happen in a Southern community that excited so many and such varied
emotions as the escape of a slave from bondage: terror and revenge,
hope and fear, mingled with the images of the pursued and the pursuers,
with speculation in regard to the capture of the fugitive, and with
prayers for his success in the minds of the slaves. . . .

From now on his quick and comprehending mind saw and suffered things
that formerly never affected him. The hard and sometimes cruel
discipline, toil from sunrise to sunset, scant food, the stifling of
ambitions--all these began now to be perceived and felt, and the
impression they left sank into the soul of this rebellious boy. He saw
a slave killed by an overseer, on no other charge than that of being
"impudent." "Crimes" of this nature were committed, as far as he could
see, with impunity, and the memory of them haunted him by day and by
night.

Thus far Douglass had not felt the overseer's whip. He was too small
for anything except to run errands and to do light chores. Of course,
he had been cuffed about by Aunt Katy; he says he seldom got enough to
eat, and he suffered continually from cold, since his entire wardrobe
consisted of a tow sack. . . .

When Fred became nine years old the most important event in his life
occurred. His master determined to send him to Baltimore to live with
Hugh Auld, a brother of Thomas Auld. Baltimore at this time was little
more than a name to young Douglass. When he reached the residence of
Mr. and Mrs. Auld and felt the difference between the plantation cabin
and this city home, it was to him, for a time, like living in Paradise.
Mrs. Auld is described as a lady of great kindness of heart, and of a
gentle disposition. She at once took a tender interest in the little