【导读】 《汤姆叔叔的小屋》，是美国作家哈里特·比彻·斯托(斯托夫人)于1852年发表的一部反奴隶制小说。这部小说中关于非裔美国人与美国奴隶制度的观点曾产生过意义深远的影响，并在某种程度上激化了导致美国内战的地区局部冲突，是19世纪最畅销的小说。
Uncle Tom's Cabin(excerpt)
At this moment，the door was pushed gently open，and a young beautiful woman，apparently about twentyfive，entered the room.
There needed only a glance from the child to her，to identify her as its mother.There was the same rich，full，dark eye；the same ripples of silky black hair.The brown of her complexion gave way on the cheek to a quick flush，which deepened as she saw the gaze of the strange man fixed upon her.Her dress was of the neatest possible fit，and set off to advantage her fine shape；a delicately formed hand and a trim foot and ankle were items of appearance that did not escape the quick eye of the trader.
“Well，Eliza？”said her master，as she stopped and looked hesitatingly at him.
“I was looking for Harry，please，sir，”and the boy went up toward her，showing his toys，which he had gathered in the pocket of his clothes.
“Well，take him away then，”said Mr Shelby，and hurriedly she went out，carrying the child on her arm.
“Oh，my god，”said the trader，turning to him in admiration，“there's really a good article that can help make your fortune if you send it to Orleans.I've seen someone paid over a thousand to buy a female slave，which was far worse than this.”
“I don't want to make any fortune on her，”said Mr. Shelby，dryly；and，seeking to turn the conversation，he opened a bottle of fresh wine，and asked his companion's opinion of it.
“Fine，sir，—very fine wine！”said the trader；then turning，and patting his hand familiarly on Shelby's shoulder，he added—“Come，how will you trade about the girl？—what shall I say for her—what'll you take？”
“Mr Haley，she is not to be sold，”said Shelby.“My wife would not part with her for her weight in gold.”
“Oh，no！Women always say such things，be cause they have no idea of calculation.Just show them how many watches one's weight in gold would buy，and that will change the case，I am sure！”
“I tell you，Haley，this must not be spoken of；I say no，and I mean no，”said Shelby，decidedly.
