Another great steamer had come up in
the night, so there were _six_ now lying in front of the windows,
looking like so many line-of-battle ships.
We found that Jerry and his lady slept at our hotel, and I sent for them
next morning to speak to us. She was smartly dressed in a dark silk,
with a richly embroidered collar and pocket handkerchief, which she
carefully displayed, and a large brooch. He wore a turn-down collar to
his shirt, of the most fashionable cut; the shirt itself had a pale blue
pattern on it, and a diamond (?) shirt pin, the shirt having a frill _en
jabot_. His face was shining and glistening with cleanliness and
happiness, and she looked up to him as if she were very proud of her
young husband. He said he was very happy, and I complimented her on her
dress, and asked her if she had bought much for the occasion, and she
admitted that she had. I asked her where they went to church (all
niggers are great worshippers somewhere, and generally are Methodists);
and he said he went to the "Methodist Church," that his wife was a
member, and I encouraged him to continue going regularly. He said he had
married her for the purpose of doing so, and evidently looked up to her
as a teacher in these matters. They said they could both read printed
characters, but not writing, and that they read their Bibles.
Pages:
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158