MEN AND THINGS IN AMERICA.

Waikato Times, Volume II, Issue 96, 10 December 1872, Page 2

MEN AND THINGS IN AMERICA.

X EG It 0 Til UTS. }>Y A COiMOPr/.TAJT. jIVImc. amou.-r the planters mid t'io nogrons, I licar-i some •at.'ii'i* amusing anecdotes of my coloured brethren. When FiWMiieu's schools were staned, an examination ivlil in this district-,' when it had boim srr.inge i that jerla'.n scholar* wore to re.piV to vortaiu questions. .It lffyv icned that 0110 scholar was absent, ilieiKv, when the piestiqm was put, " iS T o," was tho roply,''the niyycr God ;«</e iuicc stay at home to-day." In another school, the same question, "Who made yon?" nit to an adult, failed to elicit a proper answer. Tpe teacher railed out ii.Jit.tle boy, wiio correctly said " G-jd,' 1 and then isked the adult- it' "ho was not ashaiue 1 that a littlo bay knew more than lie did. " D.it ain't mi 111 n, sail! dm young nigger not been ma.le long enough to forgot, sail !" was the reply. A "Black" Republican settled in this district after tho war, md in order to curry favour with the negroo-i, asked one Dephas to sit down to dinner with him. Cephas bogged to :line in tho kitchen, but his entertainer would not allow him. Afterwards Cephas said he didn't like that dinner, lie tv:;;; in such prospuration." No white man will ever got Dephas to ciine with him again. 1 presume John. Bright would scarcely invite some of the. veto's lor whoso enfranchisement he fought to dine at his table, except under peculiar circumstances. That ho would not do so is no proof tlmt Mr Bright does not acknowledge the equally of fellow man. If I had asked my man servant in England to dine at my table, he would have thought me mad. I llnd the negroes are quite as ready to bolieve Black Republicans who treat theiu similarly—to bo hopelessly insane. That is not the way to secure tho prime object—negro votes. Sambo is not without common sense, notwithstanding Jiis early disadvantages. A negro, when asked if he thought there was likely to be rain, replied that he had always not-iced it was a " sure, sign of rain when it eauio down wet.,' Me had no Scotch blood

in his veins, but he was cautious —not to say quizzical. I was coming out of church one day, when 1 mot Uncle Tom, an ancient -looking negro, who seemed as if lie might have been tlit; veritable Uncle Tom of Mrs Stowe's creation. Forthwith he proceeded to tell me his sorrows, lie wanted to find his old master in order to see if lie could obtain "de la'-v against another negro who had assaulted him. It appeared that Uncle Tom had felt it his duty to tell this negro's wile that she " had'nt got the grace ob God," whereupon the irate husband took a " big chunk of rock," and '• went for" Uncle Tom. Query: Was it lawful for. a husband to prove that his wife did possoss "dc grace ob God " by pitching a "big chunk of rock" at an unbeliever in tho fact ? It was impossible for me to interpret "de law " for Undo Tom, but I advised him never in future to question a lady's possession "ob de-grace." This is tho only ense of fighting that I-havo heard of among negroes, and I think your readers will agree with mo that the question in dispute was a curious and hard ono. I have made considerable enquiries as to the existence of Potishism among the colored -population, but I can discover no traccs of it in Virginia. The negroes, however, liavo some strange practices and superstitions. Some believe, that tho soul of a dead person does not leave tho bpdy until threo days aftor death. They are ajso convinced .that the person who digs a grave must leave his implements oil the grave for one night after it is filled up, or else ho will soon.bo buried.himself. In some cases the friends of tho departed meet at the grave some time after tho funeral, and having removed, a twig previously stuck in tlic mound, they march round the grave carrying glasses of whiskey, aijd at each round drop a little of the liquor in the hole where the twig had been. Tho Freemasons know something about twigs of acacia, but what this negro ceremony means no white man knows, and no coloured man will explain, I therefore,can only describe it, and possibly some of your readers who liavo travelled in Africa, may be able to mako it plain. It has puzzled a good many Virginians, some of whom sec in it evidence of the,fact- that the coloured race, would soon relapse into barbarism if left- to themselves. My own idea is that the observance is connected with some secret society, for sucb societies are known to exist- among our, sable hfc-them, and are not unlikely to degenerate into travesties}.

Some of'thc songs ami hymns ol' tiio negroes are very peculiar.,. I re,ad some. yt;ai;s ago, in, one of. George Augustus Sala's American letters, the following specimen of .11 negro hymn : — Chase do tlcbUil round the stump, Glory, hallelujah! Give, him a kick at ebbery jump, Glory, halleluj'ah! Since I came to the South I have been curious to find out if this was really a genuine quotation from negro hvmnology. Mentioning it.to a gentleman with whom I. was dining, ho laughed, and said he. had never heard of it; but on asking

his negro servant if it was ever sung at their religions meetings, the reply was " Yes, at do pray'r meetm'," 80, after all, George Augustus was right. The negroes arc great adepts at composing what thev regard as sacred songs, but the words seldom contain much sense or rhyiuo. llqro is ik verso .from q, hymn which is very popular : — dey corne.s ole Satan Wid do Bible under his arm, Praying, " Lord, gib me justi.ee, For half oh dose people is mine." Anpthcr of these favourite hymns contains the follewing : Mind, my sister, how you walk on the eross Your fyot might slip, and your soul bo lost 1 I done been 'deemed, I done been tried,. IJboen.to the water, And bpen baptised. Glory, jmljelujah!, The negro >vho has "got religion" usually'gives a queer account of how he got it. His ideas on theological subjects are generally confined to some fancied supernatural manifestation of which he lias been the subject. Nevertheless, these poor., pspple often do show the outward signs of ail q,n(l spiritual grace. I have seen some half-dozen Uncle Toms recently, and one of these unbelieving Thomases was a man who used to have a weakness for. strong liquors ; but since he had " de change" he has become a strict teetotaler, and his white say that he is an exemplary character in every respect. There are many such.

The negroes arc not without wit. Last Monday, at Charlotte's Court-house, there was a large assemblage ol" stump orators seeking votes. A white man having spoken, was followed by a coulored brother, who evoked roars of laughter by referring " to de oulliid genunan" who ha J last addressed .the meeting! Another "ebony imago" justified the vote he gave for a whito man by saying that he had " no prejudice against colour!" The coloured race evinced fine musical talent. Many of them possess voices of great power and beauty, and as I hear tho:n sing, I often wish my friend, the Rev.. John Cunvcn cou'rd intoduec his tonic sol-fa method amongst them. Hero I may say that the great want of Christian America is a John Curwen to teacli congregational singing. In most of the northern churches the congregations 101 l on easy cushions, while thu choii'igo through elaborate musical performances. I prefer 2iegro singing to such dumb worship— Nonconformist.