he war John Brown's fader, an' powerful han'some; an'
dat _do_ count for sumfin'. When dey sole me away from him I jus' t'ought
I should die. Dey let me take my baby wid me down to de
partin'-plank--dat's what dey called de gangway dey t'row out from de
steamboat--but dar de gals had to bid good-bye to all dar fren's. Such a
hollerin' and yellin' an' takin'-on you nebber heerd, Miss' Fairdealer. It
was a little lonesome, landin' in de midst ob a right smart piece ob
timber, like a many another along de Big Muddy, whar de boats stop to wood
up--fearsome-enough place any day, but at night, wid dem tar-barrels
a-flarin' an' dem women a-screechin'--some on 'em gone clean crazy, and
all on 'em actin' zif dey had--it war more like _dat_ place dan any
'scription I ebber heerd any minister gib ob it. I 'members one face, dat
ob a man dat leaned ober de railin' and looked at us bein' dribben on
board, dat looked so wild and mad-like. I allus t'ink de Lord will look
dat way when on de day ob judgment he says, ''Part from me, all ye
onb'lievin', backslidin' workers ob pernickety: don't want to see no more
ob yer.' He spoke to me once on our way down de ribber. 'Hab patience,
chile,' said he: 'de Lord ain't clean forgot yer. He'll bring yer an' yo'
baby togedder ag'in ef yer kin only wait His own good time. I'm on de
Lord's business: He's sent me down dis yeah ribber, same as he sent Moses
into Egyp', to 'quire into dis matter an' to preach deliberance to de
captive. Yer will all be free some day, but yer mus' hab patience, for de
time is not yet.' I heern some one say dat dat war John Brown, and somehow
de name heartened me up a little, do' I'd nebber heern it befo'."

Vina next told the incident of her so-called marriage at the slave-mart
with old Abram.

"'Pears like," said Vina, "I could hab killed dat man when dey tole me he
was my husband; but when he tole me 'twan't no sech ting, an' axed me if I
hadn't ebber heern 'bout Fader Abram at camp-meetin', an' dat _he_ wan't
no fader till de Lord sent His angel and called him to be one--same as He
called him to be a fader to me--den I listened to him, an' 'gan to b'lieve
de Lord reely had sent him. Den he tole me how Abram went down into Egyp'
wid his cousin Sarer, an' ole Pharaoh wanted to marry her, an' Abram he
purtended dat Sarer was his wife, so Pharaoh shouldn't get her--leastways,
it was sumfin' like dat--an' how de Lord bressed 'em, an' how when dey
cl'ar'd out ob Egyp' dey