There, with their heads bowed in sorrer, and tears
flowin from their venrable eyes, sot Deekin Pogram, Elder Slathers, and
a few others uv the Saints, who, ez I entered, mekanikally rose, and
stood afore the bar; mekanikally Bascom, who wuz likewise bowed down
with greef, sot out the invigorator; mekanikally we dosed ourselves, and
still in a daze, mekanikally I moved out without payin, Bascom bein too
full uv sorrer to notis it.
It wuz deemed proper, in view uv the great calamity, that services shood
be held in the church, and at 2 P.M., wich with us mite be sed to mean
post mortem, we slowly and sadly filed in, the only smilin countenance
in site bein that uv a nigger at the door, who wuz to-wunst beltid over
the head for lookin happy.
I gave out the hymn,--
"Broad is the road wich leeds to death,"--
and it wuz sung with tetchin pathos. After the weepin hed subsided,
and I got my feelings calmed down so ez to permit me to speek, I
commenst explainin to em the causes uv the result. It wuz, I sed, a
chastenin sent onto us for our sins; a stripin becoz we hed exalted our
horn in our pride; that, gloryin in the possession uv the post offices,
the collectorships, the assessorships, and sich, we hed become
vain-glorious and puffed up, and careless in performance uv dooties.
Ther wuz niggers in Kentucky a goin about free, and impiously settin at
naught the decrees uv Providence, wich condemned em to be servants uv
their brethren; and heer I digressed to eloocydate a pint.
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