cloes--dey lib in cabins made ob clay, an' in holes in de groun'--dey
kill an' eat one anoder, an' dey'm allers at war wid one anoder. But de
white man he gwoe dar, an' he buy 'em fur twenty pieces ob
silver--dat's' zactly de price--twenty silver dollars--dey pay dat fur
'em up ter dis day--dem pore, ign'rant folks won't take nuffin' but
silver. Well, de white man buy 'em, and he fotch 'em to dis country,
which am like de lan' ob Egypt, full ob schools, ob churches, ob
larnin,' an' ob all manner ob good tings. Shore, we hab to wuck hard
har; some ob us hab to bear heaby burdens, an' to make bricks w'en dey
gib us no straw to make 'em wid; but we am in de lan' ob Egypt, whar we
hab knowledge ob de Lord; whar de gospil am preach to us, an' whar we
kin fine out de rode to de lan' ob Canaan. (To be shore, we karn't all
larn out ob de books; but book larnin' neber make a man, no how.) Yas,
my friends, yere we kin fine out de road to de lan' ob Canaan; an' do ye
know what dat lan' ob Canaan, dat'm waitin' fur de brack man, am? Do ye
'spose it am a lan' whar de days am hot, an' de nights am cole; whar
we'll hoe de cotton, an' gader de turpentine, an' cut de shingles in de
swamp? whar we'll wuck till we drop down; whar we'll hunger an' furst?
whar de fever will burn in our veins, an' de nager will rattle our bones
as de corn am rattled in de hopper? No, my friends, 'tain't no lan' like
dat! It am de habitation on high, de city builded ob de Lord, de
eberlasting kingdom founded by de Eternal God, who made heaben an'
'arth, de sea, an' all dat in dem is! Oh, tink ob dat, my friends, an'
hab courage! Tink ob dat when you'm a faint an' a weary, an' leff you'
hearts be glad, an' you' souls rejoice in hope. Fur dat lan' ain't
'spressly fur de white man--it am fur de brack man, too; an' ebery one
ob us, eben de brackest, kin git to it ef we'll jess foller der road--ef
we'll jess do our duty, bear meekly our burdens, an' lean humbly on de
arm ob de Lord. I knows it am so, my friends. I _knows_ it am so, fur de
oder night, when de deep sleep fell upon me, I dreamed a dream. I fought
dar come to my cabin, an' stood aside ob my bed, a great white angel,
wid feet dat touch de 'arth, but wid head dat reach unto de heabens. He
wore raiment shinin' like silver, an' on his head wus a girdle ob stars.
His face wus dazzlin' as de sun, an' his eyes war like flamin' fire. He
look at me, an' he say: 'Joseph, come up hither!' He reach out his hand
an