he mill, and one
hundred sheep.[24]

_Of the duties of the overseer._[25]

(V) These are the duties of the overseer: He should maintain
discipline. He should observe the feast days. He should respect the
rights of others and steadfastly uphold his own. He should settle all
quarrels among the hands; if any one is at fault he should administer
the punishment. He should take care that no one on the place is in
want, or lacks food or drink; in this respect he can afford to
be generous, for he will thus more easily prevent picking and
stealing.[26]

Unless the overseer is of evil mind, he will himself do no wrong, but
if he permits wrong-doing by others, the master should not suffer
such indulgence to pass with impunity. He should show appreciation of
courtesy, to encourage others to practise it. He should not be given
to gadding or conviviality, but should be always sober. He should
keep the hands busy, and should see that they do what the master has
ordered. He should not think that he knows more than his master. The
friends of the master should be his friends, and he should give heed
to those whom the master has recommended to him. He should confine his
religious practices to church on Sunday, or to his own house.[27]

He should lend money to no man unbidden by the master, but what the
master has lent he should collect. He should never lend any seed
reserved for sowing, feed, corn, wine, or oil, but he should have
relations with two or three other farms with which he can exchange
things needed in emergency. He should state his accounts with his
master frequently. He should not keep any hired men or day hands
longer than is necessary. He should not sell any thing without the
knowledge of the master, nor should he conceal any thing from the
master. He should not have any hangers-on, nor should he consult any
soothsayer, fortune teller, necromancer, or astrologer. He should not
spare seed in sowing, for that is bad economy. He should strive to be
expert in all kinds of farm work, and, without exhausting himself,
often lend a hand. By so doing, he will better understand the point of
view of his hands, and they will work more contentedly; moreover, he
will have less inclination to gad, his health will be better, and he
will sleep more refreshingly.

First up in the morning, he should be the last to go to bed at night;
and before he does, he should see that the farm gates are closed, and
that each of the hands is in hi