University of Virginia Library

6. CHAPTER VI.
Recollections of slavery.

I must again repeat what I have said, namely,
that I was contented with my servile condition, and
that I was so far from looking back with regret to
my past life of freedom, that I ceased at last to remember
it altogether. I was troubled with no
sense of degradation, afflicted with no consciousness
of oppression; and instead of looking upon
my master as a tyrant who had robbed me of my
rights, I regarded him as a great and powerful
friend, whose protection and kindness I was bound
to requite with a loyal affection, and with so much
of the labour of my hands as was necessary to my
own subsistence. What would have been my feelings
had my master been really a cruel and tyrannical
man, I will not pretend to say; but doubtless
they would have been the opposite of those I have
confessed.

The above remarks apply equally to my fellow-bondmen,
of whom there were, young and old, and
men and women together, more than a hundred
on the two estates. The exact number I never
knew; but I remember there were above twenty
able-bodied men, or “full hands,” as they were called,
when all were mustered together. There were

many, especially among the women, who were
great grumblers; but that was their nature: such
a thing as serious discontent was, I am persuaded,
entirely unknown. The labours of the plantation
were light, the indulgences granted frequent and
many. There was scarce a slave on the estate
who, if he laboured at all, did not labour more for
himself than his master; for all had their little lots
or gardens, the produce of which was entirely their
own, and which they were free to sell to whomsoever
they listed. And hard merchants they were
sometimes, even to my master, when he would buy
of them, as he often did. I remember one day
seeing old aunt Phœbe, to whom he had sent to
buy some chickens, fall into a passion and refuse
to let the messenger have any, because her master
had forgotten to send the money. “Go tell old
Massa Jodge,” said she, with great ire, “I no old
fool to be cheated out of my money; and I don't
vally his promise to pay not dat!”—snapping her
fingers—“he owe me two ninepence already!”
And the old gentleman was compelled to send her
the cash before she complied with his wishes.

The truth is, my master was, in some respects,
a greater slave than his bondmen; and all the tyranny
I ever witnessed on the estate was exercised
by them, and at his expense; for there was a general
conspiracy on the part of all to cheat him, as
far as was practicable, out of their services, while
they were, all the time, great sticklers for their
own rights and privileges. He was, as I have said

before, universally beloved; but his good-nature
was abused a thousand times a day.

There existed no substantial causes for dissatisfaction;
and there was therefore the best reason for
content. Singing and dancing were more practised
than hard work. In a word, my master's slaves
were an idle, worthless set, but as happy as the day
was long. I may say the same of myself; I certainly
was a very merry and joyous personage, and
my companions, who envied me for being the favourite
of young master, used to call me Giggling
Tom.

But there is an end to the mirth of the slave, as
well as the joy of the master. A cloud at last
came betwixt me and the sun; a new thought
awoke in my bosom, bringing with it a revolution
of feeling, which extended to the breasts of all my
companions. It was but a small cause to produce
such great effects; but an ounce of gunpowder
may be made to blow up an army, and a drop of
venom from the lip of a dog may cause the destruction
of a whole herd.