This Covey was a poor man, a farm renter; and this reputation (hateful as it was to the slaves and to all good men) was, at the same time, of immense advantage to him.

It enabled him to get his farm tilled with very little expense, compared with what it would have cost him without this most extraordinary reputation.

Some slaveholders thought it an advantage to let Mr.Covey have the government of their slaves a year or two, almost free of charge, for the sake of the excellent training such slaves got under his happy management! Like some horse breakers, noted for their skill, who ride the best horses in the country without expense, Mr.Covey could have under him, the most fiery bloods of the neighborhood, for the simple reward of returning them to their owners, _well broken_.

Added to the natural fitness of Mr.Covey for the duties of his profession, he was said to "enjoy religion," and was as strict in the cultivation of piety, as he was in the cultivation of his farm.

I was made aware of his character by some who had been under his hand; and while I could not look forward to going to him with any pleasure, I was glad to get away from St.Michael's.