her-in-law. Having solved this problem, and satisfied ourselves of the
universality of its conditions, it next occurred to us to examine its
terms as applicable to the different races of men. And here we found that
while all races are equally gifted in this respect, yet its elementary
conditions are not always the same in different branches of the Adamic
tree. Taking the extremes in color as the representatives of a fair
contrast in other respects, we have confined our investigations to the
white and black races,--and with a view to our own profit, and to being
fully comprehended by the reader,--these races as they exist on our own
shores. Without any reference whatever to the vain science known as
metaphysics, our conclusions are as follows: With the white man this
element of his being is less on the surface, and he wears it uneasily, as
though it were foreign to his genius, and at the same time a curb on his
actions. With the other it is a loose-fitting garment, worn on the
outside, and he seems rather pleased than otherwise that he is thus
rendered a spectacle to his fellow-men. The white man attempts to conceal
it, and above all would persuade himself that it is an illusion of the
fancy. The black, contrariwise, has no qualms of conscience on the
subject, and if pressed for argument, might adduce it as a crowning
evidence of his homogeneity.

Two incidents have come under our notice which set forth this distinction
more forcibly than any form of words we could employ. A farmer living in
the back country, near the city of Shreveport, brought his son--a youth
whose adolescency would hardly have escaped the notice of strangers--to
that thriving burg to view the sights. The steamboat feature was down in
the programme, of course, and reaching the wharf, the youngster was
commissioned to go aboard and obtain the exact "geography" of "the thing."
This he proceeded to do with all haste, exploring the quarter-deck,
rummaging through the cabins, and finally bringing up before the engine
with a manner that said as plainly as words, "the thing is inconceivable."
The engineer, standing not far off, observed this movement, and, probably
without contemplating such serious results, stepped briskly forward and
touched the safety-valve. Startled beyond all "fancy fathoms" by the
earthquake of sound, "country" accomplished a rapid retrograde movement,
which soon involved him in conflict with the waves, whence, floundering
and splutteri