EE

 

64 UNOLE TOM’S CABIN; OR,

in his way; I’m the feller he’s got to set in with—I'm the feller
for ye all to come to, bredren—lI'll stand up for yér rights—I'll
‘fend ’em to the last breath !”

“Why, but Sam, yer telled me, only this mornin’, that you'd
help this yer mas’r to cotch Lizy ; seems to me yer talk don’t
hang together,” said Andy.

“T tell you now, Andy,” said Sam, with awful superiority,

- “don't yer be a talkin’ ‘bout what yer don’t know nothin’ on ;

boys like you, Andy, means well, but they can’t be spected to col-
lusitate the great principles of action.”

Andy looked rebuked, particularly by the hard word collusitate,
which most of the youngerly members of the company seemed to
consider as a settler in the case, while Sam proceeded.

‘Dat ar’ was conscience, Andy ; when I thought of gwine arter
Lizy, I raily spected mas’r was sot dat way. When I found
missis was sot the contra’, dat ar’ was conscience more yet—'cause
fellers allers gets more by stickin’ to missis’ side ; so you see I's
persistent either way, and sticks up to conscience, and holds on
to principles. Yes, principles,” said Sam, giving an enthusiastic
toss to a chicken’s neck—‘“ what’s principles good for, if we isn’t
persistent, I wanter know? Thar, Andy, you may have dat ar’
bone, ’tant picked quite clean.”

Sam’s audience hanging on his words with open mouth, ke
could not but proceed.

«Dis yer matter "bout ‘persistence, feller niggers,” said Sam,
with the air of one entering into an abstruse subject, ‘dis yer
’sistency’s a thing what an’t seed into very clar, by most anybody.
Now, yer see, when a feller stands up for a thing one day and
night, de contrar’ de next, folks ses (and nat’rally enough dey ses),
why, he an’t persistent—hand me dat ar’ bit 0 corn-cake, Andy.
But let’s look inter it. I hope the gen’lemen and der fair sex
will scuse my usin’ an’ or’nary sort o’ ’parison. Here! I'm a
tryin’ to get top o’ der hay. Wal, I puts up my larder dis yer
side; ‘tan’t no go; den, course I don't try dere no more, but puts
my larder right de contrar’ side, an’t I persistent” I’m persis-
tent in wanting to get up which ary side my larder is; don't yer
see, allon yer?”

“It’s the only thing ye ever was persistent in, Lord knows !”
muttered Aunt Chloe, who was getting rather restive; the merri-
ment of the evening being to her somewhat after the Scripture
comparison—like ‘‘ vinegar upon nitre.”

“Yes, indeed!” said Sam, rising, full of supper and glory, for
a closing effort. ‘ Yes, my feller-citizens and ladies of de other
sex if general, I has principles—I’m proud to ’oon ’em—they’s
perquisite to dese yer times, and ter all times. I has principles,
and I sticks to ’em like forty—jest anything that I thinks is prin-
ciple, I goes in to't ; I wouldn’t mind if dey burn me alive, I'd
walk right up to de stake, I would, and say, Here I comes to sved