Chapter 3 Summary

With this Chapter, Douglass shifts to a lesson on the luxuries of the slaveholder's life, beginning with the renowned garden owned by Colonel Lloyd. It was so big, and kept so "finely cultivated" that it required the services of a head gardener as well as four other men to maintain it. It contained fruits from across the country, and people traveled from all over the region to see it. The garden was so irresistible that the slaves were constantly caught stealing the fruit and were punished. The Colonel had tar put on the fence to mark and identify any slaves that tried to get into the garden.

Douglass goes on to describe the luxurious carriages, horses and stables belonging to Colonel Lloyd, and the father-and-son slave team whose full-time job it was to maintain these. So indulgent was Colonel Lloyd that he demanded...