Двенадцать лет рабства

           WepassedthroughBallston,andstrikingtheridgeroad,asitiscalled,ifmymemorycorrectlyservesme,followeditdirecttoAlbany. Wereachedthatcitybeforedark,andstoppedatahotelsouthwardfromtheMuseum. 

           ThisnightIhadanopportunityofwitnessingoneoftheirperformances—theonlyone,duringthewholeperiodIwaswiththem. Hamiltonwasstationedatthedoor;Iformedtheorchestra,whileBrownprovidedtheentertainment. Itconsistedinthrowingballs,dancingontherope,fryingpancakesinahat,causinginvisiblepigstosqueal,andotherlikefeatsofventriloquismandlegerdemain. Theaudiencewasextraordinarilysparse,andnotoftheselectestcharacteratthat,andHamilton’sreportoftheproceedspresentedbuta"beggarlyaccountofemptyboxes." 

           Earlynextmorningwerenewedourjourney. Theburdenoftheirconversationnowwastheexpressionofananxietytoreachthecircuswithoutdelay. Theyhurriedforward,withoutagainstoppingtoexhibit,andinduecourseoftime,wereachedNew-York,takinglodgingsatahouseonthewestsideofthecity,inastreetrunningfromBroadwaytotheriver. Isupposedmyjourneywasatanend,andexpectedinadayortwoatleast,toreturntomyfriendsandfamilyatSaratoga. BrownandHamilton,however,begantoimportunemetocontinuewiththemtoWashington. Theyallegedthatimmediatelyontheirarrival,nowthatthesummerseasonwasapproaching,thecircuswouldsetoutforthenorth. TheypromisedmeasituationandhighwagesifIwouldaccompanythem. Largelydidtheyexpatiateontheadvantagesthatwouldresulttome,andsuchweretheflatteringrepresentationstheymade,thatIfinallyconcludedtoaccepttheoffer.