Year: 1872




after little more conversation they sought
the others and found them in the kitchen-a
much cleaner one than negroes generally
keep-listening to maum Elsie's declarations
of ioy that she was back once more "wid her
little mass'r Jack" She had been cook for
his mother, and we'll remembered "roasting
'tate:s and making hoe-cakes" for Jack to eat
at sundown because his mother would not let
him eat the hearty suppers his father would
have.


"People did say eating such rich suppers
was wot killed ole mass'r; but she knowed
none o'her willis ever grazed him. She
didn't know what dat oder wife did; but he
didn' die O. none O. her cookin'."


Maum Elsie had Jared rather badly after
the death of her young mistress, and still
worse after being free; so to be sought out by
her young master and installed as his cook,
housekeeper and poultry-minder was very graf
flying. She was honest, good natured and in
dustrious; and as she is still cook and her hus-
band one of Jacks best field hands, it may be
concluded all parties have dealt we'll by each
other. Maum Elsie had to show her garden,
where good stand Of peas and cabbages was
to be seen, and then Jack carried them to
look at his orchard.


"Four gnarled, knotty apple frees, six poor
old broken.down peach trees with few faded
blossoms Is that what you call your great
orchard ?" laughed Conway; "and not even
muscadine for vineyard" And she leaned
on the fence and looked at few poor trees
which had survived years of abuse and neg
lect.


"No, cousin Conway, it is my orchard IN
talt,ro I wish to show. You see that spot OF
ploughed ground! Well, by every one of
those stakes is a young fruit tree. In that
place over yonder are over twenty grape vines
of several varieties. In that row nearest my
vines are two kinds of fig bushes-about If
teen of each kind. Then by the side Of the
fence have planted seeds from choice apples
and other fruit. Miss Ellen Wright has prom
ised some strawberry plants, and am to stop
for them the next time I come down."


"Forgive my laughing, cousin Jack; you
have indeed started an orchard to be proud
Of" and Conway looked with admiration at
his work and what it promised.


All had something fattering to say; and
Eugene, putting his arm through Jacks, ask
ed eagerly


Chow is it you have everything so nice
about you and made so many improvements
in such short time, when so many who have
been planting for years and had plenty OF
slaves, could never find time for anything OF
the kind? How did you do it,"


"Why I determined to have some poetry as
we'll as prose on my place. I could not split
rails-which was the first thing to be done
so while the others did that began some of
these things. Then, Saturday evenings, when
the hands have their own time, give my at
tention to homo mattors, and it is surprising
how much can accomplish"


"I should not think you could hold out to
work so hard and steady. Are you not afraid
you will injure your health?" asked Mrs. FL
lott.


81 never think of it. I am not so effenin-
ate as you seem to suppose. Why last fall,
when young Smith, whose duties were on the
wharf, began to give out, took his place for
some hours each day and rolled barrels, lifted
boxes, and tumbled bales of cotton about like
regular drayman or stevedore"


"But that was unnecessary drudgery. You
were not required to do anything like that,
and can't see why you should have underta-
ken it" said Conway in great surprise


II wanted to test my strength for one thing;
to be in the open air and sun for another;
help Smith, who was fine fellow and had a
family which would have suffered if his health
had given out so as to make him lose his situ-
alton, for third; and spirit was in me to
make me show off little You know there
are a plenty of men who will oversee hard
work, but will let their employers interests
suffer greatly, before they will take hold with
their own hands and help in tight place;
and it did me great amount Of good to show
some of them there was one person not afraid
of losing his position in society or hurting his
dignity, by taking hold of dirty barrel with
out gloves. I really believe some of them
were more afraid of soiling their soft white
hands, than Of committing mean action"


"Perhaps they are more to be pitied than
blamed" said Mrs. Elliott. ut has so long
been considered degrading to do many things
which slaves used to have for their work, that
many cannot dissociate the work from the idea
of its lowering them to perform it. And the
mind shrinking from the labor, takes deGle-
ment of the hands as an injury to the mental
as we'll as physical feelings"


"You may be partly right, but not wholly
so; for person of good sense and good prin-
ciples ought to see it is dishonest to undertake
business and neglect it; and an act which
stains the moral nature is far more degrading
than one which simply tires the arms and soils
the hands. Our people must have morbid
sensitiveness on the subject of plain homely
work, so many shrink from it and so much is
said of those who take hold of it an earnest,
unfinching manner. Even the sailors would
ask from what State I was from, and looked
incredulous when told them. One light fine
captain declared I was never raised in this
State, or my parents were not and took such
liking to me that he invited me to dine and
take supper with him every time he came into
port. I enjoyed his suppers and company
hugely to use one of his expressions"


II don't see why they doubted your being