In vain. The fellow is handier than his southern brother: he
can mend a wheel, make a coffin, or cut your hair. Yet none, save the
veriest greenhorn, will engage him in any capacity. As regards civility
and respectfulness he is far inferior to the _emancipado_ of Cuba or the
Brazil; with a superior development of 'sass,' he is often an inveterate
thief. He has fits of drinking, when he becomes mad as a Malay. He
gambles, he overdresses himself, and he indulges in love-intrigues till he
has exhausted his means, and then he makes 'boss' pay for all. With a
terrible love of summonsing, and a thorough enjoyment of a law-court, he
enters into the spirit of the thing like an attorney's clerk. He soon
wearies of the less exciting life in the wilder settlements, where orgies
and debauchery are not fully developed; home-sickness seizes him, and he
deserts his post; probably robbing house or till.
Even a black who has once visited Sa Leone is considered spoilt for life,
as if he had spent a year in England. Hence the eccentric Captain Phil.
Beaver declared that he 'would rather carry a rattlesnake than a negro who
has been in London.' I have met with some ugly developments of
home-education.
Pages:
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45