A Master is he and Apprentices they,
And what he commands it is theirs to obey.
But if from the cradle till laid in the grave,
You claim the relation of Master and Slave,
And stretch your dominion, by heirship or gold,
O'er men who as cattle are driven and sold,
Consider, I pray you, the end of the strife,
When called to account by the Master of Life.
Is the distinction without a difference? An Apprentice is indentured by his own consent. The term of service is limited and specified. There is a covenant that he shall be sent to school. He has legal redress in case of maltreatment or neglect. He cannot be branded with a hot iron. If he absconds, he cannot be hunted with dogs, nor advertised for, dead or alive. He cannot be sold. At twenty-one he is a freeman. Are these the marks of the condition of a Slave?