d sway in the nursery; Aunt Dinah was the
cook; Aunt Rachel carried the housekeeper's keys; while Jane and Ann,
the mulatto ladies' maids, flitted about on duty, and Jim and Jack
"'tended on young marster and de gemman." Such hospitality as was made
possible by that style of living can never repeat itself in changed
conditions. Grant that these conditions are improved. Grant that the
lifted incubus of slavery has opened the doors for the march of
intellectual and industrial progress; the fact remains that the highest
order of social enjoyment, and of the exercise of the charming amenities
of life, was blotted out when the old plantation of Dixie land was
divided up by the spoils of war.

It is interesting to read of the first attempt at a sugar crop in
Louisiana by a Frenchman named Bore in 1794. His indigo plant, once so
profitable, had been attacked and destroyed by a worm, and dire poverty
threatened. He conceived the project of planting sugar cane. The great
question was would the syrup granulate; and hundreds gathered to watch
the experiment. It did granulate, and the first product sold for twelve
thousand dollars--a large sum at that time.

The maker of the cotton gin worked another revolution in commerce, and
rice proved to be an unfailing staple. Armies of negroes tilled the
soil, and were happy in their circumscribed sphere, humanely cared for
by the whites.

Enter the home and lo! a palace greets you. Massive mahogany furniture,
now, alas! in scattered remnants, meets the eye at every turn. Treasures
and elegant trifles of many lands attest the artistic taste of the
owners. Gorgeous china, plate and glass are there in everyday use.
Fruits of the loom in rarest silk and linen, embellish the chambers
and luxury sits enthroned. The chatelaine, gracious and cultured, is
to the manner born: and from season to season she fills her house with
congenial people who are invited to come, but not, as with present house
parties, told when to go. As long as they found it comfortable and
convenient the latchstring was out. A guest was never permitted to pay
for anything; expressage, laundry and all incidentals were as free as
air. The question of money, nowadays impertinently thrust forth, was
never hinted at in the olden time. It was considered bad form, and the
luckless boaster of "how poor he was" would have been properly stared
at as a boor as well as a bore.

For pastimes men had fishing and hunting, and for women t