In what way is Douglass surprised at the appearance of New Bedford? What impresses him about the "colored people" of New Bedford?

Douglass was disappointed with New Bedford; he assumed it would be like the poorer areas in the South, comparing the non-slaveholding southerners with these northerners. However, he saw "the strongest proofs of wealth." He observed men and women working hard and clearly enjoyingtheir work and deriving dignity from it. He admired the architecture, gardens, and dwellings of the city and marveled at the display of prosperity. The people even looked "more able, stronger, healthier, and happier, than those in Maryland. "Even Mr. Johnson was healthier, better paid, and better informed that the richest of slaveholders in the South, and he was only a working man!