How strong was that poor mother's love! She had toiled all the way from Mobile to the county where her children lived, and the laws of a Christian country consigned her to the jail! Perhaps, in her loneliness, she remembered some oral instruction like this (Jones's "Catechism," pp. 125,126):
"Q. Should mothers and fathers very tenderly love their children?—A. Yes.
Q. And, as they receive their children from the Lord, is it not their duty and privilege to present them unto the Lord in his own appointed ordinance, and to train them up for his church and service?—A. Yes....
Q. What should they teach them to do every night and morning?—A. Pray to God.
Q. What book should parents early make their children acquainted with, and out of which diligently instruct them?—A. The Holy Bible.
Q. Is it the duty of parents to pray with and for their children continually?—A. Yes.
· · · · · ·
Q. Is it their duty to warn their children of bad company, and keep them out of it?—A. Yes."
Poor slave-mother! very tenderly indeed did you love your children. But, in your agony, you forgot that it was wicked to run away,—even for the sake of teaching them to pray night and morning! How thankful, then, ought you to be to God, that, in his great mercy, he was willing to punish your transgression in this world, instead of the next!
We never so deeply feel the brutalizing effects of slavery as when we reflect upon its peculiarly degrading influences upon woman. On some accounts, we would gladly pass over this point in silence; but so atrocious a wrong should rest upon the heart of every one.