vor of his master. There was, in this simple act of continued work, an
accusation against slaves; and a slave could not help thinking, that if
he made three dollars during the holidays, he might make three
hundred during the year. Not to be drunk during the holidays,{195} was
disgraceful; and he was esteemed a lazy and improvident man, who could
not afford to drink whisky during Christmas.

The fiddling, dancing and _"jubilee beating_," was going on in all
directions. This latter performance is strictly southern. It supplies
the place of a violin, or of other musical instruments, and is played
so easily, that almost every farm has its "Juba" beater. The performer
improvises as he beats, and sings his merry songs, so ordering the words
as to have them fall pat with the movement of his hands. Among a mass
of nonsense and wild frolic, once in a while a sharp hit is given to the
meanness of slaveholders. Take the following, for an example:

_We raise de wheat,
Dey gib us de corn;
We bake de bread,
Dey gib us de cruss;
We sif de meal,
Dey gib us de huss;
We peal de meat,
Dey gib us de skin,
And dat's de way
Dey takes us in.
We skim de pot,
Dey gib us the liquor,
And say dat's good enough for nigger.
Walk over! walk over!
Tom butter and de fat;
Poor nigger you can't get over dat;
Walk over_!

This is not a bad summary of the palpable injustice and fraud of
slavery, giving--as it does--to the lazy and idle, the comforts which
God designed should be given solely to the honest laborer. But to the
holiday's.

Judging from my own observation and experience, I believe these holidays
to be among the most effective means, in the hands of slaveholders, of
keeping down the spirit of insurrection among the slaves.

To enslave men, successfully and safely, it is necessary to{196} have
their minds occupied with thoughts and aspirations short of the liberty
of which they are deprived. A certain degree of attainable good must be
kept before them. These holidays serve the purpose of keeping the minds
of the slaves occupied with prospective pleasure, within the limits
of slavery. The young man can go wooing; the married man can visit his
wife; the father and mother can see their ch