The Republican journal., 1875-04-29

on Edwards desk need not be determined
In front OF the table stood the negroes
;, men, women and children. There was
the preacher, decked in the clerical livery
OF standing collar and white cravat, but,
perhaps in Difference to the day Of the
. week, these were modified by the secular
apparal of yellow cotton shirt and home
spun pantaloons attached to pair of old
''galluses," which had been mended with
: twine, and pieced with leather. and length
n ened with string, till. if any of the original
. remained, none could tell the color there
of nor what they had been in the day of
their youth. The effect was not harmoni-
Gus. There was Nanny, with her low
+. wrinkled forehead, and white turban, and
toothless gums, and skin Of shining black
ness, which testified that her material
wants were not neglected. There was
Wash, great stalwart negro, who ordi
narily seemed able to cope with any ten
men you might meet, now looking so sub
dued and dispirited, and of a complexion
so ashy, that he really appeared old and
: shrunken and weak There was William
Writ, the ploughboy, affected by chronic
grin which not even the solemnity of this
: occasion could dissipate, but the character
of which seemed changed by the awe
struck eyes that rolled above the heavy
red lips and huge white teeth. There was
Apollo-in social and domestic circles
known as Pollar-there was Apollo, his
hair standing about his head in little black
tufts or horns wrapped with cotton cord
to make it grow one brawny black shoul-
der protruding from a rent in his yellow
cotton shirt his pantaloons hanging loose
ly around his hips, and bagging around
that wonderful foot which did not suggest
his name, unless his sponsors in baptism
were OF a very satirical turn. There were
Martha, and Susan, and Minerva, and Gin
derella, and Chesterfield, and Pit, and a
great many other grown ones, besides q
crowd Of children, the smallest among the
latter being clad in the dishablle of sin
gle garment, which reached perhaps to
the knee, but had little to boast in the way
of latitude
There they all stood in little groups
about the yard, looking with awe and rev
erence at the great Dr. Rutherford, who
sat behind the table with his black gown
and frightful eyes and skull-crowned cap
"1ou see these little heaps of powder
and this bottle of water. You will come
forward one at a time and pour a few
drops of the water in this bottle on one
OF these little heaps Of powder If the
powder turns black, the person who pours
on the water is 'witched. If the powder
remains white, the person who pours on
the water is not witched You may all
examine the powders, and see for your
selves whether there is any difference be-
tween them, and you will each pour from
| the same bottle"
During silence so intense that nothing
was heard save the hum of two great
@ bumblebees that darted in and out
among the trees and flew at erratio an
giles above our heads. the negroes came
forward and stretched their necks over
each others shoulders, peering curiously
at the little mounds Of powder that lay
before them, at the innocent looking bottle
that stood in their midst, and the great
high priest who stood behind They
stretched their necks over each Others
shoulders, and each endeavored to push
his neighbor t) the front; but those in
front, with due reverence for the uncanny
nature of the table, were determined not
to be forced too near it, and the result
was Il quiet struggle, silent wrestle, an
undertone of wriggle that was irTesistiblv
| funny.
Then arose the great high priest
"Range ye,'
Not knowing the nature Of this order,
the negroes scattered instanter and then
collected en- n1aSSe around Mr. Smith
Grange ye! range.n repeated the doe
tor with dignity, and Edward proceeded
to arrange them in long, struggling
row, urging upon them that there was no
cause for alarm, as, even should any of
them prove 'witched, the doctor had
charms with him by which to east eff the
spell.
Come, Martha,n said Edward; but
Martha was di5mayed, and giving hoI
neighbor hasty shove exclaimed,
"You 60 fus, INK Lumtrey, you's de
preachern
Uncle Humphrey disengaged his elbow
with an angry hitch 81 don't keer if
is 90 long youse'L'
"Well, de Lord knows I'm 'leerd to
60" said Martha; "but el | sot up for
preachin', peers to me [ wouldn be
| 'teerd to sass witches nor goses, nor nut
| fin else
81 don't preach no time but SUNDAYS,
an dis amt Sunday said Uncle Hum
phrey.
"Hy, nigger!" exclaimed Martha in
desperation, ''is you gwine to 60 back on
| uc LOlU COS Ldlu ouuudS HOW come
you don't trus' on Him week-a-days?"
s'I does trus' on Him fur as emmy sense
in doin NV it; but eft | 90 to emmy my
foolishness, fus' thing | know de Lord
gwine leave me to take keer NV myself,
preacher or no preacher-same as eff He
was ter say, 'Dats all right, cap'n; ct
you gwine to boss dis job, boss it, an
den whar be? Mas Ned told you to
90; 60 on al lemme Lone
Uncle Humphreys" said Edward.
''there is nothing whatever to be afraid
of, and you must set the rest an example.
Gomez"
Uncle Humphrey obeyed, but as he did
so he turned his head and rolled-or, as
the negroes say, Walled-his eyes at Mar
tha in a manner which convinced her,
whatever her doubts in other matte s per-
tanning to theology, that there is such a
thing as future punishment. The Old fell
low advanced, and under direction of the
great high priest poured some of the con-
tents of the bottle on the powder indicated
to him, and it remained white.
"Thang Gord." he exclaimed with a
fervency which left no doubt of his SIN
ceritv, and hastened away
Two OF three others followed with a
similar result. 1nen came Mercy the
housemaid and as her trembling fingers
poured the liquid forth, behold the pow
der changed and turned to black The
commotion was indescribable, and Mercy
was about to have nervous fit when DR..
Rutherford, fixing his eyes on her, said in
a tone of command "Be quiet-be PEI
fectly quiet, and in two hours l will de-
stroy the spell. Go over there and sit
down"
She tottered to u seat under one of the
trees.
One or two more took their turn, among
them Nanny, but the powders remained
white. | had entreated Edward not to
pronounce her 'witched, because she was
so old and | loved her so; | could not
bear that she should be frightened You
should have seen her when she found that
she was safe. The stiff old limbs became
! II