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and the plea of illness is still alleged against 

 going to work, then the negro is locked up in a 

 room with others similarly circumstanced, where 

 care is taken to supply him with food, water, 

 physic, &c, and no restraint is imposed except 

 that of not going out. Here he is suffered to re- 

 main unmolested as long as he pleases, and he is 

 only allowed to leave the hospital upon his own 

 declaration that he is well enough to go to work ; 

 when the door is opened, and he walks away un- 

 reproached and unpunished, however evident his 

 deception may have been. Before I adopted this 

 regulation, the number of patients used to vary 

 from thirty to forty-five, not more than a dozen of 

 whom perhaps had anything the matter with them: 

 the number at this moment is but fourteen, and all 

 are sores, burns, or complaints the reality of which 

 speaks for itself. Some few persevering tricksters 

 will still submit to be locked up for a day or two ; 

 but their patience never fails to be wearied out by 

 the fourth morning, and I have not yet met with 

 an instance of a patient who had once been locked 

 up with a fictitious illness, returning to the hospital 

 except with a real one. In general, they offer to 

 take a day's rest and physic, promising to go out 

 to work the next day, and on these occasions they 

 have uniformly kept their word. Indeed, my hos- 

 pital is now in such good order, that the physician 

 told the trustee the other day that " mine gave 

 him less trouble than any hospital in the parish/' 



