264 THE LIFE OF

 anticipation of the liberty which they felt was about to grr .
 a land watered with the blood of their caste. They had
 same firmness, the same resignation, the same enthusiasm
 distinguished the martyr of the Christian religion. Oni
 gibbets, in the lames, in the nides of tortures, scarcely 1A:
 sigh to be heard; even the child hardly shed tears. The
 -our country," "-freedom," breathed quietly from their d-
 lip-. They ollen en.ouraged each other to bear death -.
 fully. A black chief ; named Chevalier, hesitated when he
 the instruments ofl his punishment. 'What!" said his
 "thou knnw-ct not how sweet it is to die for liberty"
 without allowing it(relf to be tou.-Led Ly the excutio
 she took the rope and ended h,.r days. A mother said to
 S daughters who were going to ed. Lutrion, Be glall; you will
 be mothers of slaves."
 The strength of soul whih the bla' ks showed in their
 tures was so surprising that the whites a'sribed the cause ,
 some peculiarity of organization. It w-as pretended that
 fibres of the blacks contracted with so rmu.h force that
 sufferers became in-sn-il.le- to pain. Thus, by vain supp
 tons, an effort was made to rob thet iktim:, of the glory of -
 death. 11 the question wa. to make them lavrcs, then
 were not men; it' the c r,-lltet punihahment. were to be in -.
 on them, then they did not sutf.r. If th.y were not men, w
* make then do the work lo men ? If they did not suffer,
 impose the punishlmnnt, ? Be-arts may do the work which
 laid on blingw who were not mr n; and autferings not feft
 inefitacioas both as puuiamlents .and examples. But when-
 tyranny lack a pretext, or .ruclty la. k a palliation ? In
 case, the pretext and the palliatl..n did but throw the eno-
 of the injillti. into relicl'
 Ordinary cxpe.llent were- too tamni., oA tr,:, -low, or not
 tintly elli'cai;ous. sllt,.ry "a- ran-.j.k-d Ifor others. %,
 dreln, women, and old men we.rei ..onllned in sacks and t
 into the seal: it was the punishment of parricides among"-
 Romans. It was aseertaied that three centuries before, in