Mrs. Whately now spent most of
the time on her plantation, her presence being needed there to
remedy the effects, as far as possible, of the harsh measures at
first adopted by her son. It was discouraging effort. The strong ebb
tide in the old order of things had set in even far from the Union
lines, and only the difficulty in reaching them prevented a general
stampede of the negroes. As it was, two or three of her best hands
would steal away from time to time, and run the gantlet of many
dangers in their travel by night Northward. Her attempts to mollify
and render her slaves contented were more than counterbalanced by
the threats and severity of her son, who was too vacillating to
adopt a fixed policy, and arbitrary by nature.
Her chief hope for him still centred in Miss Lou, upon whom his
thoughts were fixed with a steadfastness and earnestness which his
mother fondly believed would win her eventually, "I'm sure," she
reasoned, "Captain Maynard has made no deep impression. He is about
to depart.
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