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of their lives, nor would those States where no slaves are found be engaged in continual disputes with those in which they are permitted, on the subject of cruel and unnatural treatment; the slave himself would have a clearer idea of many things to which, as a man, he is entitled, without losing that affection for his master, or attempting to acquire liberty by violent means, which he would not fail to do when once acquainted with his rights.

In the South, I heard continual complaints respecting the unnecessary interference of the Northern States, in regard to the condition of the slave-population in the former — and their injurious and blind zeal in wishing immediately to redress this unfortunate state of things. A great deal of bad feeling has in effect been excited between the North and the South on this subject; and upon various occasions, of the most trifling nature, the slave question has been submitted for consideration, and this, too, with a warmth that often gave rise to altercations. All this will, I hope, soon disappear, in proportion as the communication between all parts of the Union is facilitated, so that the Southerns may intermix with the men of the North, and the latter have

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more frequent opportunities of visiting the plantations of the former, and of ascertaining, by ocular demonstration, whether the slaves are really so miserable as they are represented to be. The zeal of the Northern States has, meanwhile, had this effect, that the Southern have been roused from their lethargy. The slave-trade is now become more than formerly a subject of discussion ; and the owner of several hundred is at all times as ready to discuss the question relative to emancipation, as the individual to whose mind the word slave only conveys something degrading and sacrilegious. It is therefore to be hoped that the day is not far distant when slaves shall cease to exist in the United States, when freedom shall be given to them, and not kept by violence from them.

VIRGINIA tobacco is an article so well known all over the world, that I was not a little anxious to become acquainted with the method of cultivating it, and to examine some of the manufactories where it is prepared for the use of man. The soil in this State appears to be peculiarly adapted to the growth of this plant, which thrives here better than in any other part of the Union. Yet, with all its fertility, it is considered a bad plan to grow crops of this plant on the same ground for several successive years. Wheat and Indian corn are generally planted the year after a tobacco crop in many places it is cultivated only once in three, four, or five years. I was sur

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prised to find the dwellings belonging to the greater part of these tobacco-plantations in a dilapidated state, more resembling the ruins of some old mansion than the residence of rich Virginia planters. The reason assigned was, that the cultivation of tobacco absorbs so much time that none is left for the repairs of the house, or for attending to other branches of agriculture.

During my stay in Richmond, I visited one of the most eminent tobacco manufactories in the city. Three hundred slaves of both sexes, with their children, were working in it; they were hired by the proprietor at so much a year. The wages varied according to the strength and capacity of the slaves; for a young and strong man, for instance, eighty or one hundred dollars were paid, and for a child about half that sum.

America consumes a vast quantity of tobacco in chewing; the manufactory which I visited appeared exclusively occupied in preparing it for this purpose. The first process devolves on the oldest Negroes, who assort the different kinds of leaves. The stalks are then taken out, and the tobacco rolled on a table till it has acquired the necessary form. I shudder, when I think of those excessively dirty

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hands which handled the very tobacco that was soon after to be chewed by elegant amateurs. The most disgusting part, however, of the whole preparation was the manufacture of the tobacco of inferior quality, consisting of the refuse which had been thrown aside, on which the workmen were trampling and spitting the whole day, until it had formed a uniform and disgusting mass: it was then swept into another still dirtier room, and there rolled till it became of the required shape. The process ends in the usual way by sweating, after which the article is packed in cases and barrels. It is only necessary to witness these preparations once, to take a dislike to tobacco for life.

From Richmond I proceeded to Norfolk, and visited, in the course of my journey, several places which even to this day, although in ruins, revive recollections of the noble Pocahontas. The banks of James River are hilly, and covered with bushes and trees almost to the water's edge. Here and there may be seen a few Negro-plantations: their miserable huts, at small distances from each other, continue along the shore. Of James Town, the first English settlement in the United States, no trace is discernible, and of