The men on guard poured forth a volley of threats and curses.  One of them sprang forward in great fury, seized Johnson by the collar, and swore by his Maker that he should not leave the room till the constables arrived.  Friend Hopper stepped up to him, and said, “Release that man immediately! or thou wilt be made to repent of thy conduct.”  The ruffian quailed under the influence of that calm bold manner, and after some slight altercation let go his grasp.

Johnson followed his protector in a state of intense anxiety concerning his wife and children.  But they had been conveyed to a place of safety, and the man-hunters never afterward discovered their retreat.

PIERCE BUTLER’S BEN.

In August, 1804, a colored man about thirty-six years old waited upon the committee of the Abolition Society, and stated that he was born a slave to Pierce Butler, Esq., of South Carolina, and had always lived in his family.  During the last eleven years, he had resided most of the time in Pennsylvania.  Mr. Butler now proposed taking him to Georgia; but he was very unwilling to leave his wife, she being in delicate health and needing his support.  After mature consideration of the case, the committee, believing Ben was legally entitled to freedom, agreed to apply to Judge Inskeep for a writ of habeas corpus; and Isaac T. Hopper was sent to serve it upon Pierce Butler, Esq., at his house in Chestnut-street.

Being told that Mr. Butler was at dinner, he said he would wait in the hall until it suited his convenience to attend to him.  Mr. Butler was a tall, lordly looking man, somewhat imperious in his manners, as slaveholders are wont to be.  When he came into the hall after dinner, Friend Hopper gave him a nod of recognition, and said, “How art thou, Pierce Butler?  I have here a writ of habeas corpus for thy Ben.”

Mr. Butler glanced over the paper, and exclaimed, “Get out of my house, you scoundrel!”

Feigning not to hear him, Friend Hopper looked round at the pictures and rich furniture, and said with a smile, “Why, thou livest like a nabob here!”

“Get out of my house, I say!” repeated Mr. Butler, stamping violently.

“This paper on the walls is the handsomest I ever saw,” continued Isaac.  “Is it French, or English?  It surely cannot have been manufactured in this country.”  Talking thus, and looking leisurely about him as he went, he moved deliberately toward the door; the slaveholder railing at him furiously all the while.

“I am a citizen of South Carolina,” said he.  “The laws of Pennsylvania have nothing to do with me.  May the devil take all those who come between masters and their slaves; interfering with what is none of their business.”  Supposing that his troublesome guest was deaf, he put his head close to his ear, and roared out his maledictions in stentorian tones.

Friend Hopper appeared unconscious of all this.  When he reached the threshold, he turned round and said, “Farewell.  We shall expect to see thee at Judge Inskeep’s.”