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HASZARD’8 GAZETTE, SEPTEMBER 1.

was ‘lily looked lirwsrtl to with us much indl renoessordlnary hired ssrvsnts satiet- pste a removal from one step! to mother. While intending mohnssrs _ p it with personal exam tlous of the several lots, 1 took the liberty of utting a few uestlons to the mother of the ohﬁdrsii The fo owing was our oonverutiou :- * Are you a married woman!’

‘Yes, sir.’ ‘ How many children have you had!’ ‘ Seve .’

' Where is your husband l’

' In Madison county.’ _

0 When did you part from him 1’

t On Wednesday—two days ago._’

3 Were you sorry to part rom htm‘.'_

' Yes, sir,‘ she replied with a deep sigh 3 ‘ my heart was a'most broke.’

‘ Why is your master selling you 9'

tldonn know— a wants money td buylsome land—suppose he sells me for that.

There might not be a word of truth in these answers, for I had no means of testing their cor- rectness; but the woinsn seemed to speak unre- servedly, and I am inclined to think that she said nothing but what, if necessary, could be substan- tiated. Ispolte, also, to the oung woman who was seated near her. ‘ e, li the others, was perfectly black, and appeared stout and healthy. of which aortas of the rsons present assured themselves by feeling her arms end ankles, look- ing into her mouth, and causing her to stand up.

She told me she had several brothers and sisters. K

but did not know where they were. She as she was a house-servant and would be glad to be bought by a good ma'ster—looking at me, as ifl should not be unacceptable.

I have said there was an entire absence of emotion in the party of men, women. and|chilplr_en. thus seated preparatory to being sold. his does not correspond with the ordinary accounts of slave-sales, which are represented as tearful and harrowing. My belief is, that none of the par- ties felt deeply on the subject, or at least that any distress they experienced was but momentary —soon passed away, and was forgotten. One of my reasons for this 0 inion rests on a triﬂing incident which occurre . While waiting for the commencetiient ofthe sale, one of the gentlemen present amused himself with a pointer-dog, which, at command, stood on its hind-lags, and took pieces of bread from his pocket. These tricks greatly entertained the row of negroes, old and young; and the poor woman, whose heart three minutes before was almost broken, now laughed as heartily as any one.

* Sale is going to commence-this way. gentle- men,’ cried a man at the door to a number loungers outside; and all having assembled. the mulatto assistant led the woman and her children to the block, which he helped her to mount. There she stood with her infant at the breast. and one of her girls at each side. ' ‘lie auctioneer, a handsome. gsntlamanly personage, took his place, with one foot on an old eel-chair with a broken back, and the other raised on the somewhat more elevated block. t was sstriking scene.

' Well, gentlemen,’ began the salesman.‘ here is a capital woman and her three children. all in good health--what do you say for them‘! Give me an offer. (Nobody speaks.) I put tip the whole lot at 850 dollars--850 dollars (speaking very fast)—850 dollars. Will no one advance upon that! A very extraordinary bargain. gentle- men. A ﬁne healthy baby. Hold it up. (Mu- latto goes up the first step of the block ; takes the

e -9.

baby from the woman's breast, and holds it aloft’

with one hand, so as to shew that it was s veri- table sucking-baby.) That will do. A woman. still young, and three children, all for 850 dollars. An advance, if you please, gentlemen. (A voice bids 860.) Tliauk you, sir— : any one hide more? (A second voice says, 870; and so on the biddin goes as far as 890 drillers, when it stops.) hat won't do. gentlemen. I cannot take such a low price. (After a pause. address- ing {the mulatto): She may go down.‘ Down from the block the women and her children were therefore conducted by the assistant, and as if nothing had occurred, they calmly resumed their seats by the stove.

The next lot brought forward was one of the men. The mulatto beckoning to him with his hand, nested him to come behind a canvas screen, o two leaves, which was standing near the back-window. The man placidly rose. so having been placed behind the screen, was ordered to take otl' his clothes, which he did without a word or look of remonstrsnos. About a doaen

entlemen crowded to the spot while the r fel-

ow was stripping hiinsslf,snd as soon as e at on the ﬂoor, bars from top to toe, s most rigorous scrutiny of his person was instituted. The clear black skin, back and front, was viewed all over for sores from disease; and there was no part of his body left unexamined. be man was told to open and shut his hands, asked if he could pick cotton, and every tooth in his head was scrupu- lously looked at. end, he was ordered to dress himself; and having done so. was r nested to walk to the block.

The ceremony of oﬂering him for competition was gone through as before, but no one would bid. The other two men, after undergoing similar examinations behind the screen, were also ut up, but with the same result. Nobod won d bid for them, and they were all sent bsc

cod only bid

The Investigation being at an anti

to their seats. ltsseissd as it‘ the company Iiad conspired not to buy anything that day. Pro- bably some lmperfectioes had been detected in the

I g personal of the negrsss. Be this as it

may, the auctioneer, rbaps a little out of tern- per from his want a success. walked oﬂ'to his desk, and the aﬁir was so far at an end.

' This way, gentlentsri—this way!’ was ltesrd from a voice outside, sndtlie eontpany immediately hivsd oil‘ to the second establishment. At this oﬂoe there was a young woman, and also a man, for sale. The worsen was put up ﬁrst st 500 dollars; and ssing some recommendable qualities, the bidding for her was run as high as 710 dollars, at which she was knocked down to a purchaser. The man, after the customary exami- nation behind s screen, was put up at 700 dollars; but a smell imperfection having been observed in his person, no one would bid for him ; and he was ordered down.

‘This way, gent|emen—this way down the street, if you please !’ was now shouted by a per- son in the employment of the ﬁret ﬁrm. to whose oﬂice all very willingly adjouined—-one migratory company. it will perceived, serving all the slave-auctions in the place. Mingling in the crowd, I went to see what should be the fate of the man and boy,‘ with whom I had already had some communication.

There the pair, the two cousins, sat by the ﬁre, just where I had leftthem an hour ago. The boy was put up first.

‘Come along, my man—jump up; there's a

respectable looking person, with a gold chain and bunch of seals; at the same time getting on the block. With slacrity the little.fellow came for- ward, and mounting the steps stood by his side. The forms in front were ﬁlled by the company; and as I seated myself, I found that my old oom- panion, Wide-awake, was close at hand, still chewing and spitting at a greatlratc.

‘Now, gentlemen,’ said the auctioneer, putting his hand on the shoulder of the boy, ‘here is a very ﬁne boy, seven years of age, warranted snund—what do you say for him ‘l I put him up at 500 dollars—500 dollars (sneaking quick, his right hand raised up. and coming down on the open palm of his lef'.)—500 dollars. Any one say more than 500 dollars? (560 is bid.) 560 dollars. Nonsense! Just look at him. See how high he it (He draws the lot in front of him. and shows that the little fellow’s head comes up to his breast.) You see he is s ﬁne, tall, healthy boy. Look at his hands.’

Several step forward. and cause the boy to open and shot his hands—the ﬂexibility of the small ﬁngers, black on the one side, and whitish on the other, being well looked to. The hands, and also the mouth, having given satisfaction, an advance is made to 570, then to 580 dollars.

' Gentlemen, that is a very or price for a boy of this size. (Addressing the lot): Go down, my boy, and shew them how you can run.’

The boy, seemingly happy to do as he was bid, went down from the block, and ran smartly across the liner several times: the eyes of every one in the room following him.

‘Now, that will do. Get up again. (Boy mounts ths block. the steps being rather deep for his short legs; but the auctioneer kindly lends him a hand.) Come, gentleinen,6you see this is a first-rate lot. (590 600- I0—690—6 dollars are bid.) I will sell him for 830 dollars. (Right hand coming down on left.) Last call. 630 dollars once—630 dollars twico. (A pause ; hand sinks.) Gone!‘

The boy having descended, the man was de- sired to come forward; and after the usual scru- tiny behind a screen, he took his place on the

ock.

‘ Well, now. gentlemen,‘ said the auctioneer, ‘here is a right prime lot. at this man; strong. healthy. able-bodied ; could not be a better hand for ﬁeld-work. He can drive a wagon, or anything. What do you say for him? I offer the man at the low price of 800 dollars—he is well worth I200 dollars. Come, make an ad- vance, if you please. 800 dollars said for the man (a bid). tlisnk you ; 810 dollors—8l0 dollars BIO dollars (several bids)-b20—830—850—80 —gnin at 860—going. Gentlemen, this is far below his value. A strong boned man, lit for any kind of heavy work. Just take a look at him. (Addressing the lot): Walk down. (Lot dia- mounts, and walks from one side of the shop to the other. When about to reascend the block, a gentleman, who is smoking a cigar. examines his mouth and his fingers. Lot resumes his place.) Pray, gentlemen. be quick (continues the suc- tioneer); I must sell him. and 860 dollars are for the man—880 dollars. (A fresh run of bids to 945 dollars.) 945 dollars once, 015 dollars twice (looking slowly round, to see i all were done), 945 dollars, going—- going (hand drops)-—gons l’

Dori g this remarkable scene, I sat at the middle of the front form with my note-book in my hand, in order to obtain a full view of the trans-

'on. So strsn e was the spectacle. that I could hardly dispel the notion that it was all a kind of dream; and now I look back upon the sﬂ'air as by far the most curious I ever witnessed. The more intelligent Virginians will sympathise in my feelings on the occasion. had never until now seen human beings sold ; the thing was quite new. we men are standing on an elevated bench, one white and the other black. The white

cod boy !’ said one of the partners, a bulky and u

o of the older States of Europe from the

man is eustioaitig the black man. What a son-

tssst in look and relative position l The white is 9 d

a most respectable-looking dress is concerned, he might pass or churcb.trerdea. There he believe my eyes !—-in the might of an Anglo- Saxon. sawing the air witb'liis hand, as If dressing a missionary or any other philanthropic meeting from a platform. Surely that gentleman- ly personage cannot imagine that he is engaged in any mortal sin! Beside im is a man with_a black skin. and clothed in rough garments. s looks are downcest and submissive. Iis is being sold, just like a horse at Tattersall's or a picture at Christie and Maoson’a—-I must be under some illusion. That dark object, whom I have been always taught to consider a man, is not a man. True, he may be called a man in advertisements. and by the mouth of auctioneers. But it is only a figure of speech-—a term of convenience. He is a man in one sense, and not in another. He is a kind of man—stands upright on two legs, has hands to work, wears clothes, can cook his food (a point not reached by monkeys), has the com- mand of speech, and, in a way, can think and act like a rational creature—csn even be taught to read. But nature has thought ﬁt to give him a black skin. and that tells very badly against lum- l’erha s, also. there is something wrong with his Ofllllttrtiglcll development. Being,_at all events, so much ofa msn—genus liomo—is it quite fair to master him, and sell him, exactly as suits your convenieuce—you being. from s_variety of for- ttinate circumstances, his superior? All this passed through my mind asl sat on the front form in the saleroom of Messrs .'Vl'I|l0 000 07 ll|° members of that well-known firm was engaged in pursuing, by the laws of Virginia, his legitimate lin .

Sudh were a forenoon’s experiences in the slavemarket of Richmond. Everything is_ des- cribed precisely as it occurred, without passion or prejudice. It would not have been dilﬁcult to be sentimental on a subject which appeals so strongly to the feelings; but I have preferred telling the simple trut In a subsequent chapter, I shall endeavour to offer some general views of slavery in its social and political relations. W C

person; so far as for s clergyman and n I

o 2'.

FARMING IN CHINA.

A writer in BlncI:wood’s Magazine speaks thus of agriculture in the Celestial Empire. The Chinese government has always fos- tered agriculture as peculiarly thq national pursuit; and well has it repaid the imperial patron e. In a country nearly as large as all Europe, and far more densely peopled- containing, in fact, more than a third of the whole human rscc—more comfortable than any similar number of men on the face of the globe,no emigration has till now issued from its shores, and each new myriad of the rapidly-augmenting population has gone to increase the strength and resources ofthe State, while the invidious extremes of poverty and riches—thut prime bane of old States—sre there unknown, wealth being more equally divided than in any civilised country. Undisturbed in their little forms, the people are contented and cheerful; and with comparatively little commerce, and no manufacturee——vicwed as a distinct employ- ment--the empire has continued for centuries thriving and unshnkeu by intestine commo- tions. he home consumers have maintained in comfort the home produccra—the grand opening of new markets has been found in

ortlieir agricultural pursuits. There is the I man—it may be the grandfather, or even the great-grand father-patriarch-like, directin his descendants, many of whom are in their youth and prime, while others are is their childhood, in the labours of the ﬁeld. He stands in the midst of them, bowed down with age. but—to the honour ofthe Chinese, as a nation-—he is always looked up to by all with pride and affection, and his old e and grey hairs are honored, revered, and oved. ’ n the tea districts every cottage or small former has his own little tea-garden, the roduce of which supplies the wants of his suiily, and the surplus brings him in a few dollars, which procure for him the other necessaries of life. “ When, alter the la- bours of the day are over,” says Mr. For- tune, “they return to their humble and happy homes, their fare consists chieﬂy of rice, fish, with which their rivers nbound.] and vegetables, which they enjoy with rest zest, and are oppy and content- ed. really believe that there is no coun- try in the world where the agricultural po- pulation are better off than they are in the north of China. Labour with them is plea- sure, for its fruits are eaten by themselves, and the rod of the oppressor is unfelt and unknown. For it few cssh—l000 or I%00 make $l—a Chinese can dine in a sumptuous manner upon his rice. ﬁsh, ve- etablcs. and ten; and I fully believe that in no country in the world is there less real misery and want then in China. The very beg are seem it kind jolly crew, and are kintﬁy treated by the inhabitants.”

TH! Russian PRIISTHOOD.-“ The fol- lowing facts,” says the Paris Pays, “will give an idea of the state of degradation into which the lower class of the Muecovito clergy has fallen. A Russian gentleman re- lates, that when passing one day through a. village, he saw a number of peasants assem- bled, and stopped to enquire the cause. ‘0,’ replied one of them, ‘It is only the priest, whom we are going to lock u in the bsrn., ‘And why do you do that ’ Be- cause it is Saturday. The priest is a. drunkard, and we always lock him up on a Saturday, in order that he may be in a con- dition to perform divine service on Sunday. On the Monday he is free to drink as he likes for the other days of the week.’ ”

Us: or Butcx Gnovns its run SUN.-— If you put a black glove on one hand, and a white glove on the other, and hold them in the sun, the hand with the black glove will feel the hotter, but will not be scorched, while the hand with the white one, althou h it will be the cooler, will be burned by t e sun. This is because the black absorbs the heat, it necessarily must let the heat pass through on to the hand and thus scorch it.

War A Ci.ounv Nicer is Wiiuunn THAN A Conn Oivn.—A cloudy night is warmer than it clear one, because the clouds prevent the radiation of the heat from the earth, for which reason the surface ofthe ground continues to be warm.

the increase of the population—the onl

emigration has been to the hill-side and the marsh. The French historian and philoso- pher Siemondi, maintains that the real bone and muscle of it nation is its agricultural population, and predicted the coming ruin

evident decline of this class of their people; but whatever truth there may be in his opinion, no such state ofmsttors is likely soon to esp the foundations ofthe Chinese Empire. There no millionaire msnufnctories, with machinery costing thirty or forty thousand pounds, overwhelm all competition. and, by ruining the small traders who ply the shuttle, as well as till the ground, draw starving thousands to N ankin, or Shanghse, feeding the towns to pletho , at the expense of the country, and sccu ulating from the labour of thousands gigantic fortunes for individuals. The small farmer rears his crop of rice, cotton or tea, dresses it. and sends it to market, and turns it to his own use as food or clothing, and, although he cannot succeed in laying by money, it is only in periods of famine or inundation that he eéperiences the pressure of want.

“ here are few sights more pleasing, ” says Mr. Fortune, “ than a Chinese family in the interior engaged in gathering the

Dnrir-nen itsvi:i.a'rioN.—A large wine dealer residing in London. recently on his death-bed, being in great distress of mind, acknowledged to his friends that his agony was occasioned by the nature ofthe business he had followed for yen.re- He stated that it had been his habit to purchase all the sour wines he could, and by making use ofeugnr of lead and other deleterious substances, to restore the wine to a palatable taste. He said he did not doubt he had destroyed,hun- dreds of lives, as he had from time to time noticed the effects of his mixtures on those who drank them. o had seen instances of this kind where the unconscious victims of cupidity, after wasting and declining for years, despite the best medical advice, went to their grave poisoned by the sdulterated wines he had sold them.

I'm lost in grief l” as the ﬂy said, when he was drowned in s lady's tear.

“ Look on me, and weep l” as the onion said to the maid.

“ Come out of the wet !" as the shark said to the young nig or, when he took him into his victuslling o co.

" Paying dear for good company !” as the rook said when he was put into the pigeon pie.

leaves of the tea-plant, or, indeed, in any