The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1867-04-26
THE PARs0M AND NEGRO,

THE PARsoM AND NEGRO
About the end of the last century,
T was called out of Invernesshire to
attend meeting of the General AS
sembly of the Church of Scotland,
in Edinburgh; and having been but
newly placed over my charge, my
circumstances were but as yet so
limited that, upon making the neces-
sary preparations for the journey to
Edinburgh, 1 could muster no more
than one poor solitary half-crown in
cash fc meet my travelling expenses
& sum totally inadequate to pay any,
or but small part, of my means of
conveyance. The call being hurried,
I had no time to write to any of my
brethren for tho needful funds, and
not caring to ask this of any of my
parishioners, but expecting that,
when L came to Edinburg, L would
get such assistance rs I required,
from some of my brethren, or some
friends whom L knew, I resolved to
set out on foot, outstanding my pre-
cious half-crown in such way as
would afford me the necessary VIC
tuals, without having recourse to
begging during the journey. Re-
ceiving the letter of convention in
the afternoon, I resolved to start next
morniug, there being only five days
before the meeting of the Assembly.
In the dim dawn, accordingly, I was
on my way; and after pushing on for
an hour or two, and entering the
high road for Inverness to the South,
L deserted, some distance ahead of
me, man on horseback, leading in
his hand another horse Having
core up with the rider, who was
going forward at on easy pace, I
began to be afraid, and trembled
when 1 saw that the man was quite
black. You must remember I was q
young man and Highlander, and
though had heard of the black man
OF the Indies, yet, considering the
ur- liable hour, and, as T had
= card OF any black man ever
having been seen in that neighbor-
hood before except the devil, who
was believed to assume that appear
ance, [ was not without some doubts
of this strange apparition, and for
some time l narrowly watched the
man and his movements. Having
ventured to accost him, perceived
he was eagor for conversation, which
was carried on while I kept cautiously
to the other side of the road. At
length, having told him I was going
to Edinburgh, the black man replied
that he was bound thitherward also,
and offered me the horse that he led.
This, as my misgivings regarding the
personality of the black horseman
had begun to give way, L was glad to
accept, inwardly thanking Providence
for having thus favored me with such
good fortune.
1t turned out that the black man
was the servant or slave of rich
Jamaica planter, who was Mt that
time home on visit to Highland
friends, and that the spare horse was
Tor the master, who had gone forward
q day in advance of the horseman, to
enjoy q walk through the Highlands.
My good fortune was not then quite
so great as had ut first calculated,
but fyet [ was very glad. The day
was spent very pleasantly, the black
man raising my astorishment by con-
versing freely in Gaelic, which, it
appeared, was we'll known in the
West Indies; while 1 myself, taking
an advantage of the occasion, and
hnding the man was willing to learn,
as he was also ignorant OF religion,
spent the most of the days journey
in unfolding to him. the truth of the
divine record, until / came to regard
my new friend, whom, from his wild
and swarthy looks, 1 at first looked
upon with dread and adherence, with
brotherly affection, founded not
only on our common relationship to
the first, but also to the second Adam.
When the night was coming down,
and we had entered the bleak hill
country, we left the main road and
struck up through the hills, expecting
to find some human habitation,
where, for the sake of the horses,
we might spend the time; but, after
pursuing our errand for some time,
without anything appearing to meet
our desire, and our route having be-
come very fatiguing and dangerous,
the ground being everywhere broken
and puddled, and often covered by
the thick and intergrowing heather,
we came to halt, and having no
other resort, set about making pre-
paratlons for spending the night in
the open air. Willing to make one
more effort for the sake of tho hnnstn