The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-02-06
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A STORY OF SEVEN DEVILS.

sJtONfheN'e
The negro church which stood in the
pine woods near the little village of Oxford
Cross Roads, IN one of the lower counties
of Virginia, was presided over by Uncle
Pete; but on Sundays the members of his
congregation addressed him as Brudder
Peter He was an earnest and energetic
man, and, although he could neither read
nor write, he had for many years expound-
ed the Scriptures to the satisfaction Of his
hearers. His memory was good, and those
portions of the Bible which from time to
time he had heard read were used by him,
and frequently with powerful effect, in his
sermons. His interpretations of the Scrip
lures were generally entirely original, and
were made to suit the needs, or, what he
supposed to be the needs, of his congrega-
ton.
He enjoyed the good opinion of every
body, excepting one person, and that was
his wife She was high-tempered, and had
conceived the idea that her husband 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 scolding, which so affected the
spirits of the good man that it influenced
his decision in regard to the selection of the
subject for his sermon the next day.
He did not take any particular text, for
this was not his custom, but he boldly stat
ed that the Bible declared that every wo-
man 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 feel
ing. If his deductions could have been
proved to be correct, all women were Great
ures who, by reason of their sevenfold dia-
bolic possession, were not capable of indie
pendent thought or action, and who should
in tears and humility place themselves alb
solutely 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 word of it, always lay open be-
fore him while he preached, and delivered
the concluding exhortation of his sermon.
Now, my dear brev'ren OBJ this congre-
CATION, l want you to understan dat dar's
muffin in dis yer sarmon wot you've jus
heerd to make you think yoursefs angels.
By no means, brey'ren; you was all brung
up by wimmen, an you've got ter lib wld
EN-, an eff anythin' in dis yer worl is
ketchin, my dear brev'ren, it's habin deb
bills, and from wot I've seen OBJ some oh
dis worI 'spect dey is persest OBJ bout all
de debbils dey got room fur. But de Bible
dom say muffin p'intedly on de subjec' OBJ
de number of debbils in man an 'spect
dose dat's got 'em-an' we ought ter feel
pow full thankful, my dear brev'ren, dat de
Bible don say we all's got 'em-has 'em
'cording to circumstances. But wild de
wimmen it's difrent; dey's got just sebin,
an bless my soul, brev'ren, think that's
nuff.
While was turnin ober in my min
de subiec' oh dis sarmon, dere come ter me
a bit OBJ Scripter wot | heerd at 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 sarpin fus'
come along wild 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 anything you ak him fur,
eff YOU tell him whar de 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 but ter make cider wild? ? Den
de sarpipt he go fotch her yaller apple
an she took one bite an den says she, Go
long wild ye, you fool sarpint, wot you
fotch me dat June apple wot amt got nc
taste to it Den de sarpint he think she
like sumpin' sharp, an he fotched 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 tc
your Uncle Adam an glib him de collie ?
Den de debbil he fotch her lady apple
but she say she won't take no such trifiin
nubbins as dat to her husban', an she took
one bite of it an frew it away. Den he &C
fetch her two udder kin OBJ apples, one
yaller with red stripes an de udder one REQ
on one side an green on de udder- mighty
good-lookin' apples, too-de kin you gi
So a bar'l fur at the store. But Ebe, she
wouldn't hab neider kind 'em, an when she
done took one bite out OBJ each one, she
frew it away. Den de old debbil sarpint
he scratch he head, an he say to hesef;
sDis yer Ebe, she pow'ful ticklar bout hel
apples. Reckin T. have ter wait till aftel
frros', an fotch her real good one. An
he done wait till after fros', an den he
fotch a Albemarle pippin, an when she
took one bite OBJ dat, she jus go long an
eat it all up, core, seeds, an ALL Look
hyar, sarpint, says she, 'hab you got anud
der oh dem apples in your pocket? An
den he tux one out an glib it to her. Cuse
me, says she, Use gwine ter look up Adam
an eff he don't want ter know whar de tree
is wot desc apples grow on you kin hab him
fur cawnfel' han.
An now, dear brev'ren, while | was 9
turnin' dis subjec ober in my min, an
wonderin' how de wimmin come to hab jus
seben debbils apiece, done reckerleck dat
bit OBJ Scripter wot l heerd at Kyarter'
Mills, an | reckin dat splains how de deb
bills got inter woman. De sarpint he done
fotch Mudder Ebe seben apples, an ebery
one she take a bit out of glib her debbil
As might have been expected, this ser
mon produced great sensation, and made
deep impression on the congregation. As
a rule the men were tolerably well satisfied
with it, and when the services were over
many of them made it the occasion of shy
but very plainly pointed remarks to their
/ famale friends and relatives.
But the women did not like it at all.
Feelings, Of Indignation soon spread among
all the sisters Of the church. Each one of