"I don't know but you are right, Brother Washington. At any rate the stage has had quite enough of me. I am called the elephant."
"Not on account of your size, Sir?"
"No, on account of my weight."
"Ah, and the hearts of all men who know not the Lord shall at last be as heavy as the elephant."
"Very true, no doubt. I wish you'd pour this coffee for me."
He came forward with a solemn tread, poured out the coffee, and returned to the chair but did not sit down until I commanded him.
"As heavy as an elephant," he repeated, slowly winking at me.
"In working for the soul of the white man, Brother Washington," said I, "you have set about to return a good for an evil. The white man enslaved your body and now you would free his soul."
"Sir, the first shipload of negroes sent to this country was the first blessing that fell upon the Ethiopian race. In slavery we served an apprenticeship to enlightenment. Wisdom could not have reached us through any other channel. The negro was not born with the germ of self-civilization."
"You are a philosopher, at any rate."