"How much, gentlemen, for this real Albino!--fit fancy-girl for any one!
She enjoys good health, and has a sweet temper. How much do you say?"
"Five hundred dollars."
"Only five hundred for such a girl as this? Gentlemen, she is worth a deal
more than that sum. You certainly do not know the value of the article
you are bidding on. Here, gentlemen, I hold in my hand a paper certifying
that she has a good moral character."
"Seven hundred."
"Ah, gentlemen, that is something life. This paper also states
that she is very intelligent."
"Eight hundred."
"She was first sprinkled, then immersed, and is now warranted
to be a devoted Christian, and perfectly trustworthy."
"Nine hundred dollars."
"Nine hundred and fifty."
"One thousand."
"Eleven hundred."
Here the bidding came to a dead stand. The auctioneer stopped, looked around,
and began in a rough manner to relate some anecdote connected with the sale
of slaves, which he said had come under his own observation.
At this juncture the scene was indeed a most striking one.
The laughing, joking, swearing, smoking, spitting, and talking,
kept up a continual hum and confusion among the crowd,
while the slave-girl stood with tearful eyes, looking alternately
at her mother and sister and toward the young man whom she
hoped would become her purchaser.
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