Page:Women of distinction.djvu/35



In 1761, when the inhabitants of Africa were stolen by cruel hands and brought to America, the "sweet land of liberty," and sold, as so many cattle, under the protection of the flag of this "land of the pilgrim's pride," among the cargo of this human freight that was put upon the market at Boston, Mass., was a collection of little children, one of whom was the afterwards famous Phillis Wheatley.

A lady of some prominence, Mrs. John Wheatley, desiring to purchase a bright little girl whom she might train for a suitable staff upon which to depend for service in old age, went to this market, and of all the many she saw none so attracted her admiration as a delicate, meek, intelligent-looking little girl about seven years old, whose nakedness was covered only by a piece of dirty carpet drawn about her loins. Mrs. Wheatley made the purchase with the intention of making a faithful domestic of her, but the wholesome effects of clothing, along with general cleanliness, were so marked that the good lady arranged at once to have her daughter give the girl such instruction as might appear necessary.