h him.

'But _you_ do just as badly, Joe,' I replied. 'You let these darkies
waste more than they eat, and you keep four here to do the work of
three. You are no better than your master.'

'Only half so good, Mr. Kirke,' rejoined the black, showing a set of
teeth which a dentist might have used for a door plate; 'only _half_ so
good, 'case I'se only half white. But, if master Robert 'ould leff me
handle de whip, I'd show him suffin'! I reckon de int'rest 'ouldn't be
ahind den.'

'Why? don't you let Joe whip the negroes?' I asked Preston.

'No, not now; I did, till some years ago, when he almost killed one of
them, and came near getting me into serious trouble. He could manage
them well enough without whipping, if he'd curb his impetuous temper a
little.'

'But I does curb it, master Robert, and it tain't ob no use. Dey knows I
_can't_ whip 'em, an' dey don't keer fur de starvin', or de tyin' up, or
de talkin' to in de meetin'. Dey don't mind fur nuffin' but de whip, an'
a little ex'cise wid dat does a nigger good when he'm right down
'fractory. And you has 'lowed, master Robert, dat I warn't so much ter
blame in dat 'fair ob Black Cale.'

'Well, perhaps you weren't. It's a good story, Kirke; did I ever tell it
to you?'

'No; I'd be glad to hear it.'

'Come, Joe,' said his master, good-naturedly, 'you can tell it better
than I. You know it by heart.'

'Well, master, if you says so,' replied Joe; and as we seated ourselves
in a semicircle on some rosin barrels, the black proceeded to give the
following illustration of the working of free and slave institutions:

'Well, you see, Mr. Kirke, de darky's name wus Black Cale, an' he wus a
raised up 'long wid me by de ole gemman--dat am master Robert's
gran'fer. He wus allers a hard-bitted, 'fractory darky, but he wus
smart, awful smart, and could do a heap ob work when a minded to; but he
wusn't a minded to bery of'en, an' ole master used to hab ter flog
him--flog him bery hard. Well, finarly, de ole gemman grow'd tired ob
doin' so much ob dat, an' he call Cale ter him one day, an' he say:

''Cale, you'se a likely nigger, an' I _don't_ like ter flog you so much.
Now, I'll leff you hire you' time, an' gwo down ter Newbern, an' shirk
fur you'seff.'

'Ole master knowed Cale wus habin' a bad 'fect on de oder darkies, an'
he 'lowed 'twould be cheap leffin' him gwo ef he didn't get a picayune
fur him. Well, Cale, he took ter dat ter onst, an' he 'greed to gib ole
mast