?Why, Eva, child, don?t you think they are well enough off now?? ?O, but, papa, if anything should happen to you, what would become of them? There are very few men like you, papaUncle Alfred isn?t like you, and mamma isn?t; and then, think of poor old Prue?s owners! What horrid things people do, and can do!? and Eva shuddered ?My dear child, you are too sensitiveI?m sorry I ever let you hear such stories ?O, that?s what troubles me, papaYou want me to live so happy, and never to have any pain,?never suffer anything,?not even hear a sad story, when other poor creatures have nothing but pain and sorrow, an their lives;?it seems selfishI ought to know such things, I ought to feel about them! Such things always sunk into my heart; they went down deep; I?ve thought and thought about themPapa, isn?t there any way to have all slaves made free?? ?That?s a difficult question, dearestThere?s no doubt that this way is a very bad one; a great many people think so; I do myself I heartily wish that there were not a slave in the land; but, then, I don?t know what is to be done about it!? ?Papa, you are such a good man, and so noble, and kind, and you always have a way of saying things that is so pleasant, couldn?t you go all round and try to persuade people to do right about this? When I am dead, papa, then you will think of me, and do it for my sakeI would do it, if I could ?When you are dead, Eva,? said St?O, child, don?t talk to me so! You are all I have on earth ?Poor old Prue?s child was all that she had,?and yet she had to hear it crying, and she couldn?t help it! Papa, these poor creatures love their children as much as you do meO! do something for them! There?s poor Mammy loves her children; I?ve seen her cry when she talked about themAnd Tom loves his children; and it?s dreadful, papa, that such things are happening, all the time!? ?There, there, darling,? said StClare, soothingly; ?only don?t distress yourself, don?t talk of dying, and I will do anything you wish ?And promise me, dear father, that Tom shall have his freedom as soon as??she stopped, and said, in a hesitating tone??I am gone!? ?Yes, dear, I will do anything in the world,?anything you could ask me to ?Dear papa,? said the child, laying her burning cheek against his, ?how I wish we could go together!? ?Where, dearest?? said St ?To our Saviour?s home; it?s so sweet and peaceful there?it is all so loving there!? The child spoke unconsciously, as of a place where she had often been?Don?t you want to go, papa?? she saidClare drew her closer to him, but was silent ?You will come to me,? said the child, speaking in a voice of calm certainty which she often used unconsciously ?I shall come after youI shall not forget you The shadows of the solemn evening closed round them deeper and deeper, as StClare sat silently holding the little frail form to his bosomHe saw no more the deep eyes, but the voice came over him as a spirit voice, and, as in a sort of judgment vision, his whole past life rose in a moment before his eyes: his mother?s prayers and hymns; his own early yearnings and aspirings for good; and, between them and this hour, years of worldliness and scepticism, and what man calls respectable livingWe can think much, very much, in a momentClare saw and felt many things, but spoke nothing; and, as it grew darker, he took his child to her bed-room; and, when she was prepared for rest; he sent away the attendants, and rocked her in his arms, and sung to her till she was asleep Chapter 25 The Little Evangelist It was Sunday afternoonClare was stretched on a bamboo lounge in the verandah, solacing himself with a cigarMarie lay reclined on a sofa, opposite the window opening on the verandah, closely secluded, under an awning of transparent gauze, from the outrages of the mosquitos, and languidly holding in her hand an elegantly bound prayer-bookShe was holding it because it was Sunday, and she imagined she had been reading it,?though, in fact, she had been only taking a succession of short naps, with it open in her hand Miss Ophelia, who, after some rummaging, had hunted up a small Methodist meeting within riding distance, had gone out, with Tom as driver, to attend it; and Eva had accompanied them ?I say, Augustine,? said Marie after dozing a while, ?I must send to the city after my old Doctor Posey; I?m sure I?ve got the complaint of the heart ?Well; why need you send for him? This doctor that attends Eva seems skilful ?I would not trust him in a critical case,? said Marie; ?and I think I may say mine is becoming so! I?ve been thinking of it, these two or three nights past; I have such distressing pains, and such strange feelings ?O, Marie, you are blue; I don?t believe it?s heart complaint ?I dare say you don?t,? said Marie; ?I was prepared to expect thatYou can be alarmed enough, if Eva coughs, or has the least thing the matter with her; but you never think of shop me

?And promise me, dear father, that Tom shall have his freedom as soon as??she stopped, and said, in a hesitating tone??I am gone!? ?Yes, dear, I will do anything in the world,?anything you could ask me to ?Dear papa,? said the child, laying her burning cheek against his, ?how I wish we could go together!? ?Where, dearest?? said St ?To our Saviour?s home; it?s so sweet and peaceful there?it is all so loving there!? The child spoke unconsciously, as of a place where she had often been?Don?t you want to go, papa?? she saidClare drew her closer to him, but was silent ?You will come to me,? said the child, speaking in a voice of calm certainty which she often used unconsciously ?I shall come after youI shall not forget you The shadows of the solemn evening closed round them deeper and deeper, as StClare sat silently holding the little frail form to his bosomHe saw no more the deep eyes, but the voice came over him as a spirit voice, and, as in a sort of judgment vision, his whole past life rose in a moment before his eyes: his mother?s prayers and hymns; his own early yearnings and aspirings for good; and, between them and this hour, years of worldliness and scepticism, and what man calls respectable livingWe can think much, very much, in a momentClare saw and felt many things, but spoke nothing; and, as it grew darker, he took his child to her bed-room; and, when she was prepared for rest; he sent away the attendants, and rocked her in his arms, and sung to her till she was asleep Chapter 25 The Little Evangelist It was Sunday afternoonClare was stretched on a bamboo lounge in the verandah, solacing himself with a cigarMarie lay reclined on a sofa, opposite the window opening on the verandah, closely secluded, under an awning of transparent gauze, from the outrages of the mosquitos, and languidly holding in her hand an elegantly bound prayer-bookShe was holding it because it was Sunday, and she imagined she had been reading it,?though, in fact, she had been only taking a succession of short naps, with it open in her hand Miss Ophelia, who, after some rummaging, had hunted up a small Methodist meeting within riding distance, had gone out, with Tom as driver, to attend it; and Eva had accompanied them ?I say, Augustine,? said Marie after dozing a while, ?I must send to the city after my old Doctor Posey; I?m sure I?ve got the complaint of the heart ?Well; why need you send for him? This doctor that attends Eva seems skilful ?I would not trust him in a critical case,? said Marie; ?and I think I may say mine is becoming so! I?ve been thinking of it, these two or three nights past; I have such distressing pains, and such strange feelings ?O, Marie, you are blue; I don?t believe it?s heart complaint ?I dare say you don?t,? said Marie; ?I was prepared to expect thatYou can be alarmed enough, if Eva coughs, or has the least thing the matter with her; but you never think of me ?If it?s particularly agreeable to you to have heart disease, why, I?ll try and maintain you have it,? said StClare; ?I didn?t know it was ?Well, I only hope you won?t be sorry for this, when it?s too late!? said Marie; ?but, believe it or not, my distress about Eva, and the exertions I have made with that dear child, have developed what I have long suspected What the exertions were which Marie referred to, it would have been difficult to stateClare quietly made this commentary to himself, and went on smoking, like a hard-hearted wretch of a man as he was, till a carriage drove up before the verandah, and Eva and Miss Ophelia alighted Miss Ophelia marched straight to her own chamber, to put away her bonnet and shawl, as was always her manner, before she spoke a word on any subject; while Eva came, at St: Clare?s call, and was sitting on his knee, giving him an account of the services they had heard They soon heard loud exclamations from Miss Ophelia?s room, which, like the one in which they were sitting, opened on to the verandah and violent reproof addressed to somebody ?What new witchcraft has Tops been brewing?? asked St?That commotion is of her raising, I?ll be bound!? And, in a moment after, Miss Ophelia, in high indignation, came dragging the culprit along ?Come out here, now!? she said?I will tell your master!? ?What?s the case now?? asked Augustine ?The case is, that I cannot be plagued with this child, any longer! It?s past all bearing; flesh and blood cannot endure it! Here, I locked her up, and gave her a hymn to study; and what does she do, but spy out where I put my key, and has gone to my bureau, and got a bonnet-trimming, and cut it all to pieces to make dolls?jackets! I never saw anything like it, in my life!? ?I told you, Cousin,? said Marie, ?that you?d find out that these creatures can?t be brought up without severityIf I had my way, now,? she said, looking reproachfully at StClare, ?I?d send that child out, and have her thoroughly whipped; I?d have her whipped till she couldn?t stand!? ?I don?t doubt it,? said St?Tell me of the lovely rule of woman! I never saw above a dozen women that wouldn?t half kill a horse, or a servant, either, if they had their own way with them!?let alone a man ?There is no use in this shilly-shally way of yours, shop St

Friend John, you come with me home, for I have much to consult you about, and you can help meTonight I leave for Amsterdam, but shall return tomorrow nightAnd then begins our great questBut first I shall have much to say, so that you may know what to do and to dreadThen our promise shall be made to each other anewFor there is a terrible task before us, and once our feet are on the ploughshare we must not draw back CHAPTER 17 DRSEWARD'S DIARY--cont When we arrived at the Berkely Hotel, Van Helsing found a telegram waiting for him "Am coming up by train The Professor was delighted"Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina," he said, "pearl among women! She arrive, but I cannot stayShe must go to your house, friend JohnYou must meet her at the stationTelegraph her en route so that she may be prepared When the wire was dispatched he had a cup of teaOver it he told me of a diary kept by Jonathan Harker when abroad, and gave me a typewritten copy of it, as also of MrsHarker's diary at Whitby"Take these," he said, "and study them wellWhen I have returned you will be master of all the facts, and we can then better enter on our inquisitionKeep them safe, for there is in them much of treasureYou will need all your faith, even you who have had such an experience as that of todayWhat is here told," he laid his hand heavily and gravely on the packet of papers as he spoke, "may be the beginning of the end to you and me and many another, or it may sound the knell of the UnDead who walk the earthRead all, I pray you, with the open mind, and if you can add in any way to the story here told do so, for it is all importantYou have kept a diary of all these so strange things, is it not so? Yes! Then we shall go through all these together when we meet He then made ready for his departure and shortly drove off to Liverpool StreetI took my way to Paddington, where I arrived about fifteen minutes before the train came in The crowd melted away, after the bustling fashion common to arrival platforms, and I was beginning to feel uneasy, lest I might miss my guest, when a sweet-faced, dainty looking girl stepped up to me, and after a quick glance said, "DrSeward, is it not?" "And you are MrsHarker!" I answered at once, whereupon she held out her hand "I knew you from the description of poor dear Lucy, but?" She stopped suddenly, and a quick blush overspread her face The blush that rose to my own cheeks somehow set us both at ease, for it was a tacit answer to her ownI got her luggage, which included a typewriter, and we took the Underground to Fenchurch Street, after I had sent a wire to my housekeeper to have a sitting room and a bedroom prepared at once for Mrs In due time we arrivedShe knew, of course, that the place was a lunatic asylum, but I could see that she was unable to repress a shudder when we entered She told me that, if she might, she would come presently to my study, as she had much to saySo here I am finishing my entry in my phonograph diary whilst I await herAs yet I have not had the chance of looking at the papers which Van Helsing left with me, though they lie open before meI must get her interested in something, so that I may have an opportunity of reading themShe does not know how precious time is, or what a task we have in shop hand

Them stupid ones, as doesn?t care whar they go, and shifless, drunken ones, as don?t care for nothin?, they?ll stick by, and like as not be rather pleased to be toted round; but these yer prime fellers, they hates it like sinNo way but to fetter ?em; got legs,?they?ll use ?em,?no mistake ?Well,? said the smith, feeling among his tools, ?them plantations down thar, stranger, an?t jest the place a Kentuck nigger wants to go to; they dies thar tol?able fast, don?t they?? ?Wal, yes, tol?able fast, ther dying is; what with the ?climating and one thing and another, they dies so as to keep the market up pretty brisk,? said Haley ?Wal, now, a feller can?t help thinkin? it?s a mighty pity to have a nice, quiet, likely feller, as good un as Tom is, go down to be fairly ground up on one of them ar sugar plantations ?Wal, he?s got a fa?r chanceI promised to do well by himI?ll get him in house-servant in some good old family, and then, if he stands the fever and ?climating, he?ll have a berth good as any nigger ought ter ask for ?He leaves his wife and chil?en up here, s?pose?? ?Yes; but he?ll get another tharLord, thar?s women enough everywhar,? said Haley Tom was sitting very mournfully on the outside of the shop while this conversation was going onSuddenly he heard the quick, short click of a horse?s hoof behind him; and, before he could fairly awake from his surprise, young Master George sprang into the wagon, threw his arms tumultuously round his neck, and was sobbing and scolding with energy ?I declare, it?s real mean! I don?t care what they say, any of ?em! It?s a nasty, mean shame! If I was a man, they shouldn?t do it,?they should not, so!? said George, with a kind of subdued howl ?O! Mas?r George! this does me good!? said Tom?I couldn?t bar to go off without seein? ye! It does me real good, ye can?t tell!? Here Tom made some movement of his feet, and George?s eye fell on the fetters ?What a shame!? he exclaimed, lifting his hands?I?ll knock that old fellow down?I will!? ?No you won?t, Mas?r George; and you must not talk so loudIt won?t help me any, to anger him ?Well, I won?t, then, for your sake; but only to think of it?isn?t it a shame? They never sent for me, nor sent me any word, and, if it hadn?t been for Tom Lincon, I shouldn?t have heard itI tell you, I blew ?em up well, all of ?em, at home!? ?That ar wasn?t right, I?m ?feard, Mas?r George ?Can?t help it! I say it?s a shame! Look here, Uncle Tom,? said he, turning his back to the shop, and speaking in a mysterious tone, ?I?ve brought you my dollar!? ?O! I couldn?t think o? takin? on ?t, Mas?r George, no ways in the world!? said Tom, quite moved ?But you shall take it!? said George; ?look here?I told Aunt Chloe I?d do it, and she advised me just to make a hole in it, and put a string through, so you could hang it round your neck, and keep it out of sight; else this mean scamp would take it awayI tell ye, Tom, I want to blow him up! it would do me good!? ?No, don?t Mas?r George, for it won?t do me any good ?Well, I won?t, for your sake,? said George, busily tying his dollar round Tom?s neck; ?but there, now, button your coat tight over it, and keep it, and remember, every time you see it, that I?ll come down after you, and bring you backAunt Chloe and I have been talking about itI told her not to fear; I?ll see to it, and I?ll tease father?s life out, if he don?t do it ?O! Mas?r George, ye mustn?t talk so ?bout yer father!? ?Lor, Uncle Tom, I don?t mean anything bad ?And now, Mas?r George,? said Tom, ?ye must be a good boy; ?member how many hearts is sot on yeAl?ays keep close to yer motherDon?t be gettin? into any of them foolish ways boys has of gettin? too big to mind their mothersTell ye what, Mas?r George, the Lord gives good many things twice over; but he don?t give ye a mother but onceYe?ll never see sich another woman, Mas?r George, if ye live to be a hundred years oldSo, now, you hold on to her, and grow up, and be a comfort to her, thar?s my own good boy,?you will now, won?t ye?? ?Yes, I will, Uncle Tom,? said George seriously ?And be careful of yer speaking, Mas?r GeorgeYoung boys, when they comes to your age, is wilful, sometimes?it is natur they should beBut real gentlemen, such as I hopes you?ll be, never lets fall on words that isn?t ?spectful to thar parentsYe an?t ?fended, Mas?r George?? ?No, indeed, Uncle Tom; you always did give me good advice ?I?s older, ye know,? said Tom, stroking the boy?s fine, curly head with his large, strong hand, but speaking in a voice as tender as a woman?s, ?and I sees all that?s bound up in youO, Mas?r George, you has everything,?l?arnin?, privileges, readin?, writin?,?and you?ll grow up to be a great, learned, good man and all the people on the place and your mother and father?ll be so proud on ye! Be a good Mas?r, like yer father; and be a Christian, like yer mother?Member yer Creator in the days o? yer youth, Mas?r George ?I?ll be real good, Uncle Tom, I tell you,? said shop George

If we did not give them liberty, they would take it ?And what do you think will be the end of this?? said Miss OpheliaOne thing is certain,?that there is a mustering among the masses, the world over; and there is a dies irae coming on, sooner or laterThe same thing is working in Europe, in England, and in this countryMy mother used to tell me of a millennium that was coming, when Christ should reign, and all men should be free and happyAnd she taught me, when I was a boy, to pray, ?thy kingdom come Sometimes I think all this sighing, and groaning, and stirring among the dry bones foretells what she used to tell me was comingBut who may abide the day of His appearing?? ?Augustine, sometimes I think you are not far from the kingdom,? said Miss Ophelia, laying down her knitting, and looking anxiously at her cousin ?Thank you for your good opinion, but it?s up and down with me,?up to heaven?s gate in theory, down in earth?s dust in practiceBut there?s the teabell,?do let?s go,?and don?t say, now, I haven?t had one downright serious talk, for once in my life At table, Marie alluded to the incident of Prue?I suppose you?ll think, cousin,? she said, ?that we are all barbarians ?I think that?s a barbarous thing,? said Miss Ophelia, ?but I don?t think you are all barbarians ?Well, now,? said Marie, ?I know it?s impossible to get along with some of these creaturesThey are so bad they ought not to liveI don?t feel a particle of sympathy for such casesIf they?d only behave themselves, it would not happen ?But, mamma,? said Eva, ?the poor creature was unhappy; that?s what made her drink ?O, fiddlestick! as if that were any excuse! I?m unhappy, very oftenI presume,? she said, pensively, ?that I?ve had greater trials than ever she hadIt?s just because they are so badThere?s some of them that you cannot break in by any kind of severityI remember father had a man that was so lazy he would run away just to get rid of work, and lie round in the swamps, stealing and doing all sorts of horrid thingsThat man was caught and whipped, time and again, and it never did him any good; and the last time he crawled off, though he couldn?t but just go, and died in the swampThere was no sort of reason for it, for father?s hands were always treated kindly ?I broke a fellow in, once,? said StClare, ?that all the overseers and masters had tried their hands on in vain ?You!? said Marie; ?well, I?d be glad to know when you ever did anything of the sort ?Well, he was a powerful, gigantic fellow,?a native-born African; and he appeared to have the rude instinct of freedom in him to an uncommon degreeHe was a regular African lionThey called him ScipioNobody could do anything with him; and he was sold round from overseer to overseer, till at last Alfred bought him, because he thought he could manage himWell, one day he knocked down the overseer, and was fairly off into the swampsI was on a visit to Alf?s plantation, for it was after we had dissolved partnershipAlfred was greatly exasperated; but I told him that it was his own fault, and laid him any wager that I could break the man; and finally it was agreed that, if I caught him, I should have him to experiment onSo they mustered out a party of some six or seven, with guns and dogs, for the huntPeople, you know, can get up as much enthusiasm in hunting a man as a deer, if it is only customary; in fact, I got a little excited myself, though I had only put in as a sort of mediator, in case he was caught ?Well, the dogs bayed and howled, and we rode and scampered, and finally we started himHe ran and bounded like a buck, and kept us well in the rear for some time; but at last he got caught in an impenetrable thicket of cane; then he turned to bay, and I tell you he fought the dogs right gallantlyHe dashed them to right and left, and actually killed three of them with only his naked fists, when a shot from a gun brought him down, and he fell, wounded and bleeding, almost at my shop feet