d every thing that transpired, having any relation to the subject of
slavery. I was all ears, all eyes, whenever the words _slave, slavery_,
dropped from the lips of any white person, and the occasions were not
unfrequent when these words became leading ones, in high, social debate,
at our house. Every little while, I could hear Master Hugh, or some
of his company, speaking with much warmth and excitement about
_"abolitionists."_ Of _who_ or _what_ these were, I was totally
ignorant. I found, however, that whatever they might be, they were most
cordially hated and soundly abused by slaveholders, of every grade. I
very soon discovered, too, that slavery was, in some{128} sort, under
consideration, whenever the abolitionists were alluded to. This made the
term a very interesting one to me. If a slave, for instance, had made
good his escape from slavery, it was generally alleged, that he had been
persuaded and assisted by the abolitionists. If, also, a slave killed
his master--as was sometimes the case--or struck down his overseer, or
set fire to his master's dwelling, or committed any violence or crime,
out of the common way, it was certain to be said, that such a crime was
the legitimate fruits of the abolition movement. Hearing such charges
often repeated, I, naturally enough, received the impression that
abolition--whatever else it might be--could not be unfriendly to the
slave, nor very friendly to the slaveholder. I therefore set about
finding out, if possible, _who_ and _what_ the abolitionists were,
and _why_ they were so obnoxious to the slaveholders. The dictionary
afforded me very little help. It taught me that abolition was the "act
of abolishing;" but it left me in ignorance at the very point where
I most wanted information--and that was, as to the _thing_ to be
abolished. A city newspaper, the _Baltimore American_, gave me the
incendiary information denied me by the dictionary. In its columns I
found, that, on a certain day, a vast number of petitions and memorials
had been presented to congress, praying for the abolition of slavery
in the District of Columbia, and for the abolition of the slave trade
between the states of the Union. This was enough. The vindictive
bitterness, the marked caution, the studied reverse, and the cumbrous
ambiguity, practiced by our white folks, when alluding to this subject,
was now fully explained. Ever, after that, when I heard the words
"abolition," or "abolition movement," ment