Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. THE DEPARTURE. THE sudden bustle of the final getting-ready stirred up the household. The family partings were made between Mrs. Delaney and her son. Very sad and bitter they were ; but the old lady knew it was best for Thomas, and so she gave him her blessing and was resigned. Then "young massa" went out and shook hands with all the people, every one of whom loved him, for he had been kind to all of them. He gave them some trifling gratuities, and told them to behave themselves first-rate till he came back. Then, last of all, he looked for his old nurse Chloe, who was at the door of her cabin, and shook hands with her, and promised to take good care of Archie, and to fetch him back some day to see her. He gave her a new calico gown, for which she "thanked him kindly." In fact, she had no hard feelings towards him. He was only doing what he had a right to do ; and " mebby it's the best thing for the boy; and de good Lord, he knows best what's good for all on us." She seemed to feel very much as Mrs. Delaney did, though of course no one would have ventured to make so absurd a comparison between a slave woman and her lady mistress. But there she stood; and, when her young master turned away, the tears were running down her cheeks. As for Archie, boylike, he was full of excitement. He ran up to kiss his mammy, told her he was going to ride " Shirley," the old master's favorite horse, and Master Thomas was to ride " Major," and they were most ready to start. She tried to look pleased, but the tears kept coming. " Well, go way, chile ; come back to see de ole place ef you kin. Mebby you'll fine me here." She sat down on the stoop, and he was off in a minute on a run. A Mother's Love. Forty-eight years after that day, Archer himself told me of it. He was t...