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who were living at
various stations of life in London, and his master welcomed
Francis' friends into his house whether he was in residence
or not. Far from being intoxicated with liberty, many of
these blacks were gainfully employed, and when keeping
company with Francis, they were simply enjoying a temporary
escape from their menial duties, which included waiting
upon ladies of quality, carrying their trains, combing their
lapdogs, or producing smelling salts when required. Some,
however, found difficulty in obtaining employment and,
prohibited by law from learning a trade, the negroes were
often confined to living in squalid hovels with whores,
beggars, and criminals. Whether employed or not, Barber's
negro friends felt at home in Dr Johnson's house and they
were able to sit together in the parlour and enjoy a few
moments of merriment. Such behaviour was not to the
liking of many in Johnson's circle, but none would dare
to question the literary man's judgement. Such behaviour
was also not to the liking of the irritable Miss Williams,
who had once again joined the household, together with
a Scotch maid who carried coals, washed dishes, and
attempted to clean. The increasingly gloomy Dr Levett
contrived to carry on an open conflict with Miss Williams
and, in both action and word, he chose not to obscure his
ill-feelings towards her. For Francis, this warring household
was not a happy abode and he daily wondered if he should
leave and perhaps set up home with some of his own
complexion, for his friends constantly urged him to escape
the tyranny of the blind woman. However, Francis' loyalties
to his master ran deep, and having abandoned him
twice, and being aware of the anguish that the good man
suffered as a result of his running away to sea, he had
resolved never again to abscond.
    On my second morning, I woke early to find the Lichfield
sun streaming through my window, but this peaceful and
pleasant start to the day quickly soured as a tempest of
raised voices began to emanate from a nearby chamber. I
immediately recognised the voice of the innkeeper, and
that of his wife, and I was not surprised to hear them
squabbling for I had already noted a tension between the
pair which seemed to extend beyond any individual act or
incident. Clearly this couple failed to understand the
distinct roles that the sexes were intended to occupy, roles
which complement the different natures and capacities of
men and women. I suspected the wife of shrewishness,
and the innkeeper of being under the tyrannical rule of
a petticoat government, and this unseemly cacophony served
only to confirm my suspicions. Surely the foolish man
understood that in law husband and wife are one person,
that person being the husband, and unless a man rules
these trifling creatures with benevolent determination then
things will fall out of their natural order. It is difficult to
respect a man who cannot control his wife's cantankerous
nature for it is clear that such a man will have difficulty
maintaining order in all things in his life. I lay still for
some moments and attempted to block out these unfortunate
sounds, but realising that there was little prob ability
of achieving peace I rose from the disagreeable bed and
began to prepare for the day that lay ahead. Breakfast was
a quiet affair, although the shrew did cause me to become
excessively irritable by attempting to stimulate meaningless
conversation, however the woman soon realised that
her efforts to engage me were in vain and she finally fell
silent before eventually withdrawing altogether.
    The journey out to Burntwood followed the same pattern
as the previous day, and on this occasion the sun shone
even more brightly in the blue sky. My host personally
escorted me to the carriage and assured me that today I
would certainly have the pleasure of meeting with the wife
of the late Mr Barber and so my mind was lively with
anticipation. The driver, who was the same ancient man
as before, remained somewhat