S. S. LIBRARY. I 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
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 http://archive.org/details/contrabandchrist01root 
 
FLORA AND CHRISTMAS Pago 99. 
 
BY 
 
 BOSTON: 
 E. P. BUTTON AND COMPANY. 
 NEW YORK : HUllD AND HOUGHTON. 
 1865. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congrt<is, m the year 1863, by 
 E. P DurroN A^D CoMPA^T, 
 in the Clerk's OCBce of the District Court f f th ; District of Massachtt 
 setts. 
 
 BIVERSID1S, CAMBRIDGE: 
 STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY H. 0. HOUGHTON. 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 IGHTY cole, dis yer Norf ! 
 Spex dis nigger freeze to def, 
 one dese days ! Ki ! dem 
 toes down dar don' know 
 deyself apart ! Stan' roun' I 
 Hurry up ! Finish dis yer fodderin', spry^ 
 an' den I'se gwine in t' see 'f dat tea-kittle 
 done bile yet. Missy Greene say, * Never 
 you min' de tea-kittle ; he bile fas' enuf ; ' 
 but tell'^ow, dis nigger tink a heap of dat 
 tin kittle, an' de oder kittles an'- pots, an' 
 de big ole cookin'-stove, dis cole wedder . 
 'Pears like dis chile likes cookin' better 'n 
 fodderin*, cole mornins." 
 
 The only hearers of these shivering remarks 
 were Farmer Greene's " critters," — six cows, 
 two yoke of oxen, and " the old mare." These 
 
4 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 all opened their mouths, though not by way 
 of reply : they munched their hay and said 
 nothing. 
 
 It was a clear, cold December morning 
 just after sunrise ; the air crackling with 
 frost, the ground frozen hard, the ice an 
 inch thick in the watering -trough, — the 
 coldest morning, thus far, of the season. 
 " Dis nigger," as he called himself, had been 
 " raised " in the sunny South, and this was 
 liis first experience of Jack Frost's power. 
 For weeks past the Weather had been get- 
 ting colder and colder ; the leaves had fallen, 
 the birds had flown, there was no more of 
 growth or greenness ; but they told the poor 
 fellow that he had n't seen the worst of it 
 yet : " Wait till the snow comes ! " " Ki ! 
 Coler 'n dis ? 'n de snow all ober de fence ? 
 Den dis chile die 'fore Chris'mas ! sure ! " 
 
 Abijah Greene lived in comfort among 
 the " Cumberland hills." That 's some- 
 where within the bounds of a State so 
 small that when the governor of it wants 
 to call a General Assembly, he goes to hia 
 front door and whistles, — so they say. 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 5 
 
 " Little Rhody " is the playful and patron- 
 izing name that her sister States often give 
 her; but when she speaks for herself, offi-' 
 cially, she stands up straight in any com- 
 pany, and says, " State of Rhode Island 
 AND Providence Plantations " ; and when 
 she is twitted about her size, she sometimes 
 quotes Proverbs xxx. 24. 
 
 Mrs. Abijah Greene was as thrifty and 
 tidy a farmer's wife as you could find. / 
 Some folks said she managed 'Bijah and 
 the farm too. She did like to see things 
 kept straight, and she had a quick tongue ; 
 but she had a kind heart for all that. She 
 was one of those women of whom they say, 
 sometimes, " Lilcky she did n't happen to be 
 an old maid." A good wife, though, and a 
 good mother and a good neighbor, was she 
 whom her husband called " Wealthy," and 
 her neighbors " Miss 'Bijah," and her chil- 
 dren " Ma." Children she had three : — 
 
 I. Captain Abijah Greene, Jr., of the 103d 
 R. 1. H. A., young, but manly, and worthy 
 of holding a commission signed " Wm. 
 Sprague"; having his father's strength and 
 his mother's keenness, with a dash and dar- 
 
6 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 ing of his own. Returning from Hilton Head 
 on leave of absence, he brought home with 
 him " dis nigger," whom he left to shiver on 
 the Cumberland hills. We may hear more, hy 
 and by, of Captain Greene. His mother shall 
 have full right to be proud of her first-born. 
 
 n. "Dave," as the boys all called him, — 
 and his father liked the abbreviation best ; 
 but his mother said David, and sometimes 
 " You David," for he was a mischievous little 
 chap, and often gave edge to Ma's tongue. 
 Dave w^as spending his fourteenth winter 
 away at school. Four miles from the par- 
 ticular "hill" that 'Bijah Greene's house 
 stood on was a village, which contained 
 several cotton-mills and an ^cellent school, 
 — a high-school, worthy of the name. The 
 teacher's name was Rose : he will blossom 
 out in a chapter or two. Dave boarded at 
 the village (suppose we call it Rosedale, 
 out of compliment to the teacher : I don't 
 want to tell the real name, for reasons of 
 my own) during the week, but on Friday 
 afternoon, if the v^agon could n't be sent for • 
 him, he walked home, and staid till Monday 
 morning. 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 7 
 
 III. " Daisy," which was n't her true name, 
 but everybody called her so. Her name 
 was Margaret. Mrs. Greene's sister Pa- 
 tience lived in New York; and when Daisy 
 was born, she wrote, " Don't you call that 
 child ' Wealthy,' or ' Patience,' or any such 
 outlandish name. Call her ' Margaret,' and 
 pet-name her * Daisy,' and I '11 put seventy- 
 five dollars in the savings-bank to buy her 
 a silver tea-set when she gets married." 
 And so Daisy she was called ; and a sweet, 
 pretty, little flower-like child was she, four 
 years old when our story begins. No one 
 ever heard Mrs. Greene speak sharply to 
 Daisy, not even when she w^as naughty, — 
 which was only once in a while ; and her 
 father, — he ^worshipped her. 
 
 As good a time this as any to say that 
 two little grave-stones, in the family burying- 
 ground back of the barn, bore the names of 
 two other children of Abijah and Wealthy 
 Greene ; and that in the family Bible a 
 death followed every birth but Daisy's. 
 
 In cataloguing the Greenes, we must not 
 leave out two members of the family, neither 
 of them Greene though, for one was black 
 
8 CONTRABAND CHRISTSIAS. 
 
 and the other yellow. Our friend whose 
 toes didn't know themselves apart, on the 
 first page, was very black indeed, and yet, 
 though his nose was flat and his lips large 
 and his hair close-curled, his face was a 
 pleasant one to look at, for it was radiant 
 with good-nature and intelligence. It was 
 toward the last of August when he arrived 
 with the captain, and until the frosts came 
 he had been active and willing and helpful 
 about the farm, but " dis cole wedder" curled 
 him up like a leaf. He had never yet seen 
 snow enough on the ground to make a snow- 
 ball of ; had never seen ice thicker than 
 pasteboard ; and often whole winters had 
 passed, at his southern home, without either 
 of these phenomena. No wonder he was 
 fond of the cooking-stove. 
 
 The captain had introduced him as 
 " Chrismus." 
 
 " What made them call you that name ? " 
 asked Mrs. Greene. 
 
 "'Cause I was a Chris'mas present. Missy. 
 Ole Massa King had a little new nigger, 
 Chris'mas-day, twenty years ago, an' so dey 
 caU 'im* Chrismus.''^ 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 9 
 
 " His full name, Ma," said Captain Abijah, 
 "is Christmas D. King." 
 
 « What does the ' D ' stand for ? " asked 
 Dave, — not so " smart " as he was inquis- 
 itive. 
 
 " You '11 find out, some day or other," re- 
 plied his big brother. 
 
 " Oh, Day ! Day ! Christmas Day King ! 
 I've got it!" said Dave. 
 
 The yellow member of the family was 
 " Bose." " Eose Greene, Cumberland," was 
 on his collar. So^e boys that came to steal 
 water-melons from Bije Greene's " patch " 
 were heard to say, that the reason why they 
 came away without any was " 'cause that 
 big yailar dog was 'round." Bose was a 
 terror to evil-doers, but was clever enough 
 to honest strangers. A good judge of char- 
 acter was B. Greene. A Yankee pedler 
 might walk right in from the gate, and Bose 
 would only walk around from his kennel 
 and keep his eyes on the man till the door 
 was opened ; but let a little German Jew 
 come along with his pack on his back, and 
 his little mahogany box in his hand, and 
 Bose would welcome him with a teethy 
 
10 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 smile, and very distinctly utter remarks in 
 the canine language. 
 
 When Chrismus came into the family, Bose 
 smelled at the calves of his legs very suspi- 
 ciously at first. Neither Yankee nor Dutch- 
 man, thought he. What is it ? But it was 
 not long before the black and yellow Greenes 
 became very good friends, — slept together, 
 lately, till Mrs. Greene found it out. 
 
 " Chrismus, how came Bose's hairs on 
 your ' spread ' ? " 
 
 " Spex he lef ' 'em dar, Missy." 
 
 " Have you taken that dog into the house 
 to sleep with you ? Bose ought to have 
 known better, any how." 
 
 " I'se 'feard he catch cole. Missy, out in he 
 own house, dese cole night, an' I ax 'im in, 
 an' he was 'greeable, an' I was 'greeable — " 
 
 " Well, well ; / 'm not * 'greeable.' 1 
 should n't think you 'd want a dog to sleep 
 with you." 
 
 ^'Toes cole. Missy."- 
 
 " * Toes cold ' ? and three comforters on 
 the bed ? " 
 
 " Bose comforter 'n all free. Missy." 
 
 " Well, there now ; you hear ? I ain't 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 11 
 
 agoing to have dog's hairs all over my spread ; 
 so you can go and sleep with Bose, if you 
 want to, but Bose can't come and sleep with 
 you ; another comforter you can have, but 
 no more Bose." 
 
 And so 1 have told you all about the 
 Greene family. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 OSEDALE is a factory vU- 
 lage. Bales of cotton come 
 here, and go away " sheetings " 
 and " shirtings," — after much 
 tribulation of carding and spin- 
 ning and weaving and bleaching and folding 
 and packing. Fifteen hundred of us live 
 peaceably together here under the just super- 
 intendency of an honest man, — Mr. Walpole. 
 We have a church and a meeting-house ; a 
 high-school, over which floats 24 by 10 of 
 stars and stripes ; a public library, a post- 
 office, and three or four stores ; — and think 
 ourselves pretty well off for " institutions." 
 
 Dave Greene likes Mr. Rose as a teacher 
 ' first-rate, only he rubs the algebra into a 
 feller a little too hard." Dave is just be- 
 ginning to climb this " sublime " branch of 
 science, and considers "negative quantities" 
 knotty. He has experienced discipline, also. 
 
CONTEABAND CHRISTMAS. 13 
 
 in the matter of being caught at passing a 
 note towards pretty Mary Martin. Commu- 
 nication in school-hours having been abso- 
 lutely forbidden, the note was confiscated, 
 and, as a means of punishment and preven- 
 tion, it was read aloud to the scholars, — the 
 young lady's name, however, omitted : — 
 
 " Deerest Mary, 
 
 Ego Amo and i wish youd give 
 me a lock of yure hare, 
 
 Forever yur«6 
 
 ^ David Greene." 
 
 No more notes sent after that, and a whole- 
 some dread inspired of Mr. Rose's discipli- 
 nary appliances. But don't conclude that 
 Dave was a bad boy or a dull scholar. Ear- 
 lier teachers, in the " deestric' " school near 
 home, had let him shirk his spelling-lessons 
 and do sums by unexplained rules ; so that he 
 came to Mr. Rose with unformed scholastic 
 habits, with not much love for learning, and 
 with an unthorough way of doing and study- 
 ing. Yet he was old enough to begin to ap- 
 preciate his deficiencies, comparing himself 
 with others of his own age, and he knew in 
 
14 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 his heart that Mr. Rose was none too strict. 
 One study, Latin, which he was beginning 
 this term, he really enjoyed ; especially the 
 recitations, when, sitting next to his " deerest 
 Mary," he could manage sometimes to touch 
 elbows with her. He knew " amo " as an 
 " active, transitive verb " ; " active," as ex- 
 pressing action ; " transitive," as having an 
 object. He was fond of making up sen- 
 tences from his little stock of nouns and 
 pronouns, verbs and adjectives. He always 
 recited well-leirned lessons : no one better, 
 except the bright-eyed Mary. Some would 
 say that it was absurd for him to be study- 
 ing Latin, while he could not write English 
 correctly ; but Mr. Rose's object was to get 
 him interested in some study, it did not 
 matter so much at present what study. 
 
 Dave boarded at his cousin's, Olney 
 Greene's, who kept " the corner-store," and 
 took good care of him, Friday night, 
 though, never came too soon. Usually he 
 found the old mare hitched in front of the 
 store after school, Bose standing on the seat 
 smiling with his tail, and his father mak- 
 ing purchases of various groceries at the 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 15 
 
 counter within. Sometimes his mother came 
 for him, when yards were wanted, as well 
 as pounds. Sometimes, of late, Chrismus 
 drove down, — but rather against his will ; 
 for the Irish boys of the village called him 
 " naygur," and asked him what he was 
 worth. " I 'm a brack man, dat 's a fac'," he 
 would say ; " but I don't want dem white 
 trash trowin' names at me." 
 
 Good times at home over Sunday, for 
 Dave : mince-pies and " punkin "- pies and 
 "jell'- cake" and custards; — his mother 
 crowded seven days' coddling into two. 
 His father, also, liked to hear him talk about 
 his books. 
 
 " What 's the Latin for house, Dave ? ". 
 " DomusP 
 
 " David, say ^ Sir ' to your father." 
 
 " DomuSf sir ; and Mr. Rose says we get 
 our English word dome from domus.^^ 
 
 " Why, I thought they called Latin a 
 dead language. 'Ta'n't spoken nowhere 
 now, is it ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; but Mr. Rose says that a great 
 many of our words come from the Latin, — 
 are derived from it, somehow." 
 
16 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 " Well, let 's see, Dave ; let 's try some. 
 What 's book ? 
 " Liber:' 
 " * Sir,' David ! " 
 
 " Liber, sir ; and we get liberary from 
 that, — a place to keep books in." 
 
 " ' Liberary ' ? We used to spell that 
 li'bra-ry when / went to school. You 
 better not feel above your spellin'-book yet 
 awhile, I guess." 
 
 " Mr. Rose makes us spell every day, 
 father, and he says I'm improving." 
 
 " Well, what 's — Base, in Latin ? " 
 
 " I don't know ; guess they did n't have 
 that name in Rome. But they had dogs. 
 Canus, — no, canis is the Latin for dog." 
 
 " I don't see what English word there is 
 from that ; do you ? " 
 
 " Could n't be cane, could it, father ? Canes 
 don't have anything to do with dogs " — 
 
 "'Cep' when dey hit um!" 
 
 " Hallo, Chrismus ! you j'inin' in ? Now, 
 Dave, give us the Latin for Chrismus ; can 
 you ? " 
 
 " I wish I 'd brought my book home with 
 me ; there 's a word I saw the other day that 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 17 
 
 made me think of Chrismus ; I can't think 
 of it now. Yes, I can ! It 's niger^ and it 
 means black, I guess they get nigger from 
 niger, and I thought when I found it that 
 all that nigger meant was only black manP 
 
 " 'T a'n't all dey rmean^ Mass' Dave, when 
 dey call us nigger. Ole — black — nigger 
 dey say, some folks, an' dey 'm t'inkin' o' 
 somet'in' hard 'gin us. Doun in ole Car'- 
 lina I seen um say dem words wid a kick o' 
 de boot, or a blow ob a stick, or anyt'ing 
 handy ; an' dem poor, mis'able trash doun 
 in de village, hollerin' out * naygur,' ' naygur,' 
 — reckon dey neber study Latin." 
 
 " When they call you names again," (Mrs. 
 Greene speaks up sharply,) "you just say, 
 ' Sake 'em, Bose ! ' I would n't mind the 
 dog's tearing the little rascals' trousers once." 
 
 " Ma, I 'm hungry. Let 's have some of 
 that mince-pie.* You beat everybody on 
 mince-pies." 
 
 " Mijice-pie ! and you agoing to bed ! 
 No ; if you 're hungry, you can go and get 
 some bread and butter, unless you want 
 to see your gran'mother" — 
 
 " Yes, Dave, your venerable gran' ma, com- 
 
 2 
 
18 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 ing in with a big grin'stone in her arms and 
 laying it on top of you, in the middle of the 
 night." 
 
 " Ki, Mass' Dave ! Better neber hah no 
 gran'mudder, like dis chile." 
 
 " Come, off to bed, all of you" (Mrs. G.) ; 
 " it 's after nine o'clock, and to-morrow 's 
 Sunday, and cousin Olney and his wife 
 are coming, and I want to make the chicken- 
 pie early." 
 
 " And I 've promised " (Dave) " to put up 
 a swing for Daisy in the barn ; and Bose and 
 I have agreed to go to that woodchuck's hole 
 after dinner. Just a little piece, ma, so 's to 
 have a good taste in my mouth, going to 
 sleep." 
 
 " Piece of what ? — woodchuck ? You 
 can't have any mince-pie : that 's settled ! " 
 
CHAPTER in. 
 
 T may sound strangely to some 
 of my readers, these family prep- 
 arations for keeping Sunday. 
 Mrs. Greene expected " com- 
 pany," and thought of nothing 
 else than their hospitable entertainment. 
 David planned to please his little sister, and 
 then, after a good dinner, to please himself 
 and Bose at digging out a woodchuck. Far- 
 *mer Greene, although he had not mentioned 
 his intentions, had made arrangements to 
 ride over to a neighbor's, some miles away, 
 with cousin Olney, and buy that yoke of 
 steers he had heard were for sale, if he could 
 get them at a fair price. 
 
 All these plans were, in fact, carried into 
 execution. At three o'clock, next day, 
 Mrs. Greene and cousin Olney's wife were 
 knitting and gossiping in the front-room ; 
 Daisy was swinging in the barn ; Dave and 
 
20 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Bose were causing great anxiety to a family 
 of woodchucks ; and the two adult male 
 Greenes were dickering and whittling over 
 the steers with Farmer Jenks. These were 
 honest, kind-hearted people, — the Greenes 
 and their neighbors ; good, as the world es- 
 timates goodness, and good — that is, good 
 enough — in their own esteem ; and yet the 
 Fourth Commandment was unknown, or, if 
 known, disregarded among them. Sunday ? 
 — the day to clean up, to go visiting, or to re- 
 ceive visits, to get the horse shod or the tire 
 set, to make neighborly bargains, to " fix up " 
 about the homestead, mend fences, chop 
 wood, read the papers ; in haying-time and 
 harvesting, to make the most of Sunday sun- 
 shine, but generally at other seasons, to let 
 the cattle rest, — this is the Sunday o^ many 
 a farmer among the " Providence Planta- 
 tions." 
 
 A family Bible lay on the stand between 
 the two front windows of Mrs. Greene's par- 
 lor, and it had been used at times. The 
 marriage of Abijah Greene and Wealthy 
 Simmons was duly recorded in the Record, 
 with births and deaths, dates and ages. A 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 21 
 
 counterfeit bank-bill served as a book-mark 
 at Revelations xiv. 13, the text from which 
 the minister had spoken, when he came to 
 " preach the funeral " for good old Gran'ma 
 Greene, — a Universalist minister from Prov- 
 idence ; and a narrow blue ribbon, worn by 
 the baby that died near twenty years ago, 
 was fading among " the words of the Gospel, 
 written by Saint Mark, in the tenth chapter, 
 at the thirteenth verse." Had the weeping 
 mother found comfort from the blessed words 
 — " Suffer the little children to come unto 
 me, and forbid them not, for of such is the 
 kingdom of heaven " ? It may have been ; 
 and yet her living children had no memories 
 of her ever having opened the holy book for 
 them, or for herself. 
 
 The music of church-bells, borne on south- 
 erly winds, echoed often among the Cumber- 
 land hills, calling to prayer or praise on the 
 day the Lord hath made ; but there were few 
 there who knew the sounds apart of church- 
 bells and mill-bells, or who ever gave heed to 
 one more than to the other. Here and there, 
 on " First-Day " morning, some fading mem- 
 ber of the fading sect of " Friends " might 
 
22 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 be seen on his way to " meeting " ; here and 
 there a believer in Universalis m and Mr. 
 Galden, driving to Woonsocket to hear the 
 comforting eloquence of that favorite preach- 
 er ; here and there a Baptist, firm in the faith, 
 following the narrow path towards heaven, 
 marked out by Roger Williams; here and 
 there a Churchman, though but very few of 
 these, seeking " thy gates, O Zion " : but 
 " pikes " and cross-roads, all over the State, 
 were and are well-travelled on Sunday by 
 family parties, going and coming to and from 
 their pleasant visitings ; by young men and 
 maidens, dashing along merrily behind fast- 
 driven horses ; by farmers often, getting their 
 hay to market for an early Monday morning ; 
 by children on their way to " huckleberry " 
 pastures or chestnut groves. I know not how 
 to account for this state of things exactly. 
 I am shocked when our Bishop says, " there 
 are heathen regions within the limits of this 
 diocese : districts that have been first burnt 
 over by the fires of fanaticism, and then 
 frozen into a hard and rigid infidelity." Have 
 Baptists and Quakers and Universalists, who 
 have had such influence and control here in 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 23 
 
 years past, sowed good seed in vain, or bad 
 seed, to spring up into such harvest as this ? 
 
 But no one ever saw 'Bijah Greene's hay- 
 cart on its way to market on Sunday, nor 
 did any one ever hear the splash of Mrs. 
 Greene's churn-dasher on the day of rest. 
 Sometimes, when haycocks were " heating," 
 or bad weather threatened the waiting 
 " shocks " of grain, every available muscle 
 on the farm was stretched at hard work all 
 day on Sunday ; but usually the day was 
 kept sacred to rest and amusement, — such 
 light and easy " chores " as gardening and 
 fence-mending, or trotting the old mare down 
 to the blacksmith's shop, coming under the 
 head of either or both, while visiting and be- 
 ing visited were regarded as proper and pleas- 
 ing occupations for the day. There were tra- 
 ditions of godliness in the family. Abijah's 
 father had come of Quaker stock ; his mother 
 had been converted, late in life, to Univer- 
 salism. Visiting relations at Woonsocket, she 
 had filled what long had been a void in her 
 soul, with the charming and comforting doc- 
 trines of that easiest of faiths. Mrs. Greene — 
 the present — had been brought up among 
 
24 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Baptists. When a child of fifteen, she had 
 been caught up in the swirl of an old-fashioned 
 revival, and had been dipped deep in Seekonk 
 River ; the result of which spiritual experience 
 being evident thereafter in a silent reserve 
 and indifference toward every kind of religion. 
 The Baptist elder," within whose district 
 she lived, and who professed to have a certain 
 claim upon her, was always welcomed kindly 
 when he called, and she paid her annual 
 tribute of turkey at Thanksgiving ; but 
 whenever the good man touched in conver- 
 sation upon the matter of her " experience," 
 he found her coldly disinclined to talk with 
 him. Once only, however, she burst out 
 upon him, — 
 
 " Elder, there are two states, I used to 
 hear : the state of grace and the state of 
 wrath. Is that it ? " 
 
 " Yes, certainly ; and you — " 
 
 " Never mind me ! — And baptism is the 
 seal of the covenant, a'n't it ? " 
 
 " Yes ; of course." 
 
 " And nobody can escape from wrath to 
 grace without being baptized ? Nobody ? " 
 " No. * Believe and be baptized * is the 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 25 
 
 condition of salvation. But why do you 
 ask these questions, sister Greene ? " 
 
 " It 's no matter, sir. — Yes ! I should like 
 to ask, but you can't tell me, — where 's that 
 little baby of mine, that died almost as soon 
 as he smiled ? And that other one — But 
 never mind, never mind ! If Christ ever 
 died. Elder, my children are not lost." 
 
 The elder went away thoughtful. He had 
 children of his own. He waited a year be- 
 fore he called again, and he never addressed 
 her as " sister " any more. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AISY, let that pie-crust be ! — 
 What a midget that child is! 
 Mischief, mischief, mischief, 
 from morning to night ! I 
 suppose I ought to scold her, 
 and whip her, and shut her up ; — that 's the 
 way most folks do, but / can't. If she was 
 sulky, now, and cross-grained, and spunky, 
 like that child of S'phia's ; — but how can I 
 scold and look cross when she comes to me 
 all smiles, and puts up herHittle mouth to be 
 kissed? — the darling! There, now, Daisy, 
 do come away from that table ! Aunt 
 S'phia's coming to-day, and ma's going to 
 make a nice chicken-pie, and Daisy shall 
 have a wish-bone if she'll go out and play 
 with Bose and the turkeys. Get your hood 
 on and your shawl ; there 's a good daugh- 
 ter." 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 27 
 
 Presently, pattering back come the little 
 feet, and — 
 
 Ma ! Chrismus says he goin' to church ; 
 may / go ? " 
 
 " Goin' to church ? What does he 
 mean ? " 
 
 " We hear the bells ring, ma, — the Rosedale 
 bells, — an' Chrismus says he 's goin' up on 
 High Hill to see the church. May I go ? " 
 
 " Why, yes ; I guess so. That '11 be a 
 good way to get rid of you. Tell Chrismus 
 I want him. — Chrismus, you mind and take 
 good care of her ; and come back as soon as 
 you see the towel out of the window." 
 
 " Yes 'm, missy." 
 
 " But what do you want to go off by your- 
 self so for, Sundays ? Are you homesick, 
 Chrismus? — want to see your friends? 1 
 s'pose so ; should n't wonder. He 's tender- 
 hearted, that fellow, if he is black-skinned ! " 
 
 She talked to vacancy; for, without hav- 
 ing heard her question, Chrismus had started 
 off, with Daisy clinging to one hand and 
 Bose leaping up to lick the other, and was 
 already behind the barn, out of sight, on his 
 way to church. 
 
28 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Such a beautiful day ! December had 
 unbuttoned his overcoat, and he said to him- 
 self, — 
 
 " I believe I 'm about ready. I 've scat- 
 tered the leaves everywhere, as impartially 
 as I can. Little Violet is tucked in nicely 
 under her brown blankets, and all the flowers 
 and grasses are cuddled away warmly for 
 their long nap. These big trees can keep 
 warm with exercise, when the north-winds 
 blow. Squirrels, are you sure you have 
 found all the nuts you want ? Chickadees, 
 have you all put on your winter jackets ? 
 Come, then, let 's have one more quiet, com- 
 fortable, Octoberish Sunday ; to-morrow I '11 
 button up again and call Boreas." 
 
 High Hill is only a short walk from the 
 Greenes' back-door. It has been " cleared " 
 and cultivated, except the very summit, where 
 is a handful of rough, broken rocks, dropped 
 by a giant perhaps ; and among these grow 
 a score or so of oaks and chestnuts. The 
 chestnut-trees are bare, but the oak-leaves, 
 though they have been bitten by the frosts 
 and whipped by the winds, still cling to their 
 places, most of them, and will, all winter ; in 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 29 
 
 the quiet south-wind they whisper together 
 of summer-time, and laugh at the weak- 
 minded chestnut-leaves lying below, and say 
 to each other, — 
 
 " Let 's stick it out, in spite of wind 
 and weather, boys, — in spite of wind and 
 V'cather ! " 
 
 From their pleasant seats, on flat rocks 
 piled together, Daisy and Chrismus can look 
 off over miles and miles of hills and valleys ; 
 can trace the course of the industrious 
 Blackstone iR-iver ; can count dozens of farm- 
 houses and point out several mill-villages ; 
 can see the spires of Pawtucket, and, on a 
 clear day, the tall white steeple of the " First 
 ' Baptist" in Providence. 
 
 Rosedale, all in view, aspires only to tow- 
 ers ; and from one of these, — a remarkable 
 specimen of architecture, by the way, likened 
 by imaginative minds to a hogshead with 
 every other two staves knocked out, — from 
 this come the tones of a mellow- voiced bell, 
 tolling slowly its last summons to morning 
 prayer. 
 
 " Dat bell sound very nat'ral. Miss Daisy. 
 Chrismus use to hear a bell toll, ebery Sun- 
 
30 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 day mornin', dat say 'Come! — come! — 
 come!' — jes' like dat." 
 
 " Where, Chrismus ? " 
 
 " Way down in de ole Car'lina State, 
 whar Chrismus was born an' raise'." 
 
 " Was it a meetin'-bell ? " 
 
 " Yes, Sissy ; but we all call it church- 
 bell : — 'bout de same, I 'spex. An' all Massa 
 King's people dey dress up in dey bes' clo'es 
 an' go to de ' chapel,' an' Massa King he 
 read de service, an' Missy King she play de 
 melodymum, an' de kier sing, — "bet dat kier 
 could sing, an' all de people jine in. Ki ! 
 Miss Daisy, sometimes we mos' take de roof 
 off! — 
 
 * O come, let us sing unto de Lord ; 
 
 Let us heartily rejoice in de strenk ob our salvatiom.' " 
 
 His clear, full, rich voice soared heaven- 
 ward through the quiet sky, as he sang this 
 glorious anthem of the church ; and, as Daisy 
 looked up at his face, she saw tears in his 
 eyes. 
 
 " What you cryin' for, Chrismus ? " 
 " Don' know 'zac'ly, darlin'. Dat blessed 
 ole chant ! — 'Spex dere 's a sof^ spot inside o' 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 31 
 
 Chrismus, some'ers. Chrismus use to sing in 
 Missy King's kier, and dere was a gal use to 
 sing — ; but you don' know noffin' about 
 dat yet ; Flora was her name. Ki ! de way 
 dat gal sing! 'Pears like her singin' was 
 good enough to eat ! An' dat gal was goin' 
 to be Chrismus' wife, Daisy. — Good Lord, 
 whar 's all dem people now ! Whar 's Flora, 
 an' Mose, an' ole Daddy Joe, an' Uncle 
 Sam ? Dey done change dat name for Un- 
 cle Jeff^ but he baptized * Sam,' an' he mar- 
 ried ' Sam,' an' reckon he die ' Sam ' ; an' 
 whar 's de res' ob 'em ? ' Spex — " 
 
 What Chrismus spected, Daisy did not 
 stay to hear. She was too young to be in- 
 terested in his rambling talk. He spoke of 
 matters strangely new to her ; " service " and 
 " melodymum," and " chant " and " kier," 
 were words that had no place in her vocabu- 
 lary. She understood Bose better when he 
 crouched at her feet, with his nose between 
 his paws and a challenge to a frolic in his 
 eyes. The two were rolling together down 
 the hill, laughing as loudly as they knew 
 how, while Chrismus sat with bowed head, 
 and thought himself back at his old plant a- 
 
32 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 tion home. Freedom among strangers, or 
 bondage among friends ? He more than 
 half wished himself back again. His, had 
 been a mild and merry kind of bondage ; 
 the " institution " had been truly patriarchal 
 and paternal, just and kind, — as much so 
 as ever it can be, — on Massa King's estate ; 
 for there have been, and doubtless are, not a 
 few exceptions to the generally harsh and 
 cruel and degrading rule of slavery. Of no 
 use, however, to wish himself back again; 
 for rude war had built a battery on the very 
 site of the cabin that Chrismus called home ; 
 and " de House," that had been the elegant 
 residence of the Kings, was in use as Gen- 
 eral Thunder's head-quarters ; — all the " peo- 
 ple " of that once peaceful plantation were 
 scattered far and wide. 
 
 Speaking of war — 
 
 Bang ! — close by. 
 
 Chrismus comes back with a leap from 
 the side of Flora in the " kier " to Cumber- 
 land. Daisy runs up to him, with question- 
 ing terror in her little face. Bose has barked 
 once, twice, and has disappeared behind the 
 rocks, and returns, wagging his tail, followed 
 by Dave. 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 33 
 
 " Dat 's young Mass' 'Bijah's gun, you 
 Dave ! Who tole you might take dat ? He 
 tell me take care all his tings. An' you go 
 an' take dat gun an' shoot squirrels Sunday 
 mornin', and scare folks mos' to deff ! " 
 
 " Come, come, Chrismus ! don't scold so ; 
 no harm done yet. You '11 clean the gun up 
 all right this afternoon^ won't you? " 
 
 " Not dis afternoon, Massa Dave. Dis 
 Bunday ! Don' you know what Sunday is ? 
 * 'Member de Sabbaf day to keep him 
 holy.' 'Pears like dere don' nobody know de 
 comman'ments roun' here. What '11 yer ma 
 say, takin' dat gun ? " 
 
 " I don't care what she says. Father 
 saw me take it, an' all he said was, * Be care- 
 ful.' " 
 
 " But yer might 'a' shot Daisy, or Bose, or 
 me, poppin' roun' de bush. You don' know 
 to shoot." 
 
 " Chrismus ! Chrismus ! there 's the white 
 towel out of the window ! Come ! " 
 
 Daisy and Bose had started for home ; 
 Dave and Chrismus followed them. On the 
 way, apprehensions of what ma might say 
 about "dat gun" led Dave to try to coax 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Chrismus to take the terrible weapon off his 
 hands, but in vain. 
 
 " Dis chile neber tole a lie yet I " 
 
 " This would n't be telling a lie. You 
 need n't say anything." 
 
 " ^Say anything ? ' 'T a'n't only de tongue 
 dat speak." 
 
 " Well, then, you need n't even show 
 yourself. Take the gun round the other side 
 the house, and I'll go in and open the press- 
 room window, and you can pass it in to me." 
 
 " No, Massa Dave ; dat won' do." 
 
 " Confound the nigger," mutters Dave. 
 
 " ' Nigger ' ? Look heah. Mass' Dave ! 
 It 's a awful bad ting to be a nigger, dat 's 
 so ; but de nigger he won't tell a lie, an' de 
 white boy will ; de nigger 'member the 
 Sabbaf day, an' de white boy go off shoot- 
 in' squirrel a Sunday. I'se drudder be de 
 nigger ! " 
 
 " You preachy will you ! Guess we '11 
 have to call you Elder Chrismus, you 're so 
 pious." 
 
 Dave left the gun in the barn to be 
 brought into the house after dark. 
 
 The preaching he had heard glanced oft' 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 35 
 
 from the " white boy's " conscience, yet left 
 a " dent." If you could have looked into 
 his heart, you would have seen a little 
 shame there at having proved himself, not 
 less pious, for he had learned in some way 
 to sneer at pieti/, but less honorable than 
 Chrismus, who was " only a nigger." You 
 would have seen some vexation, also, half 
 with Chrismus, half with himself; vexation, 
 a part of which arose from this, that he 
 could not help respecting- Chrismus, after 
 all. As for that part of the sermon which 
 related to the " comman'ments," he said to 
 himself, — 
 
 " Queer notions ! Would nH clean a 
 gun Sunday ! Mighty pious nigger, that ! 
 Wonder if he thinks we're all heathen. 
 Guess my father's as good as it's worth 
 while, and he says Sunday was meant to 
 be a day of rest and amusement : do what 
 you like Sundays." 
 
 After dinner — and it was a good dinner ; 
 Dave ate lots of chicken-pie — he took a 
 pickaxe and a hoe, and Bose took fore paws, 
 and they went and dug out that woodchuck. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 SPAKE unadvisedly with my 
 lips when, just now, I described 
 the Rosedale church-tower by 
 comparing it with a hogshead 
 with every other two staves 
 knocked out. My description was not inac- 
 curate, and yet perhaps I had better not have 
 spoken so irreverently. Let me make amends 
 by saying that the interior of the edifice, thus 
 shabbily surmounted, is neat, tasty, and com- 
 modious. A finer chancel is hardly to be 
 found in the diocese, — except, of course, in 
 those city churches for which Upjohn made, 
 and rich men paid, the bills. Chestnut pre- 
 vails with neatness and taste ; and when 
 the Bishop preaches, five hundred people 
 are dazzled by the brightness of the chancel- 
 windows and electrified by his Grace's elo- 
 quence, at the same time. When the rector 
 has a congregation of three hundred, he thinks 
 the day must be unusually fine. 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 37 
 
 The Rector of Rosedale — of whom it is 
 enough to say that he is a quiet, elderly man 
 who will probably never set the Blackstone 
 on fire — is sometimes heard to speak with 
 pardonable pride of his Sunday-school; he 
 is honest enough, however, to say that one 
 cause of his Sunday-school's prosperity may 
 be, that he has very little to do with it him- 
 self. He found a large and thriving school 
 when he first came to the parish ; it had grown 
 up under the care and zeal of a superintend- 
 ent admirably well fitted for his place, and 
 of teachers whose hearts were in their work. 
 " Let well enough alone " is a sensible proverb, 
 and the Rector adopted it. And yet he has 
 always taken great interest in his Sunday- 
 school, and has done all that he could for it. 
 
 A Sunday-school numbering more than 
 three hundred members, in a quiet little mill- 
 village, may be worth mentioning in a book. 
 Indeed, this of ours ought to have been spoken 
 of in our list of village " institutions." We 
 should be sorry to have that mill " shut down," 
 or " run half-time " even. We should miss 
 our Sunday-evening " sings," all of us, old and 
 young. We should hardly know how to keep 
 
38 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Christmas or Easter without our Sunday- 
 school " celebrations." 
 
 Would you like to hear of what we call 
 a " sing " ? 
 
 At an early hour — so early that the little 
 folks can come, and yet get home at proper 
 bedtime — we gather together, three or four 
 hundred of us, in our large, well-lighted, cheer- 
 ful room, — the children often accompanied 
 by their parents and friends. At one side of 
 the desk stands a sweet and powerful har- 
 monium, and our organist is there with most 
 or all of the church-choir. 
 
 " Now, you little folks on the front-seats, 
 and you older boys and girls, ali of you, re- 
 member what day this is and whose it is. 
 Let's have no playing, no whispering, no 
 noise with the feet. If I find you are uneasy 
 and noisy, I shall conclude you are getting 
 tired of these ' sings,' and we won't have 
 any more for some time. Turn to your 
 Prayer-books and find the 184th Hymn 
 You know the tune : — 
 
 ' While thee I seek, protecting power, 
 
 Be my vain wishes stilled : 
 And may this consecrated hour 
 
 Willi bi'fiLir hopi.'S be fiikvJ.' 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 39 
 
 * 
 
 Now sing this softly, quietly, and think who 
 it is, this ' protecting power,' that has spared 
 our lives and given us health and strength, 
 and homes and friends, and a pleasant Sun- 
 day-school and kind teachers ; who has made 
 music, beautiful music, for us to be happy 
 with, and has given us voices to sing with, 
 and 
 
 * lips that we may tell 
 
 How good is God our Father, 
 Who doeth all things well.' 
 
 All ready. Sing ! " 
 
 " Now we '11 try that new tune I spoke of 
 for the 43d Hymn, — * "While shepherds 
 watched their flocks by night.' If this tune 
 goes well, perhaps we shall take it to sing on 
 Christmas. The choir will sing the first 
 verse by themselves, and you listen. Read 
 over the words while they sing them, and 
 kfum the tune gently, if you like. We shall 
 all learn it soon. You older ones that have 
 been learning to sing with Mr. Loomis, 
 we depend on you to take right hold and 
 make the tune go. Ready." 
 
 " That 's a good tune. Now we '11 all try 
 
40 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 it — same verse. You may let your voices 
 out on this. Sing ! " 
 
 " Six verses, and rather a hard tune, too ; 
 but you sang it very well, I guess you like 
 the tune, you learned it so readily and sang 
 it so heartily. Now we '11 rest a while. — Who 
 of the girls have ' pieces ' to recite ? Who 
 of the boys ? Hold up your hands so that I 
 can see them all. That '11 do. Maggie, 
 you may come first." 
 
 (Maggie leaves her seat and goes to the 
 platform to stand by the superintendent's 
 side, as he sits there. She gives him the 
 book from which she has learned her hymn, 
 so that he may prompt her if she forgets a 
 word or two.) 
 
 " I hear somebody whispering ! Listen 
 now, and hear how well Maggie will repeat 
 this beautiful piece of poetry. — Begin, Mag- 
 gie. Speak distinctly. Now ! " • 
 
 " Very well done, Maggie ; and it is really 
 a beautiful hymn. — Robert, did I see your 
 hand up ? Well ; learn one for next time. 
 — Archie, we '11 hear you. Be careful 
 
CONTRABAND CHKISTMAS. 41 
 
 about * sing-song,' giving the wrong accent 
 to the words. — Children, Archie is going 
 to recite a piece which is entitled * The 
 Drummer Boy.' Listen very quietly. — 
 Rufus, keep your feet still! Ready now, 
 Archie." 
 
 (After Archie, Marion recites; and so we 
 have recitations from half a dozen boys and 
 girls in turn ; and then we sing again.) 
 
 " The Rector wants to have us sing some 
 of our old tunes. Which shall we take ? 
 Let 's try our old * Gloria in Excelsis.' Re- 
 member that when we come to ' Thou that 
 takest away the sins of the world,' you must 
 sing more softly. Watch my hands, and 
 I '11 show you when to sing softly and when 
 to come in full again. Play it over, Mr. 
 Gilbert, so that we can recall the tune. And 
 if any of you want the words before you, 
 turn to them in your Prayer-books : in the 
 morning prayer, you know. James, help 
 your neighbor find the place. Now ! All 
 together ! Sing ! " 
 
 " Well sung ! What glorious words, and 
 how nobly that music kelps us raise them! 
 
42 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Whi/ do we sing * Glory be to God on high * ? 
 — * Because He is so good to us.' A very- 
 good answer. — 'Because we love Him.' 
 That a good answer too ; and ' we love Him 
 because He first loved us,' you know, and sent 
 His Son to save us. There are no words full 
 enough, and there 's no music grand enough, 
 to sing our praises for such love as God the 
 Father shows us through Jesus Christ, His 
 Son, our Lord. May He grant that we may 
 all meet to join our voices in the anthems 
 round the throne I — Now, there 's another of 
 our favorite old tunes — * The fields bedeck- 
 ed with flowers ' ; we '11 sing that once more, 
 and. then the Rector will read you a story, or 
 perhaps tell one, or talk with you, — or else 
 I will ; and then the 40th Hymn ; and then 
 it '11 be time to go home. You have behaved 
 very well, so far, this evening. Next Sun- 
 day evening, the Lantern^ 
 
 And the " sing " is closed with the bene- 
 diction by the Rector. 
 
 " The Lantern." — A Magic Lantern ? 
 
 Yes ; a fine one : calcium light, oxygen 
 gas, and all that. Any objections ? 
 
 Why, no, perhaps not ; but a magic Ian- 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 43 
 
 tern for a Sunday-school, and exhibited on 
 Sunday evening? 
 
 Certainly. All the preparations are made 
 on Saturday: on Sunday evening, all we 
 have to do is to light the lantern and place 
 the "slides" before it. And our pictures 
 are all Bible-pictures : " Christ blessing 
 little children," a photograph on glass of 
 West's beautiful painting, finely colored, 
 magnified to a diameter of eight or ten feet ; 
 "the Beautiful Gate of the Temple," from 
 Raphael ; "E/cbekah at the Well," after some 
 "other famous artist. We have a score or two 
 of pictures like these, and at our exhibitions 
 the Rector explains them and talks about 
 them, one by one ; or else the Maggies and 
 Marys, or Josephs and Johns, recite appro- 
 priate poetry or prose, or the passage of 
 Scripture illustrated, for each picture. 
 
 But your room must be dark while the 
 pictures are shown. 
 
 Yes. 
 
 And do your children behave well after the 
 lights are put out ? 
 Yes^ sir ! 
 
CHAPTER YI. 
 
 R. ROSE teaches six days in a 
 week. Most teachers think five 
 days' teaching quite enough ; 
 but Mr. Rose enjoys very 
 much his large class in Sun- 
 day-school. 
 
 " David j" said he, one Friday afternoon at 
 close of school, " you have heard the boys 
 talk about our Magic Lantern. Would n't 
 you like to see it ? We are to have an ex- 
 hibition next Sunday evening, and couldn't 
 you stay over Sunday this week to go ? " 
 
 " I should like to, thank you, sir ; but 
 cousin Olney and his wife are going away 
 to-morrow, to be gone over Sunday." 
 
 " Well, come and stay with me. Mrs. 
 Rose would be glad to have you, I am sure." 
 
 " Thank you ; you are very kind ; but 
 I have n't got my best clothes here. And I 
 don't know whether ma would be willing.'* 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 45 
 
 "Well, David, I'll tell you what to do: 
 You go home to-night, — you expect to walk 
 home to -night, I think you told me ? " 
 
 « Yes, sir." 
 
 " Well ; go home and talk with your 
 mother about it; tell her we'll take good 
 care of you ; and then, if she is willing, put 
 on your best suit to-morrow afternoon and 
 come down. Perhaps your father will send 
 you in the wagon." 
 
 " Thank you, Mr. Rose. But would n't it 
 be too much trouble to you to keep me over 
 Sunday ? " ' 
 
 " Oh no ; no trouble at all ; glad to have 
 you come." 
 
 The matter was talked over that night at 
 David's home, and the parental consent 
 gained. 
 
 " But there 's no need," said Mrs. Greene, 
 " of your going to-morrow ; you can just as 
 well wait and go down Sunday afternoon." 
 
 " I don't think Mr. Rose would quite like 
 that, ma. He believes in keeping Sunday, 
 you know ; and I 'd rather not displease him, 
 when he has been so kind as to invite me to 
 stay at his house." 
 
46 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTiVIAS. 
 
 " And what would you do all day Sun- 
 day ? " 
 
 " Go to church, I suppose, with Mr. Rose. 
 And I should like to go, too. They say it 's 
 a real pretty church, and they've got an 
 organ, and have first-rate singing. Mary 
 Martin sings in the choir." 
 
 " Oho, young man ! Mary Martin, is it ? 
 
 — Wealthy, that 's the young lady that Dave 
 owned he was passing the note tp, — the note 
 that Mr. Rose read out loud before the 
 school. Don't you remember how our young 
 friend here flared up and scolded away about 
 the teacher? And it's Miss Mary Martin 
 that makes part of the -attraction, hey ? " 
 
 " Now, 'Bijah, stop teasing the boy about 
 that, do ! Who got into a great passion 
 forty years ago because somebody's dinner- 
 pail was upset? Boys will be boys, 'Bijah, 
 
 — though I will say our David 's beginning 
 rather young." 
 
 " Yes ; and girls will be girls. Wealthy. 
 I remember just how red your pretty face 
 was when I stood up and said, ' Anybody 
 meddle with Wealthy Simmons's dinner-pail 
 again if he dares ! ' " 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 47 
 
 Dave had gone out of the room into the 
 back kitchen, soon after his father had 
 quoted his " Mary Martin " so teasingly, 
 and did not hear these parental reminis- 
 cences. He was trying to explain the mys- 
 teries of the Magic Lantern to Chrismus ; but 
 either he did not explain very well, — which 
 is probable, since he knew but little about 
 the matter, — or Chrismus did not understand 
 very well, — which is not to be wondered at ; 
 for they made a muddle of it together. 
 
 " Magic Lantum ! what 's dat ? " 
 
 " Why, you know what a lantern is, 
 Chrismus ? " 
 
 " Sartumly ! Dere one hangin' up behin' 
 de do' now." , 
 
 " Well, this a'n't like that." — (A pause.) 
 
 " An' dat a' n't like dis. So fur am so 
 good. Go on. Mass' Dave." 
 
 " You keep still now, if you want to hear 
 about it. You see they make a quantity of 
 gas " — 
 
 " What 's dat ? Oh I I 'se hear de sogers 
 say to one umnudder, * O gas ! ' when one 
 tell a big"— 
 
 " Keep still, will you ? or else Pll stop. 
 
48 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 You don't know what gas is. Gas is a — 
 a kind of a — well ; it 's a substance " — 
 
 " ' Substums ' ; go on." 
 
 " And they put it in a bag ; and if it 
 should catch a-fire, it would all blow 
 up!" 
 
 " An' den what dey do ? " 
 " Why, they light the lantern with this 
 gas " — 
 
 " Den dey all blow up ! Ki ! Dis chile 
 drudder not go to dat exumbishum ! " 
 
 " No, it don't blow up, neither ! They 
 screw it on behind the lantern and touch it 
 off inside." 
 
 " Oh, dat it, den ? ' Screw it on ' an* 
 ' touch it off,' — an' den ? " 
 
 " Then they have a very strong light ; and 
 they put pictures in front of it, and they 
 show through ; — they have a large cloth in 
 front" — 
 
 " * Cloff ' ? " 
 Yes ; and the pictures show on the 
 cloth." 
 
 " ' An' de picture show on de cloff ; * 
 I see. But what become ob de sub- 
 stums ? " 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 49 
 
 " Fudge ! What 's the use of trying to 
 explain anything to you I " 
 
 Dave persuaded his mother that it was 
 best for him to go on Saturday, rather than on 
 Sunday. He was really very much pleased 
 at the having received an invitation to stay 
 at Mr. Rose's, and he wished to show due 
 respect for what he rightly suspected were 
 his teacher's opinions in regard to keeping 
 Sunday. Mrs. Rose he knew to be a 
 cheerful, hearty little body, who would be 
 sure to entertain him kindly, and he prom- 
 ised himself a pleasant visit. 
 
 " I don't know how I shall behave in 
 church, ma. Why don't we go to church, 
 or meeting, or whatever it is, sometimes ? 
 There's Elder Watkins has asked you ever 
 so many times ; I 've heard him. Why 
 don't you speak, ma ? " 
 
 " David, when you are old enough, you 
 will know all about such things. Meeting 
 never did me any good, — not the kind we had 
 when I was a girl; but I've no objections 
 to your going. I want to go down to the 
 store Monday, and you can come back with 
 me, and stay overnight. Your father will 
 4 
 
50 CONTRABAND CHRISTIklAS. 
 
 send you down next morning. You will 
 want to change your clothes, you know." 
 
 David shall tell the story of his Sunday 
 experiences in his own words, in Chapter 
 VII. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ONDAY night. A roaring fire 
 in the Franklin stove. Father 
 and ma and Dave sitting in 
 front of it. Daisy asleep in 
 her little bed in the bedroom 
 close by. Chrismus keeping the cooking- 
 stove warm in the back kitchen, the door 
 open. 
 
 " Ef you please, Missy Greene, so Chris- 
 mus kin hear 'bout dat magic lantum." 
 
 " Shall I begin at the beginning ? " says 
 Dave. 
 
 " Unless you choose to begin in the mid- 
 dle, and tell both ways," replies his father. 
 
 " He ! he ! " remarks Chrismus. 
 
 " Well, you see, in the first place, Mr. 
 Rose sent round and invited aU the High- 
 School boys and girls to spend the evening 
 at his house Saturday, and we had a tip-top 
 time, I tell ^ow." 
 
52 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 « Was Mary Martin there ? " 
 
 " Yes, father, if you want to know. And 
 she was the prettiest girl in the room, too." 
 
 " How old did you say she was ? " 
 
 " Fifteen, last winter." 
 
 " Almost sixteen, then, now ; and you 're 
 only fourteen ! Well, that 's the way, or 
 used to be. Go on." 
 
 " Well ; I wish you 'd keep your questions 
 till I get through. You 're as bad as Chris- 
 mus was the other night, when I tried to ex- 
 plain to him about the magic lantern. He 
 interrupted me so much that I could n't help 
 getting all mixed up." 
 
 " He ! he ! " from the cooking-stove. 
 
 " Well ; we had a real good time. We 
 played all the plays, — I guess you and ma 
 know what they are ; don't you ? — and 
 ended off with blind-man's-buff. Did n't we 
 make things rattle I When I got back " — 
 
 " ' Got back ? ' Where did you go ? " 
 
 " Oh, I did n't mean to tell that ! Why, I 
 went home with Mary Martin, of course. 
 There was a big fellow kind o' shying up to 
 her, but I cut in ahead of him, and she took 
 my arm, just as easy ! " 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 53 
 
 ♦ 
 
 " Took your arm ! Well ! I say, Wealthy, 
 what do you think of that ? " 
 
 " And then I went to bed, in their spare 
 room. I was 'most afraid to get into that 
 bed, it looked so neat and nice. In the morn- 
 ing I got up, of course " — 
 
 " Of course ! Good boy. Go on." 
 
 " And went down stairs ; and what do you 
 think ? there was n't anybody else up in the 
 house ! The clock said seven and after, but 
 I thought it must be wrong ; so I went qui- 
 etly back to my room again. 'T was n't 
 long before I heard somebody stirring, and, 
 in half an hour or so, they rang a bell. Says 
 1, that 's breakfast ; goodie ! So I went down ; 
 but Mr. Rose was blacking his shoes, and 
 he said I was an * early bird.' Well ; the 
 breakfast was ready pretty soon. — Why 
 don't you make rye bread, ma, like you used 
 to ? Mrs. Rose's rye bread was splendid. I 
 said it was splendid, at the table, and Mr. 
 Rose says, ' David, if you call rye bread 
 splendid, what adjective will you have to 
 spare for a fine sunset ? ' Well ; after break- 
 fast, Mr. Rose went into the other room and 
 got a large book, and Mrs. Rose went in, 
 
54 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 and me, and we sat down, and Mr. Rose 
 read out of it. It was all about Jesus Christ 
 and some children: you know, ma, — that 
 story you used to tell me when I was a little 
 fellow, about ' Suffer the little children,' 
 you know. And when he got through, 
 he said, ' Let us pray ; ' and they knelt down, 
 me too, and he prayed some time." 
 
 " Bress de Lord," said Chrismus, in a low 
 voice. 
 
 " And then, pretty soon, we went to 
 church. I can't tell you much about it, ex- 
 cept that there was a very bright window at 
 the further end, and the minister wore a long 
 white night-gown kind of a garment, and 
 the folks kept getting up and sitting down. 
 Sometimes the minister talked, and then the 
 people answered him ; and then all of a sud- 
 den the organ would come in and the choir. 
 I could n't hardly keep up, but I watched Mr. 
 Rose, and did what he did as well as I could. 
 Mrs. Rose kept handing me a book, opened, 
 and saying ^ there it is ' ; but that only made 
 matters worse. I was glad when they got 
 through." 
 
 " Chrismus, you need n't stand in the. door," 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 55 
 
 said Mrs. Greene ; " come in and sit down, if 
 you want to." 
 
 " What kin' of a church was dat, Mass' 
 Dave ? Don' dey call him a ^Piscopal 
 church ? " 
 
 " Yes, I believe so." 
 
 " Bress de good Lord ! Why did n't I 
 know dere was a 'Piscopal church here 
 afore ^" 
 
 " Why, what do you know about a church, 
 Chrismus?" asked Mr. Greene. 
 
 " Dis poor chile done been raise in a 'Pisco- 
 pal church, Massa. Been to church like dat 
 Mass' Dave tell about ebery Sunday eber 
 since I 'se done born ! Chrismus use to sing 
 in de kier ! Massa King was de minister, — 
 on'y he didn' wear de white garmen' ; — 
 sometimes de Bishop come, and he wear de 
 robe ; and Missy King, she play on de me- 
 lodymum. Ki I Dis nigger 's a heap glad to 
 know dere's a church close by — if Massa 
 Greene's willin' to let a poor feller jes go 
 home Sundays. — De good Lord! De good 
 Lord above ! " 
 
 " Certainly, Chrismus. You shall go to 
 church every Sunday, if you like.'' 
 
56 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 " Tank you, Massa ! Now, Mass' Dave, 
 jes please go on." 
 
 " Well, at noon-time there was a Sunday- 
 school, and we went." 
 
 " Dat 's it ! Chrismus know all about dat ! " 
 " I should think there might have been as 
 many folks in the Sunday-school as there 
 was in church, only they were scattered about 
 in classes. 'Twas rather dull work for me, 
 looking on; but they sung first-rate. And 
 then, right after Sunday-school, we went to 
 church again. Just the same as it was in 
 the morning, only the minister went out 
 through a side-door, and when he came back 
 he wore a black gown. Mrs. Rose told me, 
 after church, that the white dress was called 
 a surplice, and the black one a gown. The 
 minister went up into a high place, and 
 did n't he preach to 'em I He talked about 
 something or other in the morning, but in 
 the afternoon he just pitched in, I should 
 say. Told the folks they did n't come to 
 church enough, and did n't give money 
 enough, and behaved so as to make other 
 folks laugh at them. Tell you, I should have 
 thought some of them would have got mad 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 67 
 
 and gone out; but they all sat quiet and 
 took it; — and one lady I saw asleep^ just as 
 comfortable. I liked the music, all day. I 
 did want to turn round and look up, but 1 
 daresn't. Sometimes the organ would get 
 agoing louder and louder, and the voices 
 would follow it up, grand ! It almost made 
 me stand on my toes. Ma, you 're so fond 
 of music, you would like to hear such music 
 as that." 
 
 "Chrismus boun' to go next Sunday, sure 
 " In the evening, after tea, we went to the 
 lantern exhibition; and all I can tell you 
 about that is, that you never saw such beau- 
 tiful pictures ! First, though, they sung, all 
 hands, — little bits of children, old folks and 
 all. Then they turned off the gas and the 
 room was dark, all but a great round circle 
 of white, at the end of the room ; and then 
 — whack! and that was. gone, and then — 
 whack! again; and there was a splendid 
 picture, all in colors, and the figures as large 
 as life ! Pictures of people and pictures of 
 places : and the minister explained them all. 
 I can't remember them, there was so many ; 
 but one, ma, was ' Christ blessing little chil- 
 
58 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 dren ' : that was the name the minister gave 
 it. There was the picture of a little girl in 
 it, kneeling down, as much like our Daisy in 
 her night-gown, as if it had been made for 
 her. I do wish you could have seen it ! " 
 
 " 'Bijah, do you know what time it is ? 
 Here's this boy been keeping us up till 'most 
 ten o'clock! David, it's time you were in 
 bed. You can finish the rest of your story 
 some other time." 
 
 " Mrs. Rose give me one of their books, 
 ma. It's up-stairs in my new overcoat- 
 pocket." 
 
 " Never mind that to-night. Go to bed 
 now." 
 
 " Well, good night, father ! Good night, 
 ma!" 
 
 Chrismus had already gone. Kneeling at 
 his bedside that night, — he never failed to 
 say his prayers, night and morning, — after 
 repeating " Our Fader," he " tanked de good 
 Lord " for telling him of " dat church " ; he 
 prayed for his " ole Massa and Missis," and 
 " dat Flora," and all his friends in " de ole 
 place" ; for his new friends, also, "'specially 
 de Cap'en " ; and then once more, " tank de 
 bressed Lord for dat church." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 EXT morning Mr. Greene, Da- 
 vid, and Chrismus drove off 
 together. Mr. Greene was on 
 his way to Brighton Market. 
 He had more hay in his barns 
 than the " stock " in his stalls would be likely 
 to consume during the winter, and he had 
 determined to buy more cattle, rather than to 
 sell his surplus of hay. David was left at his 
 school-door ; Mr. Greene and Chrismus drove 
 on to Pawtucket, to be in time for the morn- 
 ing-train to Boston. Chrismus drove home 
 alone. 
 
 That night the family consisted only of 
 Mrs. Greene, Daisy, and Chrismus. 
 
 It was a bitter cold night. All day the 
 leaden clouds had been thickening and the 
 northeast wind gaining force and keenness. 
 
 " Guess your snoiv is coming now," Mrs. 
 Greene had remarked to Chrismus toward 
 
60 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 night ; and the poor fellow had shrunk into 
 his clothes with a shivering " Ki ! " 
 
 There had been several " flurries of snow 
 already, but up to this time the month had 
 been remarkably mild and open. This was 
 fortunate for our southern blackbird, com- 
 pelled to winter at the " norf." He had 
 become somewhat accustomed to the " cole 
 wedder,*' but still betrayed his partiality 
 for the warm-hearted cooking-stove. To- 
 day he had hurried with his chores "right 
 smart.'' The " critters " received due atten- 
 tion ; the usual supply of wood was chopped ; 
 nothing was neglected : but Chrismus took 
 great interest in finishing the cradle he had 
 begun to make for Daisy, — an occupation 
 which kept him seated just behind the stove. 
 
 It was a little wicker-work cradle, being 
 fashioned in imitation of a toy-cradle given 
 to Daisy the year before, and now almost a 
 complete wreck. Chrismus was ingenious 
 and " handy " with his jack-knife; he dearly 
 loved Daisy, who reciprocated his attach- 
 ment ; and was very willing to have some- 
 thing to do which would keep him near the 
 fire. 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 61 
 
 With sunset came the snow ; at first in a 
 fine driving mist, soon in a sweeping cloud, 
 howling down and around the house, rattling 
 at the windows, sifting through the cracks and 
 under the doors, and terrifying Chrismus, 
 who was possessed with a fear that they 
 would all be buried beneath the white wrath 
 of the storm. 
 
 Daisy was sitting up later than usual — 
 permitted ,to see the conclusion of the im- 
 portant labors which she had superintended 
 all day. She and the cradle-builder were 
 together in the kitchen ; Mrs. Greene sat by 
 herself in the front-room, reading. Presently 
 she came out and joined the workers, bring- 
 ing her book with her — David's new prayer- 
 book. She drew up a chair beside them. 
 
 " Chrismus, you must have had a very 
 good master and mistress, — Mr. and Mrs. 
 King." 
 
 " Dey was, Missy Greene, ebery way, — 
 de Lord bress 'em ! If dey had gone off to 
 Charleston as dey talk one time, an' took 
 deir people 'long, I 'se gwine too ; an' Flora 
 was gwine, an' mos' all de res'. K dey hadn' 
 gone away in de bigges' kin'' oh a hurry, 
 
62 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 when de shell come a-bustin' an' a-tearin' 
 'bout de place, dey 'd a-had mos' all deir 
 people wid 'em now. Jake and Cesar, dey 
 use' to talk 'bout freedom; — mighty gran' 
 ting, freedom, dis chile know dat\ but I'se 
 tell 'em, ' Don' you tink it right mean to leave 
 Massa aad Missis when dey in trouble ? ' 
 My Flo' was in ' de house ' ; took care little 
 Missy Alice : Flo' go wdd her Missis. I 'se 
 give a heap to know whar dey ^1 be now, 
 an' how dey do. You see, JVIissy Greene, 
 Massa King was a good Christian man. He 
 use to say sometime dat he was our massa, 
 but de Lord w^as de Massa of all^ him an' us 
 an' eberybody, an' we all got to 'bey Him. 
 He say de Lord made him our massa, an' he 
 got to give a 'count for de way he treat us. 
 An' dis chile jes wish he had as good a 
 'count to give as Massa King ! Missis ! de 
 Lord • bress an' keep 'er ! She was de hes^ 
 lady de good Lord eber made ! Anybody 
 sick. Missy King come to see 'em. Anybody 
 die, Missy King come to de house an' read 
 de prayer. Ole aunty Jule got de rheumum- 
 tism ; Missy King sen' flannum an' linimump. 
 Ole daddy Joe loose all he chicken wid de 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 63 
 
 pip ; Missy King sen' 'im tree poun' o' baccer, 
 'cause he couldn' buy none for hese'f. Dat 
 woman was a angel : we mos' tink we see de 
 wing's, under de white shawl! Hear her play 
 on de piany in de house, or on de melode- 
 raum in de chapel; an' sing, — bress you, 
 how she could sing ! Flora say to me one 
 Sunday, ' Neber min' heben jes yet; Missy 
 King'^ music nuf for dis presen'. She use 
 to have a Sunday-school, ebery Sunday 
 night. Nobody haf to go, but mos' all de 
 people dere, reg'lar, ole an' young. An' she 
 talk to us an' read to us ; an' us all sing 
 togedder, — sometime till de sun done gone 
 down an' de dark come. Sunday was a 
 good day, dere." 
 
 " But you were better off, were n't you, 
 Chrismus, than other — other " — 
 
 " Dan udder niggers ? Yes, 'm, a heap ! 
 I 'se bet we was ! On'y next plantashum to 
 us dere was a man, — s'pose he call hese'f a 
 man, — dat treat he people wus dan de mule, 
 or de dog ; yes, heap wus dan de dog ! 
 Don' wan' to talk about him 'fore Daisy : 
 gib de chile bad dream ; but all de people 
 on de plantashum roun' us call our place 
 
64 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 * Hehen^ * How's ail de folk down to Hehen V 
 dey say." 
 
 " Well, Chrismus ; tell me something more 
 about the meeting you used to have." 
 " De church, Missy ? " 
 
 " Yes, — if that 's the name. You know 
 you said last night that the church David 
 told about was like yours." 
 
 " I tink so, from what he tell. Nex' Sun- 
 day, de Lord willin', I 'se gwine to see." 
 
 " But suppose there 's snow on the ground, 
 Chrismus." 
 
 " How deep will de snow be, Missy ? " 
 
 " Oh, I guess it won't be over your head." 
 
 " Den I 'se boun' to go I An' you wan' 
 me to tell 'boul im church, — Massa King 
 church ? " 
 
 " Oh, ma," interrupted Daisy, who had 
 hitherto been watching very closely the weav- 
 ing of the wickers, — " Chrismus told me all 
 about his church when we went up on High 
 Hill. Sing that music to ma, Chrismus, that 
 you sung to me ; do ! " 
 
 " Chrismus don' wan' to sing now, darlin'. 
 'F I'se git singin', you see, why de cradle 
 don' git finish, dis night." 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 65 
 
 " Was n't that some one * rattling the 
 back-door ? Yes ; there 's somebody there, 
 surely ! Chrismus, go and see I " 
 
 " Oh, Mass' Dave ! Dat you ! " 
 
 Shaking and stamping the snow off, David 
 walked in. 
 
 " If I 'd thought it was going to snow like 
 this, I believe I wouldn't have started ! Blew 
 right in my face all the way ! Lost the track 
 ever so many times ! " 
 
 " Why, child, what on earth ! It 's a won- 
 der you did n't get lost and frozen, such a 
 night as this ! What made you come ? 
 What 's the matter ? " 
 
 " I 've got a letter for you, ma." 
 
 " From 'Bijah ? From Hilton Head ? " 
 
 " 'T is n't his writing, but it says < P. M. 
 please forward, in haste,' on the outside, and 
 I thought I 'd come right home and bring 
 it." 
 
 The mother could not speak. She kissed 
 her son hurriedly, and then, with nervous 
 hands, tore open the envelope. The rest 
 stood in silence while she read it. 
 
 "Oh, thank God! thank God! He isn't 
 dead yet ! My boy is n't dead ! " 
 
 5 
 
66 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 " Let me read it, ma." 
 " Yes, read it ! read it out loud ! Thank 
 God, he isn't dead!" 
 David read : — 
 
 " Head-quarters, 103d R. I. H. A. | 
 Hilton Head, S. C, Dec. 1st, 18 6-. \ 
 
 " Dear Madam : — Your son gives me the 
 painful task of informing you that he is very- 
 sick with typhoid fever. Let me relieve your^ 
 anxieties as much as possible by saying that 
 the surgeon does not pronounce his case hope- 
 less ; on the contrary, he encourages us to 
 think a recovery possible, if not probable. 
 "We all most sincerely hope that he may re- 
 cover, and he shall not suffer for anything 
 that skill and care can do for him. 
 
 " Three weeks ago Capt. Greene led a recon- 
 noissance into the interior. He and his party 
 suffered severely from fatigue and exposure ; 
 and, just before reentering our lines, he was 
 attacked by a superior force and very nearly 
 captured. His men say of him that he 
 fought ' like a lion ' : they attribute their safe 
 escape to his boldness and skill. Seven of 
 his men were killed, and a large number 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 67 
 
 wounded, he himself receiving only a slight 
 sabre-cut on his head. 
 
 He wishes me to say that he longs for one 
 word from * ma ' ; thinks one of your letters 
 would do him more good than all the doctor's 
 J doses. It would be^out of the question, your 
 cominig to see him, but a letter would cer- 
 tainly comfort and strengthen him. He hopes 
 you will write immediately. 
 
 " You may well believe that, as his chaplain, 
 I am rejoiced to add that he has learned to 
 seek strength and comfort for his soul at the 
 hands of the Great Physician. He does not 
 fear to die. 
 
 " I have just read to him what I have writ- 
 ten, and he says, ' Tell her that there is a joy 
 and peace in believing, — a peace that the 
 world cannot give. Tell her that if it shall 
 please God to make these my last words to 
 her, to Father, to David and Daisy, I say, 
 Believe in Jesus ! Believe in Jesus ! ' 
 
 " He sends his best love to both his parents, 
 and to his brother and sister, — ' and to 
 ChrismuSj' he says. He tells me that Chris- 
 mus usedfto say to him, ^DonH swear, Massa ! ' 
 and he thinks it was that that first set him 
 thinkini?. 
 
68 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 " I have so crowded my sheet as hardly to 
 
 leave room for adding that I am 
 
 " Yours very sincerely, 
 
 u y 
 
 For a moment after David had finished 
 reading, the room was Utill. Mrs. Greene 
 sat with her eyes staring vacantly toward the 
 door : out through the storm and off over 
 leagues of land and sea, the mother's inner 
 sight sought the face of her sick boy. Daisy 
 had climbed into her lap, but sat there un- 
 noticed, though she pleaded, " DonH look so, 
 mamma ! " 
 
 " Mass' Dave," said Chrismus, suddenly 
 picking up a book from the floor, " a'n't dis 
 yer book a Prayer-book ? " 
 
 " Yes," replied David, taking it ; " it 's the 
 one Mrs. Rose gave me. How did it come 
 here ? " 
 
 " Don' know : neber min', now. Dere 's a 
 prayer in dat book for de sick. Missy King 
 use to say dat prayer. Too bad dis chile 
 can't read ! You fin' it. Mass' Dave ; de firs' 
 part de book, 'mong de prayer." 
 
 " ' For a sick person ' ; is that it ?" 
 
 " 'Pears like. ' O Fader ob mercy,' it begin." 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 69 
 
 " This is the one, then. But you can't 
 read, and I don't know how to pray. Ma, 
 won't you ? " 
 
 No answer. The eyes are fixed in their 
 gaze toward the pale face far away. 
 
 " Mass' Dave, you jes read dem word ! 
 Jes read dem good word! Git down on 
 you' knee an' read de word, an' I'se help 
 you pray ! " 
 
 A moment's hesitation and the prayer was 
 begun. Slowly and softly, and as if through 
 gathering tears, David's voice uttered the 
 words, — 
 
 " O Father of mercies, and God of all 
 comfort, our only help in time of need ; " — 
 and, phrase by phrase, in the tones of an ear- 
 nest, expectant faith, Chrismus followed him, 
 repeating the solemn sentences : — 
 
 " Look down from heaven, we humbly 
 beseech thee behold, visit, and relieve thy sick 
 servant " — 
 
 " Massa Cap'n Greene, de good Lord know 
 'im. He see 'im " — 
 
 " Look upon him with the eyes of thy 
 mercy; comfort him with a sense of thy 
 
70 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 goodness ; preserve him from the temptations 
 of the enemy ; give him patience under his 
 affliction ; and, in thy good time, restore him 
 to health, and enable him to lead the residue 
 of his life in thy fear, and to thy glory. Or 
 else give him grace so to take thy visitation, 
 that, after this painful life ended, he. may 
 dwell with thee in life everlasting ; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." 
 
 " Oh, mamma, dear mamma, donH look 
 so ! " sobbed Daisy. 
 
 It needed but this, now that the melt- 
 ing tones of that prayer had loosed the strain 
 of her hardening grief, — this sweet conta- 
 gion of sympathy, — to touch and open the 
 sealed fountains of teare. The mother wept 
 with her child, w^ith her children, — for 
 David's eyes were overflowing fast; and 
 Chrismus had need to bring his sleeve near 
 his eyes, though he spoke out bravely, — 
 
 " What you all cryin' for ? Spex de good 
 Lord hear dat prayer right off! Don' Massa 
 Cap'n sayin de letter, * Believe in Jesus ' ? an' 
 Jesus promise dat when two or free are 
 gadered togeder in his name, he grant deir 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 71 
 
 reques'. Tell you, dat promise stan' shure 
 Missy Greene ! " 
 
 The driving storm without increased in 
 fury, but the storm within was lulling: pre 
 long there came a blessed calm. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 N the next Sunday, Chrismua 
 took his first sleigh-ride. He 
 and David rode down to Rose- 
 dale to church. Mr. Greene, 
 who had returned late in the 
 week from Brighton, had said " Yes," very 
 willingly, when his wife had suggested — 
 
 " David says he 'd like to go to church 
 with Chrismus ; had n't you better let them 
 take the sleigh ? " 
 
 Chrismus had come to be regarded in that 
 family as a friend, rather than as a servant. 
 Mrs. Greene, although she hardly realized it 
 herself, looked up to him with the begin- 
 nings of even a reverent love : for he stood 
 nearer to her son's Jesus than she could ven- 
 ture yet ; he had opened for her the gates of 
 prayer, through which she could look, though 
 she dared not enter them ; he seemed to be her 
 spiritual superior, — as indeed he was, — her 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 73 
 
 guide, her teacher. Many a time during the 
 days which followed that night of storm and 
 sorrow, she had even sat at his feet, as it 
 were, and listened, while he talked of Jesus, 
 of the promises and encouragements and in- 
 vitations of his gospel. She had been en- 
 tertaining an angel unawares. 
 
 There are those among my readers who 
 will have sympathy with our brother church- 
 man and Christian Chrismus, in his enjoy- 
 ment of the services of the church once more. 
 After weeks or months of deprivation, there 
 is something inexpressibly enjoyable in enter- 
 ing again " Thy gates, O Sion," and in taking 
 place and part among them that offer there 
 the sacrifices of prayer and praise. Distance 
 may separate us from accustomed surround- 
 ings and companionships, but the service is 
 the same ; and we know that, at the same 
 hour, our friends are using the same words 
 with us, the same Confession and Venite, the 
 same psalter and lessons, the same creed, 
 prayers, and litany, and are blessed with 
 the same benediction of peace. We are 
 one with them and with " the holy church 
 throughout the world." 
 
74 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Chrismus wept tears of joy and thankful- 
 ness, even at hearing the sentence — 
 
 " The Lord is in his holy temple : let all 
 the earth keep silence before him." 
 
 And when the choir opened with full 
 chorus upon the Venite, set to a chant with 
 whose every note he was keenly familiar, the 
 tears rolled down his shining cheeks like rain, 
 and, though his lips moved, he could not sing 
 a word: and yet he made melody in his 
 heart unto the Lord. In the Gloria Patri at 
 the close of the psalter, — it happened to be 
 from " .Jackson's Jubilate in F," — he recog- 
 nized the music again, and joined in with 
 his full, rich tenor-voice. The people around 
 looked at him, they stared at him, they 
 turned back and — shall I say it ? — frowned 
 at him ; but he sang it through. He after- 
 wards said, — 
 
 "I'se sorry to 'fend 'em, but I 'se jes 
 could n' help it, no more 'n de wind help 
 blowin' ; de music sung itse'f, an' I 'se only 
 kep' still an' let it sing." 
 
 The minister could not but notice the fer- 
 vor of this new attendant upon his minis- 
 trations, and after service, on passing out 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 75 
 
 through the vestibule, he looked around to 
 find him. David he knew, from having seen 
 him at school; and on discovering Chrismus 
 and David standing together behind a door, 
 he went up and spoke to them. 
 
 " David, is this a friend of yours ? I think 
 I saw you sitting with him in church." 
 
 " Yes, sir ; he lives with my father. He is 
 a contraband that my brother brought home 
 last summer." 
 
 "And what is your name, my friend?" 
 asked the minister, kindly, turning to David's 
 companion. 
 
 " Chrismus, sah ! " replied he, showing a 
 set of teeth which the best dentist in Boston * 
 might try in vain to imitate and equal. 
 
 " ^ Chris'mus ' ? That 's a very good name 
 for a churchman, as I noticed you are. You 
 must have been brought up in the church 
 somewhere. Where was your home ? " 
 
 " I'se raise on 'Disto Islan', sah ; Port Royal, 
 sah! My massa was a very good man, an' 
 my missis too, sah. He name was King." 
 
 " '.King ' ? I wonder if — ; very likely it is 
 the same. — David, you and Chrismus come 
 home with me this noon, and take a little 
 
76 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 lunch, before Sunday-school. I think it quite 
 possible that I used to know this Mr. King " — 
 " Use to know my Massa King! Bress 
 de Lord I " 
 
 After a frugal lunch in the minister's study, 
 the minister said, — 
 
 " I'm quite sure I used to know your 
 * massa' well. Was his name Henry?" 
 
 " I 'se tink so, sah." 
 
 " And was he tall and thin, sallow-faced, 
 rather solemn, — very black hair and eyes?" 
 
 " Dat 's Massa King, sah, perzacly ! An' 
 you know 'im, sah ? " 
 
 " * Know him ' ? Why, Hen' King was 
 * my classmate and chum at Yale ! We used 
 to call him ' the Rooster,' — or rather, others 
 did; it always vexed him, and I loved him 
 too well to think of hurting his feelings. 
 Wife," (calling up the stairs,) " here 's a con- 
 traband 'that came from our old friend King's 
 plantation, at Port Royal ! Well, I declare ! 
 If this is n't strange ! " 
 
 The bell rang for Sunday-school that noon 
 sooner than was wished by either the min- 
 ister or his southern guest. After church, 
 however, — the afternoon service followed the 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 77 
 
 Sunday-school immediately, — after church 
 David and Chrismus were taken to the rec- 
 tory to dine ; for the rector wanted to talk 
 further with Chrismus about Mr. King. But 
 the colored servant, " Mother Gray," claimed 
 the contraband as her special guest at table. 
 
 " The laws ! goodness sakes alive I Was 
 tyou a slave, then ? " 
 
 " Yes, 'm ; I 'se s'pose so." 
 
 " Was you whipped an' branded ? 's yer 
 back all scars ? " 
 
 " No, aunty ; de Lord gib dis nigger a rale 
 good massa, a Christium man, dat neber flog 
 nobody 'less dey 'sarve it. I 'se seen my mas- 
 sa cry, aunty, 'cause he had to flog a boy." 
 
 " Well, now, that air beats all I ever heerd 
 afore ! I allers heerd tell that them marsters 
 was the cruellest men in the world." 
 
 " Dis one was a 'ception, aunty. Dere 
 was n' anudder massa on 'Disto, nor nowhars 
 roun', but what 'buse he people, — some bad 
 an' some wustes. But our massa, I 'se a- 
 tellin' yer, was a Christium man." 
 
 " Well, 'ligion does do wonders, don't it ? " 
 
 After dinner, the minister having invited 
 Chrismus into his study with David, Mrs. 
 
78 CONTRABAND CHRISTJMAS. 
 
 Rector came in too : they sat there until 
 almost dark, talking. Chrismus was en- 
 couraged to tell everything he knew of his 
 master and mistress, to describe plantation- 
 life, especially the church services at which 
 " Massa King read de service, an' a sermum, 
 gen'ally, and Missy King play de melody- 
 *mum in de kier, and Chrismus sing." 
 
 " I presume you had good music, Chris- 
 mus ; you colored people are very fond of 
 music. Can you think of the names of some 
 of the -tunes or chants you used to sing ? 
 Wife, did n't you hear Chrismus join in, in 
 the Gloria Patri^ this morning ? That was 
 Jackson's, you know. I fancy Mrs. King had 
 good taste in church music." 
 
 " Spex you got me dis time, sah. I 'se done 
 forgot de name, 'f I 'se eber knowd any. Las' 
 Chris'mas we sing a new carol, an' a Te 
 Deum dat Missy King call 'Jacksom,' I 
 b'lieve." 
 
 David interrupts the conversation : — 
 " Chrismus, I guess we 'd better start for 
 home. It 's 'most dark, and the mare 's whin- 
 ing at the gate " — 
 
 " An' Missy Greene '11 be wonderin' what 
 de raison we done gone so long." 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 79 
 
 The minister's wife, " fixing" David's wool- 
 len comforter about his ears, asked, — 
 
 " Have n't you got some brothers and sis- 
 ters at home ? " 
 
 " Only a little sister, ma'am." 
 
 " What 's her name ? " 
 
 " Her name is Margaret, but we always 
 call her * Daisy.' " 
 
 " ' Daisy ' ? That 's a sweet, pretty name 
 for a little girl. Can't you bring her with 
 you to our ' Tree ' ? You heard the notices 
 in church, and in Sunday-school too, about 
 our Christmas celebrations. Chrismus will 
 want to come, surely " — 
 
 " Chrismus boun^ to come. Missis ! " 
 
 " Well, come, all of you. Bring your father 
 and mother, David. I 'm sure they would 
 be pleased ; and Daisy would be delighted, I 
 know. Now, you '11 come, won't you ? " 
 
 " I don't know, ma'am. I '11 ask 'em." 
 
 David and Chrismus had enough to talk 
 about that night after they reached home. 
 And, as the result of David's repeating the 
 invitation of the minister and his wife to the 
 whole family for Christmas, listen to a brief 
 conversation in the dark : — 
 
80 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 " 'Bijah, are you asleep ? " 
 « No." 
 
 " Suppose we all o-o." 
 " Go where ? " 
 
 " Why, with David, Thursday." 
 
 " Where 's Dave going Thursday ? " 
 
 " You are asleep, 'Bijah, — half asleep, 
 anyhow! You know what I mean: down 
 to Rosedale, to see what they do, Christmas." 
 
 " Do you want to go. Wealthy ? " 
 
 " Well, I know 't would please Daisy to 
 see all the things and hear the music, — hear 
 the children sing " — 
 
 " Do you want to go ? " 
 
 « Well, yes, 'Bijah, I doP 
 
 " Then we '11 go. Good night ! " , 
 
 « Good night I " 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 RE AT preparations for Christ- 
 mas at Rosedale. Greens, — 
 cart-loads ! and about three 
 hundred thumbs and fingers to 
 tie them. The church to be 
 dressed, and the Sunday-school room to be 
 dressed, and the tree to be set up, and cookies 
 to be cooked, and candy-bags to be filled, and 
 corn to be popped, and all sorts of presents 
 to be bought or made, and gathered in and 
 hung to the fruitful branches of the wonder- 
 ful tree ; and class-mottoes and emblems to 
 be prepared for the " offerings," and musicy — 
 I must n't forget to mention that. The chok 
 have a new Te Deum and a new carol, and 
 a new jubilate to practise at, and the Sun- 
 day-school choir have a new cantata to an- 
 tiphonize, and their hymn, " While shep- 
 herds watched," which they always sing at 
 
62 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Christmas, to fit to a new tune. Ki ! as 
 Chrismus would say, lots to be done ! 
 
 Only one invitation was needed, from 
 Mary Martin to our friend David, to persuade 
 him to " come and help tie greens." If all 
 "the boys and girls that wanted to help at 
 this had been allowed to come, there would 
 have been altogether " too many cooks " ; — it 
 was esteemed a great privilege to be invited 
 to " tie greens." Now, our Mary had her 
 own reasons for encouraging David : being 
 feminine, she was, of course, something of a 
 flirt ; and she was, at this time, trying to tease 
 an avowed admirer of hers, a certain Timothy, 
 who was a slow but susceptible young man, 
 and an easy victim of the gi*een-eyed mon- 
 ster, Jealousy. Girls, it is very naughty in 
 you to deceive the Davids in order that you 
 may tease the Timothys ! But there 's no 
 use scolding you : one might as well scold 
 sP pussy-cat playing with a mouse. 
 
 Mary had asked the superintendent if she 
 might invite David, and he, — haven't 1 
 named him yet ? — he, that is, Mr. Kennett, 
 replied to her, — 
 
 " Certainly ; perhaps we can get him in- 
 
TYING G KEENS. Pa^e 83 
 
f 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 83 
 
 terested. He came to church last Sunday. 
 Ygs ; invite him." 
 
 Felicity! David stripping greens for his 
 adorable Mary to tie I — himself as " green/' 
 unconsciously, as the freshest laurel-leaf in 
 the wreath under Mary's fingers. That very 
 evening, although the bright-eyed mischief 
 had really intended to take Dave as her 
 cavalier, Timothy, that abominable Timothy, 
 contrived to find her shawl and " cloud " at 
 the propitious moment, and to secure a " yes, 
 thank you," before Dave knew what was go- 
 ing on. Despair ! 
 
 How does it happen, — I speak in the name 
 of the lords of creation, — how does it hap- 
 pen that our first " flames " are almost always 
 lighted prematurely, that our first " sweet- 
 hearts " are generally a year or two too old 
 for us ? 
 
 Ah, David Greene ! 
 
 Ohj Timothy Slowe! 
 
 Naughty Mary Martin! 
 
 " Missy Greene," said Chrismus, in a per- 
 suasive tone of voice, on Wednesday morn-, 
 ing, — " Missy Greene." 
 
84 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 " Well, Chrismus, what is it ? " 
 
 " Down in * heben,' Missy Greene, dey al- 
 lers hab great time in de holiday. No work 
 dat week, 'tween Chris'mas and New Year, 
 go visitin', stay home, jes you please ; hab a 
 dance ebery night. Wonder whar my Flo' 
 dance dis year!" 
 
 "I'm afraid you'll never see your Flora 
 again, Chrismus." 
 
 *^I'se 'fraid, too. Missis. But yer see, I 'se 
 got nuffin to do 'bout it : de good Lord, He 
 take care ! Peace come, an' I 'se gwine to 
 fin' 'er, please de Lord ! " 
 
 " Great times, then, for the colored folks 
 at the holidays, you say." 
 
 " Yes, Missis, de bes' kin' ob time ! Visit 
 an' present, — all de people hab some kin' 
 ob present. All de men pay deir respec' to 
 Massa King, Chris'mas mornin', an' all de 
 women to Missy King; an' dere on de piazza, 
 two big pile, high as dat! Eber so many 
 bundle, — poun' o' tea for Maumy Sue, nud- 
 der poun' for Aunty Jane ; poun' o' baccer 
 for Uncle Sam, nudder poun' for Daddy Joe ; 
 tree yard flannum, new cap, new coat, jack- 
 knife, hatchet, whitewash, an' glass an' putty, 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 85 
 
 to fix up cabin : can' begin to tell yer all de 
 difF'ent present, but eberybody git somet'n'. 
 Den Missy King say, ' Clar 'way dere, front, 
 an' call de chillin' ! ' an' dey come runnin' 
 to de house like a flock o' chick'n. Den 
 Missy King frow out de sugar-plum. Ki . 
 how de picaninny scrabble roun', ober an' 
 ober, all in a heap, bunt dey head togedder, 
 roll ober one anudder an' under one anud- 
 der, an' holler an' scream an' laugh an' cry, 
 swaller de sugar-plum down de wrong way, 
 — My ! — Den dey all go to deir quarter, 
 an' when de bell ring, all form a 'cessiom an' 
 go to de chapel." 
 
 " Perhaps you would n't object to a present 
 this Christmas. You ought to have some- 
 thing : yoiir birthday, too." 
 
 " I'se tinkin 'bout dat same ting, Missis, 
 an' ef Missy please, — Chrismus don' wan' 
 to be too bold, but it's jes heah, an' deres 
 no use a-talkin' roun' de bush, — I'se like 
 mighty well. Missy Greene, to hab a turkeyP 
 
 " 'A turkey ' ? What would you do with 
 a turkey ? " 
 
 " Carry him down an' gib him to de minis- 
 ter, dis af ernoon, when I 's« go af'er Mass' 
 Dave." 
 
86 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 "I'm glad you thought of it, Chrismus. 
 You shall have the fattest one there is left." 
 
 " Oh, tank you, Missy Greene, tank you! 
 De good Lord gib you merry Chris'mas, dis 
 year, an' all you' life I " 
 
 " I hope she will get it in time, chaplain I 
 You see they never have thought much of 
 Christmas-day at home ; in fact, I 've heard 
 father rather ridicule the idea, say that it was 
 Romish, childish, and so on. But I should 
 judge from ma's letters that Chrismus, — you 
 remember that bright, intelligent fellow that 
 came from one of the 'Disto plantations ; who 
 was my servant several months ; I took him 
 on North with me last summer, — he has been 
 giving the folks some new notions, I should 
 think. And now, chaplain, you will have 
 some kind of a service to-morrow, won't you ? 
 There 's fifty, here in the hospital, that I know 
 would be glad to keep Christmas-day in a 
 Christian way." 
 
 " Well, Captain, if the surgeon is willing, 
 I shall be glad to celebrate the Saviour's 
 birthday ; but you know that we must be 
 careful of these sick folks: the doctor may 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 87 
 
 think a service rather too exciting. And 
 speaking of excitement, your cheeks are quite 
 too red, my dear fellow ; you had better lie 
 down awhile ; talked enough for once, I 
 guess." 
 
 " ' Guess,' chaplain ? We ' reckon^ you 
 know, now." 
 
 " Daisy, look out the window, quick ! I 
 < b'lieve I heard our sleigh-bells." 
 
 " They 've come, ma ! they 've come ! 
 Father's gone out to get Rhody ! " How 
 careless I am about naming my characters, 
 my dramatis personce. " Rhody " is the 
 name of " the old mare." 
 
 " And Bose is jumping all over 'em ! And 
 Dave 's coming in with a basket. What 's 
 he got in that basket, ma ? " 
 
 " You '11 see to-morrow morning, darling." 
 
 " Has he been to Mr. Santa Claus' house ? " 
 
 " You must n't ask too many questions, 
 little Miss 'Quisitive!" 
 
 " Got a letter for you, ma ! " exclaims Da- 
 vid, unbuttoning his overcoat; postmarked 
 * Dec. 7 ' ; — long time coming. Don't tease, 
 Daisy ! You '11 see the inside of the basket, 
 
88 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 — when it 's empty, just as soon as it 's empty. 
 Dave wants to hear what mamma's letter 
 says about brother 'Bijah. Short and sweet, 
 a'n't it, ma ? " 
 
 " Yes, David ; he 's getting better, the 
 chaplain says. Read it yourself." 
 
 " Dear Madam : — I wrote you briefly, 
 three days since, stating that the surgeon had 
 pronounced your son out of danger. I have 
 now to add that he is slowly recovering, and, 
 except the bare possibility of a relapse, there 
 is nothing now to fear. 
 
 " Having an unusual number of letters 
 ^ to write for my sick boys, must be my 
 apology for brevity." 
 
 «Dat 'bout Massa Cap'n?" asks Chris- 
 mus, coming in. " Hab a toof for turkey 
 hese'f, a-reckon, dis Chris'mas : oughter be 
 turkey enough, too, roun' dere, — 'less de 
 blue-coat done steal 'em all." 
 
 " Another letter," says Dave to his father, 
 as he came in from the barn. " Chaplain 
 says he 's ' recovering. ' " 
 
 " Well, Dave, that 's good news ! We 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 89 
 
 shall have a merry Chris'mas all round this 
 time, I guess." 
 
 "Yes, 'Bijah, thank God! I'm perfectly., 
 easy about him now." (Mrs. G. speaks.) " I 
 have n't been ivorried, you know, any of the 
 time ; I 've been sure, somehow, that he 
 would get well ; — though I could n't help 
 wishing a letter would come. This has 
 been seventeen days on the way." 
 
 " I don't know what reason you had to be 
 sure, Wealthy." 
 
 " Some other time, 'Bijah, I will tell you 
 why I have been so sure." 
 
 " 'T was the night before Christmas, and all through the 
 house, 
 
 Not a creature was stirring," — 
 
 Except David. He had received permission 
 to personate Santa Claus, and had been pro- 
 vided with a five-dollar gold-piece from his 
 mother's hid treasures, with which to pur- 
 chase presents for the whole family. He had 
 been to Providence, and had visited half the 
 stores in Westminster Street. First, how- 
 ever, he had sold his gold, like a born- Yan- 
 kee, and added a dollar and a half to his 
 
90 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 capital. We shall see in the morning what 
 he bought. Now, in the still midnight, he is 
 filling the stockings. 
 
 " Lucky that father wears big stockings ! 
 And lucky that I had a couple of dollars of 
 ray own saved up. I can use the old skates 
 another winter. When a feller goes into the 
 Santa Claus line of business, he finds it takes 
 consid'able money, to do it up handsome. 
 No, Miss Mary, quite contrary, your * little 
 Davy ' don't spend any money*on you^ this 
 time ; Tim may, if he wants to. Now that 's 
 a pretty good pile of stuff for eight dollars 
 and a half, I say. Now for the stockings : 
 father's first, then ma's, then Daisy's, then 
 Chrismus's. First time stockings ever hung 
 up in this house ; and they shall be well filled, 
 hey, old Santa Claus? What's that? hail 
 against the windows ? Hope it won't storm 
 to-morrow ! " 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 HE first chickadee that woke 
 in the gray dawn of Christmas 
 morning, after jerking his head 
 to the right and then to the 
 left, remarked to himself, — 
 " Small chance for breakfast this morn- 
 ing. Chickadee-dee ! Everything 's covered 
 with ice ! Chickadee-dee ! Hurry up, my 
 sun, and melt out a bud or two ! Chicka- 
 dee-dee ! " 
 
 An early squirrel, after having rubbed the 
 sleep out of his eyes with the end of his tail, 
 looked out from his hole in a hollow tree, and 
 says he, — 
 
 Slippery ! I must sharpen my nails be- 
 fore I go visiting this morning. A feller 
 might slip up on these smooth branches and 
 hear something drop ! " 
 
 And then, before long, the sun came 
 
92 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 slowly up and looked over the hill-tops, and, 
 to his Surprise, found the trees all dressed in 
 diamonds. 
 
 " Oh, I forgot," said he to himself ; " this 
 is Christmas-day, is n't it ? " 
 
 Christmas-day ! of all the year the bright- 
 est, for on this day arose the Sun of Right- 
 eousness. 
 
 " Risen with healing in his wings, 
 Light and life to all he brings. 
 Hail the Sun of Righteousness ! 
 Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace." 
 
 Merry is the chickadee, and jolly is the 
 squirrel ; but neither is so happy, this Christ- 
 n>as morning, as little Daisy Greene. She 
 and Chrismus had made a bargain overnight 
 that which ever waked first should wake the 
 other ; and Chrismus, dreaming of the home 
 holiday, had laughed himself awake at some- 
 thing particularly funny, before the day had 
 fairly begun to peep. So, as soon as there 
 was light enough to see, he crept down stairs 
 softly, in his stocking-feet, and went to 
 Daisy's " crib." One touch was enough : in 
 a moment the house was ringing with " Mer- 
 ry Chris'masI Merry Chris'mas ! " David 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 93 
 
 had told her that this was the salutation of 
 the day, and that if she " wished " anybody 
 first, why, she was "the best feller." No 
 more sleeping, you may be sure of that ! 
 But presently David's voice from the top of 
 the stairs, — 
 
 " I say, down there I Let them stockings 
 alone till breakfast ! Daisy, you rogue, don't 
 you touch one of 'em I " 
 
 Hard work to wait ; but everybody was 
 in a hurry for breakfast that morning; and 
 Chrismus was on such good terms with " dat 
 cookin'-stove," that he reported the tea-kettle 
 " done bile" in fifteen minutes ; and the fam- 
 ily was at breakfast before our friend chick- 
 adee had left his perch. 
 
 Now this is Chapter XL, and as my book 
 does n't hold but XIL, I must crowd my 
 words close tosfether. 
 
 David — " Oldest first ! Here 's your 
 stocking, father." 
 
 A pair of wool-lined buckskin driving- 
 gloves ; an Emerson's razor-strop ; a bunch 
 of toothpicks ; a stick of candy ; five pea- 
 nuts, done up in a ti'iple-sheet of the " New 
 York Herald." 
 
94 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 " Now, ma, it 's your turn." 
 
 Daisy — " Oh dear, I can't wait so long ! 
 Please^ Dave, let me open mine now ! " 
 
 Mrs. G. — " Yes, David, let Daisy take her 
 turn now ; I can wait just as well." 
 
 — A blue-eyed doll, dressed in red, white, 
 and blue ; a cornucopia of candy ; a little bit 
 of a gold ring in a box ; a crying baby ; a 
 monkey on a stick ; a pound of candy ; a 
 picture-book ; a pint of peanuts. Rapture ! 
 " \ii " — Chrismus could nH wait. That plump 
 stocking proved too great a temptation. 
 Picking at one end of the paper bundle 
 uppermost, he had discovered something of a 
 woollen nature, and, taking advantage of 
 Daisy's exclamations of delight, he had turned 
 his back and pulled it out. It was a long, 
 thick, close-knit, bright-red " comforter," just 
 the thing for cold mornings ; and, next to 
 this, he found a pair of shaggy mittens ; and 
 next, a compound jack-knife, which opened 
 out into Various useful tools for tinkering; 
 and next, a " Frank Leslie," which contained 
 a large picture of Port Royal; and last, a 
 great piece of molasses candy done up in an 
 original package. " Ki" was uttered, not 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 95 
 
 merely by tongue, but by teeth, two goodly 
 rows, and by the whites of his eyes, and by 
 a general shinyness, not to say radiance or 
 refulgence or transplendency of countenance. 
 
 " Now, ma ! " and Dave's eyes danced with 
 additional twinkles. 
 
 — A nice lace-collar, with cuffs to match ; 
 a pair of warm gloves ; a small bottle of 
 cologne water, and a paper of pins. From 
 the toe of the stocking came a small, flat 
 package which, on being opened, proved to 
 be a letter. 
 
 " Why, David ! What does this mean ? 
 When did this come? It's 'Bijah's writ- 
 ing ! " 
 
 She did not wait for answers to her ques- 
 tions, but at once opened and read the pre- 
 cious letter. And, as she read, tears came 
 into her eyes, half-blinding her ; and yet she 
 smiled, for these were tears of joy. 
 
 " It came yesterday, ma, with the chap- 
 lain's letter, in the same mail, but I thought 
 I 'd give you that first ; and then, as that 
 turned out such a good one, I thought you 
 could wait overnight for this one, 't would 
 be such a tip-top present for your stocking; 
 
96 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 and I knew I had n't much else to put in, 
 — not so much as I wished I had." 
 
 " You need n't make any excuses, David, 
 for it has all turned out just right. 'Bijah says 
 here that he hopes we shall happen to get 
 his letter Christmas-day ; and hear this " : — 
 
 " Here 's a dollar for Daisy ; it 's enough 
 to sweeten every tooth in her little mouth. 
 And here 's a greenback V for Dave to buy 
 as good a pair of skates as he wants. And 
 here 's another V for Chrismus to buy what 
 he likes." 
 
 " You see ma 's got the best stocking of 
 ail." 
 
 " Read the letter, ma ; read the letter ! " 
 
 " I can't ; there 's a secret in it. But he 
 says he is getting better fast, sits up a little 
 longer every day, and means to eat ' a grand 
 good Christmas dinner.' " 
 
 " Ki ! 'Pears like dis gwine to be a bery 
 merry Chris'mas ! " 
 
 " Would n't you rather be back in ' heben ' 
 to-day ? " 
 
 " Tell de truf, Missis, I 'se kinder wan' ter 
 see Flo', an' dat 's a fac' ! But dat 's de only 
 'ception." 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 97 
 
 " Now we must all hurry. It 's 'most eight 
 o'clock, and we ought to start at nine." 
 
 I must rely on the fertile imaginations of 
 my readers to carry out the programme of 
 this Christmas-day at Rosedale. Our church 
 services are nearly the same everywhere ; we 
 have talked over the preparations which were 
 being made for the children's festival ; the 
 loaded sleigh has started by this time on its 
 easy passage down the Cumberland hills: 
 and so I am sure you can fancy out the events 
 of the day, Christmas-tree and all. But 
 there was one event that you will hardly 
 guess. I suppose I must tell you. Now 
 don't you look on ahead ! Don't you turn 
 the leaf for even a glance ! 
 
 There was a secret, you know, in the Cap- 
 tain's letter to his mother. There were 
 several matters that she chose to keep to her- 
 self for awhile. Her son had written out his 
 heart to her, and she knew he had meant 
 most of it for her alone. His father would be 
 disinclined to appreciate what the son could 
 write, and the mother could now understand 
 about the Saviour and Comforter, the Hearer 
 
 7 
 
98 
 
 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 of prayer, the Healer of sin-sick souls ; and 
 she knew that none, except Chrismus, could 
 share with her those tears of joy. But there 
 was a secret besides, — a capital secret ; and 
 she would have told it right out at first had 
 she not read the warning, " Keep this to your- 
 self until you hear from me again ; I '11 try to 
 find out where she has gone." 
 
 " Wait awhile. I 'm going to tell the secret 
 in my own way." 
 
 During the morning-service, while the 
 minister's family were at church, — except 
 Mother Gray, a Baptist, w^ho was roast- 
 ing the turkey that Chrismus brought, — there 
 came a knock at the kitchen-door. 
 
 " Does the minister live here ? " 
 
 " Yes ; but he 's gone to church." 
 
 " I 've got a letter for him. May I come 
 in and wait ? " 
 
 " Sartin ; walk in. Set you down by the 
 fire ; take off your bonnet. Have you come 
 fur ? " 
 
 " Pve walked from a place they call Ftuc- 
 ket, — three or four miles, I should think. I 
 came from Boston this morning." 
 
 " Do you live to Boston ? 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 99 
 
 " No, aunty ; I have n't been there long." 
 
 " Got a letter, eh ? Well, it 's mos' time 
 for church to be out. Declare ! it 's half-after 
 twelve now ! 'n' I expect a young man here 
 to eat dinner with me, an' things a'n't cleaned 
 up a bit I " 
 
 " Let me help you, aunty. I 'm warm 
 enough now." 
 
 " That 's a good soul ! I wish you would. 
 I 've got that gravy to make ; — folks here 
 nriighty pertikler 'bout gravy. An' you shall 
 have a good dinner, if you '11 stay." 
 
 Another knock at the door. 
 
 " Won't you open the door. Miss ? my 
 hands is all flour." 
 
 Chris mus and Flora stood face to face ! 
 
 " De Lord done been too good dis time ! 
 too good to dis poor mis'able sinner, dat don' 
 'sarve no big mercy like dis ! " 
 
CHAPTER XIL 
 
 XTRACT from the Captain's 
 letter to his mother : — 
 " Chrismus must have told you 
 about his Flora, I 'm sure : he 
 CO aid n't help talking about her. 
 Well : I 've just heard through one of the 
 people that live on the old plantation, that 
 Flora has gone North with an officer's wife ; 
 and that she had a letter to some one who 
 would help her. She means to find Chris- 
 mus if she can, my informant said ; but don't 
 tell him till I write again. I 'II try to find out 
 where she has gone." 
 
 But Mrs. Greene had n't long to keep her 
 secret, it seems. 
 
 The following is the letter that Flora had 
 for the minister : — 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 101 
 
 " Dear Classmate and Chum : — This 
 letter will be handed you (God willing) by 
 * Flora.' She has been my wife's maid, and 
 would remain with us ; but my "affairs are all 
 in confusion, and, to tell the truth, I am un- 
 able to afford the maintenance of unneces- 
 sary servants. Flora chooses to go North, 
 mainly, I conclude, because her lover is there, 
 somewhere, — a very worthy fellow, whom I 
 hope she may succeed in finding. He was 
 taken to the North last summer by a Rhode 
 Island officer, — at least, so Flora has heard. 
 How she will contrive to get to her Canaan, 
 I cannot tell ; but as she is very intelligent 
 and capable, I think she will succeed. I can 
 only assist her in getting through our lines 
 on her way to Hilton Head. Flora is a girl 
 of unusual merit, — a thorough Christian, I 
 believe. We are sorry to part with her ; and 
 the little one whose nurse she has been will 
 almost break her heart at losing her. Am I 
 asking too much of an old friend in begging 
 that you will befriend Flora, if you can ? 
 There ought to be a little money to my credit 
 at my agent's in Newport ; — you remember, 
 
102 
 
 CONTKABAND CHKISTMAS. 
 
 perhaps, that I used to own a cottage there. 
 I enclose an order upon him for five hundred 
 dollars. Be so kind as to get this, — if you 
 are willing to touch a rebel's property, — and 
 act as Flora's banker for awhile. If she finds 
 Chrismus (her lover), she should marry him 
 and divide with him. 
 
 " I will not speak of the great matters which 
 make you and me civil enemies. We were 
 once friends, dear friends, to each other, and, 
 so far as I am concerned, this horrible war 
 divides us only in regard to externals. I 
 would gladly do for you that which I ask 
 you to do for me ; for I am now, as ever, 
 " Yours sincerely, 
 
 " Henry King." 
 
 And now, readers mine, we will at once 
 begin to " narrer " ; — if you don't know what 
 that means, watch the process, when you 
 have an opportunity, of finishing off the toe 
 of a stocking. 
 
 Every Sunday^ no matter what the weather 
 may be, " Rhody " stands under the shed 
 all day, behind the church at Rosedale. The 
 
CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 103 
 
 new year had not added many days to its 
 calendar, before Mrs. Greene had knelt at 
 the font for baptism. Not long after, she 
 brought her little Daisy to be baptized. It 
 was noticed that the little one's white dress 
 was tied at the neck with a faded blue ribbon. 
 The mother awaits now her son's expected 
 return on leave, to»be confirmed with him. 
 David is a regular and interested member of 
 Mr. Rose's class in Sunday-school. Daisy 
 belongs to the infant-school, and is under 
 Mrs. Walpole's excellent care. Mr. Greene 
 has hired a pew and comes to church oftener 
 than he did. 
 
 Chrismus and Flora were married on New 
 Year's day. In their marriage certificate, 
 Chrismus touched the pen which wrote his 
 name, " Chrismus Greene King." They live 
 at the Greene's for the present, but are look- 
 ing out for a local investment for their five 
 hundred dollars. They are at church, of 
 course, every Sunday ; they walk down, usu- 
 ally. Mother Gray entertains them on Sun- 
 day noon, and often reminds them of their 
 meeting at her kitchen-door. 
 
104 CONTRABAND CHRISTMAS. 
 
 " One said * Flo' ! ' an' t' other said ' Chris- 
 mus ! ' an' then you both went to cryin' as 
 hard as you could cry." 
 
 " Bress de Lord! Dat was de merries' 
 Chris' mas we eber had ! Was n't it, Flo' ? " 
 
 THB END.