Chapter 27

⁠​​​‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​​‌⁠If Persis and the others were rejoicing in their emancipation from formalities too familiar, Forbes was glad that he had escaped them for the reverse reason. Hospitality had been dispensed on a lavish scale at his own home in the South before his father's death, but the servants there were negroes, slaves, or descendants of slaves, and he knew just the right mixture of affection and tyranny to adm