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Show 148 DESPOTISM is uncommon and science still more so. Libraries whether public or private, are seldom to be met with~ A few classics thumbed over at school, a few novels old or new, a sprinkling of political pamphlets, and some favorite newspaper, form the whole circuit of letters and learning, ordinarily trodden by the most stndious of the planters. The education of the females, even among the wealthiest classes is still more superficial. In this connection, it 011ght t~ be remem~) ered, that a very consid~rable portion of the priv .. tleged class arc totally destitute even of the rudiments of learning. 'J'o read is an accomplishment they have never acquired. Of course, it is not to be expected that persons so unfortunately circumstanced, can find employment for their leisure in literary pursuits. '"rhus situated, with no resources for the occupation of their time, the privileged class are constantly beset by a weariness of soul, perhaps the most distressing disorder to which men are subject. "Thank God I am not a negro !" said a planter one day, as he sat beneath the shade of his porch, and watched his slaves in a neighboring field, at work beneath a burning sun. Yet it may well be doubted whether the most miserable of those slaves was half as miserable, as their unfortunate muster, who lived in a lonely part of the country, and suffered from a forced idleness and solitude, the most poignant distresses. It is a common remark among the planters that the slaves are happier than the masters. Many will reject this idea with indignation, as a mere falsehood, in\'ented to gloss over the abominations of tyranny. No doubt the observation is generally urged with that intent. llut the truth of a fact does not depend upon the use intended to be made of it, by those who assert it. ,.-rhe more closely a man meditates upon the state of things at the south, the more inclined he will be to admit the truth of the above remark touching the comparative happiness of the masters and the slaves. Instead however of saying that the masters and the slaves are equally happy, the idea might be more ' IN AMERICA. 149 clearly and distinctly expressed by saying, that both ~aste~s und_ slaves ~r? ~qua1ly miserable. Slavery IS an mventwn for diVIdmg the goods ancl ills of life into two separate parcels, so as to bestow all the ills upon the slaves, and all the good upon the masters. So far as regards the slaves, this attempt is successful enough. rrhe miseries of life are concentrated upon their heads in a terrible mass. But as respects the masters the experiment fails entirely. The coveted good, like that manna which the too greedy Israelites sought wrongfully to appropriate, corrupts, putrefies, changes its nature, and turns into evil. Occupation too long continued is destructive to happiness, but idleness is not less so; and it may well be doubted whether the compulsive labor of the slaves is any more copious a source of misery than the forced idleness of the masters. I say forced idleness, for in depriving themselves of the motives to labor and exertion, they force themselves to be idle. To obtain some relief from the weariness that constantly besets them, the planters seek to divert and occupy their thoughts by social intercourse. This is the origin of that hospitality for which the people of the south are so famous, and which is often brought forward as a virtue ample enough to cover the ac~ knowledged multitude of their sins. Hospitality, it is true, bears a certain relation to benevolence i but it is to benevolence no more than is the flounce to the garment. 'l'he attempt to conceal the nakedness of the land by such a rag, is as contemptible as it is futile. In truth, the visitcrs who arrive at a plantation confer a real benefit upon the lord of it. They give him occupation. The efforts necessary to entertain, are not less agreeable to him who makes them, than to those for whom they are made. If the visiter be a total stranger so much the botter. There is the zest of novelty added to the exoitement of occupation. If he come from a distant part of the country, better yet. He will probably be able to suggest a great many new and mteresting ideas, likely to give an agreeable mo· 1~* |