The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-02-02
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lounged, read and smoked in the shade of
the great trees upon the rear lawn of the
Soule mansion, melancholy, and deserted.
Once day he saw the old negress go
to the house and open the windows for an
hour to air the rooms and once she went
and swept and busted it thoroughly.
He had had some conversation with
her. lie learned fror her that there was
to be a monster camp-meeting of the Col
ored Baptist church in the neighborhood.
CIVIL you go to the meeting, Auntie'"
eyes, sub, ] goes to de meetin sho,
eff I don t git de rheumatic fust. -
The camp-meeting began in due
course, and was rousing one. Sinners
wept and walled; the redeemed rejoiced
in dismal groans anG ecstatic shouts that
made the forest ring.
Many white people went to the meet
ing; it became a very fashionable amuse-
ment TO drive out in the warm August
evenings and listen to the preaching.
Clinker had made the acquaintance of the
agents family and through them became
a great favorite among tine young people.
He had his handsome team Of chestnuts,
which he drove tandem in most stylish
cart. To drive with him to the camp
meeting was to be distinguished; as he
never took the same girl twice, his ia
vors had the advantage of impartiality.
He cultivated the friendship of the col
ored revivalist, who was very well edu-
Gated man, and his sermons were moro
logical as we'll as more eloquent than
most of his class. In conversation he sug-
gested tc the preacher that he take for his
text the passage from the burial service,
"Thou hast set our misdeeds before
Thee; and our secret sins in the light Of
Thy countenance.
The preacher was pleased with the sug-
gestion, and followed it; his sermon was
! powerful effort, and many of the white
listeners went home looking very grave.
Clinker, who was careful to preserve
the appearance of mere idler, sauntered
into the meeting late and managed to sit
beside Delilah
She was old; her skin was scanned with
wrinkles; her little eyes were black and
bright still in the brown;sh yellow of
what should be the whites; her chin
sloped suddenly back to the throat i'm
mediately under the large under-lip;
few yellow fangs showed from time to
time between her lips; her thick wool
above her monkeyish forehead was thick
ly sprinkled with white; she wore plaid
cloth tied over the wool. but otherwise
her gingham dress was much like others
round about; with all the formless skull,
she was intelligent in certain degree.
In the shadow of the trunk of trea
Tom gave himself up to watching her as
the preacher warmed to his work and d.
lated upon the necessity of repentance
and confession.
If Clinker had dictated the sermon he
could not better have said the words he
wished the grove was full of weird shad
ows alternated by brilliant spaces of the
light of full NOON the night was warm.
The minister grew more eloquent; his
words poured forth from his lips in fer
vid stream of denunciatory defamation.
Whosoever among you has secret
sin locked in his breast; be thai one in
the flush of youth or in the slow, crawl
ing, frosty days of age; to that one / say,
cast it forth, Cast it forth! The deadly
secret that is set in the light of His coun-
tena nce-oh terrible thought. In the last
day will the finger of God point to that
secret sin--which D all unknown to our
brethren while we walk in the light of
day, respected. Then will He point to
that awful, foul, putrid thing we cherish
ed so fondly, and say, Depart, depart
from me, We accursed
Delilah fell down upon the grass and
hid her face or the plank before her.
ooh Lord. have mussy. ] done beg
Marse Richard for to let me 'fess dc
trufe-but he won t Lord, he won It 4! -
She suddenly recovered her self-posses-
sion and rose and sat upon the seat again.
looking sharply around to see if anyone
had noticed her agitation; none had, APP
parently she took no note of Clinker sit
ting quietly in the shadow of the large
tree trunk AS the sermon reached its
conclusion and the benediction fell like
balm upon the rasped and narrowed sen
sibilities of the congregation, she rose to
go; Cinker also rose.
"Dont you want TO ride home with
me, auntiea | am here alone and could
just as well take you.
Delilah had associated freely as nurse
and maid with white people all her life,
and to her there seemed nothing strange
or unusual in this proposition.
sis you Southern gen 'leman, subj"
"Not exactly; have lived much in the
South, however
81 thought you was Southern gen
'leman, case you ism t feard fer to ride
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