in sarvin' HIM wid our han's an'
our feet, too; we does, mister I-scare-you-out.'

She did scare him out, for the 'pious gemman' left suddenly.

When about all of the eatables had found their way down the
cavernous--and ravenous--throats of the darkies, Boss Joe rose and
called out:

'Yere, you massa Joe, you pull off you' apern, an' take de big
fiddle--I'm 'gaged fur de fuss dance.'

Young Preston seated himself on the platform, and several sable
gentlemen with banjoes and fiddles took places beside him.

'Now all you men folks s'lect you' pardners,' cried the preacher, taking
Dinah by the hand, and leading her out to the middle of the floor.

They all paired off, the fiddles broke into a merry tune, and soon the
little church, which had so often echoed with the groans of the saints,
shook with the heels of the sinners. When the first dance was over, Boss
Joe again called out:

'Now, massa Joe, strike up de waltz--Dinah an' I am gwine to show dese
folks some highfalutin dancin'.'

The waltz struck up, and off they whirled; Dinah went into it as if she
were working for pay, and as Joe held her closely in his arms, her wide
hoops expanded till she looked like a topsail schooner scudding under
bare poles.

As Joe was wiping the perspiration from his face, at the end of the
waltz, an old negro entered, and whispered something in his ear. Joe's
countenance fell in an instant, and, without saying a word, he left the
room.

'Massa Joe,' relinquishing the big fiddle, then took the floor with
Rosey, and gave the audience a genuine breakdown. His heels bobbed
around like balls at a cricket match, and Rosey's petticoats fluttered
about like the contents of a clothes line caught out in a hurricane. A
better-looking couple were never seen in a ball room.

'He's a natural born darky,' said his father, laughing; 'he takes to
dancing as a duck takes to water.'

A general dance followed. In the midst of it the old negro who had
called Joe out, again came in, and making his way to where Preston and I
were standing, said, in a low tone:

'Massa Robert, Ole Jack am dyin'; will 'ou come?'

'Dying!' exclaimed Preston. 'Yes, I'll be there at once. Kirke, you
remember the old man--come with me.'

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: This was the conjuror's bag of the Africans. It is called
'waiter,' or 'kunger,' by the Southern blacks, and is supposed to have
the power to charm away evil spirits, and to do all manner of
miraculously