during many years of care, and frequently by hard
labour when
others were at rest, scraped together
about 200l. He lately made an offer
of all this
to his master for the freedom of his family; but
the
master absolutely refused to give him his liberty
on any condition,
alleging that he could not meet
not meet with another in whom he could so
confide.
The poor man had greatly flattered himself with
hopes, that considering his
time of life, being now
about 50 years old, a much smaller sum would
have
procured his liberty; and it would indeed have pur-
chased that
of almost any other slave in the neigh-
bourhood. On finding his master
inexorable, his
disappointment and distress were extreme, and, in
the
anguish of his heart, he determined to leave
his wife and children, and
take the first opportu-
nity of quitting the country for ever. However
he concluded first to call on E. W. who had
always been his friend and
adviser, to inform him
of his resolution. E. W. sympathized with him
in his affliction, but did not let that suffice; for he
went immediately to
the master, and used every
endeavour to prevail upon him to accept the
money offered, and, to grant the man and his
family their freedom. In order
to induce the mas-
ter's compliance, E. W. represented to him the
exceedingly ungenerous return he was making to
the poor man for his
fidelity and industry; as the
only plea urged by this unfeeling master, for his