--I moight buy her fur a friend o' mine. His
wife's hed twins, and he moight use her ter look arter the young 'uns.'

'Young or old?'

'Young and sprightly.'

'They is high, ye knows--but thar's a gal that'll suit. Git up gals;'
and a row of five women rose: 'No; git up thar, whar we kin see ye.'
They stepped up on the log. 'Now, thar's a gal fur ye,' he continued,
pointing to a clean, tidy mulatto woman, not more than nineteen, with a
handsome but meek, sorrow-marked face: 'Luk at thet!' and he threw up
her dress to her knees, while the poor girl reached down her shackled
hands in the vain effort to prevent the indignity. He was about to show
off other good points, when I said: 'Never mind--I see what she is. Let
'em git down.'

They resumed their seats, and he continued: 'Thet's jest the gal ye
wants, Kirke--good at nussin', wet or dry; good at breedin', too; hed
two young 'uns, a'ready. Ye kin * * * * *' [The rest of this discourse
will not bear repeating.]

'No, thank you.'

'Well, jest as ye say. She's sound, though; sold fur no fault. Har young
massa's ben a-usin' on har--young 'uns are his'n. Old man got pious;
couldn't stand sech doin's no how--ter home--so he says ter me, 'Jake,
says he, take har ter Orleans--she's jest the sort--ye'll make money
sellin' har ter some o' them young bloods. Ha! ha! thet's religion for
ye! I doan't know, Kirke, mebbe ye b'long ter the church, and p'raps yer
one o' the screamin' sort; but any how, I say, d---- sech religion as
thet. Jake Larkin's a spec'lator, but he wouldn't do a thing like
thet--ef he would, d---- him.'

[The dealer in negroes never applies the term 'trader' to himself; he
prefers the softer word, 'speculator.' The phrase 'negro trader' is used
only by the rest of the community, who are 'holier than he.']

'I doan't b'lieve ye would, Larkin; yer a good fellow, at bottom, I
reckon.'

'Well, Kirke, yer a trump. Come, hev another drink.'

'No; excuse me; karn't stand more'n one horn a day: another'd lay me out
flatter'n a stewpan. But ter business. How much fur thet gal--cash down?
Come, talk it out.'

'Well, at a word--twelve hun'red.'

'Too much; bigger'n my pile; couldn't put so much inter one gal, nohow.
Wouldn't give thet money fur ary nig in Car'lina.'

'Oh, buy me, good massa. Mister Larkin'll take less'n dat, I reckon;
_do_ buy me,' said the girl, who had been eying me very closely during
the preceding dialogue.

'I would, my good girl, if