2017. DEBT, Tormented by.—
The torment
of mind I endure till the moment shall
arrive when I shall not owe a shilling on
earth is such really as to render life of little
value. I cannot decide to sell my lands. I
have sold too much of them already, and
they are the only sure provision for my children;
nor would I willingly sell the slaves as
long as there remains any prospect of paying
my debts with their labor. In this I am governed
solely by views to their happiness,
which will render it worth their while to use
extraordinary exertions for some time to enable
me to put them ultimately on an easier
footing, which I will do the moment they
have paid the debts due from the estate, two-thirds
of which have been contracted by purchasing
them.—
To Nicholas Lewis.
Ford ed., iv, 416.
(P.
1787)
