Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-11-08


pened 70 be on Saturday night. no
did he know that / was expected
Waking much earlier than the famil.
Sunday morning, and finding my room
rather warm, ] got up, thinking It
fine idea to take cool, early stroll
through my hosts garden. NJ,
trunks had not overfaken me, and
was obliged to put on the clothes II
which l had arrived, which were part,
for travelling and partly for hunting
purposes. Taking my heavy shooting
boots in my hand, ] stole quietly dOwr
the stairs and across the hall into thu
garden. Hearing q noise in the kitch
en-, and assuming that ii was the ser.
want kindling the FIRE, / knocked at Ia,
door TO ask him TO clean my boots. II
was opened by the little chap who made
the crosses, and he was such hand.
some, tidy, charming little "nig " that
/ stood lost in admiration, forgetting tC
tell him what / wanted. IL soon be.
came pretty evident, however, that the
little fellow was not lost In admiration
OF me.
HIS TEETH BEGAN TO CHATTER.
his hands shook, his very lips grew
pale, and when be tried to speak he
could not control his voice. To reas-
sure him, I said that ] was q friend Of
the family who had Unexpectedly ar
rived the night before, and had come
down TO get him to black my boots.
The sound Of my voice seemed to re-
lieve bis fear a little, but be took nv
boots in evident distrust, and edged
away to another room as quickly as be
could. ] thought my unexpected APP
pesrsnce and oldest clothes had led
him to think me a tramp-just what 4
northern boy would have taken me for
under the circumstances-but the point
Of the incident was that, with true
negro instinct, he had interpreted the
unusual into the supernatural. When
my hostess came down he rushed fran
tically up to her, "0h. Miss" he
said, - ] was making Fl dis mown'
when somebody knocked ate do. /
opened it, an somebody stood thar in
awfoo' queer clo' with q pair O. boots
in his han, an be said he done come to
you in e night, and asked me to black
his boots, an oh . Lord, ] know ] am
tricked 70 life, for I'm shO be vase
debil hisself"; and he fully believed it.
The terror Of " tricking" is not, by
any means, confined to the ignorant
among the blacks. Itasserts itself even
against the protest Of their intelligence
in educated individuals Of the race. !
was told by physician Of verscity and
standing in Georgia that once a colored
minister, a man Of good sense and much
education, came to him and with great
earnestness stated that be wanted to
hire q certain cottage which the doctor
owned. When asked why he was so
anxious to rent that particular house,
he replied that his congregation believed
that the steps OF the cottage had been
tricked by an old woman living in the
vicinity, and that persons crossing them
would get snakes in their legs. am
exceedingly anxious, be said, to live in
that house in order to disprove, by
practical illustration, such silly notions.
The doctor warmly endorsed his plan
and gave him the lease. At the end
Of few weeks the minister came TO
him in evident terror. Doctor" he
said, al know you will think ] am a
a fool. ] moved into your house to
show my poor people how idle it was
to believe in tricking, but now ] am
tricked myself. / can feel the snakes
moving about in my legs" The doc
tor reasoned with him, and the minister
admitted that, intellectually, be could
see that he was wrong, but, practically,
he could not shake off the terror of the
spell. He was very heroic, however, and
said he would die sooner than leave
the house, and so confirm the super
stition to the minds Of his congrega-
ton. Matters went on from bad to
worse with him, and finally his dis
eased imagination SO reacted on his
body that his legs swelled to frightful
He sent for the doctor to
lance him and cut out the snakes. The
thinking that the easiest way
TO resssure him was to prove his error,
cut open his leg. OF course be found
but even this did not counter
act his fear, and to save his life the
doctor ordered him to be removed from
the house. In new quarters be shortly
became himself again, but never at
tempted any more experiments with
the superstitious OF his race.
Perhaps as curious trait Of the
negroes as any encountered, and one
little known outside the black belt of
the far South, is their feeling about
medical students, or, as they call them,
- student doctors" They firmly be-
lieve that no man can become a physi-
;ian of good and regular standing until
be has killed a person or two for dis
section. We all know how deep is the
prejudice against the use Of cadaver
Tor dissection, even in rural districts OF
he North, and what wild stories are
)ften circulated about
THE RoBBING or GRAvEYARDs
oy medical students. With the negroes
his feeling becomes a madness of fear
md exaggeration, and nothing can
,onyince them that they err in believ-
ne that all medical men must Kill
more or less victims before they can
axe their degree. 1t is, perhaps, with |
lad logic that the Mississippi black res-
iOns that the subjects for this CHASTITY |
Use will naturally be taken from the
negro ranks. He seems less afraid of |
doctors after they have taken their
legree, probably because he ieels
bat they had practice enough while
Students TO render them proficient With
'ut the need Of further experiment.
est my northern readers suspect me
e exaggeration, will tell them what |
in this very town Of Grenada.
1 CHANGED that one Of the numerous
ompanies Of Spanish students who have
us with the sweetness Of their
oandolins and the gravity OF their
lows were Unexpectedly detained by |
railway accident, and obliged to pass
he night in this place. Wisely con-
ludinp IN make the hest Of the mishaD.