I had, indeed, frequent opportunities of observing this habitual indifference to the presence of their slaves.  They talk of them, of their condition, of their faculties, of their conduct, exactly as if they were incapable of hearing.  I once saw a young lady, who, when seated at table between a male and a female, was induced by her modesty to intrude on the chair of her female neighbour to avoid the indelicacy of touching the elbow of a man.  I once saw this very young lady lacing her stays with the most perfect composure before a negro footman.  A Virginian gentleman told me that ever since he had married, he had been accustomed to have a negro girl sleep in the same chamber with himself and his wife.  I asked for what purpose this nocturnal attendance was necessary?  “Good heaven!” was the reply, “if I wanted a glass of water during the night, what would become of me?”

CHAPTER 23

Fruits and Flowers of Maryland and Virginia—­Copper-head Snake—­Insects—­Elections

Our summer in Maryland, (1830), was delightful.  The thermometer stood at 94, but the heat was by no means so oppressive as what we had felt in the West.  In no part of North America are the natural productions of the soil more various, or more beautiful.  Strawberries of the richest flavour sprung beneath our feet; and when these past away, every grove, every lane, every field looked like a cherry orchard, offering an inexhaustible profusion of fruit to all who would take the trouble to gather it.  Then followed the peaches; every hedgerow was planted with them, and though the fruit did not equal in size or flavour those ripened on our garden walls, we often found them good enough to afford a delicious refreshment on our long rambles.  But it was the flowers, and the flowering shrubs that, beyond all else, rendered this region the most beautiful I had ever seen, (the Alleghany always excepted.) No description can give an idea of the variety, the profusion, the luxuriance of them.  If I talk of wild roses, the English reader will fancy I mean the pale ephemeral blossoms of our bramble hedges; but the wild roses of Maryland and Virginia might be the choicest favourites of the flower garden.  They are rarely very double, but the brilliant eye atones for this.  They are of all shades, from the deepest crimson to the tenderest pink.  The scent is rich and delicate; in size they exceed any single roses I ever saw, often measuring above four inches in diameter.  The leaf greatly resembles that of the china rose; it is large, dark, firm, and brilliant.  The sweetbrier grows wild, and blossoms abundantly; both leaves and flowers are considerably larger than with us.  The acacia, or as it is there called, the locust, blooms with great richness and profusion; I have gathered a branch less than a foot long, and counted twelve full bunches of flowers on it.  The scent is equal to the orange flower.  The dogwood is another of the