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Children of the Market Place by Edgar Lee Masters
page 67 of 363 (18%)
its intemperate indulgence; the same barbaric hilarity of negroes,
driven and cursed. And now many goatees, and much talk of politics, of
Whigs and Democrats.

St. Louis was languid, weary and old. The buildings had an air of decay.
The stream of life moved sluggishly, not swiftly as in New York or
Buffalo, or even in the village of Chicago. There were luxury here and
wealth. There were slaves and a slave market. I went to it, saw the
business of selling these creatures, saw a woman of thirty, no darker
than Zoe, sold to a man with a goatee, evidently from further south, who
took her and led her away submissively. Whatever the institution might
be of necessity and even of gentleness in good hands, here no less was
the vile business of the sale. What would become of Zoe, was constantly
in my thought. I turned away from the slave market to continue my
shopping; but I could not drive Zoe from my thoughts.

Here was I in St. Louis and necessarily withdrawn from care of Zoe. I
could not always watch over her. Even if I did, what was her life to be?
How could she establish herself? With whom, and where? I was glad that
I had not left her at the hut during my absence, that I had taken her to
Sarah. Nothing could happen to her while she was with Sarah. Sarah had
need of her too. Sarah's baby was soon to be born. Dorothy Clayton,
Reverdy's sister, was coming to Jacksonville from Nashville to be a part
of Reverdy's household for a time; and the house had to be set in order
for her arrival. Turning Zoe over to Sarah was, therefore, a great help
to her at this time.

I completed my purchases, arranged for their transportation and returned
to Jacksonville. I arrived in the evening and went at once to Reverdy's.
I had been gone a week. All were here to greet me. But Zoe was subdued
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