Part 2

We soon reached the Mayor’s Court, and were seated until his honor was ready for an examination. Many spectators were present to witness the wonderful sight of a sudden descent upon a negro school. I had a casual acquaintance with his honor, Mayor Stubbs, as I had been before reported to him for an act of humanity to a helpless and worthy little woman and her two infant children. I had been made acquainted with her sufferings and miserable situation, and, from time to time, for two years, I had bestowed upon her many acts of kindness and sympathy, as cordially as though she had been my own sister. She had a drunken and worthless husband, who, when in a state of inebriation, was very violent and brutal to her, and who would often leave her for weeks at a time, without a cent, and almost in a state of starvation. At those emergencies she would subsist solely on what she received from my bounty. Finally, her young child, about one year old, was taken very ill. She was a kind and affectionate mother, and grieved much for her little boy. I endeavored to obtain assistance for her in the humane and benevolent city of Norfolk, but in vain. I alone clung to her to the last. She resided at some distance from my house. Her child lay for some weeks in a very critical condition, and I could not do as much for her as I desired to do. At this time her husband was away on one of his drunken carousals in the city, and not even the sufferings of his dying child could soften his brutal heart. I finally concluded to take her and her children into my own house, and made the proposition to her, which she received with much gratitude, and readily assented to. By my advice she soon had her little chattels gathered together and sent them to an auctioneer. The room was soon emptied, and, with her two sick children, she hastened to my house, where, with our united attentions, we succeeded in raising the little sufferer to health. The facts in this case having been reported to Mayor Stubbs, he called in person to see me, and proved himself to be a good man, as he afterwards was a merciful judge. I relate this little circumstance merely to show my first acquaintance with this gentleman.

It was about a year after this occurrence when I entered his court-room with my little school, in obedience to his somewhat pressing invitation, and attended by his two officers as a guard of honor.

I felt certain that he was a man who desired peace in his community, as well as one disposed to temper justice with mercy to all. In about fifteen minutes we were called before him, and the children arranged on one side of the room. He greeted me very cordially with a “Good morning, Mrs. Douglass.” I politely returned his salutation, when he remarked that I had quite a large family. I said yes, and that they were all very good children. “But, are you aware,” he inquired, “that it is a violation of the law of this State to instruct colored children to read?” I replied, that I had not been aware of the existing law until that morning; that these were all free children, and that every one before him was a member of the Christ’s Church Sunday-school; that this school was held at the lecture-room on Freemason street, where primers and other books were given to them to learn to read; and that, if I had violated the law, they had been doing so for years. The Mayor replied that such facts had never been reported to him, or he should have been obliged to do his duty in the matter. A gentleman, who was present, voluntarily asserted that there was a large Sunday-school kept there for colored children, and that he thought a violation of the law was such as much in one place as another. His Honor then took up the statutes of Virginia, and read the law on the subject, which announced the maximum penalty attached to its violation to be a fine of one hundred dollars and imprisonment for six months. He also remarked that he was very sorry the matter had occurred, but that he must do his duty in the premises. I replied, that I expected him to do his duty; but that with a clear conscience I could bear imprisonment, or anything else. I asked him if anything would be done with the children. He said, “Nothing,” and gave immediate orders for their dismissal, when they fled like so many little birds let loose from a cage. I could not refrain from tears as I looked after them as they left the room, and hastened from what was to them a place of exceeding terror. I was rejoiced that no harm would fall upon them, and felt that I could bear anything rather than that they should suffer in any way. I then inquired if anything would be done with their parents, and was answered, “Nothing.” I then asked his Honor if he could allow the whole responsibility of the matter to rest upon myself; that my daughter was not yet of age, and that I was alone responsible for any act of hers, as well as my own. He inquired if I had any friends who would become security for my appearance before the Supreme Court. “Friends!” I replied “I am my own best friend, and my daughter’s only one.” I told him to do his duty, and put me in prison at once, if he chose, for I would ask no favors at the hands of any man. On receiving this reply, he reflected for a moment and then said, “I think that I am allowed some discretion in this matter. You say, Mrs. Douglass, that you were not aware of the existing law?” I replied that I was not, and that I was not disposed to violate the laws of any people or place where I might reside. He then, being perfectly satisfied with my good intentions, frank acknowledgment, and ignorance of the law, dismissed the matter; for which I tendered him my thanks, and left the court room.

Imagine my surprise, when I reached the steps of the courthouse, to find a crowd of colored men, women, and children, the parents and relatives of friends of our little scholars, waiting to learn the decision of the Mayor. They greeted myself and daughter with many blessings, and said that if we had anything to pay they had the money ready for us. I replied that such was not the case, and that there had been no harm done; and after warmly thanking them for their kindness and sympathy, we looked around for our little scholars, gathered as many of them as we could together, and took them back to the school-room, where we gave each of them their books and slates, and, with wounded hearts, took leave of them, one by one. It was a sad parting, and we grieved to think that they must henceforth grow up in darkness and ignorance. For several days it was as much as we could do to receive the visits of the parents and friends of those children, many of whom we had never seen before. They lamented over the breaking up of our little school, and many shed tears freely. They showered their blessings upon us, and prayed for our welfare, and were evidently truly grateful for all we had done for their children.

It is generally thought in the Southern States that the negroes are ungrateful, but I, for one, have never found them so. From the day that I first interested myself in these unfortunate people, to the day I left the city of Norfolk, they literally showered upon us their grateful blessings. In my opinion, those who call the Southern negroes ungrateful, are only those who never do anything to call forth that emotion. I believe the oppressed to be more susceptible of gratitude than any other class. I have ever found them so. May I ask what gratitude do they owe to those who will degrade them? What gratitude does that child owe to his own father, who coldly sells him as his slave? Let us first practice justice and mercy ourselves, and then ask for the gratitude of our slaves.

My scholars having been dismissed, and the school given up, in obedience to the requirements of the law, I felt perfectly satisfied that the matter had there ended. I had promised my daughter, some months before, a visit to New York, during the intended vacation of our school, but the authorities did not allow us the pleasure of thus indulging our scholars, having given them an earlier and much longer vacation than we ever dreamed of.

My daughter left Norfolk on the 29th day of June, for the city of New York, intending to return about the first of September. In her absence I was left entirely alone, without even a servant, and so remained for about six months, seldom going out, and receiving but few visitors, aside from my little scholars who would occasionally come to see me, and bring some little token of their continued affection. They all knew that I was very fond of flowers, and it was seldom that my table did not contain bouquets from their hands. Indeed, they kept me supplied with flowers during the whole summer. I still continued to visit them whenever they were sick, for I knew that no authorities could prevent this. Both I and my friends supposed that the matter was forever ended, until the 13th day of July, when, to my utter astonishment, I was served with a legal paper, of which the following is a correct copy:--

“THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

_To the Sergeant of the City of Norfolk_:

You are hereby commanded to summon Margaret Douglass, and Rosa Douglass, to appear before the Judge of our Circuit Court of the City of Norfolk, at the Court House of our said City, on the first day of the next November Term, to answer a presentment of the Grand Jury made against them in the said Court, on the 2d day of June, 1853, for this, that the said Margaret Douglass, and Rosa Douglass, and each of them, did, on the 9th day of May, 1853, at the City of Norfolk, unlawfully assemble with divers negroes, for the purpose of instructing them to read and to write, and did instruct them to read and to write, contrary to the Act of the General Assembly, in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Witness, John Williams, Clerk of our said Court, at the Court House, this 13th day of July, 1853, in the 78th year of the Commonwealth.

(Signed,) JNO. WILLIAMS, C. C.

A Copy, (Signed,) JNO. WILLIAMS, C. C.

This document needs but little comment. I merely ask, was not the cause a great one that enabled a poor weak woman thus to disturb “the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” and that, too, “in the 78th year” of its existence? Were not the subject too serious, one might venture to laugh at the idea of the fearful perils to which that dignified and aristocratic State was subjected, by the fact that a few little negro boys and girls had learned that famous sentence “In Adam’s fall we sinned all.” Let the fact be recorded, and go down to posterity among the noble archives of that noble State, that her existence was jeopardized in the year 1853, by the shocking occurrence of some of its inhabitants learning “to read and to write.” Shades of Henry Clay, of Thomas Jefferson, of John Randolph, and of all the dead worthies of Virginia, behold a specimen of enlightened progression that is something more than an abstraction!

After receiving this paper, the effect of which I well understood, my mind was heavily taxed as to what course I should pursue in the matter. Owing to my retired way of living and my constant employment, I had but little time to spare from my daily avocations, but a vast amount of time for reflection. My pecuniary means being limited, and having but little affection for lawyers, I determined to rely upon the justice of my cause, and plead my own case. Therefore, for four months I was engaged in hard study, hard labor, and hard living, my mind being as fully occupied as my hands. I determined to converse with no one, and when the matter would be occasionally brought up by others, I would have as little to say as possible, and few knew the course of action that I intended to pursue. In the first place, I had no quarrel with the people of Virginia, and did not wish to have, and I determined to enter into no conflict with them. I also felt certain that, if I employed counsel, many good men and women of Norfolk, who had done all that I had, would be brought into the same difficulty. Leaving self entirely out of the question, I determined not to do anything to place those engaged in Christ’s Church Sunday-school in the same difficulty with myself, for I heartily approved of what they were and had been doing. I also believed that, if I kept quiet, the matter would still amount to nothing. I could not believe that men who boasted of their talents and benevolence could be so blinded by their attachment to their peculiar institution as to farther irritate a matter that would, from beginning to end, prove disgraceful to them and to their State. I therefore took a firm stand, and was determined to maintain the principle for which I was doomed to suffer; for, as I have said before, I am a strong advocate for the religious and moral instruction of the Southern slaves. I was determined to express my views freely, should my case ever be brought before the court. During the whole of this prosecution, I did nothing, either by word or action, to irritate the people of Norfolk, and, though I might have replied to the paragraphs against me inserted in their newspapers, I did not do so; and, though extremely mortifying to my feelings to have my name brought so freely into the public prints, still I was silent, and bore my persecutions with patience.

Although I corresponded regularly with my daughter every week, I did not make known to her the condition of affairs, desiring not to mar her happiness with our northern friends, until the first of September, when I directed her to remain in New York, until I should call her home. Thus my readers will see that my daughter did not “run away” from the authorities of Norfolk, and the assertions to that effect in their papers were utterly false. She left Norfolk before the summons was served, and remained there at my instance, in ignorance of what was going on at home. Norfolk was our adopted home, and we never had the slightest idea of running away from it. No, indeed: we would not so far forget our native dignity, as to have it said that a South Carolinian ran from a Virginian. As it has since been proven, the authorities and people of Norfolk would have been very glad if we had taken this course, in order that they might at once have been relieved from the odium of pursuing the prosecution, and at the same time been enabled to brand us as fugitives from justice. The _Richmond Examiner_ has recently said that my prison doors were open at my bidding. It is very true that they were, but for what purpose, and how would my flight have been regarded?

Believing that my lonely situation naturally called loudly for friends, I thought that in that city of churches, some one, at least among the religious part of the community, would come forward and offer me sympathy and advice without being solicited therefor; but will my readers believe me when I say, that not one solitary individual thus manifested the least interest in the matter? I determined, therefore, to ask nothing at the hands of a Virginian, for I had never done so during the eight years that I had resided among them, and I can truly say that I owe the people of Norfolk nothing: no, not even for the exercise of common humanity.

As the time drew near when I would be called upon by the attorney of the commonwealth to appear for trial, I felt myself thoroughly prepared to meet the worst, and on the first day of the November Term, I voluntarily stood before him in his office, and had a brief conversation with him, in which I informed him, that I was ready to meet the case, and that he would oblige me by bringing it on as soon as possible, as my mind was heavily taxed, and I had little time to lose. He promised to do so, and inquired who was my counsel. I told him that I was my own counsellor, and should employ no other. It was my first interview with this gentleman, and I was much pleased with his manner and conversation. He remarked that he should be placed in a rather disagreeable position, by having to plead against a lady. I replied, that I wished to be friendly with him, and hoped that he would not think me unreasonable: that I expected him to do his duty, and that I should certainly endeavor to do mine. I believe that the matter gave him some uneasiness, when he found that I was determined to plead my own case, and, after explaining a few points to him, he remarked that the matter had entirely slipped his memory, and that he had not before thought seriously about it. He promised to send for me whenever I was wanted, and soon after did so; but, another case not being concluded, I was compelled to await still another day. The day of trial came at last, and I proceeded to the Court House, unattended by any one, and, seating myself in the jury room, patiently awaited the summons to appear before the Court. I had provided myself with a neat and becoming dress, in a description of which my lady readers may be interested. It was made of black velvet, fitting closely and neatly to my form, with rich flowing lace sleeves, white kid gloves, and a plain straw bonnet, neatly trimmed with white. I had in my hand the copy of the summons, and a small red pocket Bible, which my daughter used when she visited the sick children. I had written nothing that I expected to say, preferring to depend on my own energies in whatever emergencies I might be placed. Being fully acquainted with the rules of courtesy, and the respect due from a lady to every true gentleman, as well as that required by an honorable Court, I determined not to do the slightest violence to the feelings of any one present, but to proffer all due consideration to the Court and counsellors, and I certainly expected the same in return. In my determination to plead my own case, I did not desire to step out of the natural sphere of my sex, or to force myself into the position of a counsellor, but I was the party most deeply interested; had given the matter all due reflection, and was best acquainted with its merits; had gathered together every fragment and woven them into one web, and it pleased me to unravel it myself; for I was prosecuted for violating a law that I knew nothing about. Certainly no favors had been shown to me because I was a woman, and therefore I believed that I possessed the right to defend myself in my own way.

As I sat in the jury-room, waiting to be called, that body were receiving their charge from the judge in some petty case tried the day before. When they entered, I was invited into the court-room. The Prosecuting Attorney of the Commonwealth received me at the door, and we passed in together, I taking my seat at the counsellor’s table, directly facing his Honor the learned Judge. I entered the room with a firm step, walked proudly through the dark cloud of heads that I saw around me, and when I took my seat I was perfectly calm and collected. It was some time before the court was fairly organized; for everybody present seemed to be confused, except myself. Finally, the jury were sworn, and the witnesses for the Commonwealth called.

Mr. Cherry, the City Constable, who made the original arrest, was sworn, and examined by the Prosecuting Attorney; and, as he testified merely to the facts as they really were, and knew nothing farther, I did not cross-examine him. The same may be said of officer Cox, his assistant at the time of the descent upon the school, who was next called; and also of his Honor, Mayor Stubbs, neither of whom were questioned by me. The next witness called for the prosecution was Mr. C. C. Melson, the agent of my landlord, who, although unexpectedly called upon, walked firmly to the witness stand, placed his hands behind him, fixed his eyes steadily upon the jury, and answered every question with a degree of promptness that did him credit. He testified merely that he was acquainted with me, and was the agent and collector of rents for Mr. Taylor, my landlord; that he rented me the house, but not for the purpose of keeping a negro school, and that he did not know that one was kept there; that I engaged the house when the foundation was laid, and had lived in it ever since. On being asked if he ever saw any colored children entering it, he replied that he never watched his tenants’ houses to see who went in or out. There was no necessity for cross-examining Mr. Melson; and as sufficient facts were deemed proven, and not denied by me, to substantiate the alleged violation of the letter of the law, the case for the prosecution here rested. I then informed the Prosecuting Attorney that I wished, before examining my witnesses, to make a statement to the court in reference to my daughter’s absence; and, permission being granted, I then addressed his Honor and the jury;

“I beg leave to inform your honor, and you, gentlemen of the jury, that my daughter, whose name is joined with mine in this prosecution, is at present in the city of New York, and was there at the time the summons was issued and served upon me: but, if she were in Norfolk at this time, I do not know that you have any business whatever with her. She is under age, and has been brought up in strict obedience to me in all things. I am alone responsible for any act of hers, as well as for my own. I am here to answer to any charge that may be brought against me. I have been notified to present myself this day before this court to answer to the charge of having been engaged in teaching colored children to read and to write, and I am informed that in so doing I have been acting against the _peace_ and _dignity_ of the Commonwealth. This charge, gentlemen, I do not like, but we shall see who it is that destroys our _peace_ and insults our _dignity_.”

The Prosecuting Attorney here touched me on the arm, thinking that I was about to discuss the merits of the case before the testimony was closed. This somewhat disconcerted me, but I took my seat and soon regained my calmness, and proceeded to call my witnesses.

I had but three, Mr. Walter Taylor, Mr. Sharp, a lawyer, and Mr. John Williams, also a lawyer and the Clerk of the Court in which I was being tried. All these gentlemen were members of Christ’s Church, and, together with their wives and daughters, were teachers and instructors of negroes in the Sunday-school held habitually in the lecture room of that Church. Mr. Williams had penned with his own hands the summons that had brought me then before the court, while his own daughter, Miss Eliza Williams was then teaching in that Sunday-school the same children that were in our school, and from the same books that they used with us. Among others who were also engaged in teaching in that Sunday-school, and from the same books that we used, I may mention Mrs. Dixon, Mrs. Southgate, Mrs. Pinkum, Miss Martha Taylor, Miss Jane Watson, Miss Henrietta Hunter, the Hon. Tazewell Taylor, and even some members of the family of Judge Baker who presided on the Bench at my trial, and finally fixed and passed my sentence. In giving the names of these persons, I am not actuated by any malicious feelings towards them, for I most heartily approve of all that they have done in the matter of instructing the colored people of Norfolk, but I do it merely to show the injustice to which I was subjected, while these individuals, representing the aristocracy of that town, and who had done all, and more than I had done, and because they were such aristocracy, were not only allowed to escape the punishment attached to the offence of which we were equally guilty, but also to aid in the prosecution against me, and even sit in judgment upon me. The deductions from these simple facts are so clear and simple that I need not direct the attention of my readers to them more particularly.