Mr. Jefferson is said to have been the father of children by almost all his numerous gang of female slaves.  These wretched offspring were also the lawful slaves of their father, and worked in his house and plantations as such; in particular, it is recorded that it was his especial pleasure to be waited upon by them at table, and the hospitable orgies for which his Montecielo was so celebrated, were incomplete, unless the goblet he quaffed were tendered by the trembling hand of his own slavish offspring.

I once heard it stated by a democratical adorer of this great man, that when, as it sometimes happened, his children by Quadroon slaves were white enough to escape suspicion of their origin, he did not pursue them if they attempted to escape, saying laughingly, “Let the rogues get off, if they can; I will not hinder them.”  This was stated in a large party, as a proof of his kind and noble nature, and was received by all with approving smiles.

If I know anything of right or wrong, if virtue and vice be indeed something more than words, then was this great American an unprincipled tyrant, and most heartless libertine.

But to return to Miss Wright,—­it is impossible to imaging any thing more striking than her appearance.  Her tall and majestic figure, the deep and almost solemn expression of her eyes, the simple contour of her finely formed head, unadorned excepting by its own natural ringlets; her garment of plain white muslin, which hung around her in folds that recalled the drapery of a Grecian statue, all contributed to produce an effect, unlike anything I had ever seen before, or ever expect to see again.

CHAPTER 8

Absence of public and private Amusement—­Churches and Chapels—­Influence of the Clergy—­A Revival

I never saw any people who appeared to live so much without amusement as the Cincinnatians.  Billiards are forbidden by law, so are cards.  To sell a pack of cards in Ohio subjects the seller to a penalty of fifty dollars.  They have no public balls, excepting, I think, six, during the Christmas holidays.  They have no concerts.  They have no dinner parties.

They have a theatre, which is, in fact, the only public amusement of this triste little town; but they seem to care little about it, and either from economy or distaste, it is very poorly attended.  Ladies are rarely seen there, and by far the larger proportion of females deem it an offence against religion to witness the representation of a play.  It is in the churches and chapels of the town that the ladies are to be seen in full costume; and I am tempted to believe that a stranger from the continent of Europe would be inclined, on first reconnoitering the city, to suppose that the places of worship were the theatres and cafes of the place.  No evening in the week but brings throngs of the young and beautiful to the chapels and meeting-houses, all dressed with care,