r
hymn, an' den yer kin all go. I'll give de hymn out, so's dar needn't be
no 'scuse 'bout not know'n uv de words, an' so's yer all kin sing."

The children rose to their feet, and Uncle Bob, with great solemnity,
gave out the following hymn, which they all, white and black, sang with
great fervor:

"O bless us, Lord! O bless us, Lord!
O bless us mo' an' mo';
Unless yer'll come an' bless us, Lord,
We will not let yer go.

"My marster, Lord; my marster, Lord--
O Lord, he does his bes',
So when yer savin' sinners, Lord,
Save him wid all de res'.
O bless us, Lord! O bless us, Lord!
An' keep us in yer cyar;
Unless yer'll come an' bless us, Lord,
We're gwine ter hol' yer hyear.

"My missus, Lord; my missus, Lord,
O bless my missus now--
She's tryin' hard ter serve yer, Lord,
But den she dunno how.
O bless us, Lord! O bless us, Lord!
O bless us now, we pray;
Unless yer'll come an' bless us, Lord,
We won't leave hyear ter day.

"Deze chil'en, Lord; deze chil'en, Lord,
O keep dey little feet
Er gwien straight ter hebn, Lord,
Fur ter walk dat golden street.
O bless us, Lord! O bless us, Lord!
O come in all yer might;
Unless yer'll come an' bless us, Lord,
We'll wrestle hyear all night.

"Deze niggers, Lord; deze niggers, Lord,
Dey skins is black, hit's true,
But den dey souls is white, my Lord,
So won't yer bless dem too?
O bless us, Lord! O bless us, Lord!
O bless us mo' an' mo';
Unless yer'll come an' bless us, Lord,
We'll keep yer hyear fur sho.

"All folkses, Lord; all folkses, Lord--
O Lord, bless all de same.
O bless de good, an' bless de bad,
Fur de glory uv dy name.
Now bless us, Lord! now bless us, Lord!
Don't fool 'long o' us, no mo';
O sen' us down de blessin', Lord,
An' den we'll let yer go."

CHAPTER VII.

POOR ANN.

"Miss Diddie!" called Dilsey, running into the nursery one morning in a
great state of excitement; then, seeing that Diddie was not there, she
stopped short, and demanded, "Whar Miss Diddie?"

"She's sayin' her lessons," answered Dumps. "What do you want with her?"

"De specerlaters is come," said Dilsey; "dey's right down yon'er on de
crick banks back er de quarters."

In an instant Dumps and Tot had abandoned their dolls, and Chris and
Riar had thrown aside their quilt-pieces (for Aunt Milly was teaching
them to sew), and they were all just leaving the room when Mammy
entered.

"Whar yer gwine?" asked Mammy.