ming suit.

Are you shocked, little reader, that Tidy, the good, exemplary,
conscientious Tidy, should have thought of appropriating Amelia's
wardrobe to herself? I must stop a moment here to explain to you the
slaves' code of morals. They are so ignorant that we must not expect
them to have so high or correct a standard of conduct as we have, or to
be able to make such nice distinctions in questions of right and wrong.

Ever since Mammy Grace had made to her young pupil the first imperfect
revelation of God's character and government, declaring that he would
punish with eternal fire those who should lie, swear, or steal,
the child had held these sins in the greatest abhorrence, and was
scrupulously careful to avoid them. She would not have taken from the
baby-house a trinket, or an article of food from the kitchen, without
leave, on any account. At the same time, she had learned the slave
theory that as they are never paid for their labor, they have a right
to any thing which their labor has purchased, OF WHICH THEY HAVE NEED.
Consequently if a slave is not provided with food sufficient for his
wants, he supplies himself. The pigs and chickens, vegetables and
fruits, or any thing else which he can handily obtain, he helps himself
to, as though they were his own, and never burdens his conscience
with the sin of stealing. A slave, who had obtained his freedom, once
remarked in a public meeting, that when he was a boy, he was OBLIGED
to steal, or TAKE food, as he called it, in order to live, because so
little was provided for him. "But now," said he, while his face shone
with a consciousness of honesty and honor, "I wouldn't take a cent's
worth from any man; no, not for my right hand."

So, you see, that this principle of appropriating what the labor of her
own hands had earned, when necessity demanded it, was that upon which
Tidy was to act. She never needed to steal food, nor even luxuries, for
she always had enough; nor money, because, for her limited wants, she
always had enough of that. But now, when she was going a journey, and
wanted to look especially nice, she felt very glad to have the dress
prepared so fitting for the occasion; and she did not feel a single
misgiving of conscience about taking it when she got ready to use it.
Whether this was just right or not, I shall leave an open question for
you to decide in your own minds. It will bear thought and discussion,
and will be quite a profitable subject for yo