1. Happy Days on the Plantation
BY SUSAN DABNEY SMEDES (1840)
[_]
The subject which most interested people, north and south, from 1830 to 1862, was African
slavery in the southern states. No one can understand the life of the time or the course of American history without knowing
something of the conditions of slavery and the treatment of slaves—sometimes very cruet and
more often as kind as was possible where the poverty or death of a master might make it necessary to sell the household slaves. This account was written by the daughter of a living slaveholder. Servant was the word commonly used in the South instead of slave.
ON wedding occasions, the bride always expected a good many gifts, besides materials
for a cake; and some of the master's family must be present. The mistress's big prayer-book was
taken over, and the marriage service read by one of the young masters. The slaves would not be
satisfied unless the bride and the cake were duly complimented.
At one of the weddings the bridegroom did not respond when his time came. "Solomon,"
said the young master,"say thou wilt.""Thou wilt,"repeated Solomon in his most solemn voice.
The marriage ceremony went on. "Courtenay, wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband to
live together after God's holy ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony ? Wilt thou obey him,
and serve him, love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others,
keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live ? ""I does,"responded the bride.
The nurse who took care of the women when their babies were born received a fee each time.
The mothers themselves looked upon these seasons as
gala times. They were provided with
flour, sugar, dried fruit, and often meals from the table, and a woman to do all their cooking,
washing, and housework for a month. Their cabins were clean and orderly, their beds gay with
bright quilts, and often the pillows were snowy enough to tempt any head.
When we children were allowed to go to see some of the servants, they delighted in
setting out a little feast. If they had nothing else, we were not allowed to go without bringing
home a new-laid egg or two. Once at Christmas, Mammy Harriet gave a "high tea"to us
children. I was at that time about fourteen years of age, the oldest invited.
Mammy had made a nice cake and hot biscuits and tea for the occasion, set out in her
choicest cups, some of rare old china, with sugar in the sugar-bowl that she had inherited from
her mother. She gave us besides, sweetmeats, nuts, raisins, fruits of several kinds— indeed, a
delightful tea; and she stood behind us waiting on the table, looking very much pleased, her
bright bandanna handkerchief towering aloft on her bead.
The children delighted in teaching the house-servants. One night a twelve-year old
school-mistress formally invited the whole family, the master, mistress, governess, and guests, to
hear her pupils recite poetry. She had about a dozen of the maids, old and young, Mammy Maria
among them. One of the guests was quite astonished to see his own slave, whom he had brought
with him to Burleigh, get up and recite a piece of poetry that had been learned with pains for this
occasion.
Some of the sons taught those of the plantation negroes who cared to learn, but
very few were willing to
take the trouble to study. Virginius was successful with his scholars. Five of them
learned to read so well that they became preachers. For his salary as teacher he got one
dozen eggs a month, or occasionally a pullet at the end of two months. He taught
in the kitchen by the light of pine torches. His method of enforcing discipline on these middle-aged men was truly ludicrous.
His own tutor was one of the old-fashioned sort, and did not spare the rod in the morning; so at
night Virginius belabored the backs of his sturdy fellows. His beatings were received
with shouts of laughter, the whole school would be in an uproar, the scholars dodging
about to escape the young pedagogue's stick, and the cook and other on-lookers
roaring with laughter. One of the graduates asked his advice as to a course of reading, suggesting hisotry as
the branch that he wished to pursue. The youthful teacher promptly advised "Robinson Crusoe,"
and lent his own handsome copy to this promising pupil. After reading one hundred pages, Joe came to him and said,
"Mars Virginius, did you say dat book was history?" Virginius explained as well as he could what fiction
was, on which Joe said, "I bin mistrustin' all 'long dar some o' de things what
Robinson Crusoe say warn't true."
