Jennies, with a request for some meat,
and that I would help her with some clothes for Ben and Daphne, of whom
she had the sole charge; these are two extremely pretty and
interesting-looking mulatto children, whose resemblance to Mr. K---- had
induced me to ask Mr. ----, when first I saw them, if he did not think
they must be his children? He said they were certainly like him, but Mr.
K---- did not acknowledge the relationship. I asked Jenny who their mother
was. 'Minda.' 'Who their father?' 'Mr. K----.' 'What! old Mr. K----?' 'No,
Mr. R. K----.' 'Who told you so?' 'Minda, who ought to know.' 'Mr. K----
denies it.' 'That's because he never has looked upon them, nor done a
thing for them.' 'Well, but he acknowledged Renty as his son, why should
he deny these?' 'Because old master was here then, when Renty was born,
and he made Betty tell all about it, and Mr. K---- had to own it; but
nobody knows anything about this, and so he denies it'--with which
information I rode home. I always give you an exact report of any
conversation I may have with any of the people, and you see from this that
the people on the plantation themselves are much of my worthy neighbour
Mr. C----'s mind, that the death of Major ---- was a great misfortune for
the slaves on his estate.

I went to the hospital this afternoon, to see if the condition of the poor
people was at all improved since I had been last there; but nothing had
been done. I suppose Mr. G---- is waiting for Mr. ---- to come down in
order to speak to him about it. I found some miserable new cases of women
disabled by hard work. One poor thing, called Priscilla, had come out of
the fields to-day scarcely able to crawl; she has been losing blood for a
whole fortnight without intermission, and, until to-day, was labouring in
the fields. Leah, another new face since I visited the hospital last, is
lying quite helpless from exhaustion; she is advanced in her pregnancy,
and doing task work in the fields at the same time. What piteous
existences to be sure! I do wonder, as I walk among them, well fed, well
clothed, young, strong, idle, doing nothing but ride and drive about all
day, a woman, a creature like themselves, who have borne children too,
what sort of feeling they have towards me. I wonder it is not one of
murderous hate--that they should lie here almost dying with unrepaid
labour for me. I stand and look at them, and these thoughts work in my
mind and heart, till I feel as if I m