There is another class of individuals here who have not the means to
support two families. They are usually men engaged in the same business
with the others, and required to be absent from the city nearly half
of the time. These men have their mistresses, either white or colored,
with whom they live as companions. And the regulations of these
connections are that while the man is in the city, the house which the
woman occupies is their home, jointly and as distinctly as if they
were married; and when he is absent, the women seeks other companions,
for the time being, and in doing this does not hazard the displeasure
of “her husband,” as she calls him. By this liberty that she has of
seeking promiscuous company, and the assistance she gets from “_her
man_,” she is able to support herself in great style, and with as much
ease and comfort around her as can be desired. They usually occupy a
room, or suite of rooms, a parlor and bed room, that are furnished
with as much elegance and splendor as money can purchase. Most of the
females living in these connections have been flattered and seduced
away from their homes, by glowing descriptions and representations of
the pleasures and gaities and unceasing enjoyments which constitute
a life in New Orleans. Connections of this character are as much a
matter of contract, and the terms and conditions by which each shall be
governed are as definite, as any other business transaction can be, and
thus they live for years, and in many instances an attachment for each
other is the result, and they finally settle down as man and wife, and
often sooner or later are married, and become comparatively respectable.