“But don’t the temperance people want the colored people to vote the temperance ticket?”

“Yes, but some ob de culled people gits mighty skittish ef dey tries to git em to vote dare ticket ‘lection time, an’ keeps dem at a proper distance wen de ’lection’s ober.  Some ob dem say dere’s a trick behine it, an’ don’t want to tech it.  Dese white folks could do a heap wid de culled folks ef dey’d only treat em right.”

“When our people say there is a trick behind it,” said Robert, “I only wish they could see the trick before it—­the trick of worse than wasting their money, and of keeping themselves and families poorer and more ignorant than there is any need for them to be.”

“Well, Bobby, I beliebs we might be a people ef it warn’t for dat mizzable drink.  An’ Robby, I jis’ tells yer what I wants; I wants some libe man to come down yere an’ splain things ter dese people.  I don’t mean a politic man, but a man who’ll larn dese people how to bring up dere chillen, to keep our gals straight, an’ our boys from runnin’ in de saloons an’ gamblin’ dens.”

“Don’t your preachers do that?” asked Robert.

“Well, some ob dem does, an’ some ob dem doesn’t.  An’ wen dey preaches, I want dem to practice wat dey preach.  Some ob dem says dey’s called, but I jis’ thinks laziness called some ob dem.  An’ I thinks since freedom come deres some mighty pore sticks set up for preachers.  Now dere’s John Anderson, Tom’s brudder; you ’member Tom.”

“Yes; as brave a fellow and as honest as ever stepped in shoe leather.”

“Well, his brudder war mighty diffrent.  He war down in de lower kentry wen de war war ober.  He war mighty smart, an’ had a good head-piece, an’ a orful glib tongue.  He set up store an’ sole whisky, an’ made a lot ob money.  Den he wanted ter go to de legislatur.  Now what should he do but make out he’d got ‘ligion, an’ war called to preach.  He had no more ‘ligion dan my ole dorg.  But he had money an’ built a meetin’ house, whar he could hole meeting, an’ hab funerals; an’ you know cullud folks is mighty great on funerals.  Well dat jis’ tuck wid de people, an’ he got ‘lected to de legislatur.  Den he got a fine house, an’ his ole wife warn’t good ‘nuff for him.  Den dere war a young school-teacher, an’ he begun cuttin’ his eyes at her.  But she war as deep in de mud as he war in de mire, an’ he jis’ gib up his ole wife and married her, a fusty thing.  He war a mean ole hypocrit, an’ I wouldn’t sen’ fer him to bury my cat.  Robby, I’se down on dese kine ob preachers like a thousand bricks.”

“Well, Aunt Linda, all the preachers are not like him.”

“No; I knows dat; not by a jug full.  We’s got some mighty good men down yere, an’ we’s glad when dey comes, an’ orful sorry when dey goes ’way.  De las preacher we had war a mighty good man.  He didn’t like too much hollerin’.”

“Perhaps,” said Robert, “he thought it were best for only one to speak at a time.”