But what was all that I saw here of industry and
utilization of the resources of the land compared to what I saw growing
up as a system around Jacksonville?
Yet the loveliness of the country around Nashville enchanted me. I was
in a mood to be won, to be sure; for I was completely captivated by
Dorothy and the delightful hospitality that was accorded me. Dorothy's
mother treated me with such gentle and thoughtful attention, as if she
received me not less upon the basis of my friendship to Reverdy than
upon my own appeal to her. And as for Dorothy--she was as kind to me as
a sister; and yet....
I loved the country and this little city of 6000 people on the hills
above the Cumberland valley. Still, so many negroes. In this whole state
of about 700,000 people, nearly 150,000 were slaves, so Dorothy told me.
It amazed me. Negro slavery, so far as England was concerned, had never
to me been a visible thing. But here in America, here in Tennessee, and
in this city, it struck one at every turn. It entered into all the daily
thinking and plans of every one. It was omnipresent. It touched every
life.
This was the town of James K. Polk, whose name meant nothing to me; but
Dorothy spoke of him as a leading man in Congress from Tennessee. Here
also was the residence of President Jackson, a place called the
"Hermitage," a few miles into the country.
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