ented himself with some
water and a towel--I concluded him to belong to the inn--and, on my
returning the towel, as he found that I took no notice of him, he at
length ventured to introduce himself by saying, "Massa not know me; _me
your slave!_"--and really the sound made me feel a pang at the heart.
The lad appeared all gaiety and good humor, and his whole countenance
expressed anxiety to recommend himself to my notice, but the word
"slave" seemed to imply that, although he did feel pleasure then in
serving me, if he had detested me he must have served me still. I really
felt quite humiliated at the moment, and was tempted to tell him, "Do
not say that again; say that you are my negro, but do not call yourself
my slave."

As I was returning this morning from Montego Bay, about a mile from my
own estate, a figure presented itself before me, I really think the most
picturesque that I ever beheld: it was a mulatto girl, born upon
Cornwall, but whom the overseer of a neighboring estate had obtained my
permission to exchange for another slave, as well as two little
children, whom she had borne to him; but, as yet, he had been unable to
procure a substitute, owing to the difficulty of purchasing single
negroes, and Mary Wiggins is still my slave. However, as she is
considered as being manumitted, she had not dared to present herself at
Cornwall on my arrival, lest she should have been considered as an
intruder; but she now threw herself in my way to tell me how glad she
was to see me, for that she had always thought till now (which is the
general complaint) that "_she had no massa_;" and also to obtain a
regular invitation to my negro festival tomorrow. By this universal
complaint, it appears that, while Mr. Wilberforce is lamenting their
hard fate in being subject to a master, _their_ greatest fear is the not
having a master whom they know; and that to be told by the negroes of
another estate that "they belong to no massa," is one of the most
contemptuous reproaches that can be cast upon them. Poor creatures, when
they happened to hear on Wednesday evening that my carriage was ordered
for Montego Bay the next morning, they fancied that I was going away for
good and all, and came up to the house in such a hubbub that my agent
was obliged to speak to them, and pacify them with the assurance that I
should come back on Friday without fail.

But to return to Mary Wiggins: she was much too pretty not to obtain her
invitation t