onclude that the lot of the Mount Vernon slaves
was a reasonably happy one. The regulations to which they had to conform
were rigorous. Their Master strove to keep them at work and to prevent
them from "night walking," that is running about at night visiting.
Their work was rough, and even the women were expected to labor in the
fields plowing, grubbing and hauling manure as if they were men. But
they had rations of corn meal, salt pork and salt fish, whisky and rum
at Christmas, chickens and vegetables raised by themselves and now and
then a toothsome pig sequestered from the Master's herd. When the annual
races were held at Alexandria they were permitted to go out into the
world and gaze and gabble to their heart's content. And, not least of
all, an inscrutable Providence had vouchsafed to Ham one great
compensation that whatever his fortune or station he should usually be
cheerful. The negro has not that "sad lucidity of mind" that curses his
white cousin and leads to general mental wretchedness and suicide.

Some of the Mount Vernon slaves were of course more favored than were
others. The domestic and personal servants lived lives of culture and
inglorious ease compared with those of the field hands. They formed the
aristocracy of colored Mount Vernon society and gave themselves airs
accordingly.

Nominally our Farmer's slaves were probably all Christians, though I
have found no mention in his papers of their spiritual state. But
tradition says that some of them at Dogue Run at least were Voudoo or
"conjuring" negroes.

Washington owned slaves and lived his life under the institution of
slavery, but he loved it not. He was too honest and keen-minded not to
realize that the institution did not square with the principles of human
liberty for which he had fought, and yet the problem of slavery was so
vast and complicated that he was puzzled how to deal with it. But as
early as 1786 he wrote to John F. Mercer, of Virginia: "I never mean,
unless some particular circumstances should compel me to it, to possess
another slave by purchase, it being among my _first_ wishes to see some
plan adopted by which slavery in this country may be abolished by law."
The running away of his colored cook a decade later subjected him to
such trials that he wrote that he would probably have to break his
resolution. He did, in fact, carry on considerable correspondence to
that end and seems to have taken one man on trial, but I have found