Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-07-02
CQOttester 4ailg Spp
Funeral Among the Slaves.
From the Continental Monthly.

MAINLY ny the colonel and myself; but toward
the close of the meal the lady said to me:
''Mr. K, Sam and young Junius arc to
be buried this evening. If you have never
seen negro funeral perhaps you would like
to attend"
81 would be happy to accompany you, mad
am, if you CO." replied.
THANK you, said the lady.
'tPshaw Alice, you'll not go into the
woods on so cold night as this %
'.Yes, l think l ought to. Our people will
expect me-
1t was about an hour after nightfull when
we took our way to the burial ground. The
moon had risen, but the clouds, which gath
cred when the sun went down, covered its
face, and were fast spreading their thick,
black shadows over the little collection of ne
gro houses. Near two new-made graves
were gathered some two hundred men and
women, as dark as the night that was setting
around them. As we entered the circle the
old preacher pointed to the seats reserved for
us, and the sable crowd fell back few PAGES,
as if even in the presence of DEATH they did
not forget the difference between their race
and ours.
Scattered here and there among the trees,
torches of lightwood threw wild and fitful
light over the little cluster of graves, and re-
vealed the long, straight boxes of rough pine,
that held the remains of the two negroes, and
lit up the score of russell mounds beneath
which sleep the dusky kinsmen who had gone
before them.
The simple head-boards that marked these
humble graves chronicled no bad biography
or senseless rhyme. and told no false tales of
lives that had better not have been, but ''Sam
age %; "Pompey y ''Jake's Eliza" ''Aunt
Sue;" 'Aunt Lucy's Tom !" ''Joe;" and other
like inscriptions, scratched in rough charac-
tiers on those unplaned boards, were all the
records there The rude tenants had passed
away and ''lett no sign" their birth, their age,
their deeds, were alike Observation-Disclosures,
but not forgotten; for are they not written in
the book of His remembrance-and when He
counteth up his jewels, may not some of them
be there?
The queer grotesque dress, and sad, earn
est looks of the black group the red, ftful
glare Of the blazing pine, and the white faces
of the tapped trees, cleaning through the
gloom like SO many sheeted-ghosts gathered
to some death carnival, made up strange,
wild scene-the strangest and the widest
had ever witnessed.
The covers of the rude coffin were not yet
nailed down, and when we arrived, the blacks
were one by one passing before them, taking
a last look at thesfaees Of the dead. Soon,
Junius, holding hisweeping wife by the hand,
approached the smaller of the two boxes that
held all that was left of their first born. The
mother kneeling by its SIDE kissed again and
again the cold shrunken lips, and sobbed as if
her heart would break while the strong frame
of the father shook convulsively, as, choking
down the great sorrow which swelled up in
his throat, he turned away from his boy for
ever As he did so, old Pompey said;
Don't grebe, June, hem whar de wicked
cease from trubbling, whar de weary am at
rest"
81 knows it; l knows it, Uncle. knows
de Lord am berry good to take i'm way; but
why did he take de young chile, and leah de
ole man harp"
''De little sapling dat grow in de shade may
die while tim young; de great tree dat grow
in de sun must lib till de ak cut him down."
These words were the one drop wanting to
make the great grief which was swelling in
the negro's heart overflow. Giving one low,
wild cry, he folded his wife in his arms, and
burst into paroXysm Of tears.
''Come now, my chiPren," said the old
preacher, kneeling down, ''let us pray"
''The whole assemblage then knelt on the
cold ground while the old man prayed and
more sincere, heart-touching prayer never
went up from human lips to that God ''who
hath made of one blood all nations that dwell
lion the face of the earth" Though clothed
in rags, and in feeble old age, a slave, at the
mercy of a cruel task-master, that old man
was richer far than his master. His simple
faith, which looked through the darkness sur
rounding him into the clear and radiant light
of the unseen land, was of far more worth
than the wealth and glory of this world.
EppXU Univ If Inn I lOolyo1 ot
in the dim, red light which fell on his upturn-
ed face, and cast strange halo around his
bent form, l thought of Stephen, as he gazed
upward and saw heaven open, and ''the Son
OF Man seated at the right hand of the throne
of God"
Rising from his knees, the old preacher
turned slowly to the black mass that encircled
him, and said:
''My dear bredderin and sisters, de Lord
say dat de dust shill return to de earth as it
war, and de spirit to Him who gabe it,, and
now, 'cordin' to dat text, my friends, VEIN
gwine to put dis dust (pointing to the two
cof1ins) in the groun' whar it come from, and
whar it shill lay till de blessed Lord blow de
great trumpet on de resurrection mornin.
De spirits of our brudders har de Lord hab
already took to hisself. 'Our brudders,' /
say, my chilren, case cherry one dat de Lord
hab made am brudders to you and to me,
whedder dey'm bad or good, white or brack.
''Dis young chile, who hab gone way and
left his pore fader and mudder suffrin' ali ober
wild grief, he hab gone to de Lord, shore. lie
neber did no wrong; he alters 'beyed his mas
sa, and he neber said no hard word, nor found
no fault, nor chen WIN de cruel, bad oberseer
put de load so heaby on him dat it kill him.
Yes, my bredderin and sisters, he hab gone to
de Lord; gone whar dey don't work in de
swamps whar de little chlren don't tote de
big shingles fru de water up to dar knees.
No swamps am dar; no shingles am cut dar
dey don't need 'em, case dar hous'n haint
builded wild hands, for dey am all built
by de Lord, and gib'n to de good niggers,
ready made, and for muffin De Lord don't
say like as our massa do, 'Pomp, dar's de
logs and de shingles (deys alters bore shin
giles, de kline dat woant sell but he say, denis
good 'nufl for niggers, eff de roof do leak)
DE Lord doan't say; Now, Pomp, you go to
work and build you own house but mine dat
you does your task all de time, jess de same
But de Lord-de Dressed Lord-He say wen
we goes up dar, Oar, Pomp, dar's de house
dat Use been a buildin' for you eber sence dc
foundation OBJ de worle.' Tim done now, an(
you kin cum in; your room am jess ready
and ole Sal and de chlren dat | TUX way
from you cher so long ago, and dat you
mourned ober and cried ober as eff you'C
neber see dem agin, dur deg am, all on EN-
W0tting for you. Dey'm been fxin' up d,
house spressly for you all desc long years
and dey'be got it all nice comfible now Vas
my trens, glory be to Him, OATS what gu,
Heabeny massa say and who OBJ vol
wouldn't hab SIGH a massa as dat? mass,
dat don't set YOU no hard tasks and dot I'll,