miliar exclamations, that told unmistakably
the character of the discipline to which they were accustomed. The young
chattels are an infallible barometer--they indicate the real state of
the weather on a plantation. One may never see among the older slaves of
even a cruel master, any but sunshiny faces, for they know the penalty
of surliness before a stranger; but the little darkies cannot be so
restrained. They will slink away into by-corners, or scamper out of
sight whenever their owner appears, if they are not treated kindly.

'Massa's well. Are you all well?'

'Yes, massa, we's right smart; an' all on we's good little nigs eber
sense 'ou's 'way.'

'I'm glad to hear it; now, scamper back to the house, and tell 'missus'
we're coming.'

'Missus knows 'ou's comin', massa; massa Joe am dar; missus knows 'ou's
I comin'.'

After a short drive over a narrow winding avenue, strewn with leaves and
shaded with the long branches of the pine, the oak, and the holly, we
came to the mansion, which stood on a gentle mound in the midst of a
green lawn, sloping gently down to a small lake. It had once been a
square, box-like structure; but Preston had so transformed it, that but
for its rustic surroundings and the thick groups of giant evergreens
which clustered at its sides, it might have been taken for a suburban
villa. Projecting eaves, large dormers, which sprang out from the
roof-line and rested on a broad porch and balcony, a rustic _porte
cochere_, and here and there a vine-covered bay or oriole window, broke
up the regularity of its outline, and proclaimed its designer a true
poet--and poetry, now-a-days, is more often written on the walls of
country houses than in the corners of country newspapers.

Nearly all of the 'family,' excepting the field hands, had gathered to
witness our arrival; but there was no shouting or noisy demonstrations.
After we had greeted Mrs. Preston and her two little daughters--her twin
roses, as she called them--my host turned to the assembled negroes, and
gave each one his hand and a kind word. The hearty 'Lord bress 'ou, good
massa,' and 'Glad 'ou's come, massa,' which broke from all of them,
would have gladdened the heart of even the bitterest opponent of the
peculiar institution. One old woman, whose head was as white as snow,
and whose bent form showed great age, sat on a lower step of the porch,
surrounded by a cluster of children. Her mistress raised her to her feet
as Preston approach