, indeed,
it was a remark among slaves, that every generation of slaveholders are
more and more inferior. There were several large and powerful families in
our county, including that of my master, which affords to my mind a
melancholy illustration of this remark. One of the wealthiest slaveholders
in the county, was General R., a brother-in-law to my master. This man
owned a large and highly valuable tract of land, called R.'s Manor. I do
not know how many slaves he owned, but the number was large. He lived in a
splendid mansion, and drove his coach and four. He was for some years a
member of Congress. He had a numerous family of children.

The family showed no particular signs of decay until he had married a
second time, and had considerably increased his number of children. It
then became evident that his older children were not educated for active
business, and were only destined to be a charge. Of sons, (seven or
eight,) not one of them reached the eminence once occupied by the father.
The only one that approached to it, was the eldest, who became an officer
in the navy, and obtained the doubtful glory of being killed in the
Mexican war.

General R. himself ran through his vast estate, died intemperate, and left
a widow and large number of daughters, some minors, destitute, and none of
his sons fitted for any employment but in the army and navy.

Slaves have a superstitious dread of passing the dilapidated dwelling of a
man who has been guilty of great cruelties to his slaves, and who is dead,
or moved away. I never felt this dread deeply but once, and that was one
Sabbath about sunset, as I crossed the yard of General R.'s residence,
which was about two miles from us, after he had been compelled to leave
it.

To see the once fine smooth gravel walks, overgrown with grass--the
redundances of the shrubbery neglected--the once finely painted pricket
fences, rusted and fallen down--a fine garden in splendid ruins--the lofty
ceiling of the mansion thickly curtained with cobwebs--the spacious
apartments abandoned, while the only music heard within as a substitute
for the voices of family glee that once filled it, was the crying cricket
and cockroaches! Ignorant slave as I was at that time, I could but pause
for a moment, and recur in silent horror to the fact that, a strange
reverse of fortune, had lately driven from that proud mansion, a large
and once opulent family. What advantage was it now to the members of that