The reader will easily imagine I did not oversleep myself the following morning.  My uneasiness was so great, indeed, that I dreamed of the dreadful accident which had produced my father’s death, and then fancied that I saw him, my mother, and Grace, all interred at the same time, and in the same grave.  Fortunately, the wind stood at the west, and the sloop was already within twenty miles of the creek at Clawbonny, when I got on deck.  All was quiet in the after-cabin; and, Mr. Hardinge still continuing in his berth, I went out to breathe the fresh morning air, without speaking to any below.  There was no one on the quarter-deck but the pilot, who was at the helm; though I saw a pair of legs beneath the boom, close in with the mast, that I knew to be Neb’s, and a neat, dark petticoat that I felt certain must belong to Chloe.  I approached the spot, in tending to question the former on the subject of the weather during his watch; but, just as about to hail him, I heard the young lady say, in a more animated tone than was discreet for the character of the conversation—­

“No, nebber, sah—­nebber, widout de apperbation of my modder and de whole famerly.  Mattermony a berry differ t’ing, Neb, from what you surposes.  Now, many a young nigger gentleman imagine dat he has only to coax his gal to say ‘yes,’ and den dey goes to de clergy and stands up for de blessin’, and imagines all right for de futur’, and for de present time, all which is just a derlusion and a derception.  No, sah; mattermony a berry differ t’ing from dat, as any old lady can tell you.  De fuss t’ing in mattermony, is to hab a consent.”

“Well, Chloe, and hab’n’t I had dis berry consent from you, now for most two year?”

“Ay, dat not de consent I surposes.  You wouldn’t t’ink, Neb, ongrateful feller, to get marry, widout first askin’ do consent of Masser Mile, I do surpose!  You, who has been his own waiter so long, and has gone to sea wid him so often; and has saved his life; and has helped kill so many hateful saverges; and has been on a desert conternent wid him.”

“I nebber told you dat, Chloe—­I said on an island.”

“Well, what’s the differ?  You cannot tell me anyt’ing of edercation, Neb; for I hab hear Miss Grace and Miss Lucy say deir lesson so often, dat I sometime surposes I can say ’em all, one by one, almost as well as my young lady, ’emselves.  No, Neb; on dat subjeck better be silent.  You been much too busy, ebber to be edercated; and, if I do marry you, remember I now tell you, I shall not enter into mattermony wid you on account of any edercation you hab.”

“All Clawbonny say dat we can make as good a couple, Chloe, as ebber stood up togedder.”

“All Clawbonny don’t know much of mattermony, Neb.  People talks inderskrimernaterly, and doesn’t know what dey says, too often.  In de fuss place my modder, my own born modder, upposes our uner, and dat is a great differculty to begin wid.  When a born modder upposes, a darter ought to t’ink sebberal time.”