63 
however refrain from making comparisons, which in no wi^e re¬ 
dounded to the advantage of the white assembly. As soon as I 
entered I found a state of formality.* 
At the end of January, a contagious disorder prevailed, called 
the varioloid. It was said to be a species of small-pox, and was 
described as malignant in the highest degree. Even persons who 
had undergone vaccination, and those who had passed through 
the natural small-pox, were attacked by this disorder. The gar¬ 
rison lost six men, of whom two were severely marked. The 
garrison were placed in the barracks to preserve them from this 
malady. It was thought that it was imported by some negro 
slaves from the north. Many owners of slaves in the states of 
Maryland and Virginia have real—(pardon the loathsome ex¬ 
pression, I know not how otherwise to designate the beastly idea,) 
stud nurseries for slaves, whence the planters of Louisiana, Mis¬ 
sissippi, and the other southern states draw their supplies, which 
increase every day in price. Such a disease as the varioloid is 
a fit present, in return for slaves thus obtained! t 
We paid the late governor of the state, Mr. Robinson, a visit. 
It gave me much pleasure to cultivate his acquaintance. Mr. Ro¬ 
binson is regarded with universal respect, and I met in him 
a highly interesting and well informed man, who converses 
with wit and spirit. At a dinner, given by the acting go¬ 
vernor, I became acquainted with the former governor and 
militia general Villaret, as well as with Dr. Herman, from 
Cassel, who was employed in the navy of the United States 
as surgeon-general. From this dinner we went to the child’s 
ball, which was given in the customary ball room of the French 
theatre, for the benefit of the dancing master. Most of the chil¬ 
dren were quite charming, and danced very prettily: only the 
little girls from ten to eleven years of age, were dressed and 
tricked off like full grown ladies. About eight o’clock the little 
children left off dancing and were mostly sent home, and in their 
place the larger girls resumed the dance. The costume of the 
ladies was very elegant. To my discomfiture, however, a pair 
* If it be known that a stranger, who has pretensions to mix with good so¬ 
ciety, frequents such balls as these, he may rely upon a cold reception from 
the white ladies. 
f [A plain, unvarnished history of the internal slave trade carried on in this 
country, would shock and disgust the reader to a degree that would almost 
render him ashamed to acknowledge himself a member of the same community. 
In unmanly and degrading barbarity, wanton cruelty, and horrible indiffer¬ 
ence to every human emotion, facts could be produced worthy of association 
with whatever is recorded of the slave trade in any other form. One of these 
internal slave traders has built, in a neighbouring city, a range of private pri¬ 
sons, fronting the main road to Washington, in which he collects his cattle pre¬ 
vious to sending off a caravan to the south. The voice of lamentation is sel¬ 
dom stilled within these accursed walls.] Tuans. 
