Uncle Tom's cabin / Хижина дяди Тома. Книга для чтения на английском языке

So he had recourse to the usual means of gaining time for such cases made and provided; he said “ahem,” and coughed several times, took out his pocket-handkerchief, and began to wipe his glasses. Mrs. Bird, seeing the defenceless condition of the enemy’s territory, had no more conscience than to push her advantage.

“I should like to see you doing that, John – I really should! Turning a woman out of doors in a snow-storm, for instance; or, may be you’d take her up and put her in jail, would n’t you? You would make a great hand at that!”

“Of course, it would be a very painful duty,” began Mr.

“Duty, John! don’t use that word! You know it is n’t a duty – it can’t be a duty! If folks want to keep their slaves from running away, let ’em treat ’em well, – that’s my doctrine. If I had slaves (as I hope I never shall have), I’d risk their wanting to run away from me, or you either, John. I tell you folks don’t run away when they are happy; and when they do run, poor creatures! they suffer enough with cold and hunger and fear, without everybody’s turning against them; and, law or no law, I never will, so help me God!”

“Mary! Mary! My dear, let me reason with you.

“I hate reasoning, John, – especially reasoning on such subjects. There’s a way you political folks have of coming round and round a plain right thing; and you don’t believe in it yourselves, when it comes to practice.

At this critical juncture, old Cudjoe, the black man-of-all-work, put his head in at the door, and wished �Missis would come into the kitchen;’ and our senator, tolerably relieved, looked after his little wife with a whimsical mixture of amusement and vexation, and, seating himself in the arm-chair, began to read the papers.

After a moment, his wife’s voice was heard at the door, in a quick, earnest tone, – “John! John! I do wish you’d come here, a moment.”

He laid down his paper, and went into the kitchen, and started, quite amazed at the sight that presented itself: – A young and slender woman, with garments torn and frozen, with one shoe gone, and the stocking torn away from the cut and bleeding foot, was laid back in a deadly swoon upon two chairs.