human
There is no need of such care, he said, in a somewhat sarcastic tone;--
gpt
I have _your_ life, at all events, at my command, I replied.
human
You cannot escape me; and I do not intend you shall, though my own life be lost the moment after.
gpt
Why, then, demanded he,
human
Then why, I exclaimed, thinking of the unhappy McGrubber,
gpt
Because he did it all for his own selfish purposes, answered Turner;
human
Well, well, I answered,
gpt
And so you do,
human
The question now is, I continued,
gpt
You shall hear presently, he answered.
human
Last night--a terrible night it was--and nothing but the will of God and His command sustained me in the dreadful work He had appointed me to do----
gpt
Forbear! forbear! I cried, my blood boiling with indignation.
human
Do not blaspheme the name of the Lord, by giving His word as a sanction for the murder, the dark, silent assassination of innocent girls and babes.
gpt
He sent me forth to destroy, said the man, in a gloomy but still a solemn tone.
human
He told me--He Himself, when, like him of old, I lay in a trance, but having my eyes open--when His visible presence was before me, and I heard His voice within my soul--He told me that Christ had laid down the yoke He had borne so long for me, and that I was to take it up--that Satan and the avenger were loosed, and that I was to go forth and destroy, sparing neither age nor sex of the oppressor. Even as He gave commands to the Israelites of old, so gave He commandment unto me, and the command was to destroy. I have obeyed it to the uttermost, although my heart often quivered when my hand struck firmly. Yet, when we had smitten root and branch in Stringer's house, last night, and I found that Bessy Davenport had escaped, I rejoiced, while all the others were furious, and I said, 'This is God's doing.' For she had been like an angel amongst the people--she had comforted, she had befriended us all. She had sat by my own mother on her death-bed, and had wiped the cold sweat from her brow, and held the cool drink to her lips, and spoke the words of comfort in her ears. She knew no difference between white and black then; and why should I know any difference now? Yet if I had found her, I would have killed her too, for it was God's command not to spare. But the Lord delivered her. It was His doing, and I was grateful.
gpt
Well, well, I cried, somewhat impatiently,
human
Does not he who kills the serpent tread upon her eggs? said the man, gloomily.
gpt
Do you suppose we would have another race of oppressors grow up when we could nip them in the bud? Even worldly policy would say 'No.' But what have I to do with worldly policy, when I Lave got God's command in my heart? Did He not tell me to destroy, to smite them hip and thigh, as soon as I saw the appointed sign in the heavens? When the sun was darkened at noon-day, I was to commence the work, and not to withdraw my hand until it was accomplished.
human
Foolish man! I exclaimed;