Page:The leopard's spots - a romance of the white man's burden-1865-1900 (IA leopardsspotsrom00dixo).pdf/108

 under his eyes and his enormous square-cut jaw made him look fully fifty.

It was a spectacle for gods and men, to see him harangue that Union League in the platitudes of loyalty to the Union, and to watch the crowd of negroes hang breathless on his every word as the inspired Gospel of God. The only notable change in him from the old days was in his speech. He had hired a man to teach him grammar and pronunciation. He had high ambitions for the future.

"Be of good cheer, beloved!" he said to the negroes. "A great day is coming for you. You are to rule this land. Your old masters are to dig in the fields and you are to sit under the shade and be gentlemen. Old Andy Johnson will be kicked out of the White House or hung, and the farms you've worked on so long will be divided among you. You can rent them to your old masters and live in ease the balance of your life."

"Glory to God!" shouted an old negro.

"I have just been to Washington for our great leader, Amos Hogg. I've seen Mr. Sumner, Mr. Stevens and Mr. Butler. I have shown them that we can carry any state in the South, if they will only give you the ballot and take it away from enough rebels. We have promised them the votes in the Presidential election, and they are going to give us what we want."

"Hallelujah! Amen! Yas Lawd!" The fervent exclamations came from every part of the room.

After the meeting the negroes pressed around Legree and shook his hand with eagerness—the same hand that was red with the blood of their race.

When the crowd had dispersed a meeting of the leaders was held.

Dave Haley, the ex-slave trader from Kentucky who had dodged back and forth from the mountains of his