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that the Christmas holidays came at Christmas ; 

 when asked the question, he always hesitated, and 

 answered, at hap-hazard, "July" or "October." 

 Yet, Cubina is far superior in intellect to most of 

 the negroes who have fallen under my observation. 

 The girl too, whose business it is to open the house 

 each morning, has in vain been desired to unclose 

 all the jalousies : she never fails to leave three or 

 four closed, and when she is scolded for doing so, 

 she takes care to open those three the next morn- 

 ing, and leaves three shut on the opposite side. 

 Indeed, the attempt to make them correct a fault 

 is quite fruitless : they never can do the same 

 thing a second time in the same manner ; and if 

 the cook having succeeded in dressing a dish well 

 is desired to dress just such another, she is certain 

 of doing something which makes it quite different. 

 One day I desired, that there might be alw r ays a 

 piece of salt meat at dinner, in order that I might 

 be certain of always having enough to send to the 

 sick in the hospital. In consequence, there was 

 nothing at dinner but salt meat. I complained 

 that there was not a single fresh dish, and the next 

 day, there was nothing but fresh. Sometimes there 

 is scarcely anything served up, and the cook seems 

 to have forgotten the dinner altogether : she is told 

 of it ; and the next day she slaughters without 

 mercy pigs, sheep, fowls, ducks, turkeys, and 

 everything that she can lay her murderous hands 

 upon, till the table absolutely groans under the 



