, 1886-01-17
A STORY OF SEVEN DEVILS.

counties Of Virginia, was presided owe
by Uncle Pete; but on Sundays the
members of his congregation addressed
him as Brudder Petor. He was an earn.
est and energetic man, and, although
he could neither read nor write, he had
for many years o%xpoundod tho Script
ures to the satisfaction of his hearers.
His memory was good, and those por-
tions Of the Bible which from time to
time he had heard read we're used 10y
him, and frequently with powerful Of
feet, in his sermoHs His interpreta-
tons Of the Scriptures were generally
entirely original, and were made to suit
the needs, or, what he supposed to 10
the needs, OF his congregation
He enjoyed the good opinion of every
body, excepting one person, and that
was his wife. She wa high-tempered,
and had conceived the idea that her hus-
band was in the habit of giving too
much time to the church, and too little
TO the acquisition Of corn bread and
pork. She gave him a tremendous scold-
ing, which so affected the spirits of the
good man that it influenced his decis-
ion in regard to the selection of the sub
ject for his sermon the next day.
He did not take any particular text,
for this was not his custom, but he
boldly stated that the Bible declared
that every woman in this world was
possessed by seven devils. and the evils
which this state of things had brought
upon the world he showed forth with
much warmth and feeling. If his de-
auctions could have been proved to be
correct, all women were creatures who,
by reason of their sevenfold diabolic
possession. were not capable of indie
pendent thought or action, and who
should in tears and humility place them
selves absolutely under the authority of
the other sex.
When he approached the conclusion
of his sermon, Brother Peter closed
with a bang the bible. which, although
he could not read a word of it, always
lay open before him while he preached,
and delivered the concluding o1horta-
ton Of his
Now, my dear brev'ren OBJ this con
gregation, / want you to understan' dat
dars muffin in dis yer sarmon wot
you've JUS heerd TO make you think
yoursefs angels. By no means, brev'ren,
you was all brung up by wimmen, an
you've got ter lib wild en-, an of any
thin in dis yer worl' is ketchin, my dear
brev rem, it's hnbin debbils, and from
wot I've seen OBJ some oh de men OBJ dis
worl' | 'spect dey is persest Oh bout all
de debbils dey got room fur. But dc
Bible don say muffin pintediy on de
subiec' oh de number of debbils in man,
an | 'speot dose OATS got 'em-an' we
ought ter feel pow'ful thankful, my
dear brev'ren, dat dc Bible don say we
alls got 'em-has 'em 'cording to sar-
cumstances. But wild de wimmen it's
diff rent; dey's got lust sebin, an bless
my soul, brev'ren, | think that's nuff.
While / was a. turnin' ober in my min
de subiec' OBJ dis sarmon, dere come ter
me a bit oh Scripter wot l heerd at a
big preachin' and baptizin' at kyarter's
Mills, bout ten year ago. One OBJ de
preachers was a.tellin' about ole mudder
Ebe a-eatin' de apple, and says he: "De
sarpint fus' come along wild a red apple,
an says he, you glib dis yer to your
husban', an he think it SO mighty good
dat when he done eat it he glib you any
thing you Ak him fur, Of you tell him
whar do tree is Ebe, she took one
bite, an den she frew dat apple away.
'Wot you mean, you triain' sarpint,
says she, 'a-fotchin' me dat apple wot
amt good fur muffin but ter make cider
widl Den de sarpint he go fotch her a
yaller apple, an she took one bite an
den says she, GO long wild ye, you fool
sarpint, wot you fotch me dat June ap-
pie wot amt got no taste to itf Den d.
sarpint he think she like sumpin' sharp,
an he fetched her a green apple. She
takes one bite OBJ it, an den she frows it
at his head an sings out, IS you
'spectin' me to glib dat apple to your
Uncle Adam an glib him de collier Den
de debbil he fotch her a lady apple, but
she say she won't take no such trifin
nubbins as dat to her husban', an she
took one bite of it an frew it away.
Zen he go fetch her two udder kim OBJ
apples. one yaller with red stripes an
do uddor one red on one side an green
on de udder-mighty good-lookin' APP
pies, too-de kin you git 50 a barl fur
at the store. But Ebe, she wouldn't hab
neider kind ON, an when she done
took one bite out OBJ each ono, she frew
it away. Den de old debbil sarpint he
scratch he head, an he say to hese'f.
dis yer Ebe, she pow'ful 'ticklar bout
her apples. Reckin I'll have ter wait
till after fros', an fotch her a real good
one An he done wait till after fros',
All den he fotch a Albemarle pippin,
an when she took one bite oh dat, she
she JUS go long an eat it all up, core,
seeds, an all. Look hyar, sarpint,
says she, 'hab you got anudder OBJ dem
apples in your pocketf An den he tux
one out an glib it to her. 'Cuso me,
says she, Use gwino ter look up Adam,
an Of he don't want ter know whar dc
tree is wot desc apples grow on you kin
hab him fur a cawnfiel' ham,
An now, dear brev'ren, while / was
a turnin' dis subjec' ober in my min,
an wonderin' how dc wimmin come to
hab JUS sebon debbils apiece, l done
reckerleck dat bit OBJ Soripter wot |
heerd at Kyarter's Mills, an / reckin
dat splains how de debbils got inter
woman. Dc sarpint he done fotch
Mndder Ebe seben apples, an cherry one
she take a bit out Of glib her a debbil.
AS might have been expected, this
sermon produced a great sensation, and
made q deep impression on the congre-
CATION. AS a rule the men were tolera-
bly, well satisfied with it, and when the
services were over many Of them made
II the occasion of shy but very plainly
pointed remarks to their female friends
and relatives.
Bat the women did not like 1t at all.
Feelings, of indignation soon spread
among all the sisters Of the church.
Each one of them knew she had not
seven devils, and only a few of them
would admit Of the possibility of any OF
the Others being possessed by quite SO
many. Their preachers explanation OF
the in which every woman camc
TO be possessed Of Just so many devils
appeared to them of little Importance,
What they objected TO was the funda-
mental doctrine OF his sermon, which
vas based on his assertion that the
Bible declared every woman had seven
devils.
Although Sunday afternoon had