honest; not simply so, indulgent reader, in the ordinary acceptation of these terms, but that he was really and truly a God-fearing man—­a man of unimpeachable veracity, strict honesty, and ardent piety; above suspicion—­above crime—­a perfect man—­a man of almost angelic purity.  We, moreover, learn from her narrative, that good old Tom, (God bless his soul and preserve his dust), was a kind of overseer on Shelby’s farm; that to him was committed the oversight and supervision, of whatever pertained to Shelby’s farming operations and interests.  And as a proof of Shelby’s implicit confidence in him, she states, that he sent Tom alone at one time, to Cincinnati on business, and that he returned home with five hundred dollars in his pocket.  Tom, according to her account, was a great favorite, not only with his master, but also with his mistress and the entire family.  Shelby’s son George was devotedly attached to him.

We learn also from the narrative, that Tom was an old man, not less than forty-five, and probably fifty years of age.  She tells us that Shelby had a son, by name George, who was thirteen years of age; and that Tom was seven years older than his master Shelby.  Supposing that Shelby was twenty-five years of age when his son George was born; and that George was thirteen years of age, and that Tom was seven years older than his master, it stands thus:  seven added to twenty-five make thirty-two, and thirteen added to thirty-two, make forty-five.  But supposing that Shelby was thirty, when George was born, the result would be fifty.

From the narrative, we infer, that Shelby was in possession of many slaves; for Mrs. Stowe speaks of a dozen black children perched on the veranda railings at one time; and it is not presumable, that all the little boys and girls in his possession, would happen to be perched on the veranda railings at the same time; and these children must have had fathers and mothers, and many of them of course, brothers and sisters, who were men and women.  She also tells us, that there were various negro cabins on the place; each cabin must have contained one family of negroes at least, if not more.  She speaks of a couple of negro men who went with Haley, the trader, in search of Eliza and her child.

The labor on Shelby’s farm was performed by slaves, and it is a fair supposition, that there were from fifty to seventy-five slaves on the farm.  This is common through the states of Kentucky and Tennessee, and farther South it is no uncommon occurrence, to find from one hundred to five hundred slaves on the same farm, or otherwise in the possession of the same man.