Двенадцать лет рабства
Chapter 6
Therewasnothingrepulsiveinhispresence;butontheotherhand,therewassomethingcheerfulandattractiveinhisface,andinhistoneofvoice. Thefinerelementswereallkindlymingledinhisbreast,asanyonecouldsee. Hemovedaboutamongus,askingmanyquestions,astowhatwecoulddo,andwhatlaborwehadbeenaccustomedto;ifwethoughtwewouldliketolivewithhim,andwouldbegoodboysifhewouldbuyus,andotherinterrogatoriesoflikecharacter.
Aftersomefurtherinspection,andconversationtouchingprices,hefinallyofferedFreemanonethousanddollarsforme,ninehundredforHarry,andsevenhundredforEliza. Whetherthesmall-poxhaddepreciatedourvalue,orfromwhatcauseFreemanhadconcludedtofallfivehundreddollarsfromthepriceIwasbeforeheldat,Icannotsay. Atanyrate,afteralittleshrewdreflection,heannouncedhisacceptanceoftheoffer.
AssoonasElizaheardit,shewasinanagonyagain. Bythistimeshehadbecomehaggardandhollow-eyedwithsicknessandwithsorrow. ItwouldbeareliefifIcouldconsistentlypassoverinsilencethescenethatnowensued. Itrecallsmemoriesmoremournfulandaffectingthananylanguagecanportray. Ihaveseenmotherskissingforthelasttimethefacesoftheirdeadoffspring; Ihaveseenthemlookingdownintothegrave,astheearthfellwithadullsoundupontheircoffins,hidingthemfromtheireyesforever; butneverhaveIseensuchanexhibitionofintense,unmeasured,andunboundedgrief,aswhenElizawaspartedfromherchild.
