44^ 
 
I 
 
DUTIES 
 
 OF 
 
 MASTEKS TO SERVANTS: 
 
 THEEE PEEMIUM ESSAYS. 
 
 7 
 
 I. By the Rev. H. N. McTYEIRE. 
 11. By the Rev. C. F. STURGIS. 
 III. By the Rev. A. T. HOLMES. 
 
 CHARLESTON, S. C: 
 
 SOUTHERN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 
 
 No. 41 Broad-street. 
 
 1851 
 
 XK 
 
■mif 
 
NOTE 
 
 In 1849, the Baptist State Convention of Alabama offered a 
 premium of $200 for the best Essay on the Duties of Christian 
 Masters to their Servants ; and assigned the duty of making the 
 award to a committee selected from the leading religious denomi- 
 nations of the Southern and South-western States. The award, 
 as suggested by the committee, was confirmed at the meeting of 
 the Convention in 1850 ; and three essays are, accordingly, se- 
 lected for publication. The Rev. H. N. McTyeire, of New- 
 Orleans, is the author of the essay signed " Crescent ;" the Rev. 
 C. F. Sturgis, of Greensborough, Ala., is the author of the Mel- 
 ville letters ; and the Rev. A. T. Holmes, of Hayneville, Houston 
 Co., Ga., is the author of the essay signed " Ryland Fuller." 
 
 It is proper to state that the Committee of Award, the Con- 
 vention, and their Committee of Publication, have, alike, ab- 
 stained from any such censorshi > of these essays as to make 
 themselves, or any of them, responsible for the accuracy of the 
 definitions or statements used by the writers respectively. The 
 parties, above referred to, have deemed it sufficient that these 
 essays were adjudged to be the best presented to them, and that 
 they contain matter worthy of the j^rofound and prayerful con- 
 sideration of the owners of slaves. The authors of the essays, 
 severally, are entitled to all the honor, and will sustain all the 
 responsibility, which may belong to them. 
 
 Charleston, S. C, 1851. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 By Masters the writer understands the owners of servants in 
 distinction from those who hire or oversee them. The former, 
 having the legal control and disposition of their servants, are re- 
 garded as responsible for their treatment — a responsibility very 
 onerous, and only traasferable with ownership. 
 
 By Serva7its is understood that class of laborers at present ob- 
 taining under the domestic institutions of the Southern States ; to 
 whom, if to any upon the earth, the numerous precepts of the 
 Bible are addressed under tliat name. 
 
 The advantage of addressing Christian masters is duly appre- 
 ciated. A word to them, upon divine authority, will be a sufficient 
 reason. The relation subsisting between them and other human 
 beings having been distinctly recognized in the Holy Scriptures, 
 the duties growing out of it remain not to be derived and enforced 
 by argument. Many and plain precepts have been directed to 
 them, and it is expected that they will abide by their application . 
 It is hoped, however, that much of this essay will receive atten- 
 tion from those not professedly Christians ; for not only do they 
 make up a large proportion of masters, but it must be confessed 
 that, in numeroui instances, they have manifested a disposition to 
 ameliorate the physical, social and religious condition of their 
 servants quite in advance of some professedly Christians. 
 
 The writer would add a few words in reference to himself; 
 inasmuch as, on accovmt of the agitations on this delicate subject, 
 all persons may not be considered at liberty to treat it. He is 
 by birth a South-Carolinian ; and by education and sympathy has 
 never been less a Southerner than that nativity calls for. His 
 father is a cotton planter and a slaveholder : and that he is not 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 the same, is owing to those circumstances and high necessities that 
 control our lives beyond and often contrary to all previous plans. 
 Whether it be considered discreditable or not, the writer deems 
 it by no means a disqualification for the task he has undertaken 
 that much of his time, in one capacity or other, has been spent on 
 plantations and among servants. The matter he treats has passed 
 before his eyes, in all the phases of true life, and is not now, for 
 the first time, looked upon by him m the light of Scripture 
 teachings. Having never resided north of Mason and Dixon's line, 
 he has not learned to hate the master or contemn the servant. 
 All his associations, from infancy up, have secured for both of 
 them the kindest feelings of his heart ; and he rejoices at this op- 
 portunity of promoting their mutual welfare by the expression of 
 sentiments that are the result of his best observations and re- 
 flections. 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 BY THE REV. H. N. McTYEIRE, 
 
 OF NEW -ORLEANS. 
 
 The word Master and its correlative Servant, express a 
 peculiar relation; one that cannot be expressed by neigh- 
 bor, any more than by husband and wife, or parent and 
 child. These are all different relations, and imply dis- 
 tinct obligations as they do distinct facts. 
 
 The exhortations and instructions of th6 New Testa- 
 ment, addressed to various classes and conditions, may be 
 reduced to something like the following order : — duties 
 of Christians as neighbors and members of society; as 
 husbands and wives ; as parents and children ; as masters 
 and servants. The relation of husband and wife, being 
 sui generis, is happily used to illustrate the connection 
 between Christ and His Church — its subjection to and 
 unity with Him as its Head. For the same reason 
 that of master and servant is more than once used to 
 illustrate the relation of all the inhabitants of the world 
 to God, the Creator and Ruler ; "knowing that ye also 
 have a Master in heaven."* 
 
 The Bible puts it beyond question that a master 
 stands, to his bond-servant, one bought with his money, 
 
 *Colossians, iv : 1. Ephesians, vi : 9. Lukexvii: 10 
 
8 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 or born in his house, as he does not to the hired servant 
 or stranger within his gates, or the neighbor without 
 them. He has, therefore, feelings to cultivate and a part 
 to perform tovvard him which he will do well to inquire 
 into. It is not enough that enlarged and general views 
 of the human family be entertained in order to under- 
 standing what our duty is to them that are about us. 
 Our particular relations to them must h) studied in that 
 specific manner the Apostles have pointed out, before 
 the various and interesting classes of duties that each 
 devolves upon us, can be felt. One may be a good 
 neighbor and yet at fault as a husband or father ; or he 
 may be a good husband, a good father, and yet a bad 
 master. 
 
 The duties a master owes to his servant are as bind- 
 ing upon the conscience as those the servant owes to the 
 master : neither can be neglected without sin. Indeed 
 as far as they go, though of a different kind, they are as 
 binding as any the master may owe to any other human 
 creature. Obligations to those of lower condition appeal 
 powerfully to a magnanimous spirit ; they are the last 
 it will dispute or fail to fulfil. In such a case, the debtor 
 is also constituted guardian. If the servant is defrauded 
 of his own and hardly dealt with ; if his wants are not 
 regarded or his grievances redressed, to whom can he 
 complain ? His misery is voiceless. His only earthly 
 appeal lies to him who has permitted or done these 
 things — his master. To him is he commanded to sub- 
 mit himself, even under wrongs. Escape is forbidden 
 him, or even so much as "answering again." His master 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 9 
 
 is his sole protector. With him everything is reposed 
 upon this security, that his Master also is in heaven, 
 with whom there is no respect of persons. And is not this 
 ample security for the conduct of every Christian, every 
 God-fearing man that is a master upon earth ! 
 
 The writer is aware, even to oppression and embar- 
 rassment, of the vast number of his fellow beings whose 
 condition may be directly reached and happily affected 
 by a successful address, on this subject, to Masters. It 
 should not be forgotton that his remarks are made to 
 only one of the 'parties concerned. If, therefore, he shall 
 often be found sympathizing rather with the other, he 
 trusts those he addresses will allow him large freedom, 
 and take this as his apology. 
 
 DUTIES OF MASTERS TO SERVANTS CONSIDERED IN THEIR 
 LOWEST SENSE AS PROPERTY ONLY \ DUTIES INDICAT- 
 ED BY POLICY NO LESS THAN HUMANITY. 
 
 Servants should be judiciously worked: — There is an 
 excess of physical exertion, both in man and beast, which 
 the constitution cannot bear. The effect may not be 
 immediately visible, but in some shape or other, at 
 some time, it will manifest itself. The laws of nature 
 cannot be sinned against with impunity. Long after the 
 date of its violence, it may be, the disordered system 
 will complain and in various ways give unmistakeable 
 evidence that it has been violated. There will be pecu- 
 liar liabihty to infirmities. Many disabihties, if not incu- 
 rable diseases, will be superinduced and premature old 
 
10 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 age comes on. Thus for a present advantage, a trifling 
 gain, the usefulness and, what is more, the comfort of the 
 future is sacrificed. For the reckless industry of a day, 
 life is shortened by years. Too great eagerness for the 
 profit of soft and newly grown muscles pays the penalty 
 of an early superannuation. 
 
 It matters not, as to real injury and depreciation of 
 property, whether this overstraining be procured through 
 force or persuasion. A spirited horse, without the ap- 
 plication of whip or spur, may be kept at such a speed 
 or draught as shall very soon render him valueless. This 
 natural measure of exertion should be carefully guarded 
 by every master. If his servants be coaxed or bribed to 
 go beyond it, it is bad policy — if driven, it is cruelty. 
 While exposure to inclement weather and inequality of 
 strength to the assigned task have much to do with the 
 proportion beween physical exhaustion and the amount 
 of work performed, the quality of tools fully as much 
 affects that proportion. A dull iron or an ill shaped 
 helve causes the outlay of much needless strength; and as 
 that strength is human, it ought not be wasted. The 
 achievements of science in labor-saving machinery are 
 no less gratifying to the philanthropist than the mere 
 economist. Toil is no more such a drudgery. Labor 
 is lightened by a thousand simple and cheap arts, and the 
 laborer should have the benefit of the newest and best 
 improvements in his line, just as the traveller rejoices in 
 the ease of the patent spring or the speed of the loco- 
 motive. Man is aided in his work by natural instru- 
 ments ; or that work is accommodated to his structure ; 
 
Master and servant. I'l 
 
 his posture is relieved, his musdes are not so taxed nor 
 his frame of flesli worn down. This amelioration of toil 
 must be contemplated with greater satisfaction, in many- 
 items of it, than its increased productiveness. Masters 
 should secure to their servants all these advantages. He 
 who has the same work to do as another and is provided 
 with only half his facihties for it, has in fact twice his 
 labor to perform. 
 
 Servants should be allowed wholesome rest: — It is a 
 fixed fact that not less than seven hours in every twenty- 
 four ought to be spent in sleep, by a laboring man. If 
 active occupations are pushed beyond these limits, it is 
 at the expense of health and life. The complete restora- 
 tion of the muscular and nervous s^'stems requires not 
 less time, and they cannot be soundly maintained without 
 it, whatever habits to the contrary may have been formed. 
 Does a master ever ask himself, when his servants rise 
 up at the morning summons and go out to the field, or to 
 feedino- stock, or to attend his household affaii-s, whether 
 his arrangements permitted them to retire early enough 
 the night before to have slept these seven hours ? 
 
 Something more is meant by rest than sleep. There 
 is a waking repose, call it leisure if you please, necessary 
 to man ; so necessary that, sweet as is sleep to him, he 
 will, for this, trench upon the time allotted to it. Who 
 in this world of scenes and enjoyments can consent to 
 take all his rest with his eyes shut ? Who finds the 
 conditions of his comfort so punctiliously cared for by 
 others that, when released from their employment, he 
 has no business of his own to do, no taste of his own to 
 
12 MASTER AND SERVA1^1\ 
 
 consult ? It is thought by many that our colored popu- 
 lation can make out with less sleep than white persons ; 
 but there is nothing in the difference of their constitu- 
 tions to warrant this opinion. They often do with less 
 sleep and live, yet it is a question how much less of life 
 they enjoy on account of this deprivation. They are 
 proverbially wakeful by night ; this is already accounted 
 for — they must attend to those matters for which others 
 take the day. They are also proverbially sleepy by day ; 
 this is not solely the result of mental inactivity — it is 
 rather the effort of wronged nature to right herself. 
 
 The ox is unyoked, the horse is stabled ; their day's 
 work is done. Without interruption they rest till another 
 day. Not so, always, with the weary servant that toiled 
 with both. He is convenient to demands, and many an 
 extra job is got out of him before he rests. The ser- 
 vants of some masters may watch the shadows with 
 hope. Their turning and lengthening are indications of 
 periods of repose almost sacredly respected. Not so 
 with others. Their servants' lot seems to be one if not 
 of interminable, at least of unreasonably protracted 
 employment. If they are not constantly employed, they 
 are liable to be. The limits of labor and rest are not 
 prescribed with any definiteness. Some masters fall 
 into this practice without consideration and for the want 
 of it. No formal complaint is made; the habit is easily 
 glided into and the servants themselves, familiar with 
 the usage, are unconscious of the hardship. Thus the 
 grievous abuse continues. Others, however, adopt it by 
 plan and of set purpose. Many things are laid off to be 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 13 
 
 done when the task is finished and a full day's work 
 put in. And what is accomplished in this way is looked 
 on as so much clear gain. But will a Christian man, 
 will a man of nice sense of justice, consent to be enriched 
 by such gains ? Verily, there is an insidious temptation 
 to trespass in this thing. Masters should summon prin- 
 ciple to their aid and resolutely, conscientiously, fix 
 bounds to these encroachments of convenience and cu- 
 pidity. 
 
 A master who owns few servants and works with them 
 himself, is apt to fall upon a specious excuse for this 
 overreaching. He carries his row in the field or turns 
 off his job in the shop with them. He puts no more on 
 them than he takes upon himself. Nay, more ; he has 
 a harder time of it than they. His rest is shorter, his 
 exertion greater and more continuous, and his fare no 
 better than theirs. Is it not enough for the servant that 
 the master is side by side with him ? But such reason- 
 ing is unfair. The question might well be raised whether 
 the master is not sinning against himself in thus hasting 
 to be rich. If so, he has no right to propose his intem- 
 perate labor as a criterion for others. Moreover, this 
 labor is for him. The gains of this excess of industry 
 are to make Imn rich. He is stimulated by an interest 
 more impulsive than any the servant can feel. This 
 sustains and cheers, actually strengthens him for endur- 
 ing that which to his lowly companion is killing drud- 
 gery. So, the cases are not equal. What is the servant 
 bettered by the additional bale of cotton or hogshead of 
 tobacco extorted from exhausted nature ; only that next 
 
14 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 year he shall have more companions in the field, and 
 the field be enlarged. 
 
 The rest of the Sabbath has been expressly com- 
 manded by the Almighty for the man-servant and the 
 maid-servant, and that upon the same grounds, and in 
 the same sentence with the master himself.* It is taken 
 for granted, therefore, that every Christian master will 
 not only leave his servants at liberty to keep the Sab- 
 bath, but, in the fear of God, promote their Sabbath- 
 keeping. He is largely responsible for their violations 
 of this holy day. A neglect of the Scriptural injunction 
 and precaution — "Remember the Sabbath day to keep 
 it holy," often leaves much work for it, that might have 
 been previously disposed of. It should be remembered 
 as coming on, and prepared for beforehand. 
 
 A minister of extensive and excellent reputation in his 
 day, and a rigid Sabbatarian, has left the following 
 memoir : — "Not long since I spent the close of the 
 week with an old and respectable member of the church* 
 In the morning almost the first sound that reached my 
 ears was the axe. I reasoned with my kind friend on 
 the impropriety and awful consequences of such con- 
 duct, lie frankly acknowledged his faults ; but alleged 
 tliat his servants were to blame — he could not control 
 them — it was an express violation of his orders. As he 
 could not prevent it, he supposed he was innocent him- 
 self. 'Do you think,' said I, 'if there was a fine of ten 
 dollars only for cutting wood on the Sabbath day, that 
 
 *Exodu8 XX : 8, 9, 10, 11. 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 15 
 
 those uDgovernable servants would be guilty of a violation 
 of that law and compel you to pay the ten dollars every 
 week V He confessed that he believed it would not be 
 the case." Now, who does not see that th's work, 
 though an express violation of the master's own orders, 
 was made indispensable by him — as tire is indispensable. 
 By deferring it till Sabbath it had to be done on Sabbath. 
 A few hours of his oion time devoted to it on Saturday, 
 and his servant would not have been thus robbed of his 
 rest, the day of its sanctity, and God of his honor. 
 
 Notwithstanding, in every household there are certain 
 servile offices not so easily disposed of. It is impossible 
 to do them beforehand, difficult to dispense with them, 
 and equally so to distribute them impartially and merci- 
 fully. Study, joined with an honest desire after upright- 
 ness, will alone enable the master in these things to do 
 unto his servants "that which is just and equal."* It is 
 not beneath the dignity of this essay to mention two 
 humble characters especially : — the cook and the car- 
 riage driver. These are but two, it may be, in each 
 household ; yet when all the households are taken 
 together of which they form a part, a vast multitude of 
 human beings is made up which no man may feel 
 ashamed to plead for. 
 
 What is the day of rest to them, more than any other 
 pay ? To the former, perhaps, an occasion of closer con- 
 finement, of more intense roasting and burning than any 
 other of the seven. Our present business is not about 
 
 *Colossian8, iv : 1. 
 
16 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 scarce or sumptuous eating on Sundays, hot dinners 
 or cold dinners, only so far as the servant is concerned. 
 Our point is made on labor and rest, not on luxuries. 
 
 The family carriage is drawn out in the morning for 
 church. If in the country, the place of religious assem- 
 bly may be distant several miles. The driver, having 
 groomed and harnessed his horses and burnished the 
 silver mountings, is on the box and away. Of the ser- 
 mon and services he gets httle benefit, if any. When he 
 returns, the best part of the day has been spent — spent 
 for another. He has had no companionship, no church 
 privilege, no rest. In many instances this is the plain 
 history of the matter, year after year. In ordinary 
 employment no difference is made between him and 
 others ; there is no attempt at interchange or commuta- 
 tion. Let Christian masters think on these things. Is 
 it not their pressing duty to devise some scheme of 
 remedy or adjustment ? None is here intruded upon 
 them. The evil is stated, and with them it lies to correct 
 it or let it go on so. 
 
 Servants should he well clothed : — Respect for their 
 own persons, their families and visitors, will insure this 
 in those that masters keep about them. It is an acknow- 
 ledged offence, and certainly no small one, against 
 decency and politeness, to be offered even a glass of 
 water, from the hand of a filthy domestic. And, as to 
 clothing their servants generally, not much blame 
 attaches to masters; to many, none at all. The immense 
 quantity and the substantial quality of negro clothing 
 sold periodically by our merchants is a speaking statis- 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. l7 
 
 tic on this subject ; one speaking favorably. The im- 
 provements in the manufacture of cotton, wool and leather, 
 have been a blessing to servants, most perceptibly. 
 Added to this, our Southern latitude renders much 
 clothing, for the most part of the year, unnecessary for 
 comfort. As Solomon would have the husband of the 
 virtuous woman and good housewife known by his 
 apparel, when he is seen in the gates, so by the external 
 appearance of their dependents may good and thrifty 
 proprietors be known. There prevails a slight emulation 
 of this sort which ought to be fostered. 
 
 There are masters in the land whom it will behoove to 
 inquire of themselves if they are not lacking in this duty. 
 Do they regularly and sufficiently supply their servants — 
 if not, there is* no excuse. Let them survey their ranks, 
 compare their attire with those of more generous neigh- 
 bors : — perhaps they will be conscious of shame. Is 
 there no foot unshod when frost is on the ground — no 
 head uncovered from the weather, or no body imper- 
 fectly clad when they themselves, with far less exposure, 
 find all the appliances of the season necessary for their 
 comfort ? 
 
 From their color and tropical habitudes, our colored 
 population are liable to suffer peculiarly from cold. 
 Their health and comfort require that they be well pro- 
 tected. It is not an uncommon or unpleasant spectacle 
 to see them half-stripped and basking in the genial rays 
 of their native sun ; but a shivering servant is a shame 
 to any master. 
 
 Besides the coarse fabrics for working use, it is a com- 
 2 
 
18 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 mendable custom of some masters to furnish occasion- 
 ally a Sunday or holiday change. This keeps alive 
 among servants a proper self-respect, and promotes those 
 associations that contribute to their moral improvement, 
 and from which they would otherwise refrain. It takes 
 but little in this way to diffuse a very general gladness 
 over a household or plantation. 
 
 Servants shoxdd he well fed : — Not on Botany Bay 
 provisions, stale and tainted, unless under convict punish- 
 ment ; not stintedly, unless upon diet — but wholesome 
 and sound, and of this sort enough. Where they are 
 required to cook their own victuals, facilities ought to be 
 afforded them for doing it to the best advantage. Cook- 
 ing has much to do with how far a given quantity of raw 
 material will go. All its alimental properties may be 
 saved and used, or a large i)art of them thrown away in 
 the process. The best virtues of a piece of meat may be 
 wasted upon a coal or spit, ?nd what would, with skill 
 and economy in its preparation, suffice for two men, will 
 hardly satisfy the hunger of one. A great chemist once 
 announced to the world a method by which people could 
 subsist on one-third of their usual allowance — cook it 
 with threefold more care and chew it ihree times as much. 
 In many a cabin, the chief article in the kitchen inven- 
 tory is a worn out corn-field hoe. With this, turned up 
 on its edge, the cake is baked ; hence the widely preva- 
 lent name of that simplest edible form of Indian meal — 
 the hoe-cake. 
 
 Man is an animal that must take his food leisurely : 
 to enjoy it, it must be brought into contact with the 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 19 
 
 nerves of taste ; to be benefited by it, it must, before 
 reaching the stomach, be rendered thoroughly digestible. 
 Meal time is one of rest as well as refreshment to the 
 servant, and this makes him habitually a slow eater. It 
 should be so ; for eating in a heat, masticating imper- 
 fectly, and bolting down food hurriedly, then rising up to 
 exercise immediately, are conditions most unfavorable to 
 digestion. 
 
 The quantity of food meted out should not be deter- 
 mined by what the master requires for himself. Exer- 
 cise, open air and other causes, conspire to make the ser- 
 vant the heartier eatier. One that takes note how often 
 his own plate has been replenished during a single meal, 
 is tempted sometimes to suppose, seeing the portion sent 
 out to servants, that their stealage is calculated upon to 
 make up the complement. No marvel that they are no- 
 torious for dishonesty ; and their dishonesty commonly 
 begins here. Feeble moral restraints are not likely to 
 stand before the cravings of appetite, painfully whetted 
 by the presence of its object ; and when once they are 
 broken over, security for character is lost. Temptation, 
 as far as possible, should be removed from them by libe- 
 rality. There is among all servants a sophistry before 
 which their scruples stand a poor chance, and from an 
 early age they are expert in it : — " They have worked for 
 what is their master's and made it, and have a right to 
 share in it ; if he does not help them, they may justifiably 
 help themselves ; they are not stealing, only taking of 
 their own." Equally false, but not half so specious, is the 
 
20 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 reasoning of the Christian master who justifies himself in 
 ■withholding what is meet. 
 
 Variety in food is healthy as it is pleasant. It keeps 
 up the chemistry of the system. The servant should 
 have an honest interest in the forward roasting ears, the 
 ripe fruit, the melons, potatoes, and fat stock. Even 
 Adam, with the liberty of every tree but one, trans- 
 gressed ; what can be expected of his fallen descendants 
 with more wants and less liberty ? Can a door or a 
 fence, under these circumstances, protect the eighth com- 
 mandment ? Little knowledge of human nature will 
 teach us that theft must be the besetting sin of those so 
 situated. How often do we hear it — who can find an 
 honest servant ? The reply is — who tries to keep one 
 honest ? Housewives observe the rule to let the cook 
 have a taste of all her dishes : so should laborers partake of 
 their harvest, and their enjoyments be identified with 
 their success. Thus, there giows up a strict and mutual 
 surveillance over the common interest. An offender is 
 ferretted out sharply and a mean deed exposed. They 
 will obey, and wait for that portion which thej are as- 
 sured will be theirs, by the master's own grant. His in- 
 terest is their interest. It is otir cow, our horse, our hog, 
 our field. 
 
 When the Fourth of July comes or the crop is laid by, 
 why not have a jubilee ? Scenes the fullest of true- 
 hearted merriment the writer ever witnessed, were of 
 this sort. A beef or mutton or porker is slaughtered. 
 Near the spring, under the shade, is the barbecue. Fresh 
 and abundant home-grown vegetables and fruits complete 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 21 
 
 the feast. Cool water supplies the place of stronger drink. 
 Rough and capital jokes are cracked on the fight and 
 victory over General Green (the grass) ; master's health 
 and the country's good are toasted, and the joyous laugh 
 goes round. One such scene would be to any one a re- 
 futation of all the preambles, resolutions, reports and 
 speeches made for a whole year in Abolition halls. 
 
 Every master should be able to contemplate the 
 physique of his servants with mingled emotions of pride 
 and pleasure. Their looks reflect his character. A more 
 heart-sickening, revolting spectacle is not to be found, 
 than a parcel of overworked, meanly fed, meanly clad 
 servants. Starved, jaded, spiritless ; no heart to laugh 
 or sing, and even without that attachment to their own- 
 er w^hich the well kept ox and ass have for theirs. It is 
 not surprising that slavery agitators, falling upon such 
 isolated cases and representing them as general, have 
 excited disgust and indignation abroad. 
 
 The master of such servants ought to be presented by 
 his neighbors as a nuisance. Ha sins ao-ainst the insti- 
 tution, and brings unmerited reproach upon all connected 
 with it. The writer was once in a company of planters 
 when, allusion being made to the miserly management 
 of one of their profession, a generous master present said : 
 " I'll warrant, without having been there, I can tell how 
 all live thingslodk on that man's plantation. His mules 
 are poor and rubbed ; they wear rope bridles, and in 
 summer time the gear is tied on with bark hamestrings. 
 His negroes' shins are mangy and their faces dry and 
 crusty, as though no grease had been about their rnouths 
 
22 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 in a long while : their hair is kinked into long, hard 
 knots — and no pig on those premises has a curl in his 
 tail." 
 
 Servants should be well hovsed : — It is a cominon re- 
 mark of tourists that the location, construction and ar- 
 rangement of dwelling houses in reference to appearance, 
 health and comfort, is very little regarded at the South. 
 The direction of jDrevailing winds, the relative position of 
 swamps, and the facilities of ventilation, do not give a 
 rule in settling these important items. A shade tree 
 perhaps, determines the locality. Wood and brick are 
 thrown into a pile, into which doors and windows are cut 
 at random. Human beings take up their abode there 
 and families are reared. Proper hygienic regulations, to 
 say nothing of architectural taste, would remove many 
 costly residences or modify their structure. When Lon- 
 don was burned down in 16G6, it proved a signal bless- 
 ing. The old style buildings were thus put out of the 
 way, and the city was rebuilded on a new style, under 
 the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, who proved him- 
 self the benefactor of the metropolis and kingdom by 
 introducing certain improvements, promotive of healthful 
 exposure and a free circulation of air ; — improvements 
 that were simple and cost nothing but suggestion. The 
 mortality of London fell off as though it had changed its 
 latitude and climate. The plague has never since visited 
 it ; a visitation escaped, in the opinion of scientitic men, 
 by attention to a few, plain and common sense principles 
 of architecture. 
 
 Such, too frequently, being the facts about the habits- 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 23 
 
 lions of the whites, those of the bhxcks cannot be better. 
 A glance at the servants' quarter, in town or country, 
 will leave no one in doubt why, when pestilence prevails, 
 it is so fatal to this population. The wonder only is that 
 they do not oftener suffer a pestilence ; fortunately, not 
 much of their time is passed in these pent up and noisome 
 abodes. A large proportion of human diseases is bred in 
 human habitations. When vegetable matter, heat and 
 moisture combine, there must be present febrile miasma. 
 Bearing this in view, if many masters would survey their 
 servants' cabins, they would immediately go to work, 
 pulling down the old and putting up new ones. It would 
 be a saving in the end. It would soon be saved out of 
 doctors' bills and the sick list. When cholera rages, 
 whitewash is brought into requisition and sanitary regu- 
 lations established. Why cease to enforce them when 
 the panic subsides ? These same causes, of easy preven- 
 tion, do always, more or less, work sickness and death. 
 
 There are sections in the South where servants are 
 allowed to build their own houses. As this is done at 
 spare times, with poor materials, and, in a majority of 
 cases, without the ability to use any tool more complex 
 than the club-axe, of course they are hovels. The only 
 professed openings are a low door and chimney. The 
 joints and cracks that supply the deficiency of plan for 
 ventilation and light, render them incapable of being 
 kept warm or dry. When it rains, they leak ; when it is 
 cold, they are uncomfortable. 
 
 The houses of servants may be so built and arranged 
 as not only to avoid the usual appearance of squalidness, 
 
24 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 but to be an ornament to the premises. How pleasing 
 the village-like aspect of many plantations — the cabins, 
 or framed or brick cottages of the same size and shape, 
 elevated from the ground, whitewashed and grouped in 
 convenient order ! It is as little trouble when planting 
 a tree to put it in the right as the wrong place ; so in 
 building a house, to place it on a line with others. 
 After all, one thing still is to be looked to : no house, of 
 what dimensions soever, can be comfortable if crowded. 
 
 The benevolent have conferred no greater blessing on 
 the poor than by providing them a free and full supply 
 of water ; this munificence alone has made more than 
 one name illustrious. Pure water, like the air we breathe, 
 ought to be convenient and abundant. For drinking, 
 cooking, washing and personal cleanliness, nothing can 
 substitute it ; and in every one of these respects servants 
 will suffer if their masters do not arrange for their sup- 
 ply. When water is impure it serves none of these 
 purposes well ; and when it is scarce or must be toted 
 a great distance, they will be but scantily realized. 
 
 Thus have been enumerated the simplest and primary 
 conditions of servitude, the lowest rewards of labor. In 
 the Scriptures it is written, " Thou shalt not muzzle the 
 mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn."* If God 
 takes care for oxen, how much more for men ? His 
 Christian duties and his worldly interests bind the master 
 to these things. Nothing less can he be expected to do. 
 He who complains at them has no business with servants. 
 
 * Deut. XXV : 4. 1 Cor. ix : 9. 1 Tim, v : 18. 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 25 
 
 If, on account of his management or soil or trade, lie 
 cannot perform this much, he cannot do his duty and 
 ought to dissolve the relation out of which it grows. 
 Till these claims are met, the master has no right to 
 count upon any gains from his servant's labor. The 
 original cost must be paid before profits can be declared. 
 And he who, before this be done, enters into luxuries, 
 lives beyond his righteous income and is under condem- 
 nation. 
 
 It is readily perceived that when all masters learn and 
 discharge these duties, the servants of the South as a 
 class will be better oflF than the free of their own color 
 in the North or elsewhere, and elevated quite above the 
 average of the world's poor. Comparisons may be chal- 
 lenged, and gainsaying silenced. It is by no means 
 sought to avoid such a conclusion. The assertion is 
 made, without hazard, that Southern labor, with its pro- 
 ductiveness and singular concentration, can accomplish 
 all this. 
 
 DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS TO SERVANTS AS SOCIAL 
 
 BEINGS. 
 
 Moral Treatment : — Servants are capable of this, for 
 they are spirit as well as flesh. Their sympathies and 
 affections, their capacity for the joys and sorrows of the 
 highest mode of existence, must all be taken into ac- 
 count in their government. Authority should be exer- 
 cised without wantonness or unnecessary harshness. 
 Commands should be issued kindly, " forbearing threat- 
 
26 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 ening."* Reproachful epithets and raihng should be 
 avoided. Why should not a servant's feelings be res- 
 pected ? These cannot be returned or resented, even in 
 their low kind, and are the uncalled for insults of power 
 over weakness. 
 
 Funishment : — The magistrate and the parent and the 
 master have a final resort to corporal pains. The rod 
 and the sword thej must all bear, and sometimes not in 
 vain. One law in the infliction of punishment should 
 govern them alike — they should be inflicted in the man- 
 ner and to the extent only necessary for correction — and 
 not for the gratification of revenge. Moderation becomes 
 the master ; for his servant is in his hands to do with 
 him as he will. His severity is not limited " to forty 
 stripes save one," nor is his anger cooled by the delays 
 of the law. Are not corporal penalties sometimes ad- 
 ministered in a manner, and to an extent, evidently not 
 dictated by any legitimate aims, but urged on by the 
 phrensy of passion ? 
 
 The master rules to great disadvantage to himself who 
 depends solely or mainly upon the fear of punishment. 
 There is a his/her law of control. The influence of so- 
 ciety should be brought to bear. The inner man should 
 be addressed. Shame and mortification are heavier lash- 
 es than any whip thong. A desire to beget favor and 
 preserve confidence is the highest guarantee for faithful- 
 ness. Can human beings who have no restraints but the 
 handcuff and the lock-up, no stimulus but the lash, be 
 
 * Eph. vi : 9. 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 27 
 
 safe, trustworthy or profitable ? It is expensive, and, 
 indeed, impossible, to keep them always in awe. This is 
 the regime that makes eye-servants, runaways and out- 
 laws. What is tlie service of man worth, if it be not a 
 willing service ? It requires many turns and strokes to 
 complete a job that no watching and driving can get out 
 of him. That which is grudgingly done can not be well 
 done. There is this peculiarity in human labor — it can 
 direct itself. Will and intelligence conspire to make the 
 strength put forth, of superior application to that of 
 brutes or machines. But, if this element of its value 
 be destroyed out of it by moral treatment, it becomes 
 comparatively worthless. 
 
 Social regulations : — The happiness of men and their 
 chief excellencies depend largely upon the rules which 
 govern their intercourse. Improvement in them is pro- 
 gress indeed. Legislators, in the exercise of their high- 
 est wisdom, establish these for their masters ; and the 
 masters for their servants. To acquit themselves of this 
 duty, they need judgment, observation and experience, 
 and the gracious guidance of Ileav^en. 
 
 Some masters have a code of laws as well understood 
 as if written. Their household and plantation servants 
 present the appearance of well-governed communities. 
 A tribunal exists where complamts may be referred, grie- 
 vances redressed and disputes settled. All transactions 
 of a social nature proceed upon settled principles. They 
 do not criminally trifle with their servants in words and 
 promises ; but conscientiously keep a good faith towards 
 them, and constrain them to keep it among themselves. 
 
28 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 The ear of the highest authority is ever open. It is 
 counted no unworthy condescension to inquire into the 
 disturbances of this subordinate empire, and to set the 
 wrong right. The lowest functions of justice and judg- 
 ment are not despised. This is worthy of all praise. 
 
 But there are masters who seem yet to be ignorant 
 of the social nature of the beings under them ; and that 
 to deny them the blessings of well ordered society is to 
 subject them to the most serious of all deprivations. 
 They live together as they list. So the appointed work 
 is done and the tribute mone}'" forthcoming, they are 
 allowed to do to one another as it seemeth good in their 
 own eyes. With the exception of this one law of work 
 all the e,vils of anarchy are endured. There is no 
 society ; it is mere herding. His sovereign authority is 
 never interposed, so no limbs are broken. There is 
 injustice and oppression among them ; they are left to 
 settle their contentions upon the rude principles of 
 might and right. The master will not trouble himself 
 with the details of their questions— like another Gallio, 
 caring for none of these things. 
 
 Matrimonial Alliances : — Marriage is honorable in 
 all men. In conferring upon them the inestimable bless- 
 ings of society, in whatever condition, they must be 
 taught to regard it in its true character and proper obli- 
 gations. To this the serious attention of masters is 
 invited. Unless something be done here, the founda- 
 tions and elements of society must be wanting among 
 servants. Bigamy and polygamy, with all their corrup- 
 tions and evils, will prevail ; and the domestic constitu- 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 29 
 
 tion degenerate into the most limited and loose of all 
 partnerships. When neither law, nor custom, nor the 
 necessity of providing support to their common offspring- 
 binds the parties together, the merest caprice will dis- 
 solve tlie compact ; nor can the peculiarities of their 
 condition hinder the deplorable results which follow in 
 the natural course. A habit of intercourse and social 
 relations tending to these results, should be arrested by 
 the timely and appropriate rebuke of the master. The 
 Grecians in their semi barbarous days, were more concern- 
 ed for the number than the morality of their citizens ; 
 and, so a healthy child was born, no questions were asked. 
 But those who have received the seventh commandment 
 cannot wink at such things, and be guiltless before God. 
 Owing so much of their own happiness to this relation, 
 they must not be indifferent to the degree in which the 
 happiness of their servants is liable to be affected by 
 licentiousness riotino; amono; them. 
 
 The writer has conversed with clergymen of different 
 denominations who have endeavored to embrace this 
 part of our population in church communion, and it 
 appears that this is the chief stumbling block to their 
 Christianity. At least two-thirds of all the irregularities 
 and scandalous offences callino- for the exercise of church 
 discipline originate here, directly or remotely. 
 
 They are exposed to these disorders by that predom- 
 inance of passion always pertaining to inferior culture ; 
 also from the intimacy with which they are associated ; 
 but more, from the informality of their marriage alliances. 
 When nothing but the private consent of the parties is 
 
30 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 requisite for marriage, and the first intimation of it is its 
 fruit, it must follow that all lines soon fade way. 
 
 It is the duty of Christian masters to promote virtuous 
 and fixed attachments between the sexes, and while 
 encouraging marriage to guard it with all the forms of 
 consent, postponement, preparation and solemn consum- 
 mation. A marriage supper is often given. Beforehand 
 the impediments should be looked into, and if any grave 
 ones exist they should work a prohibition. Let the 
 institution be magnified ; and when once consummated 
 by the master's permission, all the mutual rights it con- 
 fers should be protected by his authority. 
 
 Here is an instance in point : it occurred several years 
 ago on the plantation of a Christian master. Among 
 his servants was a young and good iQoking, but not very 
 amiable woman, who had had as many husbands as the 
 Samaritan, and was childless. At the time alluded to 
 she was about to take another, who if taken in the same 
 style, would doubtless soon have gone the way of his 
 predecessors. As was the custom, when a servant not 
 owned on the place wished to take a wife on it, and 
 obtain the liberty of the premises, this last suitor came 
 to the master with the usual form of request — "May I 
 
 have for a wife, please sir." "What," said the 
 
 master, "I thought she had a husband ; liave they 
 parted ?" "0 yes sir, and now she says she'll have me." 
 The master bethought him that a little ceremony might 
 help the matter, and as this was a hard case, resolved to 
 try it. So, he picked up a book and went down to the 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 31 
 
 "quarter." The pair were formally drawn out before 
 him, and opening his book he pronounced a ceremony. 
 The writer, though he heard them, would not vouch 
 that the words used were in any book, but believes the 
 one used was an old copy of the Enghsh Reader. The 
 effect was mao-ical. The matter for the first time took 
 a serious turn. They twain became one flesh. Chil- 
 dren were born to them ; and, at last information, they 
 bade fair to live together in love and peace to their lives' 
 end. 
 
 Family ties and Connections: — To be "without natural 
 affection" is, according to St. Paul, descriptive of the 
 worst state of being. Kindred relations should be fos- 
 tered, for they give to society its strongest bonds. With- 
 out them it lacks cohesiveness and can only be main- 
 tained by factitious means. This is the order of nature, 
 and if it be set aside, the master's influence cannot be so 
 applied as to counteract the disorder. The ties of bro- 
 ther and sister, and even of moredista nt connections, 
 should be felt. Parents must not be cut off from chil- 
 dren and children must be taught respect and reverence 
 for their parents. 
 
 Servants ought, as far as possible, to be divided into 
 families, and thus there is an opportunity for ftimily 
 government. What has been said already upon their 
 houses might be enlarged upon here. In the coun- 
 try, where ground is no object, a considerable space 
 may be allotted to each dwelling. Poultry may be raised 
 or vegetables, or the market may be furnished with more 
 substantial staples. Why not gratify the home feeling 
 
32 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 of the servant ? Local as well as family associations may 
 thus easily be cast about hira, as strong yet pleasing 
 cords binding him to his master. He may be so involved 
 in the order of things that he would not, for any conside- 
 ration, have it disturbed. He is made happier and safer ; 
 put beyond discontent or the temptations to rebellion 
 and abduction ; for he gains nothing in comparison to 
 what he loses. His comforts cannot be removed with 
 him and he will stay with them. But break him loose 
 and keep him isolated from such attachments, and what 
 is there to detain him in service ? He is as insecure as 
 any other restless roaming creature when an opportunity 
 offers of escaping restraint. 
 
 The strength of these attachments is being constantly 
 tested in those servants who, even when beyond the line, 
 voluntarily return home^ notwithstanding all the persua- 
 sions with which they are plied. In the Old Testament 
 such a case is anticipated and provided for. The servant 
 is bound to a master for only a term of years, at the ex- 
 piration of which he is to go out free, as he came in, and 
 for nothing. In the meantime he conceives that aflfection 
 for his master, and his master's house, which grows up 
 naturally under kind treatment. A wife, of the servants, 
 is given to him, who bears him sons and daughters. 
 Now the year of his release has rolled round and he 
 plainly says, "I love my master, my wife and my chil- 
 dren ; I will not go out free." Then, instead of emanci- 
 pation, a law is made and provided for his entering into 
 perpetual servitude.* 
 
 *Exodus, xxi : 6. Deut., xv : 16, 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 33 
 
 A gratifying change lias been, of J ate years, wrought 
 in the public mind as to buying and selling servants, and 
 otherwise breaking up their family ties by emigration, 
 the partition of estates, &c. A few masters, and for the 
 honor of humanity be it said they are few^ will sell to 
 the highest bidder. Heart-strings and tears stand not, 
 with them, in the way of dollars and cents. A tender 
 Joseph is torn away from a disconsolate sire and sold to 
 Ishmaelitish merchants for so many pieces of silver. 
 The price only is considered, not the new master, or place, 
 or distance. 
 
 Now this may be a proper punishment for great and 
 incorrigible offenders. But unless it be done for such a 
 reason, or unless it be the result of a necessity absolutely 
 uncontrollable by the master, it is inexcusable. Chris- 
 tian masters generally know their duty in this thing, and 
 are doing it. They sacrifice other pi'operty to save their 
 servants ; and if finally compelled to part with them, 
 willingly sacrifice upon their marketnalue to secure for 
 them good homes and keep them in families. If under 
 other circumstances a servant is disposed of, it is gene- 
 rally with his consent and solicitation. It is surely an 
 awful thing to put asunder those whom God has joined 
 to2:ether. Wherever these endearinc^ connections are 
 held liable to being rent, at the caprices of trade, ser- 
 vants are often led, in self-defence, to stand aloof from 
 them, and thus abandon themselves to those promiscuous 
 habits, at once demoralizing and destructive. 
 
 Sick servants : — The centurion commends himself to 
 every generous heart who is represented in the gospel as 
 3 
 
34 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 addressing Christ in behalf of his sick servant.* What 
 affectionate solicitude he displays ! It leads him to 
 secure the best remedial aid, and call in one he judged 
 himself unworthy to approach and of whom his house 
 was unworthy. That servant was " dear unto him." 
 None of his fellow-servants cared for him as his master 
 did, and none could do as much. Noble master ! One 
 hardly knows which to admire most, his humble views 
 of himself, his reverence for the physician, or his tender- 
 ness for the patient. Saving faith could hardly be want- 
 ing in the presence of such qualities. The servant was 
 not his companion — yet it was not incompatible with 
 their relations that he should be dear to him. It was 
 not his value that moved in his master this fine ex- 
 hibition of character. He abandoned him not to pine 
 in neglect ; but doubtless his daily visits cheered him 
 and his own hand alleviated his miseries. 
 
 Old servants : — These are the heir-looms of the 
 house. It is a pleading thing to see an old family servant 
 cherished. Perhaps he laid the foundations of the 
 family's wealth, and is now listened to as the chronicler 
 of its legends. Let him enjoy the evening of life and 
 repose upon the fruits of labor past. Cast him not off, 
 now he is old and grey-headed, nor forsake him when 
 his strength fails. The kind master will for no conside- 
 ration part with such an one. He will feel his support 
 no burden, but a pleasure rather. He will indulge him ; 
 feed him from his own table ; treat him with mingled 
 
 *Lukevii:l, 10. 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 25 
 
 tenderness and respect, and see to it that others treat him 
 likewise. For such a green and cheerful old age should 
 every faithful servant be permitted to hope. 
 
 DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS TO SERVANTS AS RELI- 
 GIOUS BEINGS. 
 
 The redemption that is in Jesus Christ compasses the 
 "bond and free." From its earliest preaching, both were 
 addressed and both made up the first Christian churches. 
 In reference to religion, to God, to eternity, and the great 
 paternity of the human race, servants stand upon a com- 
 mon phitform with their masters. Whatever cavils a 
 false philosophy may start, they cannot be denied their 
 full ethical character. Experiments have, for generations 
 past, been carried on, and they are abundantly satisfac- 
 tory on this point. The most unexceptionable specimens 
 of Christianity are to be found among them. It would 
 be a thrilling page that should give their history. The 
 highest style of regenerated man and the fitness of the 
 gospel for all classes would be at once and admirably 
 shown. Not only has the inward experience answered 
 to every Scripture standard, but the life has been exem- 
 plary, the death happy. Facts are the confutation of 
 infidel theories upon this subject. Many a master is 
 ready to grant, that among his servants are better Chris- 
 tians than himself. 
 
 It would be madness in us to question the propriety 
 of it, but certainly such is the arrangement of Provi- 
 dence — that several human beings may be so related to 
 
36 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 another, that their spiritual as well as physical and social 
 welfare may be materially affected for good or evil by 
 him — yea almost controlled. The abuse of this relation, 
 or its liability to abuse, is not, as some have argued in 
 the matter of slavery, to be considered as an argument a 
 priori against the lawfulness of the relation itself. For 
 those authorized by God, His word gives directions how 
 they shall be maintained. The abuse results from neg- 
 lecting duty : — for this, an account must be rendered 
 to God, and sometimes indeed the account must be 
 awful. 
 
 The relation of parent and child, not to mention others, 
 is a lawful one. Yet the parent may so abuse the power 
 it confers, as to ruin his child bodil}', mentally and spiritu- 
 ally. Or he may cultivate his body and mind and social 
 qualities, and totally neglect his spiritual culture. He 
 may so surround him by influences and shut him in by 
 prohibitions as to deprave and keep him depraved ; and 
 while all the consequences of impiety shall fall heavily 
 upon the child, the parent is to blame as the cause. 
 Saith the wise man, "There is a generation that curseth 
 their father and doth not bless their mother."* Not- 
 withstanding, though father and mother may have so 
 performed their parts as to leave no grateful remem- 
 brances of themselves to those who were dependent upon 
 them, this dependence was of God. 
 
 The master has souls as well as bodies under his care. 
 The responsibility of eternal as well as temporal interests 
 
 * ^Proverbs, XXX : 11, 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 3Y 
 
 rests upon his shoulders. The teacher of religion can 
 be forbid his premises, and his servants can be hindered 
 from going to him wherever he erects his stand for in- 
 struction. Thus, in the heart of Christendom, a servants' 
 quarter may be kept as dark as Paganism. Or other- 
 wise — and the Christian master will do otherwise — free 
 access may be allowed them to the Word of life. The 
 Evangelist may be invited to come and teach, anl his 
 way be prepared before him. How profoundly do ser- 
 vants respect that messenger who is introduced by the 
 master ! How weighty with thevn the tidings he listens 
 to with reverence! If he possess that moral influence 
 with them he ought to have, a word or deed of his can 
 magnify the cause in their eyes, or put contempt upon 
 it. Such response* bility should make him tremble : such 
 unparalleled opportunity for doing good should make 
 him rejoice. 
 
 There is need of discretion. On the one hand, the 
 master may be wanting in a show of becoming interest : 
 he may fail culpably in pressing his servants to the im- 
 provement of their religious privileges. For, what he 
 esteems lightly, will be lightly esteemed by them. He 
 is chargeable with a measure of influence, such as no 
 one else possesses, that may be brought savingly to bear 
 upon them. On the other hand, he may extend to reli- 
 gion such injudicious patronage as will interfere with a 
 wholesome religious liberty. His servants may not re- 
 main unbelievers, but may become hypocrites. Now, all 
 that is asked for Christianity is a fair operation. Let no 
 ^xtra inducements be held out for its profession 5 no 4isa' 
 
38 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 bilities be incurred by its non-profession. Let religion 
 be offered to the servant, as it is to the master, with 
 friendly, affectionate commendations, but no other re- 
 wards than its own blessino-s. 
 
 Provisitms for religious instructioyi : — In cities and 
 villages, where churches are numerous and convenient, 
 permission for attendance may discharge the master, as 
 far as public ministrations to his servants are concerned. 
 But in rural districts, where they are scarce and distant, 
 permission to go, in many instances, amounts to no gos- 
 pel privilege at all. To the strong and healthy the walk 
 may be trifling ; but the aged and infirm, who need 
 heavenly consolations as much as any, are entirely de- 
 prived unless the means of going be furnished. Arrived 
 at the place of worship, where are the accommodations ? 
 Sometimes a portion of the church has been assigned 
 them, roomy and comfortably seated : — sometimes this 
 has been overlooked, and they are left to stroll around, 
 or listen to the sermon at the window, or under the poor 
 shelter of an arbor. They have been invited to the gos- 
 pel feast, but no places have been provided for them. 
 With hungering, unfed souls they look on — the specta- 
 tors of others' piety and not partakers of the common 
 grace. 
 
 It is desirable that white and colored w^orship to- 
 gether : one reason among many is, that no distinctions 
 of religion arise between them. Religion appears in its 
 loveliest form where rich and poor, bond and free, meet 
 together, and to a common Father, through a common 
 Saviour, drinking into one Spirit, offer up songs and 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 39 
 
 prayers, and hear what all have an equal interest in. 
 The attempt to make the services intelligible and inter- 
 esting to an audience thus composed, must ever impart 
 to them the excellent qualities of strength and perspi- 
 cuity, simplicity and earnestness. But whenever this is 
 impracticable, the master, either alone or jointly with 
 his nearest neighbors, ought to make special provi- 
 sions for his servants. A chapel should be built for 
 them, in wdiich he and his own family may be occasion- 
 ally seen, and a stated supply of religious instruction 
 engaged for. In this thing numerous and noble exam- 
 ples have already been set. 
 
 The gospel is free in wdiat it offers ; but it cannot be 
 sent free. The subject-matter of infinite worth, is with- 
 out money and without price ; but more or less expense 
 is incurred in its promulgation. Some body must pay 
 for preaching to servants. A plain question of justice is, 
 wdio ought to pay for it ? Who, but the master ? He is 
 directly concerned in their improvement ; no one is so re- 
 sponsible to God for their salvation ; he gets and enjoys the 
 benefit of their toil, and can he consent that they should 
 receive the bread of life as a gratuity from others ! Will 
 he cast them as spiritual beneficiaries upon the charity 
 of some benevolent man or association of men ! He is 
 bound in honesty and honor, and ought to claim it as a 
 privilege, to step forward and meet all these charges 
 cheerfully. It is as much a debt he owes as that incurred 
 for their food and raiment : a debt, of which none has 
 precedence, for no wants are greater and more pressing 
 than those it was incurred to meet ; — and if the master 
 
40 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 do not meet it, then it is others who provide his servants 
 with tlie gospel and not he. And in this connection 
 may be quoted a text with better application than is 
 usually given it : " But if any provide not for his own, 
 and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied 
 the faith and is worse than an infidel."* The so-called 
 Christian master conceding to his colored dependents 
 the possession of souls — souls to be saved or lost, and 
 the necessity of embracing the gospel in order to salva- 
 tion, with all their means in his hands, leaves them to 
 perish. How cruel, how worse than inGdel! For the 
 infidel, discarding the whole matter of soul and salva- 
 tion, is consistent. 
 
 It takes from the moral beauty and effectiveness of 
 family worship, if the domestics are not joined in it. 
 They, with the master, and mistress, and children, are 
 partakers of the grace of God, and should have their 
 share in the Home-Altar. Of family prayer, it has been 
 said, " It is the oil which removes friction, and causes 
 all the complicated wheels of the family to move smooth- 
 ly and noiselessly." The servants of the household 
 should be in their places there ; not by invitation only, 
 but as a fixed rule, a duty. A master may no more 
 neglect their spiritual instruction, than a parent the spi- 
 ritual instruction of his children. The Lord gave this 
 high praise to Abraham — " For I know him that he will 
 comni'ind his children and his household after him, and 
 they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and 
 
 * 1 Timothy v. 8. 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 41 
 
 judgment."* lie exerted his magisterial authority as 
 well as jDarental, to constrain servants and children in 
 the ways of religion. He entered not into the covenant 
 alone ; but on the self same day, he and his son received 
 the seal of it, and all his servants, born in his house, or 
 bought with money of the stranger.f 
 
 In the temple service, things brought as offerings 
 were peculiarly holy. The priests and their immediate 
 families only were permitted to eat of them. Even a 
 daughter of a priest, married to one out of the priest- 
 hood, was by that act placed beyond the liberty of the 
 family. Not so wiih the bond-servant ; his position and 
 rights are distinctly recognized : — " There shall no stran- 
 ger eat of the holy thing ; a sojourner of the priest, or 
 an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing. But 
 if the priest buy any soul with his money he shall eat of 
 it, and he that is born in his house, they shall eat of his 
 meat. If the priest's daughter also be married unto a 
 stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy 
 things."]: 
 
 Does not this relation of a master to his servants im- 
 pose upon him the same attention to his spiritual wants 
 as other members of his family ? His contributions to 
 the support of the gospel, therefore, ought to bear a 
 righteous proportion to the souls dependent on him for 
 its instructions ; and what he expends in this way ex- 
 clusively for his servant's benefit cannot be called cha- 
 
 * Genesis, xviii. 19. f Genesis, xvii. 26, 2'7. 
 
 :}: Leviticus, xxii, 10, 11, 12. 
 
42 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 rity — it cannot be put to the account of strictly benevo- 
 lent or missionary conti'ibutions. As justly might his 
 taxes be regarded a donation to the government, or 
 the provision-stores he orders for his house and planta- 
 tion be set down to the score of almsgiving. After these 
 home-obligations to the gospel have been met, then it has 
 claims upon him with all others enjoying its benefits. It 
 must not only be supported, but sent abroad. There are 
 those who have never heard its sound, and they must hear 
 and receive it before they can so prize it, as, in their turn, 
 to support and send it out. There are servants, who are 
 not so fortunate as to have masters with a Christian 
 concern for their souls. In caring for these ^ charity be- 
 gins. Here is missionary work proper. The aid given 
 in such a cause only is a contribution to Christian be- 
 nevolence. 
 
 Servants, if not furnished with enlightened devotion, 
 fall into superstition. It is, therefore, expedient, as it is 
 kind, to meet the wants of their religious nature with 
 sound doctrine. Superstition is always hurtful, and to 
 the whole man. Its imaginings are dark and gloomy, 
 its rites cruel, its yoke debasing, and all its tendencies 
 wasting and corrupting. Who has not remarked these 
 effects among foreign heathens ; and, to more or less 
 extent, they must prevail among domestic heathens. 
 Devil-worship, conjuration and witchcraft, are the malign 
 forms of it among the servants of the South, to whom 
 " the way, the truth and the life," has not been made 
 known. 
 
 There is nothing in the Bible which a master might 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 43 
 
 fear for his servant to know ; not even a bad master. 
 There is nothing in the simple text, or its correct en- 
 largement, that impairs his authority. On the contrary, 
 that authority is guarded by sanctions stronger than any 
 within his reach. As a neij^hbor is a better neio;hbor, 
 and a child a better child, for being a consistent, well- 
 informed Christian, so it is with a servant. To the fear 
 of corporeal punishment, or the love of reward, there is 
 superadded a conscience of duty. He is rendered con- 
 tented with his lot, because it is the will of God. His 
 temper and conduct will be improved. Docility, honesty, 
 fidelity, will be promoted. Submission is taught on the 
 ground of principle, not -necessity. There is not a pre- 
 cept to start the thought of servile insurrection. No 
 reasonable master could draw out a code of laws for the 
 government of his servants that will meet hi^ own wel- 
 fare at so many points, as those to be found in the Word 
 of God. 
 
 When wSarai, Abraham's wife, dealt hardly with her 
 maid-servant Hagar, she fled from her. In running away 
 Hagar was met by an angel, who thus instructed her — 
 " Return to thy mistress and submit thyself under her 
 hands.''^ One of the letters of St. Paul was borne by a 
 converted servant back to his master, who, but for his 
 conversion and apostolic instructions, would, doubtless, 
 never have laid eyes on the fugitive again.f 
 
 Lest servants should suppose that upon their embra- 
 cing Christianity, on equal terms with their Christian 
 
 * Genesis, xvi. 6-7. f Epistle to Philemon by Onesimus. 
 
44 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 masters, and thereby becoming brethren^ the relation of 
 master and servant was disturbed and its authority lost, 
 they are thus admonished : — " Let every man abide in 
 the same calling; wherein he was called. Art thou called 
 being a servant ? Care not for it.'"^ " Let as many 
 servants as are under the yoke count their own masters 
 worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doc- 
 trine be not blasphemed. And they that have believing 
 masters, let them not despise them (or take license to 
 disregard them as such) because they are brethren ; but 
 rather do them service, because they are faithful and 
 beloved partakers of the benefit."! 
 
 How secure and comfortable must that master's posi- 
 tion be whose servants have learned such rules as these : 
 " Servants obey in all things your masters according to 
 the flesh ; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in 
 singleness of heart, fearing God ; and whatsoever ye do, 
 do it heartily, as to the Lord and not unto men.|"' " Ex- 
 hort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, 
 and to please them well in all things, not answering 
 again ; not purloining, but showing all good fidelity."! 
 " Servants be subject to your masters with all fear ; not 
 only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward."§ 
 The legitimate eflPect of conversion upon a servant in 
 the promotion of every estimable quality is impressively 
 alluded to by St. Paul, in returning the converted One- 
 siraus to his Christian master : — " Which in time past 
 
 * 1 Cor., vii. 20, 21. f 1 Timothy, vi. 1, 2. 
 
 X Colossians, iii. 22, 23. | Titus, ii. 9, 10. § 1 Peter, 11, 18. 
 
MASTER AND SERVANT. 45 
 
 was to thee ww-profitable, but now profitable to thee and 
 me."* The chanore for the better in Onesimus was 
 worth this journey to Rome. The Apostle, doubtless, 
 from his acquaintance with the master, was not ignorant 
 of the worthless character of the servant previously ; nor 
 was he ignorant of what his gospel could do in such a 
 case. Now, the fuo-itive and thief is restored to his mas- 
 ter by conscientious promptings, no more to run away or 
 steak But the joy of the master must have fallen far 
 below that of the Christian, for a soul was saved from 
 death. 
 
 All considerations, then, unite in engaging the Christian 
 master to do his duty towards his servants as religious 
 beings ; his interests, their happiness, and the account 
 that must be rendered by him to his Master in heaven. 
 Thousands of souls for whom Christ died, would have 
 cause to rejoice were Christian masters awakened to their 
 responsibilities on this subject. The Church which labors 
 under so many embarrassments and hindrances for their 
 salvation, would, with a co-operation coming from the 
 right quarter, soon do its work in this interesting field 
 lying around our doors, and concentrate its strength in 
 the regions beyond. 
 
 There comes a period in every servant's history whom 
 his master survives, that must press home to the mas- 
 tei-'s heart weighty reflections. It is when the toil of 
 this life ends in death, and that death is accomplished 
 without any cheering prospect of the life to come ; and 
 
 * Philemon, 11. 
 
46 MASTER AND SERVANT. 
 
 the servant finds his humble grave. " He dwelt long 
 with me and received laws from me. He served me well, 
 and when the day was done demanded no hire. What 
 have I done for him ? Bears he no charge against me 
 to my Master in heaven ? Did I treat him as having a 
 soul to save, and what have I done for his salvation ? 
 Am I clear of his blood ?" Depend upon it, Christian 
 master, your servants will confront you before His bar 
 with whom is no respect of persons, and how can you 
 be approved when they complain — "No man cared for 
 our souls ?" 
 
 CRESCENT. 
 
MELYILLE LETTERS ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE DUTIES OF MASTERS 
 
 TO THEIE SERVANTS. 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. C. F. STURGIS, 
 
 of Greensboro', Alabama. 
 
 " The first great duty of masters is to study the duties of masters." 
 
 CHAELESTON, S. C. : 
 SOUTHERN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY. 
 
 1851. 
 
I 
 
To Rev. Samuel K. Talmage, D. D., 
 
 President of Oglethorpe University. 
 
 Honored and beloved brother in Christ Jesus, — "When Moses 
 
 » 
 
 the man of God, prayed that remarkable prayer, (Ex. 33 : 18,) 
 " I beseech thee, show me thy glory,'' the answer of the Almighty 
 was, " I will make all ray goodness to pass before thee." Al- 
 though the Avorld, and, alas ! the Church itself, is too far from 
 valuing unobtrusive goodness, as superior to all other glory, yet 
 we look to a brighter age, when both the Church and the world 
 will see correctly on this subject. 
 
 In the spirit of this hope, allow me to offer these humble 
 " Letters " as a tribute to " Mr. Talmage," the kind, sympathi- 
 zing and faithful Pastor, whose highest pleasure it seemed to 
 guide his flock in paths of righteousness ; and who, years ago, 
 sought to lead, in ways of piety, the inexperienced feet of her who 
 is now my beloved wife, the mother of my little ones. 
 Yours, affectionately, 
 
 C. R STURGIS. 
 
 Greensboro', Ala., Feb. Wth, 1851. 
 
PREFACE.. 
 
 These letters purport to be a correspondence between two 
 brothers, who here appear under the fictitious names of Joseph 
 and William Melville. 
 
 The elder of the brothers (Joseph) is, bj supposition, not a 
 professor of religion, but a man religiously educated — a politician 
 and a member of the legal profession. The younger is supposed 
 to be a professed Christian, a conscientious and religious man. 
 
 How far the things contained in these letters have had a real 
 existence, it is, perhaps, not necessary to say. No sensible man 
 would think of objecting to ''uEaop's Fables" or the ''Pilgrim's 
 Progress" because the one makes beasts, and birds, and fishes, 
 talk, or because the other describes characters which, perhaps, 
 never had an existence, but in the beautiful conceptions of the 
 author. 
 
 We all feel that the moral remains the same, whether- the 
 beasts and birds talked or not, and whether there ever was pre- 
 cisely such a personage as " Giant Despair," or " the Interpreter." 
 
 All that the author asks is, that the same indulgence be ex- 
 tended to his humble letters. 
 
MELVILLE LETTERS; 
 
 OR, THE 
 
 DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS, 
 
 Q ^ Octoher lltli, 18—. 
 
 My Dear Brother Joseph, — 
 
 I HAVE for some time been impressed with a duty to 
 you, from which I have shrunk, until I can resist my con- 
 victions no longer. The esteem in which I have ever held 
 you, both as a man and as my own beloved brother, would 
 constrain me to bear any thing that did not involve a 
 conscientious conviction of duty, rather than inflict any, 
 even the shghtest pain, upon your feelings ; and with 
 this declaration, which I beg you to receive in its fullest 
 meaning, I proceed to state what I have no doubt will 
 surprise you ; that the subject upon which I have felt 
 these conscientious convictions, and concerning which I 
 conceive that I owe you a duty, is to address you seri- 
 ously upon the question, " lohether you are doing your 
 whole duty to your servants or not'P I am aware that 
 this communication will create the more surprise, when 
 you remember my frequent expressions of admiration of 
 
54 MELVILLE LETTERS *, OR, THE 
 
 your well conducted farm, and the comfort and apparent 
 happiness of your people. I know that you believe me 
 incapable of duplicity, and yet there is, I admit, an ap- 
 parent discrepancy between these expressions of admira- 
 tion and the topic introduced, which, I confess, needs, 
 and which, I promise, shall receive in its proper place a 
 due explanation. Xot to trespass upon you, however, 
 one moment, without your permission, and, indeed, ap- 
 probation, I shall close this, by remarking, that if you 
 are not disifjclined, I would like to ena'afje in a corres- 
 pondence with you upon this subject ; and that you may 
 have distinctly before you my object, in thus seeming to 
 obtrude this question, I will state it briefly as follows : 
 
 1st. For the benefit of the servant. 
 
 2d. For the benefit and increased happiness of the 
 master. 
 
 3d. For the sake of our beloved country, which is so 
 frequently and so severely agitated, almost to dismem- 
 berment, by the question of the moral rectitude of do- 
 mestic servitude. In reference to this last topic, I may 
 be allowed to remark, that I regard it as of incalculable 
 importance, even more than I can express ; I sincerely 
 believe, and sensibly feel, that if masters could be pre- 
 vailed upon to study, and would perform their whole 
 duty to their servants, nine-tenths, if not all the objec- 
 tions to slavery, especially in reasonable minds, would 
 be silenced thereby. 
 
 Hoping to hear from you soon, 
 
 I am, your affectionate brother, 
 
 WILLIAM R. MELVILLE. 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 55 
 
 Melville Cottage, November 1th, 18 — . 
 My Dear William,— 
 
 Yours of the 27tb October was received, and, I must 
 admit, as you anticipated, / was smyrised not a little. 
 I cannot imagine the many expressions of commendation 
 that you have bestowed upon me as a master, to have 
 been in the shghtest degree insincere ; and yet, whnt shall 
 I say ? I can but use your own words, " thei/ require 
 explanation.'''' 
 
 I shall assent to your request to correspond upon this 
 subject ; if for no other reason, from a desire to know 
 what fiiuit you find in my manner of discharging my 
 duties in this matter, but I beg leave to remind you of 
 the admonition of Solomon, concerning being "'righteous 
 over-much,'''' which admonition you will eftsiiy remember. 
 I would not for a moment compare, my dear good 
 brother, to those politico-religionists who are continually 
 disturbing the nation upon this subject ; yet I do think 
 that I see, in the disposition to agitate this question, that 
 which makes me uneasy ; and I fear that the effort will 
 fail of any of these beneficial results you seem to antici- 
 pate, either to the servant, the master, or to the country. 
 Indeed, it is my honest conviction, that the agitation of 
 this question has resulted already in laying both mas- 
 ters and legislators under a kind of necesbity to be 
 more stringent in reference to the blacks ; and the con- 
 sequences have been, that the condition of the slave 
 population at the South has been injured, rather than 
 
56 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OK, THE 
 
 benefited by such officious interference ; and, rest as- 
 sured, what has been, will be again ^nd always. 
 
 In regard to the correspondence, I heartily accord the 
 privilege of expressing to me your views upon that sub- 
 ject ; and, indeed, as already intimated, my curiosity is 
 a little excited to know upon what points you consider 
 me remiss ; indeed, there is scarcely one of them who 
 does not laugh more and sigh less than I do. 
 
 However, not to protract this, I close by hoping that 
 I shall hear from you soon ; and, I'll warrant one thing, 
 where you find one master, religious or irreligious, whose 
 servants fare better, I will find ten whose servants fare 
 worse than mine. But, at the same time, if you can 
 show me what duty I neglect, I hold myself pledged, as 
 a candid man, to listen, and lay myself open to convic- 
 tion. 
 
 I am, your affectionate brother, 
 
 JOSEPH L. MELVILLE. 
 
 G , November 20th, 18 — . 
 
 My Dear Brother Joseph, — 
 
 In the first place, I thank you for the privilege to 
 write you my views of the duties of masters. But, at 
 the same time, I must say, with all deference to your 
 general good judgment, that I conclude you to have 
 misunderstood both Solomon and myself, in applying 
 his injunction not to be " righteous over-much''' to me ; 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 57 
 
 but, as neither he (Solomon) nor I am at all likely to 
 demand an apology, you can be let down gently for this 
 fault ; I will only say, that however expert my brother 
 may be at a point of law, or a question of political econ- 
 omy, I have, in my day, known more competent exposi- 
 tors of Scripture. 
 
 I shall seize the earliest opportunity to enter upon 
 the proposed discussion, and hope (your ordinarily excel- 
 lent opinion to the contrary notwithstanding) that it will 
 be in my power, (even mine) to make good my pro- 
 posed work, viz : — To show, as suggested, that all par- 
 ties, the servant, the master and the country, must be 
 benefited by a proper and temperate discussion of this 
 subject. 
 
 With regard to the difficulties with which this discus- 
 sion is invested, my views are precisely as your own ; 
 and I agree with you perfectly in your opinion, respect- 
 ing the effects of Northern interference in this matter ; I 
 sincerely believe that it has thrown the prospects of the 
 black man, like the shadow on the dial of Ahaz, ten 
 degrees backward. I shall enter upon this discussion 
 as early as possible. 
 
 In the meantime, 
 
 I remain, your affectionate brother, 
 
 WILLIAM R. MELVILLE. 
 
58 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 Q ^ November SOth, 18 — . 
 
 Dear Joseph, — 
 
 According to promise and our agreement, I now enter 
 upon the expression of my views concerning the great 
 question before us. But I shall more particularly, at this 
 time, attempt to clear the way for the discussion, by 
 showing that there is a necessity that the duties of mas- 
 ters be discussed ; and that there is such a thing as dis- 
 cussing these duties in a manner that is perfectly safe. 
 
 In undertaking the first of these propositions, I beg 
 leave to remark, that unless masters take the absurd po- 
 sition, that in the very act of becoming masters, they, 
 by some wonderful intuition or instinctive process, una- 
 nalogous to any thing else in, nature, even all masters, 
 without exception, become possessed of all the know- 
 ledge and experience necessary to a master ; unless, I 
 say, masters believe, and can successfully show to man- 
 kind all this to be true, then we claim that to some 
 masters, at least, this discussion is necessary. But, as I 
 confidently presume that none will attempt to defend a 
 position like this, then, it must be admitted, that the dis- 
 cussion is necessary to some mastei-s. 
 
 If, then, it be admitted that to some masters the dis- 
 cussion is needful, the following points are established : 
 
 First. The servants of such masters may be improved 
 in their conditions, either morally or physically, or both. 
 
 Secondly. The masters themselves may be made hap- 
 pier, in witnessing the improved condition of their people ; 
 
t)UTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 59 
 
 and not only happier, but more prosperous ; for it will 
 be shown throughout this discussion, that the interest of 
 the servant, and the real interests of the master, are one 
 and inseparable. 
 
 If these things are proved, then it will follow, by an 
 obvious consequence, that the country must be benefited, 
 in the silencing of the clamor that has for years dis- 
 turbed our peace, and which, ever and anon, threatens 
 our overthrow. 
 
 I have attentively weighed the best arguments that 
 have been produced against slavery, and am convinced 
 that the question of slavery, as an evil in itself, must 
 always go against the abolitionist, as long as the Bible 
 is taken as authority, and is interpreted according to the 
 established laws of interpretation ; and that it is only when 
 the abuses growing out of slavery are drawn into the 
 discussion, that any thing like a tolerable case can be 
 made out by them. Such, I honestly believe, will be 
 the result of a proper discussion of this subject ; but let 
 masters pertinaciously refuse to consider their duties 
 and they at once confirm the impression already on many 
 minds, that they are resolved to stand by their institu- 
 tion right or v,'rong ; and they thus open the way for all 
 the absurd statemt nts of our enemies to be believed. 
 
 I know that such considerations as these must and 
 will impress you, for they impress every high-minded 
 man ; but I am aware, too, of what your feelings are 
 upon this subject, and they are the feelings of thousands, 
 viz : — That it will never do to begin such a discussion. 
 I am, however, of a dilferent opinion. If, as I flatter 
 
60 MELVILLE Letters ; or, Tii^ 
 
 myself, I have shown the condition of servants, morally 
 and physically, can be benefited — if masters can be 
 made happier in witnessing this improvement in the 
 condition of their people — and last, but not least, if the 
 condition of our beloved country can be benefited by 
 the allaying of the spirit of discord that is rife upon this 
 subject, then I hold that it requires weighty considera- 
 tions indeed to justify us in refusing to discuss it. For my 
 own part, I am accustomed to believe that duty is always 
 safe. And, moreover, although we may shrink from the 
 responsibility of establishing a healthful public opinion 
 concerning this thing, still it must be done by those who 
 come after us ; and our posterity may have this task to 
 perform under circumstances far less favorable than even 
 those by which Ave are surrounded. 
 
 You urge, as a main ground of your objection, '■'■past 
 experiences^'' and I fully accord with you, that the agita- 
 tion of these matters by the abolitionists, has thrown the 
 whole aftair backward, rather than forward. But I con- 
 ceive the proposed discussion to be a very different thing. 
 They (the abolitionists) send emissaries to tamper 
 with the blacks, and awaken in their minds dissatisfac- 
 tion and jealousies. I propose a free interchange of 
 opinion among Southern men, as regards the best means 
 of rendering them comfortable and happy — a difference, 
 you perceive, as wide as the poles. They publish fancy 
 descriptions of cruelties and barbarities, the most enor- 
 mous and revolting. I propose descriptions of model 
 farms, and mills, and manufactories, conducted by slave 
 labor. 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 61 
 
 They get up mixed assemblies to harangue about 
 sending missionaries to evangelize Southern slaveholders. 
 I propose the discussion of the best means by which the 
 great mass of the slave population may be brought un- 
 der the healthful influences of religion, and suppHed 
 regularly with the means of religious instruction and 
 religious enjoyment. 
 
 How such discussions as these are calculated to awa- 
 ken prejudices or uneasiness, in any well organized and 
 intelligent mind, I am at a loss to determine. 
 
 Lest, however, I weary you, I bring this letter to a 
 close, by earnestly desiring that you give me your views 
 in the most candid manner, concerning what I have now 
 said. Have I convinced you that " The first great 
 
 DUTY OF MASTERS IS TO DISCUSS THE DUTIES OF MASTERS, 
 WITH A VIEW TO THEIR PERFORMANCE ?" And have I 
 
 succeeded, in any degree, in convincing you that there is 
 a possibility of discussing these duties in a manner that 
 is safe to all parties ? 
 
 I cannot say that my mind is fully made up, as to the 
 particular modes and vehicles by which this discussion 
 should be carried on. 1 am satisfied that any thing like 
 parade, or public demonstration of any kind, would be 
 decidedly unadvisable. So far as my mind is made up, I 
 am of the opinion that communications to agricultural, 
 religious, or other papers, would be productive of good. 
 The results of experiments in farming or manufacturing, 
 are among the things we want ; and the best modes of 
 doing every thing, the great result to be aimed at. As 
 
62 MELVILLE LETTERS *, OR, THE 
 
 to the details, I am free to confess the superiority of 
 your judgment. 
 
 Hoping to hear from you soon, and in full, 
 I remain yours fraternally, 
 
 WILLIAM R. MELVILLE. 
 
 Here a letter omitted, but the character of it may 
 be inferred from the next, which is in part an answer. 
 
 , December 9 th, 18 — . 
 
 My Dear Joseph, — 
 
 Yours of the 5th inst., in answer to my last, was duly 
 received, and it gratifies me to know that ray views so 
 nearly accord with your own. As to the few minor 
 points upon which we differ, I repeat what I said, that 
 results are what I seek ; if I can convince slavehold- 
 ers that their first and great duty is to discuss these 
 duties, and that it can be done with safety, I am en- 
 tirely indifferent as regards the means, provided they be 
 honorable. And now this branch of the subject being 
 disposed of, I have a proposition to submit, which, I 
 hope, will meet your views. I forewarn you, however, 
 that I am about to surprise you as much as when I fii*st 
 sprung this discussion upon you. But if I can show 
 sufficient reasons why you should accede to my sugges- 
 tions, I hope and believe that you will accede to them ; 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 63 
 
 and if I do not show sufficient reasons, you will, indeed 
 you ought, to decline. 
 
 Not to keep you longer in suspense, I will announce 
 my suggestion. It is, that you commence, at your ear- 
 liest convenience, and write me your views of the duties 
 of masters, in one letter, or a series of letters, as may 
 best suit yourself; and if you have no objection, I will 
 restrict the discussion to this, viz : — " The duties of such 
 masters as feel responsible to God for the discharge of 
 the duties they owe their slaves.'''' 
 
 The considerations I offer why you should consent to 
 this are various, as follows : 
 
 First. It will give an agreeable variety to the discus- 
 sion, and thereby relieve the tediousness of one writing, 
 and the other reading, all that is to be said upon the 
 subject. 
 
 Secondly. I may become, in turn, a learner from you, 
 as well as appear as your instructor. 
 
 Thirdly and chiefly. I am strongly inchned to the 
 opinion that there are very many who, if they could be 
 induced to express their thoughts upon this subject, 
 could give far more intelligent and consistent views than 
 myself. 
 
 In addition, I will say, that as I invited this discussion 
 originally, and with the avowed purpose of pointing out 
 to you wherein I considered your system of duties de- 
 fective, I can more clearly know wherein I conceive it to 
 be so, when I come to understand your opinions more 
 fully. 
 
 Should these considerations weigh with you, so as to 
 
64 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 induce your assent, I will suggest that you embody, as 
 far as may be convenient, an outline of your own plans; 
 and, as far as you may be acquainted therewith, an out- 
 line also of the plans of your neighbor, Mr. M . 
 
 Hoping that this strange proposal will be agreeable to 
 you, and that I shall hear from you soon, I remain 
 yours, affectionately, 
 
 WILLIAM R. MELVILLE. 
 
 Melville Cottage, December 12<A, 18 — . 
 My Dear William, — 
 
 Yours of the 9th is before me, and I remark that you 
 may take the credit of some adroitness, at least; in that 
 you originally drew me into this singular correspondence, 
 and now, in a more singular proposal, design to throw 
 the task of writing upon myself. I have it in mind to 
 rally you a little upon this when we meet, but shall yield 
 to the force of the considerations presented, and at an 
 early day will enter upon the writing of a few letters, 
 upon the following, or some such topics, viz : 
 
 First. — Habitations. 
 
 Second. — Clothing. 
 
 Thirdly. — Food, including arrangements for prepar- 
 ing it, etc. 
 
 Fourthly. — Arrangements for sickness, including pro- 
 per care of the aged, of women, and of children. 
 
 Fifthly. — Their own time. 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 65 
 
 Sixthly. — Pastimes, bolidays, etc. 
 Seventhly. — Overseers, overworking, etc. 
 Eighthly. — Punishments. By which ominous word I 
 mean, more properly, measures by which to avoid pun- 
 ishment. 
 
 Yours, very affectionately, 
 
 JOSEPH L. MELVILLE. 
 
 Melville Cottage., December lY^A, 18 — . 
 My Dear Willi AxM, — 
 
 According to promise, I now enter upon a series of 
 letters, in which I propose to set forth my views of the 
 duties of masters — Christian masters, or any other, who 
 wish to have a quiet conscience, and a prosperous busi- 
 ness. I shall keep in my mind's eye a farm, large or 
 small ; a manufactory, or indeed any establishment con- 
 ducted by slave labor, or where slaves are assembled in 
 considerable numbers. It occurs to me, that it is chiefly 
 in reference to such cases that light is particularly 
 needed, since servants employed about our houses, in 
 ordinary domestic business, have generally the same fare 
 as their masters, and live nearly as they do. I may 
 further remark, that the principles laid down for such 
 cases as I have meutioned, will be apphcable to. all 
 others. 
 
 At the outset, I would assert what I regard as a fun- 
 damental principle, — that a man's servants will not, gene- 
 
 9 
 
66 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 rally, long continue to be his, unless he is willing, in some 
 sense, to belong also to them. In other words, the man 
 who expects every thing about him to prosper and 
 flourish, with but little or no personal attention of his 
 own, will, in the end, sooner or later, find that he has 
 been building upon a very uncertain basis. 
 
 I think ray proposition was to speak first of habita- 
 tations. I need not' say that there is room for some im- 
 provement in this particular. I am reminded of your 
 remark, that " masters do not come instinctively to a 
 Jcnoivledr/e of their duties,''^ for I am of the opinion that 
 the instinct of some masters is not far above that of the 
 beaver, in the matter of building a comfortable cabin. 
 Really, if I were actuated by no other feeHng than per- 
 sonal pride, I would scorn to see such wretched, filthy 
 cabins, as I have seen on the plantations of wealthy 
 farmers. Farmers ? No ! A man is not a farmer who 
 is a sloven in his arrangements. When I pass by such 
 settlements, and see miserable smoky hovels, in low, 
 damp situations, black and disagreeable to the sight, I 
 set that man down as a bad economist, and as w^antinof 
 in all the higher quahties, which make the intelligent 
 and public spirited farmer; and if his negroes are not 
 thievish and degraded, they deserve almost to be canon- 
 ized as saints, for it seems nearly enough to make any 
 man thievish and mean, to live in the midst of such filth 
 and squalor. On the other hand, when I see a hand- 
 some row, or group of houses, on a gentle slope of a 
 hill, nil neatly whitewashed, with little garden spots at- 
 tached tcTeach, and nice rows of trees, and neat grass 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 6*7 
 
 plats, upon which the children can sport, and where the 
 men and women can sit and enjoy the evening when 
 their work is done, — when I see such a spectacle as this, 
 I feel that, contrasting the condition of that people with 
 the condition of their ancestors in Africa, or with that of 
 the laboring classes in most of the nations of Europe, 
 we may safely challenge the criticism of the most violent 
 of abolitionists. 
 
 I am happy, too, to say, that such spectacles are not only 
 common throughout this country, but are becoming in- 
 creasingly so ; and, I flatter myself, that the time is ra- 
 pidly approaching, when the great body of slaveholders 
 will know enough of true economy, to understand that 
 it consists mainly in having every thing around arranged 
 in the best and most comfortable style. 
 
 That any man should neglect such improvements as 
 these, is the more surprising, when we consider — first, 
 that they can be made with so little trouble, or outlay of 
 actual cash ; secondly, the interest the people themselves 
 would take in them, and how much itw^ould add to their 
 comfort, and consequently to their contentment; and, 
 thirdly, the very great advantage to health, as well as 
 to a neat and cheerful appearance. But, as I before re- 
 marked, since it is my intention to present the mere 
 . seeds of thoughts, I will let this much suffice, as a short 
 chapter concerning habitations. I will take up the sub- 
 ject of clothing in my next, which you may expect ere 
 
 long. 
 
 Your aflfectionate brother, 
 
 JOSEPH L. MELVILLE. 
 
68 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 The letter of William, in answer of the preceding, is 
 omitted for the sake of condensation. Its nature may be 
 gathered from the following : 
 
 Melville Cottage, December 22c?, 18—. 
 Mr Dear Brother William, — 
 
 As you express yourself pleased with my short letter 
 concerning the habitations of servants, I am the more en- 
 couraged to proceed to the consideration of the next 
 topic." To say that servants cannot perform their work 
 properly, unless they are properly clad, is to assert a 
 mere truism, that none would think of doubting; and 
 yet how many act as though it were not so. What I 
 said of the feeling of degradation, as created by living in 
 a squalid and filthv habitation, is still more emphatically 
 true, of being clothed in filthy and ragged garments. 
 Furthermore, badly clad servants are so very liable to 
 diseases of various kinds, especially those connected with 
 cold, inclement and rainy weather. A warm climate is 
 the natural home of the black man, and in om- latitude 
 he suflfers more than ourselves, if unprotected from the 
 severity of the weather. Even when they are not car- 
 ried off by acute diseases, they sooner show the effects of 
 age ; and many of them, late in life, suffer from rheu- 
 matic and other affections, in consequence of exposure 
 during youth or manhood. It was an amusing prescrip- 
 tion,:°but certainly a very judicious one, of a facetious 
 •physician of my acquaintance, who recommended to a 
 negro man some simple preparation, and told him to say 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 69 
 
 to his master that it must be " loorJced off ivith a new 
 warm jacket and trowsers.''^ Such prescriptions would 
 cure many of the diseases "which their fie sh is heir to,''^ 
 and certainly " would not be bad to takeT 
 
 This is, perhaps, the most appropriate place, in which 
 to suggest a matter of the very first consequence to 
 them, viz : the providing of suitable beds and bedding. 
 We have all the materials on a farm wherewith to make 
 an abundant supply of good comfortable mattresses, 
 and with (we may say) literally no expense worthy a 
 moments consideration, when brought into contrast with 
 the health and comfort of the people. Shucks and cot- 
 ton, which make, when properly prepared, an admirable 
 mattress, are abundant on any farm ; and the prepara- 
 tion could be taken, among other things, as rainy day's 
 work ; and thus, at an expense that would never be felt, 
 the servants could be well provided for in this respect. 
 And, if masters would try the experiment, I doubt not 
 that comforters, made by tacking, in the manner of a 
 mattress, bats of cotton, or which is fully as good and 
 more convenient, refuse cotton, simply ginned for the 
 purpose, and laid between two pieces of cloth, they 
 would, in my judgment, find it cheaper than the ordinary 
 mode of furnishing them with blankets ; and would, 
 beyond doubt, do more towards keeping them warm as 
 covering for the beds. 
 
 As the subject of rainy day's work has been Ihus in- 
 cidentally mentioned, I will make a shofht dioTession to 
 notice one or two things respecting this subject, and then 
 return to the train of thouo^hts which I had in mind. It 
 
70 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 may be vvortli wliile to remark, that the true farmer 
 needs almost never to require his people to labor in the 
 rain. All that is necessary, is to employ a little forecast 
 in providing suitable work within doors, or, at least, 
 under shelter. Without any design of being very spe- 
 cific, I may j'^et mention a few things that may be done 
 to advantao-e at such times. Makino- of " mattresses and 
 comforters,^'' has already been mentioned, to which might 
 be added, for the women, making of clothing, weaving, 
 knitting, in which, particularly the last, even the child- 
 ren and older persons might be engaged ; whilst the 
 men and larger boys might be occupied in repairing, 
 painting^'''' and even making many of the more ordinary 
 tools used upon the farm ; to which might be added, the 
 grinding of axes, and many other small jobs, all of which 
 require time to be performed ; and which, if not done in 
 rainy weather, will certainly deduct from the labors of a 
 fair day, either by hands being delayed to attend to it, 
 or by working with a defective tool, . 
 
 In connection with this, I may say, further, that on 
 large farms the making of shoes, much of which could 
 be done on rainy days, and even of hats, or rather caps, 
 for the men and boys, might be made decidedly profit- 
 able. 
 
 The hides and skins of wild animals, which could be 
 easily collected about a farm, and which are, generally, 
 
 * My allusion to painting, will, perhaps, remind you of my 
 propensity to dabble in " lead and oil" but I am assured any 
 farmer will see liis own by painting his tools, and many other 
 things, even to the handle of a hoe or rake. 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. Yl 
 
 almost wasted, could thus be worked up greatly to the 
 advantage of the farm, and the comfort, and, conse- 
 quently, the health of the people. 
 
 But to return from this digression ; the miserable po- 
 licy of allowing servants to go to their labor in rags, for 
 want of comfortable clothing, and to employ the hours 
 of Saturday night, almost to Sabbath morning, in wash- 
 ing those miserable garments; then to lie down about 
 half naked on Sunday, until these garments are dry, or 
 put them on half dry, and thereby bring on rheumatic, 
 and other acute or inflammatory diseases, I cannot speak 
 of in terms of sufficient leprobation. 
 
 I am aware that the blacks are the most thouo-htless 
 and improvident of beings, — being Hneal descendants in 
 character, at least, of that pair of brothers spoken of by 
 Solomon in Proverbs, xviii. 9 : one slothful, the other a 
 great waster ; but, I am aware, too, that if proper clo- 
 thing be provided, the authority of the master, together 
 with the sentiment of self-respect, which most of them 
 feel, will induce them to appear genteel. 
 
 1 do not refer to this topic, because neglect in this 
 respect is very general, but simply that I may express 
 myself in reference to the bad economy displayed by 
 some masters in regard to clothing, as also in regard to 
 habitations. 
 
 A man had better hire out, or sell one or more of his 
 hands, to raise means wherewith to clothe the remainder. 
 He would procure more self-respect, more respect fi-om 
 his brother farmers, make better crops, and pay far less 
 doctor's bill by so doing; and I am sure these are con- 
 
Y2 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 siderations sufficient to weigh with any man with sense 
 enough to be a farmer. 
 
 Since your criticism of my attempts to expound and 
 apply Scripture, I have been less disposed to venture 
 into that hne of things, but I have a passage in mind in 
 reference to the point of which I am now treating, of 
 the apphcabihty of which I feel sure I am not mistaken. 
 I think it is in the Epistle of St. James. The words are 
 these: — "The hire of the laborers who have reaped 
 down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth , 
 and the cry is entered into the ears of the Lord of Sa- 
 baoth." Now, although the slave is not hired, yet there 
 are certain things, which, in my judgment, the Almighty 
 regards as hire, to wit : — Food, clothing, habitations, 
 medicine, and attendance in sickness or old age, etc. etc. ; 
 and if these are kept back, it is an injustice, and so much 
 the greater, as the poor slave has no appeal. Such 
 ^'■keeping back by fraud''' is bad enough in one of us who 
 make no pretensions to personal piety ; but when it is 
 done bv those wdio profess to have imbibed the spirit of 
 Him who went about doing good, I cannot express to 
 you how much I abhor it. I do not say this from any 
 feeling of disrespect to any religious man as such. No! 
 God forbid ! I have been reared from childhood to 
 respect religion, religious things and religious people ; 
 and I hope no conduct in its professors, will ever induce 
 in me any other sentiment. The inhumanity of some who 
 bear the Christian name, towards these poor slaves, who, 
 as I before said, have no redress, awakens in me feelings 
 that I would not like to express, even to you. You, pro- 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 73 
 
 fessors of religion, are the ones to speak to each other on 
 these matters. The Bible makes it your duty to exhort and 
 admonish one another ; and, although I can say that I am 
 glad you have sprung this discussion upon me, I still think 
 there are of your brethren in the Church, for whom you 
 might also feel concerned. As a farmer and a Southron, 
 I boldly declare, that as long as such bad economy is 
 practised, in even a few cases, it will be impossible to gag 
 the abolitionists; and Southern men ought to protest 
 against all such bad economy, on the grounds that al- 
 though a man is in some sense a sovereign at home, and 
 on his own farm, still there is a sense in which we are 
 mutually the keepers of the characters of each other. 
 I know that fanatical men and w^omen will rant against 
 us, do as we will ; but then the duty of masters is to 
 act so, that all such ranting shall be false. But not to 
 be tedious, I close, and shall write you my views in re- 
 gard to food in a few days. 
 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
 JOSEPH L. MELVILLE. 
 
 Melville Cottage^ January Sd, 18 — . 
 Dear William, — 
 
 Christmas and New- Year's day being past, I now 
 resume the series of topics in which I was engaged. 
 Before proceeding, I determined to converse with my 
 excellent neighbor, Mr. M., who is one of the neatest 
 farmers in all my acquaintance. Indeed, my knowledge 
 
74 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 of him and his arrangements, satisfied me that a de- 
 scription of his plan would express very clearly my 
 views of what ought to he. 
 
 I remark, however, before entering upon the proposed 
 description, that laboring persons require a good, even 
 abundant^ supply of solid substantial food, and of it a 
 fair proportion of animal food. I am aware that the 
 Irish peasantry eat but little meat, and yet labor hard, 
 and, it is said, enjoy health ; still, the black man is different, 
 and he seems to need a different treatment; much may 
 be due to climate, and the diseases incident thereto. 
 With regard to the relative advantage of boarding ser- 
 vants in common, and giving them a weekly allowance, 
 I do not undertake to decide for others, but believe the 
 experience of all who have tried both, to be in favor of 
 the former plan. 
 
 I am aware that many servants complain very much 
 at being boarded at a common table, and some never 
 will be satisfied. There are as queer crabsticks of hu- 
 manity among the blacks as there are among the whites ; 
 but, as my motto is, " the best modes of doing every 
 thing,''^ when I have found out that best mode, I am not 
 apt to be driven from my position by grumbling. Blacks, 
 like all other uncultivated persons, are strongly attached 
 to old customs. We have all heard of the Dutchman, 
 who considered it a sufficient reason for carrying his grist 
 to mill in one end of the bag, and a big stone in the 
 other, because '"'' mine fader dit sho^ Whilst whites 
 then, with better information, are so doggedly attached 
 to old ways, we need not be surprised at the poor blacks 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THeIR SERVANTS. 75 
 
 for following in their footsteps. I would, however, reason 
 the case with them ; and endeavor, as far as I could, by 
 showing- the advantages of boarding in common, to re- 
 concile them to it. I would even compromise the point 
 a little, by allowing them to take their suppers in their 
 own liouses. 
 
 It is but a dictate of common sense, however, to say, 
 that after a servant has done his morning's work, he is 
 not capable of cooking and eating his dinner in the usual 
 noon-time, and then have leisure to rest preparatory to 
 the labors of the afternoon." 
 
 In reference to the arrangements upon the farm of 
 
 Mr. M , I will give you as brief a description as is 
 
 consistent with completeness. lie, you are aware, boards 
 his servants in common, and the longer he tries it, the 
 better he is pleased. His arrangements are as follows : — 
 His dining room for the servants, (which, on occasion, 
 serves as a chapel,) and kitchen, are all under one roof. 
 The boilei's are set into brick work, and immediately in 
 the rear ; and connected with the same chimney is ano- 
 ther large boiler, into which is thrown the refuse of 
 vegetables, the bran, and other matters suitable for 
 stock ; and thus the cook can conveniently attend to both 
 operations at the same time. I would remark, that this 
 latter boiler serves another valuable purpose, in furnish- 
 ing an abundant supply of hot water for various pur- 
 poses, as washing their clothes, their persons, etc., etc. 
 
 A good garden, which Mr. M always manages to 
 
 have, is valuable. Spring, summer and winter, his hands 
 are supplied with such vegetables as are in season. Not 
 
76 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 a very great variety, it is true, but abundant, such as 
 they are. We were sitting in his piazza when I heard 
 the" " tavern hell^'''' as it is called. Water is abundant 
 (and of good quality,) for them to wash before they eat ; 
 (and for all other purposes,) a thing I admired very 
 much, for I believe with the Turks, that if cleanliness is 
 not a moral virtue, still it is so near it, that it is very 
 difficult to be virtuous and filthy. We walked to the 
 " tavern," and saw them lake their places, which they 
 did " decently and in vrder^'' each one, as I was inform- 
 ed, having a particular place assigned as permanently 
 his. They ate with no apparent haste, each one retiring 
 when satisfied, without a regular dismission, although 
 they are accustomed to wait until a blessing is asked, 
 before eating. 
 
 I observed an arrano'ement that I admire much, viz : 
 a large shed, convenient to the dining room, furnished 
 with rude benches, and there the servants either sat 
 down to chat, or stretched themselves for a short nap, as 
 they chose, but were not allowed to go to their houses. 
 
 Their ".s-ze.v/a,"* as I suppose it may be called, lasts 
 from one hour to one hour and a half; and, in long sum- 
 mer days, they have still more time at noon. 
 
 At the given signal, they all return to work, appa- 
 rently almost as fresh as when they came out in the 
 morning. The value of the afternoon's work must be 
 greatly increased by this system. 
 
 There are, however, still some servants who prefer the 
 
 * Spanish^ word signifying afternoon's nap or rest. 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 77 
 
 old system, of throwing a slice of meat upon the coals ; 
 and when burned up to a crisp, like the sole of an old 
 boot, eating it with a hoe, or ash-cake, about half done, 
 and some ''^r^'^/i5," a little scalded. But, as I said, these 
 are like some of the whites, " behind the timesy Im- 
 provements will go on, and the world cannot stop, until 
 such people awake from their slumbers. I am of the 
 opinion, however, that this will become a general system, 
 and that opposition will gradually die out. 
 
 I shall resume the subject soon, and, in my next, shall 
 treat of arrangements for the sick, etc. 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
 JOSEPH L. MELVILLE. 
 
 Melville Cottage^ January 12th, 18 — . 
 Dear William, — 
 
 According to promise, I proceed to consider, in the 
 present letter, arrangements for sickness, including pro- 
 per accommodations for the comfort of the old and in- 
 firm ; also, of women and of children. I consider a 
 hospital an indispensable appendage to every well-con- 
 ducted farm, manufactory, or any other establishment, 
 where slaves, or, indeed, any other human beings are 
 assembled in considerable numbers. And, by a hospital 
 here, I mean merely this — a more than ordinarily com- 
 fortable negro house; so situated as regards location. 
 
78 MELVILLE LETTERS *, OR, THE 
 
 internal arrangements, and every other particular, as to 
 be, at the same time, a convenient place for the sick, or 
 lying-in servant ; and, also, convenient to be overlooked 
 by the master, overseer, or any other, on whom tliat 
 duty might devolve. I am aware that the first idea that 
 strikes the mind of many a man is, that, with such con- 
 venient arrangements for sickness, we should always have 
 some one sick, or pretending to be so. I confess that 
 there is a considerable amount of complaining among ser- 
 vants that is merely feigned ; but, in answer to all the 
 objections against the hospital, medicin.^ chest, and all 
 that class of accommodations, arising from a source like 
 this, I would offer the following considerations : — First, 
 a shrewd observer would soon detect such cases of feigned 
 sickness ; and, in cases of detection, the deceiver would 
 be laid under suspicion ever after; and thus would, in 
 the end, be more a loser than gainer by the operation. 
 Secondly, that such a system of deception could never 
 be carried on more than a few days by the same indi- 
 vidual; and the loss of a few days work, of a lazy ser- 
 vant, can never be a matter of so much consequence, as 
 to weigh against the chances of a really sick and suffer- 
 ing one lacking such accommodations. And, thirdly, I 
 am not so sure that such servants as feign sickness, might 
 not be broken of their deceptive practices, by knowing 
 that, as soon as they were unable to perform their daily 
 labor, they must take up their residence in the hospital, 
 and receive medical attendance. If such servants could 
 be allowed to lounge about their own houses, they are 
 willing enough, at times, to feign sickness ; but it be- 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 79 
 
 comes a very different affair, when they are to be sent to 
 the hospital and take physic. 
 
 Yours, affectionate!}^, 
 
 JOSEPH K MELVILLE. 
 
 Melville Cottage^ January 20th, 18 — . 
 Mr Dear William, — 
 
 I NOW approach a branch of this subject, upon which 
 it will be difficult to establish any thing hke uniform 
 sentiments and practices. I allude to what is technically 
 called, among the blacks, " oio' own time.'''' In addition 
 to habitations, food, clothing, medicine, and medical at- 
 tendance, black people expect, and, by a kind of con- 
 ventional usage, almost demand, a number of little rights 
 and privileges, which, although like the ''common law," 
 not referable to any positive enactments, are, like it, also 
 of very binding influence. If an}^ one wishes to try the 
 strength of these informal concessions, let him attempt 
 to take " Christmas''' from them without a fair equiva- 
 lent, and he will very probably be made to feel the force 
 of pubhc sentiment upon these points. One of the most 
 effectual modes of inducing servants to peifomi their 
 duties with cheerfulness, is to r-ecognize all those little 
 points ; not, perhaps, as matters of nght, but as conces- 
 sions cheerfully made from the leehng of good will that 
 exists between master and servant. 
 
 This '• time'''' is employed by them in various ways, 
 for the purpose of earning a few dollars with which to 
 
80 MELVILLE LETTERS *, OR, THE 
 
 purchase little articles, such as they may fancy — Sun- 
 day shoes or hat, an umbrella, or something that masters 
 do not usually furnish. Of course, a kind and conside- 
 rate master desires tliat their time may be made availa- 
 ble to some useful end, and not frittered away in idleness 
 or unproductive labor. In order that such may not be 
 the results, I have known judicious planters to pursue a 
 course like this. At the usual planting season, a certain 
 portion of land is laid out for the servants, to be culti- 
 vated in something that will command cash when gath- 
 ered in. A compact is then entered into with the 
 hands, to have their crop worked and managed precisely 
 as the masters crop ; the proceeds to be divided out ac- 
 cording to the general deservings of each, including 
 industry, good conduct, etc., etc. Such a plan will com- 
 mend itself to the mind of a kind master, for many 
 reasons; and, among the most forcible, is, that it substi- 
 tutes a consideration more ennobling than those too 
 often employed as an incentive to action, viz : — the lash, 
 scolding, etc. I leave to you the task of being the ex- 
 positor of Scripture upon these matters; but I think I 
 have read, that as good and great a man as Moses, " had 
 respect to the recompense of reward." And, whilst I 
 would scorn the idea of bribing servants or children, to 
 do their duty, I would hold it not only as kind, but as a 
 moral duty to reward those who did well, and all in pro- 
 portion as they did well. 
 
 Whilst the thought is on my mind, and lest ft should 
 escape me in the proper place, I will remark, that. al- 
 though I have placed in my arrangement a chapter on 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 81 
 
 punishment, yet my system, so far as my crude concep- 
 tions may be called one, contemplates rather the preven- 
 tion of the necessity of punishment, than the recommenda- 
 tion of any plans or modes of punishment. And, it is mv 
 opinion that some well devised system of rewards, would 
 not only act as an incentive to industry and general 
 good conduct, but the being deprived of those rewards 
 for misconduct, might be rendered one of the most effec- 
 tual modes of administering punishment. This manner 
 of employing their own time, for their benefit, it will be 
 readily seen, may be made a powerful auxiliary of this 
 sort. Under this head, it might not be improper to re- 
 mark, that a master is, as it were, laid under the neces- 
 sity (in self-defence,) to afford them the requisite time 
 for washino- and mendino- their clothes, cleansino- about 
 their houses, and such little matters. In self-defence I 
 say, for if such opportunities are not afibrded, he will 
 find himself at the head of a body of rag-muffins, of 
 whom he would be ashamed, did he meet them upon 
 the public highways. 
 
 But to return from this digression ; when the crop is 
 laid by, some planters hold a grand festival. Sheep and 
 pigs, and other failings, are killed ; and a bountiful, 
 though not very magiiijicent^ dinner is provided. Mas- 
 ter, and mistress, and neighbors, and negroes assemble, 
 and black and white are seen struno- aloniy the a;reat ta- 
 ble, like the keys of a piano; and, like the aforesaid 
 instrument, the black keys make fully as much noise as 
 the white ; all mingle for a while in the utmost harmony 
 and good feeling ; many a merry joke goes round, 
 6 
 
82 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 songs are sung, and all is rustic hilarity and mirth. Some 
 old fellow rigs up a " Saw/o," or discourses music (not 
 very Orphean, it is admitted,) from an old fiddle with 
 sundry knots in the strings, or, like another Paganini, 
 plays as well upon three, or, perchance, upon two ; and 
 some of the young fry get a pair of bones as " casta- 
 nets," and " Old Fiyinny^'' "Walk Jaw-bone," and 
 other airs, are performed for the amusement of " missus 
 and the children.'''' 
 
 Although I must confess that I have enjoyed such 
 scenes, I clearly yield the palm of doing up these things 
 in the most excellent style, to the servants of my es- 
 teemed friend, Mr. M . He being himself a truly reli- 
 gious man, feels bound to set his face against some of the 
 modes of enjoyment common amongst them, particu- 
 larly that rude stamping of the ground, which, by a 
 fiction of language, they call dancing. But, as every 
 good and sensible man ought, he never denies them one 
 gratification, without substituting another as good, or 
 better. He takes considerable interest in their learning 
 to sing, and well do they repay him for his trouble. I 
 enjoyed extrerael}'^ the spectacle of a choir of a dozen or 
 twenty good voices, pouring forth, one after another, the 
 most popular religious songs. It was really good music, 
 and they sung with a " vi?n.'" 
 
 In whatever way, however, the annual festival is con- 
 ducted, it is looked forward to with pleasing anticipa- 
 tions. It lightens many a task ; and as the time of 
 " laying by the crop''' is apt to be a season of increased 
 labor, that increase of labor is performed with more 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 83 
 
 cheerfulness, as it is preparatory to the " hig din- 
 ner.^'' 
 
 There is one thing- that renders this an effectual means 
 of operating upon them, viz : — the knowledge that it is 
 a mere gratuity, to be bestowed or withheld at the plea- 
 sure of the master, and to be regulated entirely accord- 
 ing to their deservings, and not like Christmas, a thing 
 of such long standing, as to have become one of the 
 conventional laws of master and servant. 
 
 It may be as appropriate in this, as in any other 
 place, to say that I have seldom, or never, known a ju- 
 dicious master, who did not consider it decidedly injuri- 
 ous for servants to be allowed to roam at large, either 
 on holidays, or at other times; wisdom and benevolence 
 both dictate, that with servants, as with children, their 
 appropriate enjoyments should, as far as possible, be 
 provided for them at home ; make home happy and 
 comfortable, and they will, both servants and children, be 
 contented, and, consequently, far more happy when at 
 home ; but let the opposite feelings be indulged, and like 
 all other stimulants, it must be administered stronger 
 every day, to afford the accustomed enjoyment. 
 
 You have only to turn your attention to this thino-^ to 
 be convinced of the justice of these remarks. 
 
 I shall in my next, proceed to take up the topics of 
 overseers and pmiishment, (or rather the best modes of 
 avoiding punishment,) which I shall send you in the 
 course of a few days. 
 
 Affectionately yours, 
 
 JOSEPH L. MELVILLE. 
 
S4 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 Melville Cottage^ January 25 th, 18 — . 
 My Dear AVilliam, — 
 
 According to promise, I now take up that important 
 branch of this subject, which relates t.) overseers. The 
 station of this class of men seems not very accurately 
 defined. Perhaps it is rather undefinable. Without 
 attempting to specify, I remark, that like most other 
 employments, it derives its respectability, or the want of 
 it, more from the moral character of the man by whom 
 the duties are performed, than from any thing indispen- 
 sably connected with the office. 
 
 An impression rests on many minds, that there is in 
 the very duties of an overseer, that which must degrade, 
 and, perhaps, demoralize a man. Of, course, all men 
 will claim to judge for themselves upon this class of 
 questions, but I cannot see how the most disagreeable of 
 these duties, say that of chastising a servant, may not 
 be done as an official act, and from a sense of duty, just 
 as the high Sheriff (an officer of undoubted respecta- 
 bility) is compelled by virtue of his office, even to hang 
 one. So far as the pain and mortification is concerned, 
 I (though entirely unaccustomed to all such duties,) 
 would prefer to chastise one hundred, rather than hang 
 one ; and yet I, nor indeed any other right minded man, 
 would shrink from either act, did the interests of society 
 demand it. 
 
 That the duties of the Sheriff can be, and often are 
 performed by proxy, is nothing to the question, for the 
 same is true of these ; if there is degradation iu the act, 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 85 
 
 it attaches to the office, whether the act be performed by- 
 proxy or not, or whether it be performed at all. The 
 truth appears to be that the deo^radation consists not in 
 the act itself, but in the temper in, or with which the 
 act is performed ; and that my reasoning is correct is 
 obvious, from the fact that many respectable farmers 
 choose to be their own overseers, and do all the duties 
 pertaining thereto, and yet are considered respectable 
 by the best classes among- us. 
 
 You may imagine that I am attaching undue impor- 
 tance to this apparently abstract question ; a question 
 which we might suppose belongs more to works on eti- 
 quette and feshion, but I conceive that the subject has a 
 practical bearing, which renders it of no little conse- 
 , quence in a discussion like this ; for could overseers be 
 impressed generally with the truth, that if they are de- 
 ficient in standing among the better classes of society, it 
 is not for any thing in the office or station of an overseer, 
 but for immoral or otherwise unbecoming conduct, it 
 would do much towards elevating this class of men ; a 
 result, in my estimation, of sufficient importance to jus- 
 tify some organized and systematic effort on the part of 
 farmers generally.* 
 
 * "Whenever the public becomes sufficiently alive to the true 
 interests of the country to engage in the establishment of " model 
 faryns" either by joint stock companies, or through the aid and 
 co-operation of government, that will, doubtless, be " the orga- 
 nized effort," vf^nch. will furnish the right kind of men; for, in 
 addition to such a farm, being the agent for settling a multitude 
 of important questions as regards farming and husbandry, and 
 
86 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 The next point naturally demanding attention, is the 
 prerogatives of the overseer. 
 
 The overseer generally regards himself as a kind 'of 
 v'ceroy, and his powers he considers plenipotentiary. 
 And, indeed, it seems indispensable that a considerable 
 power be delegated to him, or he can plead (and with 
 justice too,) the want of it, as an excuse for bad man- 
 agement. Such excuses can be elfectually cut off only 
 by making his powers equal to his responsibilities. It is 
 certainly surrendei'ing much, \evy much — but still not 
 so much as men surrender to attorneys, and other agents? 
 when they confide their estates to them ; to physicians, 
 when they confide their lives to them ; not so much by 
 thousands as they surrender to teachers, when they con- 
 fide the characters and destinies of their children, per- 
 haps for time, and for eternity, to their hands. 
 
 It is obvious that all agents must be confided in. But, 
 in proportion to the importance of the trust, and the 
 facilities for mal-practic?, should a principal scrutinize 
 
 also furnishing the best specimens of seeds, animals, etc., etc, 
 such an institution, if properly conducted, must send forth a 
 supply of well-informed and practical young men, who would 
 fill, with ability and success, this important branch of industry. 
 Indeed, to express my sense of the importance of this subject, 
 viz : — the rearing up a class of intelligent, moral and industrious 
 young men for these stations, I am satisfied that should the go- 
 vernment ever undertake such an establishment as a '' model farm " 
 and it should accomplish nothing more than this, it would, in it- 
 self, be a fair equivalent for any expense the farm might be to 
 the country. 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 87 
 
 the character of one whom he proposes to employ. And, 
 in this case, as in the cases of the lawyer, physician and 
 teacher, the means of protection from abuses are pre- 
 cisely the same, viz : an instant dissolution of the con- 
 nection, as soon ,*xs a discovery is made of intentional 
 betrayal of confidence. 
 
 This leads me to the annunciation of the principles, 
 which I conceive should govern a master in the selection 
 of an overseer ; although I am aware that this principle 
 will be unpopular with some. What you long ago re- 
 marked, " that the real interest of the master and the 
 interest of the servant^ must always coincide, and can 
 never differ,^'' if not an axiom, is a clearly established 
 principle in farming economy. And, as I know, that it 
 is not to the interest of the servants that the overseer be 
 employed with reference to his making by any, and all 
 means, the largest crop, I infer most assuredly that it 
 cannot be for the real, however it may be for the appa- 
 rent, interest of the master. 
 
 I would make the foUowino; suGfCfestions : — Find a 
 man of truly virtuous principles ; industrious, careful and 
 prudent ; humane in his disposition, strictly honest and 
 truthful ; and when such an one is found, spare no pains 
 to attach him permanently to you. If a single man, 
 encourage him — by the offer of a permanent situation, 
 and any other advantages you may be able — to marry.* 
 Give him distinctly to understand what course of con- 
 
 * The reason3 for this are of a nature too delicate to comment 
 upon, but far too important to be passed over in silence. 
 
88 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 duct, what personal character and principles in himself 
 will please, and what will not. Let him know that the 
 possession of right principles is an indispensable. The 
 very idea of placing, or retaining a man in a situation 
 that gives such unbounded control over servants, who is 
 himself immoral, or who would corrupt those committed 
 to his charge, is too abhorrent to be borne. Such a man 
 should not be retained ; no, not a day, nor an hour. 
 
 Such a man (as I have above described,) will, one year 
 wnth another, make as good crops, as he ought in justice 
 to the servants to make ; and no man ought to be ex- 
 pected, nor is it sound economy to make more. If more 
 (all things considered) than a fair crop is made, it is like 
 all other unfair operations — an evidence of dishonesty 
 somewhere ; and will, in the end, work disadvantage 
 rather than profit. Overseers, however, when they over- 
 work the people for sake of a large crop, often do it with 
 the feeling that they are but carrying out the wishes of 
 the master ; perhaps, in this, they are sometimes not 
 mistaken, but a prudent and benevolent master, will not 
 neglect to define his position in such matters, with great 
 exactness. 
 
 The question may be asked, how and where is a sup- 
 ply of such overseers as I have described to be found, 
 or their services to be obtained ? I answer, precisely how 
 and where faithful agents are to be obtained for the 
 transaction of other branches of business. There is a 
 law of political economy, that is not much, if any less, 
 to be relied upon than the laws that govern the material 
 universe, viz :— " that supply is ahvays in proportion 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 89 
 
 to demand.'''' If then the question be, hy ivhat means 
 can a sup2)lf/ of such overseers as I have described be 
 ob'ained ? I answer, by creating a demand for them. 
 Let it be understood and established, that the demand 
 is for a particular description of men, and for no other. 
 If, however, immoral, profane and licentious men can 
 compete successfully with the virtuous and moral, and, 
 perchance, be preferred, on the ground that they can, by 
 inhumanity to the servants, make a better crop, it need 
 not be a matter of astonishment, if a better class of men 
 is difficult to find. But let the course I have recom- 
 mended be pursued ; let masters give preference to the 
 better class of men, and if it does not hold good that 
 the supply is in proportion to the demand, then politi- 
 cal ECONOMY IS no SCIENCE. 
 
 Very respectfully, your affectionate brother, 
 
 JOSEPH L. MELVILLE. 
 
 Melville Cottage^ January 25th, 18 — . 
 Dear William, — 
 
 Having remarked upon all the other topics that I con- 
 sidered of importance, I will close my series of letters by 
 a few observations concerning punishment, bearing in 
 mind, however, that my system proceeds upon the prin- 
 ciple of prevention, rather than cure. Solomon, when 
 he wrote the Book of Proverbs, seemed to regfird the 
 day when the rod could be laid aside with safety, as in 
 the dim and shadowy future. Whether it can be more 
 
90 MELVILLE LETTERS *, OR, THE 
 
 safely laid aside now than then, is what I will not un- 
 dertake to determine ; but there are certainly principles 
 in the black race, which, if appealed to with proper mo- 
 tives, would save the necessity of much of the punish- 
 ment, which by some is regarded as indispensable. 
 
 Should punishment, however, be necessary, I would 
 recommend, that like all other duties, it be performed as 
 A DUTY, and performed well. 
 
 By being performed as a duty, I mean that it should 
 be performed with due deliberation — with no appearance 
 of haste, and never when it is attended with the slight- 
 est emotion of its being; asrreeable to the master to in- 
 flict it. 
 
 The course I recommend is about as follows : — I would 
 satisfy myself that the servant was really deserving of 
 punishment, by inquiring particularly and deliberately 
 into the circumstances of the case. I would then (in 
 private) administer a serious and faithful admonition. 
 Should this prove unavailing, I would then (also in pri- 
 vate) proceed to administer such a punishment, as in 
 my judgment would work the cure of the oflfender. And 
 when I had done, it should be with the feeling that it 
 would not be necessary to punish that person again — at 
 least very soon. 
 
 With my children, I reason thus : — If the amount of 
 punishment necessary for the entire cure of the offender 
 be represented by any quantity, (as x) and I administer 
 any part the4*eof less than the full amount necessary to 
 the cure, and then, through false tenderness, desist and 
 leave the patient uncured, I look upon myself as having 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 91 
 
 inflicted upon that individual that much of unnecessary- 
 cruelty. And it is my experience, that a servant left in 
 that condition, i. e. partially humbled, is in a worse 
 condition to be reformed than if he had never been 
 undertaken. Duty, kindness, humanity, all, therefore, 
 demand that the remedy be apphed until the cure is 
 atTected ; otherwise, in all probability, the same painful 
 process will be necessary again, and, perhaps, frequently. 
 There are masters who have but little trouble, because 
 their punishments are of so serious a nature, that a ser- 
 vant does not like to incur the risk of receiving one ; 
 and when they do receive one, they never feel like risk- 
 ing another. I have no doubt that a course something 
 like this, results in far less punishment in the end. 
 
 Punishment, to be a reformatory agent, must be made 
 to resemble, as nearly as possible, the laws of the mate- 
 rial Universe, at least, so far as absolute certainty of 
 of sequence is concerned. Man, in proportion to his ig- 
 norance and inexperience, is disposed to flatter himself 
 with the hope of impunity ; to guard against this spirit 
 of self-deception, the punishment should follow with 
 absolute certainty, unless there be o-ood and sufficient 
 reasons for the exercise of clemency. 
 
 There is one injunction of Saint Paul that has always 
 struck me with force, " forbear threatening.'''' The most 
 efficient government is that which is, as I just now re- 
 marked, the most uniform and certain ; and, I now add, 
 the most noiseless and quiet. The mighty forces that 
 govern the material Universe, are never heard — still 
 there is not a moment in which every particle of matter 
 
92 MELVILLE LETTERS *, OR, THE 
 
 does not feel them ; and as human governments approxi- 
 mate this absolute perfection, I have an idea that they 
 will possess this feature ; and Sovereigns, Governors, Pa- 
 rents and Masters, will learn the wisdom of that divine 
 injunction, " Forbear threatening." 
 
 Having now concluded what I have thought necessary 
 to say, I close by observing that I am really obliged that 
 you drew me into this correspondence. I have had ideas, 
 which before were floating indistinctly in my mind, re- 
 duced to a more definite form. And, if in looking over 
 these letters, you see where my system is essentially de- 
 fective, I trust you will, with the freedom of a brother, 
 point out those things; for, if I am not doing my duty 
 to my blacks, and my whole duty^ I know that it is not 
 the part of wisdom to shut ones eyes to the truth. I 
 not only grant you the privilege, but I request it as a 
 thing to which, in some sense, I may say I have a right ; 
 for, as you have thrown upon me so large a part of this 
 discussion, I think something is due me in return. 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 JOSEPH L. MELVILLE. 
 
 , th, . 
 
 Dear Brother, — 
 
 Your request and demand is so reasonable, and withal 
 accords so entirely with my own feelings, that I shall not 
 think of refusing to comply. 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 93 
 
 AVitli regard to tlie matter of your letters, and the 
 mode of treating the subject, I say * * ^ 
 
 Still I am compelled, in candor and love, to assure you, 
 that in my judgment they fall short of a complete sys- 
 tem, and I am astonished that a man of your penetra- 
 tion has not, long ago, seen that all this concerns the 
 slave as a mere physical being ; and, so far as he is possessed 
 of an immortal nature, he is, by your otherwise excellent 
 system, wholly unprovided for. The only explanation 
 that I can imagine why you have not seen this, is that 
 it is so general for masters to go no farther than you go ; 
 and, indeed, so few go as far, that it is, on the whele, 
 less a matter of surprise than at first it might appear. 
 
 It is, then, to that class of duties which your system 
 overlooks, that I propose to call your attention, and 
 right glad will I be, if I shall succeed as well in setting 
 forth the duties of masters to their servants as moral 
 beings, as you have set forth his duties to them as phy- 
 sical beino-s. 
 
 Hoping to enter upon this work soon, 
 I am, most fraternally, yours, 
 
 WILLIAM R. MELVILLE. 
 
 My Dear Brother Joseph, — 
 
 In discussing the duties of masters to their servants 
 as moral beings, I wish, in time, to ass'ire you that it is 
 not ray purpose to enter into the region of impossibili- 
 ties, like the thousand and one inventors of the perpetual 
 
94 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 motion, who have contrived very pretty machines, but 
 liable to the small objection that they will not work. I 
 shall endeavor to restrict myself to such things as any 
 master can do, provided he has a proper sense of his 
 duty to his servant, as a being responsible to God for 
 his conduct; and, I may add, what I feel assured he will 
 be a happier man for doing. 
 
 When, however, I assert that I believe that all the 
 duties I have in mind are practicable, I may have views 
 which it is necessary that I explain ; and, to make this 
 necessary explanation, I now suspend briefly the annun- 
 ciation and reasoning upon the duties themselves. The 
 views to which I have reference, are the peculiar charac- 
 teristics of the black race, or rather that branch of it 
 with which we are connected ; unless I have studied them 
 improperly, they are possessed of certain peculiarities, 
 more or less strongly marked, which, being properly 
 understood, may be operated upon to the advantage 
 greatly, not only of themselves, but also of their mas- 
 ters. 
 
 That there arc strong national peculiarities impressed 
 upon men, is a truth so well understood, that no man 
 who has been to any extent an observer of such things, 
 can have reason a moment to doubt. And that branches 
 and subdivisions of nations, have a peculiar type of their 
 own in many instances, is also well and generally known. 
 The American branch of the Anglo-Saxon has its strong- 
 1}^ marked features, so as to exhibit elements of character 
 totally unlike any other on the face of the earth. 
 
 The precise question now before us is, — are there any 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 95 
 
 marks of nationality impressed upon the American 
 branch of the great African or black race ? And, if so, 
 are they of such a nature as to aftbrd just and reasona- 
 ble grounds for believing that they can be used as leve- 
 rage, to assist in their moral and spiritual elevation ? 
 
 You formerly complimented me, by admitting that I 
 had fully convinced you that " the first great duty of 
 masters is to sludy the duties of masters^ with a vieio to 
 their 'performancer Could I now convince you that the 
 next great duty of masters is to study the peculiarities 
 of the black race, with a view to their moral elevation, I 
 should feel that I had not labored in vain. I solicit, then, 
 a candid hearing upon this subject, and I shall endeavor 
 to bear faithfully in mind the sentiments with which I 
 originally set out, viz : — '' that the whole of this discus- 
 sion is adapted to promote the welfare of servants, the 
 happiness of masters, and the peace and haimony of our 
 beloved country.'' 
 
 The first of these peculiarities, which I think affoids a 
 means of their moral elevation, is that feeling of child- 
 like dependance and leaning upon their masters, which 
 is well known as one of the elements in their nature, — a 
 disposition to confide in his judgment — to look to him 
 for protection ; and, when it is to any extent cultivated, 
 a feeling of affectionate trust. A colored man, who had 
 extensive intercourse with them, and who had had occa- 
 sion to study their peculiarities, with no little interest 
 remarked, " they are always children.'''' 
 
 This I consider one of the most characteristic descrip- 
 tions that I ever remember to have heard, eKpecially to 
 be couched in so few words. 
 
96 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 That the feelings of which I now speak are charac- 
 teristic of this people, might be made plain by a multi- 
 tude of illustrations. The failure of the Abolitionists to 
 abduct them, and their return to their masters, in many 
 cases, when abducted, are among the known facts that go 
 conclusively to establish the existence of such feelings as 
 those to which I refer. Let any who may still be scepti- 
 cal upon this point, institute suitable experiments, and 
 he may receive abundant evidence of the propriety of 
 these remarks. Compare the native or aboriginal in 
 habitant of this country, and see how strongly this feel- 
 ing is exhibited by such a contrast. An Indian to the 
 third or fourth generation, often retains his high toned 
 and independent bearing, and his abhorrence of the 
 white man, as the possessor of the graves of his forefa- 
 thers. But where do we hear of such exhibition of 
 feeling on ihe part of our colored people ? It is true 
 that such feelings are often manifest in native Africans ; 
 but, in the American branch of the great African family, 
 I am not aware that such feelings are ever exhibited. 
 
 The point immediately before us now, is what advan- 
 tage does this peculiarity afford for the moral elevation 
 of this people ? The answer is plain. Precisely as this 
 child-hke confidence, so kindly bestowed upon our child- 
 ren, affords abundant facilities for their elevation and 
 improvement, so does the possession of th -se qualities 
 by servants, those who are " always childi-en,''^ afford 
 the same facilities for thei? elevation and improvement. 
 
 We advise, and instruct, and admonish our children 
 in regard to their moral duties ; let us, in like manner, 
 advise, instruct and admonish them. 
 
I 
 
 DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 97 
 
 1 am aware that Soloinoii has said, that " a servant 
 will not be corrected by words," neither will a child, in 
 many instances ; but, if the punishment is made the Last 
 alternative with servants, as it is with children, perhaps 
 we should find that they would oftener be corrected by 
 words than we imagine. 
 
 Again — that same wise man has said, " He that deli- 
 cately bringeth iq:) his servant from a child shall have him 
 become his son at the length ;" and, it may be imagined, 
 that I am recommending a system, the very one that he 
 so emphatically condemns — but such is far from my mean- 
 ing. Petting and spoiling is the most direct mode of inflict- 
 ing unhappiness that I have ever knov.n ; I regard it as 
 refinement in barbarit}^, and I do not i-einember to have 
 seen a pet that was not unhappy, from a child's pet 
 kitten, to a petted servant or child ; all, all, are unhappy. 
 I only recommend that a principle so powerful as this, 
 should be employed with wisdom and prudence, for the 
 moral elevation of servants, just as the analogous feel- 
 ings are employed for the elevation c>f our children. 
 
 The practicability of what T say, the manner of doing- 
 it, and the happy consequences resulting, are all most 
 forcibly illustrated in multitudes of instances among the 
 older families in our Southern country — where there 
 are servants, not a few, who would face death itself, in 
 the most horrid forms, for the sake of that master whom 
 they lov'3 as a father, or a brother ; servants who, did 
 bitter-hearted men ever succeed in exciting a servile war 
 among us, would take up arras, and march to the field 
 of blood and carnao-e, under the banners of their masters. 
 
98 MELVILLE LETTERS *, OR, THE 
 
 The next element in the character of this j»eople, to 
 which I propose to call attention, is the feeling of self- 
 respect. I am aware that the annunciation of this topic 
 will excite a smile upon many a countenance. Such 
 pei-sons, as little as they believe it, entirely misunder- 
 stand the true character of the negro. I have not set 
 out to jest over this subject, and I shall, therefore, un- 
 dertake seriously to shoAv that the feeling of self-respect 
 is emphatically impressed upon the character of this peo- 
 ple, at least sufficiently so to aftbrd a basis upon which 
 to erect an eifectual bulwark of moral culture. 
 
 According to the doctrine of foi'ces, a power is estima- 
 ted by the resistance it is able to overcome ; or, with a 
 known resistance, by the force retained, after having 
 overcome. Apply this principle here, and, if I am not 
 mistaken, we shall see an upward action decidedly em- 
 phatic. 
 
 Besides, in estimating the strength of this feeling, we 
 are to bear in mind that it is an emotion almost entirely 
 of spontaneous growth. Indeed, not only is it unculti- 
 vated, but there are certain blighting iniiuences set in 
 action, sometimes intentionally, sometimes inadvertently, 
 which check its growth most sadly. Plow seldom is 
 there any systematic efforts to infuse into them a sense 
 of honor and self-respect ; and, when they manifest the 
 existence of such feelings, how often is it inadvertently 
 made the subject of merriment. 
 
 Did we rear our children thus, what would we have 
 reason to expect of them ? In truth, so far from deny- 
 ing the existence of such a feeling, we need rather be 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 99 
 
 amazed that its actino's are stroiiii' enoiio-h to exhibit 
 itself at all under the discoiiraffino- circumstances to 
 which it is sometimes exposed. 
 
 . Let masters, and all who exert an influence over them, 
 adopt a style of speaking to them, and of them, which 
 will inspire them with the feeling, that a man may have 
 a black skin, (the blacker the better,'") and be a slave, 
 and yet may scorn a low or base action as much as his 
 master, or any other man. Let them be admonished, 
 that base conduct degrades a man or woman, not only 
 in the estimation of the whites, but in the estimation of 
 their own class ; let them be encouraged to instil such 
 sentiments into the minds of their children, and many a 
 severe reprimand, and many an application of the lash, 
 may be spared. 
 
 As an instance in point, illusti-ative of what may thus 
 be efl:ected, I have now in mind a woman, whom I 
 screened from a public exposure for some petty crime of 
 pilfering, and who has ever since manifested such a sense 
 of oblio-ation for the favor thus shown, that I am satis- 
 tied that I can control her by this feeling of gratitude 
 far more successfully than it could be done by the lash ; 
 and, on a subsequent occasion, when threatened with 
 public punishment, she came to me, and falling upon her 
 knees, offered to submit to any infliction I might think 
 proper, if I would only screen her from public exposure 
 and disgrace. 
 
 * The anecdote of the old woman, who boasted tliat in her 
 neighborhood they were " all black" is a fine illustration of this 
 feeUng. 
 
100 MELVILLE letters; OR, THE 
 
 The next great characteristic of this people, and thai 
 which, more than an}^ other, lays the foundation for their 
 moral elevation, is the rehgious element that so strongly 
 distinguishes them. There is no need of reasoning to 
 prove the existence of this sentiment. The man who 
 doubts or denies on this point, avows his entire unac- 
 quaintance with the psychological character of this peo- 
 ple. 
 
 Their religion partakes not much of forms and cere- 
 monies — it is an engagement of their feelings. A preacher 
 who throws into his discourses a large proportion of im- 
 passioned language, and es])ecially of real feeling, can 
 scarcely fail to be their fireacher ; indeed, they are more 
 in danger of being carried into excesses by this, than by 
 almost any other cause. 
 
 They are eminently a religious people — they love re- 
 ligion, and it is to them often the greatest, even some- 
 times their only, enjoyment. The negro is a great singer, 
 and he sings religious songs in preference to any others ; 
 indeed, unless now and then a comic song, often, as I 
 suspect, falsely attributed to them, they sing but few- 
 others. They sing at their work, at their homes, on the 
 highway, and in the streets ; and, in the large majority 
 of cases, their songs have a decidedly religious charac- 
 ter. How common to see an old woman at her work, 
 " lining ouf a hymn to herself, and then singing it in 
 a spirit of rapt abstraction fi-om earth and all earthly 
 things. Many of them, when very angry, have prudence, 
 if not piety enough, to go alone, and sing some spiritual 
 song, not always, it is admitted, in a very spiritual state 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 101 
 
 of mind ; but still, t;ir more commendable than, like 
 their superiors, (?) to give vent to their angry feelings in 
 a torrent of bitter invective. 
 
 There is no doubt, tliat in many instances, this senti- 
 ment or emotion is nothing more than mere exhilaration 
 of feeling, induced by sympathy of a large concourse, 
 or sympathy of song, of which they are so excessively 
 fond, or some other incidental circumstance. In some 
 cases, when combined with great self-esteem and super- 
 stition, it becomes an apt resemblance of some of the 
 rhapsodies of the Baron Von Sweidenbourg.* But, in 
 other instances, we find points of experience, with no 
 pretensions to the marvellous, but a pure rapture of re- 
 ligious feehng, not unlike that of the Apostle, when he 
 found it difficult to decide whether he was in or out of 
 the body. 
 
 But not to pursue this theme, enough has been said 
 to show, 1st : — that it is one of the most strongly marked 
 elements in their character, and from their evident ten- 
 dency to run into the marvellous, and even superstition 
 in its worst forms, it is most obviously an important part 
 of a master's duty, to have this sentiment cultivated with 
 care and assiduity. 
 
 * Says an old woman, whom I attempted to reason out 
 of her views, in reference to such matters as her " travels" " Oh, 
 sir, you hav'nt got along that far yet in experience ;" and this 
 was said with so sincere and earnest expression of countenance, 
 as to set one involuntarily upon contriving a hypothesis, by 
 which the old woman's experience could be reconciled with Scrip- 
 ture. 
 
102 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 « 
 
 I am aware that this very feature of their character, — 
 which I am attempting to show may be made one of 
 the most efficient agents in the moral elevation of the 
 blacks — is regarded by many masters as among their 
 most objectionable features. The remark is often made, 
 and carelessly, sometimes by religious masters, that reli- 
 gious servants are less useful and reliable than those of 
 the opposite character. When such remarks are made, 
 as an expression of hostility to religion itself, we under- 
 stand perfectly how to regard them : but as they are 
 sometimes made by persons whom we could not imagine 
 capable of such feehngs, then for religion's own sake, if 
 not for the sake of religious servants, such remarks 
 ought to be explained. The explanation, I imagine, 
 would be, that by " religious servants," are meant 
 " church members ;" and, by irreligious servants, such as 
 are not so — no trifle of a difference in an age like this. 
 
 As the remark, then, is made in reference merely to 
 hypocritical professors of religion, it is sufficient to say, 
 in reply, that unless we could make a fairer showing 
 among ourselves, who are so much better instructed, and 
 surrounded with far better religious influences, we are 
 scarcely to be regarded as generous, in making such 
 sweeping denunciations against the whole body of '* re- 
 ligious servants'''' — a people who have not a tithe of the 
 religious advantages we enjoy. 
 
 And are religious masters and mistresses quite sur«, 
 that many of the little peccadilloes in religion, practised 
 by their servants, are not copied from themselves. If a 
 " rehgious" (?) mistress drills her house-maid or fille-de- 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 103 
 
 chauibre, to answer at the door " not at home,'''' when she 
 merely means not prepared to receive company, is slie 
 not demanding too much of that uncultivated servant, 
 to expect that she shall be able to make such nice dis- 
 tinctions, and, like her mistress and Sir Hudibras, " to 
 split a hair Hwixt north and north-west side^ 
 
 Having thus, I confess, rather elaborately, I hope not 
 tediously, set forth my viev^'s, in reference to those fea- 
 tures of character, upon which I would mostly rely, in 
 attempting the moral elevation of this people, I will 
 bring this letter to a close, by remarking, that properly 
 to appreciate the advantages thus placed in our hands, 
 let us imagine them possessed not of these, but of dif- 
 ferent, and, perhaps, of opposite sentiments. Suppose 
 them to hand down, from generation to generation, the 
 sense of the wrong inflicted upon them in their being- 
 brought to this country, then, indeed, we should be laid 
 under almost insuperable difficulties, in attempting their 
 improvement ; or, suppose them not possessed of that 
 self-respect, amounting often to real pride of character, 
 but of its opposite, that leaden nature that marks some 
 of the down-trodden and miserable beings of the old 
 world. x\gain — suppose, where we find the negro pos- 
 sessed of high religious sentiments, we found him the 
 victim of some form of irreligiou or wild idolatry, bloody 
 and cruel, which he cherishes deep within the centre of 
 his affections, as a thing most sacred and dear. I say, in 
 view of such suppositions as these, we must see the very 
 great advantages these sentiments and principles afford, 
 in the effort to elevate them morally and religiously. I 
 
104 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 shall, in my next, enter upon the main point I have in 
 view, viz : — the system I would recommend for the reli- 
 gious welfare of the slave population in' the South. 
 Your aflfectionate brother, 
 
 WILLIAM R. MELVILLE. 
 
 18- 
 
 My Very Dear Brother, — 
 
 In pursuance of the design expressed in my last, I now 
 address you upon those duties that masters owe their 
 servants as moral beings ; beings, with themselves, ac- 
 countable to a righteous and holy God ; and who must, 
 ere long, stand before that God, not then in the relation 
 of master and servant, but upon the same broad plat- 
 form — where the king and the beggar, the rich man and 
 Lazarus, the great men and the chief captains, and the 
 mighty men, must all stand. I approach this subject, 
 not as one of trifling moment, but as one involving vast, 
 even infinite consequences. I am aware, too, my dear 
 brother, that there are circumstances that are well adapt- 
 ed to lead you to improper conclusions upon this subject, 
 and cause you to rest satisfied in what you are doing, 
 supposing that this is your duty, even your whole duty. 
 The contentment and apparent happiness of your 
 people, leads naturally to a conclusion like this. In see- 
 ing their smiling countenances, their good condition, their 
 merry laugh, you will naturally feel, that if you are not 
 doing your duty^ who is ? Indeed, a sentiment like this 
 
DUTIES qp:' masters to their servants. 105 
 
 is expressed in one of your letters, viz : — " there is scarce- 
 ly one who does not laugh more, and sigh less, than you 
 yourself do." Let me remind you, dear brother, that 
 all this only proves that one great class of duties is well 
 performed ; but, do they, in all that they express of con- 
 tentment, have any just conceptions of their relations to 
 God ? I know that you can look at many a farm, and 
 see how for short masters of your acquaintance fall of 
 doing w^hat you do. But does this, I again ask, prove 
 any thing more, than that duties to them, as physical 
 beings, are properly performed ? 
 
 But need I remind you that the body, the mere phy- 
 sical being, is neither all of the man, nor even the more 
 important part. How often have I heard you express 
 your admiration of that fine answer of Socrates to his 
 friends, when asked " how he would he buried^'' in which 
 he assured them that the body was not the man, but the 
 immortal and undying principle within, was that which 
 constituted him a man. 
 
 Is the negro less than a man ? or his soul less worthy 
 our regard ? The Son of God placed more value upon 
 a soul, a single soul, than upon this earth, with all its 
 wealth and pomp ; and yet, how strangely, do we over- 
 look a thing of such infinite moment. I would say 
 more, but my heart is full, when I contemplate the 
 thought that there are kind masters, generous and in- 
 dulgent men, who, from tliis strange oversight, neglect 
 the souls of their most faithful and devoted servants; — 
 servants who love them as well almost as their own 
 lives ; — servants who would rise with cheerfulness, to 
 
106 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 serve them, at the midnight hour ; — servants who, if 
 their masters were sick, would give no sleejD to their 
 eyes, nor slumber to their eyehds, as long as they could 
 aftbrd the smallest assistance ; — servants who would start, 
 at a moment's warning, and undertake any thing, how- 
 ever perilous, even to the risk of life itself, to serve the 
 master that they love — and who, yet, are compelled to 
 feel, " my master is kind and good ;" he does all for his 
 people that is possible to make them happy in this 
 world ; but, ah ! my master cares not for our poor souls. 
 
 Let them be properly instructed, and, more than all, 
 let masters convince them that their matrimonial alli- 
 ances arc, and will be, respected, in the matter of buying 
 and selling ; and, I am well persuaded, that the tone of 
 their own feelings will be materially changed upon this 
 subject. Of all the wrongs attributed to masters, and 
 they are charged with many, I know of none more re- 
 volting to my own mind, and, withal, fraught with more 
 disastrous consequences, than this of recklessly separa- 
 ting husband and wife. As mucii as I feel at seeing 
 children and parents separated, (and such scenes are 
 truly heart-rending,) I still feel that there is not such 
 violence done to the better feelings of the heart ; and, 
 wdthal, the consequences are incomparably less demoral- 
 izing than those resulting from the separation of hus- 
 bands from their wives. 
 
 To use the language of a distinguished and honored 
 friend upon this subject, " these (marriage and the 
 Sabbath) are God's two great institutions, descend- 
 ed from Paradise ;" and, I would add, in the name of 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. lOY 
 
 liuinaiiity, let us secui'e these two blessings, at least, to 
 the slave population of the South. 
 
 I am aware that masters feel eas}' upon this subject, 
 because the blacks themselves regard it as a matter of so 
 little moment; but, it is to be borne in mind, that they 
 are an uncultivated people, and if their views are lax, 
 the more the pity ; we, however, who know the teach- 
 ings of heaven upon this subject, and the direful conse- 
 quences resulting from loose principles here, should 
 make it our conscientious endeavor to give them right 
 views in regard to it. 
 
 How easy for any intelhgent master to set this thing 
 in its true light before them, in some meeting for reli- 
 gious worship; indeed, if he did no more than to read 
 to them those passages of Scripture referring to the sub- 
 ject, which he could find at any time by the help of 
 a concordance and reference Bible, or any intelligent 
 minister could furnish him with — I say, if he did no 
 more than read these, it would, of itself, bring the sub- 
 ject before them in a most impressive manner. But if, 
 in addition to the reading, he should either attempt, or 
 procure a minister, to impress them with the obligations 
 they are under, to obey the divine teachings, we might 
 reasonably expect the best of consequences. Instances 
 where this has been done have come under my notice, 
 and the results have been precisely as I have stated, 
 viz : — an increased conscientiousness upon the subject, 
 and an entire chancre in their conduct. 
 
 o 
 
 It is not a.mark of an able logician to offer more than 
 a sufficient reason for any thing, and I feel well satisfied 
 
108 MELVILLE LETTERS ; OR, THE 
 
 that the treatment their matrimonial relations have receiv- 
 ed, is quite enough to account for any seeming indifference 
 they may manifest upon the subject. Let full and suffi- 
 cient assurances be afforded by masters, that their matri- 
 monial vows will be respected, and then it will be full 
 time enough to lay the blame of these immoralities at 
 their (the servants) door. 
 
 Having instructed them properly in the nature of 
 marriage, and thereby grouped them into families, I 
 would then proceed to operate upon them, both indi- 
 vidually and in masses, by means of the family compact. 
 
 In regard to this, as a moral agent, I would remark? 
 let any man contemplate the influence of the family upon 
 himself — its endearments, its restraints, its thousands of 
 indescribable enjoyments — and does he not feel that it is 
 an agency second almost to none, in the moral elevation 
 and improvement of the human race. Fools and wits 
 are sometimes found, who can make such things as mar- 
 riage and THE FAMILY, the butt of their ridicule ; but 
 all good and wise men regard them as forming the 
 foundation upon which the virtue and morality of a peo- 
 ple must ever be expected to stand. 
 
 I consider the grouping of them into families as so 
 important, that I should not rest satisfied until I found 
 every individual identified in whole, or in part, with some 
 family. This, perhaps, could conveniently be done upon 
 that most natural of all pi'inciples, relationship, either 
 by affinity or consanguinity. 
 
 Once properly grouped into families, I \xould proceed 
 by appealing to the best principles of which I found 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 109 
 
 tliem possessed, or with which I found inyself able to 
 inspire them, to attempt their elevation, by establishing 
 among them a virtuous public sentiment. You are aware 
 that this thing, 'public sentiment^ is at least the principle 
 upon which' one man acquires and maintains an as- 
 cendancy over masses of his fellow men, large or small ; 
 and, whether it be a family of servants, a family of child- 
 ren, or a nation, no man is able to maintain an ascend- 
 ancy over the subjects of government any longer than 
 public sentiment is on his side. Let a master awaken 
 this feeling in his people, and let that sentiment speak 
 out, on the side of virtue, good order, and piety. Let 
 parents be encouraged to instil these principles into their 
 children ; and that people, even without the aid of lite- 
 rature, will rapidly become a virtuous and moral people. 
 One of the most difficult questions connected with this 
 whole inquiry, here suggests itself; and, as it ought to 
 be fairly met somewhere, I will introduce it in this 
 place, as appropriate, perhaps, as as any other. It is 
 the question of their being allowed to have companions 
 upon plantations distinct from their own. You have 
 expressed yourself as convinced of the extensive evils 
 resulting from their being permitted to roam at large, 
 (when not engaged in the duties of their station.) This 
 question, however, did not properly come under conside- 
 ration in your letters ; and I now express my approba- 
 tion of the general tenor of your thoughts and senti- 
 ments under this head ; — and, as ftir as 1 am prepared 
 to give an opinion, I am free to say, that so much am I 
 convinced of the injurious consequences of roaming at 
 
110 MELVILLE letters; OR, THE 
 
 large, at night, on Sabbaths, and on holidays, that I 
 would not hesitate to apply these principles to the ques- 
 tion in hand. My experience is, that human nature, in 
 its fallen condition, is far more apt to conceive of, or em- 
 brace evil, than good ; — and all my observations upon 
 human beings, in masses, go to convince me, that un- 
 less some powerful counteracting agency is in operation 
 to prevent, all assemblages are more apt to produce evil 
 than good ; to cause men to become immoral rather than 
 virtuous. For reasons like these, I would never consent to 
 allow my children to rove at will, to visit promiscuously, 
 and where they chose ; — and, acting upon the principle 
 of my old black friend, ^'they are always children^''' I 
 would recommend the same concei'ning servants ; I would 
 advise a master to sell, or buy, until the thing is set 
 right ; and, when once set right, I would leave no means 
 untried to keep it so. It would, I confess, be attended 
 with great inconvenience, at first ; but, on the whole, 
 with far less than the opposite custom. One feature of 
 this roving system, A\hich convinces me that it must be 
 exceedingly demoralizing, is, that it is carried on to such 
 an extent on the Lord's day. A Sabbath-breaking peo- 
 ple, just as a licentious people, must become increasingly 
 immoral ; and the statistics of crime show this (Sabbath 
 breaking) to be a parent vice, and its brood is " le- 
 gion." I would, for this reason, guard this point, as 
 one of the strong-holds of my religious influence over 
 them. 
 
 I have said that they are eminently a religious peo- 
 ple, still they need a world of religious instruction, 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. Ill 
 
 otherwise this very element serves to engender supersti- 
 stion and a multitudinous train of evils, on the same 
 principle that a fruitful soil rears a luxuriant crop of rank 
 and noxious weeds, when left uncultivated. And here I 
 take the liberty to remark, that, in my conception, it is 
 not common honesty, however it may bear the sem- 
 blance of extraordinary piety, for masters to take the 
 proceeds of the labor of these poor blacks, to send the 
 gospel to the far distant heathen, when, as Randolph, 
 of Roanoke, said, " the Greeks are at the door ;" when 
 there is, perhaps, not a missionary, or religious teacher, 
 provided for the instruction of these poor slaves. 
 
 Not that I would for a moment be understood that 
 the former should not be done — and, done, too, with 
 vastly more of zeal and energy than it ever has been ; 
 but I mean to assert, as the Scriptures say — " These 
 ought ye to have done, and not leave the other undone." 
 
 I say again, and with emphasis, that it may procure 
 for masters the reputation of most amazing benevolence, 
 but that it is " renderinrrtu servants that which is just 
 and equal,''^ I am far from beheving. The divinely ap- 
 pointed rule is einphatic — " The husbandman that labor 
 eth must be the first partaker," and " Thou shalt not 
 muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn," — a rule that 
 commends itself to the common sense and common 
 feelings of mankind ; and, yet, a rule concerning which 
 the Apostle felt the necessity of praying at the annun- 
 ciation of it — "The Lord give the understanding;" a 
 prayer that I feel the necessity of being ofl'ered, even on 
 behalf of my excellent brother, and many other excel- 
 
112 MELVILLE letters; OR THE 
 
 lent and kind-hearted masters, who strangely overlook 
 the duty of supplying their servants with proper reli- 
 gious instruction. 
 
 Yes, my brother, from my soul, I pray — " The Lord 
 give thee (and all like thee) understanding," on this truly 
 important point. 
 
 As regards the amount and kind of religious instruc- 
 tion, of course that will come under the decision of the 
 master, according to his judgment of the necessities of 
 his people — a judgment enlightened, however, by the 
 word of God. I feel at liberty to make a remark here, 
 in regard to the whole supply of religious instruction in 
 many parts of the country, especially out of the towns. 
 
 The system of--" once a month" preaching, and three 
 Sabbaths of neglect, which originated in the sparseness 
 of the population, and the fewness of ministers in the 
 early settlement of the coimtiy, it is to be feared, is be- 
 coming entailed upon us, as a settled polic3^ Indeed, I 
 believe there are settlements of people who would con- 
 sider it unjust and unwarrantable for a minister to in- 
 flict more than one meeting upon them each month. Let 
 such white persons slumber on, if they will pertinaciously 
 refuse to understand that the command is, '' six days 
 shall thou labor ^ but the seventh is the Sabbath ;''"' but, I 
 unhesitatingly assert, that preaching, " once a month," is 
 not enough for our colored population. Under this sys- 
 tem, these poor creatures are starving for the bread of 
 life, at the very time that they are professedly supplied. 
 I am aw^are that their own conduct has a tendency to 
 discourage many a well-meaning master, who, when he 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 113 
 
 has made the very best ai-rangement for them, of which 
 the circumstances will admit, finds that he has been hte- 
 rally casting pearls before swine. They trample their 
 religious privileges under their feet. What, then ! Are 
 they to be abandoned to perdition, because they did not 
 show a proper estimate for gospel privileges, when those 
 privileges were offered them ? Where is the people that 
 has? 
 
 Again — upon the doctrine of my old friend, " they 
 remain children,'''' I would remark, that we constrain our 
 children to attend the house of God for purposes of reli- 
 gious worship, and why not them ? 
 
 To continue the remark, in regard to the amount and 
 kind of religious instruction, I feel that nearly all that 
 subject has yet to be studied ; experiments are being- 
 made, and with the hapjDiest results ; and the more the 
 subject is discussed, the more will the light shine into 
 the minds of masters. 
 
 This much we may venture with safety to affirm, that 
 the religious instruction, which is to benefit the black 
 man, must be adapted to his character, condition, and 
 style of thinking ; — that religious instruction, to be bene- 
 ficial, must be understood, is a mere truism ; and, yet, 
 how strangely is this simple truth overlooked, in the at- 
 tempts to communicate religious instruction to the ne- 
 groes. How much is there, of what is called preaching, 
 that is entirely beyond their capacity to understand ? All 
 attempts to instruct them should be simple and easy of 
 comprehension ; but, in this remark, my allusion is more 
 to language than to matter. Of course, no minister. 
 
114: MELVILLE letters; OK, THE 
 
 who is in his sober senses, would think of involving these 
 simple creatures in the perplexing questions of polemical 
 theology. The ideas may and should be such as are 
 proper to be presented to anotber assembly of moderate- 
 ly informed persons, viz : — the great cardinal doctrines 
 of Christianity, and the plain duties naturally deducible 
 from these doctrines ; the words, however, should be 
 such as they can readily comprehend. 
 
 Observe, I say, such as they " can com277'ehend" and 
 in this I by no means wish to be understood to mean 
 such as " they use^ I have seen a very intelligent min- 
 ister fail utterly to interest a congregation of blacks, and 
 even excite disgust, by attempting to speak to them in 
 what is called " negro language." Negroes may use 
 such words as " ma^sa" and " buckra,''^ but, at the same 
 time, they are shrewd enough to know that a white 
 man ought to speak better, even though it be in appa- 
 rent condescension to them ; and, with regard to childish 
 or frivolous thoughts, congregations of sensible negroes 
 can no more be interested in such things than you or I. 
 
 Let masters, then, spurn the idea, that any thing that 
 can, by a stretch of liberality, be called preaching, will 
 do for negroes, or that young and inexperienced preach- 
 ers can be employed to preach to them, by way of leai'n- 
 ing to preach ; — such sentiments violate the very first 
 dictates of common sense ; for, does not common sense 
 say, that if a doctrine or duty is to be made intelligible 
 to an obscure intellect, the light thrown upon that doc- 
 trine, or duty should be clearer and stronger, in pro- 
 portion to the darkness of the mind into which such 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO TIIEIK SERVANTS. 115 
 
 trutli is to be conveyed ? Get the best ; it ma}^, like the 
 qiiaker's coat, cost higher, but then it will last. Some 
 things I might get, because of cheapness ; but others, 
 such as garden seeds, physic, teaching and preaching, I 
 must have good, or not at all. 
 
 Concerning their church relations, it is unquestionably 
 better for them to stand connected with white cono-reo-a- 
 tions, where they can be under the supervision and tui- 
 tion of those better informed than themselves. Many 
 of them can be rendered highly efficient as " watchmen^''^ 
 or " leaders ;" but it is exceedingly rare to find a colored 
 man who can, for a length of time, maintain his position 
 as a pastor ; and, moreover, the instructions of such a 
 man are not adequate to their wants ; they need the 
 plainest and most wholesome instruction, combined with 
 a fL\ir proportion of fervent exhortation. Their own 
 preachers are apt, in the absence of an ability to teach, 
 to seek to inflame them by the most impassioned ap- 
 peals, without a proper substratum of wholesome doc- 
 trine, upon W'hich to predicate such exhortations. 
 
 Having thus expressed my views, as to the general 
 character and style of the religious instruction that, in 
 my judgment, they need — should have ; (and, if 1 have 
 not made an egregious blunder, in understanding both 
 the Scriptures and common sense, they have a right 
 TO ;) I shall proceed to develope a system, by which 
 their religious instruction might be carried on, from 
 their very earliest years. Negro children are capable of 
 receiving much religious instruction, even without the 
 aid of books, except a single copy, for tlie use of the 
 
116 MELVILLE LETTEKS ; OR, THE 
 
 teacher, of whatever book may be employed. All that 
 is requisite, is, that suitable pains be taken to instruct 
 them. The experiment to teach them orally, would 
 convince any one of their capacity to receive instruction 
 in that manner. As an illustration, I will state the re- 
 sult of an experiment in my own family, and the man- 
 ner of conducting- that experiment. Having, at a parti- 
 cular time, but a single cop}^ of a certain catechism, 
 which I wished to teach to the children of my family, 
 consisting of several little girls, from eight to tw^elve 
 years of age, I v.'as laid under the necessity of instruct- 
 ing them orally. A little servant girl, about the average 
 age of the children, was required to be present, and to 
 take part in the exercises ; and, so far as could be per- 
 ceived, there was no material difference, if any, between 
 the progress of the white children over the black one. 
 
 As the manner of conducting the experiment might 
 be of interest, I will give it somewhat in detail. Having 
 this class before me, and perfect silence and attention 
 being secured, I commenced by pronouncing deHberately, 
 and with the utmost distinctness, the first question, and 
 its answer; which (i. e. the answer) I required them to 
 repeat in concert, some three or four times, or until it 
 was thoroughly memorized. I then proceeded to the 
 next question and answer, in the same manner, until it 
 also was memorized ; I then repeated the two questions 
 and answers together, until they were able to recite both 
 answers together. Iii this manner, I proceeded through 
 a short lesson, repeating the entire series as often as I 
 added one. At the next recitation, the first lesson was 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 1 1 7 
 
 reviewed (lest it might liave been forgotten) before a 
 new lesson was entered upon, and so on through the 
 entire book. When the lesson is memorized, an impor- 
 tant and ver}^ agreeable exercise is, to ask such simple 
 questions, as would evince the extent to which it is un- 
 derstood, or to afford a suitable vehicle for communi- 
 cating proper views ; otherwise they may be satisfied 
 merely to repeat the words, without a proper comprehen- 
 sion of their import. 
 
 Not only the Catechism, but selections from the Scrip- 
 tures — as the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, 
 the Sermon on the Mount, and other Discourses of our 
 Lord, together with Hymns, short religious narratives, 
 (fee, — might, in this manner, be communicated to them 
 from week to week, in an easy and agreeable manner, 
 proviled any one '•^ cared for their souls ;^^ which in- 
 struction would, in the course of the year, amount to a 
 considerable stock of religious knowledge, and which 
 might, in after life, become a perfect treasure to those 
 uncultivated children. 
 
 As an illustration of what principles might be thus 
 impressed upon their minds, let us suppose the story of 
 Hagar in the wilderness to be taught, and the single 
 sentiment, " Thou, God, scest me,'" to be indelibly im- 
 pressed upon the minds of the whole class, or even a 
 single member, — who I ask, can estimate the effects of 
 that one truth, in deterring from crime, and impelling to 
 virtue, through all future life ? 
 
 I am satisfied that any thing like a fair experiment, 
 (by which I mean this, or any other tolerably good plan, 
 
118 MELVILLE LETTERS *, Oil, THE 
 
 persisted in,) will convince any one of the following 
 truths : — 
 
 First. That short lessons, orallv communicated, and 
 conducted in a sprightly and animated manner, with 
 frequent questions, to keep up attention, are not only 
 very profitable, but also may be made very agreeable 
 and attractive to children, both white and black. 
 
 Secondly. That black children learn, in this manner, 
 with but little, if any, less ease and facility than whites. 
 
 One portion of this system, that will commend it 
 greatly to the minds of many, consists in the fact, that 
 the instruction can, to a considerable extent, be commu- 
 nicated by our own children, and, in many instances, 
 with as much or more success, than by ourselves. An in- 
 telHo'ent little miss, of fourteen or sixteen, bv the aid of 
 a few attractive ways, may gather around her the black 
 children, on a farm, every Sunday afternoon ; — and thus, 
 whilst really benefiting herself, perhaps, as much or more 
 than any one else, by the mental and spiritual exercise 
 necessary to the work, may be imparting knowledge, 
 which, through divine grace, may, in after life, result in 
 the salvation of many of her youthful flock."^' 
 
 One of the happy results of such a work as this, 
 which requires a distinct notice, is the kind feelings en- 
 
 * I am aware that some of our young misses, of sixteen or 
 fourteen, or even of twelve, would turn up their pretty little noses 
 at such a suggestion ; but I know, too, that such delicately raised 
 young ones, have the same scorn of any other thing useful ; but, 
 that they are adding to their respectability by feelings hke these, 
 I think ther« is much reason to doubt. 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 119 
 
 gendered, not only between the children, black and 
 white, but also between the entire family, black and 
 white. 
 
 In this, also, I speak from experience, — ^for well do I 
 remember, when more than twenty years ago, that I, 
 then a youth, in my native town, undertook and con- 
 ducted, for a length of time, a Sabbath school, of some 
 sixty or seventy colored children, with precisely such 
 results as. I have mentioned, viz : — endearing to myself 
 not only the children, but their parents, and the black 
 population generally. ' 
 
 Before concluding this description, I beg leave to re- 
 mark, that any one who chooses to try an experiment 
 like this, will soon discover that a class of fifty, or even 
 a hundred, can be taught with nearly the sEime facility 
 as a class of ten or twenty ; all that is requisite being 
 that perfect order be preserved, and that the children 
 answer together, and in concert, — a thing they learn in a 
 few lessons, and of which they soon become fond. I 
 have found myself greatly assisted by the presence and 
 co-operation of two or three judicious old men, to assist 
 in keeping order. I would further suggest, that when a 
 suitable room can be provided, the older servants, espe- 
 cially parents, should be induced to attend ; they would, 
 thereby, be spectators, and hearing and understanding 
 the subjects upon which the children are instructed on 
 the Sabbath, would be able to co-operate in endeavoring 
 to impress these lessons upon them during the week. 
 That a suitable room can always be found upon a well 
 regulated farm, I am assured, by a remark of yours in 
 
120 MELVILLE letters; OR, THE 
 
 reference to the dining room of your friend and neigh- 
 bor, Mr. M , viz : — that the dining room, on the 
 
 farm of Mr. M , served also as a chapel. Where 
 
 a more suitable place could not be found, this would be 
 admirable ; and it would not be the first time I have 
 known a " tavern''' used for such purposes, or a tavern 
 bell used to call people to the worship of God. This, 
 in addition to its use as a place of assemblage, on the 
 Lord's day, might serve a valuable purpose as a place 
 for a kind of family worship. There is, on almost every 
 farm, one or more religious men, who might get the 
 people together, and sing and pray, and thus, by a so- 
 lemn act of religious worship, commend themselves to 
 the protection of the Almighty during the hours of re- 
 pose. This, in conjunction with the practice of requiring 
 all lights to be out at nine o'clock, would do much towards 
 correcting the vicious habit of many blacks, in keeping 
 late hours, and, therebv. disqualifying themselves for the 
 labors of the ensuing day. Masters are, doubtless, to 
 blame for some of this practice of keeping late hours, 
 when the servants are employed about feeding, and 
 other matters of a similar character, until eight or nine 
 o'clock, leaving little or no time for such things as be- 
 long to the comfort of the servants themselves. 
 
 I would further urge, upon their parents, the necessity 
 of teaching and training them regularly to kneel and 
 repeat the Lord's Prayer, or some other short and ap- 
 propriate address to the throne of grace. 
 
 A modification of this system might answer for the 
 larger children, and connected with singing, prayer, and 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 121 
 
 mutual exhortation, would serve well even for the adults. 
 The propriety of adapting it to the adults will appear, 
 when we consider their remarkable fondness for religious 
 songs, already referred to, and bear in mind how very 
 slender is their stock of such songs. This accounts for 
 their singing choruses with so much spirit, they being, 
 comparatively, easy to memorize. 
 
 Considering, then, the very small amount of trouble 
 or expense necessary to instruct these poor creatures ; — 
 that it can be done, so far as the younger children are 
 concerned, by one's own children, and that, too, no less 
 to the benefit of the white than the black child ; — I can- 
 not see how any master, who has the least sense of the 
 value of a religious education to his own children, can 
 satisfy himself, in neglecting some such means for train- 
 ing his young servants. Indeed, I am pei^uaded, that 
 if a man were destitute of every feeling of benevolence, 
 or any just sense of his moral obligations to his ser- 
 vants, an enlightened self-interest would afford abundant 
 grounds why he should undertake some such means for 
 the moral elevation of his people. He might do it, even 
 in self-defence, if for no other reason. The petty vices 
 and immoralities of the young, white or black, are no 
 small sources of vexation and annoyance, and constitute 
 a considerable drawback from the sum total of happi- 
 ness in the family. Now, on the supposition, that by 
 spending from one to two hours each Sabbath after- 
 noon, in the manner described, we succeed in checking 
 these sources of vexation one half or one-third, it is 
 plainly a profitable expenditure of time, if no other re- 
 
122 MELVILLE letters; or, the 
 
 suits did ever accrue. But is that supposition at all 
 within the range of reasonable probability ? The en- 
 trance of God's word giveth light, is a divine sentiment, 
 the truth of which has been attested by thousands ; and 
 truths thus engraven upon the young mind, whether 
 through the agency of the Scriptures, the Catechism, 
 Hymns, or Religious Narrative, may be as bread cast 
 upon the w'ater, which shall be gathered after many 
 days. 
 
 Many of these operations, you will perceive, suppose 
 not only a considerable amount of attention from the 
 master, but also the visits and co-operation of a minis- 
 ter. As an incentive to the former, viz., the master's 
 attention, I will avail myself of one of your own re- 
 remarks, viz : — " That a marl's servants will not long 
 continue to he his^ unless he is willing, in some sense, 
 also to belong to them ;" and it is further perfectly ob- 
 vious, that if such operations are to be carried on suc- 
 cessfully, a minister ought to be provided ; and, upon 
 the broad principle that the laborer is to be a partaker 
 of the fruits, and as masters partake so largely of their 
 carnal things, viz., the fruits of their industry, it is ob- 
 viously a dictate of humanity, not to say of religion, to 
 repay them with spiritual things. What master, pos- 
 sessing a spark of humanity, would refuse to pay, out of 
 the proceeds of the labor of his servants, a reasonable 
 amount for religious instruction, to be bestowed upon 
 those servants ? Some non-professors would make many 
 of our church members blush crimson, b}^ their example 
 in this matter. I have (at this moment) in mind a gen- 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 123 
 
 tleman, who, I do not suppose, recognizes himself, or is 
 recognized by others, as a converted man ; but it has 
 fallen to my lot to know of his Hberality in this matter 
 on several occasions, to ministers, whose preaching he 
 himself seldom or never hears. One of them, I am sure, 
 he never does hear himself; and yet, because his blacks 
 have it in their power to hear him, the master volun- 
 tarily contributes to the support of their minister. 
 
 And now, my dear beloved brother, allow me, in a 
 few words, to impress the importance of these duties 
 upon you. The master's station is one of responsibility. 
 I have no doubts, as I before remarked, concerning the 
 moral rectitude of slaveholding ; but I have very serious 
 doubts of many masters being able to make a good ac- 
 count of the manner in which they have discharged their 
 duties to their slaves. 
 
 Our laws, ray dear brother, place a barrier in the way 
 of the negro learning to read, and thus being able to 
 learn the nature of his moral and religious obligations, 
 by studying for himself the inspired volume. You have 
 accepted and continue the ownership of these slaves, 
 knowing these facts, and acceding to these conditions. 
 You, and every other right-minded man, would scorn 
 the absurd position, that they are not moral agents like 
 others; we arc all assured that they have moral and re- 
 ligious duties, growing out of their relations to each 
 
124 MELVILLE letters; or, the 
 
 other and their Creator, just as other men, and women, 
 and children. 
 
 Now we know of no other modes of instruction than 
 oral and written ; the laws forbid the latter ; you, and 
 all law-abiding men, sympathize with the law in this 
 respect, just so long as it is law ; the conclusion then is, 
 if they are to be instructed, it must be done orally. If 
 they are ever to come to a knowledge of the great truths 
 of religion, so as to be savingly benefited thereby, it 
 must be by being instructed orally. 
 
 Again — if they are to be instructed at all, it must be 
 of your procuring. Who will take upon himself the 
 responsibihty of teaching your servants, and who would 
 you allow to do it, unless by your consent previously 
 obtained ? You have then a responsibility to these peo- 
 ple, which, as it is or is not discharged, will result in 
 incalculable good or evil to them, and may I not say to 
 yourself also ; and, bear in mind, my brother, that, in 
 addition to all the weighty considerations which might 
 be adduced in favor of oral instruction, this is the crown- 
 ing one, " It is God^s oivn appointment.'''' Let it be 
 borne in mind, that God has ordained, by preaching, to 
 save them that believe. And, furthermore, let it be well 
 remembered, that the wisdom of this arrangement has 
 been attested in all time ; in that it has been the great, 
 almost the sole agency, in spreading the triumphs of 
 Christianity, and filling heaven with that innumerable 
 multitude, which no man can number, out of all nations, 
 and kindreds, and tongues. 
 
 I trust that fraternal solicitude will not betray me into 
 
i 
 
 DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIK, SERVANTS. 125 
 
 saying too much, or speaking too plainly ; but, as the 
 subject is now before our minds in its strongest form, 
 and as this correspondence is about to close, I beg leave 
 to say, what I do say, out of the fullness of a brother's 
 loving heart. God only knows the anxiety I feel on 
 account of many masters in regard to this matter. The 
 institution is upon us, and we must make the best use 
 of the circumstances. I, therefore, beg you, as you 
 value the immortal soul of your servant, or yourself, be 
 not, by any remissness in these duties, accessory to their 
 eternal ruin. 
 
 Remember, dear brother, that " the fashion of this 
 world 2)asseth aivayy The time is short, when the rela- 
 tions of men must all be changed ; when men must stand 
 before the great Judge of All ; not as invested with those 
 offices growing out of mere incidental circumstances, but 
 each in his true character. All this parade and show is 
 nothing but a pageant, or a dramatic exhibition; soon 
 the curtain must fall, and we shall assume our true 
 characters. Then will we feel the force of that senti- 
 ment — 
 
 " Honor and shame from no conditions rise; 
 Act well your part, there all the honor lies ;" 
 
 Then we shall see and understand that all true, all 
 real honor, arises not from having been a master, a king, 
 or any thing else, but from having performed our moral 
 and rehgious, our social and civil duties, in such a man- 
 ner as to commend ourselves to the Great Judge of 
 All. 
 
126 MELVILLE letters; or, the 
 
 Then, too, we shall understand that there is no shame 
 in having been a slave in this world, but that the poor 
 black man, who, amidst ignorance and obstacles of va- 
 rious kinds, endeavored to discharge his moral and reli- 
 gious duties, in the fear of God, not as a mere man 
 pleaser, but in singleness of heart, as fearing God, shall 
 have his head lifted high, among angels and archangels, 
 the elder spirits of the world of glory. 
 
 I have said the master has fearful responsibilities ; he 
 has, too, a glorious opportunity of being made the in- 
 strument of salvation to his people. The servants of a 
 good master delight to look upon him, as a paragon of 
 excellence ; and if he is devotedly and truly a pious 
 man, he may be the means of forming their characters 
 for heaven. 
 
 Yours, in great affection, 
 
 WILLIAM R. MELVILLE. 
 
 Melville Cottage^ 1850. 
 
 My Much Esteemed and Beloved Brother, — 
 
 Your exhibition of the duties of masters, and espe- 
 cially jj-our apphcation of it to me, has had the effect of 
 rendering me much dissatisfied with myself. The beau- 
 tiful illusion which I had succeeded in throwing around 
 myself is gone, and with it a large proportion of my 
 self-complacency ; and, yet, can I, dare I, say that my 
 brother has done wrong, in drawing me into this discus- 
 sion, or that I have acted unwisely in allowing myself to 
 
DUTIES OF MASTERS TO THEIR SERVANTS. 127 
 
 be drawn into it ? Would I, if I could, bring back that 
 false view, which, like a baseless vision, was the unreal 
 foundation upon which my self-satisfaction in this matter 
 rested. 'Tis true my ignorance was bliss, but is it folly 
 to be wise? No ! I answer, emphatically, no ! I see, 
 most clearly, that all that I have been doing, as you 
 most correctl}^ remark, overlooks the important thought 
 that they have souls. I have, up to this time, in all my 
 excellent planning and arranging for them, considered 
 them as merely physical or animal beings. — Creatures, 
 whose sole business on earth, is to inquire what shall we 
 eat? what shall we drink? and wherewith shall we 
 be clothed ? I have not acted from selfishness, for I 
 know I am not selfish ; but I plainly discover that all that 
 I am doing, I might have done from that unworthy mo- 
 tive. I see, too, as I believe, ivhy I have acted thus in 
 reference to my servants. As mortifying as the confes- 
 sion is, I am compelled to say that I have, up to this 
 period, treated myself, my wife, and my children, no bet- 
 ter than I have my servants. I have sought to make all 
 happy around me, so far as the comforts of this life are 
 concerned, but I see now that I have not, in reference to 
 myself, or those dearer to me than ni}' own life, even 
 considered the wants of their immortal souls. 
 
 The duties you urge appear, all of them, to be I'cnsona- 
 ble and practicable ; but, yet, how I shall i»('rforin them, 
 I know not. I v.ill seek direction from heaven, and nn- 
 dertake to discharge, to the best of my ability, those im- 
 portant duties. And, now, I earnestly ask you what I 
 
128 MELVILLE LETTERS, ETC. 
 
 have never asked before, but which, I feel assured, 
 you will do : pray the Almighty God on my behalf, 
 that I and my whole family, white and black, may so 
 live as to meet at last in heaven. 
 
 >\ ith every sentiment of fraternal regard, 
 I am, your affectionate brother, 
 
 JOSEPH L. MELVILLE. 
 
ESSAY. 
 
 THE DUTIES 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 
 
 REV. A. T. HOLMES, 
 
 Of Hayneville, Hou.«ton Co., Geo. 
 
 CHARLESTON, S. C. : 
 
 SOUTHERN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY. 
 
 18.51. 
 
ESSAY. 
 THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 
 
 BY REV. A. T. HOLMES, 
 
 Hayneville, Houston County, Georgia. 
 
 When, at the formation i>f Eve, the God of the Uni- 
 verse declared, that it was not good for man to be alone, 
 the importance of the social principle was fully recog- 
 nized, and man became a social being. Founded upon 
 the union thus oriorinallv instituted, certain relations are 
 discovered to exist, in which are involved certain duties, 
 each relation urging its claim respectively. Thus, the hus- 
 band sustains a relation to his wife, the parent t© his 
 child, the citizen to his country, in each of which dis- 
 tinctive duties are to be discharged, growing out of the 
 particular relation thus sustained. Among other rela- 
 tions which he sustains, man is master ; and in this, as 
 in all others, certain duties are involved. These rela- 
 tions are, all, of Divine appointment, (that between 
 master and servant as positively as any other,) and, there- 
 fore, the duties which are involved, are all of Divine 
 requirement. Every duty is a command, and God must 
 be regarded as commanding the master to perform those 
 
182 THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 
 
 duties to his servants, which the relation he bears to 
 them involves and imposes. 
 
 If the position assumed in the preceding proposition 
 is correct, and, suj-ely, the proposition itself may be re- 
 garded as self-evident, then is it of great moment, that 
 all the duties involved should be ascertained, as far as 
 practicable, with special reference to their proper obsei'v- 
 ance and their faithful discharge. Our present purj)ose 
 is to inquire into the duties of masters, and, especially, 
 of Christian masters, according to the woi"d of God. 
 
 The Apostle, Paul, in writing to the Ephesian Church, 
 (Eph. vi., 5-8,) exhorts servants to obedience. They 
 are admonished, that cheerful obedience is the will of 
 God, and are assured that He, himself, will secure the 
 recompense, in regard to whatsoever good thing a man 
 doeth, whether bond or free, it being done as unto the 
 Lord, and not unto men. An act performed, whether 
 by master or servant, from a sense of duty, God's au- 
 thority and God's favor being properly recognized, can- 
 not fail of its reward. Having been thus explicit in 
 his direction and encouragement to servants, the Apostle 
 calls upon masters to " do the same things (v. 9) unto 
 them, forbearing threatening, knowing that their master, 
 also, is in Heaven, and that there is no respect of per- 
 sons with him." To do the same things, may be under- 
 stood to cherish the same spirit of kindness and fidelity, 
 to act in the same conscientious manner, and to have 
 respect to the same recompense of reward. To forbear 
 threatening, is to guard against a fretful, dissatisfied 
 temper, and to resist a disposition to govern by terror 
 
THE DUTIES OF CHKISTIAN MASTERS. 133 
 
 rather than by love. The mutual obligations, here en- 
 joined, seem limited by the law of Christ, and the law 
 of Christ is the law of kindness and good will. Such a 
 spirit should be cultivated between master and servant, 
 but, especially, on the part of the master, in view of the 
 distinction, in his favor, which exists. But the law of 
 Christ contemplates a wise and judicious exercise of 
 kindness, and imposes the necessity of that wholesome 
 discipline, which secures, in its result, the happiness of 
 all concerned. Now, as the servant's obedience, if ren- 
 dered in a sullen, reluctant spirit, and prompted only by 
 the fear of punishment, cannot be good-will service, as 
 to the Lord, so the exercise of right and authority, on 
 the part of the master, with reference only to his interest, 
 uninfluenced by kindness to his servant, and desire for 
 his good, must incur the displeasure of Him with whom 
 there is no respect of persons. A master may move 
 among his servants, as a father among his children. He 
 can impress the conviction upon them that he is con- 
 cerned for their comfort and welfare, and that he aims 
 to secure their confidence and affection. His presence 
 need not be a terror, but to them that do evil, because 
 he has it in his power to satisfy them that his domestic 
 policy is based upon the principle, that virtue must be 
 encouraged and vice restrained. The necessary amount 
 of labor can be, consistently, required, and all insubor- 
 dination discountenanced, because labor is requisite to 
 the support of all, and strict discipline essential to the 
 peace and well-being of all. Such a spirit moves to ac- 
 tion, not from passion or impulse, but from principle, 
 
134 THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 
 
 and requires service and subordination from the servant, 
 as from & fellow beinff, sustaining an humble relation to 
 the master, but presenting claims upon his kindness and 
 faithfulness which he may not disregard. The Christian 
 master, in pursuing such a course, acts in the fear of 
 God, discharges his trust in singleness of heart, and con- 
 templates the end, as one who, knowing that he has a 
 master in Heaven, would be prepared to render a satis- 
 factory account of his stewardship. Not so with him 
 who disregards the Divine instruction, and does not 
 reahze the obhgation which his station imposes. Threat- 
 ening, abuse, avowed suspicion, hasty and unjust charges, 
 and, too often, severe punishment, in anger, or prompted 
 by vindictive motives, mark the intercourse between 
 master and servant. No regard is manifested for the 
 feelings of the servant, and no effort is made to induce 
 his confidence and affection. The look of kindness never 
 beams in the master's eye, the note of kindness is never 
 heard in his voice, and the mortifying conviction is forced 
 upon him, that the master entertains no feeling for him 
 but such as may be excited by his interest in him as his 
 property. True, he feeds him, shelters him, and attends 
 to him in sickness ; but all this he does to his mule or 
 his ox, and, seemingly, influenced by no better motives 
 in the one case than in the other. Can it be rung too 
 loudly in the ears of such, ye, also, have a master in 
 Heaven, and there is no respect of persons with him? 
 
 The same Apostle, in another letter, (Col. iv. 1,) calls 
 upon< masters to give unto their servants that which is 
 ^'just and equal^''^ the consideration being urged, that 
 
THE DUTIES OF GHRIBTTAN MASTERS. 136 
 
 they have a master in heaven. In pursuing the investi- 
 gation, as to the Christian master's duty, we may learn 
 something from the use of the terms, ^''just and eqiial^'' 
 as we find them in the Scripture referred to. Justice, in 
 a restricted, legal sense, is almost universally observed 
 among masters ; but when a master has given that 
 which is '■'jusf to his servant, has he done his duty ? 
 Has he met the Divine requirement ? Or, is there some- 
 thing more required than what the law simply specifies ? 
 The answer is plain — equity, as well as justice, should 
 regulate all our intercourse with others, nor does the re- 
 lation of master and servant constitute an exception. 
 Masters, give unto your servants that which is "just 
 and equal," for God hath shewed you what is good ; and 
 what doth the Lord require of you but to do justly, and 
 to love mercy ^ and to walk humbly with thy God ? 
 (Micah, vi, 8.) As justice and equity appear to be the 
 Divine requirement in the master's conduct towards his 
 servant, (and concurrence in this interpretation is almost 
 universal,) we shall be much assisted in determining what 
 is the Christian master's duty, by ascertaining what is 
 to be understood by these respective terms. Let the dis- 
 tinction be noticed. The laws of society constitute the 
 foundation of justice. That is right, which those laws 
 recognize as right, and therefore the decisions of justice 
 must be according to them. Equity has for its founda- 
 tion the laivs of nature. The law of justice is a written 
 rule of life, binding its subjects to strict conformity in all 
 their conclusions : — the law of equity dwells in the 
 heart, is regulated by circumstances, and determines ac- 
 
136 THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 
 
 cording to its convictions of right and wrong. The de- 
 cisions of justice respect the rights of property ; — the 
 decisions of equity, those of humanity. The obhgations 
 of justice are imperative ; civil jurisdiction enforces the 
 observance of its laws, and inflicts punishment upon the 
 transgressor : — the obligations of equity are moral in 
 their character, conscience dictates the observance of its 
 laws, and the Divine displeasure attends their violation. 
 Now, let the distinction be apphed. Masters, in '■''giving 
 to servants,^'' are to be governed by the laws of justice, 
 but they are to be governed^ also, by the laws of equity. 
 Justice recognizes the master's right in his servant as 
 property, and prescribes certain laws to which he mTust 
 conform in his use of that property ; and the master is 
 just, according as he respects those laws. Equity pleads 
 the right of humanity, is not limited by the strict re- 
 quirement of the law, and, in the conscientious discharge 
 of duty, prompts the master to such treatment of his 
 servant as would be desired, on his part, were their po- 
 sitions reversed. The master gives that which is ^^j-ust" 
 to his servant, when he acts towards liim in strict ac- 
 cordance with legal requirement ; he respects that law, 
 the penalty of which is enforced at some civil tribunal ; 
 but he gives him that which is " equal,''^ when his con- 
 duct is directed by his consciousness of right and wrong ; 
 when he reahzes the moral obligation imposed, and re- 
 members, with humble reverence and with Godly fear, 
 that he, also, has a master in Heaven. 
 
 Thus, in the eye of the law, the master may be "^'w*^" 
 while he requires a certain amount of labor ; but, in that 
 
THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 137 
 
 requirement, conscience may be disregarded, right may 
 be violated, and humanity may be outraged. Thus, 
 also, in regard to food, and raiment, and rest. Justice 
 feeds and clothes, according to law ; but equity provides, 
 according to the claims of nature, the suggestions of 
 right, the impulses of kindness, and a proper regard for 
 the Divine approbation. Masters, give unto your ser- 
 vants that which is "just and equal," and forget not 
 that there is a tribunal before which master and servant 
 must stand, when all earthly distinctions will have ceased 
 forever. In full view of this solemn truth, when justice 
 puts the servant to work, let equity prescribe the task ; 
 when justice would measure his meat or weigh his pork, 
 let equity fill the measure and hold the scales ; when 
 justice would provide his clothing, let equity determine 
 as to the quahty and quantity : and when justice would 
 build his house, let equity arrange for its comfort and 
 convenience. It is true, that where the claims of equity 
 are thus respected, the annual nett proceeds must be di- 
 minished to some inconsiderable extent ; but, where is 
 the master who will not feel himself amply compensated 
 in the contentment, cheerfulness and comfortable condi- 
 tion of his servants, secured at a sacrifice so small, and 
 in a manner so reasonable and consistent ? 
 
 Macknight, in his exposition of the Scripture which we 
 are now considering, expresses an opinion, which, though 
 to some extent gratuitous, may be regarded as impor- 
 tant, from the fact that a duty is urged, which on the 
 part of masters generally, does not seem to command 
 proper attention. His opinion is, that the service of a 
 
138 THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 
 
 whole life, according to strict justice, demands fit main- 
 tenance for that whole Hfe ; and that equity requires that 
 the most faithful among servants should be distinguished 
 by particular rewards. What may be the correctness of 
 this criticism, need not, now, be argued ; but the duty 
 of making a distinction between faithful and unfaithful 
 servants, all will admit. The rule of conduct in this 
 case, must be that which is observed by the great Mas- 
 ter of us all. He makes a difference between him that 
 serves him and him that serves him not, and a public 
 exhibition of that difference will be made, for, in that 
 day when God shall " make up his jewels," men shall 
 discern between the righteous and the wicked. When, 
 on the one hand, it is said, " well done, good and faith- 
 ful servant ;" and, on the other, " out of thine own 
 mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant ;" the prin- 
 ciple, involved in this distinction, is clearly recognized, 
 and is, consequently, established as the rule of conduct 
 in all subordinate relations. The Christian master, there- 
 fore, should be known among his servants as frowning, 
 uniformly upon vice, and smiling upon virtue ; as ap- 
 proving that which is right, because it is right, and con- 
 demning that which is WTong, because it is wrong, and 
 as exercising his authority, both in rewards and punish- 
 ments, with that respect for right which .will, directly, 
 tend to improve the moral condition of his servants. 
 This is the master's duty ; it constitutes an important 
 part of his personal responsibility, and, in the account 
 which will be required of his stewardship, much of his 
 "^'oy" or " grief'' will be found connected with his faith- 
 
I 
 
 THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 139 
 
 fulness or neglect. Eow careful, then, should the master 
 be, to convince his servant that while he will, certainlj, 
 be punished in some form, for neglect or carelessness in 
 his daily work, for disregard of his authority, for theft, 
 or for any thing else, which may affect his interest unfavo- 
 rably, so, also, will he certainly be punished, in some 
 proper form, for falsehood, profane language, Sabbath 
 violation, or any thing else, which amounts to an act 
 positively immoral, and, therefore, displeasing to God, 
 and hurtful to the spiritual interest of the servant him- 
 self. I dread the self-condemnation of that Christian 
 master, whose servants have never felt the force of his 
 example and authority in encouraging moral propriety, 
 and in reproving and suppressing that which was offen- 
 sive in the sight of God. Masters, give unto your ser- 
 vants that which is '''■just and equal,'''' and, in order that 
 this may be properly done, establish among them a 
 mild and uniform system of discipHne, having respect to 
 impropriety of every sort. Be careful to satisfy them 
 that motives of duty and benevolence prompt you to a 
 strict observance of this system, and let it distinctly ap- 
 pear that your rewards and punishments have respect, 
 not only to their increased value as 2^^'opert2/, but, also, 
 to their improvement in moral worth. I know Abra- 
 ham, said the Lord, that he will command his children 
 and his household after him ; and they shall keep the 
 way of the Lord to do justice and judgment. That which 
 in Abraham received the Divine favor, will obtain a simi- 
 lar acknowledgment in every other instance ; and that 
 which Abraham discharged, as a solemn duty, rests with 
 
140 THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 
 
 equal force upon every Christian master. Let it not be 
 forgotten, that we, also, have a master in Heaven, and 
 that in regard to duties devolving upon us in the several 
 relations which we sustain. He is no respecter of per- 
 sons. 
 
 In connection with the Divine instruction which has 
 been considered, may be noticed, here, Job's vindication 
 of his integrity against the false charges of Ehphaz. 
 " If I did despise the cause of my man servant, or of my 
 maid servant, when they contended with me ; what, then, 
 shall I do, when God riseth up ? And when he visiteth, 
 what shall I answer him ? Did not he that made me in 
 the w^omb, make him ? And did not one fashion us in 
 the womb?" (Job, xxxi, 13-15.) In this just and 
 necessary protest, Job evidently understands both the 
 duty and responsibility involved in the relation which 
 he sustained to his servants. A master himself, be re- 
 membered that he, also, had a master, with whom there 
 was no respect of persons, and whose approbation was 
 secured, not by the station occupied, but by the faith- 
 fulness of him who occupied that station, whether mas- 
 ter or servant. Did not He that made me, make him ? 
 
 When Job speaks of his servants contending with 
 him, be is to be understood as referring to accusations 
 made against them, which they denied ; or to offences 
 committed by them, which they attempted to excuse or 
 justify ; or to complaints which they urged, because of 
 hardships imposed upon them. The " cause" of his ser- 
 vant, in either case specijBed, or in any case involving a 
 just claim or an equitable demand, he did not despise. 
 
THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 141 
 
 The servant was permitted to speak, and an opportunity 
 afforded to prove the accusation false. His acknowledjr- 
 ment of the offence, his regret for it, and any palliating 
 fact which he might urge in connection, were all heard 
 with kindness, and received proper consideration.. The 
 cause of complaint was examined, and if found sufficient, 
 proper measures were taken for its removal. He did 
 not brow-beat them, nor, in the haughty, tyrannical ex- 
 ercise of his powei', refuse to hear their excuse or attend 
 to their complaints, nor did he take their guilt for 
 granted^ without proper investigation. This he might 
 have done, and have been regarded, in consequence, as a 
 good manager, an excellent disciplinarian, a man who 
 knew well how to keep his servants in subjection ; but 
 this he might not have done, with any hope of the favor 
 of that God who made them both, and who requires of 
 the master that he give to his servant that ^vhich is just 
 and equal. For, let it be remembered, that Job was now 
 repeUing unjust charges; in defence of his character, he 
 was pleading before the tribunal of a righteous God, and 
 clearly intimates that a proper regard for the cause of 
 his servant, as well as an upright conduct in other 
 i'es}>ects, was by him considered essential, in oider that 
 he might avoid that condemnation which he was sup- 
 posed, justly, to have incurred. And, let it be further 
 remembered, that among Job's numerous servants, many 
 were rebellious, undutiful and unfaithful, and held both 
 him and his cause in contempt. Vet their cause he did 
 not despise, nor did he find any excuse for the neglect of 
 duty, or any extenuation of his injustice and cruelty in 
 
142 THE DUTIES OP CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 
 
 the improper conduct of those who sustained to him the 
 humble relation of servants, subject to his authority, 
 and having no appeal from that authority but to Him 
 who is no respecter of persons. How are masters, and 
 espepially Christian masters, admonished by this scrupu- 
 lous adherence to right on the part of Job ? While he 
 was a law-abiding man, evidently, and respected the in- 
 stitutions of society and government, he regarded the 
 requirement and approbation of God as paramount in 
 their importance. Not satisfied to act as the law of the 
 land directed, he was conscientious to observe the law of 
 God. Not content to render justice, where justice could 
 be demanded, he was careful to obey its dictates, when 
 naught but a sense of right prompted him to action ; 
 and when the case of the widow and fatherless was 
 brought before him, the necessity of the poor, the claim 
 of his neighbor, or the cause of his servant, he recog- 
 nized but one law to govern his conduct. That law was 
 the law of right, the law of God. To this he submitted 
 every action, and by this was he regulated in every de- 
 cision ; and, in the spirit of the Apostle, " labored," in 
 prosperity and adversity, in life and in death, to be "ac- 
 cepted" of God, believing, that in all nations, he that 
 feareth God, and worketh the righteousness, is accepted 
 of him. 
 
 Having, thus far, considered and urged the plain 
 Scriptural direction respecting the duties of Christian 
 masters, and, truly, a Christian master's duty is every 
 master's duty, it is proposed to infer, from the views 
 presented, some general and some special duties, which 
 
THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 143 
 
 cannot be neglected, without doing violence to all the 
 principles involved. These duties are, of course, more 
 or less binding, according to the circumstances of the 
 master, for God's requirements are according to what a 
 man hath, and not according to what he liatli not. In 
 regard to this, Paul's rule is a good one : " Herein do I 
 exercise myself, to have a conscience void of offence." 
 
 We infer, first, that the master should be the friend 
 of his servant, and that the servant should know it. 
 Friendship implies good will, kindness, a desire for the 
 welfare of him for whom it is entertained. Thus should 
 the master feel towards his servant, and in the cultiva- 
 tion of this spirit and its decided manifestation, there 
 need be no compromise of authority, no undue fami- 
 liarity. The servant, under such a master, knows his 
 condition, and understands that, while he is restricted 
 to certain privileges and required to perform certain du- 
 ties, he is not held in subjection by an unfeeling tyrant, 
 nor driven to his work by a heartless oppressor. A kind 
 word, a pleasant look, a little ai-rangement for his com- 
 fort, assures him that there is one who cares for him ; 
 and, notwithstanding he goes forth to his daily labor, 
 and toils at his daily task, his heart is light, his song is 
 cheerful, and he seeks his humble couch at night, in the 
 happy consciousness that his inaster is his friend. Such 
 is the enviable lot of many servants in our ^'- sunny 
 Soutk,''^ and on such plantations as feel the controlling 
 influence of the master's friendship for his servants, it 
 may be noticed, as a general fact, that order is observed, 
 peace is cultivated, mutual confidence and good will are 
 
144 THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 
 
 encouraged, as much work is done as ought to be done, 
 the sound of the lash is but seldom heard, and the runa- 
 ivayh punishment is but rarely inflicted. And yet, the 
 friend becomes not the coTri'panion^ and the effort on 
 the part of the master to secure confidence and affection, 
 affords no warrant for improper familiarity. The kind 
 word and the pleasant look, are still the word and look 
 of the master, and the little arrangements which are 
 made for the servant's comfort, are made in full recogni- 
 tion of the relative positions occupied, and produce, on 
 his part, the grateful conviction that he is not regarded 
 simply as proj)erty, but as a fellow being for whom feel- 
 ings of kindness are cherished, and for whose happiness 
 a proper desire is entertained. 
 
 Again, we infer, that the master should be the protec- 
 tor of his servant. The relation which they sustain to 
 each other, is that .of superior and infeiior, and while 
 occasional circumstances may require that the master de- 
 fend or vindicate his sei'vant, the obligat'ons of every 
 day call for his protection. The servant should feel that 
 the superior wisdom, experience, power and authority of 
 his master, constitute his abiding security. He should 
 be encouraged to rely upon their certain and constant 
 exei'cise, so that in regiird to necessity, comfort, personal 
 difBculty or danger, he may, confidently, look to his 
 master for that protection which his particular case may 
 demand. It is the master's duty that such an under- 
 standing be established between himself and his servant. 
 In view of the servant's condition, it is both ^'■just and 
 equal^'' and will contribute much towards securing that 
 
THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 145 
 
 peace and mutual confidence wLi^h every good man 
 loves to contemplate as the striking characteristic of his 
 own family and household. Moreover, it will advance 
 the master's interest, for, while no right is yielded, and 
 no improper indulgence granted ; while no authority ia 
 compromised, and no undue liberty allowed ; at the same 
 time, the servant learns to value his protection, loves his 
 master, is attached to his home, and therefore less in- 
 clined to rove, dreads no separation from his family if 
 he has one, and attends to his daily work, comparatively 
 free from care and anxiety, and rejoicing ia the assu- 
 rance that, in his master, he has a kind, watchful and 
 considerate protector. 
 
 Once more, we infer that the master should be the 
 guide of his servant. In the duty here specified, refe- 
 rence is had, not only to the influence which the master 
 is supposed to have over the movements or actions of 
 his servant, but, also, to the superior intelHgence of the 
 master. 
 
 There is no relation, perhaps, unless it is that between 
 father and son, in which a more decided influence is ex- 
 erted, than that which exists between the master and 
 his servant. Ordinary conduct and conversation are 
 observed, manner is marked, habits are noticed, and, 
 according as the master regulates his life by principles 
 of right, his servant is influenced for good or for evil. 
 The master may b3 a profane man, or a Sabbath break- 
 er, or a drinker of ardent spirits — a licentious man in 
 some positive sense — and, almost invariably, will his 
 licentious course be acted out by those who are con- 
 10 
 
146 THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 
 
 trolled, as well by bii influence and example, as by his 
 authority. That master speaks and acts thus, is not 
 only a sufficient warrant with many servants, but, actu- 
 ally, a reason why they should speak and act thus 
 themselves. And, are we accountable for the influence 
 which we exert upon others ? Will our common master 
 in Heaven hold us responsible not only for the evil which 
 we commit ourselves, but for that which we induce 
 others to commit ? Is there danger that I shall be con- 
 founded in the presence of the great Judge of all, and 
 doubly confounded^ because, daring myself to profane 
 the name of God, my servant feels at liberty to do the 
 same ? Masters ! Christian masters ! what manner of 
 persons ought ye to be ! Twenty, fifty, perhaps an hun- 
 dred immortal, accountable beings look up to you, re- 
 spectively ; they watch your movements, they note your 
 example, and they, almost literally, follow your guid- 
 ance, as the traveller follows his guide through some 
 unknown region. Whither does your influence lead 
 them ? In following your example, what prospect have 
 they for peace with God beyond the grave ? To what 
 extent are they encouraged to pursue the right and avoid 
 the wrong, by their regard for your good opinion, and 
 their conviction that it can only be obtained by a correct 
 and upright course of conduct ? How pleasant must be 
 the consciousness of that master, who contemplating his 
 relation to his servants, feels, that while they labor for 
 his benefit, submit to his authority, and conform to his 
 regulations, they, also, regard him as their friend, appeal 
 to him as their protector, and trust to his superior intel- 
 
THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 147 
 
 ligence for direction ? and, that while they follow his 
 example, and live under his influence, they are preparing 
 for the joys and employments of that better world, where 
 master and servant will find that with God there is no 
 respect of persons, and that he only distinguishes between 
 "him that serves him and him that serves him not." 
 
 We infer, lastly, that the master should be the teacher 
 of his servant. Ignorance, in a peculiar sense, attaches 
 to the negro, and ignorance, says Dr. Dick, is one prin- 
 cipal cause of the want of virtue, and of the immoralities 
 which abound in the world. The law of the land, sus- 
 tained by public opinion, and justified in view of the 
 causes which require its existence and enforcement, de- 
 nies to the servant the opportunity for instruction which 
 might, otherwise, be afforded. As a very natural conse- 
 quence, the servant, independent of his constitutional 
 tendency, is, more or less, credulous and superstitious. 
 He is constantly exposed to error, and especially error 
 in regard to rehgious matters. It devolves, therefore, 
 upon the master, in the discharge of his duty, to have 
 respect to the ignorant condition of his servant, for ig- 
 norant, credulous and superstitious as he is, at the same 
 time he is an immortal and accountable being. Sooner 
 or later, he must die, and be judged with righteous 
 judgment. In that judgment will the master have no 
 interest ? Will he be allowed to witness it, and feel that 
 its retributions, in no manner, concern him ? Will his 
 servants be destroyed for " lack of knowledge," and con- 
 science not remind him that he had neglected to teach 
 them the way of truth ? AVill he not quail before the 
 
148 THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 
 
 glance of that eye, which, in the ignorance of the ser- 
 vant, detects the indifference and unfaithfulness of the 
 master ? Alas ! in that awful, fearful hour, no longer 
 affected by the false sanctions of worldly policy, common 
 usages, and popular prejudice, and no longer influenced 
 by the false suggestions of worldly interest, how will 
 some masters speak aloud their self-condemnation, when 
 they remember how little they did, if they did any thing 
 at all, that their servants might receive that instruction 
 which would make them wise unto eternal life ! It is 
 urged, therefore, as an imperious duty, that the master, 
 the Christian master, be the teacher of his servant. But 
 teach him what, it may be asked ? Teach him how to 
 read and write ? Instruct him in those branches of 
 learning taught in our schools and colleges ? Make him 
 acquainted with those matters of general interest which 
 agitate and disturb the political world ? We answer, 
 no ; but teach him that he is a sinner, and that the Lord 
 Jesus Christ is the sinner's friend. Teach him the abso- 
 lute necessity of repentance toward God, and faith in the 
 crucified Redeemer. Teach him that he must deny 
 himself all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and live sober- 
 ly, and righteously, and godly, in this present world. 
 Let the light of your superior knowledge shine upon the 
 darkness of his ignorance, and let his credulity and su- 
 perstition yield to that simplicity and godly sincerity, 
 which the holy religion of the Son of God secures to all, 
 masters and servants, who are brought to feel its sancti- 
 fying and saving power. Christian master, enter the 
 dark cabin of thy servant, and with the lamp of truth in 
 
THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 149 
 
 thy hand, light up his yet darker soul with the know- 
 ledge of him, whom to know is life eternal. 
 
 A few hints, in connection with the last inference, will 
 close this essay. 
 
 The important duty of teaching our servants, cannot 
 be performed, to much purpose, without special effort. 
 An occasional attention to it, so as to keej) on tolerable 
 terms with conscience, will accomphsh but little, and is 
 pitiful trijiing^ where solemn results are pending. It 
 should be manifest, that in communicating to them reli- 
 gious instruction, we are in good earnest, and that we 
 are influenced by considerations no less solemn than our 
 . own accountability, and their temporal and eternal wel- 
 fare. A certain time should be designated, to be devo- 
 ted to this work, taken, not from their hours of rest, but 
 from their hours of labor, and their attendance should 
 be required. 
 
 The effort made to instruct our servants, should be 
 appropriate. Some plan should be adopted suited to 
 their capacity. " Understandest thou what thou read- 
 est,'^ is as important a question to the negro now, as it 
 was to the Ethiopian eighteen hundred years ago. Ques- 
 tions should be asked, which will lead them to think, 
 and encourage them to remember what they hear. Short 
 portions of Divine truth should be read and explained, 
 and their particular application to them urged with 
 kindness and faitli fulness.' Let the master exercise his 
 judgment, that his servants may be benefited by his wise 
 arrangements for their spiritual well-being. 
 
 The effort should bo a persevering one. So long as 
 
150 THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. 
 
 the relation shall continue, so long will the duty be bind- 
 ing upon us. Besides, perseverance is necessary to suc- 
 cess. Many things, doubtless, will occur to discourage 
 us, but let us not be " weary in well doing, for in due 
 season we shall reap, if we faint not." In no one parti- 
 cular is this exhortation of the Apostle more worthy of 
 solemn consideration than in that which now occupies 
 our attention. In this case, as in all others, the path of 
 duty is the path of peace, of interest, and of safety, for 
 He who has a right thus to speak, has promised that if 
 we are faithful unto death, we shall receive a crown of 
 life. The effort should be a prayerful one. The Divine 
 blessing is essential to our success in every thing that we' 
 undertake. In praying with our servants and for them, 
 we shall understand our duty more correctly ; we shall 
 be aided in making the most appropriate arrangements 
 for the performance of that duty ; we shall find our per- 
 severance and self-denial encouraged and sustained in 
 carrying out those arrangements, and shall be able, with 
 humble confidence, to submit all to Him, whose preroga- 
 tive it is to say, " Well done, good and faithful ser- 
 vant 
 
 And now, Christiau masters, suffer the word of exhor- 
 tation from one, who, like yourselves, sustains this impor- 
 tant relation. Lift your eyes to the judgment seat of 
 Christ, remember your stewardship, consider the eternal 
 welfare of your servants, and determine for yourselves, 
 whether it is the part of wisdom to neglect this duty, or 
 to make the proper effort, in order that it may be pro- 
 perly discharged. Anticipate that trying hour, when 
 
THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN MASTERS. l5l 
 
 the smile or the frown of your Maker and your Judge 
 will depend upon the developments of that " Book of 
 Remembrance," wherein is registered your faithfulness 
 or your neglect. Stand with your servants before His 
 righteous throne, and let the convictions of that honest 
 hour fix your purj^ose to meet the claims which your 
 relation, as masters, imposes upon you. " Whatsoever 
 thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for there 
 is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in 
 the grave, whither thou goest." Ecc. ix, 10. 
 
SffLiJ^. 
 
 CHARLESTON, S. C: 
 
 STEAM POWER-PRESS OF WALKER AND JAMES, 
 No. 101 East Bay.