Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1899-12-06
OLD PLANTATION LIFE.


pany, Milwaukee, by member of {
prominent Southern family, Mrs
Victoria Y. Clayton, who, under the
title "White and Black Under the
old Regime, gives an unusually viv-
I'd and faithfulpicture of plantation
life in the south before the war. Mrs.
Clayton's husband was Major General
Clayton, of the Confederates States
Army, afterwsd Judge of the Circuit
Court of Alabama and president of
the University Of Alabama. Two of
her sons are at present members of
Congress, one from New York and
one from Alabama.
Ii Is a representative family of the
South, a fair type of its politics and
its domestic life on the old time plan
tatiOn-the descendant of James
Clayton, who settled in MARYLAND
about the dawn Of the eighteenth
century, branching out as so many
other Maryland families did. into
Alabama, North Carolina, New York.
Wisconsin and California.
Mrs. Clayton has, then, something
to say with measure of authority
from her position. She has realized
what slavery was; its happiness and
sorrow. She has felt the anxiety and
experienced the sacrifices incident to
the struggle, and has sustained the
bitter loss which the defeat of the
South finally entalled.
The introduction by Mr.. Moore
house, editor Of the Church Electric.
should commend this work to the
North and send it on its mission of
promoting peace aud an intelligent
understanding between the North
and South.
"For myself" writes Nh. Moore
house, ga son Of the North, trained
Ia the very opposite political princi-
pies for which the Claytons and the
South have cotended, it is a great
happiness to introduce this simple
memoir. wish the younger
generation would try to know the
South as | have learned TO know il.
The Spanish War has shown TO the
world what we Americans have long
known-that We are again united
country. Butwe do not understand
each others problems as we ought,
and In our political relations we are
content to put on our war paint and
flourish our tOmahawks and pretend
that the integrity of the Constitution,
If not of the whole human race. de-
ponds upon our demolishing a few
windmills that politicians have la
boriously pushed into our way. And
all the while We have lucid intervals
III which we see that it is all great
ghost dance and that they are the
ghosts and COLLINS of dead issues and
dead warriors that are alive the bon
fires in the camp. Some day
we will learn better. And these
quiet annals, such as this. will help
to speed the day"
In 1850 Miss Hunter left her faith
er's comfortable plantation, where
she was mistress, to marry Mr.. Clay
ton, a young lawyer. She was IS
and he was %. They began house
keeping with three servants-the
cook, Harriet, inherited from her mo-
theirs estate; boy, Ned, given her
husband by his father, and little An
ME, Harriet's daughter.
1t looks matter of fact disposal
of these colOred folk; but in realty
they formed portion of the family
thereafter-as well protected, in sick
ness and health, as the white mem
bers. After prosperity came:
Every slave family possessed
garden, truck patch, chicken house
and lot of hens; then little cottages
were arranged so as to form streets"
1t was no light task that fell to the
mistress of the large household.
eve regarded" asserts Mrs. Clay
ton, slavery in patriarchal sense.
We were all one family, and, as mas
ter and mistress, heads of this family.
we were responsible to the God we
worshiped for these creatures to a
very great extent, and we felt our re-
sponsibility and cared for their bod
les and religious training.
They were taught the Greed of the
Holy Apostolic Church, the Lords
Prayer and the Ten Commandments: