UNCLE TOM'S CABIN

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that
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KEY TO UNCLE TOM S CABIN. 11
wealth, owned a favorite servant, a fine fellow, fieldto take a spellat cotton-picking. The first
with polished manners and excellent disposition, day in the fieldis their proudestday. The young
who reads and writes,and is thoroughlyversed in negroes look forward to it with as much restlessness
the dutiesof a butler and housekeeper, in the performance
and impatience as school-boys to a vacation.
of which he was trusted without limit. Black children are not put to work so young as
This man was, on the death of his master, emancipated
many children of poor parentsin the North. It
with a legacy of six thousand dollars,besidesis
often the case that the children of the domestic
about two thousand dollarsmore which he had servants become pets in the house,and the playmates
been permittedto accumulate,and had deposited of the white children of the family. No
with his master, who had givenhim credit for it. scene can be livelier or more interesting to a Northerner,
The use that this man, apparently so well qualified
than that which the negro quarters of a
for freedom,and who has had an opportunity well-regulated plantation presenton a Sabbath
of travelling and of judgingfor himself,makes of morning,just before church-hours. In every
his money and his time,is somewhat remarkable. cabin the men are shaving and dressing; the women,
In consequence of his exemplaryconduct,he has arrayed in their gay muslins,are arranging
been permitted to residein the state, and for very their frizzly in which hair," they take no little
moderate wages occupiesthe same situation he pride, investigating the condition of their children
did in the old establishment, and will probably ; the old people,neatlyclothed,are quietly
continue to occupy itas longas he lives. lie has conversingor au^jung about the doors ; and those
no children of his own, but has put a little girl, a of the v'Mj,,gerportion who are not undergoing the
relationof his,to school. Exceptin this instance, inflictionof the wash-tub are enjoying themselves
and in the purchaseof a few plainarticles of furniture,
in the shade of the trees,or around some little
his freedom and his money
seem not much pond, with as much zest as thoughslavery and
to have benefited him. A servant of mine,who freedom were
synonymous terms. When all are
is intimate with him,thinks he is not as happy as dressed,and the hour arrives for worshipțhey
he was before his liberation. Several other servants
lock up their cabins,and the whole population of
were freedat the same time,with smaller leg the littlevillageproceeds to the chapel, where
acies,but I do not know what has become of them. divine service is performed, sometimes by an
I do not regardnegro-slavery, however mitigated,
officiating clergyman, and often by the planter
as a Utopiansystem, and have not intended so himself,if a church-meniber. The whole plantation
to delineate it. But it exists,and the difficulty of is also frequently formed into a Sabbath
removingit is felt and acknowledgedby all șave class,which is instructed by the planter, or some
the fanatics,who, like " fools,rush in where member of his family; and often,such is the
angelsdare not tread." It is pleasingto know anxietyof the master that they should perfectly
that its burdens are not too heavyto be borne. understand what they are a hard matter
taught,"
That the treatment of slaves in this state is humane,
in the present state of their intellect, no
and even indulgent, may be inferredfrom the means calculated to advance their progress
are
fact of their rapidincrease and greatlongevity. I left untried. I was not longsince shown a manuscript
believe that,constitutedas theyare, morally and catechism, drawn up with greatcare and
physically, they are as happy as any peasantryjudgment by distinguished
a
planter, on a plan
in the world ; and I venture to affirm, as the result
admirablyadapted to the comprehension of the
of my reading and inquiry, that in no country
negroes.
are the laborers so liberally and invariably supplied
It is now popularto treat slaveswith kindness ;
with bread and meat as are the negro slaves and those planters who are known to.be inhumanly
of the United States. However greatthe dearth rigorous to their slaves are scarcely countenanced
of provisions, famine never reaches them.
by the more intelligent and humane portion of
P. S. "
mighthave been stated above that the community. Such instances,however, are
on this estate there are about one hundred and very rare ; but there are unprincipled men averywhere,who
will give vent to their ill feelingsand
sixty blacks. With the exceptionof infants,
there has been, in eighteenmonths, but one
bad passions, not with less good will upon the
death that I "
remember, of a man fullysixty-bacfive years of age. The bill for medical attendance,
a purchasedslave. Private chapelsare now in-
of an indented apprentice, than upon that of
from the second dayof lastNovember,comprising
upon most of the plantations of the
upwards of a
year, is less than fortydollars.
more wealthy, which are far from any church ;
Sabbath-schools are institutedfor the black children,
and Bible-classes for the parents, which are
The following accounts are taken from superintendedby the planter, a chaplain, pr some
of
"
the female members of the
Ingraham's Travels in the
family.
South-west," a
Nor are planters indifferentto the comfort of
work which seems to have been written as their gray-headed slaves. I have been much affected
much to show the beauties of slaveryas
at beholdingmany exhibitions of their
anything else. Speaking of the state of kindlyfeeling towards them. They always address
thing? on some Southern "
them in a mild and pleasantmanner, as Uncle,"
plantations, he gives
"
or
titles Aunty,"" as peculiarto the old
the following pictures, which are presented negro and negress as "
boy" and " girl " to all
without note or comment :
under fortyyears of age. Some old Africans are
allowed to spendtheir last years in their houses,
The littlecandidates for " fieldhonors" are useless
without doingany kind of labor ; these,if not too
articleson a plantationduringthe firstfive infirm,cultivate littlepatchesof ground, on which
or six years of their existence. They are then to they raise a few vegetables, vegetables grow
take theirfirstlesson in the elementary partoftheir nearly all the year round in this and
climate,"
education. When theyhave learned their manual make a little money to purchase a few extra comforts.
alphabetolerably well,they are placed in the They are also alwaysreceiving presents
troduced