' But it was no good; she jist up and told him
to mind his own business, and she guessed she'd mind her'n. He was
determined to shame her out of it; so one mornin' after breakfast he
goes into the cane field, and says he to Lavender, one of the black
overseers, 'Muster up the whole gang of slaves, every soul, and bring
'em down to the whippin' post, the whole stock of them, bulls, cows
and calves.' Well, away goes Lavender, and drives up all the niggers.
'Now you catch it,' says he, 'you lazy villains; I tole you so
many a time--I tole you Massa he lose all patience wid you, you
good-for-nothin' rascals. I grad, upon my soul, I werry grad; you
mind now what old Lavender say anoder time.' The black overseers are
always the most cruel," said the Clockmaker; "they have no sort of
feeling for their own people.
"Well, when they were gathered there according to orders, they
looked streaked enough you may depend, thinkin' they were going to
get it all round, and the wenches they fell to a-cryin', wringin'
their hands, and boo-hooing like mad. Lavender was there with his
cowskin, grinnin' like a chessy cat, and crackin' it about, ready
for business. 'Pick me out,' says Enoch, 'four that have the loudest
voices.' 'Hard matter dat,' says Lavender, 'hard matter dat, Massa,
dey all talk loud, dey all lub talk more better nor work--de idle
villians; better gib 'em all a little tickle, jist to teach 'em larf
on t'other side of de mouth; dat side bran' new, they never use it
yet.
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