the periodic political conflicts and
occasional local riots and acts of individual violence, the relations
between the races, in respect to nine tenths of the population, are very
friendly. The general condition has been too often judged by the acts of
a small minority. The Southern people understand the Negroes, and feel
a real fondness for those that are thrifty and well behaved. When fairly
treated the Negro has a strong affection for his employer. He seldom
forgets a kindness, and is quick to forget a wrong. If he does not stay
long at one place, it is not that he dislikes his employer so much as
that he has a restless temperament and craves change. His disposition
is full of mirth and sunshine, and not a little of the fine flavor of
Southern wit and humor is due to his influence. His nature is plastic,
and while he is easily molded into a monster, he is also capable of
a high degree of culture. Many Negroes are thoroughly honest,
notwithstanding their bad environment and hereditary disposition to
steal. Negro servants are trusted with the keys to households to an
extent that, probably, is not the case among domestics elsewhere in the
civilized world.

It is strange that two races working side by side should possess so
many opposite traits of character. The white man has strong will and
convictions and is set in his ways. He lives an indoor, monotonous life,
restrains himself like a Puritan, and is inclined to melancholy. The
prevalence of Populism throughout the South is nothing but the outcome
of this morbid tendency. Farmers and merchants are entirely absorbed in
their business, and the women, especially the married women, contrast
with the women of France, Germany, and even England, in their indoor
life and disinclination to mingle with the world outside. Public
parks and public concerts, such as are found in Europe, which call out
husband, wife, and children for a few hours of rest and communion with
their friends, are almost unknown in the South. The few entertainments
that receive sanction generally exclude all but the well-to-do by the
cost of admission. The life of the poor in town and country is bleak and
bare to the last degree.

Contrasting with this tendency is the free-and-easy life of the blacks.
The burdens of the present and the future weigh lightly upon their
shoulders. They love all the worldly amusements; in their homes they are
free entertainers, and in their fondness for conversation and love