The only improvement on the "Bills," "Jacks," "Jims," and "Neds" of the south, observable here is, that "William," "John," "James," "Edward," are substituted.

It goes against the grain to treat and address a Negro precisely as they would treat and address a white man.

But, once in a while, in slavery as in the free states, by some extraordinary circumstance, the Negro has a surname fastened to him, and holds it against all conventionalities.

This was the case with Uncle Isaac Copper.

When the "uncle" was dropped, he generally had the prefix "doctor," in its stead.