Having arrived at the point most marketable, he sells her to Mr. Gurdoin Choicewest, who pays no less a sum than sixteen hundred dollars in hard cash for the unyielding beauty-money advanced to him by his dear papa, who had no objection to his having a pretty coloured girl, provided Madam Choicewest-most indulgent mother she was, too-gave her consent; and she said she was willing, provided-; and now, notwithstanding she was his own, insisted on the preservation of her virtue, or death.  Awful dilemma, this!  To lash her will be useless; and the few kicks she has already received have not yet begun to thaw her frozen determination.  Such an unyielding thing is quite useless for the purpose for which young Choicewest purchased her.  What must be done with her?  The older Choicewest is consulted, and gives it as his decided opinion that there is one of two things the younger Choicewest must do with this dear piece of property he has so unfortunately got on his hands,—­he must sell her, or tie her up every day and pump her with cold water, say fifteen minutes at a time.  Pumping niggers, the elder Mr. Choicewest remarks, with the coolness of an Austrian diplomatist, has a wondrous effect upon them; “it makes ’em give in when nothing else will.”  He once had four prime fellows, who, in stubbornness, seemed a match for Mr. Beelzebub himself.  He lashed them, and he burned them, and he clipped their ears; and then he stretched them on planks, thinking they would cry “give in” afore the sockets of their joints were drawn out; but it was all to no purpose, they were as unyielding as granite.

About that time there was a celebrated manager of negroes keeping the prison.  This clever functionary had a peculiar way of bringing the stubbornness out of them; so he consigned the four unbending rascals to his skill.  And this very valuable and very skilful gaol-keeper had a large window in his establishment, with iron bars running perpendicular; to the inside of which he would strap the four stubborn rascals, with their faces scientifically arranged between the bars, to prevent the moving of a muscle.  Thus caged, their black heads bound to the grating, the scientific gaoler, who was something of a humourist withal, would enjoy a nice bit of fun at seeing the more favoured prisoners (with his kind permission) exercise their dexterity in throwing peas at the faces of the bounden.  How he would laugh-how the pea-punishing prisoners would enjoy it-how the fast bound niggers, foaming with rage and maddened to desperation, would bellow, as their very eyeballs darted fire and blood!  What grand fun it was! bull-baiting sank into a mere shadow beside it.  The former was measuredly passive, because the bull only roared, and pitched, and tossed; whereas here the sport was made more exhilarating by expressions of vengeance or implorings.  And then, as a change of pastime, the skilful gaoler would demand a cessation of the pea hostilities, and enjoin the commencement of the water war; which said war