The frequency of this had the effect to establish among the slaves the maxim, that a still tongue makes a wise head.

They suppress the truth rather than take the consequence of telling it, and, in so doing, they prove themselves a part of the human family.

If they have anything to say of their master, it is, generally, something in his favor, especially when speaking to strangers.

I was frequently asked, while a slave, if I had a kind master, and I do not remember ever to have given a negative reply.

Nor did I, when pursuing this course, consider myself as uttering what was utterly false; for I always measured the kindness of my master by the standard of kindness set up by slaveholders around us.