dead, and two of the Christian men (for no sinner must touch her at this
critical period) bore her to her cabin, followed by the "chu'ch
membahs," who would continue their singing and praying until she "come
thu," even if the trance should last all night. The children returned to
the house without Mammy, for she was with the procession which had
followed Aunt Ceely; and as they reached the yard, they met their father
returning from the lot.

"Papa," called Dumps, "we're goin' ter have awful troubles hyear."

"How, my little daughter?" asked her father.

"The Lord's goin' ter sen' s'ords an' famines, an' they'll eat up all
the young men, an' ev'ybody's sons an' daughters," she replied,
earnestly. "Uncle Dan'l said so in meetin'; an' all the folks was
screamin' an' shoutin', an' Aunt Ceely is in a trance 'bout it, an' she
ain't come thu yet."

[Illustration: "MONAH'S 'PUN TOP ER MONAHS."]

Major Waldron was annoyed that his children should have witnessed any
such scene, for they were all very much excited and frightened at the
fearful fate that they felt was approaching them; so he took them into
his library, and explained the meaning of the terms "swords and
famines," and read to them the whole chapter, explaining how the prophet
referred only to the calamities that should befall the Hebrews; but,
notwithstanding all that, the children were uneasy, and made Aunt Milly
sit by the bedside until they went to sleep, to keep the "swords and the
famines" from getting them.

CHAPTER XIV.

DIDDIE AND DUMPS GO VISITING.

It was some time in June that, the weather being fine, Mammy gave the
children permission to go down to the woods beyond the gin-house and
have a picnic.

They had a nice lunch put up in their little baskets, and started off in
high glee, taking with them Cherubim and Seraphim and the doll babies.
They were not to stay all day, only till dinner-time; so they had no
time to lose, but set to playing at once.

First, it was "Ladies come to see," and each of them had a house under
the shade of a tree, and spent most of the time in visiting and in
taking care of their respective families. Dumps had started out with
Cherubim for her little boy; but he proved so refractory, and kept her
so busy catching him, that she decided to play he was the yard dog, and
content herself with the dolls for her children. Riar, too, had some
trouble in _her_ family; in passing through the yard, she had inveigled
H