Them thet rule us, them slave-traders, Haint they cut a thunderin' swarth, (Helped by Yankee renegaders,) Thru the vartu o’ the North ! To take sarse an' not be riled ;* Who'd expect to see a tater All on eend at bein' biled ? Ez fer war, I call it murder, There you hev it plain an' flat; Than my Testyment fer that; It's ez long ez it is broad, Ef you want to take in God. 'Taint your eppyletts an' feathers Make the thing a grain more right; 'Taint afollerin' your bell-wethers Will excuse ye in His sight; stick a feller thru, God 'll send the bill to you. a Wut's the use o' meetin’-goin’ Every Sabbath, wet or dry, Feller-men like oats an' rye ? Trainin'round in bobtail coats,- This 'ere cuttin' folks's throats. They may talk o’ Freedom's airy Tell they're pupple in the face, It's a grand gret cemetary Fer the barthrights of our race; They jest want this Californy So's to lug new slave-states in To abuse ye, an' to scorn ye, An' to plunder ye like sin. Aint it cute to see a Yankee Take sech everlastin' pains, All to git the Devil's thankee, Helpin' on 'em weld their chains ? Wy, it's jest ez clear ez figgers, Clear ez one an’ one make two, Chaps thet make black slaves o' niggers Want to make wite slaves o' you. Tell ye jest the eend I've come to Arter cipherin' plaguy smart, An' it makes a handy sum, tu, Any gump could larn by heart ; Laborin' man an' laborin' woman Hev one glory an' one shame, Ev'y thin' thet's done inhuman Injers all on 'em the same. 'Taint by turnin' out to hack folks You're agoin' to git your right, Nor by lookin' down on black folks Coz you're put upon by wite; Slavery aint o nary color, 'Taint the hide thet makes it wus, All it keers fer in a feller 'S jest to make him fill its pus. Want to tackle me in, du ye? I expect you'll hev to wait ; a Wen cold lead puts daylight thru ye You'll begin to kal’late; ’Spose the crows wun't fall to pickin' All the carkiss from your bones, Coz you helped to give a lickin' To them poor half-Spanish drones ? Jest go home an’ ask our Nancy The etarnal bung wuz loose ! Let alone the hay's to mow,- You've a darned long row to hoe. a a Take them editors thet's crowin' Like a cockerel three months old,Don't ketch any on 'em goin', Though they be so blasted bold; Aint they a prime lot o’ fellers ? ?Fore they think on't they will sprout, (Like a peach thet's got the yellers,) With the meanness bustin' out. Wal, go ’long to help 'em stealin' Bigger pens to cram with slaves, Help the men thet's ollers dealin' Insults on your fathers' graves; Help the strong to grind the feeble, Help the many agin the few, Help the men thet call your people Witewashed slaves an' pedalin crew! Massachusetts, God forgive her, She's akneelin' with the rest, She, thet ough' to ha' clung fer ever In her grand old eagle-nest ; She thet ough' to stand so fearless Wile the wracks are round her hurled, Holdin' up a beacon peerless To the oppressed of all the world! Haint they sold your colored seamen ? Haint they made your env’ys wiz ? Wuťll make ye act like freemen ? Wut'll git your dander riz ? Is our dooty in this fix, In the days o' seventy-six. Call all true men to disown The enslavers o' their own; Put the trumpet to her mouth, In the ears of all the South : “ I'll return ye good fer evil Much ez we frail mortils can, But I wun’t go help the Devil Makin’ man the cus o' man; Call me coward, call me traiter, Jest ez suits your mean idees Here I stand a tyrant-hater, An' the friend o' God an' Peace !” Ef I'd my way I hed ruther We should go to work an' part, They take one way, we take tother, Guess it wouldn't break my heart; Them thet God has noways jined; Ef there's thousands o' my mind. [The first recruiting sergeant on record I conceive to have been that individual who is mentioned in the Book of Job as going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it. Bishop Latimer will have him to have been a bishop, but to me that other calling would appear more congenial. The sect of Cainites is not yet extinct, who esteemed the first-born of Adam to be the most worthy, not only because of that privilege of primogeniture, but inasmuch as he was able to overcome and slay his younger brother. That was a wise saying of the famous Marquis Pescara to the Papal Legate, that it was impossible for men to serve Mars and Christ at the same time. Yet in time past the profession of arms was judged to be κατ' εξοχήν that of a gentleman, nor does this opinion want for strenuous upholders even in our day. Must we suppose, then, that the profession of Christianity was only intended for losels, or, at best, to afford an opening for plebeian ambition ? Or shall we hold with that nicely metaphysical Pomeranian, Captain Vratz, who was Count Königsmark's chief instrument in the murder of Mr. Thynne, that the Scheme of Salvation has been arranged with an especial eye to the necessities of the upper classes, and that “ God would consider a gentleman and deal with him suitably to the condition and profession he had placed him in"? It may be said of us all, Exemplo plus quam ratione vivimus. -H. W.] |