72 NATHANIEL SOUTHGATE SEALER 



his neighbor; the people were more conscious of one another 

 and of themselves than it seems possible for them to be now. 

 In many ways, the relations of the folk were socially ideal; I 

 never heard of any shame relating to any women of the assem- 

 blage. With a certain set of the youths it was the thing to pose 

 as rakehells, but there was also a sober set, as I remember the 

 larger part of the men old and young, who set their faces against 

 all manner of filthiness. Getting drunk was not thought to be 

 distinctly unmannerly, but the tipsy wight was led aside by his 

 friends and given to the servants for safe-keeping. I have seen 

 as many as a dozen of them thus in durance at a single ball. 

 The effect of this habit was ruinous; about one in four of the 

 young men I knew at this time went to ruin in that way. 



There is a common notion that the men of the South were 

 a licentious lot and that their relations with negro women 

 was a feature of that time. My recollection is that by far the 

 larger number of them were as continent as are men to-day in 

 any part of the world known to me; that something like four 

 fifths, perhaps nine tenths of them were wholesome, essentially 

 clean-minded fellows, who had no habits of incontinence. As 

 for intercourse with the negro women, while it doubtless oc- 

 curred, I can say I never knew of an instance of it in those 

 gatherings, and the whole of the life was so largely almost in- 

 credibly a matter of general knowledge that if common I surely 

 would have known of it. In my observation of such matters, 

 I know of but three instances where those entitled otherwise 

 to the station of gentlemen had such relations. 



As for card-playing with money, it was a very common habit, 

 as common as it was in England forty years ago when I there 

 played whist with clergymen of the Established Church for 

 small points, so that if lucky you might win ten shillings at a 

 sitting. Playing for money was a rather common vice, espe- 

 cially with the elderly men. One of them, a half great-uncle 

 on my mother's side, was an admirable specimen of his class; 

 a grave, dignified person of cultivated manners and much esprit, 



