University of Virginia Library

FEBRUARY 14.

I think that I really may now venture to hope that my plans for the management of my estate have succeeded beyond even my most sanguine expectations. I have now passed three weeks with my negroes, the doors of my house open all day long, and, full liberty allowed to every person to come and speak to me without witnesses or restraint; yet not one man or woman has come to me with a single complaint. On the contrary, all my inquiries have been answered by an assurance, that during the two years of my absence my regulations have been adhered to most implicitly, and that, " except for the pleasure of seeing massa," there was no difference. Many of them have come to tell me instances of kincluess which they have received from one or other of their superintendents ; others to describe some severe fit of illness in which they must have died but for the care taken of them in the hospital ; some, wko were weakly and low-spirited upon my former visit, to show me how much they are improved in health, and tell me " how they keep up heart now, because since massa come upon the property nobody put upon them, and all go well;" and some who had formerly complained of one trifle or other, withdraw their complaints, and say that they want no charge, and are willing to be employed in any way that might be thought most for the good of the estate. Although I have now at least seen every one of them, and have ; conversed with numbers, I have not yet been able to find one person who had so much as even an imaginary grievance to lay before me. Yet I find that it has been found necessary to punish with the I h, although only in a very few instances ; but then t

his only took place on the commission of absolute crimes, and in cases where its necessity and justice were so universally felt, not only by others, but by the sufferes themsleves, that instead of complaining, they seem only to be afraid of their offence coming to

my knowledge: to prevent which, they affect to be more satisfied and happy that all the rest ; and now when I see a mouth grinning from ear to ear with more than ordinary expansion of jaw, I never fail to find an inquiry, that its proprietor is one of those who have been punished during my absence. I then take care to give them an opportunity of making a complaint, if they should have any to make ; none is uttered : " everything has gone perfectly well, and just as it ought to have done." Upon this I drop a slight hint of the offence in question, and instantly away goes the grin, and down falls the negor to kiss my feet, confess his fault, and " beg msaa forgib, and them never do so bad thing more to fret massa, and them beg massa pardon, hard, quite hard!" But not one of them has denied the justice of his superintendant, complained of undue severity on the part of his superintendents.

On the other hand, although the lash has thus been in a manner utterly abolished, except in cases where a much severer punishement would have been inflicted by the police, and although they are aware if this unwillingness to chastise, my trustee acknowledged that during my absence the negroes have been wueit and tractable, and have not only laboured as well as they used to do, but have done much more work than the negroes on an adjoining property, where the number is considerably larger, and where, moreover, a considerable sum is paid for hired assistance. Having now waited three weeks to see how they would conduct themselves, and found no cause for dissatisfaction since the neglect of the watchmen to guard the cattle (and which they one and all attribute to their joy at seeing me again), I thought it time distribute the presents which I had brought for them from England.

During my absence I had ordered a new and additional hospital to be built, intented entirely for the use of lying-in women, nursing mothers, and cases of a serious nature, for which purpose it is to be provided with every possible comfort ; while the old hosptial is to be reserved for those who have little or nothing the matter with them, but who obstinately insist upon their being too ill to work, in defiance of the opinion of all their medical attendants. The new hospital is not quite finished ; but wishing to connect it as much as possible with pleasurable associations,

I took occasion of the distribution of presents to open it for the first time. Accordingly, the negroes were summoned to the new hospital this morning ; the rooms were sprinkled with Madeira for good luck, and the toast of " Health to the new hospital, and shame to the old lazy house! " was drunk by the trustee, the doctoresses, the governors, &c., and received by the whole assembly of negroes with loud cheering ; after which every man received a blue jacket lined with flannel, every woman a flaming red stuff petticoat, and every child a frock of white cotton. They then fell to dancing and singing, and drinking rum and sugar, which occupations they have kept up till a much later hour than would be at all approved of by the bench of bishops; for it is now Sunday morning, and they are still dancing and singing louder than ever.