Uncle Crisp.


“BLESS the Lord, O my soul, I can read his

Word!" cried Uncle Crisp. "I'se coming

by out de Egypt into the promised land."

Uncle Crisp was still a slave; but his mistress,

rightly seeing that the time of his freedom was

near, put into his hand that mighty tool of 

freedom, reading. And she taught Tom, and Bess,

 and Judy. The mistress was brought up in a 

slave country, and believed slavery necessary to

 take care of the poor blacks.

Finding out that the biggest part of the Christian

world thought otherwise, she began to think. Had

she a right to all Crisp's time and his work, and

 his hands, and his feet, and his muscles, and his

 brain, and his wife, and his children? Had not 

Crisp some right to himself? Was not the faithful

 servant worthy of his hire? Had not he as well 

as she a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of 

happiness?

Was she really obeying the simple Christian law

 of doing as she would be done by? For that law 

settles the justice of a good many things. And

 she thought very seriously about the matter 

when she allowed herself to think at all. But 

could Crisp take care of himself ? "Crisp," she 

said one day, "can you take care of yourself 

free?" "Bress you, missis, when de Lord takes

 folks out of the bondage of sin, he does not ask

 dem dat. He pulls dem right out, and lets dem

 try it."