‘ changed in no respect from what it was sixty

HASZAR.D’S GAZETTE, SEPTEMBER 1.

TIIIGULITHIYLRIII LBBIOL sr wrr.t.isas CIAIIIIII. RICHMOND, IN VIRGINIA.

‘ Wrtsit dose the carriage leave the door for the steamer down the Potomac "I asked the book- keeper of Wil|ard's Hotel in Washington.

any six of them. and do the work. too, in a greatly su rior manner. it the course of the jourtie , * umber of sssengers were set down at ' gﬂtetione, saving so few in the traip. III at V bthsr gentlemen and myself_ on '

‘ At six o'clock in the morning, and nine in the P'°5|l’lY I0"! 10$! CI 010 INN“ 3340. I'll‘ evening.‘ was the rep 3. _ ndy hair and whiskers, and batll sees blur in I preferred setting tinlhe morning. and W Ihﬁds I Ibotll have Did II! III I Wolllllr resily according) -Em! behﬁp,‘-qt h Wglllloi pIr‘oba .“eetoae-Issaoe,hd|i'ledeeed ilu bis eary hour. \-c as" ' ' Iﬁ i ‘e " gn ay cot es. out on a o‘ sy._ am guest at his departure withe ceﬁe ?witIir§, 1, tico_|ar in referring to his appearance. in order, charge.) ~ .» ;~ 9:, -M- 3 leg. ~-.3, . _ tble. to throw some light on the habits in The ride tbjsuﬂig ‘ ‘int. he very freely indulged. Apparently across an o uruc| of ’ as V-don engaged in deep thought. he continued chewing

half an hour, and‘on my arrive . I found that a number of persons who had just come by the northern train, were geisg on board a steamer, which was lying at the extrsaiity of a wooden

ier. Speedily everything was situated. A very

roll-looking negro lad. ins kid ofcocked-hat, esd boots pulled over a pair of ragged pants, drewin the rope. and we were off.

The Potomac, more like an inland sea then a river. and here a mile in width. torine the connect- ’ the northern and southern The line. as yet. stopped at Washing- ton;and to get again upon th ck, it was necessary to descend the otoinac lift) -five miles, to a place called Acquia Creek, where the railway to Richmond commences. An English traveller has said such sure things of the steamers on the Potomac. that I did not feel quite at ease in mlltinr so long an excursion in one of them : but lam bound in justice to say, that so far so iuy experience went, there wee nothing to complain

For a company of about fifty persona. two tables were prepared for breakfast in a manner that would have done no discredit toe first-class hotel. A good-humourod negro barber plied his vocation in hislittlo apartment. And the toilet apparatus comprehended no wooden bowls——such articles having utleily vanished, if they ever existed anywhere but in the imagination

In line weather, the sail down the Potomac from Washington must be exceedingly pleasant; for the river though broad, is not so wide as to give iudistinctnoss to the scenery on the banks. On the riirht, we have the woody heights of Virginia, and on the left. the hills of Maryland, with frequent glimpses of villa-residences and farm-seitleiin-uis on both sides. At the distance of six or seven uiiles below \Vashingttm, but on the Virginia side. we come abreast of Alexandria. a town uf 10,000 inhabitants, with a good deal of shipping at its quays, and signs of manufacturing itidustry on a considerable scale. ight milos further down, on the same side, is seen upon a green knoll among the picturesque woody cmi rtences. an ohjectofinterest which. cold as the morning II. attracts nearly all the passengers from the well-warmed cabin. This is Mount ornon, once the residence of General Washington, and where. in a vault amidst the grounds. the remains of the great man were iotombed. t is a neat country residence, with a tall veranda in front,

years ago; but a local authority speaks of the grounds. which were kept in the greatest trlmness by Washington. being now in e discreditablo stats of disorder--a circumstance which, if true. demands the attention of the American people. Unfortunatol_v,the spot is not easily reached by land. otherwise I should have gladly made it the object of a pilgrimage.

As the day advanced, the chilliness of the atmosphere wore oh‘, and on arriving at Acquia Creek. the air fcltniild and agreeable, although it was the lat of December. 'I‘he train was in weitiiig one long ‘my. and in less than ten minutes it had received its freight of passengers and luggage. and was under-way. Such was my entrance into Virginia—tbst fine old state, settled by English gontlernen of family. and whose history calls up such melancholy thoughts of the unfortunate Raleigh.

Much ef the country through which we passed was uriclcarod of woods. which hada wild ap- pearance, and the land. where opened to agri- cultural operations, seemed to be of a poor description. Among the trees growing naturally in the patches of tangled forest. was the arbor rilrc, which hero attains a considerable size. Rriododeudrons hung their faded blossoms by the roadsidos, where they grew like common weeds; and in other kinds of vegetation, there was still the lingering aspect ofautumn. On crossing the Rappahaunock. at Fredericksburg. the agri- cultural character of the country was much im roved; but even at the best, and all the way toIiichmond. a distance of sixty miles from the Potomac. it fell short of what I had seen in Western Canada and Ohio. seeing, as it does. the elements of fertility, what mi; ht iint

ted from the land, if put under an enlightened system of tillage! ~The ploughing. performed by slaves under the inspection of overseers riding about the ﬁelds on horseback. was very defective; for it seemed scarcely to tear up the soil, and left large pieces altogether untouched. the train passed. the negro loughmen invariably stopped in their labour to look at, and speculate on, the phenomenon. as if their heart was not in their work, and they took every opportunity of shirking it. From the we they seem to be proceeding,I feel pretty as e in sverring, that two ordinary Scotch plou hmen would gsttbrough as much labour in a ey as

tobacco with a voraeity I had never seen equalled, and which provoked such an incessant torrent of eiipectoratioa. that at last the loot around him presented a most unsightly spectacle.

Ithiuk travellers. generally. in their descrip- tions. exaggerate the chewing and spitting of the Americans. It is. in reality. only here and there you meets person who abandons himself to these nauseous practices, while to the mess of the more respectable people In the States. they are probably asdisagrsesble as to any well-bred European. The invectives, however, directed against the Americans on this score. dispose me to believe that the English who visit the United States, and pick outso man faults. are either ignorant or neglectful of the manners of their own country.

nioiig the less-instructed ‘classes in Great Britain,spitIing in the streots,aiid other places. is exceedingly common ; and since young gentle- men betook themselves to smoking tobacco in common clay-pipes, the vice may be said to have become fashionable in the ‘under departments of high-life—at snyrate, we c not see that it meets with public censure. Now. if it be considered that in the United States, the rise from one condition of life to another is astonishingly rapid. and that allclasses travel together in the same care. and live together in the same hotels, it will not be diflicult to understand how certain obnox- ious practices aliould obtrude themselves on the notice of the more polished class of travellers.

e train arrived at Richmond about two o'clock in the afternoon; and by an omnibus in attendauce,I was transferred to a hotel. which proved to be no way inferior to the establishments in the states further north. The whole of the waiters were nogroea,in white jackets; but among the female doiucstics I recognised one or two Irish girls-—the sight of them helping to make good what I had everywhere heard stated about the Irish diaposseasing the coloured races. At Wi|lard's Hotel, in Washington. all the waiters, as well as the female servants, were Irish, and here, also,they will probably be so in a short

.- .. 9

Situated on a high and sloping bank on the left side of the James River, Richmond is much less regular in outline than the greater number of American cities. Its streets, straggling in different directions on no uniform plan, are of an old-established appearance, with storss.churehee, an numerous public buildings. Besides the

-principal thoroughfares, there are many narrow

streets or lanes of a dismal. half-deserted ap- pearancc. generally dirty. and seemingly ill drained and ventilated. Everywhere. the number of black faces is considerable; for in s pppulation

27,000. as many as 9000 are said to slaves. The dwellings occupied by the lower classes of coloured people are of a miserable kind.resembling the worst brick-houses in the back-lanes of English manufacturing towns. ' In the upper part ofthe city there are some rows of handsome villas. and in this quarter is a public square. with

O "I

the Capitol, or seat of legielstiire. in central and conspicuous situation. In walkin tirough this public edifice towards dusk, I o rv tlist it

was guarded by an armed sentinel, the sight of whom had almost the startling sﬂ'sct of an apparition ; for it was the first time I had seen a bayonet in the United States, and suggested the unpleasant reflection. that the large infusion of slaves in the composition of society was not unattended tvith danger.

A fine view is obtained from the front of the Capitol, overlooking the lower part of the city, the river with its falls, and the country in the distance. 'l'bs falls of the James River appear to have determined the situation of the town. These falls unitedly amount to a descent of eighty f-et, and are made available for turning a number oflarge mills for grinding flour, and other pur- poses. The occurronoo ofsuch falls is only one of a series of similar phenomena. along the east coast ofAmerics. where. by recessions of the sea.aterrace-range crossesths rivers at a less or greater distance from the ocean, causing an abrupt descent, which is valuable as a water- power. The falls ofthe James River cease in front of the city. where there are several rocky and woody islets. and at this point two long wooden bridges afford communication with it manufacturing suburb on the right ha

Although,in many respects, inferior in point ofappcarance as compared with the smart New- England cities, Richmond showed various symp- toms ofprospority and progress. A species of deck for shipping was in process of excavation adjoining the bridges. and several large cotton- factories where in the course of erection, In the streets in this lower quarter, there was an active trade in the packing and sale of tobacco. quan- tities of which, like faded weeds, were being

, e is. one of the cars. My Dtttpaliou was I llln sf .

esrtedtothe factories by negroes. The cotton manufacture is on in several large establishments. and will sooiibe extended. but princi Iv. I was told. by meansof northern _, . end the employment of hired white

“ ere, who. for factory purposes. are said to able to rsons of colour.

of any kind, I was throw "on my"3wn resources in acquiring this information. Fortunately, however, there was so impediment to encounter in the research. The exposure of ordinary goods in a store is not more 0 n to the public than are the sales ofslaves in ichmond. By consulting the local newspapers. I learned that the sales take place by auction every morning in the ollcos of certain brokers. who, as I understood by the terms of their received slaves for sale on commission. .

here the street was in which the brokers conducted their business, I did not know ; but the discovery was easily made. Rambling down the main street in the city, Ifound that the subject of my search was a narrow and short thoroughfare, turning off to the left. and terminating in a similar cross thoroughfare. Both streets. lined with brick-houses, were dull and silent. There was not a person to whom I could put a question. Looking about,Iobsorved the oflicc of a com-

b d nown as the rincipsl market for-the saiply of slaves for tlﬁ s&Ih— a circum- statto_e_un' rstood to ' insis ‘ the fact,_i§et Virginia. U a matter a “bﬁaii I labourers r the expreh pir I eels. Ilsvtnr =eard that us: was tlIQ'ﬂOG,lI ‘storage:

e t rt V! w sfe l0'|)|.Il’6lIlI:::. “wit ’ Lt ' I

sdvsrtleesiests, purchased or 1,.

He had seercel seated himself, w - ‘ towards the tlotir, I observed the —the man and boy indicated by the paper on an red lsg—entsr together, and quietly walk to g form at the back of the shep. whssce. as the day was chilly, they edged themselves toward. an fire. In t corner where I was segue, 1,... now between t rties-—the white man on the right. and t -'

" V y were a little sbashed. but said nothing. Their appearance had little of the re ulsiveneee we are apt to aasooiat. with the _, ssofslavee. They were dressed in

e y woollen cost, ate, and waistcoat, oo cured cotton neokolo . clean shirts. coarse woollen stockings, and stout shoes. o man worea black list; the was ceded.

Moved by a sudden impulse, Wide-awake left his soat,snd rounding the back of chair. It to up at the man's arms, as to feel their muscular cepacit . He eu examined his hands sud ﬁngers ; and last of all, told him to 0 his mouth and shew his teeth, which he id in s submissive manner. Having ﬁnished these examinations, Wide-awake resumed his seat. and chewed on in silence as before.

I thought It was but fair that I should now have in turn of iuvesti ticn, and scoot-din ly sskedt e older negro w at was his age. Ito said he did not know. I next inquired how old the ho was. He said he was seven years

mission-agent, and into it I stepped. Conceive the idea of a large shop with two windows, and a I door between; no shelving or counters inside; the interioraspaeious. dismal apartment, not well swept;the only furnitursa desk at one of the windows,andsbench at one side of the shop, three feet high. with two steps to it from the floor. I say, conceive the idea of this dismal- looking place, with nobody in it but three negro children, who. as Ientered. were playing at auctioning each other. An intensely black ittlo negro, of four or five years of age, was standing on the bench, or luck, as it is called. with an equally black girl, about a year younger, by his side. whom he was pretending to sell by bids to another black‘ child, who was rolling about the cor.

My appearance did not interrupt the merritnent. The little auctioneer continued his mimic play. and appeared to enjoy the joke of selling the girl, who stood demurely by his si s.

‘ Fifty dolls for do gal—fifty dolls—ﬁfly dolls —I sell dis here fine gal for tlfty dolls.’ was uttered with extraordinary volubility by the woolly-heeded urchin. accompanied with sp- propriats gestures, in imitation, doubtless, of the scenes he had seen enacted daily in the spot. I spoke a few words to the little creatures, but was scarcely understood; and the fun wsiit on as ifl

had not been present: so I left them, happy in rehearsing what was likely soon to be their own It

s. At another oﬂicc of a similar character. on the o posits side of the street, I was more successful.

ore. on inquiry, I was respectftill informed by a person in attendance, that the es s would take place the following morning at half-pest nine o'clock.

Next day I set out accordingly, after breakfast, for the scene of operations, in which t ere was now a little more life. Two or three persons were lounging about. smoking cigars; and, look- ing along the street, I observed that three red flags were projected from the doors of those oﬁces in which sales wereto occur. On each flag was pinned a piece of paper, notifying the articles to be sold. The nttmber of lots was not great. On the first, was the following announce- ment:—' Will be sold this morning, at half-past nine o’clock. a Man an ’

It was already the appointo hour; but as no company had assembled. I entered and took a seat by the fire. The oﬂicc, provided with a few deal-forms and chairs. a es at one of the windows. and ‘a block accessible by a few steps. was tenantlcss, save by a gentleman who was arranging papers at the desk. and to whom I had addressed myself on the previous evening. Minute after minute passed, and still nobody entered. There was clearly no hurry in going to business. I feltalinoet like an intruder. and had formed the resolution of departing, in order to look into the other offices, when the person referred to left his desk. and came and seated himself opposite to me at the fire.

‘ You are an Englishman.’ said be. looking me steadily in the face; ' do you want to'purchase?’

‘ Yes,‘ I replied. ' I am an Englishman; but I do not intend to purchase. 1 am travelling about for information, and I shall feel obliged by your letting me know the prices at tihich negro servants are sold.’

‘ I will do so with much pleasure.’ was the answer; ‘ do you mean field-hands or house- servants?’

' ll kinds,‘ I replied; ' I wish to get all the information I can.’

With much (politeness. the gentleman stepped to his desk.an began to draw ups note of rices. This, however, seemed to require csrofu con- sidcratinn; and while the note was preparing, a lanky person, in s wide-awake hat. and chewin tobacco, entered, and took the chair just vacate .

ofa . is asking the man if the boy was his son, c said he was not—he was his cousin. I was going into other particulars, when the ofiee- eeper approached, and handed me the note he had been pro no ;at the same time making the observa on t at the market was dull at resent, and that there never could be a more voursblo o portunity of buying. I thanked him for t e trouble which he had takou;sud now submit it copy of his price-

curront: :— ° at Men. 18 to % years old $l%0 to 1300 air 0. do. do. 960 to 1050 Boys, 5 feet, 850 to 950 Do., 4 feet 8 inches. 700 to 800 Do., 4 feet 5 inches, to Do., 4 feet. 375 to 450 Young Women. to 1 Girls, 5 foot, 750 to 850 Do., 4 feet 9 inches. 700 to 750 Do., 4 feet. _ 350 to 452 (Signed)

Richmond, Virginia.‘

Leaving this document for future consider- etion,l pass on a history of the day's proceedings. It was now ten minutes to ten o'clock, and Wide-awake sudl being alike tired of waiting, we went off in quest of sales further u the street. suing the second oﬁcs, in w ich also nobody was to be seen. we were more fortunate at the third Here, scoordingto the announcement on the paper stuckto the flag. there were to be sold. ‘A woman and three children; a young woman,

roe men, s middle-a woman, and a little

y.’ Already a crowd had met, composed, I should think. of persons mostly from the cotton- plsntstions of t a south. near a fire on the right-hand side, and others a round an iron stove in the middle of the apartment. The whole place had a. dilapidated appearance. Froms beck-window, there was a view into a ruinous courtyard; beyond which, in a hollow, accessible by s side-lane, stood a slisbby brick-house, on which the word Jail was inscribed in lsr black letters on a white ground. [imagine it tobe a depot for the reception of negroes.

On in arrival, and while mttkin these preliminary observations, the lots for as o had not made their sp arance. In about five minutes afterwards t e were ushered in, one after the other, undert e charge ofa mulatto, who secmedto act as principal assistant. I saw no whips, chains. or any other engine of force. Nor did such appear to be required. All the lots took their seats on two long forms near the stoves; none showed any sign of resistance; nor did any one utter a word. Their manner was that of perfect humility and resignation.

As soon as all were seated. there was s

neral examination of their respective merits.

y feeling their arms, looking into their mouths, and investigating the quality of their hands and fingers-—thislaat being evidently an im- portant particular. Yet there was no abrupt rudeness in making these exatniuations—no course or domineering language was employed. The three negro men were dressed in the usual manusr——iu grny woollen clothing. The woman, with three children, exoi uliar attention. She was neatly attired. with a coloured handkerchief bound round her head. and wore a white apron over her gown. Her children were all girls, one of them a hub at the breast, three months old, and the ot ers two and three years of age respective] , rigged out with clean white pinafores. T are was note tear or an emotion visible in the whole party. Everything seemed to be considered as a matter of course ; and the change of owners