“If you have a conscience clear,
And God's commands you keep;
If your heart is good and pure,
You will have a perfect sleep.”
Billy's aunt concluded. Wishing to know if he had understood what she had just read she asked:
“What people sleep the soundest?”
“Niggers,” was his prompt reply, as he thought of the long summer days and the colored folk on the plantation.
She was disappointed, but not discouraged.
“Now, William,” she admonished, “I'm going to read you another piece, and I want you to tell me about it, when I get through. Pay strict attention.”
“Yas 'm,” he readily agreed.
She chose an article describing the keen sense of smell in animals. Miss Minerva was not an entertaining reader and the words were long and fairly incomprehensible to the little boy sitting patiently at her side.
Again his thoughts wandered, though every now and then he caught a word or two.
“What animals have the keenest sense of smell, William?” was her query at the conclusion of her reading.