Live More Happy than We have Don for the fewter."

In his dealings with servants Washington was sometimes troubled with
questions that worry us when we are trying to hire "Mary" or "Bridget."
Thus when Mrs. Washington's ill health necessitated his engaging in 1797
a housekeeper he made the following minute and anxious inquiries of
Bushrod Washington at Richmond concerning a certain Mrs. Forbes:

"What countrywoman is she?

"Whether Widow or Wife? if the latter

"Where her husband is?

"What family she has?

"What age she is?

"Of what temper?

"Whether active and spirited in the execution of her business?

"Whether sober and honest?

"Whether much knowledge in Cookery, and understands ordering and
setting out a Table?

"What her appearance is?

"With other matters which may occur to you to ask,--and necessary for me
to know.

"Mrs. Forbes will have a warm, decent and comfortable room to herself,
to lodge in, and will eat of the victuals of our Table, but not set at
it, at any time _with us_, be her appearance what it may, for if this
was _once admitted_, no line satisfactory to either party, perhaps,
could be drawn thereafter.--It might be well for me to know however
whether this was admitted at Govr. Brookes or not."

Considerate and just though he was, his deliberate judgment of servants
after a long and varied experience was that they are "necessary
plagues ... they baffle all calculation in the accomplishment of any
plan or repairs they are engaged in; and require more attention to and
looking after than can be well conceived."

Perhaps the soundest philosophy upon this trying and much debated
servant question is that of Miles Standish, who proceeded, however,
straightway to violate it.

CHAPTER XII

BLACK SLAVES

It is one of the strange inconsistencies of history that one of the
foremost champions of liberty of all time should himself have been the
absolute owner and master of men, women and children.

Visitors at Mount Vernon saw many faces there, but only a few were white
faces, the rest were those of black slaves. On each farm stood a village
of wooden huts, where turbaned mammies crooned and piccaninnies gamboled
in the sunshine. The cooks, the house servants, the coachmen, the stable
boys, almost all the manual workers were slaves. Even the Mansion House
grounds, if the master was away, were apt to be overrun with black
children, for though only the progeny of a few house se