palmettos. Oh, it was good to sing that song in the very heart of
Rebeldom! Harry, our driver, amused us much. He was surprised to find
that we had not heard of him before. "Why, I thought eberybody at de
Nort had heard o' me!" he said, very innocently. We learned afterward
that Mrs. F., who made the tour of the islands last summer, had publicly
mentioned Harry. Some one had told him of it, and he of course imagined
that he had become quite famous. Notwithstanding this little touch of
vanity, Harry is one of the best and smartest men on the island.

Gates occurred, it seemed to us, at every few yards' distance, made in
the oddest fashion,--opening in the middle, like folding-doors, for the
accommodation of horsemen. The little boy who accompanied us as
gate-opener answered to the name of Cupid. Arrived at the headquarters
of the general superintendent, Mr. S., we were kindly received by him
and the ladies, and shown into a large parlor, where a cheerful
wood-fire glowed in the grate. It had a home-like look; but still there
was a sense of unreality about everything, and I felt that nothing less
than a vigorous "shaking-up," such as Grandfather Smallweed daily
experienced, would arouse me thoroughly to the fact that I was in South
Carolina.

The next morning L. and I were awakened by the cheerful voices of men
and women, children and chickens, in the yard below. We ran to the
window, and looked out. Women in bright-colored handkerchiefs, some
carrying pails on their heads, were crossing the yard, busy with their
morning work; children were playing and tumbling around them. On every
face there was a look of serenity and cheerfulness. My heart gave a
great throb of happiness as I looked at them, and thought, "They are
free! so long down-trodden, so long crushed to the earth, but now in
their old homes, forever free!" And I thanked God that I had lived to