The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1883-08-01

relieved by what dat noise a crackin'
through the brake dar ? Sure enuf de
ram OBJ de Lor' |" Ones flesh crawled "
as he described the plaques of Egypt, per-
haps keeping nearer to the experience of
some of his hearers than to the Bible &C.
count. The boys emotions were audible
when he talked of "locustses not de jar
flies which lief dar shucks on de trees an
filled the ar, wild creakin', but mighty
army OBJ EN- bigger dan Virginy hopper
grasses, which come an eat up cherry ting
until dey were blewn away by mighty
vehemenent wind. But de awfulest plague
was de las, de angel OBJ de Lor', what de-
stroyed an slaughtered till de Lor' glib
him notice to quit an not go no furder.
So Pharaoh couldn't stand it no longer.
He was 80 mad when he saw all de ole
slaves agoin free dat he went down into
the wilderness to hab row wi de Lor'.
All, children, wouldn't var eyes started
| to seen de magonifcence o. Pharaoh's
army a-makin' de invasion out o. Egypt
Chsriots biggern de circus band goes
a-ridin' in, an mighty smart colonel
a-drivin' eb'ry one OBJ 'em, an all de cavalry
amounted on hos back, while de infantry,
koz dere was no bosses fur'em, all walk
in on foot
ode word Moses means drewn, koz he
was drewn out O. de water when boy (;
an de koz o. de Lor' was a-drewn by
Moses for forty years." etc.
When entertained with such wealth
of archaeological and linguistic lore the
audience could afford to be patient until
the orator reached his subject, which he did
when ode history run a-foul OBJ de Ameli-
kites, an Joshua, he made de sun stan
still for de rest OBJ de day but how could
she hab stood still if she hadn't bin
a-goin'P"
The discussion proper consisted chiefly
OF comments on passages of Scripture,
such as the following:
" From the rising of the sun unto the
going down of the same the Lords name
is TO be praised But if somebody says
de sun don't rise an 60 down, he robs de
Lor' OBJ his praise, like dis yer blasphe-
min science"
| "'The sun hasteth to his place where
he arose. but wat fool to t'ink de sun
could be hurryin' up to get ready to
rise, if de sun couldn't move"
| "The sun returned ten degrees. bv
which degrees it was gone down. If de
sun didn't move, poor Hezekiah would
nebber got well, an had no more hope in
de name OBJ de Lor' dan desc modern sci.
entifking fellows what are goin' to be
sunk deeper dan de Jehovah-fat Valley
fur dar awful lynn"
Brother Jasper's indignation was es-
pecially fiery against such men as Z" dat
var Mister Copper-nicus and Mister Snew-
tons what tells us dat de arth am roun'
an foatin' on muffin, when de Bible
says its got foundations. Guess Ize bin
as near de bottom OBJ de arth as any OBJ
dem folkses; seben hummer an fifty feet
in mine shaft an glib my word oh honor,
dar was no sign oh gittin' through it; not
a wink OBJ daylight from de udder side.
o, de irreb'rince oh sayin' de arth am
roun' when de Lor' say in Reberlation dar
am four angels a-stannin' ON de four cor
ners OBJ de arth holdin' on to de four
winds Desc scientifiking men can lie so
as to make black white; but dey can't
make what's got four corners onto it roun';
dey can't square de circle in dis yer res
peck"
Another modern falsehood which the
learned orator was able to disprove with
equal ease and thoroughness was that of
the suns vast distance. "I saw de biggest
balloon what ebber went up in old Var.
ginny; biggern a house an she rose
an rose till she was no biggern a pea, an
yet she was only mile an a. half or 40
on. Now de sun looks mighty sight
blggern dat. an you don't catch dis chile
believin' dat it's 100000 miles off p
"But dars no use argufyin wi these
hard-hearted men OBJ science. Dey would
not believe de word OBJ de Lor', if you'd
take a sledge hammer an beat de trut
into dar skulls.'
The peroration was admirable in spite
OF the unconvincing argument upon
which it was based.
"Now Use goin' to make one allowance
Though de arth don't move wink from
her eternal foundation, de day am a COM
in when she a'gwine ter move, busted wi
fire, an all de sky a-rollin' away like a
burnin' newspaper in de wind. o den
you sinners, yer better be movin' too
Shake hands wi Heaven to-day, SOS you
won't be CALM on to de mountains to fall
on to var souls in de day OBJ de Lor'. Ko7
why? Koz as de text say DE Lor' an
man OBJ war;"
John Jasper is one of very few of the
old time colored preachers left in thu
South. As such he is historical study
But he is OF still greater interest as show
ing the capabilities of the negro mind
If such forceful oratory, such power te
sway men of his caste be compatible with
utter ignorance, what might not Jasper
have become, had he been educated in thu
forms of truth and trained in the arts o.
expression.-James M. Ludlow, DID,, i,