d begged her to wear always, for the sake of her
truth to me, she begged me to be wiser than to fret about things that I
could not change. "All these people, whose hovels I saw, had the means
of grace before them, and if they would not stretch forth their hands,
it was only because they were vessels of wrath. Her pity was rather
for our poor black brethren who had never enjoyed no opportunities, and
therefore must be castaways."

Being a stranger, and so young, and accustomed to receive my doctrine
(since first I went to America), I dropped all intention of attempting
any good in places where I might be murdered. But I could not help
looking at the pump which was in front, and the poor things who came
there for water, and, most of all, the children. With these it was
almost the joy of the day, and perhaps the only joy, to come into this
little open space and stand, and put their backs up stiffly, and stare
about, ready for some good luck to turn up--such as a horse to hold, or
a man coming out of the docks with a half-penny to spare--and then,
in failure of such golden hope, to dash about, in and out, after one
another, splashing, and kicking over their own cans, kettles, jars, or
buckets, and stretching their dirty little naked legs, and showing very
often fine white chests, and bright teeth wet with laughter. And then,
when this chivy was done, and their quick little hearts beat aloud with
glory, it was pretty to see them all rally round the pump, as crafty
as their betters, and watching with sly humor each other's readiness to
begin again.

Then suddenly a sense of neglected duty would seize some little body
with a hand to its side, nine times out of ten a girl, whose mother,
perhaps, lay sick at home, and a stern idea of responsibility began
to make the buckets clank. Then might you see, if you cared to do so,
orderly management have its turn--a demand for pins and a tucking up
of skirts (which scarcely seemed worthy of the great young fuss), large
children scolding little ones not a bit more muddy than themselves, the
while the very least child of all, too young as yet for chivying, and
only come for company, would smooth her comparatively clean frock down,
and look up at her sisters with condemnatory eyes.

Trivial as they were, these things amused me much, and made a little
checker of reflected light upon the cloud of selfish gloom, especially
when the real work began, and the children, vying with one another,