An Autobiography

DEAR READER, I ask your attention to the contents of a book, that you may see and understand what the title-page intends to convey to your mind when it says, "Bond and Free." It is not my theoretical views upon any system or institution, --not a panegyric upon the advantages of freedom, or a denunciation of those who hold human beings in bondage. God, in His good Providence, would not permit such to be, without some great design was intended, nor does He sanction such as either lawful or right. I was born a slave, saw both the bright and the gloomy sides of the institution, suffered its bitter sorrows and enjoyed its enervating pleasures. Something better, however, was intended for me; and, although I was doomed to drink of the bitter waters of Marah, and to pass through the dark valley of its desolation, I have been allowed to come into the promised land, and to enjoy the milk and honey with which it abounds. But my mission is not yet finished. Three of my children are yet in the land, treading the wine-press and making bricks without straw. And as time rolls on, I see the oppressor's rod becoming heavier, and the shackles becoming tighter and tighter around them, and my heart yearns for them, and my prayers are often and earnest for their liberation. Many ways have suggested themselves to my mind by which they might become free; but my mind revolts at any course that may not be considered right, and of which my conscience does not approve. To go to their homes, and, under the plea of filial affection, instil into their minds a hatred of their masters, a disaffection to their homes and labor might be approved by many. But is it right? Would God approve of such hypocrisy in one whose mission is to preach peace and truth and submission to the powers that be. Besides, few know the danger, the suffering, or the peril of such a course until they have passed through its experiences. And I pray that my friends will never advise or urge such a plan while a better one remains open, and one which I think God has pointed out as the only just way. Again, I might, by hard labor in some mechanical occupation, gain, after many years, enough to buy their freedom; but I have chosen the better part, and am endeavoring to free men, to the best of my poor ability, from the thraldom of sin and misery; and should I have preferred the former plan, their hairs might become gray while I was trying, and I would gain but three bodies from earthly bondage, while I may be instrumental, through God's blessing and your aid, of doing the same and rescuing many from the bondage of Satan. Which would you have me to do? Or, again, I might traverse the land, and beg from charity and sympathy's purse the means by which they could be liberated; but methinks it would be given coldly, if not grudgingly, to so uncertain an object, and, in many instances, be denied altogether from a want of appreciation of my cause. All such thoughts and plans as these have occurred to my mind; but a voice within has said, not my will, "A higher and better way I point thee to;" and I have answered, "Thy servant prayeth, What wilt Thou have me to do, Lord?" And then came the thought, convincing, while it was consoling, "You have passed through the sea. You have trodden the wine-press, and you have enjoyed the promised land. Fiction has painted its scenes, interested parties have told their story, and partial observers have undertaken to give their opinions to the world. Cannot you, from experience, tell a tale which will place the truth uppermost, and enable both friends and the public to judge impartially of the great question of the age?" And I answered, "With Thy help, O Lord." This, then, gives the reason for the appearance of my little work, in which I have endeavored to present three reasons why I may ask for patronage and encouragement.