237 



March 30. 



This was the day appointed for the first " Royal 

 play-day," when I bade farewell to my negroes. 

 I expected to be besieged with petitions and 

 complaints, as they must either make them on 

 this occasion or not at all. I was, therefore, 

 most agreeably surprised to find, that although 

 they had opportunities of addressing me from 

 nine in the morning till twelve at night, the only 

 favours asked me were by a poor old man, who 

 wanted an iron cooking pot, and by Adam, who 

 begged me to order a little daughter of his to 

 be instructed in needle- work : and as to com- 

 plaints, not a murmur of such a thing was heard ; 

 they all expressed themselves to be quite satisfied, 

 and seemed to think that they could never say 

 enough to mark their gratitude for my kindness, 

 and their anxiety for my getting safe to England. 

 We began our festival by the head driver's drink- 

 ing the health of H. R. H. the Duchess of York, 

 whom the negroes cheered with such a shout as 

 might have " rent helPs concave. 5 ' 



Then we had a christening of such persons as 

 had been absent on the former occasion, one of 

 whom was Adam, the reputed Obeah-man. In 

 the number was a new-born child, whom we called 

 Shakspeare, and whom Afra, the Eboe mother, 

 had very earnestly begged me to make a Christian, 

 as well as a daughter of hers, about four or five 



