, simply because the poor creatures,
after a short trial of freedom's vicissitudes, had come back to 'home
an' ole mars',' and he had not the heart to turn them away.

"One woman, whose circumstances I knew, came to me for a pass to go
North.

"'But, Kate,' I said to her, 'you are much better off here than you
can be at the North.'

"'Done got _nuffin_' here,' she asserted positively.

"'You have that little cabin Mrs. H---- allows you to live in.'

"'Sho' now, Mars' Cap'n, 'course I has.'

"'But at the North you will have no house unless you can pay for it.'

"'Pay for it! Why, don't they gib deir niggas a cabin?'

"'No. You may get a room, but you will have to pay so much a week to
be allowed to live in it. And Mrs. H---- lets you have your food too.'

"'But dey'll gib a nigga her food, cap'n--nebber make her pay for a
han'fu' of meal an' a lash o' bacon?'

"'You will have to pay for every mouthful. And it is cold there too,
Kate--very cold at this time of the year. You will have to buy clothes
or freeze to death.'

"'But dey'll 'low me two suits?'

"'Not unless you pay for them. And work is not plenty, Kate, for the
cities are crowded with negroes who were discontented here. Suppose
you cannot get work, you will have no cabin, no food, no clothes.'"

"Did you convince her?" I asked.

"No. She said to me, 'Guess you's mistaken 'bout dat ar, Mars' Cap'n.
Dey _mus_' gib deir niggas a cabin an' a bite, you know; and dey makes
piles o' money. And sho' now, Mars' Cap'n, all de _free_ folks is
rich--dey mus' be. Nobody's po' dat's _free_.'

"You see," he added earnestly, "they did not know what freedom meant.
It was a gorgeous vision of doing as they pleased, unlimited riches
and idleness. They could work or not: whether they starved or not,
they had not taken into consideration. Freedom came upon them too
suddenly, and they had no idea of personal responsibility."

"But," I said, "they could form families, be free to keep their
children."

To my surprise, Captain S---- began to laugh. "Of all the ludicrous
scenes I remember," he said, "none were funnier than those occasioned
by the new ideas of matrimony. I remember one pretty pouting mulatto
about eighteen who came with a tall, powerful negro to the office for
a marriage license. They were married in the church, and some few
words were spoken of the solemnity of the bond between them. In about
two weeks the bride burst into my office one morning, foll