Page:The White Slave, or Memoirs of a Fugitive.djvu/410

390 these cursed skinflint Boston kidnappers, mean opin-— ion as he had of Yankees generally, from what he had seen of them at the south, were quite mean enough for that, — but because that would be the most convenient way to dispose of them; for if allowed to retain their freedom, they might yet make trouble, especially if some unexpected duplicate of the will should ever happen to turn up.

As to Montgomery, indeed, it seemed that Mr Grip Curtis had a special grudge against him. In fact, as we afterwards heard, he had bought, immediately after his arrival at New Orleans, an immense cowhide, in order, when the young man was once in his power, and securely tied up, to take satisfactory revenge upon him for his State Street beating.

With respect to Eliza, it afterwards turned out, that the very respectable and pious Mr Gilmore had been so captivated at first sight by her personal charms and Boston accomplishments, as to have come at once to the conclusion to appropriate her and them to his own use, under pretence of ownership, and by the rights which the law gives a master. I say pious Mr Gilmore, for during a visit to New York some two or three years before, he had been converted to Unitarian Christianity by the preaching of that same eloquent Dr Dewey, whose patriotic zeal I have already had occasion to refer to; and he had since exerted himself with so much zeal to get up a Unitarian society at New Orleans, as to have acquired the nickname of the Deacon, by which he was generally known among his lighter-minded acquaintances.





Mr Colter’s suggestion, and in order to have the assistance of the law, if we could get any from that quarter, I proceeded with him to ask the advice of an eminent counsellor.