Bricks Without Straw | Page 2

Who! Who-o! Who-o-o!
Then was Pharaoh exceeding wroth, and his anger burned within him, and he commanded that the fool should be taken and bound with cords, and cast into prison, while he should consider of a fit punishment for his impudent words.
NOTE.-A script attached to this manuscript, evidently of later date, informs us that the fool escaped the penalty of his folly by the disaster at the Red Sea.

CONTENTS

I. TRI-NOMINATE II. THE FONT III. THE JUNONIAN RITE IV. MARS MEDDLES V. NUNC PRO TUNC VI. THE TOGA VIRILIS VII. DAMON AND PYTHIAS VIII. A FRIENDLY PROLOGUE IX. A BRUISED REED X. AN EXPRESS TRUST XI. RED WING XII. ON THE WAY AY TO JERICHO XIII. NEGOTIATING A TREATY XIV. BORN OF THE STORM XV. TO HIM AND HIS HEIRS FOREVER XVI. A CHILD OF THE HILLS XVII. GOOD-MORROW AND FAREWELL XVIII. "PRIME WRAPPERS," XIX. THE SHADOW OF THE FLAG, XX. PHANTASMAGORIA, XXI. A CHILD-MAN XXII. HOW THE FALLOW WAS SEEDED XXIII. AN OFFERING OF FIRST-FRUITS XXIV. A BLACK DBMOCRITUS XXV. A DOUBLE-HEADED ARGUMENT XXVI. TAKEN AT HIS WORD XXVII. MOSES IN THE SUNSHINE XXVIII. IN THE PATH OF THE STORM XXIX. LIKE AND UNLIKE XXX. AN UNBIDDEN GUEST XXXI. A LIFE FOR A LIFE XXXII. A VOICE FROM THE DARKNESS XXXIII. A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION XXXIV. THE MAJESTY OF THE LAW XXXV. A PARTICULAR TENANCY LAPSES XXXVI. THE BEACON-LIGHT OF LOVE XXXVII. THE "BEST FRIENDS" REVEAL THEMSELVES XXXVIII. "THE ROSE ABOVE THE MOULD," XXXIX. WHAT THE MIST HID XL. DAWNING XLI. Q. E. D. XLII. THROUGH A CLOUD-RIFT XLIII. A GLAD GOOD-BY XLIV. PUTTING THIS AND THAT TOGETHER XLV. ANOTHER OX GORED XLVI. BACKWARD AND FORWARD XLVII. BREASTING THE TORRENT XLVIII. THE PRICE OF HONOR XLIX. HIGHLY RESOLVED L. FACE ANSWERETH UNTO FACE LI. HOW SLEEP THE BRAVE? LII. REDEEMED OUT OF THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE LIII. IN THE CYCLONE LIV. A BOLT OUT OF THE CLOUD LV. AN UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER LVI. SOME OLD LETTERS LVII. A SWEET AND BITTER FRUITAGE LVIII. COMING TO THE FRONT LIX. THE SHUTTLECOCK OF FATE LX. THE EXODIAN LXI. WHAT SHALL THE END BE? LXII. How?

BRICKS WITHOUT STRAW.
CHAPTER I.
TRI-NOMINATE.
"Wal, I 'clar, now, jes de quarest ting ob 'bout all dis matter o' freedom is de way dat it sloshes roun' de names 'mong us cullud folks. H'yer I lib ober on de Hyco twenty year er mo'--nobody but ole Marse Potem an' de Lor', an' p'raps de Debble beside, know 'zackly how long it mout hev been--an' didn't hev but one name in all dat yer time. An' I didn't hev no use for no mo' neither, kase dat wuz de one ole Mahs'r gib me hisself, an' nobody on de libbin' yairth nebber hed no sech name afo' an' nebber like to agin. Dat wuz allers de way ub ole Mahs'r's names. Dey used ter say dat he an' de Debble made 'em up togedder while he wuz dribin' roun' in dat ole gig 'twixt de diff'ent plantations--on de Dan an' de Ro'noke, an' all 'bout whar de ole cuss could fine a piece o' cheap lan", dat would do ter raise niggers on an' pay for bringin' up, at de same time. He was a powerful smart man in his day, wuz ole Kunnel Potem Desmit; but he speshully did beat anythin' a findin' names fer niggers. I reckon now, ef he'd 'a hed forty thousan' cullud folks, men an' wimmen, dar wouldn't ha' been no two on 'em hevin' de same name. Dat's what folks used ter say 'bout him, ennyhow. Dey sed he used ter say ez how he wasn't gwine ter hey his niggers mixed up wid nobody else's namin', an' he wouldn't no mo' 'low ob one black feller callin' ob anudder by enny nickname ner nothin' ub dat kine, on one o' his plantations, dan he would ob his takin' a mule, nary bit. Dey du say dat when he used ter buy a boy er gal de berry fust ting he wuz gwine ter du wuz jes ter hev 'em up an' gib 'em a new name, out 'n out, an' a clean suit ob close ter 'member it by; an' den, jes by way ob a little 'freshment, he used ter make de oberseer gib 'em ten er twenty good licks, jes ter make sure ob der fergittin' de ole un dat dey'd hed afo'. Dat's what my mammy sed, an' she allers 'clar'd dat tow'rd de las' she nebber could 'member what she was at de fus' no more'n ef she hed'nt been de same gal.
"All he wanted ter know 'bout a nigger wuz jes his name, an' dey say he could tell straight away when an' whar he wuz born, whar he'd done lived, an' all 'bout him. He war a powerful man