and of course uttered in the peculiar sort of jargon which is the habitual
negro speech; but there was nothing in the slightest degree incongruous or
grotesque in the matter or manner, and the exhortations not to steal, or
lie, or neglect to work well for massa, with which the glorious hope of
immortality was blended in the poor slave preacher's closing address, was
a moral adaptation, as wholesome as it was touching, of the great
Christian theory to the capacities and consciences of his hearers. When
the coffin was lowered the grave was found to be partially filled with
water--naturally enough, for the whole island is a mere swamp, off which
the Altamaha is only kept from sweeping by the high dykes all round it.
This seemed to shock and distress the people, and for the first time
during the whole ceremony there were sounds of crying and exclamations of
grief heard among them. Their chief expression of sorrow, however, when
Mr. ---- and myself bade them good night at the conclusion of the
service, was on account of my crying, which appeared to affect them very
much, many of them mingling with their 'Farewell, good night, massa and
missis,' affectionate exclamations of 'God bless you, missis; don't cry!'
'Lor, missis, don't you cry so!' Mr. ---- declined the assistance of any
of the torch-bearers home, and bade them all go quietly to their quarters;
and as soon as they had dispersed, and we had got beyond the fitful and
unequal glaring of the torches, we found the shining of the stars in the
deep blue lovely night sky quite sufficient to light our way along the
dykes. I could not speak to ----, but continued to cry as we walked
silently home; and whatever his cogitations were, they did not take the
unusual form with him of wordy demonstration, and so we returned from one
of the most striking religious ceremonies at which I ever assisted.
Arrived at the door of the house we perceived that we had been followed
the whole way by the naked noiseless feet of a poor half-witted creature,
a female idiot, whose mental incapacity, of course, in no respect unfits
her for the life of toil, little more intellectual than that of any beast