As a rule,
there was food for whites and blacks, but inside the house, and
on the dining-room table, there was wanting that delicacy and
refinement of touch and finish which can make a home the most
convenient, comfortable, and attractive place in the world.
Withal there was a waste of food and other materials which was
sad. When freedom came, the slaves were almost as well fitted to
begin life anew as the master, except in the matter of
book-learning and ownership of property. The slave owner and his
sons had mastered no special industry. They unconsciously had
imbibed the feeling that manual labour was not the proper thing
for them. On the other hand, the slaves, in many cases, had
mastered some handicraft, and none were ashamed, and few
unwilling, to labour.
Finally the war closed, and the day of freedom came. It was a
momentous and eventful day to all upon our plantation. We had
been expecting it. Freedom was in the air, and had been for
months. Deserting soldiers returning to their homes were to be
seen every day. Others who had been discharged, or whose
regiments had been paroled, were constantly passing near our
place. The "grape-vine telegraph" was kept busy night and day.
The news and mutterings of great events were swiftly carried from
one plantation to another.
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