"Now, Dan," he went on, "I am afraid that after my interference they will treat that poor fellow and his wife worse than before.Iwant you to find out for me what is going on at Jackson's.I do not know that I can do anything, however badly they treat them; but Ihave been thinking that if they ill-treat them very grossly, I will get together a party of fifteen or twenty of my friends and we will go in a body to Jackson's, and warn him that if he behaves with cruelty to his slaves, we will make it so hot for him that he will have to leave the state.I don't say that we could do anything; but as we should represent most of the large estates round here, I don't think old Jackson and his son would like being sent to Coventry.
The feeling is very strong at present against ill-treatment of the slaves.If these troubles lead to war almost all of us will go into the army, and we do not like the thought of the possibility of troubles among the hands when the whites are all away.""I will find out all about it for you to-night, sah.I don't suspect dat dey will do nuffin to-day.Andrew Jackson too sick after dat knock against de tump.He keep quiet a day or two.""Well, Dan, you go over to-night and find out all about it.I expect I had better have left things alone, but now I have interfered I shall go on with it."Mrs.Wingfield was much displeased when Vincent told her at dinner of his incident at Jackson's plantation and even his sisters were shocked at this interference between a master and his slave.
"You will get yourself into serious trouble with these fanciful notions of yours," Mrs.Wingfield said angrily."You know as well as I do how easy it is to get up a cry against any one as an Abolitionist and how difficult to disprove the accusation; and just at present, when the passions of every man in the South are inflamed to the utmost, such an accusation will be most serious.
