chap, iii.] WEST INDIES. 289 
the fickleness of youth, many of them form attach¬ 
ments, which, strengthened by habit, and endeared 
by the consciousness of mutual imbecility, produce 
a union for life. It is not uncommon to behold a 
venerable couple of this stamp, who, tottering un¬ 
der the load of years, contribute to each other’s com¬ 
fort with a cheerful assiduity which is at once ami¬ 
able and affecting. 
The situation of the aged among the negroes is 
indeed commonly such as to make them some 
amends for the hardships and sufferings of their 
youth. The labour required of the men is seldom any 
thing more than to guard the provision grounds; 
and the women are chiefly employed in attending 
the children, in nursing the sick, or in other easy 
avocations; but their happiness chiefly arises from 
the high veneration in which old age is held by the 
negroes in general, and this I consider as one of the 
few pleasing traits in their character. In addressing 
such of their fellow-servants as are any ways advan¬ 
ced in years, they prefix to their names the appel¬ 
lation of parent, as Ta Quaco, and Ma Quasheba; 
Ta and Ma, signifying father and mother, by which 
designation they mean to convey not only the idea 
of filial reverence, but also that of esteem and 
fondness. Neither is the regard thus displayed 
towards the aged, confined to outward ceremonies 
and terms of respect alone. It is founded on an 
active principle of native benevolence, furnishing 
one of the few exceptions to their general unre¬ 
lenting and selfish character. The whole body of 
VoL II. 
o o 
