Uncle Tom's Cabin

a's

r pursuer. Haley therefore slowly and discontentedly returned to the little tavern, to ponder further what was to be done. The woman opened to him the door of a little parlor, covered with a rag carpet, where stood a table with a very shining black oil-cloth, sundry lank, high-backe

s I am, this yer way?" and Haley relieved himself by repeating over a not very select litany of imprecations on hims

voice of a man who was apparently dismount

w, to what I've heard folks call Providence,"

ld have no unapt idea of the general style and effect of his physique. He was accompanied by a travelling companion, in many respects an exact contrast to himself. He was short and slender, lithe and catlike in his motions, and had a peering, mousing expression about his keen black eyes, with which every feature of his face seemed sharpened into sympathy; his thin, long nose, ran out as if it was eager to bore into the nature of things in general; his sleek, thin, black hair was stuck eagerly forward, and all his motions and evolutions expressed a dry, cautious acuteness. Th

to me? Why, Loker, how are ye?" said Haley, comi

civil reply. "What br

d, poking his head forward, looked shrewdly on the new acquaintance, as a cat

thing in the world. I'm in a devil of

"A body may be pretty sure of that, when you're glad to see

aid Haley, looking doubtfully

here's that ar feller tha

aid Marks, thrusting out a long, thin hand,

up to a small matter of a treat in this here parlor. So, now, old coon," said he to the man at the ba

point in the grate, and our three worthies seated round a table, wel

nding a tumbler of punch to his own peculiar taste, occasionally looked up from his employment, and, poking his sharp nose and chin almost into Haley's face, gave the most earnest heed to t

up, an't ye?" he said; "he! h

akes lots of trouble in the t

said Marks; "tell ye, I think 't would be 'bout the greatest mod'rn improvem

e would think, now, they'd be glad to get clar on 'em; but they arn't. And the more trouble a

a crooked back, or something or other; and I jest gin 't away to a man that thought he'd take his chance raising on 't, being it didn't cost nothin';-never thought, yer know, of the gal's takin' on about it,-but, Lord, yer oughter seen how she went on. Why, re'lly, she did seem to

rn't no harm in my jest passing him along, and not sayin' nothin'; and I'd got him nicely swapped off for a keg o' whiskey; but come to get him away from the gal, she was jest like a tiger. So 't was before we started, and I hadn't got my gang chained up; so what should she

ries with ill-repressed disgust,-"shif'less, both on

you help it?" sa

e beginning of a word.' I says to 'em, 'This yer young un's mine, and not yourn, and you've no kind o' business with it. I'm going to sell it, first chance; mind, you don't cut up none o' yer shines about it, or I'll make ye wish ye'd n

n't Tom peculiar? he! he! I say, Tom, I s'pect you make 'em understand, for all niggers' heads is woolly. They don't

y, and began to look as affable as was consisten

el a sensible elevation and enlargement of his moral faculties,-a phenomenon not u

wn in Natchez, and I used to prove to ye that we made full as much, and was as well off for this yer world, by treatin' on 'em well, besi

sick with any yer stuff,-my stomach is a leetle ri

't everything, and money an't everything, 'cause we 's all got souls. I don't care, now, who hears me say it,-and I think a cussed sight on it,-so I may as well come out with it. I b'lieve in religion, and one of the

ookout to find a soul in you,-save yourself any care on that score

"why can't ye take it pleasant, now, w

you? 'Tan't that you care one bit more, or have a bit more feelin'-it's clean, sheer, dog meanness, wanting to cheat the devil and save your own skin; don't I see through it? And

is a very nice man, no doubt, and has his own conscience; and, Tom, you have your ways, and very good ones, too, Tom; but quarrelling, you

's Shelby's; it's only the boy. I

ly a fool!" sai

Mr. Haley 's a puttin' us in a way of a good job, I reckon; just hold still-thes

up. I'd a gin Shelby eight hundred or

"Look here, now, Loker, a beautiful opening. We'll do a business here on our own account;-we does the catch

tion, now suddenly snapped it together, as a big dog closes on a

y, I'm Mr. Twickem, from New Orleans; 'nother day, I'm just come from my plantation on Pearl River, where I works seven hundred niggers; then, again, I come out a distant relation of Henry Clay, or some old cock in Kentuck. Talents is different, you know. Now, Tom's roarer when there's any thumping or fighting to be done; but at lying he an't good, Tom an't,-ye see it don't come natural to him; but, Lord, if thar's a feller

s and movements, here interrupted Marks by bringing his heavy fist d

eak all the glasses!" said Marks;

o come in for a share of

the boy for ye?" said L

job, it's worth something,-say ten pe

hin' trade, jest to 'commodate gentlemen like you, and get nothin' for ourselves?-Not by a long chalk! we'll have the gal out and out, and you keep quiet, or, ye see, we'll have both,-what's to h

ey, alarmed; "you catch the boy for the job;-you alle

lling ways, but I won't lie in my 'counts with the devil hims

if you'd only promise to have the boy for me in a

u, down in Natchez, for nothing, Haley; I've learned to hold an eel, when I catch him. You

lean profit of somewhere about a thousand or sixteen

ns, and finally doesn't catch the gal,-and gals allers is the devil to catch,-what's then? would you pay us a cent-would you? I think I see you a doin'

fee, you see,-he! he! he!-we lawyers, you know. Wal, we must all keep good-natured,-k

on to Cincinnati, and leave him at Grann

ence, he sat down, and fixing his keen black eyes on it, began mumbling over its co

x hundred dollars; wench Polly and two

yer handily. Loker," he said, after a pause, "we must set Adams and

rge too much

cases, 'cause all you've got to do is to shoot 'em, or swear they is shot; they couldn't, of course, charge much for that. Them other cases," he sa

,-plain as

' on her up the b

sure,

took in somewhere; but where, 's

river tonight, no

id Marks. "The ice is running a

t,-only it's got to be do

be-I say," he said, walking to the window

ve got to go. Suppose you want to lie by a day or two, till the gal 's be

grain afraid," sa

hat?" s

boat. Yer see the

is evening, and that a man was going to cross over i

ve got good do

what's the use? you han't got

. "Here's her shawl she left on the bed

ky," said Loke

age the gal, if they come

ur dogs tore a feller half to pieces, once,

to be sold for their looks, that a

e yer up states where these critters gets carried; of course, ye can't get on their track. They only doe

t to the bar to make some inquiries, "they

e to obey. After exchanging a few words of further arrangement, Haley, with visible reluc

tching business, we beg to remind them, is rising to the dignity of a lawful and patriotic profession. If all the broad land between the Mississippi and the Pacific becomes o

avern, Sam and Andy, in a state of hig

then, with a whoop and a somerset, come right side up in his place again, and, drawing on a grave face, begin to lecture Andy in high-sounding tones for laughing and playing the fool. Anon, slapping his sides with his arms, he would burst forth in peals of laughte

u, Sam? Whe

' at the tavern; he's dr

Eliza

Jordan. As a body may sa

lby, breathless, and almost faint, as the p

gone over the river into 'Hio, as 'markably as if de L

vent in his mistress' presence; and he made g

ell your mistress what she wants. Come, come, Emily," said he, passing his arm ro

e we not both responsible to God for this poor

ourself that we have only d

lt about it, though," said Mrs.

h; "take these yer hosses to der barn; don't ye hear Mas'r a call

w the matter was," said Mr. Shel

e. She crossed most 'markably; it wasn't no less nor a miracle; and I s

this miracle. Crossing on floating ice

out nuff to raise the dead. Course Lizy she hars, and she dodges back, when Mas'r Haley he goes past the door; and then, I tell ye, she clared out de side door; she went down de river bank;-Mas'r Haley he seed her, and yelled out, and him, and me, and Andy, we took arter. Down she come to the river, and thar was the current running ten feet wide by the shore, and over t' other side ice a sawin' and a jiggling up and down

ilent, pale with excitement

dead!" she said; "but whe

instruments ris up to do de Lord's will. Now, if 't hadn't been for me today, she'd a been took a dozen times. Warn't it I started off de hosses, dis yer mornin' and kept 'em chasin' til

aster Sam. I allow no such practices with gentlemen on my place," said Mr.

state of the case, through all attempts to affect the contrary; and Sam was in no wise disheartened by this rebuke, t

such works. I'm sensible of dat ar; but a poor nigger like me 's 'mazin' tempted to act ugly sometimes, when fellers will cut u

your errors, you may go now and tell Aunt Chloe she may get you some of

us," said Sam, making his bow

tal out of everything that turned up, to be invested for his own especial praise and glory; and having done up his piety and humility, as he trusted, to the satisfaction of the parlor

Sam to himself, "now I've got a chance. L

among the various brethren of his own color, assembled on the same errand, he would edify and delight them with the most ludicrous burlesques and imitations, all delivered with the most imperturbable earnestness and solemnity; and though the auditors immediately about him were generally of hi

ciliatory; for he well knew that although "Missis' orders" would undoubtedly be followed to the letter, yet he should gain a considerable deal by enlisting the spirit also. He therefore appeared before Aunt Chloe with a touchingly subdued, resigned expression, like one who has suffered immeasurable hardships

helmed with more maternal bountifulness; and he soon found himself seated, happy and glorious, over a large tin pan, containing a sort of olla podrida of all that had appeared on the table for two or three days past. Savory morsels of ham, golden blocks of corn-cake, fr

n its effect; for Sam, like some of our fashionable dilettanti, never allowed a story to lose any of its gilding by passing through his hands. Roars of laughter attended the narration, and were taken up and prolonged by all the smaller fry, who were lying, in any quantity, about on the f

et one o' our people is as good as tryin' to get all; yer see the principle 's de same,-dat ar's clar. And any one o' these yer drivers that comes smelling round arter any our people

that you'd help this yer Mas'r to cotch Lizy; see

alkin' 'bout what yer don't know nothin' on; boys like you, Andy, means wel

te, which most of the youngerly members of the company seeme

use fellers allers gets more by stickin' to Missis' side,-so yer see I 's persistent either way, and sticks up to conscience, and holds on to principles. Yes, principles," said Sam,

his words with open mouth,

t, de contrar de next, folks ses (and nat'rally enough dey ses), why he an't persistent,-hand me dat ar bit o' corn-cake, Andy. But let's look inter it. I hope the gen'lmen and der fair sex will scuse my usin' an or'nary sort o' 'parison. Here! I'm a trying to

Chloe, who was getting rather restive; the merriment of the evening being

'em,-they 's perquisite to dese yer times, and ter all times. I has principles, and I sticks to 'em like forty,-jest anything that I thinks is principle, I goes in to 't;-I wouldn't

e time tonight, and not be a keepin' everybody up till mornin'; now, every one of

s palm-leaf with benignity, "I give yer my

tic benediction, the