We labors in de vineya’d, wukin’ hard and wukin’ true;
  Now, shorely you won’t notus, ef we eats a grape or two,
  An’ takes a leetle holiday,—­a leetle restin’ spell,—­
  Bekase, nex’ week we’ll start in fresh, an’ labor twicet as well.

  Remember, Mashr,—­min’ dis, now,—­de sinfulness ob sin
  Is ‘pendin’ ‘pon de sperrit what we goes an’ does it in;
  An’ in a righchis frame ob min’ we’s gwine to dance an’ sing,
  A-feelin’ like King David, when he cut de pigeon-wing.

  It seems to me—­indeed it do—­I mebbe mout be wrong—­
  That people raly ought to dance, when Chrismus comes along;
  Des dance bekase dey’s happy—­like de birds hops in de trees,
  De pine-top fiddle soundin’ to de blowin’ ob de breeze.

  We has no ark to dance afore, like Isrul’s prophet king;
  We has no harp to soun’ de chords, to holp us out to sing;
  But ‘cordin’ to de gif’s we has we does de bes’ we knows,
  An’ folks don’t ’spise de vi’let-flower bekase it ain’t de rose.

  You bless us, please, sah, eben ef we’s doin’ wrong tonight: 
  Kase den we’ll need de blessin’ more’n ef we’s doin’ right;
  An’ let de blessin’ stay wid us, untel we comes to die,
  An’ goes to keep our Chrismus wid dem sheriffs in de sky!

  Yes, tell dem preshis anjuls we’s a-gwine to jine ’em soon: 
  Our voices we’s a-trainin’ fur to sing de glory tune;
  We’s ready when you wants us, an’ it ain’t no matter when—­
  O Mashr! call yo’ chillen soon, an’ take ’em home!  Amen.[5]

[Footnote 5:  Irwin Russell, Poems (New York [1888]), pp. 5-7.]

The churches which had the greatest influence upon the negroes were those which relied least upon ritual and most upon exhilaration.  The Baptist and Methodist were foremost, and the latter had the special advantage of the chain of camp meetings which extended throughout the inland regions.  At each chosen spot the planters and farmers of the countryside would jointly erect a great shed or “stand” in the midst of a grove, and would severally build wooden shelters or “tents” in a great square surrounding it.  When the crops were laid by in August, the households would remove thither, their wagons piled high with bedding, chairs and utensils to keep “open house” with heavy-laden tables for all who might come to the meeting.  With less elaborate equipment the negroes also would camp in the neighborhood and attend the same service as the whites, sitting generally in a section of the stand set apart for them.  The camp meeting, in short, was the chief social and religious event of the year for all the Methodist whites and blacks within reach of the ground and for such non-Methodists as cared to attend.  For some of the whites this occasion was highly festive, for others, intensely religious; but for any negro it might easily be both at once.  Preachers in relays delivered sermons at brief intervals from sunrise until after