[Illustration: _IN DANGER OF THE OVERSEER'S LASH._]
Thus our feelings that morning were rather conflicting. Mr. Sutherland and the girls seemed best off, for there were no dark shadows in the immediate past to cloud their brows, like mother, Tom and myself. But all clouds passed away sooner or later, and we happily forgot our old-time experiences in the pleasantness of the new day, the bright and warming sunlight, and even the joyous surroundings that were all around about us on our happy way. The girls having bought a couple of bright new picture books from the book-stand at the depot while we were securing our tickets, all things were now in readiness for our departure. We took our seats in a very contented and flowery state of mind at last, and our brave iron horse set out for the open road along the shores of Lake Erie, and soon we had left the city of Buffalo behind us. The dark shadows of the early morning had indeed departed altogether, and our eyes and thoughts were fixed upon the beautiful country as we flew past, and on the shining waters of Lake Erie, till we came to Cleveland, Ohio. Here we left the lake, and switched away towards the southwest of Columbus, the capital of this State. The rest of us had been over this ground before, as the dear reader will remember; but all was new ground to mother and Mr. Sutherland, who now greatly admired the beauties of the State of Ohio, adorned in all the charms of spring, and with all its fine woods and forests arrayed in their new mantle of green, that set off the beauties of the hills and dales in great perfection. And whatever our thoughts and feelings might otherwise have been, on one point we were all united--we were going back to our dear old Kentucky shore, and the city of Louisville, to behold the glorious celebration of the Fifteenth Amendment to the American Constitution, and to such an outpouring of the colored race as had never been seen in Kentucky. That, indeed, made our hearts light; that was joy enough for all.
In due time we reached Columbus, the capital of the State, as nice a little country city as ever I saw. Here a small contingent of our own beloved people came on board the train for Cincinnati and Louisville. They were in a state of high excitement over the forthcoming events. Some of them, no doubt, had fled away from the curse and chains of slavery in Kentucky, and more remote States; but now they could return without fear. "Slavery there had lost the day!"