Chapter I. Chapter II. Chapter III. Chapter IV. Chapter V. Chapter VI. Chapter VII. Chapter VIII. Chapter IX. Chapter X. Chapter XI. Chapter XII. Chapter XIII. Chapter XIV. Chapter XV. CHAPTER I CHAPTER II CHAPTER III CHAPTER IV CHAPTER V CHAPTER VI CHAPTER VII CHAPTER VIII CHAPTER IX CHAPTER X CHAPTER XI CHAPTER XII CHAPTER XIII CHAPTER XIV CHAPTER XV 1 Behind the Scenes, by Elizabeth Keckley The Project Gutenberg EBook of Behind the Scenes, by Elizabeth Keckley This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Behind the Scenes or, Thirty years a slave, and Four Years in the White House Author: Elizabeth Keckley Release Date: March 31, 2008 [EBook #24968] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEHIND THE SCENES *** Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net ELIZABETH KECKLEY Behind the Scenes, Or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House * * * * * Contents BEHIND THE SCENES Preface 3 Behind the Scenes, by Elizabeth Keckley 2 Chapter I. Where I was born 7 Chapter I. 3 Chapter II. Girlhood and its Sorrows 13 Chapter II. 4 Chapter III. How I gained my Freedom 19 Chapter III. 5 Chapter IV. In the Family of Senator Jefferson Davis 28 Chapter IV. 6 Chapter V. My Introduction to Mrs. Lincoln 34 Chapter V. 7 Chapter VI. Willie Lincoln's Death-bed 41 Chapter VI. 8 Chapter VII. Washington in 1862-3 50 Chapter VII. 9 Chapter VIII. Candid Opinions 57 Chapter VIII. 10 [...]... by Mr Davis during the stormy years that he was the President of the Confederate States The holidays passed, and before the close of January the war was discussed in Mr Davis's family as an event certain to happen in the future Mrs Davis was warmly attached to Washington, and I often heard her say that she disliked the idea of breaking up old associations, and going South to suffer from trouble and deprivation... the shady side of forty, and as I sit alone in my room the brain is busy, and a rapidly moving panorama brings scene after scene before me, some pleasant and others sad; and when I thus greet old familiar faces, I often find myself wondering if I am not living the past over again The visions are so terribly distinct that I almost imagine them to be real Hour after hour I sit while the scenes are being... passed, and I was still a slave Mr Garland's family claimed so much of my attention in fact, I supported them that I was not able to accumulate anything In the mean time Mr Garland died, and Mr Burwell, a Mississippi planter, came to St Louis to settle up the estate He was a kind-hearted man, and said I should be free, and would afford me every facility to raise the necessary amount to pay the price... life faint, it is true, but still a silver lining Taking a prospective glance at liberty, I consented to marry The wedding was a great event in the family The ceremony took place in the parlor, in the presence of the family and a number of guests Mr Garland gave me away, and the pastor, Bishop Hawks, performed the ceremony, who had solemnized the bridals of Mr G.'s own children The day was a happy one,... his other garments the dress in which it was reported that he was captured There was always a great crowd around this figure, and I was naturally attracted towards it I worked my way to the figure, and in examining the dress made the pleasing discovery that it was one of the chintz wrappers that I had made for Mrs Davis, a short time before she departed from Washington for the South When it was announced... labor and vexation, I left Baltimore with scarcely money enough to pay my fare to Washington Arriving in the capital, I sought and obtained work at two dollars and a half per day However, as I was notified that I could only remain in the city ten days without obtaining a license to do so, such being the law, and as I did not know whom to apply to for assistance, I was sorely troubled I also had to have... strangers She had been raised in the family, had watched the growth of each child from infancy to maturity; they had been the objects of her kindest care, and she was wound round about them as the vine winds itself about the rugged oak They had been the central figures in her dream of life a dream beautiful to her, since she had basked in the sunshine of no other And now they proposed to destroy each... oldest and best friends Since bidding them good-by at Washington, early in the year 1860, I have never met any of the Davis family Years of excitement, years of bloodshed, and hundreds of thousands of graves intervene between the months I spent in the family and now The years have brought many changes; and in view of these terrible changes even I, who was once a slave, who have been punished with the. .. room, arranging the Christmas tree for the children I looked at the clock, and the hands pointed to a quarter of twelve I was arranging the cords on the gown when the Senator came in; he looked somewhat careworn, and his step seemed to be a little nervous He leaned against the door, and expressed his admiration of the Christmas tree, but there was no smile on his face Turning round, he saw me sitting in. .. by me examined apart from her husband, and being fully acquainted with the contents of the foregoing conveyance, acknowledged that she executed the same freely, and relinquished her dower, and any other claim she might have in and to the property therein mentioned, freely, and without fear, compulsion, or undue influence of her said husband "In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed . SCENES *** Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net ELIZABETH KECKLEY Behind the Scenes, Or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White. forty, and as I sit alone in my room the brain is busy, and a rapidly moving panorama brings scene after scene before me, some pleasant and others sad; and when I thus greet old familiar faces,. my father and mother were speaking hopefully, joyfully of the future, Mr. Burwell came to the cabin, with a letter in his hand. He was a kind master in some things, and as gently as possible informed