^-will have our cause 
 mixed with abolition and niggers, and we shall be ut- 
 terly denounced.' My only answer was, ' We shall 
 see when the time comes.' 
 
 " The second day the work waxed warm. Metho- 
 dist, Baptist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Universal- 
 ist ministers came in to hear and discuss the resolu- 
 tions presented. One claimed superior rights and 
 privileges for man on the ground of superior intellect ; 
 another, because of the manhood of Christ. ' If God
 
 OUT V) KILTER. 
 
 had desired the equality of woman, he would have 
 given some token of his will through the birth, life, 
 and death of the Saviour.' Another gave us a theo- 
 logical view of the sin of our first mother. There 
 were few women in those days that dared to ' speak 
 in meeting,' and the august teachers of the people 
 were seeming to get the better of us, while the boys 
 in the galleries and the sneerers among the pews were 
 hugely enjoying the discomfiture, as they supposed, of 
 the ' strong minded.' Some cf the tender-skinned 
 friends were on the point of losing dignity, and the 
 atmosphere of the convention betokened a storm. 
 
 " Slowly from her seat in the corner rose Sojourn or 
 Truth, wlio^- till now,-teRt^scarcely lifted her head. 
 ' Do n't let her speak ! ' gasped half a dozen in my ear. 
 She moved slowly and solemnly to the front, laid her 
 old bonnet at her feet, and turned her great, speaking 
 eyes-te-sae. There was^aThissing sovad^of~disappro- 
 bation above and below. I rose and announced ' So- 
 journer Truth,' and begged the audience to keep si- 
 lence for a few moments. ' The tumult subsided at 
 once, and every eye was fixed on this almost Amazon 
 form, wjiich jitood 
 
 eye piercing thejnpper air^ like ona in a dream. At 
 her first word, there was a profound hush. She spoke 
 in deep tones, which, though not loud, reached every 
 ear in the house, and away through the throng at the 
 doors and windows : 
 
 ' ' Well, chilern, whar dar is so much racket dar 
 must be something out o' kilter. \ I tink dat 'twixt de 
 niggers of de Souf and de women at de Norf all a 
 talkin' 'bout rights, de white men will be in a fix
 
 134' "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 pretty soon. But what's all dis hero talkin' 'bout? 
 Dat man ober dar say dat women needs to be helped 
 into carriages, and lifted ober ditches, and to have de 
 best place every whar. Nobody eber help me into 
 carriages, or ober mud puddles, or gives me any best 
 place [and raising herself to her full hight and her 
 voice to a pitch like rolling thunder, she asked], and 
 ar'n't I a woman 1 Look at me ! Look at my arm ! 
 [And she bared her right arm to the shoulder, show- 
 ing her tremendous muscular power.] I have plowed, 
 and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man 
 could head me and ar'n't I a woman 1 I could work 
 as much and eat as much as a man (when I cotild get 
 it), and bear de lash as well and ar'n't I a woman 1 
 I have borne thirteen chilern and seen 'em mos' all 
 sold off into slavery, and when I cried out with a 
 mother's grief, none but Jesus heard and ar'n't I a 
 woman 1 Den dey talks 'bout dis ting in de head 
 what dis dey call it 1' l Intellect,' whispered some one 
 near. ' Dat's it honey. What's dat got to do with 
 women's rights or niggers' rights ? If my cup won't 
 hold but a pint and yo\irn holds a quart, would n't ye 
 be mean not to let me have my little half- measure full ? ' 
 And she pointed her significant finger and sent a keen 
 glance at the minister who had made the argument. 
 The cheering was long and loud. 
 
 " ' Den dat little man in black dar, he say women 
 can't have as much rights as man, cause Christ want 
 a woman. Whar did your Christ come from ? ' Roll- 
 ing thunder could not have stilled that crowd as did 
 those deep, wonderful tones, as she stood there with 
 outstretched arms and eye of fire. Raising her voice
 
 THE TIDE TURNS. 135 
 
 still louder, sho repeated, ' Wliar did your Christ 
 come from ? From God and a woman. Man had 
 nothing to do with him.' Oh ! what a rebuke she 
 gave the little man. 
 
 " ' Turning again to another objector, she took up 
 the defense of mother Eve. I cannot follow her 
 through it all. It was pointed, and witty, and sol- 
 emn, eliciting at almost every sentence deafening ap- 
 plause ; and she ended by asserting that ' if de fust 
 woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the 
 world upside down, all 'lone, dese togedder [and she 
 glanced her eye over us], ought to be able to turn it 
 back and get it right side up again, and now dey is 
 asking to do it, de men better let em.' Long- con tin- 
 ued cheering. ' Bleeged to ye for hearin' on me, and 
 now ole Sojourner ha'n't got nothing more to say.' 
 
 " Amid roars of applause, she turned to her corner, 
 leaving more than one of us with streaming eyes and 
 hearts beating with gratitude. She had taken us up 
 in her strong arms and carried us safely over the 
 slough of difficulty, turning the whole tide in our fa- 
 vor. I have never in my life seen anything like the 
 magical influence that subdued the mobbish spirit of 
 the day and turned the jibes and sneers of an excited 
 crowd into notes of respect and admiration. Hun- 
 dreds rushed up to shake hands, and congratulate the 
 glorious old mother and bid her God speed on her 
 mission of ' testifying again concerning the wickedness 
 of this 'ere people.' " 
 
 Mrs. Gage also in the same article relates the fol- 
 owing : 
 
 "Once upon a Sabbath in Michigan an abolition
 
 13G " BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 meeting was hold. Parker Pillsbury was speaker, and 
 criticized freely the conduct of the churches regarding 
 slavery. While he was speaking there came up a 
 fearful thunder storm. A young Methodist arose, and 
 interrupting the speaker, said ho felt alarmed ; he felt 
 as if God's judgment was about to fall on hint for dar- 
 ing to sit and hear such blaPpHetny ; that it made his 
 hair almost rise with terror. Here a voice, sounding 
 above the rain thai beat upon the roof, the sweeping 
 surge of the winds, the crashing of the limbs of trees, 
 the swaying of branches, and the rolling of thunder, 
 spoke out : ' Chile, do n't 1>3 skeered ; you are not go- 
 ing to be harmed. I do n't speck God's ever hearn 
 tell on ye.' It was all she said, but it was enough." 
 
 She remained two years in the State of Ohio, 
 going from town to town, attending conventions, and 
 holding meetings of her own. Marius Ilobinson, of 
 Salem, Ohio, editor of the Anti-Slavery Jiugle, whose 
 clarion notes never faltered in freedom's cause, was 
 her friend and co-laborer. She toiled on in this field 
 perseveringly, sowing the seeds of truth in the hearts 
 of the people, and patiently awaiting the time when 
 she should help gather in the sheaves of a ripened 
 harvest. At this time she attracted but little atten- 
 tion outside a charmed circle of reformers whose 
 mighty moral power was the lever which eventually 
 overthrew the institution of American slavery. 
 
 About the year 185G, she came to Battle Creek and 
 bought a house and lot, since which time her home 
 has been in Michigan. She still continued her itiner- 
 ant life, spending much of her time in the neighboring 
 States, especially in Indiana, which she felt needed
 
 PRO-SLAVERY IN INDIANA. 
 
 her missionary efforts. An account of one of hoi- 
 meetings held in the northern part of that State has 
 l>een kindly furnished us by her friend, Parker Pills- 
 bury, accompanied by a note from himself. 
 
 " I inclose a communication from the Boston Liber- 
 ator, of Oct. 5, 1858, relating to Sojourner Truth. 
 The wondrous experiences of that most remarkable 
 woman would make a library, if not indeed a litera- 
 ture, could they all be gathered and spread before the 
 world. I was much in her company for several years 
 in the anti-slavery conflict, and have often seen her 
 engaged in what seemed most_un_equal combat with 
 
 tho defenders of slavery and foes of freedom ; but I 
 never saw her when she did not, as in the instance 
 given below, scatter her enemies with dismay and 
 confusion, winning morcrthtffi-^vietory in every bat- 
 tl>. p. P." 
 
 '< PRO-SLAVERY IN INDIANA. 
 
 "SILVER LAKE, Kosciusko Co., Ind,, \ 
 " October 1, 1858. ) 
 
 "FRIEND W. L. GARRISON : Sojourner Truth, an 
 elderly colored woman, well known throughout the 
 Eastern States, is now holding a series of an ti slavery 
 meetings in Northern Indiana. Sojourner comes well 
 recommended by H. B. Sfcowe, yourself, and others, 
 and was gladly received and welcomed by the friends 
 of the slave in this locality. Her progress in knowl- 
 edge, truth, and righteoxisness is very remarkable, es- 
 pecially when we consider her former low estate as a 
 slave. The border-ruffian Democracy of Indiana, 
 however, appear to be jealous and suspicious of every
 
 138 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 anti slavery movement. A rumen- was immediately 
 circulated that Sojourner was an impostor ; that she 
 was, indeed, a man disguised in women's clothing. It 
 appears, too, from what has since transpired, that they 
 suspected her to be a mercenary hireling of the Re- 
 publican party. 
 
 "At her third appointed meeting in this vicinity, 
 which was held in the meeting-house of the United 
 Brethren, a large number of democrats and other 
 pro-slavery persons were present. At the close of the 
 meeting, Dr. T. W. Strain, the mouthpiece of the 
 slave Democracy, requested the large congregation to 
 ' hold on,' and stated that a doubt existed in the minds 
 of many persons present respecting the sex of the 
 speaker, and that it was his impression that a major- 
 ity of them believed the speaker to be a man. The 
 doctor also affirmed (which was not believed by the 
 friends of the slave) that it was for the speaker's spe- 
 cial benefit that he now demanded that Sojourner 
 submit her breast to the inspection of some of the la- 
 dies present, that the doubt might be removed by 
 their testimony. There were a large number of ladies 
 present, who appeared to be ashamed and indignant 
 at such a proposition. Sojoumer's friends, some oi 
 whom had not heard the rumor, were surprised and 
 indignant at sxich ruffianly surmises and treatment. 
 
 " Confusion and uproar ensued, which was soon sup- 
 pressed by Sojourner, who, immediately rising, asked 
 them why they suspected her to be a man. The De- 
 mocracy answered, ' Your voice is not the voice of a 
 woman, it is the voice of a man, and we believe you 
 are a man.' Dr. Strain called for a vote, and a bois-
 
 PRO-SLAVERY IN IXDTANA. 139 
 
 terous ' Ayo,' was the rosiilt. A negative vote was 
 not called for. Sojourner told them that her breasts 
 had suckled many a white babe, to the exclusion of 
 her own offspring ; that some of those white babies 
 had grown to man's estate ; that, although they had 
 sucked her colored breasts, they were, in her estima- 
 tion, far more manly than they (Her persecutors) ap- 
 peared to be ; and she qtiietly asTEed them, as she dis- 
 robed her bosom, if they, too, wished to suck ! In 
 vindication of her truthfulness, she told them that she / 
 would show her breast to the whole congregation ; ** 
 that it was not to her shame that she uncovered her 
 breast before them, but to their shame. Two young 
 men (A. Badgely and J. Homer) stepped forward 
 while Sojourner exposed her naked breast to the au- 
 dience. I heard a democrat say, as we were return- 
 ing home from meeting,' that Dr. Strain had, previous 
 to the examination, offei'ed to bet forty dollars that 
 Sojourner was a man ! So much for the physiological 
 acumen of a western physician. 
 
 " As ' agitation of thought is the beginning of wis- 
 dom,' we hope that Indiaiia will yet be redeemed. 
 " Yours, truly, for the slave, 
 
 " WILLIAM HAYWARD." 
 
 The late lamented Josephine Grifling, whose loyal 
 services in support of the Union, and untiring labors 
 for the colored race, entitles her to a monument at 
 the nation's cost, was often associated with Sojourner 
 in anti-slavery times, and was invited to hold meet- 
 ings with her in Angola and vicinity in the autumn 
 of 1862. The slave-holding spirit was now fully
 
 140 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 aroused in Indiana, and very bitter toward the negro. 
 A law had recently Leon passed forbidding their enter- 
 ing the State or remaining in it. This law was imcon- 
 stitutional, nevertheless the democrats had enforced 
 it and endeavored to eniorjse-it in Sojoxirner's case. 
 A warrant was made out .and she was- arrested for 
 both oflenses. MrsTGriffing undertook her defense 
 alone, outwitted and beat the enemy. Sojourner, 
 nothing daunted, determined to remain and carry out 
 the programme. For a time her meetings were much 
 disturbed. When she arose to speak, the democrats 
 would cry, " Down with you ! We think the niggers 
 have done enough ! We will not hear yon speak ! 
 Stop your mouth ! &c., etc." She told them that the 
 Union people would soon make them stop their 
 mouths. The Union home guard took her into custody 
 to protect her from being thrown into jail by the rebels. 
 A meeting was appointed at the town-house in An- 
 gola, but the democrats threatened to burn the build- 
 ing if she attempted to speak in it. To this she 
 made answer, " Then I will speak upon the ashes." 
 Describing this meeting, she says : 
 
 " The ladies thought I should be dressed in uniform 
 as well as the captain of the home guard, whose pris- 
 *oner I was and who was to go with me to the meet- 
 ing. So they put upon me a red, white, and blue 
 shawl, a sash and apron to match, a cap on my head 
 with a star in front, and a star on each shoulder. 
 When I was dressed I looked in the glass and was 
 fairly frightened." Said I, " It seems I am going to 
 battle." My friends advised me to take a sword or 
 pistol. I replied, " I carry no weapon ; the Lord will
 
 PRO-SLAVERY IN INDIANA. 141 
 
 reserve [preserve] me without weapons. I feel safe 
 even in the midst of my enemies ; for the truth is 
 powerful and will prevail." 
 
 " "When we were ready to go, they put me into a 
 large, beautiful carriage with the captain and other 
 gentlemen, all of whom were armed. The soldiers 
 walked by our side and a long procession followed. 
 As we neared the court-house, looking out of the win- 
 dow, I saw that the building was surrounded by a 
 great crowd. I felt as I was going against the 
 Philistines and I prayed the Lord to reliver [deliver] 
 me out of their hands. But when the rebels saw 
 such a mighty army coming, they fled, and by the 
 time we arrived they were scattered over the fields, 
 looking like a flock of frightened crows, and not one 
 was left but a small boy, who sat upon the fence, cry- 
 ing, 'Nigger, nigger!' 
 
 "We now marched into the court-house, escorted 
 by double files of soldiers with presented arms. The 
 band struck up the ' Star Spangled Banner,' in which 
 I joined and sang with all my might, while amid 
 Hashing bayonets and waving banners our party made 
 its way to the platform upon which I went and advo- 
 cated free speech with more zeal than ever before, and. 
 without interruption. At the close of the meeting, I 
 was conducted to the house of the esquire for safety, 
 as my friends feared the mob might return and make 
 us trouble; but the day passed without farther an- 
 noyance. 
 
 " I spent sonic of the time at Pleasant Lake with 
 Mr. lloby's family; but Mr. Koby was arrested for ea- 
 ttTtaming rue, tried and acquitted. Another friend,
 
 142 " JiOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 Mr. Fox, was taken up for encouraging me to remain 
 in the State and summoned to appear at the district 
 court, but was found 'not guilty.' 
 
 " One day whilst I was at Mr. Roby's, two ladies 
 drove up in haste and earnestly desired me to leave, 
 saying the rebels were near by coming to take me 
 whereupon I went home with them. But they, be- 
 coming more alarmed, advised me to seek safety in 
 some woods not far away, by offering to go with me. 
 This I positively refused to do, and told them I would 
 sooner go to jail. I stood my ground and the rebel 
 constable came with a warrant to take me ; but a Un- 
 ion officer, following closely behind him, stepped up 
 and read some papers showing that I was his prisoner. 
 At this turn of affairs the rebel officer looked very 
 much disgusted, and turning to go, said, ' I ain't go- 
 ing to bother my head with niyi/crs, I'll resign my of- 
 fice first.' Then the home guard marched up to our 
 house, playing upon the fife and (3 rum, and gave loud 
 cheers for Sojourner, Free Speech, and the Union. 
 
 " The last time I was arrested, the constable asked 
 if I would appear at court, or if he should take me 
 along with him. My friends assured him that they 
 would be responsible for my appearance. "When the 
 day for my trial came, a great many went with me, 
 some of the best families in the county, among whom 
 were Dr. Gale, Dr. Moss and family, Thomas Moss 
 and family, Mr. Roby, Mrs. Griffing, and many other 
 noble people whose names I cannot now recall, but 
 the memory of whose friendship will be cherished 
 whilst memory remains. 
 
 "My enemies, thinking I would probably run
 
 PRO- SLAVERY IN INDIANA. 143 
 
 away, had made no preparation for the trial; but 
 when they saw us come, hunted around and procured 
 a shabby room into which I went with a few friends 
 and waited for some one to appear against me. After 
 a while, two half-drunken lawyers, who looked like 
 the scrapings of the Democratic party, made their ap- 
 pearance, eyed us for a few moments, then left. Pres- 
 ently we saw them enter a tavern across the way, and 
 this ended the trial. 
 
 " We now went to the house of a friend and had a 
 grand picnic. I returned home after a month of hard 
 labor in Indiana, which I believe did much for the 
 cause of human freedom." 
 
 Mrs. Griffing, writing to the Anti-Slavery Standard, 
 says, " Our meetings are largely attended by persons 
 from every part of the county ; especially by the most 
 noble-hearted women, whose presence has produced a 
 marked impression and has done more toward estab- 
 lishing a free government than would the killing of a 
 hundred of Ellsworth's Zouaves. The lines are now 
 being drawn as they never were by political maneuver, 
 and as they cannot be by the cold steel alone, because 
 it is a blow at slavery. ' Cannon balls may aid the 
 truth, but thought's a weapon stronger.' 
 
 "Jala very has made a conquest in this^county by 
 the suppressioiTof freu speech, and freedom must make 
 her conquest by the steadJast support of freespeech. 
 There was not manhood^enougli in the county last 
 fall to protect an aati-slavery meeting at the county- 
 seat ; now there are a hundred men who would spill 
 their blood sooner than surrender the right of even 
 Sojourner. At all of our meetings we have been
 
 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 told that armed men were in our midst and had de- 
 clared they would blow out our brains." 
 
 In the winter and spring of 1863, Sojourner was ill 
 for many weeks and her finances becoming exhausted, 
 she prayed the Lord to send an angel to relieve her 
 wants. Soon aft jr, a friend called bringing all need- 
 ful supplies, to whom she said, "I just asked the Lord 
 to send one of his chosen angels to me," and smiling 
 added, " I knew he would think of you first." 
 
 Her case was made known to the public through 
 the columns of the Anti-Slavery Standard and gener- 
 ous donations were forwarded to her. The following 
 articles were published at the time : 
 
 "SOJOURNER TRUTH. 
 
 " OLIVER JOHNSON : 
 
 " Dear Friend Again I would ask 
 permission, through your paper, to return thanks to 
 friends whose hearts have been moved to give aid and 
 comfort to our 'venerable friend and teacher,' So- 
 journer Truth. She desires me to say that she cannot 
 rest until all know how truly grateful she is for their 
 kind assistance. She says her heart is full of praises 
 and prayer, and sometimes she thinks her cup of hap- 
 piness is about to run over, and she prays de Lord to 
 pour it on to some of her friends. Would that some 
 people had the power and goodness of heart to extract 
 happiness from material surroundings in proportion 
 to their possessions, as Sojourner has. A much bet- 
 ter woi-ld would this be. 
 
 " When the kind and excellent letter reached her
 
 SOJOURNEU TRUTH. 145 
 
 from Samuel May and wife, of Leicester, Mass., ac- 
 companied with donations from Ireland, she was 
 greatly surprised, and expressions of deep gratitude 
 came in rapid succession. Finally, she concluded that 
 no mortal on earth was ever so blessed before, and 
 she was quite sure ' do Lord never sent his angels from 
 so great a distance, even in 'Lijah's day.' She won- 
 dered who ever heard of Sojourner way in Ireland, 
 and when she thought that they were friends whom 
 she had never seen, she was quite overcome with joy, 
 and thought the goodness of the Lord was greater than 
 she coiild understand. 
 
 " She wishes you to print the name of her grandson, 
 James Caldwell, of the 54th, thinking that some one 
 may go and see him. 
 
 " She wishes her friends to know that her health is 
 better than it was some time since. She says she has 
 ' budded out wid do trees, but may fall wid de au- 
 tumn leaves.' 
 
 II. M. STICKNEY." 
 
 "NAMES OF DONORS. 
 
 " Mrs. Edmundson, Dublin, Ireland. 
 Mrs. Anne Allen, " " 
 
 Eichard D. Webb, " " 
 
 Sarah 11. May, Leicester, Mass. 
 Samuel May, Jr., " " 
 
 Mrs. Goss, New York, 
 
 W. H. Burleigh, " " 
 
 George W. Bungay, " " 
 Oliver Johnson, " " 
 
 Theodore Tilton, " "
 
 146 "BOOK OF LTI-'K." 
 
 ' Frecdinan's Relief Society,' Worcester, Mass. 
 
 Miss Ladd, 
 
 Mrs. Miller, 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Twain, 
 
 Dr. Church and wife, 
 
 Mrs. John Hull, 
 
 Mrs. Maria Brown and Stillman, 
 
 Miss Laura Stebbins, 
 
 Mrs. Charles Hastings, 
 
 Mrs. Griffing, 
 
 Mrs. Samson and Mrs. Eliot, 
 
 Mrs. John Hamilton," 
 
 "To the Editor of the National Anti-Slavery Standard : 
 
 " This extraordinary woman still lives. When the 
 letter of Phebe M. Sfcickney came to us at our home 
 on the prairies in Iowa, suggesting pecuniary comfort 
 for the blessed old saint in the sunset of her remarka- 
 ble and useful life, I never remember to have regretted 
 more that I had so little at command to bestow. The 
 Standard, however, reports the names of a number ol 
 friends who were ready and willing to minister to her 
 necessities. I hope others will do likewise. Few, if 
 any, in the land are more worthy. Hers has been a 
 life of pre-eminent devotion to the sacred cause 01 
 liberty and purity. 
 
 "The graphic sketch of her by the author of ' Uncle 
 Tom's Cabin ' has doubtless been read with interest 
 by thousands. No pen, however, can give an ade- 
 quate idea of Sojourner Truth. This unlearned Afri- 
 can woman, with her deep religious and trustful nat- 
 ure burning in her soul like fire, has a magnetic power
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 147 
 
 over an audience perfectly astounding. I was once 
 present in a religious meeting where some speaker 
 had alluded to the government of the United States, 
 and had uttered sentiments in favor of its Constitu- 
 tion. Sojourner stood, erect and tall, with her white 
 turban on her head, and in a low and subdued tone of 
 voice began by saying : ' Children, I talks to God and 
 God talks to me. I goes out and talks to God in de 
 fluids and de woods. [The weevil had destroyed thoxi- 
 sands of acres of wheat in the West that year.] Dis 
 morning I was walking out, and I got over de fence. 
 I saw de wheat a holding up its head, looking very 
 big. I goes up and takes holt ob it. You b'lieve it, 
 dere was no wheat dare 1 I says, God [speaking the 
 name in a voice of reverence peculiar to herself], what 
 is de matter wid dis wheat ? and he says to me, " So- 
 journer, dere is a little weasel in it." Now I hears 
 talkin' abo\it de Constitution and de rights of man. 
 I comes up and I takes hold of dis Constitution. It 
 looks mighty big, and I feels for my rights, but der 
 aint any dare. Den I says, God, what ails dis Con- 
 stitution? He says to me, "Sojourner, dere is a lit- 
 tle iveasel in it." ' The effect upon the multitude was 
 irresistible. 
 
 " On a dark, cloudy morning, while she was our 
 guest, she was sitting, as she often was wont to do, 
 with her cheeks upon her palms, her elbows on her 
 kiees; she lifted up her head as though she had just 
 wakened from a dream, and saj,d, ' Friend Dugdale, 
 poor old Sojourner can't read a word, will you git me 
 de Bible and read me a little of de ScripterT Oh, 
 yes, Sojourner, gladly, said I. I opened to Isaiah,
 
 148 " BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 the 59th chapter. She listened as though an oracle 
 w,)K speaking. When I came to the words\ Noun 
 calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth ; your t 
 hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with \ 
 iniquity ; they conceive mischief, and bring forth in- 
 iquity ; they hatch cockatrice's eggs, and weave the 
 spider's web ; he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and 
 that which is crushed breaketli out into a viper, she 
 could restrain hei-self no longer, and, bringing her 
 great palms together with an emphasis that I shall 
 never forget, she exclaimed, ' Is dat thafe ? " It shall 
 break out into a viper." Yes, God told me dnt. I 
 never heard it read afore, noiv I know it double /VjQf 
 course her mind was directed to the heinous institu- 
 tion of American slavery, and she regarded these 
 terrible words of the seer as prophetic concerning its 
 fearful consequences. J 
 
 " On one occasion, in a large reform meeting, where 
 many able and efficient public speakers were present, 
 Sojourner sat in the midst. One man, in defiance of 
 propriety, was wasting the time of the meeting by 
 distasteful and indelicate declamation. Some, in de- 
 spair of his ending, were leaving the meeting. Oth- 
 ers, mortified and distressed, were silently enduring, 
 while the ' flea of the Convention/ continued to bore 
 it, nothing daunted. Just at a point where he 
 was forced to suspend long enough to take in a long 
 breath, Sojourner, who had been sitting in the back 
 part of the hom:e with her head bowed, and groaning 
 in spirit, raised up her tall figure before him, and, 
 putting her eyes upon him, said, ' Child, if de people 
 has no whar to put it ? what is de use? Sit down,
 
 SOJOUBNEll TRUTH. 
 
 child, sit doum!' The man dropped as if he bad been 
 shot, and not another word was heard from him. 
 
 '' A friend related the following anecdote to me : 
 In that period of the anti-slavery movement when 
 niobocratic violence was often resorted to, one of its 
 most talented and devoted advocates, after an able ad- 
 dress, was followed by a lawyer, who-~ppt j ak j d U>4he 
 lowest sentimeixtScT-was scurrilous and abusive in the 
 superlative degree. Alluding to the Colored xace ? he 
 compared them to monkeys, baboons, and ourang- 
 outangs. WheiTne was about closing his inflamma- 
 tory speech, Sojourner quietly drew near to the plat- 
 form and whispered in the ear of the advocate of her 
 people, 'Don't dirty your hands wid daf critter; let 
 mB"*fend to him !' The speaker knew it was safe to 
 trust her. ' Children,' said she, straightening herself 
 to her full hight, ' I anx-one of^dem_monkey tribes. 
 I was born a slave. I had de dirty work to do de 
 scullion work. Now I am going to 'ply to dis critter ' 
 pointing her long, bony finger with withering scorn 
 at the petty lawyer. ' Now in de course of my time 
 I has done a great deal ef dniy scullion work, but of 
 all de dirty work I ever done, dis is de scullionist and 
 de dirtiest.' Peering into the eyes of the auditory 
 with just such a look as she could give, and that no 
 one could imitate, she continued : ' Now, children, 
 don't you pity me?' She had taken the citadel by 
 storm. The whole audience shouted applause, and 
 the negro-haters as heartily as any. 
 
 " I was present at a large religious convention. 
 Love in the family had been portrayed in a manner 
 to touch the better nature of the auditory. Just us
 
 150 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 the meeting was about to close, Sojourner stood iip. 
 Tears were coursing down her furrowed cheeks. She 
 said : ' We has heerd a great deal about love at home 
 in de family. Now, children, I was a slave, and my 
 husband and my children was sold from me.' The 
 pathos with which she uttered these words made a 
 deep impression upon the meeting. Pausing a mo- 
 ment, she added : ' Now, husband and children is all 
 gone, and what has 'come of de affection I had for 
 dein 1 Dat is de question before de house !' The peo- 
 ple smiled amidst a baptism of tears. 
 
 " Let food and raiment be given her. There are 
 many in the land who will be made richer by seeing 
 that this noble woman shares their bounty ; and then, 
 when her Lord shall come to talk with her, and take 
 her into his presence chamber, and shall say, ' So- 
 journer, lacked thou anything]' she may answer, 
 ' Nothing, Lord, either for body or soul.' 
 
 " J. A. D. 
 
 " Near ML Pleasant, Iowa, 1863." 
 
 In April, 18G3, a lengthy account of Sojourner's life 
 was published in the Atlantic Monthly, entitled, "So- 
 journer Truth, the Libyan Sibyl," written by Mrs. 
 II. B. Stowe. This graphic sketch not only gave 
 Sojourner greater notoriety, but added fresh laurels 
 to Mrs. Stowe's increasing fame as an authoress. The 
 description of her person and the portrayal of her char- 
 acter are so vivid that it finds a fitting place in her 
 Book of Life, and is here fully given.
 
 Til!-] LIBYAN SIJJYL. 151 
 
 SOJOURNEU TRUTH, THE LIBYAN SIBYL. 
 
 Many years ago, the few readers of radical abo- 
 litionist papers must ofcen have seen the singular 
 narnu of Sojoumer Truth, announced as a frequent 
 speaker at anti-slavery meetings, and as traveling on 
 a sort of self-appointed agency through the country. 
 I had myself often remarked the name, but never met 
 the individual. On one occasion, when our house was 
 lilled with company, several eminent clergymen being 
 our guests, notice was brought up to me that Sojourner 
 Truth was below, and requested an interview. Know- 
 ing nothing of her but her singular name, I went down, 
 prepared to make the interview short, as tte press- 
 ure of many other engagements demanded. 
 
 When I went into the room, a tall, spare form arose 
 to meet me. She was evidently a full-blooded Afri- 
 can, and though now aged and worn with many hard- 
 ships, still gave the impression of a physical develop- 
 ment which in early youth must have been as fine a 
 specimen of the torrid zone as Cumberworth's cele- 
 brated statuette of the Negro Woman at the Fount- 
 ain. Indeed, she so strongly reminded me of that 
 iigure, that, when I recall the events of her life, as she 
 narrated them to me, I imagine her as a living, breath- 
 ing impersonation of that work of art. 
 
 I do not recollect ever to have been conversant with 
 any one who had more of that silent and subtle power 
 which we call personal presence than this woman. In 
 the modern spiritualistic phraseology, she would be 
 described as having a strong sphere. Her tall form, 
 as she rose up before me, is still vivid to my mind.
 
 152 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 She was dressed in some stout, grayish stuff, neat and 
 clean, though dusty from travel. On her head she 
 wore a bright Madras handkerchief, arranged as a 
 turban, after the manner of her race. She seemed 
 perfectly self-possessed and at her ease ; in fact, there 
 was almost an unconscious superiority, not unmixed 
 with a solemn twinkle of humor, in the odd, com- 
 posed manner in which she looked down 011 me. Her 
 whole air had at times a gloomy sorb of drollery which 
 impressed one strangely. 
 
 " So this is you" she said. 
 
 " Yes," I answered. 
 
 " Well, honey, de Lord bless ye ! I jes' thought I'd 
 like to come an' have a look at ye. You's hecrd o' me, 
 I reckon? " she added. 
 
 " Yes, I think I have. You go about lecturing, do 
 you not 1 ' 
 
 " Yes, honey, that's what I do. The Lord has made 
 me a sign unto this nation, an' I go round a-testifyin,' 
 an' showin' on em' their sins agin my people." 
 
 So saying, she took a seat, and, stooping over and 
 crossing her arms on her knees, she looked down on 
 the floor, and appeared to fall into a sort of reverie. 
 Her great, gloomy eyes and her dark face seemed to 
 work with some undercurrent of feeling ; she sighed 
 deeply, and occasionally broke out, 
 
 " O Lord ! Lord ! Oh, the tears, an' the groans, 
 an" the moans, Lord ! " 
 
 I should have said that she was accompanied by a 
 little grandson of ten years the fattest, j oiliest wool- 
 ly-headed little specimen of Africa that one can im- 
 agine. He .was grinning and showing his glistening
 
 TJIK LIU VAX SIBYL. 153 
 
 white teeth in a state of perpetual merriment, and at 
 this moment broke out into an audible giggle, which 
 disturbed the reverie into which his relative was fall- 
 ing. 
 
 She looked at him with an indulgent sadness, and 
 then at me. 
 
 "Laws, ma'am, lie don't know nothin' about it, JIG 
 don't. Why, I've seen them poor critters beat an' 
 'bused an' hunted, brought in all torn ears hangin' 
 all in rags, where the dogs been a bitin' of 'em ! " 
 
 This set off our little African Puck into another 
 
 giggle, in which he seemed perfectly convulsed. She 
 
 surveyed him soberly, without the slightest irritation. 
 
 s^ " Well, you may bless the Lord, you can laugh ; 
 
 \. but I tell you, 't wa'n't no laughin' matter. 
 
 \- <By this time I thought her manner so original that 
 
 it might be worth while to call down my friends ; and 
 
 she seemed perfectly well pleased with the idea. An 
 
 audience was what she wanted it mattered riot 
 
 whether high or low, learned or ignorant. She had 
 
 tilings to say, and was ready to say them at all times, 
 
 and to any one. 
 
 I called down Dr. Bcecher, Professor Allen, and 
 two or three other clergymen, who, together with my 
 husband and family, made a roomful. No princess 
 could have received a drawing-room with more com- 
 posed dignity than Sojourner her audience. She stood 
 among them, calm and erect, as one of her own native 
 palm-trees waving alone in the desert. I presented 
 one after another to her, and at last said 
 
 ' Sojourner, this is Dr. Ucecher. He is u very eel 
 pbrated preacher."
 
 154 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 " Is he ? " she said, offering her hand in a conde- 
 scending manner, and looking down on his white head. 
 "Ye dear lamb, I 'm glad to see ye ! De Lord blees 
 ye ! I loves preachers. I 'in a kind o' preacher my- 
 self." 
 
 " You are 1 " said. Dr. Beecher. " Do you preach 
 from the Bible 1 " 
 
 " No, honey, can't preach from de Bible can't read 
 a letter." 
 
 " Why, Sojoumer, what do you preach from, then ? " 
 
 Her answer was given with a solemn power of 
 voice, peculiar to herself, that hushed every one in the 
 room. 
 
 -"When I preaches, I has jest one text to preach 
 from, an' I always preaches from this one. My text 
 is, ' WHEN I FOUND JESUS ! ' 
 
 " Well, you could n't have a better one," said one of 
 the ministers. 
 
 She paid no attention to him, but stood and seemed 
 swelling with her own thoughts, and then began this 
 narration : 
 
 "Well, now, I'll jest have to go back an' tell ye 
 all about ib. Ye see we was all brought over from 
 Africa, father, an' mother an' I, an' a lot more of us ; 
 an' we was sold up an' down, an' hither an' yon ; an' 
 I can 'member, when I was a little thing, not bigger 
 than this 'ere,' pointing to her grandson, ' how my 
 ole mammy would sit out o' doors in the evenin,' an' 
 look up at the stars an' groan. She'd groan, an groan, 
 an' says I to her, 
 
 " ' Mammy, what makes you groan so 1 ' 
 
 " An' she 'd say,
 
 TUB LIBYAN SIBYL. 155 
 
 " ' Matter enough, chile ! I'm groanin' to think o' / 
 my poor children : they don't know where I be, an' I 
 don't know where they be ; they looks up at the stars, 
 an' I looks up at the stars, but I can't tell where they 
 be. 
 
 " ' Now,' she said, ' chile, when you 're grown up, 
 you may be sold away from your mother an' all your 
 old friends, an' have great troubles come on ye ; an' 
 when you has these troubles come on ye, ye jes' go to 
 Cod, an' he '11 help ye.' 
 
 " An says I to her, 
 
 " ' Who is God, anyhow, mammy ? ' 
 
 " An' says she, 
 
 " ' Why, chile, you jes' look up dar. It's him that 
 made all dem ?' 
 
 "Well, I did n't mind much 'bout God in them days. 
 I grew up pretty lively an' strong, an' could row a 
 boat, or ride a horse, or work round, an' do 'most any- 
 thing. 
 
 " At last I got sold away to a real hard massa an' 
 missis. Oh, I tell you they was hard ! 'Peared like I 
 could n't please 'em nohow. An' then I thought o' 
 what my old mammy told me about God ; an' I thought 
 I 'd got into trouble, sure enough, an' I wanted to find 
 God, an' I heerd some one tell a story aboiit a man 
 that met God on a threshin'-floor, an' I thought, well 
 an' good, I '11 have a threshin'-floor, too. So I went 
 down in the lot, and I threshed down a place real 
 hard, an' I used to go down there every day, an' pray 
 an' cry with all my might, a-prayin' to the Lord to 
 make my massa an' missis better, but it didn't seem 
 to do no good ; and so says I, one day,
 
 15G "HOOK OF LIL'VK." 
 
 " ' O God, I been a-askin' ye, an' askin' ye, an askin' 
 ye, for all this long time, to make my massa an' mis- 
 sis better, an' you do n't do it, an' what can be the 
 reason? Why, maybe you can't. Well, I shouldn't 
 wonder if you could n't. "Well, now, I tell you, I '11 
 make a bargain with you. Ef you '11 help me to git 
 away from my massa an' missis, I '11 agree to be good ; 
 but ef you do n't help me, I really do n't think I can 
 be. Now,' says I, ' I want to git away ; but the 
 trouble's jest here ; ef I try to git away in the night, 
 I can't see ; an' ef I try to git away in the day- time, 
 they'll see me an' be after me.' 
 
 " Then the Lord said to me, ' Git up two or three 
 hours afore daylight, an' start off.' 
 
 "An' says I, 'Thank'ec Lord ! that's a good thought.' 
 
 " So xip I got about three o'clock in the mornin', 
 an' I started an' traveled pretty fast, till, when the 
 sun rose, I was clear away from our place an' our 
 folks, an' out o' sight. An' then I begun to think I 
 did n't know nothin' where to go. So I kneeled down, 
 and says I, 
 
 "'"Well, Lord, you've started me out, an' now please 
 to show me where to go.' 
 
 " Then the Lord made a house appear to me, an' 
 he said to me that I was to walk on till I saw that 
 house, an' then go in an' ask the people to take me. 
 An' I traveled all clay, an' did n't come to the house 
 till late at night; but when I saw it, sure enough, I 
 went in, an' I told the folks that the Lord sent me ; 
 an' they was Quakers, an' real kind they was to me. 
 They jes' took me in an' did for me as kind as ef I 'd 
 been one of 'em ; an' after they 'd giv me supper, they
 
 THE LIBYAN SIBYL. 157 
 
 took me into a room where there was a great, tall, 
 white bed ; an' they told me to sleep there. Well, 
 honey, I was kind o' skeered when they left me alone 
 with that great white bed ; 'cause I never had been 
 in a bed in my life. It never came into my mind 
 they could mean me to sleep in- it. An' so I Jos' 
 camped down under it, on the floor, an' then I slep' 
 pretty well. In the inornin', when they came in, 
 they asked me ef I had n't been asleep ; an' I said, 
 'Yes, I never slep' better.' An' they said, 'Why, 
 you hav n't been in the bed ! ' An' says I, ' Laws, 
 you did n't think o' sech a thing as my sleepin' in dat 
 'ar' bed, did you? I never heered o' sech a thing in 
 my life.' 
 
 ' Well, ye see, honey, I stayed an' lived with 'em. 
 An' now jes' look here : instead o' keepin' my prom- 
 ise an' bein' good, as I told the Lord I would, jest as 
 soon as everything got a-goin' easy, I forgot all about 
 God. 
 
 " Pretty well do n't need no help ; an' I gin up 
 pray in.' I lived there two or three years, an' then 
 the slaves in New York were all set free, 'an ole 
 massa came to our house to make a visit, an' he asked 
 me ef I didn't want to go back an' see the folks on 
 the ole place. An' I told him I did. So he said, ef 
 I 'd jes' git into the wagon with him, he 'd carry me 
 over. Well, jest as I was goin' out to get into the 
 wagon, I met God! an' says I, 'O God, I didn't know 
 as you was so great !' An' I turned right round an' 
 come into the house, an' set down in my room ; for 
 'twas God all around me. I could feel it burnin', 
 burnin', burnin' all around me, an' goin' through me ;
 
 158 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 an' I saw I was so wicked, it seemed as ef it would 
 burn me up. An' I said, ' O somebody, somebody, 
 stand between God an' me ! for it bums me !' Then, 
 honey, when I said so, I. felt as it were somethin' like 
 an amberill [umbrella] that came between me an' the 
 light, an' I felt it was somebody somebody that stood 
 between me an' God ; an* it felt cool, like a shade ; 
 an' says I, ' Who's this that stands between me an' 
 God 1 Is it old Catol' He was a pious old preacher; 
 but then I seemed to see Cato in the light, an' he was 
 all polluted an' vile, like me ; an' I said, ' Is it old 
 Sally?' an' then I saw her, an' she seemed jes' so. 
 An' then says I, ' Who is this]' An' then, honey, for 
 awhile it was like the sun shinin' in a pail o' water, 
 when it moves up and down ; for I begun to feel 
 t' was somebody that loved me ; an' I tried to know 
 him. An' I said, 'I know you ! I know you ! I know 
 you !' An' then I said, ' I don 't know you ! I don 't 
 know you ! I don 't know you ! ' An' when I said, 
 ' I know you, I know you ' the light came ; an' when 
 I said, ' I do n't know you, I do n't know you,' it- 
 went jes' like the sun in a pail o' water. An' finally 
 somethin' spoke out in me an' said, 'This is Jesus!' 
 An' I spoke out with all my might, an' says I, 
 'This is Jesus ! Glory be to God!' An' then the 
 whole world grew bright, an' the trees they waved 
 an' waved in glory, an' every little bit o' stone on 
 the ground shone like glass ; and I shouted an' 
 said, 'Praise, praise, praise to the Lord!' An' I 
 begun to feel sech a love in my soul as I never felt 
 before love to all creatures. An' then, all of a sud- 
 den, it stopped, an' I said, ' Dar 's de white folks that
 
 TTIE LIBYAN SIUYf,. 15!) 
 
 have abused yon, an' beat you, an' abused your people 
 think o' them !' But then there came another rush 
 of love through my soul, an' I cried out loud 'Lord, 
 Lord, I can love even de white folks /' 
 
 " Honey, I jes' walked round an' round in a dremn. 
 Jesus loved me ! I knowed it I felt it. Jesus was 
 my Jesus. Jesns would love me always. I did n't 
 dare tell nobody; 'twas a great secret. Everything 
 had been got away from me that I ever had ; an' I 
 thought that ef I let white folks know about this, 
 maybe they 'd get Him away- so I said, ' I '11 keep 
 this close. I wont let any one know.'" 
 
 "But, Sojourner, had you never been told about 
 Jesus Christ?" 
 
 "No, honey. I hadn't heerd no preachin' been 
 to 110 meetin.' Nofcody had n't told me. I 'd kind 
 o' heerd of Jesus, but thought he was like Ghieml 
 Lafayette, or some o' them. But one night there was 
 a ^fetlLodiat mootiiL' somewhere in PIT*- pnrts. an' I 
 went; an' they got up an' begun for to tell der 
 'speriences : an' de fust~one begunTo speak. I started, 
 'cause he told aboiit Jesus. ' Why,' says I to myself, 
 ' dat man's found him, too !' An' another got up an' 
 spoke, an' I said, 'He's found him, too !' An' finall}" 
 I said, ' Why, they all know him ! ' I was so happy ! 
 An' then they sung this hymn " (Here SojoTirner 
 sang, in a strange, cracked voice, but evidently with 
 all her soul and might, mispronouncing the English; 
 but seeming to derive as much elevation and comfort 
 from bad English as from good) :
 
 100 " HOOK OF LIFK." 
 
 "Tli ere is a holy city, 
 
 A world of light above, 
 Above the stairs ami regions,* 
 IJnilt by the Clod of love. 
 
 "An everlasting temple, 
 
 And saints arrayed in white, 
 
 There serve their great "Redeemer 
 
 And dwell with him in light. 
 
 "The meanest child of glory 
 
 Outshines the radiant sun ; 
 But who can speak the splendor 
 Of Jesus on his throne ? 
 
 "Is this the Man of Sorrows 
 
 Who stood at Pilate's bar, 
 Condemned by haughty Herod 
 And by his men of war 1 
 
 "He seems a mighty conqueror, 
 
 Who spoiled the powers below, 
 And ransomed many captives 
 From everlasting woe. 
 
 "The hosts of saints around him 
 
 Proclaim his work of grace, 
 The patriarchs and prophets, 
 And all the godly race, 
 
 "Who speak of fiery trials 
 
 And tortures on their way ; 
 They came from tribulation 
 To everlasting day. 
 
 "And what shall be my journey, 
 How long I '11 stay below, 
 
 * Starry regions.
 
 THE LIBYAN SIBYL. 1G1 
 
 Or what shall be my trials, 
 Are not for me to know. 
 
 "In every day of trouble 
 
 I '11 raise my thoughts on high, 
 I '11 think of that bright temple 
 And crowns above the sky." 
 
 I put in this whole hymn, because Sojourncr, car- 
 ried away with her own feeling, sang it from begin- 
 ning to end with a triumphant energy that held the 
 whole circle around her intently listening. She sang 
 with the strong barbaric accent of the native African, 
 and with those indescribable upward turns and those 
 deep gutturals which give such a wild, peculiar power 
 to the negro singing but above all, with such an 
 overwhelming energy of personal appropriation that 
 the hymn seemed to be fused in the furnace of her 
 feelings and come out recrystallized as a production of 
 her own. 
 
 It is said that Rachel was wont to chant the " Mar- 
 seillaise " in a manner that made her seem, for the 
 time, the very spirit and impersonation of the gaunt, 
 wild, hungry, avenging mob which rose against aristc- 
 cratic oppression ; and in like manner, Sojourner, sing- 
 ing this hymn, seemed to impersonate the fervor of 
 Ethiopia, wild, savage, hunted of all nations, but 
 burning after God in her tropic heart, and stretching 
 her scarred hands toward the glory to be revealed. 
 
 " Well, den ye see, after a while I thought I'd go 
 back an' see de folks on de ole place. Well, you know 
 de law had passed dat de culled folks was all free ; an' 
 C
 
 162 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 my old missis, she had a daughter married about dis 
 time who went to live in Alabama an' what did she 
 do but give her my son, a boy about de age of dis yer, 
 for her to take down to Alabama 1 When I got back 
 to de ole place, they told me about it, an' I went right 
 up to see ole missis, an' says I, 
 
 " ' Missis, have you been an' sent my son away down 
 to Alabama 1 ' 
 
 " ' Yes, I have,' says she ; ' he's gone to live with 
 your young missis.' 
 
 " ' Oh, Missis,' says I, ' how could you do it ? ' 
 
 " ' Poh ! ' says ghe, ' what a fuss you make about a 
 little nigger ! Got more of 'em now than you know 
 what to do with.' 
 
 " I tell you, I stretched up. I felt as tall as the 
 world ! 
 
 " ' Missis,' says I, ' I'll have my son back agin ! ' 
 
 " She laughed. 
 
 " ' You will, you nigger 1 How you goin' to do it ? 
 You ha'n't got no money.' 
 
 " ' No, Missis but God has an' you'll see he'll 
 help me ! an' I turned round an' went out. 
 
 " Oh, but I was angry to have her speak to me so 
 haughty an' so scornful, as ef my chile was n't worth 
 anything. I said to God, ' O Lord, render unto her 
 double ! ' It was a dreadful prayer, an' I did n't know 
 how true it would come. 
 
 " Well, I did n't rightly know which way to turn ; 
 but I went to the Lord, an' I said to him, ' O Lord, 
 ef I was as rich as you be, an' you was as poor as I 
 be, I'd help you you know I would ; and, oh, do help 
 me ! ' An' I felt sure then that he would.
 
 THE LIBYAN SIBYL. 163 
 
 " Well, I talked with people, an' they said I must 
 git the case before a grand jury. So I went into the 
 town when they was holdin' a court, to see ef I could 
 find any grand jury. An' I stood round the court- 
 house, an' when they was a-comin' out, I walked right 
 up to the grandest look in' one I could see, an' says I 
 to him : 
 
 " ' Sir, be you a grand jury 1 ' 
 
 "An' then he wanted to know why I asked, an' I 
 told him all about it ; an' he asked me all sorts of 
 questions, an' finally he says to me : 
 
 " ' I think, ef you pay me ten dollars, that I'd agree 
 to git your son for you.' An' says he, pointin' to a 
 house over the way, ' You go 'long an' tell your story 
 to the folks in that house, an' I guess they'll give you 
 the money.' 
 
 " Well, I went, an' I told them, an' they gave me 
 twenty dollars ; an' then I thought to myself, ' Ef ten 
 dollars will git him, twenty dollars will git him sar- 
 tin.' So I carried it to the man all out, an' said, 
 
 " ' Take it all only be sure an' git him.' 
 
 " Well, finally they got the boy brought back ; an' 
 then they tried to frighten him, an' to make him say 
 that I was n't his mammy, an' that he did n't know 
 me ; but they could n't make it out. They gave him 
 to me, an' I took him and carried him home ; an' 
 when I came to take off his clothes, thei'e was his 
 poor little back all covered with scars an' hard lumps, 
 where they'd flogged him. 
 
 " Well, you see, honey, I told you how I prayed the 
 Lord to render unto her double. Well, it came true ; 
 for I was up at ole missis' house not long after, an' I
 
 164 " BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 heerd 'em readin' a letter to her how her daughter's 
 husband had murdered her how he'd thrown her 
 down au' stamped the life out of her, when he was in 
 liquor ; an' my ole missis, she giv a screech, an fell 
 flat on the floor. Then says I, ' O Lord, I didn't 
 mean all that ! You took me up too quick.' 
 
 " Well, I went in an' tended that poor critter all 
 night. She was out of her mind a cryin', an' callin' 
 for her daughter ; an' I held her poor ole head on my 
 arm, an' watched for her as ef she'd been my babby. 
 An' I watched by her, an' took care on her all through 
 her sickness after that, an' she died in my arms, poor 
 thing ! " 
 I " Well, Sojourner, did you always go by this name 1 " 
 
 " No, 'deed ! My name was Isabella ; but when I 
 left the house of bondage, I left everything behind. 
 I wa'n't goin' to keep nothin' of Egypt on me, an' so 
 I went to the Lord an' asked_liim_tp give jne a new 
 name. Attd-the-JLord gave, TIIB flojnurnRr^hCffl 1 . 1 ^ I 
 was to travel up an' down the land, showin' the peo- 
 ple their sins, an' bein' a sign unto them. Afterward 
 I told the Lord I wanted another name, 'cause every- 
 body else had two names; and the Lord gave me 
 Truth, because I was to declare the truth to the people. 
 
 " Ye see some ladies have given me a white satin 
 banner," she said, pulling out of her pocket and un- 
 folding a white banner, printed with many texts, such 
 as, " Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all 
 the inhabitants thereof," and others of like nature. 
 " Well," she said, " I journeys round to camp-meetin's, 
 an' wherever folks is, an' I sets up my banner, an' 
 then I sings, an' then folks always comes up round
 
 THE LIBYAN SIBYL. 1(55 
 
 me, an' then I preaches to 'em. I tells 'em about Je- 
 sus, an' I tells 'em about the sins of this people. A 
 great many always comes to hear me ; an' they're right 
 good to me, too, an' say they want to hear me agin." 
 
 We all thought it likely ; and as the company left 
 her, they shook hands with her, and thanked her for 
 her very original sermon ; and one of the ministers 
 was overheard to say to another, "There's more of 
 the gospel in that story than in most sermons." 
 
 Sojourner staid several days with us, a welcome 
 guest. Her conversation was so strong, simple, 
 shrewd, and with such a droll flavoring of humor, that 
 the Professor was wont to say of an evening, " Come, 
 I am dull, can't you get Sojourner up here to talk a 
 little 1 " She would come up into the parlor, and sit 
 among pictures and ornaments, in her simple stuff 
 gown, with her heavy traveling shoes, the central ob- 
 ject of attention both to parents and children, always 
 ready to talk or to sing, and putting into the common 
 flow of conversation the keen edge of some shrewd re- 
 mark. 
 
 " Sojourner, what do you think of women's 
 Rights ? " 
 
 " Well, honey, I 's ben to der meetins, an' harked 
 a good deal. Dey wanted me fur to speak. So I got 
 up. Says I, ' Sisters, I a'n't clear what you'd be after. 
 Ef women want any rights more'n dey's got, why 
 don't dey jes' take 'em f an' not be talkin' about it 1 ' 
 Some on 'em came round me, an' asked why I did n't 
 wear bloomers. An' I told 'em I had bloomers enough 
 when I was in bondage. You see," she said, "dey used 
 to weave what dey called nigger-cloth, an' each one of
 
 K!f! "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 us got jes' sech a strip, an' had to wear it width-wise. 
 Them that was short got along pretty well, but as for 
 me " She gave an indescribably droll glance at her 
 long limbs and then at us, and added, " Tell you, I 
 had enough of bloomers in them days." 
 
 Sojourner then proceeded to give her views of the 
 relative capacity of the sexes, in her own way. 
 
 " S'pose a man's mind holds a quart, an a woman's 
 do n't hold but a pint ; ef her pint is full, it's as good 
 as his quart." 
 
 Sojoxirner was fond of singing an extraordinary 
 lyric, commencing, 
 
 " I'm on my way to Canada, 
 
 That cold, but happy, land ; 
 The dire effects of slavery 
 I can no longer stand. 
 
 O righteous Father, 
 
 Do look down on me, 
 And help me on to Canada, 
 
 Where colored folks are free ! " 
 
 The lyric ran on to state that, when the fugitive 
 crosses the Canada line, 
 
 "The queen comes down unto the shore, 
 
 With arms extended wide, 
 
 To welcome the poor fugitive 
 
 Safe onto freedom's side." 
 
 In the truth thus set forth she seemed to have the 
 most simple faith. 
 
 But her chief delight was to talk of " glory," and to 
 sing hymns whose burden was,
 
 THE LIBYAN SIBYL. 1C7 
 
 " O glory, glory, glory, 
 Won't you come along with me ? " 
 
 and when left to herself, she would often 1mm these 
 with great delight, nodding her head. 
 
 On one occasion, I remember her sitting at a win- 
 dow singing and fervently keeping time with her head, 
 the little black Puck of a grandson meanwhile amus- 
 ing himself with ornamenting her red-and-yellow tur- 
 ban with green dandelion curls, which shook and 
 trembled with her emotions, causing him perfect con- 
 vulsions of delight. 
 
 " Sojourner," said the Professor to her, one day, 
 when he heard her singing, "you seem to be very 
 sure about Heaven." 
 
 " Well, I be," she answered, triumphantly. 
 
 " What makes you so sure there is any Heaven 1 " 
 
 " Well, 'cause I got such a hankerin' arter it in 
 here," she said giving a thump on her breast with her 
 usual energy. 
 
 There was at the time an invalid in the house, and 
 Sojourner, on learning it, felt a mission to go and 
 comfort her. It was curious to see the tall, gaunt, 
 dusky figure stalk up to the bed with such an air of 
 conscious authority, and take on herself the office of 
 consoler with such a mixture of axithority and tender- 
 ness. She talked as from above and at the same 
 time, if a pillow needed changing or any office to be 
 rendered, she did it with a strength and handiness 
 that inspired trust. One felt as if the dark, strange 
 woman were quite able to take up the invalid in her 
 bosom, and bear her as a lamb, both physically and
 
 1G8 "r.ooic or LIFE." 
 
 spiritually. There was both power and sweetness in 
 that great warm soul and that vigorous frame. 
 
 At length, Sojourner, true to her name, departed. 
 She had her mission elsewhere. Where now she is I 
 know not ; but she left deep memories behind her. 
 
 To these recollections of my own I will add one 
 more anecdote, related by Wendell Phillips. 
 
 Speaking of the power of Rachel to move and bear 
 down a whole audience by a few simple words, he 
 said he never knew but one other human being that 
 had that power, and that other was Sojourner Truth. 
 
 He related, a scene of which he was witness. It 
 was at a crowded public meeting in Faneuil Hall, 
 where Frederick Douglas was one of the chief speak- 
 ers. Douglas had been describing the wrongs of the 
 black race^ and as he proceeded, he grew more and 
 more excited, and finally ended by saying that they 
 had no hope of justice from the whites, no possible 
 hope except in their own right arms. It must come 
 to blood ; they must fight for themselves and redeem 
 themselves, or it would never be done. 
 
 Sojourner was sitting, tall and dark, on the very 
 front seat, facing the platform; and in the hush oi 
 deep feeling, after Douglas sat down, she spoke out 
 in her deep, peculiar voice, heard all over the house, 
 
 " Frederick, is God dead? " 
 
 The effect was perfectly electrical, and thrilled 
 through the whole house, changing as by a flash the 
 whole feeling of the audience. Not another word she 
 said or needed to say ; it was enough. 
 
 It is with a sad feeling that one contemplates noble 
 minds and bodies, nobly and grandly formed human
 
 THE LTT1VAX SIBYL. 100 
 
 beings, that have come to us cramped, scarred, maimed, 
 out of the prison-house of bondage. One longs to 
 know what such beings might have become, if suffered 
 to unfold and expand under the kindly developing in- 
 fluences of education. 
 
 It is the theory of some writers that to the African 
 is reserved, in the later and palmier days of the earth, 
 the full and harmonious development of the religious 
 element in man. The African seems to seize on 
 the tropical fervor and luxuriance of Scripture im- 
 agery as something native ; he appears to feel himself 
 to be of the same blood with those old burning, sim- 
 ple souls, the patriarchs, prophets, and seers, whose 
 impassioned words seem only grafted as foreign plants 
 on the cooler stock of the occidental mind. 
 
 I cannot but think that Sojourner with the same 
 culture might have spoken words as eloquent and un- 
 dying as those of the African Saint Augustine or Ter- 
 tullian. How grand and queenly a woman she might 
 have been, with her wonderful physical vigor, her 
 great heaving sea of emotion, her power of spiritual 
 conception, her quick penetration, and her boundless 
 energy ! We might conceive an African type of wom- 
 an so largely made and moulded, so much fuller in 
 all the elements of life, physical and spiritual, that the 
 dark hue of the skin should seem only to add an ap- 
 propriate charm as Milton says of his Penseroso, 
 whom he imagines 
 
 " Black, but such as in esteem 
 Prince Memnon's sister might beseem, 
 Or that starred Ethiop queen that strove 
 To set her beauty's praise above 
 The sea-nymph's."
 
 170 "BOOK OF LTPK." 
 
 But though Sojourner Truth has passed away from 
 among us as a wave of the sea, her memory still lives in 
 one of the loftiest and most original works of modern 
 art, the Libyan Sibyl, by IVlr. Story, which attracted so V 
 much attention in the late World's Exhibition. Some 
 years ago, when visiting Rome, I related Sojourner's 
 history to Mr. Story at a breakfast at his house. Al- 
 ready had his mind begun to turn to Egypt in search 
 of a type of art which should represent a larger and 
 more vigorous development of nature than the cold 
 elegance of Greek lines. His glorious Cleopatra was 
 then in process of evolution, and his mind was work- 
 ing out the problem of her broadly developed nature, 
 of all that slumbering weight and fullness of passion 
 with which this statue seems charged, as a heavy 
 thunder-cloud is charged with electricity. 
 
 The history of Sojourner Truth worked in his mind 
 and led him into the deeper recesses of the African 
 nature those unexplored depths of being and feeling, 
 mighty and dark as the gigantic depths of tropical 
 forests, mysterious as the hidden rivers and mines of 
 that burning continent whose life-history is yet to be. 
 A few days after, he told me that he had conceived 
 the idea of a statue which he should call the Libyan 
 Sibyl. Two years subsequently, I revisited Home, . 
 and found the gorgeous Cleopatra finished, a thing to >/ 
 marvel at, as the creation of a new style of beauty, a 
 new manner of art. Mr. Story requested me to come 
 and repeat to him the history of Sojourner Truth, 
 saying that the conception had never left him. I did 
 so ; and a day or two after, he showed me the clay 
 model of the Libyan Sibyl. I have never seen the
 
 THE LIBYAN SIBYL. 171 
 
 mai-ble statue ; but am told l>y those who have, that 
 it was by far the most impressive work of art at the 
 Exhibition. 
 
 A notice of the two statues from the London Athe- 
 nceum must supply a description which I cannot give. 
 
 "The Cleopatra and the Sibyl are seated, partly 
 draped, with the characteristic Egyptian gown, that 
 gathers about the torso and falls freely around the 
 limbs; the first is covered to the bosom, the second 
 bare to the hips. Queenly Cleopatra rests back against 
 her chair in meditative ease, leaning her cheek against 
 one hand, whose elbow the rail of the seat sustains ; 
 the other is outstretched upon her knee, nipping its 
 forefinger upon the thumb thoughtfully, as though 
 some firm, willful purpose filled her brain, as it seems 
 to set those luxurious features to a smile as if the 
 whole woman 'would.' Upon her head is the coif, 
 bearing in front the mystic urceus, or twining basilisk 
 of sovereignty, while from its sides depend the wide 
 Egyptian lappels, or wings, that fall upon her shoul- 
 ders. The Sibilla Lilica has crossed her knees an 
 action universally held amongst the ancients as indica- 
 tive of reticence or secrecy, and of power to bind. A 
 secret-keeping looking dame she is, in the full-bloom 
 proportions of ripe womanhood, wherein choosing to 
 place his figure the sculptor has deftly gone between 
 the disputed point whether these women were blooming 
 and wise in youth, or deeply furrowed with age and 
 burdened with the knowledge of centuries, as Virgil, 
 Livy, and Gellius say. Good artistic example might be 
 quoted on both sides. Her forward elbow is propped 
 upon one knee; and to keep her secrets closer, for
 
 172 "flOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 this Libyan woman is the closest of all the sibyls, 
 she rests her shut month upon one closed palm, as if 
 holding the African mystery deep in the brooding 
 brain that looks out through mournful, warning eyes, 
 seen under the wide shade of the strange horned (Am- 
 monite) crest, that bears the mystery of the Tetra- 
 grammaton upon its upturned front. Over her full 
 bosom, mother of myriads as she was, hangs the same 
 symbol. Her face has a Nubian cast, her hair wavy 
 and plaited, as is meet." 
 
 We hope to see the day when copies both of the 
 Cleopatra and the Libyan Sibyl shall adorn the Capi- 
 tol at Washington. 
 
 Near the close of the article Mrs. Stowe said, " So- 
 journer has passed away from among us as a wave of 
 the sea." But as the wave describes larger circles in 
 its outward bound course, so has her life become more 
 significant as she has been borne forth into the ocean 
 of life. Her work was then but just begun, and her 
 record since that time shows a faith in the power of 
 truth, a devotion in the cause of humanity, and a 
 perseverance in the accomplishment of ber purposes 
 which command attention and respect. She had been 
 around "a testifying," but now other duties were 
 superadded. To the great work being done for the 
 soldiers, she lent a helping hand, seeking every op- 
 portunity to aid them. The first colored troops that 
 enlisted from Battle Creek encamped in Detroit. As 
 the thanksgiving season approached, Sojourner pro- 
 posed that the citizens of that city should send 
 the " boys " a dinner, to which they cordially re- 
 sponded. In her soliciting rounds, she met a gentle-
 
 DAY AT CAMP WARD. 173 
 
 man whom she invited to donate for the entertainment. 
 He refused to do so, and made some severe remarks 
 about the war, the nigger, &c. Much surprised, she 
 asked him who he was. He replied, " I am the only 
 son of my mother." " I am glad there are no more," 
 said she, and passed on. Several large boxes, con- 
 taining the luxuries of the season, not forgetting the 
 fattened turkey, were dispatched by the generous peo- 
 ple of the town with Sojourner as distributor. De- 
 troit papers spoke of her efforts commendingly. 
 
 "GALA DAY AT CAMP WARD. 
 
 "ADDRESS BY SOJOURNER TRUTH. The colored sol- 
 diers at Camp Ward had a regular jiibilee last Friday. 
 About eleven o'clock a carriage drove up before Col. 
 Bennett's quarters laden with boxes and packages 
 containing all manner of delicacies for ' the boys ', 
 sent from Battle Creek. Sojovirner Truth, who car- 
 ries not only a tongue of fire, but a heart of love, was 
 the bearer of these offerings. The Colonel ordered 
 the regiment into line ' in their best ' for the presenta- 
 tion, which was made by Sojourner, accompanied by 
 a speech glowing with patriotism, exhortation, and 
 good wishes, which was responded to by rounds of 
 enthusiastic cheers. At the close of the ceremony, 
 Sojourner spent an hour or two among the soldiers in 
 motherly conversation, and assisting in opening the 
 boxes and disti'ibuting their contents, which the re- 
 cipients disposed of with hearty good-will. 
 
 " Sunday afternoon, according to appointment, So- 
 joitrner went up to the camp to deliver another ad-
 
 174 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 dress to the soldiers, but so large a crowd of white 
 citizens were gathered to hear that her inspirations 
 were devoted almost exclusively to their ears, with a 
 promise of a future discourse for the soldiers. At the 
 close of the lecture, a handsome collection was volun- 
 teered for the benefit of the speaker. Advertiser and 
 Tribune." 
 
 In the spring of 1864, a brief article in the same 
 journal mentioned her having gone to Washington to 
 see Mr Lincoln. 
 
 * 
 "To the Editor of the Advertiser and Tribune. 
 
 "Many of our citizens are doiibtless acquainted 
 with the name of Sojourner Tmth, have seen racy 
 anecdotes of her from time to time in the newspapers, 
 read Harriet Beecher Stowe's narrative of her in the 
 Atlantic Monthly, and remember her stay of several 
 months in this city five or six years ago. Those who 
 called upon her at that time, were richly entertained 
 by her original remarks, her ready wit, and the sto- 
 ries of her wonderful life. She was then full of in- 
 tense interest in the war, and foresaw its result in the 
 emancipation of her race. It was touching to see her 
 eager face when the newspapers were read in her 
 presence. She would never listen to Mrs. Stowe's 
 'Libyan Sibyl'. 'Oh!' she would say, 'I don't 
 want to hear about that old symbol ; read me some- 
 thing that is going on now, something about this 
 great war.' She had utter faith in Abraham Lincoln. 
 To a friend who was impatient with his slow move- 
 ments she said, 'Oh, wait, chile! have patience..! It 
 takes a great while to turn about this great ship of 
 State.' Toward spring she made ready for a journey
 
 VISIT TO BROOKLYN. 175 
 
 to Washington, to see Mr. Lincoln. ' I shall surely 
 go/ she said, ' I never determined to do anything and 
 failed.' And she did go the brave-hearted, indomit- 
 able old woman despite her light purse and heavy 
 burden of seventy-seven years." 
 
 She left Battle Creek in June, but did not immedi- 
 ately go to Washington. A New York paper says of 
 her : 
 
 " Sojourner has been some months in New York, 
 speaking in many places with great acceptance, and is 
 now in this city, where she will speak this evening in 
 the lecture room of the Unitarian Church, corner of 
 Lafayette Avenue and Shelby Street. Let those who 
 enjoy an original entertainment hear her. She is 
 trying to pay off a mortgage on her little house in 
 Battle Creek. Give her a full house, and a generous 
 contribution. Remember that here in the North, in 
 the State of New York, she was robbed, by our race 
 and by our laws, of FORTY YEARS of her life. Do we 
 not owe her, from abundant fullness, some compensa- 
 tion for those years with their entailed sorrow 1 
 
 " ' There is that scattereth and yet increaseth.' 
 " ' The soul of the liberal man waxeth fat.' 
 
 
 
 " ' The Lord loveth the cheerful giver.' 
 
 " c. E. c." 
 
 From New York she went to Brooklyn, and spoke 
 in Plymouth Church, whei-e a collection of $100 was 
 taken tip for her. A Brooklyn paper speaks of her 
 as follows : 
 
 "Sojourner Truth, whom"*tlie newspapers lately 
 described as dying, reported herself in person to us 
 last week, a living contradiction of the false rumor.
 
 17C "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 The old lady says that, so far from being at the point 
 of death, she has not experienced for many months 
 any symptom of sickness. Her age is now eighty, 
 but her spirit continues as youthful as ever. On 
 Sunday morning she heard Mr. Beecher's opening ser- 
 mon of the season, which she called ' a feast for her 
 poor old soul.' Sojourner's conversation is witty, 
 sarcastic, sensible, and oftentimes profound. Her 
 varied experience during a long life gives her a rich 
 and deep fountain to draw upon for the entertainment 
 and instruction of her friends, and her reminiscences 
 and comments are equally interesting both to grown 
 folks and children. She looks and acts as if she 
 might live to be a hundred years old. She has up- 
 lifted her voice to two generations of mankind, and 
 may yet become sibyl and prophetess to a third." 
 
 Sojourner reached Washington during the autumn, 
 and in due time made her long-contemplated visit to 
 the president. 
 
 4 THE STORY OF HER INTERVIEW WITH THE 
 PRESIDENT. 
 
 The following letter from Sojourner Truth, writ- 
 ten by a friend at her dictation, was addressed to 
 Rowland Johnson, who has kindly handed it to us 
 for publication. Our readers will be glad to see So- 
 journer's own account of her visit to the president. 
 
 "FREEDMAX'S VILLAGE, VA., Nov. 17, 1S64. 
 "DEAR FRIEND : . 
 
 11 1 am at Freedman's Village, After visiting the 
 president, I spent three weeks at Mrs. Swisshelm's,
 
 INTERVIEW WITH THE PRESIDENT. 177 
 
 and held two meetings in Washington, at Rev. Mr. 
 Garnet's Presbyterian (Jhurch, for the benefit of the 
 Colored Soldiers' Aid Society. These meetings were 
 successful in raising funds. One week after that I 
 went to Mason's Island, and saw the freed men there, 
 and held several meetings, remained a week and was 
 present at the celebration of the emancipation of the 
 slaves of Maryland, and spoke on that occasion. 
 
 " It was about 8 o'clock A. M., when I called on the 
 president. Upon entering his reception room we 
 foxmd about a dozen persons in waiting, among them 
 two colored women. I had quite a pleasant time 
 waiting until he was disengaged, and enjoyed his con- 
 versation with others ; he showed as much kindness 
 and consideration to the colored persons as to the 
 whites -if there was any difference, more. One case 
 was that of a colored woman who was sick and likely 
 to be turned out of her house on account of her in- 
 ability to pay her rent. The president listened to 
 her with much attention, and spoke to her with kind- 
 ness and tenderness. He said he had given so much 
 he could give no more, but told her where to go and 
 
 get the money, and asked Mrs. C on. to assist her, 
 
 which she did. 
 
 " The president was seated at his desk. Mrs. C. 
 said to him, ' This is Sojourner Truth, who has come 
 all the way from Michigan to see you.' He then' 
 arose, gave me his hand, made a bow, and said, ' I am 
 pleased to see you.' 
 
 " I said to him, Mr. President, when you first took 
 your seat I feared you would be torn to pieces, for I 
 D
 
 178 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 likened you unto Daniel, who was thrown into the 
 lion's den ; and if the lions did not tear yon into 
 pieces, I knew that it would be Clod that had saved 
 you ; and I said if he spared me I would see you be- 
 fore the four years expired, and he has done so, and 
 now I am here to see you for myself. 
 / "He then congratulated me on my having been 
 spared. Then I said, I appreciate you, for you are 
 the best president who has ever taken the seat. He 
 replied : ' I expect you have reference to my hav- 
 ing emancipated the slaves in my proclamation. But,' 
 said he, mentioning the names of several of his prede- 
 cessors (and among them emphatically that of Wash- 
 ington), 'they were all just as good, and would have 
 done just as I have done if the time had come. If 
 the people over the river [pointing across the Poto- 
 mac] had behaved themselves, I could not have done 
 what I have ; but they did not, which gave me the 
 opportunity to do these tilings.' I then said, I thank 
 God that you were the instrxtment selected by him 
 and the people to do it. I told him that I had never 
 heard of him before he was talked of for president. 
 He smilingly replied, ' I had heard of you many times 
 before that.' 
 
 " He then showed me the Bible presented to him 
 by the colored people of Baltimore, of which you have 
 no doubt seen a description. I have seen it for my- 
 self, and it is beautiful beyond description. After I 
 had looked it over, I said to him, This is beautiful in- 
 deed ; the colored people have given this to the head 
 of the government, and that government once sanc- 
 tioned laws that would not permit its people to learn
 
 INTERVIEW WITH THE PRESIDENT. 170 
 
 enough to enable them to read this book. And for 
 what ] Let them answer who can. 
 
 " I must say, and I am proud to say, that I never 
 was treated by any one with more kindness and cor- 
 diality than were shown to me by that great and good 
 man, Abraham Lincoln, by the grace of God president 
 of the United States for four years more. He took 
 my little book, and with the same hand that signed 
 the death- warrant of slavery, he wrote as follows : 
 " ' For Aunty Sojoiirner Truth, <S 
 "'Oct. 29, 1864. A. LINCOLN.' 
 
 " As I was taking my leave, he arose and took my 
 hand, and said he would be pleased to have me call 
 again. I felt that I was in the presence of a friend, 
 and I now thank God from the bottom of my heart 
 that I always have advocated his cause, and have done 
 it openly and boldly. I shall feel still more in duty 
 bound to do so in time to come. May God assist me. 
 
 " Now I must tell you something of this place. I 
 found things quite as well as I expected. I think I 
 can be useful and will stay. The captain in command 
 of the guard has given me his assistance, and by his 
 aid I have obtained a little house, and will move into 
 it to-morrow. Will you ask Mrs. P., or any of my 
 friends, to send me a couple of sheets and a pillow 1 
 I find many of the women very ignorant in relation 
 to house-keeping, as most of them were instructed in 
 field labor, but not in household duties. They all 
 seem to think a great deal of me, and want to learn 
 the way we live in the North. I am listened to with 
 attention and respect, and from all things, I judge it is
 
 180 '-'EOOK OF LTFE." 
 
 the will of botli God and tho people that T should re- 
 main. 
 
 " Now when you come to Washington, do n't forget 
 to call ar.d see me. You may publish my wherea- 
 bouts, and anything in this letter you think would in- 
 terest the friends of Freedom, Justice, and Truth, in 
 the Standard and Anglo- African, and any other paper 
 you may see fit. 
 
 "Enclosed please find four shadows [carte de visites]. 
 The two dollars came safely. Anything in the way 
 of nourishment you may feel like sending, send it 
 along. The captain sends to Washington every day. 
 Give my love to all who inquire for me, and tell my 
 friends to direct all things for me to the care of Capt. 
 George B. Carse, Freedrnan's Village, Va. Ask Mr. 
 Oliver Johnson to please send me the Standard while 
 I am here, as many of the colored people like to hear 
 what is going on, and to know what is being done for 
 / them. Sammy, my grandson, reads for them. We 
 are both well, and happy, and feel that we are in good 
 employment. I find plenty of friends. 
 
 "Your friend, SOJOURNER TRUTH." 
 
 " The colored population of Baltimore have procured 
 the most beautiful Bible ever manufactured in this 
 country, to be presented to the President of the United 
 States. The cover bears a large plate of gold, repre- 
 senting a slave with his shackles falling from him in 
 a cotton field, stretching oiit his hands in gratitude to 
 President Lincoln for the freedom of the slave. At 
 the feet of the freedman there is a scroll bearing upon 
 its face the word ' Emancipation,' in large letters. On 
 the reverse cover is another gold plate containing the
 
 INTERVIEW WITH THE PRESIDENT. 181 
 
 following inscription : ' To Abraham Lincoln, Presi- 
 dent of the United States, the friend of universal 
 freedom, by the loyal colored people of Baltimore, as 
 a token of respect and gratitude. Baltimore, July 
 4th, 1864.' The book is enclosed in a walnut silver- 
 mounted box. The entire affair cost $5,800." 
 
 Although in Sojournei % 's estimation Abraham Lin- 
 coln was the " foremost man of all this world," yet no 
 idle curiosity prompted her to ask this interview. 
 From the head of the nation she sought that author- 
 ity which would enable her to take part in the awful 
 drama which was enacting in this Republic, and that 
 being obtained, she at once entered upon her work. 
 
 When we follow her from one field of labor to an- 
 other, her time being divided between teaching, 
 preaching, nursing, watching, and praying, ever ready 
 to counsel, comfort, and assist, we feel that, for one 
 who is nobody but a woman, an unlettered woman, a 
 black woman, and an old woman, a woman born and 
 bred a slave, nothing short of the Divine incarnated 
 in the human, could have wrought out such grand 
 results. 
 
 In December she received the following commission 
 from the National Freedinan's Relief Association : 
 
 " NEW YORK, DKC. 1, 1864. 
 
 " This certifies that The National Freedman's Re- 
 lief Association has appointed Sojourner Truth to be 
 a counselor to the freed people at Arlington Heights, 
 Va., and hereby commends her to the favor and confi- 
 dence of the officers of government, and of all persons 
 who take an interest in relieving the condition of thfi
 
 182 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 freedmen, or in promoting their intellectual, moral, 
 and religious instruction. 
 
 " On behalf of the 1ST. F. E, Association, 
 
 " F. G. SHAW, President, 
 11 CHARLES C. LEIGH, 
 
 " Chairman of Home Com." 
 
 Sqjourner spent more than a year at Arlington 
 Heights, instructing the women in domestic duties, 
 and doing much to promote the general welfare. She 
 especially deprecated their filthy habits, and strove to 
 inspire them with a love of neatness and order. On 
 the Sabbath she preached to large and attentive con- 
 gregations, and was once heard to exclaim, "Be clean ! 
 be clean ! for cleanliness is godliness." 
 
 Liberty was a stranger to these poor people. Hav- 
 ing but lately been introduced to the goddess, they 
 had never yet so much as touched the tips of her 
 lovely fingers, and dared not raise their bowed heads 
 to steal even a sidelong glance at her radiant face. 
 Thus, being wholly unfamiliar with her divine attri- 
 butes, they often submitted to grievous wrongs from 
 their old oppressors, not presuming to expostulate. 
 The Marylanders tormented them by coming over, 
 seizing, and carrying away their children. If tLe 
 mothers made a " fuss," as these heartless wretches 
 called those natural expressions of grief in which be- 
 reaved mothers are apt to indulge, they were thrust 
 into the guard-house. When this was made known 
 to Sojpurner, ...ghe^. ipld them they must not permit 
 such outrages, that they were jeee]~a53~hadiights 
 wliictPwould be recognized and maintained by the
 
 AT WOHK IN THE HOSPITAL. 183 
 
 Iaws 1 and that .they could bring these robbers to 
 j ustice. 
 
 This was a revelation indeed, for they had never 
 known that freedom meant anything more to them 
 than being no longer obliged to serve a master, and 
 at liberty to lounge about in idleness. But her elec- 
 trifying words seemed to inspire them with new life 
 and to awaken the latent spirit within them which, 
 like fire in flint, had lain torpid for ages, but, unextin- 
 guished and unextinguishable, awaited only favorable 
 conditions to escape in freedom. The manhood and 
 womanhood of these crushed people now asserted it- 
 self, and the exasperated Mary landers threatened to 
 put Sojourner into the guard-house. She told them 
 that if they attempted to put her into the guard- 
 house, she " would make the United States rock like 
 a cradle." 
 
 Soon after the Freedmen's Bureau was established, 
 Sojourner was appointed to assist in the hospital, as 
 the following letter will show : 
 
 "WAR DEPARTMENT, 
 
 "BUREAU ov REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED LANDS. 
 " Washington, September 13, 18(35. 
 
 " Sojourner Truth has good ideas about the indus- 
 try and virtue of the colored people. I commend her 
 energetic and faithful efforts to Surgeon Gluman, in 
 charge of Freedmen's Hospital, and shall be happy to 
 have him give her all facilities and authority so far 
 as she can aid him in promoting order, cleanliness, 
 industry, and virtue among the patients. 
 
 " JOHN EATON, JR., 
 
 " (Jot. and Assistant Commissioner."
 
 184 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 While Sojourner was engaged in the hospital, she 
 often had occasion to procure articles from various 
 parts of the city for the sick soldiers, and would some- 
 times be obliged to walk a long distance, carrying her 
 burdens upon her arm. She would gladly have 
 availed herself of the street cars ; but, although there 
 was on each track one car called the Jim Crow car, 
 nominally for the accommodation of colored people, 
 yet should they succeed in getting on at all they would 
 seldom have more than the privilege of standing, as 
 the seats were usually filled with white folks. Un- 
 willing to submit to this state of things, she com- 
 plained to the president of the street railroad, who 
 ordered the Jim Crow car to be taken off. A law 
 was now passed giving the colored people equal car 
 privileges with the white. 
 
 Not long after this, Sojourner, having occasion to 
 ride, signaled the car, but neither conductor nor 
 driver noticed her. Soon another followed, and she 
 raised her hand again, but they also turned away. 
 She then gave three tremendous yelps, " I want to 
 ride ! / want to ride ! ! I WANT TO RIDE ! ! ! Con- 
 sternation seized the passing crowd people, carriages, 
 go-carts of every description stood still. The car was 
 effectually blocked up, and before it could move on, 
 Sojourner had jumped aboard. Then there arose a 
 great shout from the crowd, " Ha ! ha ! ha ! ! She 
 has beaten him," <fcc. The angry conductor told her 
 to go forward where the horses were, or he would put 
 her out. Quietly seating herself, she informed him 
 that she was a passenger. " Go forward where the I 
 horses are, or I will throw you out/' said ho in a men.
 
 INCIDENT AT GEORGETOWN. 185 
 
 acing voice. She told him that she was neither a 
 Mary lander nor a Virginian to fear his threats ; but 
 was from the Empire State of New York, and knew 
 the laws as well as he did. 
 
 Several soldiers were in the car, and when other 
 passengers came in, they related the circumstance 
 and said, " You ought to have heard that old woman 
 talk to the conductor." Sojourner rode farther than 
 she needed to go ; for a ride was so rare a privilege 
 that she determined to make the most of it. She left 
 the car feeling very happy, and said, " Bless God ! I 
 have had a ride." 
 
 Returning one day from the Orphan's Home at 
 Georgetown, she hastened to reach a car; but they 
 paid no attention to her signal, and kept ringing a 
 bell that they might not hear her. She ran after it, 
 and when it stopped to take other passengers, she suc- 
 ceeded in overtaking it and, getting in, said to the 
 conductor, " It is a shame to make a lady run so." 
 He told her if she said another word, he would put 
 her off the car, and came forward as if to execute his 
 threat. She replied, " If you attempt that, it will 
 cost you more than your car and horses are worth." 
 A gentleman of dignified and commanding manner, 
 wearing a general's uniform, interfered in her behalf, 
 and the conductor gave her no further trouble. 
 
 At another time, she was sent to Georgetown to 
 obtain a nurse for the hospital, which being accom- 
 plished, they went to the station and took seats in an 
 empty car, but had not proceeded far before two la- 
 dies came in, and seating themselves opposite the col- 
 ored woman began a whispered conversation, fre-
 
 18() " BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 quently casting scornful glances at the latter. The 
 nurse, for the first time in her life finding herself in 
 one sense on a level with white folks and being much 
 abashed, hung her poor old head neai'ly down to her 
 lap ; but Sojourner, nothing daunted, looked fearlessly 
 about. At length one of the ladies called out, in a 
 weak, faint voice, " Conductor, conductor, does nig- 
 gers ride in these cars 1 " He hesitatingly answered, 
 " Ye yea-yes," to which she responded, " 'T is a shame 
 and a disgrace. They ought to have a nigger car on 
 the track." Sojourner remarked, " Of course colored 
 people ride in the cars. Street cars are designed for 
 poor white, and colored, folks. Carriages are for la- 
 dies and gentlemen. There are carriages [pointing 
 out of the window], standing ready to take you three 
 or four miles for sixpence, and then you talk of a nig- 
 ger 'car ! ! ! " Promptly acting upon this hint, they 
 arose to leave. " Ah ! " said Sojourner, " now they >J 
 are going to take a carriage. Good by, ladies." 
 
 Mrs. Laura Haviland, a widely known philanthro- 
 pist, spent several months in the same hospital and 
 sometimes went about the city with Sojourner to pro- 
 cure necessaries for the invalids. Returning one day, 
 being much fatigued, Mrs. Haviland proposed to take 
 a car although she was well aware that a white per- 
 son was seldom allowed to ride if accompanied by a 
 black one. " As Mrs. Haviland signaled the car," says 
 Sojourner, " I stepped one side as if to continue my 
 walk and when it stopped I ran and jumped aboard. 
 The conductor pushed me back, saying, ' Get out of 
 the way and let this lady come in.' Whoop ! said I, 
 I ain a lady too. We met with no further opposition
 
 SCENE IN A STREET CAR. 187 
 
 till we were obliged to change cars. A man coming 
 out as we were going into the next car, asked the 
 conductor if 'niggers were allowed to ride.' The 
 conductor grabbed me by the shoulder and jerking me 
 around, ordered me to get out. I told him I would 
 not. Mrs. Haviland took hold of my other arm and 
 said, 'Don't put her out.' The conductor asked if I 
 belonged to her. ' No,' replied Mrs. Haviland, ' She 
 belongs to humanity.' ' Then take her and go,' said he, 
 and giving me another push slammed me against the 
 door. I told him I would let him know whether he 
 could shove me about like a dog, and said to Mrs. 
 Haviland, Take the number of this car. 
 
 " At this, the man looked alarmed, and gave us no 
 more ti-ouble. When we arrived at the hospital, the 
 surgeons were called in to examine my shoulder and 
 found that a bone was misplaced. I complained to 
 the president of the road, who advised me to arrest 
 the man for assault and battery. The Bureau fur- 
 nished me a lawyer, and the fellow lost his situation. 
 It created a great sensation, and before the trial was 
 ended, the inside of the cars looked like pepper and 
 salt; and I felt, like Poll Parrot, 'Jack, I am riding.' 
 A little circumstance will show how great a change a 
 few weeks had produced : A lady saw some colored 
 women looking wistfully toward a car, when the con- 
 ductor, halting, said, ' Walk in, ladies.' Now they 
 who had so lately cursed me for wanting to ride, 
 could stop for black as well as white, and could even 
 condescend to say, 'Walk in, ladies.'" 
 
 The city of Washington was now literally swarming 
 with a class of people who had by the war been
 
 188 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 thrown upon the surface of society like mud from a 
 volcano, and who were not unlike that article in respect 
 to being dirty and entirely unfitted by a want of con- 
 tact with refining and favorable influences to obtain 
 and maintain a hold upon civilization. A report from 
 the superintendent of police will help to explain their 
 condition : 
 
 "CONDITION OF THE DESTITUTE COLORED 
 I'EOrLE OF THE DISTRICT. 
 
 " In the Senate, on Tuesday, while the bill reported 
 by Senator Morrill appropriating $25,000 for the re- 
 lief of destitute colored people of the District was \in- 
 der consideration, the following letter from Superin- 
 tendent of Police Richards was read : 
 
 "DEPARTMENT OF METROPOLITAN POLICE. 
 
 " OFFICE OF SUP'T, 483 TENTH ST., WEST, 
 
 " Washington,, March 6, 1866. 
 
 " GENTLEMEN : 
 
 " I have the honor at this time to submit a report, 
 based mainly upon personal inspection, of the sanitaiy 
 condition of certain localities in the city of Washing- 
 ton, inhabited by colored people, mostly known as 
 ' contrabands,' together with certain other facts con- 
 nected with the condition of these people. 
 
 " The first locality visited is known as ' Murder 
 Bay,' and is situated between Thirteenth and Fif- 
 teenth Streets west, below Ohio Avenue, and bordering 
 on the Washington Canal. Here crime, filth, and pov- 
 erty seem to vie with each other in a career of degrada- 
 tion and death. Whole families, consisting of fathers,
 
 THE f'OLOilED PEOPLE. 189 
 
 mothers, children, uncles, and aunts, according to 
 their own statements, are crowded into mere apologies 
 for shanties, which are without light or ventilation. 
 Daring the storms of rain or snow their roofs afford 
 but slight protection, while from beneath a few rough 
 boards used for floors the miasmatic effluvia from the 
 most disgustingly filthy and stagnant water, mingled 
 with the exhalations from the nncleansed bodies of 
 numerous inmates, render the atmosphere within 
 these hovels stifling and sickening in the extreme. 
 Their rooms are usually not more than six or eight 
 feet square, with not a window or even an opening 
 (except a door) for the admission of light. Some of 
 the rooms are entirely surrounded by other rooms, so 
 that no light at all reaches where persons live and 
 spend their days and nights. In a space about fifty 
 yards square I found about one hundred families, 
 composed of from three to ten persons each, living in 
 shanties one story in hight, except in a few instances 
 where tenements are actually built on the tops of oth- 
 ers. There is a distance of only three or four feet 
 separating these buildings from each other not even 
 as convenient as an ordinary three-feet alley. These 
 openings lead in so devioxis a course that one with 
 difficulty finds his way out again. Thus pent up, not 
 even these paths are purified by currents of fresh air. 
 In one building visited, seventeen families were found 
 upon the ground floor, consisting of from two to seven 
 persons each, one restaurant, and one boarding-house. 
 The second story is a large dance hall, where these 
 people nightly congregate for amusement. 
 
 "Nearly all of these people came from Virginia
 
 100 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 during the rebellion, and some of them propose to re- 
 turn whenever they are assured that they can find 
 work to do there, and will be well treated. It was 
 found that from five to eight dollars per month are 
 paid for the rent of these miserable shanties, except 
 in some instances, where a ground rent of three dol- 
 lars per month is paid for a little spot covering a few 
 square feet there some of the more enterprising have 
 erected cabins of their own. These, also, are in equally 
 close proximity to each other, so that it is with diffi- 
 culty that one can crowd between them. 
 
 " On the west side of Fourteenth Street near the 
 same locality, are a large number of small buildings, 
 which, however, are kept in a somewhat more cleanly 
 condition, and are opened to light and ventilation. 
 Here some of the occupants of houses boast of small 
 back yards, but so low and wet are their surfaces that 
 they are a curse rather than a benefit. Filthy water 
 here accumulates, from which, with the advent of 
 warm weather, the seeds of disease must spread among 
 and destroy these wretched people. 
 
 "In each of these localities there are no proper 
 privy accomodations, and those that exist are in a 
 leaky and filthy condition generally. Nor can the 
 sanitary laws be properly enforced against delinquents, 
 for they have no means wherewith to pay fines, and a 
 commitment to the work-house is no punishment. I 
 can see no efficient mode of remedying this evil ex- 
 cept that scavengers be employed at the public ex- 
 pense, to visit these localities ; though by far the best 
 remedy would be to require that these buildings be 
 razed to the ground.
 
 THE COLORED PEOPLE. 191 
 
 " Under the best sanitary laws that can be enacted, 
 and stringently enforced, these places can be considered 
 as nothing better than propagating grounds of crime, 
 disease, and death ; and in the case of a prevailing 
 epidemic, the condition of these localities would be 
 horrible to contemplate. 
 
 "A similarly crowded lot of shanties exists on 
 Rhode Island Avenue, between Tenth and Eleventh 
 Streets, though as to fresh air and cleanliness, a some- 
 what better condition of things exists. Here, in a 
 space some two hundred feet square, two hundred and 
 thirteen persons reside, mostly known as ' contra- 
 bands.' There are several other places equally 
 crowded within the city limits, which I have not yet 
 had time to visit and inspect personally ; for which 
 purpose I respectfully ask for further time. 
 
 "A. C. RICHARDS, Sitp't. 
 
 " To the Board of Police." 
 
 Sojourner, witnessing the afflictions of her people, 
 and desiring to mitigate their sufferings, found homes 
 and employment for many in the Northern States, 
 government furnishing transportation for all. In 
 the winter of 1867, she made three trips from 
 Rochester to a town about 200 miles south of Rich- 
 mond, to obtain laborers for those localities left desti- 
 tute by the war; but she soon came to see that this 
 was not the best mode of procedure, as it cost a 
 great amount of labor, time, and money to locate the 
 young and strong, leaving the aged and little children 
 still iincared for. 
 
 The imagination can scarcely conceive *a more har- 
 rowing spectacle than the vast multitude, composed
 
 102 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 of both poxes, and all ages from helpless infancy to 
 tremulous senility, roaming about, having no posses- 
 sions but the bodies which had recently been given 
 them by a dash of A.braham Lincoln's pen. Surging 
 to and fro, this motley crowd could claim no more of 
 mother 'earth than sufficed for standing room, and 
 were liable at any time to be ordered, like Joe, " to 
 move on." 
 
 Thus they were borne upon the waves of society as 
 a wrecked ship upon the sea, stripped of spar and sail, 
 rudder and compass, tempest tossed upon the Mack 
 and sullen deep, with no ray of light to illumine its 
 pathway of gloom. The heads of government, seeing 
 and commiserating their hapless state, established 
 what was called the Freedman's Bureau as a measure 
 of relief, and by its orders each ward daily furnished 
 to the refugees 700 loaves of bread, which served to 
 sustain life, but was inadequate to meet the emer- 
 gency ; for civilization has needs which cannot be 
 supplied by bread alone. 
 
 It was sad to see the hungry mass stretch forth its 
 hand, seize the proffered loaf, seek a spot where it 
 might be devoured, and idle away the time till another 
 loaf was due. And could the Bureau have ministered 
 to all their wants, would not this mode of life become 
 productive of enormoxis evils, since the habits it fos- 
 tered, having been engendered by the system of slav- 
 ery, needed no such encouragement 1 This institution 
 was emphatically the necessity of the hour, but neither 
 wisdom nor prudence would advise its continuance. 
 
 The race' was increasing at a rapid rate, and the 
 drain upon the national treasury would become ex-
 
 THE COLORED PEOPLE. 193 
 
 haustive. Still, justice demanded that government 
 take efficient legislative action in the interest of these 
 people, whom the genius of General Butler had de- 
 nominated contrabands, as some reward for years of 
 uncompensated services. Nations anxiously watching 
 the scales in which this government and its dependent 
 millions must be weighed, waited to render their ver- 
 dict. Advancement moves with slow and feeble pace. 
 The new hinges upon the old. In obtaining freedom, 
 these people were separated from many things, for 
 which, as yet, they had received no equivalent. Those 
 who had not where to lay their heads thought of the 
 rude cabin once their home, in pleasant contrast with 
 the present couch of earth, canopied by the over-arch- 
 ing sky. Languishing with homesickness, the worst 
 of ailments, they were a striking counterpart of those 
 sorrowing captives who, sitting by the livers of Bab- 
 ylon, hung their harps upon the willows and wept for 
 remembered joys. 
 
 Their coarse food and clothing cost them no thought 
 while in slavery. But in a moment comes a change. 
 Now, all thought and action must be bent upon self 
 support. But from transmitted habits many were 
 powerless to exercise the functions of the brain in 
 planning for the future, and, though they had arrived 
 at man's estate, must be cared for like children. As 
 Sojourner went about the city, she soon came to dis- 
 tinguish these contrabands. They had a dreamy look, 
 taking no note of time ; it seemed as if a pause had 
 come in their lives an abyss, over whose brink they 
 dared not look. With so few resources, with be- 
 clouded minds, with no education from books or con- 
 
 E
 
 194 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 tact with the world, aside from plantation life stran- 
 gers in a strange land, hungry, thirsty, ragged, home- 
 less, they were the very impersonation of Despair, 
 humbly holding out her hands in supplication. 
 
 Sojourner had known the joys of motherhood 
 brief joys, for she had been cruelly separated from her 
 babes, and her mistress' children given to occupy the 
 place which nature designed for her own. She had 
 tasted its sorrows, too such sorrows as Rachel, weep- 
 ing for her children because they were not, could 
 never feel. She had drained the cup of woe to the 
 very dregs, and its fumes, like liquid fires, had dried 
 the fountain of tears till there were none to flow. 
 
 But many years had passed since that season of 
 affliction. The shackles had been removed from her 
 body, and spirit also. Time dissolves the hardest sub- 
 stance 'tis called the great destroyer it reconstructs 
 as well. As the divine aurora of a broader culture 
 dispelled the mists of ignorance, love, the most pre- 
 cious gift of God to mortals, permeated her soxil, and 
 her too-long-suppressed affections gushed from the 
 sealed fountains as the waters of an obstructed river, 
 to make new channels, bursts its embankments and 
 rushes on its headlong course, powerful for weal or 
 woe. Sojourner, robbed of her own offspring, adopted 
 her race. Happy for the individual, good for human- 
 ity, when high aspirations emanate from sad experi- 
 ences ! 
 
 The forlorn and neglected children who prowled 
 about the city excited her commiseration; for they 
 had neither homes nor employment, and as idleness is 
 the parent of crime, they were becoming exceedingly
 
 THE COLORED PEOPLE. 195 
 
 vicious. As a punishment for misdemeanors, they 
 were sent to the station house, from which, after serv- 
 ing their time, they were released, only to continue 
 the same destructive course. Slavery's teachings had 
 bedimmed their -perceptions of right, and rendered 
 them incapable of continued moral effort; for her 
 blighting influence, worse than a millstone about their 
 necks, tended to drag them downward forever and 
 forevermore. 
 
 Intelligently appreciating the law of transmitted 
 tendencies, Sojourner looked upon them as sinned 
 against as w;41 as sinning. Knowing that the children 
 were the future nation, and that those of her race 
 would play no unimportant part in that future, she 
 felt the neel of enlisting sympathy, either human or 
 superhuman, in their behalf. Aided by Gen. How- 
 ard, she held meetings in one of the largest churches 
 of the city, to urge the establishment of industrial 
 schools, remote from the city, where they might be 
 placed and taught to become useful members of com- 
 munity. Had she possessed the power and influence 
 of the humane and philanthropic Gov. Bagley, insti- 
 tutions such as he has recently been instrumental in 
 establishing would have sprung into being, till home- 
 less, neglected children would have been no more. 
 
 The past she abhorred, with its conies, its loaded 
 whips, auction blocks, brutal masters, overseers, and 
 all the fearful horrors accruing from the ownership of 
 man by his fellow-man ; the sufferings of the present 
 called out her deepest sympathies ; but as she p r< d 
 toward the future with sibyl eyes, her heart beat loud 
 and fast ; for she saw in it all gi'and possibilities.
 
 196 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 The angel of emancipation had rolled the stone away 
 from the door of the sepuloher of slavery, and the res- 
 urrected millions, bound hand and foot in the grave- 
 clothes of ignorance, bewildered and uncertain, awaited 
 
 guidance in this transition hour. 
 ^ 
 
 Would a Moses appear to remove the bands from 
 
 wrist and ankle, and with uplifted finger pointing to 
 the pillar of cloud and of promise, lead them forth from 
 this sea of troubles and plant their weary feet upon 
 the Canaan of their desires 1 Would manna descend 
 from heaven to feed this multitude, who were morally, 
 physically, and intellectually destitute 1 ? As neither 
 man nor miracle appeared, Sojourner said, "Lord, let 
 me labor in this vineyard." 
 
 But how begin the work of establishing right rela- 
 tions where chaos reigns 1 Justice must constitute the 
 bottom round in this ladder of progress, up which the 
 race must mount in the struggle to reach higher con- 
 ditions. How can justice be secured 1 
 
 As she looked about upon the imposing public edi- 
 fices that grace the District of Columbia, all built at 
 the nation's expense, she said, " We helped to pay this 
 cost. We have been a source of wealth to this repub- 
 lic. Our labor supplied the country with cotton, until 
 villages and cities dotted the enterprising North for 
 its manufacture, and furnished employment and sup- 
 port for a multitude, thereby becoming a revenue to 
 the government. Beneath a burning southern sun 
 have we toiled, in the canebrake and the rice swamp, 
 urged on by the merciless driver's lash, earning mill- 
 ions of money ; and so highly were we valued there, 
 that should one poor wretch venture to escape from
 
 SAGACIOUS PREDICTION. 197 
 
 this hell of slavery, no exertion of man or trained 
 blood-hound was spared to seize and return him to 
 his field of unrequited labor. 
 
 " The overseer's horn awoke us at the dawning of 
 day from our half-finished slumbers to pick the disgust- 
 ing worm from the tobacco plant, which was an added 
 source of wealth. Our nerves and sinews, our tears 
 and blood, have been sacrificed on the altar of this na- 
 tion's avarice. Our unpaid labor has been a stepping- 
 stone to its financial success. Some of its dividends 
 must surely be ours." 
 
 Who can deny the logic of her reasoning? The 
 prophet* of the nineteenth century said, many years 
 ago, that " our nation will yet be obliged to pay sigh 
 for sigh, groan for groan, and dollar for dollar, to this 
 wronged and outraged race." Ah, me ! what an aw- 
 ful debt when we consider that every mill of interest 
 will surely be added ! Did mothers and wives whose 
 husbands and sons languished and died in Libby and 
 Andersonville ever think of that prophecy 1 ? Does 
 this nation- realize that the debt is still xinpaid 1 the 
 note not taken up yet ? 
 
 She knew that the United States owned countless 
 acres of unoccupied land, which by cultivation would 
 become a source of wealth to it. She also saw that 
 it was given to build railroads, and that large reserva- 
 tions were apportioned to the Indians. Why not give 
 a tract of land to those colored people who would 
 rather become independent through their own exer- 
 tions than longer clog the wheels of government 1 
 
 It seemed to Sojourner that the money expended 
 
 *Parker Pillsbnry.
 
 198 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 upon officials, in just this District alone, to convict 
 and punish these vagabond children, would Toe ample 
 to provide for them homes with the accessories of 
 church and school-house and all the necessary require- 
 ments of civilization. With God's blessing, they 
 might yet become an nonor to the country which had 
 so cruelly wronged them. This scheme presented itself 
 to her mind as a divine revelation, and she made haste 
 to lay her plan before the leading men of the govern- 
 ment. They heard her patiently, expressed them- 
 selves willing to do the people's bidding ; but mani- 
 fested no enthusiasm. She regretted now, as ever, 
 that women had no political rights under government ; 
 for she knew that could the voice of maternity be 
 heard in the advocacy of this measure, the welfare, 
 not only of the present generation, but of future ones, 
 would be assured. 
 
 As it requires both the male and female element to 
 propagate and successfully rear a family, so the State, 
 being only the larger family, demands both for its life 
 and proper development. As those who had the 
 power to legislate for the carrying out of this measure, 
 regarded it indifferently, and those who would gladly 
 work for its accomplishment lacked political oppor- 
 tunity, some other measure must be adopted. She 
 thought that whatever else had been denied to woman, 
 she had ever been allowed to stand on praying ground, 
 and that through petition she might be able to reach 
 the head and heart of the government, or rather half 
 the head and half the heart, as only in this proportion 
 have they ever been represented in our country's legis- 
 lation. She therefoi-e dictated the following petition :
 
 PETITION TO CONGRESS. 199 
 
 "To THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 
 
 in Congress assembled : 
 
 " Whereas, From the faithful and earnest represen- 
 tations of Sojourner Truth (who has personally inves- 
 tigated the matter), we believe that the freed colored 
 people in and about Washington, dependent xipon 
 government for support, would be greatly benefited 
 and might become useful citizens by being placed in a 
 position to support themselves : We, the undersigned, 
 therefore earnestly request your honorable body to set 
 apart for them a portion of the public land in the 
 West, and erect buildings thereon for the aged and in- 
 firm, and otherwise legislate so as to secure the de- 
 sired results." 
 
 The vitalizing forces of her nature were now fully 
 aroused and deeply earnest. She felt that her life 
 culminated at this point, and that all her previous ex- 
 periences had been needful to prepare her for this 
 crowning work. Being convinced of the feasibility 
 and justice of this plan, she hastened to present her 
 petition to the public, and solicit signatures. Her 
 first lecture for this object was delivered in Provi- 
 dence, R. I., in Feb., 1870, to a large and apprecia- 
 tive axidience. 
 
 THE VOICE OF THE PRESS. 
 
 " The renowned Sojourner Truth spoke in the town 
 hall last evening, and gave one of her peculiar and 
 forcible appeals, distinguished for native wit, elo- 
 quence, and religious * pathos. The burden of her 
 message was the urgent necessity for colonizing in the
 
 200 " BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 West, on land which she calls upon government to 
 give them, the large number of freed people collected 
 in and around "Washington. During the war, at the 
 request of President Lincoln, Sojourner spent much 
 time among these people to do them good. With that 
 clear insight and native good sense for which she is 
 remarkable, she saw that the course pursued by gov- 
 ernment, in supporting them by charity instead of 
 putting them in the way of sustainingthemseiyes, 
 was working immense mischief. YTrue statesmanship 
 demands that government give them lands in the West, 
 thus paying a little of the great debt we owe this long- 
 oppi*essed people, while at the same time leading them 
 to support themselves, to enrich the nation, and be- 
 come useful citizens. Sojourner wants the people to 
 petition Congress to do this work at once. At this 
 very time, as appears by a letter read at the meeting 
 last evening, some of the freedmen are dying of star- 
 vation, right in sight of our national capitol. Peti- 
 tions have been placed in the hands of friends of this 
 movement, and it is hoped every person will sign as 
 soon as opportunity is offered." s. H., in Northamp- 
 ton (Mass.) paper. 
 
 \ 
 
 FROM FALL R1YER PAPERS. 
 
 " Sojourner Truth the colored American Sibyl- 
 is spending a few days in our city, and will gladly 
 welcome any of her old or new friends at the house of 
 Robert Adams, Esq., on Rock Street. She bears her 
 four-score years with ease, showing no signs of decay, 
 but conversing on all familiar topics with a clearness 
 of apprehension that would hardly be expected of one
 
 THE FALL RIVER PAPERS. 201 
 
 who has passed through the varied unpleasant experi- 
 ences which have fallen to her lot. Give her a call, 
 and jenjoy a half hour with a ripe understanding, and 
 do n't forget to purchase her photograph." 
 
 " Sojourner Truth the colored American Sibyl 
 will speak in the vestry of the Franklin Street Church, 
 on Monday evening. Come and hear an original." 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH. Sojourner Truth had a good 
 audience at the Christian Church, last evening, and 
 delivered a very unique and interesting address. 
 Many more woiild have attended had they been aware 
 how pleasantly the evening would have been spent in 
 company with the aged philosopher. Her theme was 
 the duty of the North to the emancipated negroes. 
 Many of her photographs were purchased. It is not 
 impossible that she may speak again during her stay 
 here." 
 
 " Sojourner Truth will speak at the vestry of the 
 First M. E. Church, to-morrow evening, Friday, Oct. 
 14th, at a quarter before 8 o'clock. This will proba- 
 bly be the last opportunity, at least for some time, 
 that our citizens will have of hearing this interesting 
 and decidedly original character." 
 
 " Sojourner Truth had a large audience in the ves- 
 try of the First M. E. Church, last evening, and was 
 listened to with interest for somewhat more than an 
 hour. She will remain here a few days longer, at Mr. 
 Robert Adams'. " , , v 
 
 "SOJOURNER TRUTH. Your readers will notice 
 that this eminent colored ladv will discourse this
 
 202 
 
 evening, at the vestry of the First Methodist Church, 
 on Main Street, on various topics. Her utterance's 
 at the Franklin Street Church, on Monday evening 
 last, drew out quite an audience, which was exceed- 
 ingly entertained by her instructive remarks ; lout as 
 very limited notice was previously given, there was 
 not the attendance from the male sex which she 
 wished to see, as her talk is on a matter that pecul- 
 iarly interests tax-payers. This ancient saint has 
 given largely of her time to the bettering of the con- 
 dition of the freedmen at Washington, and in that 
 capacity has discovered certain abuses which should 
 be rectified. All who come to listen will learn how 
 some of the public money goes that is nominally ap- 
 propriated to feed the black paupers in Washington. 
 Her scheme for their improvement is practical, and 
 should be put in operation at once. 
 
 " We hope our friend James Buffington, who has a 
 voice in the administration of the money of the peo- 
 ple, will be present and take note of her points on 
 this matter. As a nomination here amounts to an 
 election, he may consider himself in for the next two 
 years, and can aid immensely in straightening out 
 this abuse. No gang of paupers should be allowed to 
 huddle together like pigs anywhere, and be fed out of 
 the public funds. Go and hear on the subject. 
 
 " Everybody, of course, knows of Sojourner Truth, 
 of her sad early life as an abject slave under the old 
 laws of New York, until she was forty years old ; of 
 her growth in wisdom which seemed born in her as 
 an inheritance ; of her active benevolences in all di- 
 rections; of her shrewd repartees and wise sayings
 
 THE FALL RIVER TAPERS.] 203 
 
 which will go down as proverbs among the intelligent 
 for coming ages ; of her goodness as a nurse to our 
 sick and wounded soldiers when at an advanced age ; 
 of her sharp logic and pointed satire when warmed 
 up on subjects of interest. 
 
 " All these have been set forth by pens of power in 
 description, and will live in story for coming genera- 
 tions. 'The Lord never hearn tell on ye/ was her 
 comforting remark to a young clergyman very much 
 afflicted for fear the women would get their rights. 
 Is God dead, Frederick 1 ?' to Douglas, when fore- 
 sting the sad fate of his race in the old slave days. 
 Do n't come expecting fine rhetoric, finished grammar, 
 or dictionary pronunciation but if you want to hear 
 an earnest soul of eighty or more years, on the bor- 
 ders of the coming world, still young in the graces of 
 Christian charity, and ardent in the work assigned 
 her, talk of right and justice, and set them forth with 
 a spirit and skill that learned men might well envy, 
 turn out to-night. Do n't forget that she has photo- 
 graphs of herself for sale her only means of support 
 for expenses of travel, livelihood, and a humble home 
 in Michigan and that while she ' sells the shadow to 
 support the substance,' it will probably be the last 
 time we shall see the lady among us. Do n't forget 
 the hour one-quarter before 8 o'clock this evening." 
 
 FROM NEW JERSEY PAPERS. 
 
 " Springfield, Union County, New Jersey, and its 
 Presbyterian Church were honored on Wednesday 
 night by the presence of that lively old negro mummy, 
 whose age ranges among the hundreds Sojourner
 
 204* "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 Truth who fifty years ago was considered a crazy 
 woman ; who was wont to address street meetings and 
 Garrison abolition conventicles. She was smuggled 
 into the church by some pious radical to give her re- 
 ligious experience ; and she did it rather to the 
 confusion and disgust of the audience. When re- 
 spectable churches consent to admit to the houses 
 opened for the worship of God every wandering negro 
 minstrel or street spouter who may profess to have a 
 peculiar religious experience, or some grievance to re- 
 dress, they render themselves justly liable to public 
 ridicule. The effects of our late civil war, which 
 brought many of our divines upon the political ros- 
 trum, and converted many of our pulpits into recruit- 
 ing stations, we fear will not soon be removed. 
 
 " Our Springfield correspondent writes of the visit 
 of Sojourner Truth : 
 
 " ' Mislike me not for my complexion, 
 
 The shadowed liv'ry of the burnished sun. ' 
 
 " ' Thus Shakespeare. But we do most decidedly dis- 
 like the complexion and everything else appertaining to 
 Mrs. Truth, the radical the renowned, saintly, liberat- 
 ed, oratorical, pious slave. The superintendent of the 
 Presbyterian Sunday-school, hearing such glowing 
 accounts of her, invited her to speak to his charge. 
 She spoke on the 1st inst., not on religion, but at ran- 
 dom, on copperhead Jersey, hypocrites, freemen, wom- 
 an's rights, etc., till the superintendent was forced 
 to call her to order. She is a crazy, ignorant, repell- 
 ing negress, and her guardians would do a Christian ' 
 act to restrict her entirely to private life.' "
 
 THE NEW JERSEY PAPEKS. 205 
 
 "SOJOURNER TRUTH DEFENDED. Whenever I have 
 heard the State^of New Jersey stigmatized, I have al- 
 ways resented its being used as a mark of derision and 
 a jest for scoffers ; but a circumstance that occurred 
 last Aveek has proved it a fit land for missionaries to 
 enter with books to enlighten the inhabitants, and 
 purifiers with scourges to correct the people. The 
 village of Springfield, that prides itself on its great 
 age, had the honor of a visitor (no less a personage 
 than Sojourner Truth) a dear creature, one of the 
 Lord's true servants, who has worked in his vineyard 
 for forty years, and who, at the great age of eighty, 
 instead of taking her ease during the infirmities of 
 old age, feels that as long as the Lord gives her 
 the breath of life she must work for his glory. Her 
 fame went through all the land many years ago, and 
 she numbers among her dearest friends the most in- 
 tellectual, renowned, and gifted men and women of 
 our land, and many are the weeks she has spent in 
 the homes of those dear to our people. She has held 
 happy converse with our lamented president, and our 
 present one ; has spoken in Beecher's Church to thou- 
 sands, in many of our State capitol buildings, and our 
 nation's senate chamber. Turn from these happy 
 greetings and behold her welcome in New Jersey ! 
 no, not there, but in a small, benighted corner, where 
 the people pride themselves on their being and re- 
 maining as a century ago. They were so ignorant a 
 people they knew not they had a great guest, and 
 many had not even heard of Sojourner Truth. Then 
 they bad so little good breeding they left during her 
 remarks, interrupting and showing disrespect to old
 
 206 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 age, which always commands respect. Then to show 
 their ignorance, their lilliputian mind*, they write of 
 her as being a crazy woman, an old mummy that ought 
 to be enclosed in an asylum. That is the testimony 
 of Springfield, N. J., to be placed by the side of beau- 
 tiful letters of cheer, volumes full of well-wishes and 
 blessings from such personages as Lincoln, Gen. Grant, 
 Henry Ward Beecher, Gen. Howard, Sumner, Phillips, 
 Anna Dickinson, Lucretia Mott, &c., &c., men and 
 women we all long to meet and take by the hand, and 
 would be rejoiced to call our friends. 
 
 ' ' ' By ignorance is pride increased ; 
 Those most assume who know the least ; 
 Their own self-balance gives them weight, 
 But every other finds them light.' Gay's Fl/li'x. 
 
 11 A NEW SPRINGFIELD CORRESPONDENT." 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH. Sojourner Truth, now about 
 fourscore years, who has devoted the whole of her 
 time during the last twenty years of her life to the 
 interests of the colored race, and during the late re- 
 bellion gave her personal service to the important 
 work of educating the freed men and women in the 
 moral, social, and domestic duties of life, without fte 
 or reward, is now engaged in getting signatures to a 
 petition to Congress for the benefit of a large class of 
 dependent freedmen who may be found around Wash- 
 ington and other places in the South. 
 
 " Sojourner Truth is now at her home at Battle 
 Creek, in Michigan, and writes us a letter under date 
 of November 29. She has just returned from an ex- 
 tensive tour through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Micbi-
 
 THE NEW JERSEY PAPERS. 207 
 
 gan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas, and 
 wishes to carry her petition, to which she has obtained 
 many signatures, to Washington this winter, and pre- 
 sent it personally to Congress. She makes an appeal 
 for a little pecuniary aid to defray the expenses of her 
 journey, and gives information that a narrative of her 
 life will soon be published which will undoubtedly be 
 full of interest, as her life has been an eventful one. 
 
 R. J. 
 
 "Orange, N. J." 
 
 " Sojourner Truth addressed a good- sized audience 
 at the Unitarian Church on Wednesday evening, Jan. 
 12. Mr. Clute, in introducing her, said that he had 
 a three-fold pleasure in doing so. First, he was sure 
 the audience would be entertained by her varied ex- 
 perience of more than eighty years. Secondly, the 
 lecturer was a negro, and her presence on the platform 
 was a living argument for the admission of her race 
 to all the privileges of society. Thirdly, the lecturer 
 was a woman who has for many years affirmed that 
 woman's humanity gives her claim to education, la- 
 bor, and the ballot. 
 
 " The lecturer spoke for more than an hour in her 
 usual, humorous, common-sense style. She gave some 
 account of her thoughts when she was a heathen, and 
 said there was no little heathenism in the very heart 
 of the churches to-day. She spoke of the Fatherhood 
 of God, and of his loving care for all his children ; of 
 the brotherhood of man and of the duty of men to la- 
 bor for each other. Her remarks were interspersed 
 with anecdotes fitly illustrating the subject, and had 
 sxich point and pungency as curried the truth home."
 
 208 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 FROM A WILLIAteSBURGII (I. /.) PAPER. 
 
 " LECTURE OF A COLORED WOMAN. The female lec- 
 turer, styling herself ' Sojourner Truth,' who was for 
 many years a slave, delivered a lecture last evening in 
 the Congregational Church, corner of South Third and 
 Eleventh Streets, Williamsburgh. The lecturer, who 
 is quite aged, commenced by saying that she was born 
 a slave in this State, and resided on the banks of the 
 North River, near Albany, until the time of her eman- 
 cipation, which took place when she was twenty- / 
 five years of age. During that time she had five dif- 
 ferent masters, some of whom were very severe, and 
 she related with tears in her eyes the manner in 
 which she had been tied up in the barn, with her 
 clothes stripped from her back, and whipped until the 
 blood stood in pools upon the floor ; and scars upon 
 her back were undeniable proofs of her assertion. 
 She had been twice married, and had five children, x 
 the oldest being forty years of age. Her husbands 
 and children were torn from her and sold into bondage, 
 the youngest at the age of five years having been tak- 
 en to Alabama. She said that she never had any 
 learning, and while in bondage was not allowed to 
 hear the Bible or any other books read. Her mother 
 often told her of God, and her impressions were that 
 God was a very large human being, who sat in the 
 skies. 
 
 " 'About a year previous to my emancipation, I ran 
 away from my master, and went to live with Mr. 
 Wagner ; it was here that a change first came over 
 my heart, and I felt that I was a sinner. I prayed 
 to God, and he answered my prayers, and I have ex-
 
 THE BOSTON TAPERS. 209 
 
 perienced his blessings. I said, I really believe I am 
 a sinner, and that Jesus died for me. I had never 
 been to church, and never heard any one say this. I 
 believe my only sin consisted in wishing harm to the 
 white folks ; but now I love everybody.' 
 
 " After speaking of the condition of the colored race, 
 she spoke of the white people, and their holding human 
 beings in bondage, and asked how it would be with 
 them when summoned before the bar of Judgment to 
 answer for their deeds upon earth. The speaker also 
 narrated the history of her mother-in-law, who was 
 stolen from her native land in Africa and brought to 
 this country and sold into bondage. The lecture was 
 delivered in a simple yet affecting manner." 
 
 FROM BOSTON PAPERS. 
 " EMANCIPATION MEETING. 
 
 " Commemoration of the Eighth Anniversary of Negro 
 Freedom in the United States A Large Gathering and 
 Eloquent Speeches in Tremont Temple, Jan. 1, 1871. 
 
 "The eighth anniversary of the emancipation of 
 negro slaves in the United States was commemorated 
 in Tremont Temple last evening by a large gathering 
 and eloquent speeches, under the auspices of the Na- 
 tional Association for the Spread of Temperance and 
 Night Schools among the Freed People of the South. 
 The admission was free, and at a comparatively early 
 hour the Temple began to be filled, for 7 o'clock was 
 the time announced for the services to commence, and 
 seldom is there an occasion of more attraction or 
 
 P
 
 210 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 greater general interest. Every available space of 
 sitting or standing room was crowded. Professor 
 Gardiner was present. 
 
 " The platform was occupied by the Tremont Tem- 
 ple choir, the distinguished personages of the evening, 
 such as Rev. J. D. Fulton, Rev. Gilbert Haven, and 
 Rev. L. A. Grimes, and many others, not omitting to 
 mention Sojourner Truth, of Jersey, and William 
 Wells Brown, M. D., who has in numerous instances 
 taken a leading position among New England's ora- 
 tors, and who has done a great deal to elevate the 
 colored race a grade higher in the strata of civiliza- 
 tion. Mr. Brown is president of the National Asso- 
 ciation above alluded to, and as a matter of course he 
 officiated as chairman of the meeting. The services 
 were opened with the singing of a hymn by the choir, 
 after which Mr Brown read a portion of the Scriptures. 
 Prayer was then offered by Rev. Mr. Grimes, the choir 
 sang another hymn, and Mr. Brown made a half-hour's 
 address. 
 
 " The Rev. J. D. Fulton was the next speaker. Ho 
 congratulated the meeting upon the work of ennobling 
 and elevating the black race, but while he did so he 
 could not forget the perils which surrounded it in a 
 city like Boston. This emancipation was but the be- 
 ginning of a big job. Mental emancipation frcm the 
 chains of ignorance was a felt necessity, and education 
 must be given the black men now. The freedmen of 
 the South without education will be cursed rather 
 than blessed by the ballot. ' I do not believe,' he 
 said, 'in anybody casting a vote in this land that 
 cannot read and write.' (The meeting applauded.)
 
 THE BOSTON PAPERS. 211 
 
 ' Now do n't you cheer me,' said Mr. Fulton, ' this is 
 God's night, and I do n't want to be cheered.' 
 
 " At this juncture thex-e was a movement at the left 
 end of the platform, and Rev. Gilbert Haven and So- 
 journer Truth appeared. Mr. Fulton turned around 
 to the good old lady and said, indicating the seat he 
 had occupied previous to taking the floor, ' Now, 
 Aunty, yon take this easy chair.' (Laughter and ap- 
 plause.) Mr. Fulton ' Now I do wish you would n't 
 do that.' The speaker then concluded his remarks by 
 an earnest advocacy of temperance, and further obser- 
 vations upon education ; and at a quarter before eight 
 o'clock left the Temple to take the train for New 
 York." 
 
 "REMARKS BY REV. GILBERT HAVEN. 
 
 " A collection was then taken up, a hymn sung by 
 the choir, and Rev. Gilbert Haven introdiiced. He 
 had the misfortune, he said, of coming after the king 
 (referring to Mr. Fulton) and before the queen (re- 
 ferring to Sojourner Truth), and of course a person. in 
 that position was of very little account except to get 
 out of the way. But such things were matters of 
 necessity, and he would endeavor to do his best. He 
 dwelt at some length upon the emancipation procla- 
 mation and spoke particularly of the happiness mani- 
 fested by Frederick Douglass upon the occasion of its 
 declaration. The time of this anniversary meeting 
 had been most appropriately chosen. It was fitting 
 that we celebrate this great event upon a Sabbath 
 evening, for in the Bible itself we find that the most 
 sacred festival was on account of the deliverance from
 
 21 2 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 the land of bondage. The present situation of affairs 
 must be accepted with all our hearts. If we do not 
 so accept it, there is more danger in ourselves than 
 we are 'aware of. As to our duty to the South and to 
 the colored people, Mr. Haven said there must be a 
 brotherly feeling everywhere. First, we must assist 
 in Christianizing our emancipated brethren, both 
 white and black, in the South. By so doing we shall 
 be disarmed of our predjudice and hostility. Sec- 
 ondly, we must give them education. There is a pas- 
 sion of thirst for it there, and there are a great many 
 ways of woi-king it out. There's the Institute of In- 
 struction in Washington, and freedmen's societies. 
 But, some way or other, we must put ourselves in 
 connection with the teacher of the South. We need 
 the school system. Thirdly, we must add to churches 
 and schools prohibition. Mr. Haven spoke of the 
 terrible system of intemperance which prevails, and 
 called for the immediate and unconditional extirpation 
 of it by a rigid prohibitory law. They have got to 
 have prohibition down South. The black men are 
 becoming terribly demoralized by rum ; and America 
 has got to meet this issue or America goes to ruin. 
 Boston is fast becoming a Sodom and a hell ; on every 
 side this demoralization is occurring. There is also 
 work to be done in Boston. We must have a national 
 education and a national prohibition ; and one thing 
 more we need, and that is homes, lands for the freed- 
 men. That I shall let my good friend chiefly dwell 
 upon. 
 
 " Thus introduced, Sojourner Truth took the stand, 
 She spoke about half an hour, substantially as follows,
 
 TRUTHS FROM SOJOURNER TRUTH. 213 
 
 the piquancy of her remarks being greatly hightened 
 by the inimitable patois, if it may be so called, of her 
 expression : 
 
 "TRUTHS FROM SOJOURNER TRUTH. 
 
 " ' Well, chilern, I'm glad to see so many together. 
 Ef I am eighty-three years old, I only count my age 
 from de time dat I was 'mancipated. Then I 'gun ter 
 live. God is a fulfillin', an' my lost time dat I lost 
 bein' a slave was made up. Wen I was a slave I 
 hated de w'ite pepul. My mother said to me when I 
 was to be sole from her, " I want to tole ye dese tings 
 dat you will allers know dat I have tole you, for dar 
 will be a great many tings tole you after I sta't out 
 ob dis life inter de world to come." An' I say dis to 
 you all, for here is a great many pepul dat when I 
 step out ob dis existence, dat you will know what you 
 heered ole Sojourn' Truth tell you. I was boun' a 
 slave in the State of Noo Yo'k, Ulster County, 'mong 
 de low Dutch. Wen I was ten years old, I could n't 
 speak a word of Inglish, an 1 hab no eddicati'n at all. 
 Dere's wonder what dey has done fur me. As I tole 
 you w'en I was sole, my master died, an' we was goin' 
 to hab a auction. We was all brought up to be sole. 
 My mother, my fader was very ole, my brudder 
 younger 'en myself, an' my mother took my han'. 
 Dey opened a canoby ob ebben, an' she sat down an' 
 I an' my brudder sat down by her, en she says, " Look 
 up to de moon an' stars dat shine upon you father an' 
 upon you mother when you sole far away, an' upon 
 you brudders an' sisters, dat is sole away," for dere 
 was a great number ob us, an' was all sole away be-
 
 214 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 for' my membrance. I asked her who had made de 
 moon an' de stars, an' she says, " God," an' says I, 
 Where is God ] " Oh !" says she, " chile, he sits in de 
 sky, an' he hears you w'en you ax him w'en you are 
 away from us to make your marster an' misteress 
 good, an' he will do it." 
 
 " ' When we were sole, I did what my mother told 
 me ; I said, God, my mother tole me ef I asked 
 you to make my marster an' misteress good, you'd do 
 it, an' dey did n't get good. [Laughter.] Why, says 
 I, God, mebbe you can't do it. Kill 'em. [Laughter 
 and applause.] I did n't tink he could make dein 
 good. Dat was de idee I had. After I made such 
 wishes my conscience burned me. Then I wud say, 
 God, do n't be mad. My marster make me wick- 
 ed ; an' I of'm thought how pepul can do such 'bom- 
 inable wicked things an' dere conscience not burn deiu. 
 Now I only made wishes. I used to tell God this I 
 would say, ' Now, God, ef I was you, an' you was me 
 [laughter], and you wanted any help I'd help ye ; 
 why done yon help me 1 [Laughter and" applause.] 
 Well, ye see I was in want, an' I felt dat dere was no 
 help. I know what it is to be taken in the barn an' 
 tied up an' de blood drawed out ob yere bare back, 
 an' I tell you it would make you think 'bout God. 
 Yes, an' den I felt, O God, ef I was you an' you felt 
 like I do, an' asked me for help I would help you 
 now why won't you help me 1 Trooly I done know 
 but God has helped me. But I got no good marster 
 ontil de las' time I was sole, an' den I found one an' 
 his name was Jesus. Oh, I tell ye, did n't I fine a 
 good marster when I use to feel so bad, when I use to
 
 TRUTHS FROM SOJOURNER TRUTH. 215 
 
 say, God, how ken I libe ? I'm sorely 'prest both 
 widin and widout. Wen God gi' me dat marster he 
 healed all de wounds up. My soul rejoiced. I used 
 to hate de w'ite pepul so, an' I tell ye w'en de lobe 
 come in me I had so much lobe I did n't know what 
 to lobe. Den de w'ite pepul come, an' I thought dat 
 lobe was too good fur dem. Den I said, Yea, God, 
 I'll lobe ev'ybuddy an' de w'ite pepul too. Ever since 
 dat, dat lobe has continued an' kep' me 'mong de w'ite 
 pepul. Well,. 'mancipation came; we all know; can't 
 stop to go troo de hull. I go fur adgitatin'. But I 
 believe dere is works belong wid adgitatin', too. On'y 
 think ob it ! Ain't it wonderful dat God gives lobe 
 enough to de Ethiopins to lobe you ? 
 
 " ' Now, here is de question dat I am here to-night to 
 say. I been to Washin'ton, an' I fine out dis, dat do 
 colud pepul dat is in Washin'tun libin on de gobern- 
 ment dat de United Staas ort to gi' 'em Ian' an' move 
 'em on it. Dey are libin on de gov'ment, an' dere is 
 pepul takin' care of 'em costin' you so much, an' it 
 don't benefit him 'tall. It degrades him wuss an' 
 wuss. Therefo' I say dat these people, take an' put 
 'em in de West where you ken enrich 'em. I know 
 de good pepul in de South can't take care of de ne- 
 groes as dey ort to, case de ribils won't let 'em. How 
 much better will it be for to take them culud pepul 
 an' give 'em land ] We've airnt Ian' enough for a 
 home, an' it would be a benefit for you all an' God 
 would bless de hull ob ye for doin' it. Dey say, Let 
 'em take keer of derselves. Why, you've taken dat 
 all away from 'cm. Ain't got nuflin lef. Get dese 
 culud pepul out of Washin'tun off ob de gov'ment, an'
 
 216 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 get de ole pepul out and build dem homes in de West, 
 where dey can feed themselves, and dey would soon 
 be abel to be a pepul among you. Dat is my com- 
 mission. Now adgitate them pepul an' put 'em dere ; 
 learn 'em to read one part of de time an' learn 'em to 
 work de udder part ob de time.' 
 
 " At this moment a member in the audience arose 
 and left, greatly to the disturbance of the lady, who 
 could with difficulty make herself heard. 
 
 " ' I'll hole on a while,' she said. ' Whoever is 
 agoin' let him go. When you tell about work here, 
 den you have to scud. [Laughter and applause.] I 
 tell you I can't read a book, but I can read de people. 
 [Applause.] I speak dese tings so dat when you 
 have a paper come for you to sign, you ken sign it.' 
 
 " This was the last speech, and the services of the 
 eighth anniversary concluded at half-past nine o'clock 
 with the pronouncing of the benediction by Rev. Mr. 
 Haven, a general hand-shaking and congratulating on 
 the platform, and a discussion with Sojourner Truth, 
 whom her questioners found as apt and keen at rep- 
 artee as she had proved herself to be while in attend- 
 ance upon the Woman's Bazar last week." JJoston 
 Post. 
 
 For many years she has been blessed with the 
 friendship and sympathy of the widely known and 
 justly revered Hev. Gilbert Haven, whom she met dur- 
 ing her last visit in Boston. At this time he made 
 her a present of Zion's Herald, a paper of extensive 
 circulation, to the reading of which she listens with 
 great pleasure.
 
 THE BOSTON PAPERS. 217 
 
 "WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION. This morn- 
 ing's session of the Woman's Right's Convention was 
 opened at ten o'clock. After the transaction of some 
 business, Col. T. W. Higginson, of Newport, was in- 
 troduced to the audience, mostly composed of ladies, 
 whose number increased as the hour advanced. The 
 main object of the speaker was to rally the women of 
 our State and induce them to come forward in the de- 
 fense of their own rights. As one result of female 
 eloquence, he said, Mrs. Lucy Stone had succeeded in 
 melting the heart of the chairman of the judiciary 
 committee in our general assembly. At the conclu- 
 sion of Col. Iligginson's address a string of resolu- 
 tions was introduced bearing on the question of Wom- 
 an's Suffrage. Sojourner Truth, who was sitting on 
 the platform, was invited to speak, and made one of 
 her characteristic addresses, favoring a grant of land ^/ 
 to the freedmen of Washington, and such a provision 
 of educational privileges as will tend to the elevation 
 of this unfortunate class. 
 
 " The great speech of the morning was made by 
 Mrs. Livermore, of Boston, whose statement of facts 
 was better than any labored argument. Her account 
 of the restricted female suffrage in Kansas was highly 
 interesting and instmctive. The women in that State 
 are allowed to vote in matters pertaining to public 
 schools, and they use their privileges for the promo- 
 tion of good education, and really -out-wit the men in 
 carrying their points. In the territory of Wyoming, 
 where female suffrage is secured, the women have 
 joined en masse in favor of temperance and morality, 
 defeating the vile demagogues who strove for office, 
 and electing persons whoso character and principles 
 are a guaranty of public order and security."
 
 218 " BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 Another journal speaks of Sojourner Truth's pres- 
 ence at this meeting thus : 
 
 " Mrs. Paulina W. Davis said they had a venera- 
 ble lady on the platform who commenced her life 
 a slave, was forty years in that condition, and since 
 that time had labored for the emancipation of her 
 race. 
 
 " Sojourner Truth, who seems to carry her weight 
 of years very heartily, said she was somewhat pleased 
 to come before them to bear testimony, although she 
 had a limited time only a few minutes but as many 
 friends wanted to hear Sojourner's voice, she thought 
 she would accept the offer. She spoke when the spirit 
 moved her not when the people moved her, but when 
 the spirit moved her for when she was limited 
 to a few minutes, the people moved her. She was in 
 the woman movement, for she was a woman herself. 
 The Friend said that woman ought to have her rights 
 for her own benefit, she ought to have them, not only 
 for her own benefit, but for the benefit of the whole 
 creation, not only the women, but all the men on the 
 face of the earth, for they were the mothers of them. 
 Therefore she ought to have her God-given right, and 
 be the equal of men, for she was the resurrection of 
 them. There was another question which lay near 
 her heart, and that was the condition of the poor col- 
 ored people around Washington, remnants of the slav- 
 ery which was ended by the war. Sojourner ear- 
 nestly urged that land be given to these poor people 
 in order that they might be made self-supporting, and 
 concluded her remarks by saying, in her naive way, 
 that she would stop before she was stopped."
 
 THE BOSTON PAPEHS. 219 
 
 "THE AMERICAN SIBYL. Sojourner Truth, whom 
 Mrs. Stowe has honored with the title of ' The Amer- 
 ican Sibyl,' is spending a few days in our city, and we 
 hope our citizens will have the pleasure of listening to 
 her graphic descriptions of the condition of the freed- 
 men of the city of Washington, where she spent three 
 years during the war in nursing and teaching the 
 poor soldiers and the emancipated people who followed 
 the army. She has been there again recently, endeavor- 
 ing in her zeal and goodness of heart to help the aged 
 colored people to find comfortable homes in some rural 
 district. She has spoken in nearly all the cities, and 
 has just come from Fall River, where she spoke in 
 two of the churches to large and enthusiastic audi- 
 ences, who listened with delight to the words of wit 
 and wisdom which fell from the lips of the ancient 
 colored philosopher. She was, as is well known, a 
 slave in New York the first forty years of her life, 
 and since her emancipation and remarkable conversion 
 to Christianity, she has labored unceasingly for the 
 good of her race and for oppressed humanity every- 
 where." 
 
 "PERSONAL. ' Sister Sojourner Truth' was in town 
 yesterday and visited the Woman Suffrage Bazaar, 
 where she could not resist the movings of the spirit to 
 say a few words upon her ' great mission,' which now 
 is to ' stir up the United States to give the colored 
 people about Washington, and who are largely sup- 
 ported by charity, a tract of land down South, where 
 they can support themselves.' She don't believe in 
 keeping them paupers, and thinks they have earned 
 land enough for white people in past days to be enti-
 
 220 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 tied to a small farm apiece themselves. She says she 
 is going to accomplish her mission in this respect be- 
 fore she dies, and she wants an opportunity to address 
 the people of Boston and to get up petitions to Con- 
 gress in its favor. She means to ' send tons of paper 
 down to Washington for them spouters to chaw on.' 
 Sojourner believes in women's voting, and thinks, the 
 men are very pretentious in denying them the right. 
 Still she thinks there has been a great change for the 
 better in this respect the last few years. She is rather 
 severe on the sterner sex, and asks, by way of capping 
 her argument in favor of her sex : ' Did Jesus ever 
 say anything against women 1 Not a word. But he 
 did speak awful hard things against the men. You 
 know what they were. And he knew them to be true. 
 But he did n't say nothing 'gainst de women.' And 
 solacing herself with this reflection the old heroine re- 
 tired to admire the beautiful bouquets in the flower 
 department of the Fair." 
 
 "Sojourner Truth, now in her eighty- third year, gave 
 a thrilling address at the Fair in the Phillips' Stieet 
 Church (Rev. Mr. Grime's) on Monday evening. It 
 was uniqxie, witty, pathetic, sensible ; and, aged as 
 she is, was delivered with a voice that, in volume and 
 tone, was equally remarkable and striking. 
 
 " Rev. Norwood Damon succeeded her in a speech 
 of great eloquence and power. The subject was the 
 dependent condition and the hinderances to education 
 of the blacks in Washington and the South, and the 
 duty of the government to open avenues and furnish 
 inducements to a better civilization and manhood. 
 The venerable Sojourner will renew the subject at a
 
 THE NEW YORK PAPERS. 221 
 
 public meeting in Rev. Mr. Grime's church this even- 
 ing." 
 
 " The first forty years of her life were spent in slav- 
 ery in the State of New York. She became free when 
 slavery was abolished in that State, and has devoted 
 the remainder of her life to the cause of the freedom 
 of her race. She is now at this advanced age engaged 
 in a mission for their welfare. She wants the gov- 
 ernment, instead of feeding them as now, to put them 
 on land of their own, as it does the Indians, and teach 
 them to work for themselves. Unless this be done, 
 she thinks the jails and penitentiaries will have to be 
 increased. It is the only way to prevent a large 
 amount of misery, degradation and crime in the pres- 
 ent and future generations. She carries with her 
 three small books in which she has inscribed the auto- 
 graphs of nearly all the eminent people in America. 
 This she proposes sometime to have printed in fac 
 similes. She calls them the ' Book of Life.' " 
 
 FROM N. T. AND PHILADELPHIA PAPERS. 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH. Sojourner Truth was born a 
 slave in the family of Colonel Hardenburgh, near 
 Swatakill, in Ulster County, New York, and sold 
 away from her family when about ten years old. She 
 remained in Ulster County forty years, a slave, 
 and had, during that time, numerous owners. She 
 obtained her freedom under the Act of Emancipation 
 in the State of New York. After her freedom she 
 lived in the city of New York a number of years, and 
 in Massachusetts, at Northampton, about twenty 
 years. During all this time she traveled through ev-
 
 222 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 ery section of the country, laboring to promote the 
 welfare of her race. She worked without fee or re- 
 ward. She then went to Michigan, where she has re- 
 sided since that time. She has devoted her life to 
 the interest of her suffering race. During the war, 
 under President Lincoln's administration, she spent 
 her time among the freed men in and around Wash- 
 ington, teaching the women how to perform their do- 
 mestic duties. She is now over eighty years, and has 
 secured a little home at Battle Creek, in Michigan. 
 The past summer she purchased a barn, and had it 
 converted into a comfortable dwelling-house. It is 
 encumbered with a mortgage of nine hundred dollars, 
 and to clear this place of debt, she is now on a visit 
 to her friends, and proposes to visit President Grant, 
 at Washington. Sojourner is remarkably active and 
 bright for a person of her age. She has endured much 
 hardship, and deserves the aid of her friends." 
 
 Frank Leslie's Illustrated Paper. 
 
 11 SOJOURNER TRUTH. This remarkable colored lady 
 addressed rather a small audience in "the Methodist 
 Church on Tuesday evening. It was small because it 
 had not been sufficiently advertised ; hence, compara- 
 tively few knew of her presence. Sojourner is a per- 
 fect type of her race, uneducated, but possessed of 
 strong common sense. She was a slave forty years of 
 her life, and when liberated, and an attempt was 
 made to educate her, she declaims she could never get 
 beyond her a, b, abs. She is now eighty-three years 
 old, and has been a public speaker for a great many 
 many years. She spoke in Phconixville some twenty 
 years ago, in the old M. E. Church, and has ever since
 
 THE PHILADELPHIA PAPERS. 223 
 
 been anxious to do so again. In her address that 
 evening she stated that she had in her wanderings in- 
 quired now and then concerning her friend Elijah F. 
 Pennypacker, because she knew so long as he lived 
 she would if she visited this section have a place 
 wherever she could 'put the sole of her foot.' She 
 spoke in high terms of the Methodist people of West 
 Chester, and especially of their minister, the Rev. Mr. 
 Best, and said he was n't like the majority of preach- 
 ers, who was n't in their element unless they were 
 ' spouting,' but he was satisfied to sit at her feet and 
 to learn the truth as she knew it. Sojourner was in 
 the anti-slavery movement in its palmiest days, and 
 was associated with the shining lights of that struggle, 
 and now that the wildest dreams of those she consid- 
 ered enthusiastic have been abundantly realized, she 
 has turned her attention to the amelioration of her 
 race, and considers her mission to be the establish- 
 ment of a home for old and feeble colored people in 
 the far West., for which purpose she is endeavoring to 
 arouse public sentiment and to interest the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 " On Thursday afternoon she addressed the ladies 
 of the neighborhood in the Friends' meeting-house, at 
 the corner stores." 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH. Earnest, self-sacrificing devo- 
 tion to principle, especially when its scope is to bene- 
 fit humanity, is always an object of the deepest inter- 
 est, whatever the race, color or condition of the indi- 
 vidual exemplifying it. This fact explains why a 
 large and highly respectable audience assembled last 
 night in the Friends' Meeting House, on Lombard
 
 224 '-'BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 Street, and listened with the deepest attention to the 
 utterances of an old colored woman, who was a slave 
 for forty years. That old colored woman was so ear- 
 nest, so fearless and untiring a laborer for her race 
 during the long contest between freedom and slavery 
 that she is known and loved by thousands in every 
 State in the Union. Very black, and without much 
 education, she has remarkable faith in God, wonder- 
 fully clear perceptions of moral right and wrong, the 
 most devoted love for the poor and needy, and the 
 most untiring determination to carry forward plans 
 for the amelioration of the condition of her race. 
 
 " She last night gave startling pictures of the deg- 
 radation and suffering among the colored people at 
 Washington and elsewhere ; showed that it would 
 pay the nation to transform those paitpers into indus- 
 trious, moral citizens, and concluded by detailing her 
 plan for doing that work, and stating the objections 
 made to it. She stated that she desired to hold a 
 number of meetings here to induce the colored people 
 who are in better circumstances to do something to 
 further the best interests of the unfortunate of their 
 race. 
 
 " When she had concluded, Mr. John Needles stated 
 that the old lady paid her expenses in her present 
 work by selling her photograph, whereupon a number 
 of persons went forward and bought copies. 
 
 "Sojourner Truth jocularly denies that she ever 
 nursed General Washington, but she says she ' has 
 done quit ' telling people how old she is. ' Sometimes 
 folks just quit growing and stop as they is, and I 
 specs that I has jig quit growing old and keeps on de 
 same all de time.' This is Sojourner's explanation of 
 her remarkable longevity."
 
 THE ROCHESTER PAPERS. 225 
 
 A Pennsylvania paper thus mentions another of her 
 meetings : 
 
 " Old Sojourner Truth was here last Thursday night 
 and preached a good sermon in the Methodist Church. 
 A tremendous crowd assembled to hear and see her, 
 and were all pleased with her address and the manner 
 in which it was delivered." 
 
 FROM ROCHESTER PAPERS. 
 
 "A LECTURE BY SOJOURNER TRUTH. This aged 
 nogi'ess lectured in Rochester, N. Y., recently, and 
 the Democrat and Chronicle gives this account of her 
 effort : 
 
 " ' Her appearance reminds one vividly of Dinah 
 in " Uncle Tom's Cabin." A white handkerchief was 
 tied closely about her head and she wore spectacles, 
 but this was the only indication of her extreme age. 
 I fer voice is strong, has no touch of shrillness, and 
 she walked about as hale and hearty as a person of 
 half her years. She said her object was to arouse at- 
 tention to the wants of the freedmen. Their Condition 
 at "Washington was pitiful. Xo work could be found 
 
 KN 
 
 for them, and their " 
 
 ranee. She described the treatment they had received 
 ing the war, even after they were freed. "The 
 poor creeters were heaped .together .",.wiih--na4ood but 
 
 a ration of bread, v Children were taken away from 
 
 - -- 1 _ . i . J 
 
 their mothers, and when the latter complained, they 
 were thrust into the guard-house. She went among 
 them, and when she told them they were free, they 
 did not understand her. After drawing a vivid pic- 
 G
 
 226 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 ture of the sufferings of the freedmen and their un- 
 fortunate condition, even at the present time, she said : 
 " You ask me what to do for dem 1 Do you want a 
 poor old creeter who do 1 no how to read to tell edc- 
 cated people what to do? I give you de hint, and 
 you ought to know what to do. But if you do n't, I 
 kin tell you. De government hab given land to de 
 railroads in de West ; can't it do as much for these 
 poor creeters ? Let 'em give 'em land and an outset, 
 and hab teachers learn 'em to read. Den they can be 
 somebody. Dat's what I want. You owe it to dem, 
 because you took away from dem all dey earned and 
 made 'em what they are. You take no interest in de 
 colored people. I was forty years a slave in de State 
 f NO^ York, and was 'mancipated 'long wid de odder 
 culered people of the State. 
 
 " ' You are de cause of de brutality of these poor 
 creeters. For you're de children of those who enslaved 
 dem. Dat's what I want to say. I wish dis hall was 
 full to hare me. I do n't want to say anything agin 
 Anna Dickinsin because she is my friend, but if she 
 come to talk here about a woman you know nothing 
 about, and no one knows whether there was such a 
 woman* or not, you would fill dis place. You want 
 to hear nonsense. I come to tell something which 
 you ought to listen to. You are ready to help de 
 heathen in foreign lands, but don't care for the hea- 
 then right about you. I want you to sign petitions 
 to send to Washington. Dey say there dey will do 
 what de people want. The majority rules. If dey 
 want anything good dey git it. If dey want anything 
 not right dey git it too. You send these petitions, and 
 
 ,j* Miss Dickinson's lecture upon'Joan of Arc. J
 
 THE ROCHESTER PAPERS. 227 
 
 those men in Congress will have something to spout 
 about. I bin to hear 'em ; could make nothing out 
 of what dey said, but if dey talk about de colored peo- 
 ple I will know what dey say. Send a good man wid 
 de petitions, one dat will not turn de other side out 
 when he gits to Washington. Let de freedmen be 
 emptied out in de West ; gib 'em land an' an outset ; 
 teach 'em to read, an' den dey will be somebody. 
 Dat's wat I want to say.' " 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH. Let no one fail to hear the 
 lecture of this remarkable woman in Corinthian Hall, 
 on Thursday evening of this week. Her subject is the 
 condition of the freed colored people dependent on the 
 government. Having spent several years among them , 
 she knows whereof she speaks. She was for forty 
 years a slave in the State of New York. Wholly un- 
 educated, her eloquence is that of nature, inspired by 
 earnest zeal in her Heaven-appointed mission. She 
 speaks to crowded houses everywhere ; let Rochester 
 give her a cordial reception." 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH. The lecture of this remarka- 
 ble colored woman comes off at Corinthian Hall, on 
 Thursday evening, 4th inst. The lecturer is a child 
 of nature, gifted beyond the common measure, witty, 
 shrewd, sarcastic, with an open, broad honesty of 
 heart, and unbounded kindness. 
 
 " Wholly untaught in the schools, she is herself a 
 study for the philosophers, and a wonder to all. Her 
 natural powers of observation, discrimination, compur 
 ison, and intuition are rare indeed, and only equaled 
 by her straightforward common sense and earnest 
 practical benevolence. She is always sensible, always
 
 228 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 suggestive, always original, earnest, and practical, 
 often eloquent and profound. Her lecture will be in 
 behalf of her people, and whoever would be edified, 
 entertained, and even amused, without frivolity, 
 would do well to be present." 
 
 "SojouRNER TRUTH. This celebrated colored 
 woman spoke at Lyceum Hall, Sunday evening, to an 
 audience of several hundred people. Her subject was 
 her own experience, more particularly her religious 
 experience. She is now about eighty-three years old, 
 though she looks much younger. She is unable to 
 read or write, and in her manner and style is per- 
 fectly natural and original. She acts and speaks with 
 the simplicity and innocence of a child, and seems to 
 have nothing to conceal. Her motives she speaks 
 out without hesitation. Her religious experience was 
 very beautiful, and was told in a style that defies im- 
 itation. To be appreciated it must be heard, for no- 
 body can repeat it. Her religion is of an exceedingly 
 practical character, and consists in doing good to oth- 
 ers. ' How can you expect to do good to God,' she 
 asked, ' unless you first learn to do good to each other "I 
 In regard to God, she says she feels that he is all 
 around her; that we live in him as the fishes live in 
 the sea. 
 
 " Speaking of death, she compared it her counte- 
 nance fairly lighting up with emotion to stepping out 
 of one room into another, stepping out into the light. 
 ' Oh,' said she, ' won't that be glorious ! '
 
 A SYRACUSE PAPER. 229 
 
 "SOJOURNER TRUTH TALKS TO LADIES. 
 
 " Sojourner spoke to a company of ladies at Asso- 
 ciation Hall, on Wednesday afternoon. She por- 
 trayed in forcible language the vice and degradation 
 in which the war has left the poor blacks. Ignorant 
 and debased, they cannot be made to understand that 
 they are responsible human beings, but continue the 
 debased practices that marked their slave life. She 
 endeavored to enlist the sympathies of her hearei's in 
 behalf of the black women of the South, and related 
 many incidents connected with her efforts to find 
 homes for them in the West. She had succeeded in 
 providing for; a hundred in this manner. At the con- 
 clusion of her address the ladies present took So- 
 journer by the hand and gave her pecuniary aid as 
 well as words of encouragement." 
 
 FROM A SYRACUSE PATER. 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH. 
 
 "To the Editor of the Syracuse Journal :-- 
 
 " It affords me great pleasure to announce to the 
 Christian people of Syracuse that Sojourner Tnith is 
 in this city, and will address the people upon the 
 'Condition of the South,' to-morrow (Friday) even- 
 ing, at 7 o'clock. 
 
 " This remarkable woman at the age of eighty years 
 is as eloquent as ever, and all who desire to see and 
 hear her should take this opportunity, which will 
 probably be the last one afforded in this city. 
 
 "The officers and pastor of the Fourth Presbyte-
 
 230 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 rian Church have kindly proffered their fine audience 
 room, which is so central that it will doubtless be 
 filled very early in the evening. 
 
 "Sojourner Truth is too well known to need any 
 endorsements, but I was greatly pleased yesterday to 
 read that of the martyr president so characteristic 
 of Lincoln ' For Aunty.' 
 
 " Sojourner Truth. let the Christian people hear 
 her. Yours, truly, A. F. B." 
 
 FROM BATTLE CREEK PAPERS. 
 
 " FIRST OF AUGUST. The colored people of Battle 
 Creek and vicinity will observe the 39th anniversary 
 of the emancipation of the slaves of the British West 
 Indies by a picnic at St. Mary's Lake, interspersed 
 with boat riding, 'swinging in the lane,' &c. W. 
 Sweeney has been invited to deliver the oration of the 
 day, followed by ' Aunt Sojourner Truth ' and others. 
 The festivities of the day will be concluded by a grand 
 Grant and Wilson club ball, at Stuart Hall, under 
 the immediate supervision of the officers of the club. 
 Cr. Long is the chairman of the committee of arrange- 
 ments. 
 
 " Sojourner Truth asserts that if ever the Augean 
 stables of our political temple are to be cleared, it 
 must be done by woman, and that it never will be 
 clean until she is admitted to full fellowship therein. 
 
 " This well-known and venerable old lady called to 
 see us Thursday afternoon and to subscribe for the 
 Journal. She leaves for Ohio in a few days to lec- 
 ture upon her favorite topic, that of providing a home 
 for the colored people in and about Washington by
 
 THE BATTLE CREEK PAPERS. 231 
 
 granting them a tract of land in the West. Sojourner 
 has been stumping for Grant, and says that if such a 
 strange occurrence as the election of Greeley should 
 happen, she will remove to Canada." Battle Creel; 
 Journal. 
 
 "REPUBLICAN MEETING SOJOURNER TRUTH. 
 
 " On Tuesday evening, Sojourner Truth addressed 
 the people of Hillsdale upon political topics at the 
 court-house. The attendance was immense, not half 
 the throng were able to get seats, and hundreds went 
 away without even gaining admittance. The old lady 
 was somewhat ' scattering ' in her remarks but she 
 kept firing away, and occasionally a winged duck went 
 out of the crowd, shrieking. The principal points 
 touched were the slanders against President Grant, 
 the inconsistent relations assumed by Greeley, Sum- 
 ner, Blair, and other's, and the duties of the colored 
 voters. The audience, in the best humor, applauded 
 and cheered the speaker. 
 
 " Sojourner Truth, on the Saturday before the re- 
 cent election, appeared before the Board of Registra- 
 tion, in the third ward where she resides, and claimed 
 the right to have her name entered upon the list of 
 electors. Upon being refused, she repaired to the 
 polls on election day in the same ward and again as- 
 serted her right to the ballot. She was politely re- 
 ceived by the authorities in both instances^ but did 
 not succeed in her effort, though she sustained her 
 claim by many original and quaintly put arguments. 
 Sojourner states that she learned one thing by her 
 visit to the polls on the 5th inst. She verily thought
 
 232 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 before that day that a literal pole was erectod to des- 
 ignate the voting place, and she asked the bystanders 
 to point it out. Her astonishment on being unde- 
 ceived, as described to us by her own lips and in her 
 characteristic style, is peculiarly amusing. It is So- 
 journer's determination to continue the assertion of 
 her right, until she gains it." Battle Creek Journal. 
 
 FROM DETROIT PAPERS. 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH. 
 
 " A veteran worker her ' nv'mion ' the colored paupers 
 about Washinylon and what to do vsith them. 
 
 " For several days past, Sojourner Truth the ' Lib- 
 yan Sibyl,' as Mrs. Stowe has aptly termed her has 
 been the guest of Mrs. Nanette B. Gardner, on How- 
 ard Street, where many friends, and strangers as well, 
 have called to see and converse with this veteran 
 worker in the cause of her own race. Already past 
 fourscore years and ten, she yet maintains a constitu- 
 tion and mind unimpaired, and has an amount of vigor 
 that betokens a ' green old age ' indeed. Those who 
 have before heard her lectures, will doubtless remem- 
 ber well the strong, and yet well-modulated voice, and 
 the characteristic expressions in which she delivers 
 her addresses, as well as the pith and point of her 
 spioy sentences, 
 
 "To all calling upon her, she asks the question, 
 'Don't you want to write your name in do Book 
 of Life 1 ' to which query, the counter one in relation 
 to the same ' Book of Life/ is generally put, and So- 
 journer is usually gratified by the chirograph y of
 
 THE DETROIT PAPERS. 233 
 
 her visitor, in some manner, accoixling to the pleas- 
 ure of the writer. The book in question contains 
 scores on scores of names, of different individuals 
 throughout the country, including many persons of 
 note, senators, authors, politicians, etc. Foremost in 
 the list is Lucretia Mott's, who signs herself a ' co- 
 laborer in the cause of our race.' Also that of Sena- 
 tor Revel, of Mississippi, of Senators Morrill, Pome- 
 roy, Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts, Patterson, of 
 New Hampshire, and numerous others. 
 
 " Among the first and most treasured is that of the 
 late President Lincoln, who has inscribed in his hur- 
 ried style, ' For Aunty Sojourner Truth. A. Lincoln, 
 October 29, 1864.' From President Grant, who, she 
 declares, ' was in a most drefful hurry to put down his 
 name,' on being asked to write in the ' Book of Life ;' 
 written in his hurried manner, are the lines, 'So- 
 journer Truth. U. S. Grant, March 31, 1870.' There 
 ai-c letters from Gerritt Smith, "Wm. Lloyd Garrison, 
 et id genus omne, and also a few lines each from Vice 
 President Colfax, Theodore Tilton, Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Til ton, and many others. Sojourner has 'views' as 
 well as others, and does not hesitate to promulgate 
 them. She is in most respects radical, and believes in 
 the temperance movement, woman suffrage, and has 
 no faith whatever in the ' New Departure ' move- 
 ment, as announced of late in the main plank in the 
 Democratic platform. The constant and repeated in- 
 quiry made by visitors, as to her age, she considers as 
 somewhat trying, as it is what she has done and is to 
 do, that she considers of the most importance. In 
 connection with this, she mentions that when in
 
 234 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 Brooklyn last spring Theodore Tilton called upon her, 
 and in the course of conversation proposed that lie 
 nhould write her life, a proposition which did not 
 meet her views, and which she did not accordingly 
 accept, but replied in ellect that she expected to live 
 a long time yet, and was going to accomplish ' lots ' 
 before she died, and did n't wan't to be ' written up ' 
 at present. ^* 
 
 " Sojonrner calls Battle Creek her home, but as she * 
 is constantly on the move, she visits that place but 
 seldom. Her great object, she says, in visiting this 
 city and others, is to ' stir np ' the people and interest 
 them in her long-desired object of procuring a home 
 for the aged and infirm particularly colored people 
 who are now in and around Washington, and wholly 
 dependent upon the goverment for support. 
 
 "Sojourner is to remain a short time only in De- 
 troit, going from here westward on the same mission 
 which induced her to come here. In the course of 
 her travels she intends visiting Kansas, in oi'der to 
 prospect the land." 
 
 " About a year ago, Sojourncr commenced her lect- 
 ures in behalf of this object, in Providence, since 
 which time she has lectured in many towns and cities 
 thrcmghout the country. Concerning this, she says 
 that not nmch encouragement is given her, except the 
 constant adjuration to talk to the people, and ' stir 
 'em up,' and adds, ' why don't you stir 'em up ? as 
 tho' an old body like myself could do all the stirring.' 
 
 " In relation to the subject, she states that there are 
 hundreds of colored people in the city of Washington, 
 who, from being cared for, and clothed, and fed by the
 
 THE DETROIT PAPERS. 235 
 
 government, have become apathetic and indifferent, 
 and all they care for is to lead the hum-drum, hand- 
 to-mouth existence that calls for no action on their 
 part. Hundreds of children are brought up in a shift- 
 less manner, and, believing that the government will 
 provide for them, they help swell the constantly in- 
 creasing number of paupers. Without friends or 
 homes, they are sent to some of the numerous asy- 
 lums in Washington which are provided for them, and 
 thus manage to exist, but have no thought or care 
 as to how they are to do hereafter. When urged to 
 go North, away from Washington, the invariable re- 
 ply, at least of nearly all of the able-bodied men in 
 particular is, ' What fo' I go way 1 gubernmcnt feed 
 me, gib me close, I's doin' well enuff,' and so say they 
 all, or at least a great part of them. 
 
 " That a new order of things may be established, 
 Sojourner proposes to excite such an interest as shall 
 not fail in the end to accomplish her purpose. 
 
 " As showing what a large number are fed at gov- 
 ernment expense during the winter, at least when 
 there is little or no work, she states that last season 
 there were from GOO to 700 loaves of bread given daily 
 in each ward, to the colored people, who had in many 
 cases only this to depend upon for sustenance. Tho 
 following extract from a letter written by Mrs. C. A. 
 F. Stebbins, to the editor of the National Standard, 
 shows the condition of things then existing, and 
 which is no better at tlie commencement of each 
 winter, and, as Sojourner claims, is even gi-owing 
 worse :
 
 23G "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 " To the Editor of the National Standard : 
 " ' There could be no wider possible gulf between 1 
 Dives and Lazarus, in the day when the impover- 
 ished and despised craved the crumbs which fell from 
 the rich man's table, than here this very day in the 
 court center of the republic, where women are starv- 
 ing for bread, while after all the regular nourishing 
 meals of the day, evening tables are heaped high with 
 luxuries from every clime, and hundreds are invited 
 to share, but they are the hundreds who have plenty 
 upon their own boards at home. . ". c , 
 
 " ' I am thankful, dear Standard, that I do not be- 
 lieve the Dives of Washington city will ever go to the 
 burning gulf as did Dives in the parable ; or that they 
 will ever lack for a kind and tender hand to administer 
 the cup of cold water in the future world j but I can- 
 not say, in the turning and constant revolutions of the 
 wheel, that I believe all will be so fortunate in this, 
 for experience in the valley of humility saves, no doubt, 
 some bitter regret, and necessitates reflections on 
 wasted opportunities which may lead to the realiza- 
 tion that all are brothers, and human wants are ever 
 the same.' 
 
 N " Sojourner proposes to solicit government aid, in 
 the way of having some portion of the as yet unoccu- 
 pied lands of the West donated for the purpose as set 
 forth in the petition first mentioned, and there to 
 have suitable buildings erected, and schools estab- 
 lished where the now dependent thousands of colored 
 people may go, and not only attain an independence 
 for themselves, but become educated and respectable 
 citizens, instead of the ' trash ' as she denominates
 
 THE DETROIT PAPERS. 237 
 
 the humbug idlers in Washington which their de- 
 pendence on government aid and bounty renders them. 
 "Sojourner intends remaining in Detroit several 
 days longer, during which time, if a hall or suitable 
 place can be provided, she will give a lecture on the 
 subject described, and will doubtless attract even more 
 than on the occasion of her last appearance in Detroit, 
 in '68." Detroit Post. 
 
 " SOJOUB.NER TRUTH. 
 
 " This remarkable woman, bdrn a slave in the State 
 of New York more than eighty years ago, and eman- 
 cipated in 1827, will speak in the lecture room of the 
 Unitarian Church, corner of Shelby Street and La- 
 fayette Avenue, on Monday evening, to any who 
 will choose to hear her. Her lecture will be highly 
 entertaining and impressive. She is a woman of 
 strong religious nature, with an entirely original elo- 
 quence and humor, possessed of a weird imagination, 
 of most grotesque but strong, clear mind, and one who, 
 without the aid of reading or writing, is strangely sus- 
 ceptible to all that in thought and action is now cur- 
 rent in the world. At the antislavery and women 's- 
 rights^ meetings she has been one of the chief attrac- 
 tions, and her shrewd good sense, mixed with oddities 
 of speech and whimsical illustrations, never fail of 
 producing a sympathetic interest as well as exciting 
 the curiosity of the audience. Her life has been one 
 of extreme vicissitudes, and a great portion of it full 
 of hardship. She has been a true and eloquent friend 
 of her race, and a practical and ellicieiit counselor and 
 assistant in their moral and religious training. Her
 
 238 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 work in the freedmen's camps at Washington and in 
 Virginia, during the war, was very valuable and much 
 esteemed. She was a staunch friend of Mr. Lincoln, 
 and he gave her many words of encouragement and 
 pi-aise. We advise our friends to attend her ' lecture,' 
 at the Unitarian Ctmrch, if they desire to be in- 
 structed, amused, and gratified by one of the most 
 original, if, indeed, not one of the most marvelous, 
 persons of the time. All she does and says is, as she 
 believes, inspired by the Almighty, and she connects 
 with his direct agency the events and circumstances 
 which surround and control her. She now resides at 
 Battle Creek, Michigan." Detroit Post. 
 
 In a notice of the lecture the Post said : 
 " Sojourner mentioned that the Rev. Gilbert Ha- 
 ven, of Boston, had volunteered to take charge of all 
 the petitions signed and forward them to Congress in 
 due form, that they might be presented before Con- 
 gress in such a way as to demand both attention and 
 action. She hoped to find some one, among those as- 
 sembled to hear her lecture, who would also aid her 
 in this respect. The Rev. Charles Foote, chaplain of 
 the- House of Correction, thereupon offered to collect 
 and forward all petitions which should be signed, to 
 Washington, which offer was thankfully accepted by 
 the lecturer. 
 
 " After the lecture several of those interested went 
 upon the platform and interviewed Sojourner, to all 
 of whom she gave a cordial welcome, and conversed in 
 her characteristic style."
 
 THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE. 239 
 
 FROM THE A r . r. TRIBUTE. 
 
 "SOJOURNER TRUTH AT WORK, 
 
 "To the Editor of the Tribune : 
 
 " SIR : Seeing an item in your paper about nie, I 
 thought I would give you the particulars of what I 
 am trying to do, in hopes that you would print a let- 
 ter about it and so help on the good cause. I am urg- 
 ing the people to sign petitions to Congress to have a 
 grant of land set apart for the freed people to earn 
 their living on, and not be dependent on the gov- 
 ernment for their bread. I have had fifty petitions 
 printed at my own expense, and have been urging the 
 people of the Eastern States for the past seven months. 
 I have been crying out in the East, and now an an- 
 swer conies to me from the West, as you will see from 
 the following letter. The gentleman who writes it I 
 have never seen or heard of before, but the Lord has 
 raised him up to help me. Bless the Lord ! I rnadu 
 up my mind last winter, when I saw able men and 
 women taking dry bread from the government to keep 
 from starving, that I would devote myself to the cause 
 of getting land for these people, where they can work 
 and earn their own living in the West, where the land 
 is so plenty. Instead of going home from Washing- 
 ton to take rest, I am traveling around getting it be- 
 fore the people. 
 
 " Instead of sending these people to Liberia, why 
 can't they have a colony in the West ? This is why 
 I am contending so in my old age. It is to teach the 
 people that this colony can just as well be in this
 
 240 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 country as in Liberia. Everybody says this is a good 
 work, but nobody helps. How glad I will be if you 
 will take hold and give it a good lift. Please help me 
 with these petitions. Yours truly, 
 
 "SOJOURNER TRUTH. 
 "Florence, Mass., Feb. IS, 1871. 
 
 " P. S. I should have said that the Rev. Gilbert 
 
 A* 
 
 Haven of Boston is kindly aiding me in getting peti- 
 tions signed, and will receive all petitions signed in 
 Massachusetts and send them to Congress. s. T." 
 
 "TOPEKA, KANSAS, Dec. 81, 1870. 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH. Dear Madam: I know so 
 much of you by reputation, and venerate and love so 
 much your character, that I am induced to write this. 
 I say I know so much of you, which is true, but it is 
 only by report, as I have never had the pleasure of 
 meeting you yet. My object in writing this is to ask 
 and earnestly request that you make our town a visit. 
 I would very much like to have you come to my house 
 and make it your home as long as you can be con- 
 tented. If you will say you will come, I will send 
 you the price of your railroad fare and enough to pay 
 additional expenses. Please let me hear from you, 
 and, if possible, convey the good intelligence that you 
 will come and see us. Yours, very respectfully, 
 
 "B. M. s." 
 
 "SOJOUKNER TKUTII IN SPRINGFIELD. 
 
 " Those who remember Mrs. Stowe's graphic sketch / 
 of ' Sojourner Truth, the Libyan tiibyl,' in the Atlan- 
 tic some years ago, will be interested to see and hear
 
 THE NEW_YORK THIBUNE. 241 
 
 her. She is now visiting at Dr. Church's on Elin 
 Sti-eet, for a few days, and will address an audience at 
 Institute Hall, to-night, on her chosen subject, the 
 suffei'ings of the old colored people and children in 
 Washington, and how to relieve them. She is one of 
 the most original and effective speakers, though an un- 
 lettered woman, and all her early life a slave in New 
 York. She is now between seventy and eighty y^ars 
 old, and has outlived many of her thirteen children, 
 but her eye is not dim nor her natural force abated in 
 proportion to her years, and her deep, powerful voice 
 has the same effect as formerly in moving an audience. 
 She says, however, that this is the last time she shall 
 speak in Massachusetts ; she is now on her way to a 
 friend of hers and her cause in Kansas, and at her age 
 she never expects to return here. Her object in hold- 
 ing meetings is, not to raise money, but to stir up the 
 people to petition Congress to show humanity to the 
 old and helpless of her race. She has spent much 
 time in Washington, and knows by observation the 
 misery of the colored people there, and she wants 
 Congress to provide a tract of land for them in some 
 Western State and remove them to it, where they can 
 live frugally and support themselves, instead of de- 
 pending upon charity at Washington. We hope our 
 citizens will avail themselves of this opportunity to see 
 and hear one of the most remarkable women of our 
 time & true sibyl, as Mrs. Stowe calls her, but a Chris- 
 tian sibyl, and more devoted to good words and works 
 than to obscure predictions. Her book of autographs 
 contains those of Abraham Lincoln, Gen. Grant, Mr. 
 
 H
 
 242 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 Gai-rison, and a great many other eminent men and 
 women, living or dead, and is a curious memento of 
 her life." 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH'S LECTURE 
 
 " At FrankHn Hall, last evening, was in the main 
 an exhortation to all interested in the elevation of the 
 blacks to petition the authorities at Washington for 
 land out West whereon to locate the surplus freedmen, 
 and let them earn their own living, which she argued 
 would be cheaper and better for the government than 
 to care for them in any other way. Her matter and 
 manner were simply indescribable, often straying far 
 away from the starting point ; but each digression was 
 fraught with telling logic, rough humor, or effective 
 sarcasm. She thought she had a work to do, and had 
 considerable faith in what she was accomplishing ; but 
 she said to her audience, ' With all your opportunities 
 for readin' and writin,' you do n't take hold and do 
 anything. My God, I wonder what you are in the 
 world for !' She had infinite faith in the influence 
 which the majority had with Congress and believed 
 that whatever they demanded, good or bad, Congress 
 wou'd grant; hence she was working to make majori- 
 ties. She leaves the East soon never to return, and 
 goes to Kansas where the Lord had plainly called her 
 by prompting a man whom she had never seen or 
 heard of to invite her and pay her expenses. Her 
 enthusiasm over the prospect was unbounded, and she 
 said that, like the New Jerusalem, if she didn't find 
 the West all she had expected, she would have a good 
 time thinking about it. A good deal of sound ortho-
 
 THE NEW YOHK TRIBUNE. 243 
 
 dox theology was mingled with her discourse, as well 
 as a description of her visit to the White House, and 
 the reformation she effected in the Washington horse- 
 car system. The whole was followed by a valedictory 
 song in true plantation style. A large and interested 
 audience was present to get the benefit of her re- 
 marks." 
 
 " Her views on the question of woman's dress and 
 the prevailing fashions are interesting. They are sub- / 
 stantially these : ' I'm awful hard on dress, you know. 
 Women, you forget that you are the mothers of crea- 
 tion ; you forget your sons were cut off like grass by 
 the war, and the land was covered with their blood ; 
 you rig yourselves up in panniers and Grecian-bend 
 backs and flummeries ; yes, and mothers and gray- 
 haired grandmothers wear high-heeled shoes and 
 Immps on their heads, and put them on their babies, 
 and stuff them out so that they keel over when the 
 wind blows. O mothers, I'm ashamed of ye ! What 
 will such lives as you live do for humanity ? When 
 I saw them women on the stage at the Woman's Suf- 
 frage Convention, the other day, I thought, What kind 
 of reformers be you, with goose-wings on your heads, 
 as if you were going to fly, and dressed in such ridic- 
 ulous fashion, talking about reform and women's , 
 rights 1 Tears to me, you had better reform your- 
 selves first. But Sojourner is an old body, and will 
 soon get out of this world into another, and wants to 
 say when she gets there, Lord, I have done my duty, 
 I have told the whole truth and kept nothing back.' " 
 
 In another issxie the Tribune says :
 
 244 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 " Mrs. Sojourner Truth, a venerable colored woman, 
 who has been heard before, gave her testimony the 
 other day, in Providence, against the flummery and 
 folly of 'feminine vestments,' and specially did she 
 rebuke the ' women on the stage at the Woman's Suf- 
 frage Convention.' Hark to her ! 
 
 " ' When I saw them women on the stage at the 
 Woman's Suffrage Convention, the other day, I 
 thought, What kind of reformers be you, with goose 
 wings on your heads, as if you were going to fly, and 
 dresses in such ridiculous fashion, talking about re- 
 form and women's rights? Tears to me you had bet- 
 ter reform yourselves first.' " 
 
 " Just before this, Mrs. Sojourner had freed her 
 mind respecting 'panniers and Grecian-bend backs, 
 high-heeled shoes, and humps on the head.' We 
 should earnestly join in Mrs. Truth's protest against 
 the manifold absurdities of woman's clothing, if we 
 thought reform possible; but we don't. There has 
 been no simplicity of attire since our grandmother 
 Eve made her first apron of fig-leaves." 
 
 ' THE FASHIONS. 
 
 " Sojourner says that 'the women wear two heads on 
 their shoulders with but little if any brains in either.' 
 She knew of a young woman who had her hair cut 
 on account of an impotency in her head and eyes. 
 After the hair was cut, she put it into a net and wore 
 it for a waterfall getting rest for the head only dur- 
 ing the night. Her hair grew again but still she con- 
 tinued to wear the extra hair with the addition of 
 several skeins of stocking or other sort of yarn. Her
 
 THE KANSAS PAPERS. 245 
 
 itnpotencies of course ' grew no better* very fast. Per- 
 haps there is no truer saying than that 'folly is a 
 fund that will never lose ground while fools are BO 
 rife in the nation.' The trouble of the thing is, or 
 the reason why we have the trouble is, that the 
 priests are dumb dogs and dare not bark or bring out 
 the truths of the gospel against such gigantic evils, as 
 war, slavery, and the prided fashions. We leave So- 
 journer Truth with her intuitiveness and without the 
 letter, to battle almost alone these world-wide evils. 
 May Heaven bless and sustain her in her humanitarian 
 work and ' God-like mission.' SELAHOMMAH." 
 
 Accompanied by her grandson, Samuel Banks, she 
 loft Battle Creek in Sept., 1871, for her western trip 
 to Kansas. Frequently stopping by the way to hold 
 meetings, they at length reached Kansas, where she 
 was cordially received by her new friend, Mr. Smith, 
 as well as by friends of earlier date, whom she had 
 known in Massachu setts and Michigan. Her stay in 
 this State was rendered most agreeable by the atten- 
 tions of kind and sympathizing people, who spared no 
 pains to make her visit both pleasant and profitable. 
 The newspaper reporters did not neglect her, as the 
 following extracts will show : 
 
 FROM KANSAS PAPERS. 
 
 " ' Sojourncr Truth ' is the name of a man now lec- 
 turing in Kansas City. He could only be called a 
 ' sojoumer ' there, for truth could not abide in that 
 place long as a permanent resident." St. Louis Dis- 
 patch.
 
 246 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 " Considerable ignorance is displayed in the first 
 sentence, and am unusual regard for truth in the last." 
 Leavenworth Times, Jan. 18, 1872. 
 
 11 Ignorance of the sex of this noted personage, So- 
 journer Truth, by the writer of the above, is proof 
 of wonderful lack of general information. Certainly, 
 knowledge does not sojourn in that head, and truth 
 without knowledge has but poor dispatch in the af- 
 fairs of men and women." Kansas City Journal, Jan. 
 10, 1872. 
 
 "SOJOURNER TRUTH'S TALK. There was a large at- 
 tendance at the Opera House last night to listen to 
 Sojourner Truth. Her mission, although not very 
 intelligently stated by her, is to secure petitions to 
 Congress to set apart a portion of the public domain 
 for the occupation of such of the blacks as are still 
 living on the bounty of the government in and around 
 Washington. Sojourner's plan seems to be to have 
 this class of ' contrabands ' dealt with much in the 
 same way as are the various tribes of Indians who 
 occupy reservations and are being taught to support 
 themselves. 
 
 " As the lecturer amioxinced her intention of speak- 
 ing again and again in Topeka, we will not prestale 
 her arguments but permit them to be brought out by 
 her in her own way. 
 
 "That she is a remarkable woman, all who .have 
 kept pace with the history of the past thirty years 
 know, and being known, her persistent efforts will 
 undoubtedly secure thousands of names to her pet pe_ 
 tition.
 
 THE KANSAS PAPERS. 247 
 
 " She also gave her views upon temperance, favor- 
 ing prohibition. As to woman suffrage she declared 
 that the world would never be correctly governed un- 
 til equal rights were declared, and that as men have 
 been endeavoring for years to govern alone, and have 
 not yet succeeded in perfecting any system, it is about 
 time the women should take the matter in hand." 
 
 A Topeka, Kansas, paper says : 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH : The Temperance Society of 
 this village have secured this remarkable colored wom- 
 an to lecture here on Monday evening, Feb. 24, 1872. 
 None should fail to hear hei 1 . For years she has been 
 widely known. As the companion and peer of the 
 great antislavery leaders during the dark days of the 
 nation's struggle for freedom, she has made for herself 
 a national reputation. Bom in slavery, with no op- 
 portunities for improvement save those which come of 
 poverty and wretchedness, she is with her rich imag- 
 ination and shrewd good sense but what the oppressed 
 race might become under circumstances fitted to de- 
 velop their peculiar gifts. The music which greeted 
 her childish ears was the imperious voice of her pre- 
 tended master and the crack of the driver's whip ; but 
 it failed to crush out the spirit of eloquence and po- 
 etry with which nature had endowed her. Says Har- 
 riet Boecher Stowe concerning her : ' I never knew a 
 pei-son who possessed so much of that subtle, controll- 
 ing personal power, called presence, as she.' Wendell 
 Phillips says of her that he has known a few words 
 from her to electrify an audience and afl'ect them as 
 he never saw persons affected by another party.
 
 248 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 " Come and see and hear this peculiar, imaginative, 
 yet strong and stalwart, daughter of the tropics. The 
 lecture will be given in the Congregational Church, 
 and upon the subject of temperance. We hope to sec 
 a full house." 
 
 She left Kansas in Feb., 1872, and traveled through 
 Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin, making many friends, 
 from whom she received tokens of respect and affec- 
 tion. Her " Book of Life," which she always carries 
 with her, contains autograph letters from the most 
 influential and intelligent people residing in those 
 places through which she journeyed. She returned 
 to Michigan with scrolls of signatures as trophies of 
 success, over which she felt as jubilant as "great 
 Caesar bringing captives home to Home." The time 
 was nearing when these petitions might be presented 
 in due form to Congress ; accordingly, she left Battle 
 Creek in the spring of 1874, and joining her grandson 
 in Ohio, proceeded once more toward our national 
 capital. They stopped on their way thither in 
 Orange, New Jersey, being entertained in the beauti- 
 ful home of her much-endeared friends, Rowland John- 
 son and wife. There she met the prominent and 
 highly gifted preacher, George Truman, with whom 
 she held meetings. One meeting is thus noticed by 
 one of the New Jersey papers : 
 
 "GEORGE TEUMAN AND SOJOUBNER TRUTH IN ORANGE. 
 
 " The little company of Friends in Orange held a 
 very interesting meeting yesterday morning in Asso- 
 ciation Hall, where they were addressed by two noted
 
 MEETING AT ORANGE. 249 
 
 preachers, one a man, the other a woman, the former 
 white and the latter colored. These were George 
 Truman and Sojourner Truth. The former was the 
 first speaker. 
 
 " At the conclusion of Mr. Truman's address there 
 was a short interval of silent meditation, after which 
 Sojourner Truth, the venerable preacher and mission- 
 ary, rose to speak. Her tall form was slightly bent 
 with age, and as she faced her audience, clad in the 
 simple garb of a Quakeress, she looked like an aged 
 sibyl pleading the cause of her people. At first her 
 voice was so/newhat husky, and a few words were 
 scarcely intelligible at the other end of the room, but 
 as she warmed up with her subject all signs of weak- 
 ness disappeared. She said that she felt that she was 
 called to her work, and that if we are inheritors of 
 the kingdom of God there must be some work that is 
 to be done by us. That was what she had been try- 
 ing to do for twenty or thirty years. When she was 
 enlightened by God's love and truth she wanted to 
 know, ' Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? Now 
 I want to go to work. Well, it came to me in the 
 antislavery cause. I knew slavery was a curse. I 
 had been a slave and a chattel, and I went to work 
 then. After that there seemed to be a call for me to 
 go to work for the poor and outcast, for they are as 
 poor as any one on God's foot-stool.' She said she had 
 tried for years to get the government to help her and 
 give the old destittite people, left destitute by the war, 
 and the young growing up in wickedness, a home. 
 
 " She spoke of the misery and degradation she had 
 seen among the colored people in the South, of the
 
 250 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 Black Maria full of them driving up to the Washing- 
 ton police court, of their being thrown into jails, and 
 of their children growing up in vice and ignorance, 
 and said that it was a shame and an abomination, and 
 that the people did not know these things simply be- 
 cause they did not see them. She had heard it said 
 that these evils would die out in time, but they would 
 not die out, ' they must be learned out.' God looks 
 down on these things and sees them, and we all ought 
 to feel that the world should be better because we are 
 in it. She believed in being doers of the word, not 
 hearers only, and in doing something to show we are 
 workers in the vineyard. She lectured four years on 
 this matter, and had got up a petition to Congress 
 to set aside a portion of the public lands in the West, 
 and put buildings thereon for a home for the destitute. 
 People would sign her petition, but they would say 
 that the plan could not be carried out. It was not 
 so, it can be carried out. She said she wished the 
 women of the place would get up a meeting and give 
 her a hearing, as she wanted to tell them things she 
 could not tell the men. The venerable preacher then 
 wandered from sacred to secular matters, stating her 
 opinion that the national government needed the ad- 
 ministration of women to become cleaner. In conclu- 
 sion she spoke of the aid she had received from Gen- 
 eral O. O. Howard, and caused her grandson to read 
 a letter written by the general favoring the object she 
 was working for. 
 
 " Sojourner Truth will address a woman's meeting 
 in Association Hall, on Wednesday afternoon at 3 
 o'clock. It is hoped that there will be a large attend-
 
 LETTER OF GENERAL HOWARD. 251 
 
 ance, as she proposes to fully present the condition 
 and needs of .her race at the South to the ladies of 
 Orange." 
 
 " WASHINGTON, June 3, 1874. 
 
 " GEN. B: F. BUTLER, M. C., 
 
 " Washington, D. C. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR : Sojourner Truth began her la- 
 bors for her people many years ago. Under the oper- 
 ations of our laws with reference to the indigent there 
 is constant change. The government did lend a help- 
 ing hand for a time, and many think no more should 
 be done by the general government for the classes 
 rendered helpless by the war and by slavery. 
 
 "Sojourner finds many people living in compara- 
 tive beggary, and many children growing up without 
 education in either books, or industry, or honesty, 
 whom she believes can be properly aided by the gen- 
 eral government into better conditions. It struck me 
 that the number of totally disabled soldiers, fec., 
 would grow less as time goes on, and that possibly 
 the income for your Asylum would soon render it 
 practicable to try an experiment in the direction that 
 Sojourner indicates. Without much thought and 
 without consulting with any one, I have indicated by 
 the enclosed papers what you may be able to put into 
 some good, practical shape. 
 
 " It is hard to steer clear of very serious objections 
 which arise against the exercise of benevolence or 
 charity by the general government. Yet, as in cases 
 of sudden overflow or famine, I believe the exercise
 
 252 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 deepens this feeling of regard for our already renova- 
 ted Republic. Yours truly, 
 
 " (Signed,) O. O. HOWAKD." 
 
 The year '74 brought many vicissitudes to So- 
 journer. Sammie Banks, her dutiful and beloved 
 grandson, began to decline in health soon after they 
 reached Washington, which obliged them, to leave 
 that city and return to Battle Creek, where he lin- 
 gered till Feb., 1875; when he passed away from 
 amongst us. Sojourner also suffered from serious ill- 
 ness during that winter, and her life was despaired of 
 for many long weeks. But her friends now rejoice to 
 see her convalescing. She feels that for some special 
 purpose her life has been spared, comparative health 
 restored, and her mind brought back from the shad- 
 owy realm where it wandered during the days and 
 nights when that red-lipped demon, Fever, with in- 
 satiate thirst, sucked the juices from life's fountain. 
 She says, "My good Master kept me, for he had 
 something for me to do." 
 
 She has no means of support. The ulcer upon her 
 limb, from which she has so severely suffered, is par- 
 tially healed. She says the " Lord has put new flesh 
 on to old bones," which is proof to her mind that he re- 
 quires more work of her. She hopes to go to Washing- 
 ton again and get her petition before Congress. Anna 
 Dickinson says, " I hope every one will buy the pic- 
 tures I gave her, and do all they can to help the 
 woman, poor and old, who in her prime and strength 
 helped so many." Another earnest woman asks the 
 people to buy her book, and by so doing make her in-
 
 A CENTURY OF TOIL. 253 
 
 dependent in her last (Jays. No faithful servant of 
 the divine Master should be accounted a burden while 
 on earth, for the earth is the Lord's and the products 
 are doubtless designed to sustain the creatures he has 
 placed upon it. Especially should those who have 
 borne the burden and heat of the day of life trustfully 
 receive every comfort. 
 
 A friend not long ago offered to write her life. 
 She told him she was " not ready to be writ up yet, for 
 she had lots to accomplish first." She is now ready 
 to be written up to this date, hoping thereby to com- 
 plete the great enterprise she has undertaken. Born 
 far back in the eighteenth century, and working for 
 nearly a hundred years for the good of humanity, we 
 see her i-eady to enter the last quarter of the nineteenth 
 century with eye of faith undimmed and strength of 
 spirit unabated. She has sought to promote every 
 reform that has been agitated during this century. 
 Most of those who were associated with her have gone 
 from " works to rewards." But few survive to wit- 
 ness the flowering of those free institutions which 
 they labored so industriously to plant. 
 
 Sojourner yet lingers on the verge of time, present- 
 ing to the world the extraordinary spectacle of a 
 woman who, by native force, arose from the dregs of 
 social life, like a phenix from its ashes, to become the 
 defender of her race ; and she has for years struggled 
 faithfully to extricate it from the doom of perpetual 
 slavery, to which it seemed to have been committed 
 by the despotism of a great nation, the gigantic atro- 
 ciousness of whose laws surpassed any other in the 
 annals of the ages. Her parallel exists not in history.
 
 254 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 She stands by the closing century like a twin sister. 
 Born and reared by its side, what it knows she knows, 
 what it has seen, she has seen. Her memory is a vast 
 storehouse of knowledge, the shelves of which contain 
 a history of the revolutions, progressions, and cul- 
 mination of the great ideas which have been a part of 
 her life purpose. She continues to keep guard over 
 the rights of her race, to the interests of which she 
 has so long been devoted. True to the character of 
 sibyl, which genius has awarded her, she, while work- 
 ing in the present, points to the future for the fulfill- 
 ment of her longings and her hopes. 
 
 Cosmopolitan in her nature, she calls the world her 
 home, and says she could never apply to a town for 
 aid, but would sooner appeal to the whole United 
 States, for the welfare of which she has labored and 
 which is more her home than any single locality of 
 town or State. She loves her country with truest 
 love. After the emancipation of her people, when 
 passing the capitol buildings, she would often pause 
 to contemplate the ensigns of liberty displayed upon 
 them, which then admitted a new interpretation. 
 She devoutly thanked her God that the flag proudly 
 floating over the dome at last afforded protection to 
 such as she, and that the stars and stripes no longer 
 symbolized the " scars and stripes " upon the negro's 
 back. Instinctively her soul claimed kinship with 
 the emblematic eagle, whose glittering eye seemed to 
 pierce the clouds, and the span of whose wings was am- 
 pie to hover over four million freemen, upon whose limbs 
 the clanking chain would drag no more. And when 
 her free black hands were raised to heaven, invoking
 
 THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 255 
 
 blessings upon her country, it was a fairer sight to see 
 and a surer guarantee of its permanence and glory 
 than was the imposing spectacle of that beauteous 
 " queen of the East," upon whose snowy, perfect hands 
 the golden chains of slavery shone, as she entered the 
 gates of the eternal city, leading the triumphant pro- 
 cession of a Csesar. 
 
 The nineteenth century towers above all preceding 
 ones. Numberless inventions and improvements are 
 embraced within its circle. Mechanics, agriculture, 
 commerce, science, and arts, the world of matter and 
 the world of mind, have budded and blossomed, so to 
 speak, as never before. The contemplation of its 
 achievements is at once sublime and overwhelming, 
 and not alone for what it has done, but for what it 
 prophecies of the coming time. The century is a sibyl, 
 too. Upon the foundation it has laid, a superstruct- 
 ure may arise more symmetrical than prophet has yet 
 dared foretell. "It builded better than it knew," 
 can truly be averred of it. But the century has near- 
 ly run its course. Already are the " fateful Spin- 
 ners " coiling the strands with which to ring its fu- 
 neral knell. Its plumed hearse and sable mourners 
 loom up like ghosts in the dim horizon of the near 
 future. The grave-digger, sharpening spade and pick, 
 prepares to do his part. Representatives from many 
 nations and races hasten to join the pageant, to pay 
 the last honors in the " City of Brotherly Love," where 
 the obsequies are to be celebrated. 
 
 Let us accept the name as a happy omen, foreshad- 
 owing the time when brotherly love shall so abound 
 that the relation of each to all will be BO plain that
 
 - >r )<) "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 "he who runs may road." The century's history is 
 nearly written up, and Sojourner's lacks Init another 
 chapter in which she hopes to chronicle the accom- 
 plishment of her heart's desire. May her longevity 
 transcend the century with which she has so long 
 kept pace. 
 
 She has ever listened to the still, small voice within 
 her soul, and followed where it led. She has clothed 
 the naked, and fed the hungry ; been bound with those 
 in bondage, and remembered her less fortunate brother 
 when released from chains herself. She has upheld 
 the right and true, denouncing wrong in high places 
 as well as low. Her barque has been carried far out 
 to sea, and now it ncars the port. May she encounter 
 no more storms upon her homeward course, but, wafted 
 by soft, sweet winds through placid waters, peacefully 
 enter the harbor of the " King Eternal." And when 
 she glides from ship to s,horc, may she hear the wel- 
 come, " Come iinto me all ye that labor and are heavy 
 laden, and / will give you rest." / 
 
 SO.IOURNER TRUTH'S CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 But few of the autograph letters contained in her 
 " Book of Life " will be published, as it is beyond her 
 limited means to give all to the public. She trusts 
 her scribe to make the selections. She holds all in 
 dear and precious remembrance. The light emanating 
 from their true friendship pierces the darkest clouds 
 that obscure her horizon, and sheds its blessed rays 
 across the path she treads. She hopes and believes
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. ~)1 
 
 that all their names are written in the " Lamb's Book 
 of Life" and that the sweet communion begun in 
 time will continue when time shall be no more. 
 
 BETTERS AND SIGNATURES. 
 
 "BOSTON, AUG. 6, 1870. 
 
 " Having been long acquainted with Sojourner 
 Truth, and familiar with her eventful life and mar- 
 velous experience, I heartily commend her to the re- 
 spect, hospitality, and generous good-will of those 
 among whom her lot may be cast for the time being : 
 first, because of the cruel wrongs and sufferings en- 
 dured by her while held for so many years in slavery ; 
 secondly, because of her disinterested, timely, and 
 self-sacrificing labors among the wounded colored 
 soldiers and destitute freedmen at the national capitol 
 during the late rebellion; thirdly, because of her 
 worthy character, and her many inspirational public 
 testimonies in the cause of truth and righteousness ; 
 and, fourthly, because of her venerable age and nec- 
 essarily increasing infirmities. 
 
 "Wai. LLOYD GARRISON." / 
 
 " Sojourner Truth, with the best wishes of her 
 friend, HELEN E. GARRISON." 
 
 " About twenty years ago my acquaintance began 
 with this great and truly estimable woman, Sojourner 
 Truth, since which time I have never ceased to feel 
 myself stronger in spirit, and more earnest for justice 
 and right for knowing her. We have dwelt together 
 I
 
 258 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 under the same roof weeks at a time; we have 
 traveled together, holding meetings, myself a silent 
 companion, and to-day I rejoice to subscribe my name 
 with her chosen friends, in her 'Book of Life.' 
 
 '.' AMY POST. 
 "RocJwster, N. Y., May 3, 1871." 
 
 " May God bless, elevate, and enlighten the colored 
 race, is the humble wish of their friend. We have 
 met and conversed with their representative, Sojourner 
 Truth, and are very much struck with her experience, 
 as proving the principle that God reveals himself in 
 other ways excepting that of his word. 
 
 "JAMES E. WALLACE. 
 " RocluHster, N. Y." 
 
 " God speed thee in the right, Sojourner. 
 
 " Thy friend, STEPHEN ARCHEU. 
 
 " DobVs Ferry, N. Y." 
 
 OFFICE, NEW YORK, JDLY 21), 18(>3. 
 
 " DEAR SOJOURNER : 
 
 "Yours by the hand of J. M. 
 
 Peebles came promptly. I thank you for the photo- 
 graphs, though they ai*e poor compared with the one 
 you sent me first. It is a pity yon did not preserve 
 the negative of that instead of this. Not only is the 
 likeness better, but the work also. 
 
 The mob did not disturb the Anti- Slavery office, nor 
 me. The fact is, the Standard is scarcely known to 
 the vile class composing the mob, having but a small
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 259 
 
 circulation in the city. But it would have taken only 
 a hint to direct their attention to us, and then my 
 life would have been in danger, and the office would 
 probably have been destroyed. A good Providence 
 seems to have watched over us. Mr. Leonard, the 
 colored clerk, was obliged to hide, but no harm came 
 to him. Many of the colored people were dreadfully 
 abused, but a very healthful reaction has already set 
 in; and I believe the condition in this city will be 
 better than it was before. Upwards of $30,000 has 
 been raised for the relief of the sufferers, and they 
 will get pay from the city government for the property 
 they lost. I shall send the Standard as you request. 
 
 " With sincere regard for you, and earnest prayers 
 for your welfare, I subscribe myself, 
 
 " Yours faithfully, OLIVER JOHNSON." 
 
 "BOSTON, OCT. 21, 1807. 
 " DEAR MADAM : 
 
 " I inclose my check for ten dollars 
 ($10), a donation from the Rev. Photius Fiske, for 
 Sojom-ner Truth. Please acknowledge the receipt of 
 same. Yours very truly, WENDELL PHILLIPS." 
 
 " The first time that Sojourner addressed a public 
 meeting in Orange, some years since, she said that 
 the first shall be last and the last first, and that she 
 believed the colored race would yet lead the people 
 out of darkness and ignorance. It now seems likely 
 that the colored voters of New Jersey will redeem the 
 State from the grasp of the ignorant and depraved
 
 2GO "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 democratic party. Sojourner is now laboring to con- 
 summate that glorious work. May Heaven grant her 
 success. ROWLAND JOHNSON. 
 
 " Orawje, N. J., 1870." 
 
 A LETTED OF INTRODUCTION. 
 
 "SYRACUSE, OCT. 9, 1868. 
 " DEAR FRIENDS : 
 
 " The bearer of this note will be So- 
 journer Truth, a worthy and remarkable woman. 
 She is going to Courtland, to visit Miss Mary E. 
 Mudge and other friends. I shall be obliged to any 
 persons who, on the arrival of the train at the Court- 
 land depot, will help her to find her friend's house. 
 
 " SAMUEL J. MAY." 
 
 "WASHINGTON, D. C., MAECH 22, !Sti5. 
 
 " MY DEAR SOJOURNER : 
 
 " I have made an arrangement 
 
 for a meeting at the Union Baptist Church for next 
 Sunday evening. I want you to come, if possible. 
 Let me know if you can. 
 
 ''Yours truly, JOHN DUDLEY." 
 
 " To MY FRIEND, SOJOURNBR TRUTH : 
 
 "The nearly thirty 
 
 years' acquaintance I have had with you, all confirm 
 your title to the name you have chosen, and its record 
 in humanity's ' Book of Life.' 
 
 "Yours, SAMUEL L. HILL. 
 
 "Florence, Mans., Feb. 14, 1871."
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 " After a wearied pilgrimage of over eighty years, 
 she is a sojourner among us, witnessing the culmina- 
 tion and fulfillment of those great truths which she 
 has humbly foretold oft-times within the last four 
 decades. Her pilgrimage is nearly over. Sojourner 
 Truth is resting. She quietly and proudly awaits her 
 time to pass over among those who have performed 
 their part. Good-by, aged friend. 
 
 " RICHARD LAMBERTH, of San Francisco. 
 
 " Washington, D. G., 1870." 
 
 "PHILADELPHIA, TENTH MONTH, 21sT, 1869. 
 " I hope people will buy her pictures, which I have 
 given to Aunt Sojourner, and so help her. And in- 
 deed I hope every one will do all they can to help the 
 woman, poor and old, who in her prime and strength 
 has helped so many. I will write for you, aunty, the 
 Arabic blessing, ' May yoxi live to be a thousand years 
 old, and may yoxir shadow never grow less.' 
 
 "ANNA E. DICKINSON." 
 " Amen to all dear Anna has said. 
 
 " A. C. HARRIS." 
 
 " I have very pleasant memories of Sojourner Truth. 
 She has been a faithful worker in the cause of freedom 
 and of right. She can truly say, with Paul, ' I have 
 fought a good fight, ... I have kept the faith; 
 henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- 
 ness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge shall give 
 me.' With my sincerest good wishes, 
 
 " ROBERT F. WALCUT."
 
 202 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 " The wisest, wittiest woman I know is Sojoumer 
 Truth. Wiser and wittier, of course, than any man. 
 I am glad to have enjoyed many years of acquaintance 
 with her. I hope to enjoy many ages. May she and 
 all her friends believe on her divine Jesus, and be with 
 him where he is. GILBERT HAVEN." 
 
 " DEAR SOJOURNER : 
 
 " Love is the light, life, and central 
 attraction of the universe, and will, if men yield to it, 
 bring selfishness and misrule into harmony and law. 
 May you ever feel its blessing. 
 
 " C. A. F. STEBBINS. 
 " Washiiu)ton, D. C." 
 
 " With earnest best wishes, your friend, 
 
 " GILES B. STEBBINS." 
 
 " May the Lord Jesus, who met you in the way, 
 ever be your friend, companion, and guide. 
 
 " Your friend, HENRY FOSTER." 
 
 " SOJOURNER, as you are crowning earth's children 
 with bright and beautiful truths, so the angels will 
 crown you, when you enter the bright Spirit Land. 
 " PvENiNo, the little Indian squaw." 
 
 '"'ANTHONY VILLAGE, R. I., NINTH MONTH, 16TH, 1870. 
 " God hath many aims to compass, 
 
 Many messages to send, 
 
 And his instruments are fitted 
 
 Each to some distinctive end. 
 
 " PERES PECK. Aged 84 years."
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 263 
 
 " SOJOUUNEK TRUTH. 
 
 " Ai-isen from the degradation of slavery to be one 
 of the most noble reformers of the age. Long may 
 her star illumine the pathway of the progressive 
 world. MRS. M. GALE. 
 
 "East Medivay, Mass." 
 
 " May the Lord bless and preserve you through 
 life. Yours, J. McMiLLEN. 
 
 "Brooklyn, N. Y." 
 
 " That Sojourner Truth has ennobled human 'nature 
 by her life, is the firm conviction of her friend, 
 
 " ALFRED E. GILES. 
 ' ' Boston, Mass. " 
 
 " SYRACUSE, N. Y., MARCH 25, 1871. 
 
 " Sojourner Truth was in Syracuse, laboring in the 
 cause of Christ and humanity. Although over eighty, 
 she still has plans for future usefulness which she 
 seems happy to contemplate. Her life testifies to her 
 faith in God's words that ' no man putting his hand to 
 the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom 01 
 God.' J. S. LEONARD." 
 
 "With ever kind and ever loving remembrance of 
 my dear old friend of more than thirty years' ac- 
 quaintance. JAMES BOYLE, M. D. 
 
 " No. 20 W. Broadivay, N. Y., July 13, 1870." 
 
 " P. S. All the years during which we have known 
 each other, we were co-laborers . in the anti-slavery
 
 " BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 movement, and now we see our wishes accomplished 
 in the overthrow of that horrid wall of crimes and 
 cruelties which Church and State combined to perpet- 
 uate. The great God is leading the bondmen and 
 bondwomen through a Hed Sea to their freedom, and 
 writing their deed of enfranchisement with the point 
 of the sword, in the blood of their oppressors North 
 and South. j. u." 
 
 James Boyle made Sojourner a present of the stere- 
 otype portion of her " Narrative," which includes the 
 Irst 128 pages of this volume. 
 
 "I have conversed with Aunt Sojourner, and be- 
 lieve her to be a child of God. 
 
 " MRS. LEWIS FAIRBROTIIER. 
 " Pawtucket, JR. I." 
 
 " DEAR AUNT SOJOURNEK : 
 
 " I thank the < King Eter- 
 nal' that he is no respecter of persons, and that we are 
 
 all his children. HENRY C. L. DORSET. 
 
 " Paiutuclcet, Sept. 6, 1870." 
 
 " Slavery has gone over the battlements, thanks be 
 to God. JOSEPH A. DUGDALE. 
 
 " Mt. Pleasant, loiva." 
 
 "Dear Sojourner Truth, a holy woman doing a 
 godlike work May she prosper in her noble under- 
 takings. M. L. IVES. 
 
 "Detroit, Midi."
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 265 
 
 'ROCHESTER, N. Y., MAT 3, 1871. 
 " MY DEAR SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " I rejoice to find yon 
 
 strong in health, vigorous in mind, warm in heart, 
 and, as usual, full of noble purposes, looking to the 
 welfare of suffering men and women. May you long 
 live to bless, cheer, and enlighten, and to lift up the 
 oppressed, and smooth the pathway of the lowly, and 
 may you see the fruit of your labors multiply more 
 than sixty or an hundred fold. 
 
 " FREDERIC DOUGLAS." 
 
 " DEAR MOTHER IN ISRAEL : 
 
 " You are called of the 
 
 Lord and anointed by his Holy Spirit to bind up 
 the broken-hearted, and to sway the hearts of men 
 by a power greater than that which resides in thrones 
 and scepters. May God bless you, and give yon suc- 
 cess in your divine mission. DANIEL STEELE. 
 
 " Gcnesee College, Lima, N. Y., May 12, 1871." 
 
 "IOLA, KAX., Nov. 5, 1S71. 
 
 " How easy it is to detect the spirit, however hum- 
 ble its garb, freed from the trammels of the world, 
 party, or sectarianism. In you, good old Sojourner, 
 we see it far removed above all clogs. Once a slave, 
 now, in the highest sense a freedwoman; desiring 
 nothing, hoping for nothing, but the truth as revealed 
 fey the Spirit, not killed by formalism. We thought 
 we saw afar off a true spirit, and desired to meet you. 
 At our request and invitation, you honored us with 
 your presence at our house. We hope you have en-
 
 266 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 joyed the visit as well as ourselves. The best room, 
 the best bed, and the best seat, we have intended to 
 reserve for you, hoping to make you feel free and at 
 home. Be assured, good friend, we feel grateful to 
 you, and benefited by your counsel, and words of wis- 
 dom and truth. May your labors for the promotion 
 of your race and our common humanity meet with 
 abundant success, and, finally, great reward, is the 
 earnest desire of your friends and well-wishers, 
 
 "BYRON M. SMITH, 
 "ELIZA S. SMITH." 
 
 " May God's blessing rest on thy labors for the ele- 
 vation t>f thy race and the general good of mankind. 
 
 "G. KNOWLES. 
 " Leavenworth, Kan." 
 
 " DEAR FRIEND SOJOURNER : 
 
 " I hope that you will live 
 
 to see the day when the people of this land shall be 
 wise, and through their government care for the poor 
 and ignorant, both black and white, as a wise parent 
 cares for his children. ELIZA R. MORGAN. 
 
 " Leavenworth, Kan." 
 
 " 53 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, JAN. 17, 1868. 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " Dear Madam I had the pleas- 
 ure of meeting you several years ago, at my uncle's, 
 Mr. Richard Mott's, in Toledo. I saw Mr. Mott a few 
 days ago, and he told me where you reside. I send 
 one dollar, inclosed, for which please send me, by
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 207 
 
 mail, as many of your photographs as the money will 
 pay for. If yon have two or three different ones, 
 please send one of each. Perhaps yon may have heard 
 of the death of Uncle James Mott, brother of Richard 
 Mott and husband of Lucretia Mott. He died last 
 Sunday. Mrs. Mott is quite feeble and feels her great 
 loss very much. I shall be glad to see you again 
 when you come to New York, and shall try to do so. 
 " Very truly yours, WALTER BROWN." 
 
 " BROOKLYN, SEPT. 8, 18G9. 
 
 " Your letter of the 12th inst. has just reached me. 
 I take pleasure in seconding my husband's invitation 
 to you for a visit at our house. He will, no doubt, 
 be away most of the winter, therefore, if your health 
 will permit, as soon as you can come it will be best. 
 We live at 136 Livingstone St., Brooklyn. Write to 
 Mr. Tilton the day of your arrival, and he will meet 
 you at the depot. 
 
 " I am yours sincerely, 
 
 " ELIZABETH R. TILTON." 
 
 " PBOVIDBXCE, R. I., SBPT. 14, 1870. 
 
 " To SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " May your last days be your 
 
 best. May your sun set in glory. Having followed 
 in the footsteps of Jesus all the way, he will now 
 guide your feeble steps up the mount of ascension, 
 and when the opening heavens receive you, you shall 
 hear his sweet voice saying, ' Well done, good and 
 faithful servant.' RACHEL C. MATHER, 
 
 " Teacher of Freedmen in Beaufort, S. C."
 
 268 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 " To SOJOURNEH TRUTH, THE LIBYAN SYBIL : 
 
 " I give thee joy, my noble friend and true, 
 Thou who, but yesterday, a scorned slave, 
 Bearing the cross within thy great, brave heart, 
 Wert scourged and scoffed at by the heartless crew, 
 And only pitied by the Christ-like few 
 Who seek like Christ the sorrowing to save, 
 To-day, forevermore enshrined in art ! 
 Honor and joy be thine ! How few like thee 
 Wear the saints' aureole on an earthly brow. 
 So thy wronged race, long trodden beneath the feet 
 Of tyrant lords, and wearing the brand of shame, 
 Shall yet in manhood's majesty complete 
 Stand proudly in the sacred halls of fame. 
 
 "MRS. C. L. MORGAN. 
 " Mt. Pkasant, Wis., May 2, 1863." 
 
 "Again are we privileged in having Sojourner with 
 us. 'Tis very pleasant for us that she feels our house 
 is her home. She speaks this evening in the Congre- 
 gational Church. MRS. A. MONTAGUE. 
 
 " Kalamazoo, Mich., Awj. SO, 1871." 
 
 " That the evening of your life may be as calm and 
 peaceful as the morning was dark and stormy, is the 
 earnest wish of your sincere friend, 
 
 " LUCINDA WALLING. 
 
 " Mt. Pleasant, Wis., Sept., 1871" 
 
 "May our friendship of many years continue for 
 long ages after the close of this short life. 
 
 " THOMAS CHANDLER. 
 ."Raisin, Mich., 1871."
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 269 
 
 " MY DEAR GRANDMOTHER : 
 
 " As the present is your 
 
 first visit to Missouri, I want to put it on record in 
 your ' Book of Life,' that there is at least one native 
 Missourian who entertains no prejudice against col- 
 ored people, but, on the contrary, values all alike ac- 
 cording to their worthiness. Your noble labors for 
 the freedom of the colored race are among my earliest 
 remembrances, and your beautiful ideas of life, death, 
 and God, will be among the last things I shall forget. 
 " W. H. MILLER, Journal of Commerce. 
 
 " Kansas City, Mo., June 15, 1872." 
 
 " OUR VETERAN FRIEND, 
 
 Sojourner Truth We have 
 
 known thee for a quarter of a century, heard thy 
 clarion voice in the day when the slave power rioted 
 in the land and trod with its iron heel upon the 
 hearts of its victims. God has blessed the labors of 
 his servants in a signal manner, and slavery by his 
 mighty power has gone over the battlements and is 
 destroyed. May thy old age be crowned by his pres- 
 ence, and thy trumpet join with Gabriel's in the jubi- 
 lee, when the countless multitudes shall surround the 
 throne of God. JOSEPH A. DUGDALE. 
 
 " Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Second Month 7th, 1872." 
 
 " Nov. 17, 1868. 
 
 " Sojourner Truth commenced her advocacy of the 
 rights of her race during oiir war with Mexico, since 
 which her travels and labors have been wide-spread, 
 conttant, and arduous. God has given "her remarkable
 
 270 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 native sagacity, a ready command of strong, express- 
 ive language, and a vein of sharp wit and rich humor 
 with which to combat the falsities and delusions among 
 the people of her time. May God give her length of 
 days, and free utterance on the side of right and 
 justice. W. L. CHAPLIN." 
 
 " To SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 "You say you wish to leave 
 
 the world better than you found it. Posterity will 
 give you the credit of having done so. 
 
 " R. B. TAYLOR, Editor Gazette. 
 " Wyandottc, Kmvsas, Dec. %5, 1871." 
 
 " AUNTY : 
 
 "Accept this book to collect the scraps 
 of your eventful life, which has accomplished so much, 
 and is now so entirely devoted to the interests of the 
 poor colored people in Washington and elsewhere. 
 
 " EGBERT ADAMS. 
 " FaU River, Oct. 16, 1870." 
 
 " MENDOTA, ILL., APRIL 22, 1872. 
 
 " To THE METHODIST MINISTRY OF THE PARK RIVER 
 CONFERENCE : 
 
 "Dear Brethren Allow me to introduce to you 
 Sojourner Truth, and bespeak for her your friendly at- 
 tentions. If her religious experience, as narrated a 
 few years ago in the Atlantic Monthly, by Mrs. H. B. 
 Stowe, affected you as it did me, you will feel it an 
 honor to receive her in the Lord with all gladness. 
 
 " Your brother in Christ, D. F. HOLMES."
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 271 
 
 A short sermon inserted in Sojourner's 'Book of 
 Life,' and one which she appreciates : 
 
 " Our ingress in life is marked and bare, 
 Our progress through life is trouble and care, 
 Our egress out of it we know not where, 
 But doing well here, we shall do well there. 
 
 "C. P. MORGAN. 
 
 " Leavemvorth, Kan., Jan. 31, 1S72." 
 
 " SPBINGFIELD, MASS., FEB. 28, 1871. 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 "Dear friend In writing my 
 
 name in your ' Book of Life,' it gives me great pleas- 
 ure to say that our acquaintance of some twenty years 
 has made me largely your debtor. Your steady devo- 
 tion to the cause of suffering humanity has always 
 commanded my esteem, admiration, and reverence. 
 As you have spent a long and laborious life for the 
 good of others, may you always find troops of friends 
 to minister to your comfort while you sojourn among 
 mortals. And when at last you pass on to the higher life, 
 I trust you will be met by a host of immortal friends 
 on the shores of the summer land, who will welcome 
 you to the blest abodes. E. W. TURING." 
 
 " Your life, commencing in the depths of slavery, 
 opens grandly and brightly even there, and who can 
 tell of the glorious angelhood into which it is unfold- 
 ing 1 The ' Well done ' awaits you, Sojourner, and all 
 earnest workers for humanity. 
 
 " MARTHA L. GALE. 
 
 " East Medway, Mass., 1871."
 
 272 "1!OOK OF LIFE." 
 
 " AUNTY SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " We have been greatly 
 
 pleased and edified by a visit from you. Having 
 known you for about thirty years, it is with pleasure 
 we add our testimony to your self-sacrificing labors in 
 behalf of your despised and oppressed race, and the 
 cause of humanity everywhere. Although far ad- 
 vanced in years, may you be spared to see your efforts 
 for the elevation of your people crowned with success. 
 
 "N. B. SPOONER, 
 " L. H. SPOONEK. 
 "Plymouth, Mass., 1S71." 
 
 " May she who patiently hath wrought 
 Through years of earnest toil and thought, 
 Find her best hopes fulfilled at last, 
 And when her wanderings are past, 
 To crown her work of love be given 
 Sweet peace on earth and rest in Heaven. 
 
 " J. WALTER SPOONER. 
 Mass." 
 
 "James N. Buffuin, Ruth Buffum, Abby B. Buf- 
 funi all good friends of Sojourner Truth. 
 " Lijnn, Mass., 1870" 
 
 "Go on, Sojourner, God speed you. 
 
 " J. A. B. STONE. 
 
 " Kalama'Mo, Mich." 
 
 "Blessings on thee, my good old friend. 
 
 " WENDELL PHILLIPS. 
 "Boston, Mass.*
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 273 
 
 VISITS PRESIDENT GRANT LETTER OP INTRODUCTION 
 FROM GEN. HOWARD. 
 
 "BUREAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED LANDS. 
 
 " Wilmington, D. (J. t March 17, 1870. 
 
 " GEN. TJ. S. GRANT : 
 
 " President U. S. Sojourner Truth, 
 quite an aged and distinguished colored woman, earn- 
 estly working for years for her people, desires to see 
 the president. She will pray for him 'surely; but 
 more heartily if she sees him. 
 
 " Yours respectfully, 0. 0. HOWARD." 
 
 Sojourner says : " I went in company with several 
 ladies and gentlemen to see the president. While 
 waiting in the ante-room with other visitors, a gentle- 
 man called, to whom I was introduced. During a 
 short conversation with him, he said, ' I recollect hav- 
 ing seen you at Arlington Heights. How old do you 
 call yourself now?' I had felt very much annoyed 
 by people's calling to me in the street and asking that 
 question. I mentioned it to Dr. Howland, and he ad- 
 vised Ke to charge five dollars for answering that 
 question ; so I said to the gentleman, A friend told me 
 to ask five dollars for telling my age. He smiled 
 pleasantly, and invited me to call upon him at the city 
 hall. After he left, my friends told me that that gen- 
 tleman was Mayor Bowen, one of the best men in the 
 city. Presently, a man came in, a free-and-easy sort 
 of fellow, and asked to see the president. We were 
 now ushered into the presence room. A very elegant 
 lady and gentleman shook hands with the president, 
 and after a few pleasant words were passed, took 
 their leave.
 
 274 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 "Then the 'hail fellow' stepped up and offered his 
 hand, saying, 'This is President Grant, is it? You 
 ain't as old as I thought you was. I've seen your 
 picter, and your picter looks older than you do.' The 
 president smilingly said, ' I am not so very old.' 
 'Wall, how old do you call yourself, anyhow 1 ?' The 
 president replied that he was 49 years of age. 'Ain't 
 you no older than that?' said the fellow. 'No, sir,' 
 patiently answered the president. 'You look older 
 than that,' said he, and waited to see if the president 
 had anything more to say, but, finding that the in- 
 terview was ended, turned to go, saying, ' Good-by.' 
 'Good-by, sir,' said the president, and the fellow 
 walked off. 
 
 " I felt very much mortified because I had asked 
 Mayor Bowen five dollars for inquiring of me how 
 old I was, when I saw how kindly and politely the 
 president treated that clownish fellow. I will here 
 add that I subsequently called upon the mayor and 
 apologized for my rudeness to him. He said he ought 
 to be the one to ask an apology, for it was* improper 
 to ask a lady her age. He invited me to spend a day 
 with his family, which invitation I accepted and was 
 cordially entertained by his lovely wife and interesting 
 family. It was now our turn to be presented to the 
 president. He shook my hand, and said he was 
 pleased to see me. After a little pleasant conversa- 
 tion, I expressed my gratification that the colored 
 people had gained the right of suffrage. This he cor- 
 dially indorsed. I now showed him my ' Book of 
 Life,' which contains the autographs of Lincoln and 
 other distinguished persons. He took the book and
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 27-5 
 
 wrote his name in it. ' To Sojourner Truth. U. S. 
 Grant, March 31, 1870.' I then handed him two of 
 my photographs, which he took, and putting one in his 
 pocket-book, he laid the other on the table and gave 
 me a five dollar bill, for which I thanked him. 
 
 " We now left, carrying with us a pleasant impression 
 of the president, and the memory of a delightful hour 
 spent in the White House." 
 
 " WASHINGTON*, APRIL 14, 1867. 
 
 " MY DEAR SOJOURNER : 
 
 " I am so thronged with work, 
 
 and applications for colored people, from all parts, that 
 I cannot finish any day's work. I always go to bed 
 tired, leaving much work undone. As to sending 
 you people, it is impossible to promise anything. We 
 have been trying to get some people to go the last 
 week, but all who go incline to go to Providence, 
 Battle Creek, or some place where already several 
 have gone. 
 
 " One thing now you may do send the names and 
 residences of those who have applied to you for help, 
 and we will make one desperate effort. We send our 
 men to Brockport this coming week. The Bureau re- 
 quires that the names of employers be sent ; so if you 
 send on the names, I will do the best I can. You 
 need not promise any till you see whether they can be 
 obtained. I wish much we could send a hundred 
 men, they stand idle everywhere and will not go in 
 any considerable mimbers till after the first of June, 
 when they will vote. With love and best wishes, 
 " Your friend, JOSEPHINE S. GRIFFINO."
 
 276 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 "OCT. 16, 1874. 
 
 " MRS. F. W. TITUS : 
 
 " Can you inform me who wrote 
 
 out (or otherwise compiled) and edited the narrative 
 of Sojourner Truth's life 1 I shall be much obliged to 
 you if you can give me this information ; it is desired 
 for the library of a public institution. If you can 
 tell me where Sojourner Truth is now, and as to her 
 health and circumstances, I shall be glad and further 
 obliged to you. 
 
 " Respectfully, 
 
 " SAMUEL MAY. 
 "Leicester, Mass." 
 
 EXTRACT FROM A LETTER. 
 
 "LEEDS, MASS., JAN. 17, 1870. 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " My Dear Friend A line from 
 
 my brother received this afternoon, speaks of your 
 being at Vineland, so I must send you a few lines to 
 say how much pleased I was to hear from you through 
 friend Amy Post, of Rochester, New York. Hope 
 you have been successful in your present journey with 
 such kind and efficient friends as Mr. and Mrs. Theo- 
 dore Tilton to help you. Was very glad your mind 
 was set at rest about your son Peter. How strange 
 are the events of our lives. How little we know of 
 the world we live in, especially of the spiritual world 
 by which we are surrounded. But we may see 
 enough to know that it is at least marvelously inter- 
 esting. You and I seem to move around as easily as 
 soap bubbles now here now there making our 
 mark, I suppose, everywhere, though mine is a very
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 277 
 
 quiet mark compared to yours. I get a glimpse of 
 you often through the papers, which falls upon my 
 spirit like bright rays from the sun. There is a wee 
 bit of a chapel here, pulpit supplied by a Mr. Merritt, 
 and one evening last fall he repeated something that 
 ' Sojourner Truth ' had said. I was not there, so I 
 cannot tell what it was. I did not think you were 
 laying the foundation of such an almost world-wide 
 reputation when I wrote that little book for you, but 
 I rejoice and am proud that you can make your power 
 felt with so little book-education. 
 
 " OLIVE GILBERT." 
 
 ANOTHER LETTER FROM THE SAME PERSON. 
 
 " MY DEAR FRIEND : 
 
 "I may not be able to make 
 
 you sensible of the heart-felt pleasure I experienced 
 on receiving your kindly greetings once more, but 
 hasten to thank you sincerely for them, and for your 
 address which I have long wished for ; and I assure 
 you I am most happy in thus being enabled to return 
 you my own greeting, fervent, fresh, and warm from 
 the heart. It is a very long time since we have had 
 any opportunity of communicating with each other 
 directly, though I have been enabled to find traces of 
 you and your labors, from time to time, which was 
 more, I think, than you have been able to do of your 
 old friend ; for I am not so public a personage as 
 yourself. 
 
 " Your call upon Mrs. Stowe, and our dear, sainted 
 president, and your labors connected with the army, and 
 the Freedmen's Bureau, gave you a publicity that en-
 
 278 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 abled me to observe you at your old vocation of help- 
 ing on and doing good to your fellow-creatures, both 
 physically and mentally. I was much pleased with 
 Mrs. Stowe's enthusiasm over you. You really al- 
 most received your apotheosis from her. She proposed, 
 I think, that you should have a statue and symbolize 
 our American Sibyl. 
 
 I have written more than a sheet, and have not 
 spoken of what has been in my mind all the time, of 
 the great deliverance of your people from the house of 
 bondage, the wonderful work of the Lord, accom- 
 plished only through a cruel and bloody war, as was 
 so often predicted by friend Garrison and others in 
 days gone by. You may have witnessed many of its 
 terrors. And oh ! it makes me almost speechless 
 when I contemplate the hosts of men, and these the 
 flower of their country, that were thus sacrificed to 
 Moloch. There is but one reconciling thought, and 
 that is, The Lord is all-wise and reigneth over all. 
 He sees and knows what we observe, and not a spar- 
 row falls to the ground without his notice. Of the 
 little book I wrote for your benefit, some of the copies 
 I took are sold ; others I gave to my friends as keep- 
 sakes, &c. 
 
 " Get some one to write for you soon, and believe 
 me to be your true friend and well-wisher, now and 
 forevermore. o. G." 
 
 " The company of our estimable friend, Sojourner 
 Truth, will ever be cherished with feelings of love. 
 
 "SARAH T. ROGERS. 
 " JVb. 323, North Eleventh St., Philadelphia."
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 279 
 
 " 3 EXETER STREET, BOSTOX, MASS., Apr. 25, 1S75. 
 
 " DEAR FRIEND : 
 
 " We are sorry to hear that you are 
 Buffering from ill health, and hope you may be getting 
 better by this time. My mother, Mary May, who was 
 one of the earliest abolitionists, with Mr. Garrison and 
 Wendell Phillips, wishes me to send her remembran- 
 ces to you, and her best wishes, and wants you to ac- 
 cept ten dollars from her. Perhaps you have seen 
 her, either here in Boston, or at the house of my 
 brother, Samuel May, in Leicester. She is eighty- 
 seven years of age and rather feeble, though her mind 
 is bright, and she is able to read a little and knit a 
 good deal. I inclose a post-office order for fifteen dol- 
 lars. Please accept five from me. 
 
 " I should be glad to hear that the money reaches 
 you safely, so I inclose a card addressed to us, for re- 
 ply. I am, with very great respect, dear madam, 
 " Yours, ABBY W. MAY." 
 
 "RICHMOND, IND., APRIL 15, 187'5. 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " My Good Sister Mrs. Dr. Thomp- 
 son and myself, on hearing of your afflictions in the 
 death of your grandson and your own sickness, have 
 been trying to raise some funds for you, but I am sor- 
 ry to be obliged, after waiting so long, to send you so 
 small a sum as two dollars. For this you will find 
 inclosed a money order. In reply I wish you would 
 tell me all about yoxir situation and wants, and if pos- 
 sible I will send you more. Have you received any- 
 thing from the Julians ? Have your wants been sup-
 
 280 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 plied 1 Tell me all the facts. How are you getting 
 along with your sickness 1 
 
 " Mrs. Dudley sends with me our hearty good wish- 
 es, and we only regret that we cannot gend you some- 
 thing more substantial to supply your reeds. You 
 are remembered in our poor prayers in our family. 
 We shall never forget the light and cheer which your 
 presence and words gave us when here. The good 
 Lord, whom you have so faithfully served in labor fur 
 your poor race, will take you through and give you, a 
 weary old pilgrim, a home of rest and reward. Let 
 me hear from you soon. 
 
 " Your fellow-pilgrim and sojourner, 
 
 " JOHN DUDLEY." 
 
 " With earnest respect for your constant effort to 
 help humanity, and to make the world better for your 
 being in it, I want you, dear friend, to think of me 
 in this life and the higher one as your friend and 
 sympathizer. ELIZA S. LEGGETT. 
 
 "Detroit, Mich., June SO, 1871." 
 
 "GRAND RAPIDS, MARCH, 1873. 
 
 " God bless Sojourner Truth, who spoke so grandly 
 at the Second Street M. E. Church, last night, and who 
 has been our honored guest for a few days. 
 
 " L. H. PEARCE." 
 
 " Equality of rights is the first of rights. 
 
 " CHARLES SUMNEE. 
 " Senate Clwniber, April 26, 1870."
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 281 
 
 " ORANGE, Feb. 10, 1875. 
 
 " AUNT SOJOURNEK : 
 
 " Dear Friend I learned last 
 
 evening that thee is dangerously ill, and that it is par- 
 alysis which has prostrated thee. I spent the even- 
 ing with Mrs. McKinn and learned it from her. 
 Most sincerely do I hope she has been misinformed, 
 and that thy illness is something from which. thee may 
 recover, and that we may see thee again in the flesh ; 
 but if this cannot be I know that thee is prepared to 
 enter that beautiful world of spirits which has seemed 
 so near thee while here. 
 
 " Dear Aunt Sojourner, may I among the many 
 who love thee here, be remembered by thee on that 
 beautiful shore of the river of everlasting life, and if 
 thee is permitted to return to the children of earth, 
 receive from thee some token of thy presence and con- 
 tinued affection. 
 
 " Thee left a trunk here which we will fill and send 
 thee as soon as we learn what will be most useful. I 
 do not doubt but that thee has kind friends who are 
 not only willing but anxious to make thee comforta- 
 ble in every respect, I mean in Battle Creek. But 
 those of thy friends who have not the privilege of re- 
 lieving thy wants in person, would like to add their 
 mite toward returning the kindness which thee, for so 
 many years, has shown others. May the Infinite 
 Love sustain thee, and that faith which has ever been 
 thy support in the trials of life become stronger and 
 purer as thee nears the golden gates, is the prayer 
 of thy loving friends, 
 
 "H. W. JOHNSON & ROWLAND JOHNSON."
 
 282 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 "STANDARD OFFICE, Naw YOBK, JAN. 13, I860. 
 
 " MY DEAR FRIEND : 
 
 " I know you will be glad to put 
 your mark to the inclosed petition, and get a good 
 many to join it, and send or take it to some member 
 of Congress to present. Do you know there are three 
 men, Schench, Jenkes, and Broomall, who have dared 
 to propose to amend the United States Constitution 
 by inserting in it the word ' male,' thus shutting all 
 women out by constitution from voting for president, 
 vice-president, and congressmen, even though they 
 may have the right to vote in the State for State of- 
 ficers. It is a most atrocious proposition, and I know 
 Sojourner Truth will say, No, to it. God bless you, 
 and help you to do the good work before you, is the 
 wish of your friend, SUSAN B. ANTIIONY." 
 
 " DIDDLE HOUSE, DETROIT, JAN. 29, I860. 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 "My dear Grandmother in Is- 
 rael I am sorry I cannot get time to take you once 
 again by the hand before I leave Detroit, but I here- 
 with inclose to you a five-dollar bill to keep you in 
 mind of 
 
 " Your dutiful grandson, 
 
 "THEODORE TILTOX." 
 
 " MY DEAR FRIEND, SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " If we never meet on earth again, 
 my prayer is that we may meet on the other shore. 
 
 " E. DICKINSON. 
 "Brodlicad, Wis."
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 283 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " You want the government to 
 
 give land to the freed people. This would be true 
 statesmanship, as by so doing we shoxild be paying a 
 little of the great debt we owe the freedmen, and at 
 the same time putting them in the way of supporting 
 and educating themselves, and enriching the nation. 
 
 " SETH HUNT. 
 "Northampton, Mass., 1871." 
 
 " BOSTON, MARCH 18, 1875. 
 
 " MRS. F. W. TITUS : 
 
 "Dear Madam I have your 
 prompt reply to my note of inquiry, and hasten to in- 
 close a check for twenty -five dollars for the benefit of 
 Sojourner Truth. It is the contribution of Mr. 
 Phillips, father, and myself. 
 
 "W. L. GARRISON, JUN." 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " Dear Friend Your life is a liv- 
 ing epistle known and read of all men. You surely 
 are a sojoumer, laboring for the truth. Your life has 
 been one of sorrow and toil, bearing in your own body 
 and your own family the bitter injustice and cruelty 
 that has sent you a missionary to the learned and un- 
 learned alike for many years. You and I have cause 
 of sympathy, each with the other. God bless and 
 keep you ever. CALVIN FAIRBANKS.* 
 
 " Florence, Mans., March 20, 1871." 
 
 * Calvin Fairbanks was confined for 12 years in Frankfort 
 prison, Kentucky, for aiding a slave to escape.
 
 284 " BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 "NORTH TOPEKA, KAN., Nov. 20, 1871. 
 " It has gratified me much, Sojourner, to see your 
 face once more, and welcome you to my home and my 
 church. It is a dozen years since we first met, and, 
 possibly, we may meet again in this world ; if not, we 
 will in the next. Our meeting in this far West has 
 brought to my mind the beautiful words of Phoebe 
 Carey : 
 
 ' As ships from far and distant ports 
 To distant harbors hurrying on, 
 Meet with each other on the deep, 
 And hail, and answer, and are gone, 
 
 ' So we upon the sea of life, 
 
 Have met as mortals often will, 
 One from the prairies of the West, 
 One from the land of rock and rill. 
 
 ' So we shall pass on separate ways, 
 As vessels parting on the main, 
 And in the years to come, our paths 
 May never meet or cross again. 
 
 ' Yet when life's voyage all is done, 
 
 Where'er apart our paths may tend, 
 We'll drop our anchors side by side 
 In the same harbor at the end.' 
 
 " THOMAS W. JONES. 
 " Pastor of Cong. Ctmrch." 
 
 " SOJOURNER : 
 
 "The words of my husband are warmly 
 echoed from my heart, and I feel more than gratified 
 to have had the opportunity of entertaining you in my 
 own home. Be sure you will always be held in loving 
 remembrance by us all. HELEN M. JONES."
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 285 
 
 " DEAR SOJOURNER : 
 
 " At yoiir request I record the fact 
 that I succeeded in registering my name in the First 
 Precinct of the Ninth Ward, and on Tuesday, the 4th 
 of April, cast the first vote for a state officer deposited 
 in an- American ballot-box by a woman for the last 
 half century. After the vote was deposited, I present- 
 ed a vase of flowers to the inspectors, and also handed 
 them a large picture representing a large crowd of 
 women in darkness, just entering the portals of an 
 arch, which were inscribed, ' Liberty,' and upon which 
 an eagle was perched. The gates were held open by 
 Columbia and the Goddess of Justice. The foremost 
 woman held in her hands a scroll, inscribed, ' The 
 Fourteenth Amendment.' To the right were imps of 
 darkness fleeing away, some with barrels of whiskey. 
 On the left was pictured the Capitol of "Washington, 
 with men crowding its steps, cheering, fec. Streams of 
 light flowed upon them, while, with the exception of 
 this and the foreground, the picture was darkness inten- 
 sified. The following lines appeared underneath : 
 
 " ' We come, free America, five millions strong, 
 In darkness and bondage for many years long, 
 We've marched in deep silence, but now we unroll 
 The Fourteenth Amendment, which gives us a soul. 
 Glory, glory, hallelujuh, glory, &c., 
 As we go marching on.' 
 
 " NANNETTE B. GARDNER. 
 "Detroit, Mich., June SO, 1871." 
 
 " With a great deal of esteem, 
 
 " Your friend, JOHN R. FRENCH."
 
 286 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 " Sojourner Truth lectured before the Pewamo Tem- 
 perance Society last evening. She held the audience 
 in breathless attention for one hour. May the Lord 
 guide and protect her in her errands of mercy, and 
 may her days be multiplied. One great desire of my 
 heart has been gratified, which was to meet Sojourner 
 and converse with her face to face. 
 
 " MRS. E. A. CHADDOCK, 
 " President Pewamo Temperance Society." 
 
 "BRISTOL, Coxx., 1840. 
 
 " SISTER DEAN : 
 
 " I send you this living messenger, as I 
 believe her to be one that God loves. Ethiopia is 
 stretching forth her hands unto God. You can see by 
 this sister that God does, by his Spirit alone, teach 
 his own children things to come. Please receive her, 
 and she will tell you some new things. Let her tell 
 her story without interruption, give close attention, 
 and you will see that she has the leaven of truth, and 
 that God helps her to see where but few can. She 
 can not read or write, but the law is in her heart. 
 Send her to brother Rice's, brother Clapp's, and where 
 she can do most good. 
 
 " From your brother in looking for the speedy com- 
 ing of Christ, HENRY L. BRADLEY." 
 
 " May the God of truth sojourn with you through 
 this world, and then give you an abundant entrance 
 into mansions prepared for you in Heaven. 
 
 T. B. WELCH. 
 
 " Vineland, N. J., Dec. 25, 1869."
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 2S7 
 
 " UOPEDALE, MASS., JULY 28, 1870. 
 "Faithful mother in Israel, 
 
 Raised up to bless thy people, 
 
 Fearless for God's righteousness, 
 
 Witness for Truth's alruightiness, 
 
 Scourge of scornful oppression, 
 
 Shamer of vain profession, 
 
 Tender nurse of feebleness, 
 
 Helper of sad neediness, 
 
 Friend of all humanity, 
 
 And practical Christianity, 
 
 Wondrous age of thy sojournment, 
 
 Passing strange thy life's concernment, 
 
 Stranger than the tales of fiction, 
 
 Full of woe and benediction, 
 
 But crowned with rich fruition, 
 
 May thy Heavenly Father bless thee, 
 
 And guardian angels oft caress thee, 
 
 Till all thy toils are ended, 
 
 And thy spirit has ascended, 
 
 To be with Jesus mansioned, 
 
 Among his countless ransomed. 
 
 " AD IN BALLOU, 
 
 " LUCY H. BALLOU." 
 
 " Sojourner Truth is the most marvelous person we 
 have ever had the pleasure of meeting. May God 
 spare her, to see her heart's desire accomplished. 
 
 " MRS. L. H. PEARCE." 
 
 , JAN. 4, 1870. 
 
 " The Lord and good angels have blest you and your 
 work, and will bless you in that better world where 
 I hope to meet Sojourner Truth. JOHN GAGE."
 
 288 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 " NILES, MICH., OCT. 9, 1873. 
 
 "This neighborhood has been favored with the 
 presence of Sojourner Truth among us. She dined 
 yesterday at S. A. Gardiner's, took tea with Mrs. 
 Henry Moore, and spent the night at M F. Reed's. 
 The Lord has blessed us with this angel in disguise, 
 which has made our hearts very glad. May he bless 
 her most abundantly. MRS. H. MOORE." 
 
 " WEST MEDWAT, DEC. 21st, 1870. 
 
 " DEAR AUNTY SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " We intended to ride 
 
 down to see you before you left Dr. Gale's, but shall 
 not be able, for Mr. Ray has been to Woonsocket 
 twice this week, and the rest of the week he is so 
 much engaged that we cannot come. I am rather dis- 
 appointed, for I wanted to see your dear face once 
 more. Mr. Ray wishes me to tell you that he saw 
 brother Gilbert Haven on Monday, and he said that 
 he had been looking for news from you for some time, 
 but did n't know your whereabouts. When Mr. Ray 
 told him that you would spend Christmas with him, 
 * God willing,' he said, ' That's good. Now we'll have 
 a big time.' Mr. Haven is anticipating your visit with 
 a great deal of pleasure, and I know you will have a 
 nice time. We are all well. Our circle met this 
 week, P. M. and there were many kind inquiries for 
 you. I am sorry you" could not have stayed longer 
 with us. May God bless you. I feel that the con- 
 versations we had, did me a great deal of good, partic- 
 ularly the relation of your experience on Sunday even- 
 ing after meeting. 
 
 " Yours in Christian love, JUSTIN A B. RAY."
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 289 
 
 " PniLADELPHIA, MAY 9, 1870. 
 
 " MES. TITUS : 
 
 " We were made glad last evening by the 
 return of our old friend, Sojoumer, from Washington, 
 where she has been for two months. She looks very 
 well and bright, and is in her very best spirits as you 
 will see by the following statement : 
 
 " She has received from the government, through 
 the influence of Gen. Howard, three hundred and 
 ninety dollars, being fifteen dollars per month for 
 twenty-six months. She has collected other funds to 
 the amount of four hundred and fifty dollars, for which 
 I send my check payable to your order, which yon will 
 please to pay to William Merritt on acc't of her mort- 
 gage, and get him to send the receipt to me with a 
 statement of her accounts. 
 
 " She has lived to see her people delivered, and we 
 may all rejoice with her. 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 " HENRY T. CHILD, M. D. 
 
 "6#4 Race St." 
 
 " FLORENCE, MASS., MAUCH 8, 1871. 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " Dear Friend Mr. Hunt informs 
 me to-day that Mr. Wheedon, Methodist minister in 
 Northampton, will appoint a meeting for you in his 
 church, next week Tuesday evening, and will himself 
 cause notice thereof to be given next Sunday in all 
 the churches in town, or in such of them as will give 
 the notice. Mr. Hunt will also have the notice in 
 the Free Press printed next Friday, and in the Gazette 
 K
 
 290 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 printed next week, Tuesday. Now if you will inform 
 me on what evening next week you wish to have a 
 meeting in Florence, I will also have notice given 
 here next Sunday, by the Methodists, the Congrega- 
 tionalists, and in our meeting. Will also have the 
 notice given in the Free, Press of next Friday (if I get 
 your reply in season), and in the Gazette of next week, 
 Tuesday. You will be welcome to the use of our hall 
 next week, either Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday 
 evening. Please send me word to-morrow, if you can, 
 which evening you will occupy. If not to-morrow, 
 send word the next day, and oblige, 
 
 " Yours truly, SAMUEL L. HILL." 
 
 "On Saturday, Jan. 1st, 1870, our house received 
 a new baptism, through Sojourner Truth, whose voice 
 is continually praising God for the blessings bestowed 
 upon her, and never murmuring because of hardships 
 endured. She has been a wonderful teacher to me. 
 I thank my God that I have met Sojourner Truth. 
 
 " PORTIA GAGE." 
 
 " WASHINGTON, APEIL 10, 1867. 
 
 " ISAAC POST, ESQ. : 
 
 " Dear Sir Inclosed find a post- 
 office money order for $20, which is intended for So- 
 journer Truth, it being the amount due her from the 
 New York Freedmen's Commission for December last. 
 Please assure her of my regards, and that we shall be 
 glad to see her when she returns. 
 
 " Yours truly, A. E. NEWTON, 
 
 " Sup' t of Schools, l-c,"
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 201 
 
 " Sojourner Truth has been very acceptably received 
 by the people of Vineland, and I trust that the many 
 earnest words she has uttered, both in public and pri- 
 vate, for the cause of woman and the abolition of the 
 death penalty, will be like seed cast upon good ground. 
 
 " DEBORAH L. BUTLER. 
 " Jan. 17, 1870." 
 
 Sojourner was most cordially and hospitably enter- 
 tained whilst in Lawrence, Kansas, by a family of 
 the name of Simpson, bankers in that place. 
 
 The following testimonials of their respect are 
 transcribed from her " Book of Life" : 
 
 "May your future, Sojourner, be ever brighter 
 than your faith. W. A. SIMPSON." 
 
 " I wish you the same, Sojourner. 
 
 " LAURA B. SIMPSON." 
 
 <l SOJOURNER : 
 
 " May our faith be like thine, and our 
 duty as well done. KATE L. SIMPSON." 
 
 " The Lord bless you, Sojourner, and may your im- 
 mortal crown be studded with many stars. 
 
 "HANNAH P. SIMPSON." 
 
 " The Lord bless you, sister Sojourner. I believe 
 you are endued by the Spirit of the Lord in your ef- 
 forts for the elevation of your race. 
 
 "SAMUEL SIMPSON, 
 s, Dec, 1, IS? I,"
 
 292 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 " PETERBOROUGH, N. Y., DEC. 11, 1868. 
 
 " MY DEAR SOJOURNEB TRUTH : 
 
 " I cannot let you go with- 
 out telling you on paper how highly we have prized 
 your visit to us. We have enjoyed your wit and 
 powers of description, we have been instructed by 
 your wisdom, and we have welcomed your religion. 
 I trust that this is not your last visit to Peterborough, 
 and that the good Lord and Father will spare you to 
 come again to us. Wherever you shall go, there will, 
 I trust, be good friends to receive you, to bless you, 
 and to be blessed by you. I know that wherever you 
 go you will be useful, for the head and heart that you 
 carry with you are continually doing good. 
 
 " With much love to you from my dear wife and 
 myself, your friend, GERRITT SMITH." 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " With weary hand, yet steadfast will, 
 
 In old age as in youth, 
 Thy Master found thee, sowing still 
 The good seed of his truth. 
 
 " REV. E. MAUBLE. 
 " Schoolcrqft, Mich. Confer erne." 
 
 " FRIEND SOJOURNER : 
 
 " It would be folly in me to ask 
 
 the Great Spirit to bless that which he has already so. 
 abundantly blessed. Why should I invoke him to 
 shower blessings upon thy head, or strew thy pathway 
 with flowers 1 Do not all these jewels naturally be- 
 long to and sparkle around the footprints of those
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 293 
 
 who, like you, go about doing their Master's business ? 
 'T is not race, profession, or position, but knowing the 
 right and doing it, which shall entitle an individual to. 
 a safe passport to the home of the angels. 
 
 "WARREN SAMSON. 
 " Hammonton, N. J., 1870." 
 
 "TOLEDO, OHIO, Jan. 12, 1866; 
 
 " SISTER SOJOURNER : 
 
 " I hare received my commis- 
 sion to return to Washington and Richmond as soon 
 as I can possibly get ready, i. e., collect about $300 
 more to go with. I want to be ready the hitter part 
 of next week. Oh, how I want to know how you are 
 getting along. I have not been to Battle Creek, and 
 hardly think I can reach it ; but I have written them 
 and hope they will send money and clothes by me to 
 you. I cannot set precise date, but may, in a week 
 or ten days, see Washington. 
 
 " Our Home is getting along finely. The colored 
 people of Adrian placed $40 in my hands to buy a 
 cow for the little folks at the Home. I have bought 
 a good cow for them, which gives eleven quarts of 
 milk per day, and Mr. Don gave them another, so 
 they are nicely provided for. The colored people also 
 gave us a Christmas donation for the Haviland Home, 
 valued at $113.84, mostly in provisions and clothing, 
 with some money to purchase hens for the Home. 
 
 " I must close with earnest desire for your prosper- 
 ity in all things. 
 
 " Yours for the poor and needy, 
 
 "LAURA S. HAVILAND."
 
 294 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 " WASHINGTON, MAKCH 18, 1874. 
 
 " DEAR, BLESSED SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " I must address 
 
 you from the heart, mother of love and truth as you 
 are. I am blest and thankful that I have held your 
 hand in mine, been greeted by you, and heard your 
 voice, which, longer years than I have known, has 
 been lifted up throughout the land against oppression 
 and sin, say to me, 'I know your soul!' Blessed 
 words ! Cheering me on my path and to be proved 
 thrice blessed in the spirit world, where you and I 
 will learn the deep import of your greeting, ' I know 
 yoxir soul.' God grant me strength also to 'be faithful 
 unto the end,' even as you have been. 
 
 " When Christ the Lord makes up his jewels, you 
 then exalted will receive the crown eternal, and clothed 
 in white rise upward in joy unspeakable and full of 
 glory. Thanks be unto God who giveth us the vic- 
 tory. Reverently and lovingly, 
 
 " Your child and sister, 
 
 " JENNIE LEYS." 
 
 " PAWTUCKET, Nov. 10, 1870. 
 
 " DEAR SOJOURNER : 
 
 " I hope there yet may be found 
 ten righteous people to save us this way. At any 
 rate, perhaps you'll help us to hunt them up when 
 you come. There is a nice little hall here which the 
 temperance people occupy only Wednesday evenings. 
 In applying for it, I found old friends of yours who 
 knew you in Bensonville, and it was at once tendered 
 to you in your behalf, free of any expense whatever. 
 " Yours in haste, J. ADAMS."
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 295 
 
 "BKNZONIA, MICH., NOT. 8, 1864. 
 " DEAR MOTHER, SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " We have received 
 
 your ' shadow ' all right very beautiful. We esteem 
 it very much. May God bless you and make you 
 very useful, and prepare you for your higher life, and 
 rest, and glory. To day we suppose Father Abraham 
 is again elected. May God bless him and give him 
 all needed wisdom and grace. 
 
 " We all unite in much love to you. 
 " Yours for the good cause, 
 
 " GEORGE THOMPSON." 
 
 "FROM THE LION'S DKN, MOUNT QLENDBL." 
 11 He who feedeth the ravens, careth for thee, true 
 Sojourner, and blesses all thy labors of love abundantly. 
 Go on proclaiming glad tidings. Preach the true gos- 
 pel, and curse the follies and sins of this world. 
 " Your Old Lion S, DOLLIE LION." 
 
 " SCHUTLKILL, CHBSTBR Co., PA. 
 
 " APRIL 5, 1863. 
 " To SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " Dear Sister I saw, this morn- 
 ing, in the Anti-slavery Standard, an extract from 
 a letter written by Mrs. Stickney to our mutual friend, 
 ' Uncle ' Joseph Dugdale. I was glad to learn that 
 you are among kind friends. Although my sympa- 
 thies were moved at the thought of your poverty and 
 bodily afflictions, yet it was not with feelings of sor- 
 row or regret. I rather rejoiced that your needs 
 should have been the medium through which I learned 
 your whereabouts, and that you still breathe in the
 
 206 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 atmosphere of truth, and feel an interest in the wel- 
 fare of your race and all mankind. That notice will 
 unquestionably bring you all needed temporal help as 
 far as pecuniary aid can supply your wants. I will 
 inclose a mite in this letter for you. It would be 
 more only I that feel assured it will not be needed, as, 
 no doubb, hundreds will feel glad of the opportunity of 
 contributing to your needs. 
 
 " Let us bless and praise God for his manifold good- 
 ness. God's goodness is none the less displayed in his 
 abused mercies turned into curses by a wicked people 
 than in the fruition of divine joy by his obedient 
 children. May his spirit in such fullness as thy ves- 
 sel can contain and enjoy, ever be with thee. With 
 fond Christian affection, 
 
 " Farewell. ISAAC PRICE." 
 
 " PETKRROROUGH, MAY 4, 1869. 
 
 " MY DEAR SOJOURNER : 
 
 " I was very glad to receive 
 
 a letter from you, but sorry to learn that you are suf- 
 fering from indisposition. I hope you will soon be 
 well enough to go to Brooklyn and call here on your 
 way. We very often talk of the pleasant visit we 
 had from you, and when I am alone I frequently recall 
 the words you spoke to us and feel refreshed and 
 strengthened by them. I send you ten dollars, for 
 food and fire as far as it will go. Wish it were more, 
 but it must suffice now. 
 
 " God bless you always, and keep you in his own 
 peace. In much love, 
 
 " ANN C. SMITH."
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 297 
 
 " ALEXANDRIA, MAY 3, l^'.i,. 
 
 " SOJOURNER TRUTH : 
 
 " Dear Friend The bearer of 
 this note is desirous of going North and taking thence 
 his family, consisting of wife and daughter. I have 
 known him since my stay here, and recommend him 
 to your consideration. If anything can be done as 
 regards transportation, &c., it will be thankfully re- 
 ceived by him. 
 
 " Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 " A. W. TUCKER, 
 " A. A. Surgeon, U. S. A." 
 
 " Glad to see our dear co-laborer, Sojourner Truth, 
 again. LUCRETIA MOTT. 
 
 "RoadSide, Philadelphia, Eleventh Month, 1869." 
 
 " Ever yours, HENRY WILSON, 
 
 "Senator, Mass. 
 " April 20, 1870." 
 
 " This is my first interview with Abraham Lin- 
 coln's ' Aunty ' Sojourner Truth. A pleasant season. 
 
 " GEORGE TRUMAN. 
 " Philadelphia, Eleventh Month, 1869." 
 
 11 1 hope, dear Sojourner, that you will be enfran- 
 chised before you leave us for the better land. 
 " Your true friend, 
 
 " ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. 
 " Neio York, May 4, 1870." 
 
 11 Very truly yours, 
 
 " MARY A. DODGE GAIL HAMILTON."
 
 298 " BOOK OP LIFE." 
 
 "My friend, Sojourner Truth, the friend of the 
 human race God bless you. 
 
 "JACOB WALTON. 
 "Adrian, Mich., 1871." 
 
 " Your brother in the hope of glory, 
 
 "B. SUNDERLAND, 
 " Pres. Minister, Wash. D. C." 
 
 " May God bless and guide you ! 
 
 "ANNE G. PHILLIPS. 
 "Aug. 1." 
 
 " Your true friend and co-worker, 
 
 " LUCY N. COLEMAN. 
 " Syracuse, N. Y." 
 
 " Your old young friend, W. F. MORGAN. 
 
 " Leavenworth, Kan." 
 
 "S. C. POMEROY, /Senator, Kan. 
 ! April 20, 1870." 
 
 " J. M. THAYER, Senator, Neb. 
 "April 20, 1870." 
 
 ' A. MCDONALD, Arkansas." 
 
 " Most sincerely your friend, 
 
 " GEORGE W. JULIAN." 
 
 " HENRY E. BENSON, Lawrence, Kansas." 
 
 " JACOB M. Howard, Michigan Senator" 
 " T. M. MORRELL, Illinois Senator." 
 
 " Yours truly, J. W. PATTERSON."
 
 IN WESTERN NEW YORK. 299 
 
 " J. M. BOWEN, Mayor of Washington" 
 
 " GEORGE E. SPENCER, Senator, Ala." 
 
 " D. D. PRATT, U. S. Senator, Ind." 
 
 " H. R. BEVELS, Senator, Miss., Colored." 
 
 " J. S. ADAMS, Louisiana." 
 
 " Z. CHANDLER, Mich." 
 
 " R. E. FENTON, N. Y." 
 
 " JAS. S. FOWLER, Senator, Tenn" 
 
 VISITS WESTERN NEW YORK. 
 
 "We met Sojourner at Angola Station, stopped at 
 Joseph Linton's to dinner, then took her to Alonzo 
 Hawley's, a few rods distant, where she spent the 
 night. The next afternoon Mrs. Hawley brought her 
 to our house. Sunday, the 6th, called a meeting for 
 her at Hemlock Hall, where, at 10 o'clock A. M. she 
 addressed an appreciative audience of four hundred 
 people. Wednesday morning we carried her to 
 George W. Taylor's, distant six miles. The afternoon 
 of the same day, Mr. Taylor and wife carried her five 
 miles farther into the town of Collins, to the comforta- 
 ble home of Isaac and Lydia Allen, aged people like her- 
 self, who extended to her a hearty welcome. In the 
 evening she spoke to a good audience in the Rosen- 
 burgh school- house near by. The following day, 
 Thursday, was spent by Sojourner with the family of
 
 300 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 Mrs. Cook, who are relatives of the Aliens. The 
 next night, Mr. Cook took her four miles, to Collins 
 Center. There she addressed a large audience in the 
 new Free Church, and felt that her labors were not in 
 vain. Returned with Mr. Cook to the house of Isaac 
 Allen. 
 
 " Friday night, Mr. Allen and wife went with her 
 to Mr. Rosenburgh's, who took her to Gowanda, where 
 she addressed an intensely interested atidience. Sat- 
 urday she was conveyed to G. W. Taylor's, and Sun- 
 day brought to Kerr's Corners, to the home of Lewis 
 Baldwin, where she remained until the 14th, and then 
 spoke to a large gathering in the Methodist Church. 
 After the meeting she came home with us once more. 
 
 " She seems very quiet and happy here, and we are 
 enjoying a feast which we may never be privileged to 
 enjoy again. It is a blessing to' be with her and re- 
 ceive her experience from her own lips. Wednesday 
 night, James Varney carried her to Bront Center, 
 where was assembled an appreciative audience in the 
 new Methodist Church. On Fiiday night, the school- 
 house in Pontiac was filled with people eager to listen 
 to her teachings. Since that time she has been very 
 quiet until the 22d, when she accompanied us to a 
 political pic-nic at Hemlock Hall, where was convened 
 an audience of probably three thousand people to lis- 
 ten to able speakers. I have endeavored in a hurried 
 manner to write a little diary for Sojourner, to show 
 to such of her friends as are anxious to know where 
 she has been and what has been her success. 
 
 " PHEBE MERRITT VARNEY."
 
 IN WESTERN NEW YORK. 301 
 
 " James Varney conveyed Sojourner Truth to our 
 house fourth day, the 23d of ninth month, 1868, where 
 she remained till the following sixth day, when we car- 
 ried her to the house of our son-in-law, P. Paxton, 
 where she remained till seventh day evening, when 
 she went to Potter's Corners to attend a large repub- 
 lican meeting in which she made a few remarks. This 
 caused such enthusiasm among the people that it 
 opened the way for a very large meeting the next 
 evening. The large hall was nearly filled with an at- 
 tentive audience, which she addressed for more than 
 an hour, in her usually impressive and sarcastic man- 
 ner, much to the satisfaction of the majority present. 
 From thence, she went home with Alfred Moore and 
 wife, with whom she spent several days, to the edifi- 
 cation of the neighboring people who came to see her. 
 In conclusion, we rejoice in the opportunity of becom- 
 ing partially acquainted with Sojourner Truth. May 
 she yet survive long to combat in her peculiar and 
 impressive manner the errors with which this nation 
 is enthralled. ISAAC BAKER. 
 
 "East Hamburg, Erie Co., N. Y." 
 
 " On the 29th of ninth month, 1868, J. B. C. Eddy 
 went to Harry Abbot's after Sojourner Truth to at- 
 tend a meeting held in Dr. Dolin's neighborhood, 
 which was very well attended, and to good satisfaction 
 to those in favor of liberty. On the first day of tenth 
 month, she held a meeting at Griffin's Mills, in the 
 lecture room, speaking to a good and attentive audi- 
 ence, telling them many truths. Friend Sandford 
 took up a collection for her. I can say on our part 
 that her company has been very acceptable, and I hope
 
 302 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 she may live to have her wishes gratified in seeing 
 Grant sit in the presidential chair. 
 
 "J. B. C. EDDY." 
 
 "On Monday, Oct. 19, 1868, Sojourner Truth, be- 
 ing in Courtland village, was sent for by C. P. Gros- 
 venor, and brought to Mr. Granville's. Tuesday eve 
 she addressed a crowded assembly in the Methodist 
 Church with good effect. She had been several days 
 at Courtland, and lectured to a multitude, having her 
 home at the house of the younger Dr. Goodyear, who 
 was happy to have her company and make her ac- 
 quaintance. Here she was visited by many ladies 
 and gentlemen. CYRUS P. GROSVENOR. 
 
 " McGranvilk, N. Y." 
 
 MEETING IN NEW LISBON. 
 
 "Sojourner Truth interested an audience in New 
 Lisbon, Ohio, at the Methodist Episcopal Church, for 
 nearly an hour, talking of slavery in this country, and 
 the suffering and injustice inseparable from it. If 
 earnestness is eloquence, she has a just claim to that 
 appellation; for she makes some powerful appeals, 
 which cannot but strike a chord of sympathy in every 
 human heart. 
 
 " She sang the following original song at the close 
 of the meeting : 
 
 " I am pleading for my people 
 A poor, down-trodden race, 
 Who dwell in freedom'^ boasted land, 
 With no abiding place.
 
 MEETING IN NEW LISBON. 303 
 
 " I'am pleading that my people 
 May have their rights astored [restored] ; 
 For they have long been toiling, 
 And yet had no reward. 
 
 " They are forced the crops to culture, 
 But not for them they yield, 
 Although both late and early 
 They labor in the field. 
 
 " Whilst I bear upon my body 
 The scars of many a gash, 
 I am pleading for my people 
 Who groan beneath the lash. 
 
 " I am pleading for the mothers 
 Who gaze in wild despair 
 Upon the hated auction-block, 
 And see their children there. 
 
 " I feel for those in bondage 
 Well may I feel for them ; 
 I know how fiendish hearts can be 
 That sell their fellow-men. 
 
 "Yet those oppressors steeped in guilt 
 I still would have them live ; 
 For I have learned of Jesus 
 To suffer and forgive. 
 
 "I want no carnal weapons, 
 No enginery of death ; 
 For I love not to hear the sound 
 Of war's tempestuous breath. 
 
 " I do not ask you to engage 
 In death and bloody strife, 
 I do not dare insult my God 
 By asking for their life.
 
 304 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 " But while your kindest sympathies 
 To foreign lands do roam, 
 I would ask you to remember 
 Your own oppressed at home. 
 
 " I plead with you to sympathize 
 With sighs and groans and scars, 
 And note how base the tyranny 
 Beneath the stripes and stars." 
 
 TOBACCO VICTORY THE BRANDED HAND. 
 
 The habit of smoking was contracted by Sojourner 
 in early youth. Not many years since, whilst travel- 
 ing in Iowa, a gentleman asked her if she believed the 
 Bible, to which she readily assented. Her friend 
 said, " The Bible tells us that ' no unclean thing can 
 enter the kingdom of Heaven.' Now what can be 
 more filthy than the breath of a smoker?" "Yes, 
 child," she answered, "but when I goes to Heaven I 
 spects to leave my breff behind me." But as time 
 passed on she became convinced that the habit was 
 wrong. She had not courage to chide people for us- 
 ing spirituous liquors while indulging in the use of 
 tobacco, herself. Accordingly she discontinued the 
 habit. She was told it would affect her health. She 
 said, " I'll quit if 1 die." She did quit and lived ! 
 
 "ROCHESTER, JAN. 11, 1869. 
 
 " DEAR FRIEND SOJOURNER : 
 
 "The announcement in 
 
 the Anti-slavery Standard of thy having laid aside 
 the pipe, is receiving considerable attention. I re-
 
 A TOBACCO VICTORY. 305 
 
 coived a letter from Dr. Trask, of Fitchburg, Mass., 
 who rejoices greatly over thy grand and" triumphant 
 effort, and says, ' It ought to be proclaimed far and 
 near to strengthen others to cast aside the abomina- 
 tion.' 
 
 " Also a letter has just come to me~from our old 
 and highly esteemed friend, Jonathan "Walker, the 
 original of ' The Branded Hand.' Thou'wilt probably 
 remember him. He was captain of a small vessel run- 
 ning from New York to the Gulf States. t He secreted 
 several slaves and brought them to the free States, 
 was taken and imprisoned, and the letters S S branded 
 on his right hand, signifying slave stealer ; but in our 
 vernacular we should interpret it slave savior. This 
 vessel with its entire cargo was confiscated, and he 
 lay in a filthy jail in Florida for several months. 
 
 "AMY POST." 
 
 Jf, MICH., JAN. 1, 1869. 
 " MY DEAR AGED AND VENERATED FRIEND : 
 
 " Your earnest and effect- 
 
 ual devotion, for so long a time, to the cause of hu- 
 man redemption, has, from my first knowledge of 
 your missionary services to the present time, im- 
 pressed me (as well as many others) with the warmest 
 fraternal regard for your welfare and usefulness. 
 "When I saw it announced by Amy Post, in the Anti- 
 slavery Standard, that you had abandoned the pipe at 
 your advanced age, I could form no other conclusion 
 than that you had done it under the influence of the 
 keenest moral and religious sensibilities. 
 
 ' I have known ministers and many professors of 
 
 L
 
 306 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 religion, as well as other good people, who tried hard 
 and long to abandon the use of tobacco, yet made a 
 failure, and confessed that they could not conqiTer the 
 habit. I distinctly remember, also, the tedious and 
 desperate struggle I had to emancipate myself from 
 twenty years' slavery to the foul weed. Considering 
 the effect its long use has upon the nervous system, I 
 could hardly suppose you could have achieved so great 
 a victory at your age without a break-down ; nor do I 
 look upon so heroic an act as much short of a miracle. 
 May the example of such self-sacrifice in you, indeed 
 stimulate and encourage (as Amy says) ' others to do 
 likewise,' is the earnest desire of your 
 " Sincere friend, 
 
 "JONATHAN WALKER." 
 
 "P. S. I am not sure, but I think I met you 
 twenty-five years ago at Bronsonville, North Hanston, 
 Mass., soon after my return from imprisonment in 
 Florida. J. w." 
 
 The heroic deeds of Jonathan Walker have ren- 
 dered his name immortal ; and our prince of song has 
 paid them a just and noble tribute in the exquisite 
 poem entitled, " The Branded Hand," from which the 
 following is an extract : 
 
 " Why, that brand is highest honor ! than its traces never yet 
 OQ old armorial hatchments was a prouder blazon set ; 
 And thy unborn generations, as they tread our rocky strand, 
 Shall tell with pride the story of their father's branded hand ! 
 
 "Then lift that manly right hand, bold ploughman of the wave! 
 Its branded palm shall prophesy, ' Salvation to the Slave.'
 
 SOJOURKER TRUTH'S AGE. 307 
 
 Hold up its fire-wrought language, that whoso reads may feel 
 His heart swell strong within him, his sinews change to steel. 
 
 " Hold it up before our sunshine, up against our northern air. 
 Ho ! men of Massachusetts, for the love of God, look there ! 
 Take it henceforth for your standard like the Bruce's heart 
 
 of yore, 
 In the dark strife closing round ye, let that hand be seen before ! 
 
 " And the tyrants of the slave-land shall tremble at that sign, 
 When it points its finger southward along the Puritan line : 
 Woe to the State-gorged leeches, and the church's locust band, 
 When they look from slavery's ramparts on the coming of 
 that hand." 
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH'S AGE. 
 
 Sojourner is often asked her age. She is as igno- 
 rant of its date as is the fossil found in the limestone 
 rock, or the polished pebble upon the sea-shore, which 
 has been scoured by the waves ever since the sea was 
 born. 
 
 It was the diabolical scheme of those dealers in 
 human flesh to so stultify the brain of the slave that 
 it might become incapable of reason, reflection, or 
 memory. The slave child followed the condition of its 
 mother, and seldom had any knowledge of father, or 
 date of birth. They were Pompey or Cufiee, Dinah or 
 Chloe, as the case might be, having no permanent sec- 
 ond name, but taking the surname of the master ; con- 
 sequently they received a new cognomen with each 
 new owner. 
 
 Sojourner counts her years from the time she was / 
 emancipated says she began to live then. She
 
 308 " BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 thinks it is what we accomplish that makes life long 
 or short, and says that some have been on earth scores 
 of years, yet die in infancy. 
 
 The following account is well authenticated : 
 The act of 1817 in the State of New York emanci- 
 pated all slaves of the age of 40 years. From this 
 time all became free as fast as they arrived at the age 
 of 25 years, till 1827, when all were free. Sojourner 
 became free in 1817. This statement is corroborated 
 by an old gentleman by the name of Miller, who was 
 brought up in the vicinity of Sojourner's birthplace. 
 He recently died in Green Co., Wisconsin. 
 
 HER PARENTAGE. 
 
 Mrs. Stowe was mistaken in regard to Sojourner's 
 ancestry. Her mother's parents came from the Coast 
 of Guinea, but her paternal grandmother was a Mo- 
 hawk squaw. The " whoop " Sojourner gave in the 
 horse-car at Washington was probably a legacy from 
 her Mohawk ancestor. 
 
 EXTENT OF HER LABORS. 
 
 Sojourner Truth has traveled and lectured in the 
 following States : 
 
 New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maine, 
 Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, 
 Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Connecti- 
 cut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Dela- 
 ware, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Colum- 
 bia,
 
 ANECDOTES. 309 
 
 ANECDOTES. 
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH AT ABINGTON. 
 
 About 20 years ago Sojourner attended a grove- 
 meeting at Abington, Mass., to celebrate negro 
 emancipation in the West Indies. Many of the old 
 line abolitionists were there, Pillsbury, Garrison, 
 Phillips, Stephen and Abby Foster, Henry C. Wright, 
 Charles Lenox Bimond, and a host of others. Two 
 fugitives from southern slavery, who were traveling 
 over the underground railroad to Canada, stopped off a 
 train to enjoy a day with friends before going to that 
 " cold but happy land." They sat upon the platform 
 with the speakers. One, a very large man, was 
 squeezed into a coat much too small for him. The 
 other, a diminutive man, wore a coat of such ample 
 proportions that it hung in folds about his liliputian 
 form. But as these garments had been given them 
 by employees on the underground express, and were 
 the first of the kind they had ever owned, the jit did 
 not appear to disturb them, judging by the pleased 
 look upon their faces. The contrast between their 
 present condition and what might have been, had they 
 been overtaken in their flight and dragged back into 
 slavery, filled them with bliss. They were compara- 
 tively happy. 
 
 These coat collars were nicer than the iron collars 
 which might now have been on their necks ; and the 
 cuffs, softer than the iron cuffs which they knew the 
 captured fugitive was made to wear. The voice of 
 blood-hounds baying in the distance, was superseded
 
 310 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 by kindly human voices. Traveling toward the North 
 Star by night, they had hidden in dark caves and un- 
 derbrush during the day, avoiding the light of the 
 sun. Now, streams of golden sunlight flowed around 
 them. Surely, they were receiving " beauty for ashes 
 and the oil of joy for mourning." 
 
 One of them arose, and in a brief manner expressed 
 his appreciation of this mighty change, and his deep 
 gratitude to the people of Massaclrasetts for their 
 kindness and generosity. At the close of his re- 
 marks, which were received with applause, Mr. Gar- 
 rison said, " Sojourner Truth will now address you in 
 her peculiar manner, and Wendell Phillips will fol- 
 low." Sojourner began by improvising a song, com- 
 mencing, " Hail ! ye abolitionists." Her voice was 
 both sweet and powerful, and as her notes floated 
 away through the tree-tops, reaching the outermost 
 circle of that vast multitude, it elicited cheer after 
 cheer. She then made some spicy remarks, occasion- 
 ally referring to her fugitive brethren on the platform 
 beside her. At the close of her address, in which by 
 witty sallies and pathetic appeals, she had moved the 
 audience to laxighter and tears, she looked about the 
 assemblage and said, " I will now close, for he that 
 cometh after me is greater than I," and took her seat. 
 Mr. Phillips came forward holding a paper in his 
 hand containing notes of Sojourner's speech, which he 
 used as texts for a powerful and eloquent appeal in 
 behalf of human freedom. Sojourner says, " I was 
 utterly astonished to hear him say, ' Well has So- 
 journer said so and so ' ; and I said to myself, Lord, 
 did I say that ? How differently it sounded coming
 
 ANECDOTES. 311 
 
 from his lips ! He dressed my poor, bare speech in 
 such beautiful garments that I scarcely recognized it 
 invself." 
 
 As Sojourner was returning to the home of Amy 
 Post in Rochester, one evening, after having delivered 
 a lecture in Corinthian Hall, a little policeman stepped 
 up to her and demanded her name. She paused, 
 struck her cane firmly upon the ground, drew herself 
 up to her greatest hight, and in a loud, deep, voice 
 deliberately answered " / am that I am." The fright- 
 ened policeman vanished, and she concluded her walk 
 without further questioning. 
 
 During the war, Sojourner met one of her demo- 
 cratic friends, who asked her, " What business are you 
 now following ?" She quickly replied, " Years ago, 
 when I lived in the city of New York, my occupation 
 was scouring brass door knobs ; but now I go about 
 scouring copperheads." 
 
 At a temperance meeting in one of the towns of 
 Kansas, Sojourner, whilst addressing the audience, 
 was much annoyed by frequent expectorations of to- 
 bacco juice upon the flour. Pausing and contemplat- 
 ing the pools of liquid filth, with a look of disgust 
 upon her face, she remarked that it had been the 
 custom for her Methodist brethren to kneel in the 
 house of God during prayers, and asked how they 
 could kneel upon these floors? Said she, speaking
 
 312 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 with emphasis, " If Jesus was here he would scourge 
 you from this place." 
 
 Previous to the war, Sojourner held a series of meet- 
 ings in northern Ohio. She sometimes made very 
 strong points in the course of her speech, which sbe 
 knew hit the apologist of slavery pretty hard. At 
 the close of one of these meetings, a man came up to 
 her and said, " Old woman, do you think that your 
 talk about slavery does any good ? Do you suppose 
 people care what you say ? " " Why," continued he, 
 " I do n't care any more for your talk than I do for 
 the bite of a flea." " Perhaps not," she responded, 
 " but, the Lord willing, I'll keep you scratching." 
 
 Sojourner was invited to speak at a meeting in 
 Florence, Mass. She had just returned from a fa- 
 tiguing trip, an'd not having thought of anything in 
 particular to say, arose and said, " Children, I have 
 come here to-night like the rest of you to hear what I 
 have got to say." Wendell Phillips was one of her 
 audience. Soon after this he was invited to address 
 a lyceum, and being unprepared for the occasion, as he 
 thought, began by saying, " I shall have to tell you as 
 my friend Sojourner Truth told an audience under 
 similar circumstances, I have come here like the 
 rest of you to hear what I have to say."
 
 AUTOGEAPHS. 313 
 
 Autographs of Distinguished Persons, 
 
 WHO HAVE BEFRIENDED SOJOURNER TRUTH BY WORDS 
 OF SYMPATHY AND MATERIAL AID. 

 
 314 "BOOK OF LIFE.'
 
 AUTOGRAPHS. 315
 
 31G "BOOK OF LIFE.' 
 
 NOTES ON THE AUTOGRAPHS. 
 
 In Sojourner's correspondence are found names of 
 such weight and power that it seemed fitting to have 
 them engraven for her ' ' Book of Life. " Here are names 
 that are indelibly stamped upon the pages of their coun- 
 try's history, and inseparably connected with it 
 names which will reverberate adown the centuries, 
 and the echoes be caught by the generations in the 
 coming time "immortal names that were not born 
 to die," but which are synonyms of all that is most 
 exalted in human life and character names of men 
 and women, the luster of whose lives shed a light on 
 humanity's page, pure and sparkling as the shimmer 
 of a white wing flashing through the yellow sunlight- 
 names of those who manifested their love to God by 
 tender compassion for the lowliest of his children. 
 
 The name of one who was dragged through the 
 streets of a populous city with a halter about his neck, 
 will be remembered when that city which permitted the 
 outrage, would be forgotten but for the immortality 
 attained through his sublime heroism. Boston with 
 its moving atoms will fade away, but the waves of 
 progress received an impetus from the breath of this 
 true devotee of freedom which will help to cleanse and 
 purify the streams of life till they are engulfed in 
 the ocean of eternity. 
 
 The name of one is written who only " awaited the 
 opportunity to enfranchise millions,"
 
 NOTES ON TITE AUTOGRAPHS. 317 
 
 I read the name of one who traveled many winters 
 among the hills of New England, braving its snow 
 drifts and piercing winds, to preach the gospel of free- 
 dom to those whose hearts were harder than the gran- 
 ite rocks over which he toihd, and chillier than the 
 snows and breath of winter. Abandoning a situation 
 of honor and profit, he consecrated his giant intellect, 
 and the best years of his life, to a cause that brought 
 neither honor nor profit, despised by mammon wor- 
 shipers and all who seek the applause of such. Be- 
 yond the turmoil of the present hour, when its noise 
 and uproar have died away, the refined and polished 
 future will render his verdict. He can afford to wait. 
 The present never knows its saviors ; retrospection 
 . clears the vision. 
 
 The influence of another, who labors with deep 
 earnestness in the Master's vineyard, confined to no 
 locality, knowing neither North nor South, but im- 
 parting his loving spirit to all races and conditions of 
 society, will be felt upon the tide of civilization whilst 
 its waves break upon the shores of time. 
 
 Here is the name of a noble woman who has gone 
 up Calvary bearing the cross, and gained the mount 
 of ascension with bleeding feet ; who has labored for 
 the rights of her race and for the rights of her sex, 
 braving the scorn and obloquy of conservatism. Bold 
 iconoclast ! endure a little longer. " The hour for 
 your ideas has not yet struck."
 
 318 "BOOK OP LIFE." 
 
 One, languishing twelve years in prison, found com- 
 pensation for his sufferings in the words of the divine 
 Master, " Sick and in prison ye ministered unto me." 
 
 One of these, a world-renowned orator, said, " The 
 age of reading men has come. The age of thinking 
 men has come. The age of the masses has come." 
 
 One of Sojourner's friends, by her genius in the 
 delineation of character, opened the world's eyes 
 to perceive that irresponsible power vested in a 
 Legree was a dangerous thing, and that Uncle Toms 
 and Topsies were human beings after all. 
 
 Another inscribes this formula in Sojourner's " Book 
 of Life " : " Equality of rights is the first of rights." 
 
 A woman whose four-score years are so replete with 
 good words and deeds that the name falls like a ben- 
 ediction upon the listening ear, has taught her sex 
 that old age need not be desolate, but may be fragrant 
 as a garden of roses. White hairs, like a saint's aure- 
 ole, encircle her brow. We involuntarily bow our 
 hearts in worship when the honored name of Lucretia 
 Mott is pronounced. 
 
 Another is the name of Lydia Maria Child, the key 
 note of whose useful life and brilliant intellect has 
 ever been attuned to freedom's cause. 
 
 One crossed and recrossed the Atlantic, to blend 
 his efforts with the little band of reformers which
 
 NOTES ON THE AUTOGRAPHS. 
 
 eventually slew the giant, Slavery, with a pebble of 
 truth, and demolished his castle, the corner stone of 
 which was lies, and its superstructure the bleeding 
 hearts of crushed humanity. Landing upon onr 
 shores he was pursued by the hooting mob, as if the 
 Plutonian regions had been emptied at his heels. 
 
 G. S., meaning "Great Soul," gave farms to 
 poor blacks and whites, carrying out Sojoumer's idea 
 of encouraging industry, and making wild lands a 
 source of revenue to the government. In Congress 
 he said, " Truth lives and reigns forever. In pro- 
 portion as we obey the truth, are we able to discern 
 the truth." If all that is wrong within us was made 
 right, not only would our darkness give place to a 
 cloudless light, but like the angel of the Apocalypse we 
 should " stand in the sun." 
 
 Another could bear the torture of the branding iron 
 rather than be false to his convictions of duty. 
 
 Josephine S. Griffing labored for years to amel- 
 iorate the condition of the black race, and in her 
 system were sown, by overwork, the seeds of con- 
 sumption which bore speedy fruit. 
 
 Another in the sacred desk ever insisted that hu- 
 manity was of all things under heaven the most sa- 
 cred. A marble bust of this good man adorns the 
 city of Syracuse, and a friend writing of it says, " It 
 is eminently fitting that one of the purest of the once
 
 320 "BOOK OF LIFE." 
 
 proscribed abolitionists should now be thus publicly 
 honored." 
 
 Another, who holds a high position under the gov- 
 ernment, is Sojourner's friend, and unites his efforts 
 with hers to -promote the welfare of the race which 
 has been so mercilessly tossed about by our Ship of 
 State. He encourages her to persevere in her efforts 
 to obtain a grant of land for the freedmen, and lends 
 his influence to the cause. 
 
 And last but not least are those royal souls who 
 sheltered and comforted the flying fugitive, who fed and 
 clothed him, who warmed him by the sacred fires of 
 their own domestic hearth-stones. The money they 
 have so freely given to the poor and needy, is out at 
 an interest whose profits are beyond the power of 
 arithmetic to calculate. Their names are engraven 
 upon human hearts as with a pen of fire ; and to 
 them will the beatitude apply, " Blessed are the pure 
 in heart, for they shall see God."
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 SOJOURNER TRUTH. 
 
 7* 
 
 [The following interesting sketch came to hand after 
 this volume was printed, this will explain why it is given 
 in the form of an appendix.] 
 
 "BATTLE CREEK, MICH., APE. 14, 1863. 
 " OLIVER JOHNSON : 
 
 " Dear Friend, Permit me, through 
 the columns of The Standard, in behalf of Sojourner 
 Truth, whom your readers so well remember, to ac- 
 knowledge the receipt of the several donations from 
 her many generous friends, all of which have been 
 gratefully received by her. Printed words can never 
 convey such deep and heartfelt gratitude as she feels. 
 The donors needed but to have seen the expression of 
 her dark, care-worn face and heard her words of gen- 
 uine thankfulness, to have realized that indeed it is 
 ' more blessed to give than to receive.' 
 
 " As we opened the letters, one by one, and read 
 the words of sweet remembrance and kindness, she 
 was quite overcome with joy, and more than once 
 gave utterance to her feelings through her tears; 
 praising the Lord who had so soon answered her pray- 
 er, which was, in language from the depths of her soul, 
 as she sat weary and alone in her quiet little home : 
 
 321
 
 322 APPENDIX- 
 
 ' Lord, I'm too old to work I'm too sick to hold meet- 
 ings and speak to de people, and sell my books ; Lord, 
 yon sent de ravens to feed 'Lijah in de wilderness ; 
 now send de good angels to feed me while I live on 
 thy footstool.' 
 
 " No sooner had the appeal gone forth, than the an- 
 swers came from the East and West, accompanied 
 with material aid to supply her physical needs. Then 
 again she exclaimed, in words of deepest gratitude : 
 ' Lord, I knew dy laws was sure, but I did n't t'ink 
 dey would work so quick.' The words of friendship 
 and sympathy that filled every letter were a source of 
 great joy and consolation to her, and when the com- 
 forting message from Gerrit Smith came, saying, ' So- 
 journer, the God whom you so faithfully serve will 
 abundantly bless you, he will suffer you to lack noth- 
 ing either in body or soul,' she threw up her hands, 
 and, in her deep-toned voice, said : ' The Lord bless 
 the man ! his heart is as big as de nation, and if he 
 had'nt sent a penny, his words would feed my soul, 
 and dat is what we all want.' Then she mentioned 
 Samuel Hill, of Northampton, Mass., where she lived 
 15 years, saying that his noble, generous heart had 
 done a great deal for her. Ofttimes the full ec- 
 stasy of her soul would gush forth in all its original 
 vigor and freshness at the thought of her many 
 friends and their quick responses. She once said to 
 me : ' I tell you, chile, de Lord manages every- 
 thing ; you see when you wrote dat letter, you did n't 
 think you was doing much, but I tell you, dear lamb, 
 dat when a thing is done in de right spirit, God takes 
 it up and spreads it all over de country."
 
 APPENDIX. 323 
 
 " She wishes the friends to know that the ' little 
 curly-headed, jolly grandson,' whom Mrs. Stowe so 
 graphically describes, is now grown to a tall, able- 
 bodied lad, and has just enlisted in the 54th Massa- 
 chusetts Regiment ; gone forth with her prayers and 
 blessings, she says, ' to redeem de white people from 
 de curse dat God has sent upon them.' The glorious 
 news of old Massachusetts leading in the van for the 
 right of the colored man to fight, has just reached 
 here, and she seems at times to be filled with all the 
 fire and enthusiasm of her former years. She says if she 
 were only ten years younger, she would be ' on hand 
 as the Joan of Arc to lead de army of de Lord ; for 
 now is de day and now de hour for de colored man to 
 save dis nation ; for dere sin have been so great dat 
 dey don't know God, nor God don't know dem.' I 
 never heard her speak with greater force and power 
 than she did the other day when some friends called 
 to see her. She says this is all the way she has now 
 to preach. She often speaks of T. W. Higginson and 
 Frances D. Gage thinks ' dey are appointed of God 
 to fill de position dey have taken.' As I closed the 
 interview Sojourner called down many blessings on 
 all who had helped her to live, and ' do good in de 
 world.' 
 
 " I will give the names of the donors, so far as I 
 know them, and if any have sent whose names do 
 not appear, perhaps they will write, or they will yet 
 come to hand. 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 "PHEBE H. M. STICKNEY."
 
 324 APPENDIX. 
 
 NAMES OF DONORS. 
 
 JOSEPH A. DTJGDALE, Iowa. 
 
 RUTH DUGDALE, 
 
 SARAH B. DUGDALE, " 
 
 WILLIAM BARNARD, Chester Co. , Pa. 
 
 MARY L. BARNARD, 
 
 PHEBE HOUSE, 
 
 SARAH M. BARNARD, " 
 
 MARIA AGNEW, 
 
 HANNAH Cox, " 
 
 DINAH MENDENHALL, " 
 
 ELIZA AGNEW, 
 
 ISAAC PRICE, " " 
 
 SAMUEL HILL, Northampton, Mass. 
 
 H. B. STOWE, Andover, 
 
 GERRIT SMITH, Peterboro, N. Y. 
 
 S. P. TOWNSEND, New York. 
 
 A friend, " 
 
 Antislavery Standard.
 
 
 J& 
 
 University of California Library 
 Los Angeles 
 
 : on the last date stamped below. 
 
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