have given one dime more for Tom on account of his good qualities. But
Mrs. Stowe tells us, that Shelby was indebted to Haley, and that he
preferred to purchase Tom on account of his good qualities; and that
Shelby expected a high price from him on that account. Haley would
have given several hundred dollars more for a man who was about
twenty-five years of age, than he would have given for poor old Tom;
though the young man might have been as vile a rogue, as ever went
unhung. No man of common sense can fail for one moment, to discover
the truth and justness of the above reasoning. Thus we see that
falsehood is indelibly stamped on Mrs. Stowe's narrative at the very
outset. What is it that enhances the value of negroes in the
estimation of the negro trader? And what is it that recommends them,
or enhances their value in market? First, the age of the slave is
taken into consideration. Nobody will give as much for an old negro as
he will for a young one in the prime of life. Tom was an old man, and
Shelby had in his possession a number of young negroes. These facts
alone stamp falsehood on the face of Mrs. Stowe's tale. Secondly, the
physical force or power of the negro, and his apparent health, are
taken into consideration. The purchaser, if he knows nothing about the
qualities of negroes, will give the highest price for those (judging
from appearances) that can perform the most labor. Now, is it
reasonable to suppose, that a purchaser would have given as much for
poor old Tom, as he would have given for a negro who was twenty-five
or thirty years of age? There are from twenty to twenty-five years
difference in the ages of the negroes, and there is a proportionate
difference in their values. Reader, what do you suppose is the value
of twenty years' labor in dollars and cents? Well, whatever it is,
poor old Tom was precisely that amount less valuable, than many other
negroes in the possession of Shelby; and yet Mrs. Stowe tells us that
Shelby sold Tom, because he could get a higher price for him than any