he came in possession of Mrs. Fannie Berry's estate, and
that he often saw the child in the care of its reputed mother, Polly,
and to his best knowledge and belief, he thought Lucy A. Berry was
Polly's own child."

Mr. Douglas and Mr. MacKeon corroborated Judge Wash's statement. After
the evidence from both sides was all in, Mr. Mitchell's lawyer, Thomas
Hutchinson, commenced to plead. For one hour, he talked so bitterly
against me and against my being in possession of my liberty that I was
trembling, as if with ague, for I certainly thought everybody must
believe him; indeed I almost believed the dreadful things he said,
myself, and as I listened I closed my eyes with sickening dread, for I
could just see myself floating down the river, and my heart-throbs
seemed to be the throbs of the mighty engine which propelled me from
my mother and freedom forever!

Oh! what a relief it was to me when he finally finished his harangue
and resumed his seat! As I never heard anyone plead before, I was very
much alarmed, although I knew in my heart that every word he uttered
was a lie! Yet, how was I to make people believe? It seemed a puzzling
question!

Judge Bates arose, and his soulful eloquence and earnest pleading made
such an impression on my sore heart, I listened with renewed hope. I
felt the black storm clouds of doubt and despair were fading away, and
that I was drifting into the safe harbor of the realms of truth. I
felt as if everybody _must_ believe _him_, for he clung to the truth,
and I wondered how Mr. Hutchinson could so lie about a poor
defenseless girl like me.

Judge Bates chained his hearers with the graphic history of my
mother's life, from the time she played on Illinois banks, through her
trials in slavery, her separation from her husband, her efforts to
become free, her voluntary return to slavery for the sake of her
child, Lucy, and her subsequent efforts in securing her own freedom.
All these incidents he lingered over step by step, and concluding, he
said:

"Gentlemen of the jury, I am a slave-holder myself, but,
thanks to the Almighty God, I am above the base principle of
holding anybody a slave that has as good right to her freedom
as this girl has been proven to have; she was free before she
was born; her mother was free, but kidnapped in her youth,
and sacrificed to the greed of negro traders, and no free
woman can give birth to a slave child, as it is in direct