Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. I.djvu/404

Rh live, and bear witness to the light of life, even as the phosphorescent beam of the fire-fly shines, though the glow-worm may be crushed.

The young negro whom I heard sing this evening, sang among other songs one, of which I would that I could give you an idea, so fresh was the melody, and so peculiar the key. Of the words I only remember this first verse:—

The last syllable of the first and last verse is long drawn out. The little romance describes how the lover and Sally will be married and settle themselves down, and live happily all on the banks of the old Pee Dee. A heart-felt, charming Southern idyll.

The banjo is an African instrument, made from the half of a fruit called the calabash, or gourd, which has a very hard rind. A thin skin or piece of bladder is stretched over the opening, and over this one or two strings are stretched, which are raised on a bridge. The banjo is the negroes' guitar, and certainly it is the first born among stringed instruments.

The day following, when dining with a Mr. and Mrs. G., I also had the pleasure of hearing some negro songs which pleased me greatly. The young negro who sang, having weak lungs, was not able to do much work, and some kind people therefore had enabled him to cultivate his musical gifts by instruction and practice. He sang excellently. And in order to understand the peculiar fascination of their songs, they should be heard, sung by negroes, with their beaming glances and naïve abandon.

Augusta is a little city of the same style as Savannah, but less great, less beautiful, smaller in every way; but very