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.
Douglass describes the intense emotional conflict between hope and fear he experienced in the final moments before his escape from slavery.
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The anti-slavery platform had performed its work, and my voice was no longer needed.
Our very lack of preparation for the conflict disposed us to look for some other than the way of blood out of the difficulty.
The laws which determine the destinies of individuals and nations are impartial and eternal.