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174 soothing cup of tea made for them. He repeated his invitation to me, and said he would give me five hundred dollars a year to keep house for him and his daughters. I told him I would not take all he was worth in the world and keep house for him; he asked me my reason, which I was glad to give him. I said I yet retained my reasoning faculties and good feeling, and if I was there I might lose them, as I have generally seen, in slave States, all the people who came from free States, when they get slaves under them, lose all their better feelings. He gave in to me, and did not say anything more about my going as his housekeeper.

I continued on combing the ladies but was now very anxious for them to leave so I could get away from this place, where I have seen people as white as white could be and as black as black could get, put up and sold in this elegant hotel. On my going in I always went by the private door, and tried to come out in the same private manner, but it seemed, in spite of my feelings, some loadstone or electricity always drew me to the rotunda, where I daily saw people, both young and old, bought and sold. I have often wondered to myself how men can speak so much on the glorious cause of freedom and speak of this as the land of liberty, while they are daily and hourly trafficking in human beings, not only that but getting others from foreign lands to come here, which does very well in free states, but in slave states those poor laboring men are looked down on, even by the slaves themselves, with contempt, and when the least thing occurs, you will always hear them call them poor white folks. Do you think the slaves think themselves the inferior