89 



was not sufficiently so to do him any material in- 

 jury. The old man had presented himself to me on 

 Saturday's holiday (or play-day, in the negro dia- 

 lect), and had shown me, with great exultation, the 

 coat and w 7 aistcoat which had been the last present 

 of his old massa. Charles is now my chief mason, 

 and, as one of the principal persons on the estate, 

 was entitled, by old custom, to the compliment of 

 a distinguishing dollar on my arrival ; but at the 

 same time that I gave him the dollar, to which his 

 situation entitled him, I gave him another for him- 

 self, as a keepsake : he put it into the pocket of 

 " his old massa's" waistcoat, and assured me that 

 they should never again be separated. On hear- 

 ing of his accident, I went over to the hospital to 

 see that he was well taken care of ; and immedi- 

 ately the poor fellow began talking to me about 

 my grandfather, and his young massa, and the 

 young missies, his sisters, and while I suffered him to 

 chatter away for an hour, he totally forgot the pain 

 of his burnt leg. 



It was particularly agreeable to me to observe, 

 on Saturday, as a proof of the good treatment 

 which they had experienced, so many old ser- 

 vants of the family, many of whom had been born 

 on the estate, and who, though turned of sixty 

 and seventy, were still strong, healthy, and cheer- 

 ful. Many manumitted negroes, also, came from 

 other parts of the country to this festival, on hear- 

 ing of my arrival, because, as they said, — " if they 



