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MAY, 1861.     DOUGLASS'S MONTHLY.     457
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habeas corpus.  He would hear what the other party had to say. 

The minister showed me some trifling favors in the way of affording me some bodily comforts, which I declined.  They both seemed much perplexed, and to do these gentlemen justice, I believe they were heartily ashamed of the whole transaction.  Mr. Northrop offered his services as my counsel.  He seemed convinced that what I said was entirely true; but they were talking of revolution, and legal proceedings would be of little account, so I was convinced that I need not expect anything but to remain a long time in jail, I did not know how long.

I then wrote to Mayor Wood, of New York, knowing he had much influence with the Charleston people; I related the facts substantially as I have done here, praying him to make my case known to the Governor.  I received his answer directed to the care of Mayor Macbeth; the following is the exact copy:

'MAYOR'S OFFICE, NEW YORK, Oct. 23.

'MRS. BOTTSFORD--Madame: I have received your letter of the 15th inst., stating that you are now in prison in Charleston on the charge of uttering dangerous and seditious sentiments; that you are held to bail in a considerable amount for your good behavior, and that you are unable to find assistance.

'I sympathise with your forlorn and desolate condition; a widow, in prison, and friendless; but cannot paliate the offence you have committed.

'You have offended against the peace and good order of the community where you were sojourning, and where you were obtaining employment which you found profitable.  It was inconsistent for you to go thither if such were your feelings.  If to cherish hate even in the inmost thoughts, is not according to the strict rule of morality, how heinous must be the crime of uttering words, that might become weapons fatal to the peace and quiet of the land where you are entertained and protected?

'But my object is not to blame, but, if possible, to do you a favor.  I therefore counsel you to review your past conduct with calmness.  Do not suffer your judgment to be warped by the false and dangerous doctrines of evil men; learn your errors; acknowledge them in a spirit of contrition before the authorities of Charleston, and I am convinced they will consider your needs, your widowhood and inexperience, and on receiving satisfactory assurance that you will depart from the State, the laws of which you have violated, they will release you.

'No other power can aid you in the distress you have brought upon yourself, and you must rely solely on the mercy of those who administer the laws you have broken, and the generosity of the people you have injured.

FERNANDO WOOD, MAYOR.'

My astonishment only equalled my indignation on reading this absurd letter.  If the State seal had not been engraved on the paper I should have pronounced it a forgery.  I could not believe a Mayor of New York could stoop to insult a helpless woman and uphold such villainous acts.

The weather was now getting colder, and the prison grew more and more dreary.  There was to be an execution in the jail-yard and the gallows was built and a negro hung just below my window.  The sights and sounds around the place I cannot describe.

I asked my counsel and the sheriff what they pretended they were keeping me there for; their foolish charges were of no consequence whatever; nothing could be construed into a crime except tampering with slaves; was there any one they could name that had ever seen or heard me talking to the slaves?  No, they could not say that they had heard of any that would hold themselves responsible for such a statement.  Before long I received a letter saying that I had permission to leave in the next steamer bound for New York, and that if I was willing to leave, a carriage would be sent for me, and my passage paid.  Of course I was not sorry to leave Charleston; a close carriage was sent to the jail, and a vigilant policeman to take care of me; there was a great commotion around the steamer; they were sending back 60 poor Irish laborers that had come out in the steamer and had not been allowed to land; they had no provisions for their return voyage; the Minute Men, with
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terrible oaths, were threatening to cut their throats, if they dared put a foot on shore.

My attendant helped me aboard the ship, gave me my ticket,and turned away, as if in haste to leave.  At a glance I saw I was booked for the deck passage with the sixty Irishmen.  The Mayor was so kind as to pay for us all $3 a head.  I ran after the man--'Here, Sir,' said I, 'take this ticket back, I am not going on deck.'  He said I should not leave the ship; I would be obliged to go as the Mayor ordered.  I called for the captain, who came round and civilly heard what I had to say.  He said he would send a messenger and propose some arrangement with the Mayor.  I said I should never reach New York alive; I could not endure the cold and exposure; and hoped he would refuse to take me.  'I will go back to jail again and wait until my friends send for me.'  Soon the man returned, consulted a moment with the captain, and said to me, 'You must go as you are ordered; the Mayor will not pay your passage in the cabin.'  I indignantly answered, 'I have not asked him to pay for my passage, or anything else.  I want no favors from him; I shall go on shore; my friends will come for me.'  I was making my way off the steamer, when the captain stopped me and offered me comfortable accommodations in the cabin if I was willing to leave Charleston, which offer I very gladly accepted.  It is to Capt. Berry of the steamer Columbia, that I am indebted for my safe arrival in New York the last of November. 

I trust I shall be able to cancel the debt of gratitude I owe to Mayor MacBeth and his worthy colleagues.  I was safely protected in jail, for as long as they dared to keep me, although I was the most 'audacious and defiant criminal' they had ever dealt with.--Others had been tarred and feathered, whipped and hung, while they asserted their entire innocence of all Abolitionsism; yet I was released, sent away, and $3 was paid for my passage.  If I have not returned formal thanks for all these favors, I have by no means forgotten them.

CATHERINE BOTTSFORD,
No. 157 Hudson street, New York.

THREE MONTHS IN PRISON FOR HAVING YOUR OWN OPINION.

The Cincinatti Gazette relates the experience of Arthur Robinson in New Orleans, who was recently expelled from that city for entertaining views not favorable to slavery.--He resided in New Orleans seven years, and published the  True Witness, an Old School Presbyterian paper, but never inserted in his journal an article expressive of anti-slavery sentiments, although he was strongly opposed to slavery himself.  He was a member of the Y. M. Christian Association, and when that city was devastated by yellow fever, he was one of the most prominent in affording relief to the suffering.  After Lincoln's election, a list of the names of residents hostile to slavery was made up at a secession meeting.  He being among the number, spies were set upon his track, and means most cowardly and lawless were resorted to, to collect evidence against him.  He was arrested on the 29th of November, and taken before the Mayor; his house was searched, and among other things found was a copy of 'Barnes's Scriptural Views of Slavery,' a scrap-book full of antislavery extracts, and a number of copies of the Liberator.   These proofs were enough for the Mayor, who committed him to jail.  During his incarceration, the jailer frequently said that he would give 'the d--d Abolitionist' up to any mob of ten men who should call for him and agree to lynch him.  The Grand Jury found 'a true bill' against him.  While in jail he received information that his liberty could be purchased from the keeper for $250.  He was taken before the Criminal Court on the 11th of March, but it was then discovered that the ignorance of the 'Grand Jurors' had been more than a match for this intended villainy.  The indictment charged that the incendiary documents had been found in Robinson's house on the 1st of December, whereas the prisoner was in jail on that day, and had been committed because of the discovery of the books.  This flaw in the indictment
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procured his release, on condition of his leaving the city within twenty-four hours.  He accordingly left for Cincinnati, having been confined in the New Orleans jail one hundred and three days.

A NEW HAMPSHIRE MAN'S EXPERIENCE.

Wm. H. Turner of Manchester, N. H., an engineer and machinist, had for four years been in the habit of spending his winters on the plantation of Woodworth & Son, at Clintonville, S.C., about seventeen miles from Charleston.  Previous to the election of Lincoln, in reply to a question of one of his fellow workmen, he said that if he had the casting vote he would give it for Mr. Lincoln.--About two weeks after the election, he was visited at the plantation by a Vigilance Committee, arrested, and taken to the Charleston jail, and locked up.  As he passed through the streets, the bystanders hissed, hooted, and assailed him with threats of hanging, tar, and whipping, following him to the jail, and there collecting in a large mob, clamoring for his life, and threatening to kill the jailer if the prisoner was not given up.  During the night Mr. Turner suffered from hunger, but more actually from thirst, and in the morning, upon asking the Sheriff for a drink of water, he was told to 'Go to h--l, and get water if you want it.'  Some hours later, the turnkey was asked for water, but the reply was, 'Send down East and get it.'  He was taken before the 'Vigilant Committee Tribunal' in the afternoon, and asked whether he had said what was charged against him.  He replied in the affirmative.  Judge Jeffers then tore up the original warrant, saying that another Court must take cognizance of the case, and ordered the prisoner back to jail, using the foulest language, and declaring that he ought to be hanged.  He passed that night, and every day and night of his imprisonment, in his hole, a miserable apartment, 27 inches high, and about eight feet long, without a shred of bedding.  The next morning, thirty-six hours after he was first taken, a small bit of hard black bread and a pint of impure water was put into the cell, and this was the allowance he had each day during his confinement.--On the morning of the 11th of March--more than fourteen weeks after his arrest--he was allowed to depart in the steamer, working his passage to New York.  His employer cheated him out of his wages--some $248--and a watchmaker kept his watch and chain, which he had left to have repaired before his arrest.  Mr. Turner will hereafter probably spend his winters in the North.

THE PENALTY FOR BEING REPUBLICANS.

The bark Julia E. Aery, commanded by Capt. E. W. Ryder, and his son as second mate, arrived at New York on Saturday, the 6th ult.  On the 5th of last November, the bark arrived at Camden Co., Ga., with an assorted cargo for the Encero Mills, and commenced discharging their freight.  During the day, a negro belonging to Dr. Nichols visited the vessel twice, once offering for sale some oars, and on the second occasion taking away with him some clothes to wash, only being on the bark a few minutes at each time, and indulging in such conversation as related to the errands he was upon.  In the evening five white men came on board, and alleged that the negro was secreted in the hold; but on a search being made, no negro was found, he being on shore all the time.  The men left, charged the captain with being an Abolitionist, and threatened to come back the next day to make it 'all right.'  The following night fifteen of the ruffians again came on board, while the captain and mate were on shore, and ransacked the vessel from top to bottom, destroying some valuable instruments.  The ruffians than left and commenced questioning a number of negroes who had been engaged in unloading the Aery, as to what conversation they had had with the captain and his son.  As the negroes denied having talked with them at all, six of them were stripped and whipped most unmercifully in order to make them confess, and during the flaying they doubtless told any story to get freed from further
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