midnight
In the sole care of one woman were left houses and land , man and beast , domestic duties at home and business transactions abroad . Her children required constant attention , and the servants , bond and free , for the most part lazy , evasive , and insubordinate -- spoilt by the inefficiency of a vacillating master -- were hard to govern or to please . Peter Taylor was insidious , but plausible ; Albright , obstinate ; the negroes , with few exceptions , `` something between a hindrance and a help . '' On returning to her house at midnight , having just seen her husband embark , the vigilant wife and mother did not bury her troubles in sleep . The urgent demands of a crisis not to be postponed forbade slumber . The words of General Tupper rang in her ears : `` I arrest you by the authority of the State of Ohio . '' That her peace and liberty would soon be threatened , if not taken from her , by civil or by military force , she had much reason to fear ; that her island retreat was already invaded by scouts from the Virginia militia she did not surmise .