"I am, sir," said your Uncle. "Do you often bridle your slaves in this
way, in these parts? I am seeking for information on the subject of
slavery."
"I shall be happy to give you any," said the gentleman. "I am here as a
magistrate."
"I am one at home," said my husband.
"One of these white men who led the negro," said the gentleman, "was
riding on horseback, and was attracted to a by-place by the screams of a
child, and found this black man attempting violence upon a black girl
ten years old. He knocked the fellow down and held him, and called for
help. A white man who came up took the bridle from the horse, to secure
the villain with it. They have with difficulty kept the negroes from
putting him to death."
"We are all ready, sir," said a sheriff to the gentleman.
"Will you walk into the hall?" said the magistrate to your Uncle.
But the stage-coach was waiting for him, and we were soon on our way.
Your Uncle was silent for nearly fifteen minutes, when he said,--
"What is that passage, Hattie, about answering a matter before you
understand it?"
I gave Hattie my Bible, and, after a while, she read:
"He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame
unto him.
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