So held my eyes I could not see The righteousness of slavery, So blind was I, I could not see The ripe fruit hang on wisdom’s tree; But groping round its roots did range, Murmuring ever, strange, oh strange
That one handful of dust should dare Enslave another God had made, From his own home and kindred tear, And scourge, and fetter, steal and trade. If ’twas because they were less wise Than our wise race, why not arise, And with pretext of buying teas, Lay in full cargoes of Chinese. Let Fee Fo Fum, and Eng, and Chen, Grow wise by contact with wise men; If weakness made the traffic right, Why not arise in manhood’s might, And bind old grandmothers with gyves, And weakly children, and sick wives.
If ’twas the dark hue of their face, Then why not free our noble race Forever from all homely men? With manly zeal, and outstretched hand, Pass like a whirlwind o’er the land. Let squint eyed, pug-nosed women be Only a thing of memory. Though some mistakes would happen then, For many bond servants there are, Fair faced, blue eyed, with silken hair. How sweet, how pleasant to be sold For notes in hand, or solid gold, To benefit a brother Both children of one father, With each a different mother. One mother fair and richly clothed, One worn with toil and vain despair Down sunken to a life she loathed; Both children with proud saxon blood, In one breast mixed with tropic flame, One, heir to rank and broad estates And one, without even a name.
Jest as he arrived to this crysis in the poem, Mr. Gansey came out into the aunty room, and told me he was ready to take my picture. The Editer seein’ he was obleeged to stop readin’ told me, he would come down to our house a visitin’ in sugarin’ time, and finish readin’ the poetry to me. I ketched holt of my principles to stiddy ’em, for I see they was a totterin’ and says to him with outward calmness,
He said he would. I then told Mr. Gansey I was ready for the picture. I believe there haint nothin’ that will take the expression out of anybody’s eyes, like havin’ poetry read for a hour and a half, unless it is to have your head screwed back into a pair of tongs, and be told to look at nothin’ and wink at it as much as you are a mind to. Under both of these circumstances, it didn’t suprise me a mite that one of my eyes was took blind. But as Mr. Gansey said as he looked admirin’ly on it, with the exception of that one blind eye, it was a perfect and strikin’ picture. I paid him his dollar and started off home, and I hope now that Josiah and the children will be satisfied.