AS the time approached for the Doctor to receive an answer to his letter to Hicks & Son, in the regular course of mail, he became very anxious; and in about fifteen days from the date of his, he received the following:

  "Sir:

   "Your communication has been received, and its contents noted. Your proposal fills us with astonishment, and was indeed calculated to excite our risibility, at a proposition coming North to enlist our sympathy in behalf of Southern property. Why, sir, you could not have foreseen the injurious consequences of such a proposition to the South itself! it is calculated to destroy Northern confidence in Southern responsibility. Your wealth consists in slave property, and, in our dealings with the South, credit is given you upon the availability of that sort of property, in enforcing our contracts. Now, if a call is to be made upon our humanity, to arrest the progress of those measures which we resort to for the recovery of our claims, we must either disregard the call, or we must cease to deal with the South altogether. Our attorney, Mr. Squashum, has his instructions, and will proceed in this matter in a manner most beneficial to the interest of his clients. Your obedient servants,

"HICKS & SON."

  The Doctor felt much chagrin and mortification at reading this letter; having made a determination (as soon as he found out he would have to pay this debt) never to become security again for any one, he felt himself therefore precluded from asking a favour of any friend which he could not reciprocate; and determined to make no effort for procuring the money from the banks, or any other like source. He saw that the sale of some of his negroes was inevitable, and determined that the sale (when it was made) should not be a voluntary and private one, but should be forced by execution.

  The winters and springs in this region of country being cold and dreary, the roads unfavourable for country visiting, the incidents of that of 1849-'50 are consequently few, and not worth relating. The reader is informed that Mr. Squashum attended the June court, obtained a judgment against Dr. Boswell upon the protested draft, and made his memorandum for the clerk to issue an execution as soon as the court should rise.

  As the circumstance of his indebtedness for her brother could no longer be concealed from Mrs. Boswell, the Doctor made to her the communication; she was much distressed, and wept bitterly; after her grief had somewhat subsided, the Doctor proposed that she should assist him in selecting such negroes for sale as would produce the least possible severance of natural ties. Four young unmarried men, and as many unmarried young women, were selected, as sufficient to raise the amount of the execution. The sheriff came in a few days, and informed the Doctor that he was not authorized by law to levy his execution on slaves, if there was other personal property sufficient to pay the debt, unless he instructed him to do so. The instructions were given, and the slaves left in the Doctor's possession until the day of sale. After the sheriff was gone, Uncle Robin came to the house to see his master.

  "Masser," said he, "I understands dat a moughty 'stressin' thing gwine take place here 'mong us, sir."

  "Yes, Robin; a security debt has come against me from Boston, and I shall have to sell at least eight young negro men and women. It has already caused me great sorrow of heart, and I don't know how I can bear it when the time comes for them to be sold."

  "Masser, when trouble an' sorrow does com' 'pun us, sir, we mus' pray de Lord to 'nable us to b'ar it, an' be thankful too, masser, dat 'tis no wus wid us den 'tis. Der's one thing, masser, I can't see into; dese people from 'way back North, hears folks say dat you's a rich man, 'case you got heap o' slaves, an' dey comes here to git you in der debt, an', arter a while, dey sells you slaves to make der money, an' den dey turn roun' an' 'buse you, and says de Lord gwine punish you for habin' slaves. Now, masser, dat ane right, to force 'pun you dis thing, an' den make you bear all de blame on it."

  "It certainly is not right, Robin, for them to do so."

  "Masser, Robin sometimes use to take pun heself to 'vise you pa 'bout things, an' he hopes you'll scuse him for speakin' he mind to you, sir. As dis thing dun com' pun you, masser, de bes' way is not to take on too much, but to do de bes' you kin to git out o' dis trouble, an' try neber to git into anoder like it. De wise man in de bible say, 'He dat is surety for stranger, shill smart for it; an' he dat hates suretyship is sure.'"

  "Robin, your advice is certainly very good, and I will try to follow it."

  "Masser, der's one thing I wan' you to try an' do, sir."

  "What's that, Robin?"

  "When dese gals an' boys is sold, sir, I wan' you to try an' keep 'em from goin' to de soul drivers, to be car'd to Orleens. I bin hear 'em say, sir, dat when dey gits 'em to Orleens, dey cars 'em to a great big wa'rhouse, where de folks from de Red country round Orleens comes to buy niggers, an' dat dem folks beat de deble an' all he imps for badness, sir. Dey tells me, sir, dat dey wucks hard

  "Why, Robin, you are not blockhead enough to believe that, I hope?"

  "Masser, 'tis moughty hard to believe, sir, but dey tells me it come moughty straight, sir, from people who bin dar an' see it."

  "Robin, those are lies raised by people who never were within a thousand miles of New Orleans, for the purpose of making money."

  "Masser, you don' say so, sir; why dem people sartinly don' read der Bible. De Proverb say, 'De gittin' of treasure by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to an' fro of dem dat seek death.' Masser, der's one nother thing dey bin tell me 'bout dat Red country, which I couldn't b'lieve 'fore you tell me 'twas all lie. I hearn 'em say, sir, dat de only chance niggers have dar to run away from dar massers, is to make der massers b'lieve dat der great-hous' is haunted; dey says, sir, dat white folks dar, and der blood houn' too, mighty fraid o' ghosts, and when dey git frightened dey don' care any mo' bout niggers, sir, an' dey gits off. Now, masser, what make me know 'twasn't true, was, dat I knowd white folks got too much sense to be 'fraid o' ghosts, an' none but woolly-head niggers, sir, 'fraid o' dem things."

  "Well, Robin, you are right there, white people would be much more apt to impose ghost-stories upon negroes, than negroes upon white people; but, as I said before, it's all false from beginning to end."

  The day of sale at length arrived. The Doctor carried the negroes to the Court House, and delivered them to the sheriff. The crowd was unusually large; each individual seemed to be acquainted with all the circumstances under which the sale was to be made; the sympathy for the Doctor and his negroes was great; there was a general agreement that no one would bid for them; even Mr. Bosher declared that he would not bid. One of the men was put upon the block, and was cried a long time without a bid; at length there was one of five hundred dollars, at which he was proclaimed to be sold to Mr. Melchezedek Squashum.

  "That's the way you squashes them, is it, Mr. Melkeesidic?" cried old Mr. Frazer, who was half seas over, as the saying is in Virginia.

  There was a gentleman in that crowd from the county of Augusta, whose name was Banks, who had come down to purchase negroes for his own use. He and Dr. Boswell met in the crowd.

  "Why, John," said he to the Doctor, "is this you, my old college friend, and are these your negroes they are selling? I had no idea of it. John, it reminds me of old William and Mary to see you. But why are you selling your negroes, John?"

  The Doctor told him the circumstances.

  "Well, sir, not another shall be sold. I have the money; you shall have the amount of the execution, and we will get back the negro that has been sold."

  "My friend," said the Doctor, "you are very kind, but I fear you will put yourself to great inconvenience to wait until I can make the money."

  "Never mind that," said Mr. Banks; "pay me in two years, and that will answer my purpose." He then turned to Mr. Squashum, and told him that he would pay the amount of the execution for Dr. Boswell, and that the Doctor could take back home all his negroes.

  "Not too fast, sir, not too fast; I've bought one of them; a great bargain, great bargain, sir; can't give him up for less than six hundred dollars."

  "I don't wish to have many words with you, Mr. Squash; I will give you five hundred and fifty."

  "Well, sir, it's a bargain, it's a bargain."

  The execution was settled, the fifty dollars extra paid Mr. Squashum, and the Doctor and Mr. Banks took their leave for Selma.

  A few days after the sale, the nuptials of the Rev. Mr. Grattan and Miss Evelina Preble were witnessed at the Cottage, by Dr. and Mrs. Boswell, Mr. and Mrs. George Preble, and the old gentleman.

  Our narrative closes about the time when quiet and tranquillity was restored to the South by the passage of the Compromise Acts. Mr. Bosher said to Dr. Boswell, that "He must now seek some other employment, as he could no longer grab runaway negroes flying."

THE END.