I
Poor old Uncle Tom has been stripped of everything. All that he counted
precious has vanished. He has been torn away from the old Kentucky home;
has been snatched away from the arms of old Aunt Chloe; has been sold
away from children and kindred; and has fallen into the merciless hands
of that vicious slave-dealer, Simon Legree. And now Uncle Tom is dying.
He lies in the dusty shed, his back all torn and lacerated by the cruel
thongs. All through the night there steal to his side the other slaves
on the plantation, poor creatures who creep in to see the last of him,
to bathe his wounds, to ask his pardon, or to kneel in prayer beside his
tortured frame. With the morning light comes George Shelby, his old
master, to redeem him.
'Is it possible, is it possible?' he exclaims, kneeling down by the old
slave. 'Uncle Tom, my poor, poor old friend!'
But Uncle Tom is too far gone. He only murmurs faintly to himself:
Jesus can make a dying bed
Feel soft as downy pillows are.
'You shan't die; you mustn't die, nor think of it! I've come to buy you
and take you home!' cries George, with impetuous vehemence.
'Oh, Mas'r George, ye're too late. The Lord's bought me and is going to
take me home--and I long to go. Heaven is better than old Kentucky!'
At this moment the sudden flush of strength which the joy of meeting his
young master had infused into the dying man gives way. A sudden sinking
falls upon him; he closes his eyes; and that mysterious and sublime
change passes over his face that suggests the approach of other worlds.
He begins to draw his breath with long, deep inspirations, and his broad
chest rises and falls heavily. The expression of his face is that of a
conqueror.
'_Who_,' he murmurs, '_who--who--who shall separate us from the love of
Christ?_' And, with that unanswerable challenge upon his quivering lips,
he falls into his last long sleep. Severed from all that is dear to him,
there is yet One heart from which nothing can separate him. And in that
indissoluble tie he finds strong consolation at the last.