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Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851

"The Spy"

"I berry like heself to lose
an ear for carrying a little bit of a letter; dere much mischief come of
curiosity. If dere had nebber been a man curious to see Africa, dere
would be no color people out of dere own country; but I wish Harvey
get back."
"It is very disregardful in him to be away at such a time," said Katy,
imposingly. "Suppose now his father wanted to make his last will in the
testament, who is there to do so solemn and awful an act for him? Harvey
is a very wasteful and very disregardful man!"
"Perhap he make him afore?"
"It would not be a wonderment if he had," returned the housekeeper; "he
is whole days looking into the Bible."
"Then he read a berry good book," said the black solemnly. "Miss Fanny
read in him to Dinah now and den."
"You are right, Caesar. The Bible is the best of books, and one that
reads it as often as Harvey's father should have the best of reasons for
so doing. This is no more than common sense."
She rose from her seat, and stealing softly to a chest of drawers in the
room of the sick man, she took from it a large Bible, heavily bound, and
secured with strong clasps of brass, with which she returned to the
negro. The volume was eagerly opened, and they proceeded instantly to
examine its pages. Katy was far from an expert scholar, and to Caesar
the characters were absolutely strangers.


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