child is so
carefully and tenderly watched over and cherished while it is with
you,--and then to leave it alone in the dread grave where the winds and
the rain beat upon it! I know they do not feel it, but since mine has
been there, I have never felt sheltered from the storms when they come.
The rain seems to fall on my bare heart. I have said more than I meant
to have said on this subject, and have left myself little heart to write
of anything else. Tell Mammy that it is a great disappointment to me
that her name is not to have a place in my household. I was always so
pleased with the idea that my Susan and little Cygnet should grow up
together as the others had done; but it seems best that it should not be
so, or it would not have been denied. Tell Mary that Chloe staid that
night with Kate, and has been kind to her. All are well at her house.

* * * * *

Of the persons named in this letter,

KATE is a slave-mother, belonging to the lady who writes the letter.

CYGNET was Kate's babe.

MAMMY is a common appellation for a slave-nurse. The Mammy to whom the
message in the letter is sent was nursery-maid when the writer of the
letter and several brothers and sisters were young; and, more than this,
she was maid to their mother in early years. She is still in this
gentleman's family. Her name is Cygnet; Kate's babe was named for her.

MARY is the lady's married sister.

CHLOE is Mary's servant.

The incidental character of this letter and the way in which it came to
me, gave it a special charm. Some recent traveller, describing his
sensations at Heidelberg Castle, speaks of a German song which he heard,
at the moment, from a female at some distance and out of sight. This
letter, like that song, derives much of its effect from the
unconsciousness of the author that it would reach a stranger.

Having read this letter many times, always with the same emotions as at
first, I resolved to try the effect of it upon my friend, A. Freeman
North. He is an upright man, much sought after in the settlement of
estates, especially where there are fiduciary trusts. Placing the letter
in his hands, I asked him, when he should have read it, to put in
writing his impressions and reflections. The result will be found in the
next chapter. Mrs. North, also, will engage the reader's kind attention.

CHAPTER II.

NORTHERN COMMENTS ON SOUTHERN LIFE.

"As blind men use to bear their noses hig