The long and intimate, though by no means friendly, relation which
unhappily subsisted between you and myself, leads me to hope that you
will easily account for the great liberty which I now take in
addressing you in this open and public manner.  The same fact may
possibly remove any disagreeable surprise which you may experience on
again finding your name coupled with mine, in any other way than in an
advertisement, accurately describing my person, and offering a large
sum for my arrest.  In thus dragging you again before the public, I am
aware that I shall subject myself to no inconsiderable amount of
censure.  I shall probably be charged with an unwarrantable if not a
wanton and reckless disregard of the rights and proprieties of private
life.  There are those North as well as South, who entertain a much
higher respect for rights which are merely conventional, than they do
for rights which are personal and essential.  Not a few there are in
our country who, while they have no scruples against robbing the
laborer of the hard earned results of his patient industry, will be
shocked by the extremely indelicate manner of bringing your name
before the public.  Believing this to be the case, and wishing to meet
every reasonable or plausible objection to my conduct, I will frankly
state the ground upon which I justify myself in this instance, as well
as on former occasions when I have thought proper to mention your name
in public.  All will agree that a man guilty of theft, robbery, or
murder, has forfeited the right to concealment and private life; that
the community have a right to subject such persons to the most
complete exposure.  However much they may desire retirement, and aim to
conceal themselves and their movements from the popular gaze, the
public have a right to ferret them out, and bring their conduct before
the proper tribunals of the country for investigation.  Sir, you will
undoubtedly make the proper application of these generally admitted
principles, and will easily see the light in which you are regarded by
me.  I will not therefore manifest ill temper, by calling you hard
names.  I know you to be a man of some intelligence, and can readily
determine the precise estimate which I entertain of your character.  I
may therefore indulge in language which may seem to others indirect
and ambiguous, and yet be quite well understood by yourself.

I have selected this day on which to address you, because it is the
anniversary of my emancipation; and knowing of no better way, I am led
to this as the best mode of celebrating that truly important
event.  Just ten years ago this beautiful September morning, yon bright
sun beheld me a slave-a poor degraded chattel-trembling at the sound
of your voice, lamenting that I was a man, and wishing myself a
brute.  The hopes which I had treasured up for weeks of a safe and
successful escape from your grasp, were powerfully confronted at this
last hour by dark clouds of doubt and fear, making my person shake and
my bosom to heave with the heavy contest between hope and fear.  I have
no words to describe to you the deep agony of soul which I experienced
on that never to be forgotten morning-(for I left by daylight).  I was
making a leap in the dark.  The probabilities, so far as I could by
reason determine them, were stoutly against the undertaking.  The
preliminaries and precautions I had adopted previously, all worked
badly.  I was like one going to war without weapons-ten chances of
defeat to one of victory.  One in whom I had confided, and one who had
promised me assistance, appalled by fear at the trial hour, deserted
me, thus leaving the responsibility of success or failure solely with
myself.  You, sir, can never know my feelings.  As I look back to them,
I can scarcely realize that I have passed through a scene so
trying.  Trying however as they were, and gloomy as was the prospect,
thanks be to the Most High, who is ever the God of the oppressed, at
the moment which was to determine my whole earthly career.  His grace
was sufficient, my mind was made up.  I embraced the golden
opportunity, took the morning tide at the flood, and a free man,
young, active and strong, is the result.