But this gentleman on whose plantation I attended the meeting was not a Deacon nor a professor of religion.  He was not afraid of a few old Christian slaves rising up to kill their master because he allowed them to worship God on the Sabbath day.

We had a very good meeting, although our exercises were not conducted in accordance with an enlightened Christianity; for we had no Bible—­no intelligent leader—­but a conscience, prompted by our own reason, constrained us to worship God the Creator of all things.

When I returned home from meeting I told the other slaves what a good time we had at our meeting, and requested them to go with me to meeting there on the next Sabbath.  As no slave was allowed to go from the plantation on a visit without a written pass from his master, on the next Sabbath several of us went to the Deacon, to get permission to attend that prayer meeting; but he refused to let any go.  I thought I would slip off and attend the meeting and get back before he would miss me, and would not know that I had been to the meeting.

When I returned home from the meeting as I approached the house I saw Malinda, standing out at the fence looking in the direction in which I was expected to return.  She hailed my approach, not with joy, but with grief.  She was weeping under great distress of mind, but it was hard for me to extort from her the reason why she wept.  She finally informed me that her master had found out that I had violated his law, and I should suffer the penalty, which was five hundred lashes, on my naked back.

I asked her how he knew that I had gone?

She said I had not long been gone before he called for me and I was not to be found.  He then sent the overseer on horseback to the place where we were to meet to see if I was there.  But when the overseer got to the place, the meeting was over and I had gone back home, but had gone a nearer route through the woods and the overseer happened not to meet me.  He heard that I had been there and hurried back home before me and told the Deacon, who ordered him to take me on the next morning, strip off my clothes, drive down four stakes in the ground and fasten my limbs to them; then strike me five hundred lashes for going to the prayer meeting.  This was what distressed my poor companion.  She thought it was more than I could bear, and that it would be the death of me.  I concluded then to run away—­but she thought they would catch me with the blood hounds by their taking my track.  But to avoid them I thought I would ride off on one of the Deacon’s mules.  She thought if I did, they would sell me.

“No matter, I will try it,” said I, “let the consequences be what they may.  The matter can be no worse than it now is.”  So I tackled up the Deacon’s best mule with his saddle, &c., and started that night and went off eight or ten miles from home.  But I found the mule to be rather troublesome, and was like to betray me by braying, especially when he would see cattle, horses, or any thing of the kind in the woods.