Chapter III: Part 3

“Dey orf’n wanted ’im at de big public suppers war dey et an’ drank an’ made speeches, but he wouldn’t go near; and den our high people had der big suppers in dere houses and wanted de ’onur uv entertainin’ Brer Jasper, but he didn’t hanker arter dose kind uv things. He wanted his meals simple and reglur and uv de plain sort, and as fer dese high ferlootin’ feasts dey didn’t suit his taste.

“It look lik Brer Jasper couldn’t stop preachin’. It wuz his food and drink, an’ enny time he’d git way beyond his strength. I’ve seen ’im wen it looked lik de las’ bref hed gone out’en his body, and sometimes some uv de brutherin say he did not look like a natchul man. He seemed more in hevun dan on urth. I most reckun some uv de brutherin thought he wuz gone up in ter heavun like Lijer. Dey go in de pulpit and tek hol’ uv ’im and say Brer Jasper yer dun preached nuff. Don’t wear yerself down. Tek yer seat and res’ yersef. He knew dey did it fer luv, and he took it kind, but he didn’t always stop at once.

“Brer Jasper had a walk mity remarkbul. Wen he went in de streets he wuz so stately and grave lik dat he walk diffrunt from all de people. Folks wud run out uv all de stores, or out on der porches, or turn back ter look wen Jasper kum ’long. Oh, it made us proud ter look at him. No other preacher could walk like him. Yer felt de ground got holy war he went ’long. Sum uv ’em say it wuz ekul ter a revival ter see John Jasper moving lik a king ’long de street. Often he seemed ter be wrappd up in his thoughts and hardly to know whar he wuz. De people feared ’im so much,--wid sech a luvin’ kind uv fear, dat dey hardly dared to speak ter him.

“Brer Jasper wuz mity fond uv walkin’ in de pulpit. It wuz a great large place, and he frisked round most lik he wuz a boy. Wen he filled up wid de rousement of the Gospel on him, it was just glor’us to see him as he whirled about the stand; the faces of his folks shone wid de brightness of de sun, and they ofen made the house ring with laughter and with their shouts.

“One thing he did dat always made his congregasons rock wid joy, an’ dat wuz ter sing wile he wuz preachin’. He wuz mos’ ninety years old, but he never lost his power ter sing, an’ wen he struck er tune de note uv it shot in de people lik arrurs from anguls quivur. Yer cudn’t hol’ still wen Jasper sung. Soon as he started, de people would ’gin to swing an’ jine in tel de music filled de house. He cud sing a heap uv songs, but he had a few great songs. Yer orter to hear him sing by hiself his favrite piece.” Here it is:

EV’BUDY GOT TER RISE TER MEET KING JESUS IN DE MORNIN’

“‘Ev’budy got ter rise ter meet King Jesus in de mornin’;
De high and de lo’;
De rich and de po’,
De bond and de free,
As well as me.

“‘Yer got ter rise ter meet King Jesus in de mornin’,
Weddur yer iz purparred er no,
Ter Gord’s trirbewnul
Yer got ter go,
Yer got ter rise ter meet King Jesus in de mornin’.

“‘De lurnid and de unlurnid,
Barbareun, Jentile and de Jew,
Hev yer red hit in Hiz wurd,
Dat de peepul wuz drondid in de flud,
Ev’budy got ter rise ter meet King Jesus in de mornin’.’

“Dar wuz a song dat Jasper made hisself. Some called it a ballard, and udders said it wuz a poem; but wat evur twuz, it wuz glory ter hear him sing it. It went dis way:--

“‘I beheld and lo
A grate multertude dat no man kin number,
Thousuns and thousuns, an’ ten thousun times ten thousun,
Standin’ befo’ de Lam’,
And dey had pams in dere hans.

“‘Dey nevur restid day nur night,
Cryin’ Holy, Holy, Holy, iz de Lord, Gord uv Sabbuth
Dat wuz, an’ iz, and iz ter kum,
I saw a mi’ty ainjel flyin’ through de midst uv heaven,
Cryin’ wid a loud voice,
Sayin’ Woe! Woe! Woe! be unto de earth by reazun uv de trumpit,
Dat which is yet ter soun’.
And when de las’ trumpit shall soun’,
See de great men and noble,
De rich, and de po’, de bond and de free,
Gueddur ’emselves terguedder, cryin’ ter de rocks, an’ ter de mountins,
Ter fall ’pon ’em an’ hide ’em,
From de face uv Him dat sitteth on de throne,
De great day uv His rath hav kum an’ who shall be able ter stan’?’

“And den, too, he had his shoutin’ song. He never sung it ’cept wen de heavenly fires wuz burnin’ all over his soul. He kept tune wid his walkin’ and wid de clappin’ uv his hands. Dis song never got in ’cept at de close uv sermons dat had heaven in ’em, and somehow he jumped from de sermon all at once in ter de song an’ it would hev fairly kilt yer wid joy ter hear it. Here is de way he put it:--

“‘My soul will mount higher in a chariot of fire,
And de wurl’ is put under my feet.’

“Dis wuz the start uv it, but dere wuz heaps more.

“It wuz an awful time ter us wen we begun ter see dat our ole pastor wuz near ter de end uv his race. We had been a-dreddin’ it by degrees and it broke on us more and more. I think de dere man tried ter git us reddy fer it. He kep sayin’ to us: ‘My chilrun, my work on de earth is dun. I doan ask death no more odds dan a horse-fly.’ But den he’d preach so powerful dat we’d hope dat he’d hol’ out a good deal longer. He said ter me one day: ‘Compartivly speakin’, my time in dis wurl’ is skin deep,’ and I look at my hand and think how thin de skin is, and I feel dat sho’ nuff he mus’ soon be goin’.

“One night at de church he turned hissef loos. He said dat as fer ’imself it mattered nuthin’. He had paid all his debts, dat he did not keer whar or when he dropped; but he wanted everybody ter know dat he wud be wid Jesus. Dat wuz one uv de things dat he luved ter say. Den he told de church dat dar wuz nuthin’ lef’ uv him,--dat he wanted ’em to git tergedder and pay off der church debt and live tergedder lik little chil’run. He wuz mity gret dat night, an’ it looked lik de powers uv de wurl’ ter kum wuz dar.

“De people went out silent lik an’ dey said dat de gud ole pastor preached his own funeral dat night. He allus thought uv hissef es de servant uv King Jesus. Dat wuz a slavery dat he liked and nevur wished to git free from it. Towards de las’ he wuz all de time sayin’: ‘I am now at de river’s brink and waitin’ fer furder orders. It’s de same ter me ter go or stay, jes’ es Gord commands.’

“Some folks said dat he wuz conceited. Dey did not know him. He wuz too full uv de fear uv Gord to think he wuz sum great body, an’ he know’d his own sins an’ troubles too well ter boast. He must hev known dat Gord made him more uv a man dan de gen’ral run. He had ter kno’ dat, ’caus’ it wuz proved ter him every day, an’ in a heap uv ways. Besides dat, he hilt hisself up high. He had good respec’ for hisself and felt dat a man lik he wuz had got ter behave hisself ’cordin’ ter wat he wuz. But dat wuz very different from bein’ one uv dese giddy little fops dat is always trancin’ aroun’ showin’ hisself off, and braggin’ ’bout everything. I often wondered how Jasper could be so umble lik, wen so many cacklin’ fools wuz bodderin’ ’im.

“Brer Jasper could git up big things wen he tried. Wen dey got in a tight place ’bout de church an’ had to have money, he got up a skurshun ter Washington. He sent out de members ter sell tickets, an’ dey sold so many dat dey had ter have two trains ter carry ’em, and jes’ think, sir, he cleared $1,500 fer his church by dat skurshun, and he got up anudder to Staunton dat wuz mos’ as good as de udder one. Ah, he wuz a leader, I tell you he wuz. We never could have had our fine church if it had not bin fer him.

“It’s mity easy fer folks ter forget things. Some folks are teerin’ ’roun’ as if the church b’longed ter ’em now, and dey are ready ter tell you dat Jasper made mistakes and all dat, but sum uv us knows well dat Jasper built dat church. You need nevur spect ter hear any more sech preachin’ in dat pulpit as dat grand ole man uv God used ter give us.

“You know Brer Jasper got convicted uv his sins fer de first time on de 4th of July in Capitol Squar’, Richmond. He use ter tell us ’bout it many a time. While de folks wuz swarmin’ ’roun’ and laffin’ and hurrahin’, an arrer uv convicshun went in ter his proud heart an’ brought ’im low. He never forgot dat place, and when he got ter be an ole man he wuz kinder drawn ter Capitol Squar. He luv ter go down dar. He like de cool shade uv de trees and ’joyed de res’, dozin’ sometimes wen he wuz tired. De people, and speshully de chilrun, used ter git ’roun’ him an’ ask him questions an’ make him talk. He lik things lik dat. Some uv de Jews used ter kum ter hear Brer Jasper preach. They called him Father Abraham and showed gret gud feelin’ fur ’im. Some uv ’em used ter meet him in de Cap’tol Squar’ an’ dey would have great ole talks tergudder, an’ he didn’t mind tellin’ ’em de truth an’ he told ’em dat dey wuz de chilrun uv Abraham, but dat dey had gone all to pieces.

“Dey tell me he never went ter skule ’cep’ six months, an’ I hear dat he jes’ studied wid a man dat taught him in a New York Speller book; but when he spoke at de Y. M. C. A. and many uv de white gemmen went ter hear ’im, they say he certainly used ellergunt language. I know he could handle great words when he wanted to, an’ he could talk in de old way, an’ he often loved to do dat.”

IX

JASPER’S SERMON ON “DEM SEBUN WIMMIN”

“Did yer ebur git yer mine on wat Iz’er say in chapter fo’ an’ vurs wun? Listen ter hiz wurds: ‘An’ sebun wimmin shall tek hol’ uv wun man in dat day, sayin’ we will eat our own bread an’ wear our own ’parrel; only let us be called by Thy name; tek Thou erway our reproach.’ De Profit iz furloserfizin’ ’bout de mattur uv wimmin,--speshully wen dar is sebun in de lan’, wen wars dun thin out de men and de wimmins feels de stings an’ bites uv reproach. I tell yer, yer bettur not fling yer gibes an’ sneers at er ’omun. She wuzn’t made ter stan’ it, an’ wats mo’, she ain’t gwine ter stan’ it. Shure ez yer iz settin’ on dat bench she will fly erway an’ hide hersef, or she will fly at yer, an’ den, ole fellur, yer had bettur be pullin’ out fer de tall timbur fast. Gord dun settled it dat wun ’omun iz nuff fer a man, an’ two iz er war on yer hans,--bles yer, it is.

“But dar kums times wen it goze hard wid wimmin. Dey iz lef out uv de lottry uv heavun,--dey draws blanks an’ dey gits ter be a laughin’ stock uv de ungodly. Not dat dey iz crazy ter marry an’ not dat dey iz uv dat flautin’, slatturn lot dat’s allus gallantin’ eroun’ ertryin’ ter git a man ter ’sport um. Dese wuz squar, alrite wimmin. Wurk wud not skeer um. Dey wuz willin’ ter mek dere bread an’ cloes, ter pay dere own way, purvidid dey cud be Mrs. Sumbody, an’ in dat way ’skape de dev’lish jeers an’ slites uv base men. Fur my part, I feels quite sorry fur dat class uv ladiz, an’ I kinder feels my blud gittin’ up wen I finds folks castin’ reproachiz on dere fair names.

“But my mastur in de skies! Dis pikshur here uv de Profit iz too much fer me. It mek me feel lik tekin’ ter de woods, in quick ordur. Lord, wat wud I do ef I wuz pursued by er army uv seben wimmin axin me ter ’low each wun uv um ter be call’d Mrs. Jasper? It may be dat each wun wuz fer hersef ter de limit, an’ hoped ter shet out de udder six an’ hev de man ter hersef;--an’ ef she wuz ter hev ’im ertall she ort ter hav all uv im. Dar iz not nuff ter d’vide; I tel yer, dar ain’t, an’ wen yer git er haf intrest in er man yer iz po’ indeed, an’ ef only wun sevunth iz yourn, yer had es wel start on ter de po’house ’fo yer git yer dinner.

“A gud ’omun can’t byar ter be oberluked. It ain’t her nature, an’ it iz a site fer de anguls ter see wat sort uv men sum wimmin wil tek sooner dan be lef’ out inti’ly.

“But wat gits me arter all iz a man. I see ’im in de quiet uv de day,--de Sabbuth day. He teks a strole fer de koolin’ uv hiz mine, erwearin’ uv hiz nice cloes, an’ feelin’ lik a new man in de City Kounsil; de fust thing he know’d a lady glide up ter ’im an’ put her han’ lite on hiz arm. He jump ’roun’ an’ she say, mity flush’d up, ‘’skuse me!’

“He see at wunst she er lady, but he wuz kinder lo’ in hiz sperrit, an’ yit he wish in hiz hart dat she had gon ter de udder en uv de rode, but he want ter hear her out.

“She tel ’im de site uv a man wuz medsin fer bad eyes, dat nurly all uv ’em wuz cut down in de war an’ dat in konsquens it wuz er lonesum time fer wimmin; dey hev nobody now ringin’ de do’ bells in de eebnin; no boys sendin’ ’em flowers an’ ’fekshuns; no sweetarts tekin’ ’em walkin’ on Sunday arternoons, an’ weddins gwine out er fashun. An’ dis ain’t de wust uv it. It mek us shamed. De wives,--dey purrades roun’ an’ brags ’bout dere ’ole mans’ an’ cuts der eye at us skornful; an’ de husban’s iz mity nigh es bad, erpokin’ fun at us an’ axin erbout de chillun.

“She say yer needn’ think we’re crazy ter marry; tain’t dat, an’ tain’t dat we want yer ter ’sport us,--no, no! We hev money an’ kin funnish our own vittuls an’ cloes, an’ we kin wuk; but it iz dat reproach dey kas’ on us, de wear an’ tear uv bein’ laff’d at dat cuts us so deep. Ef I cud be Mrs. Sumbody,--had sum proof dat I had de name uv sum un,--sumthin’ ter rub off de reproach. Dat’s it,--dis ding-dongin’ uv de fokes at me.

“De man wuz pale es linnin, an’ wuz hopin’ ter ansur, but fo’ de wud floo frum his lips ernudder ’omun hooked ’im on de ter side. Mursy uv de Lord! two uv ’em had ’im an’ it luk lik dey wuz gwine ter rip ’im in tew an’ each tek a haf. De las’ wun tel her tale jes’ lik de fust wun an’ wuss. She brung in tears es part uv her argurmint, an’ de ter wun got fretted an’ used wuds dat wud hev konkurred ’im ef jes’ den two mo’,--two mo’, mine yer, mekin’ fo’ in all, hed not kum up an’ gits er grip on de gemmun, an’ hiz eyes luk lik dey’d pop out his hed;--wun on each side an’ two ter hiz face, an’ it seems he gwine ter faint.

“‘Yer ladiz,’ he says, ‘may be rite in yer ’thuzasm, but yer iz too menny. Up ter dis time I hev bin shy uv wun, but ef I cud be erlowed ter choose jes’ wun I mite try it.’

“Den de fo’ wimmins begun ter git shaky wen a nur wun sailed in,--dat’s five, den ernudder; dat’s six, and den wun mo’--SEBUN!

“Luk, will yer! Sevun got wun man. It izn’t sed wedder de wimmin wuz fer a partnurship wid de man es de kapertul, or wedder each uv ’em hoped ter beat out de udder six; but wun thing we know an’ dat iz dat de po’ man iz in de low grounds uv sorrur. Ter my min’, de pikshur iz mity seerus, ebun do it mek us smile. Fur my po’ part, I iz glad we lives in fairer times. In our day mens iz awful plen’ful wid us, tho’ I kin not say dat de qualty iz fust class in ve’y menny. But I thanks de Lord dat mos’ enny nice leddy kin git merrid in dese times ef dey choose, an’ dat wid out gwine out sparkin’ fur de man. I notis dat ef she stay ter home, ten her buznis, min’ her mudder, an’ not sweep de streets too off’n wid her skirts, in de long run her modes’ sperrit will win de day. I ubsurv ernudder thing; de unmerrid lady, de ole maid es sum calls her,--need not hang her haid. Jes’ let her be quiet an’ surv de Lord; jes’ not fret ’bout wat fools says,--dey duz er heep uv talkin’, but it iz lik de cracklin’ uv de burnin’ sticks under de pot, a big fuss an’ a littul heat. Fer my part, I honners de ’oman dat b’haves hersef, briduls her tongue, duz her wuk, an’ sings es she goes erlong. Her contentid sperrit beats a lazy husbun’ ebry time, an’ mity off’n it brings er gud husbun’ erlong.

“Es fer dese fokes dat flurts an’ skouts at ole maids dey ain’ fitten ter live, an’ ort ter be in de bottum uv Jeems Rivur, ’cept’n’ dey’d spile de watur. No gemmun nur no lady wud do it.

“Now dis iz my wud ’bout de wimmin, an’ I hope yer lik it, but if yer doant, jes’ ’member dat Jasper sed it, an’ will stan’ by it, til de cows in de lo’er feil’ kums home.”

X

JASPER GLIMPSED UNDER VARIOUS LIGHTS

Jasper’s mother was near the century line when she died, and he attained unto the extraordinary age of eighty-nine. Truly there must have been rare endurance in the texture of the stock. Jasper’s thoughts did not turn to religion until he was twenty-seven and yet by reason of his longevity he was a preacher for sixty years. During twenty-five years of that time he was a slave, and he had about thirty-five years of personal civil freedom, during which he won the distinctions that will make him a figure slow to pass out of history.

Jasper can have no successor. Freedom did not change him. It came too late for him to be seriously affected by its transforming hand. It never dazzled him by its festive charms nor crooked him with prejudice against the white people. There was far more for him in the traditions, sentiments, and habits of his bondage-days than in the new things which emancipation offered. He never took up with gaudy displays which marked his race in the morning of their freedom. This was especially true as to his ministry. He clung without apology to the old ways. In preaching, he spurned the new pulpit manners, the new style of dress, and all new-fangled tricks, which so fascinated his race. He intoned his sermons,--at least, in their more tender passages--sang the old revival songs of the plantations and factories, and felt it a part of his religion to smash, with giant hand, the innovations which the new order was bringing in. Of all the men whom I have known this weird, indescribable man cared the least for opposition;--unless he believed it touched his personal honour or was likely to injure the cause of religion. Indeed, he liked it. He was a born fighter and a stranger to fear. There was a charm in his resentments: they were of a high order, and inevitably commanded manly sympathy. He instinctively identified himself with the Lord and felt that when he fought he was fighting the Lord’s battles. Satire and sarcasm were like Toledo blades in his hands. He often softened his attacks upon his enemies by such ludicrous hits and provoking jests that you felt that, after all, his hostility lacked the roots of hatred. He was far more prone to despise than to hate his enemies.

There is a curious fact in connection with Jasper’s language. Evidently in his early days his speech was atrociously ungrammatical. His dialect, while possessing an element of fascination, was almost unspellable. During his long ministerial life his reading and contact with educated people rooted out many of his linguistic excrescences. There were times when he spoke with approximate accuracy, and even with elegance; and yet he delighted, if indeed he was conscious of it, in returning to his dialect and in pouring it forth unblushingly in its worst shape, and yet always with telling effect. But the wonder of his speaking was his practical independence of language. When he became thoroughly impassioned and his face lit with the orator’s glory, he seemed to mount above the bondage of words: his feet, his eyes, indeed every feature of his outer being became to him a new language. If he used words, you did not notice it You were simply entranced and borne along on the mountain-tide of his passion. You saw nothing but him. You heard _him_; you felt him, and the glow of his soul was language enough to bring to you his message. It ought to be added that no man ever used the pause more eloquently or effectively than Jasper, and his smile was logic; it was rhetoric; it was blissful conviction.

Those who thought that Jasper was a mere raver did not know. Logic was his tower of strength. He never heard of a syllogism, but he had a way of marshalling his facts and texts which set forth his view as clear as the beaming sun. The Bible was to him the source of all authority, while his belief in the justice and truth of God was something unworldly. He understood well enough his frailties, his fallibility, and the tendency of the human soul towards unfairness and deceit. I heard him say once with irresistible effect: “Brutherin, Gord never lies; He can’t lie. Men lie. I lie sometimes, I am very sorry to say it. I oughtn’t to lie, and it hurts me when I do. I am tryin’ ter git ober it, and I think I will by Gord’s grace, but de Lord nevur lies.” His tone in saying this was so humble and candid that I am sure the people loved him and believed in him more for what he said. A hypocrite could never have said it. Jasper could never be put into words. As he could speak without words so it is true that words could never contain him,--never tell his matchless story, never make those who did not hear him and see him fully understand the man that he was.

A notable and pathetic episode in Jasper’s history was the fact that during the bitter days of the Confederacy when Richmond was crowded with hospitals,--hospitals themselves crowded with the suffering,--Jasper used to go in and preach to them. It was no idle entertainment provided by a grotesque player. He always had a message for the sorrowful. There is no extended record of his labours in the hospitals, but the simple fact is that he, a negro labourer with rude speech, was welcomed by these sufferers and heard with undying interest; no wonder they liked him. His songs were so mellow, so tender, so reminiscent of the southern plantation and of the homes from which these men came. His sermons had the ring of the old gospel preaching so common in the South. He had caught his manner of preaching from the white preachers and they too had been his only theological teachers. We can easily understand how his genius, seasoned with religious reverence, made him a winsome figure to the men who languished through the weary days on the cots. It cannot be said too often that Jasper was the white man’s preacher. Wherever he went, the Anglo-Saxon waived all racial prejudices and drank the truth in as it poured in crystal streams from his lips.

Quite a pretty story is told of Jasper at the beginnings of his ministry. It seems that he went down into the eastern part of his town one Sunday to preach and some boisterous ruffians interfered, declaring that a negro had no right to go into the pulpit and that they would not allow Jasper to preach. A sailor who chanced to be present and knew Jasper faced these disorderly men and declared to them that Jasper was the smartest man in Virginia and that if he could take him to the country from whence he had come he would be treated with honour and distinction. There was also a small white boy standing by, and touched by the sincerity and power of Jasper, he pluckily jumped into the scene and exclaimed, “Yes, let him go on; what he says is all right. I have read it all in the Bible, and why shouldn’t he speak?” The incipient mob was dispersed, and his audience was fringed with a multitude of white people who were attracted to the scene.

It is not intended by these things said, concerning Jasper’s favour with the white people, to indicate that Jasper, in the least degree, was not with his own race. Far from that. He loved his own people and was thoroughly identified with them; but he was larger than his race. He loved all men. He had grown up with that pleasing pride that the coloured people who lived in prominent families had about white people. Then, too, he had always been a man who had won favour wherever he went, and the white race had always had a respect and affection for him. Jasper was never ungrateful.

There were sometimes hard passages in the road which Jasper travelled. At the end of the war he was left high and dry, like driftwood on the shore. He had no church; no place to preach; no occupation. His relations with the white race were shattered, and things were grim enough; but ill-fortune could not break him. A large part of Richmond was in ashes, and in some places at least the work of rebuilding commenced at once,--or rather a clearing off of the debris with a view to rebuilding. Jasper walked out and engaged himself to clean bricks. During the Egyptian bondage the Hebrews made bricks and thought they had a hard lot; but Jasper spent the first days of his freedom in the brick business,--a transient expedient for keeping soul and body together until he could get on his feet again. Little thought the eager men who were trying to lay the foundations for their future fortunes that in the tall serious negro who sat whacking hour after hour at the bricks was one of God’s intellectual noblemen. Born in bondage, lowly in his liberty and yet great in the gifts with which God had endowed him, it was Jasper’s nature to be almost as cheerful when squatted on a pile of bricks and tugging at their cleaning as if he had a seat in a palace and was feeding on royal dainties. He carried the contented spirit, and that too while he aspired after the highest. He did not uselessly kick against the inevitable, but he always strove for the best that was in his reach.

One of the most serious jars of Jasper’s life was his conflict with some of his brethren in connection with his notable and regrettable sermon on the motion of the sun. Intelligent people do not need to be told that Jasper knew nothing of natural science, and that his venture into the field of astronomy was a blunder. It was a matter that did not in the least involve his piety or his salvation, nor even his ministerial efficiency. His whole bearing in the matter was so evidently sincere, and his respect for the Bible, as he understood it, was so unmeasured that it set him off rather to an advantage than to a disadvantage. It is told in another place how he was drawn into the preaching of that sermon which gave him an odd, and yet a genuine, celebrity. It was no love for sensation and no attempt to show his learning, but simply an attempt to vindicate the Bible as he understood it. When the sermon was first delivered it created a wide-spread sensation. Some of the coloured ministers of Richmond were shocked out of their equanimity, and they felt that something must be done. It was a case of hysterics. In a fit of freakish courage some of them made an attack on Jasper. A letter was written to a Richmond paper and signed by several prominent negro Baptists, one of them being the pastor of a strong church. In this letter Jasper’s sermons were bitterly denounced, and they were spoken of as “a base fabrication,” out of time and place, and doing more harm than good. It was said further that those sermons had drawn such crowds that it had resulted in the injury of a number of persons, and that a better way for the author of these sermons would be for him to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Some time after this the Ebenezer Baptist Church called a conference to consider the situation and to see if matters could not be adjusted. Jasper was an ardent believer in the independence of the individual Baptist church, and he was summoned to appear before that conference. He refused to go, saying that he did not recognize the authority of the church to interfere with him. Thereupon they sent a committee to him inviting him to come and make any statement that he wished to make concerning the question at issue.

He went. The point in the published letter concerning Jasper that was most offensive to him was the statement as to “base fabrication.” That hit him between the joints of the harness. His soul was stirred with a furious resentment, and when he got before that council and fell afoul of the three men who had charged him with “a base fabrication” it was a day not to be forgotten. When he had got through it would be hard to say how many baskets would have been required to hold the fragments. The man who had really written the letter suddenly discovered that it had no reference on the earth to Brother Jasper. It was intended to answer something that had been said in a paper in New York. Attempts were made to refresh his memory. Quite a respectable minister reminded this letter writer that they had talked together concerning this letter, and that the attention of the writer was called to the “base fabrication” part of it, but the memory of the brother could not be revived. No stimulant could reach the case. Other folks might charge Brother Jasper with base fabrication, but not this man. It was a lamentable and discreditable conclusion. He was crippled in both feet and respected by none. This ended the matter. Jasper strode away from the council with the marks of victory about him; and while bad feeling could not die at once, yet the attacks on Jasper went entirely out of fashion. Let it be added that there were multitudes who shared the prejudice against this old warrior, but little cared he. On he went his fine way, growing in nobleness, and loving the God in whom he believed.

Jasper’s pleasures were of the meditative sort. For a long time his church gave him an ample vacation in the summer. He retired to the country and courted its quiet. His only sport was fishing along the streams, and that suited his task. If the fish didn’t bite, his thoughts always did. Like the fish they ran in schools, but unlike the fish they ran in all weathers and in all seasons. But Jasper never achieved marked success in the art of recreation. Go where he might, his fame was there to confront and to entangle him. Demands for him to preach always came in hot and thick, and there was hardly a Sunday when Jasper was in the country that he was not surrounded by a crowd and preaching with ever-glowing fervour and delight. Indeed, Jasper was sought after to dedicate churches, deliver lectures and to preach special sermons in every part of Virginia, and often beyond it. It was said that he preached in almost every county and city in Virginia. He was the one ever sought Virginia preacher, and in that respect he stood unmatched by any man of his race.

As a rule, Jasper did not preach very long sermons. His Sunday afternoon sermons very rarely exceeded fifty minutes in length, but on extraordinary occasions he took no note of time. Jasper was not a sermon-maker. He did not write them, and homiletics was a thing of which he had never heard. He was fond of pictorial preaching and often selected historical topics, such as “Joseph and His Brethren” or “Daniel in the Lion’s Den,” or “The Raising of Lazarus.” He had quite a large stock of special sermons,--sermons which had grown by special use, and which embodied the choicest creations of his mind. These he preached over and over again and in his own pulpit, and without apology to anybody. But after all the themes which interested him most profoundly and on which he preached with unsurpassed ardour and rapture were the fundamental doctrines of the Scriptures. The last sermon he ever preached was on Regeneration; and on many phases of the Christian system he preached with consummate ability. He believed fully in the doctrine of future punishment, and his description of the fate of the lost made the unbelieving quake with terror and consternation. His preaching was of that fervid, startling, and threatening sort, well suited to awaken religious anxieties and to bring the people to a public confession. He was his own evangelist,--did chiefly the work of bringing his congregation to repentance, and the growth of his church consisted almost entirely of the fruit of his own ministry. His church on the island began with nine members, and it was reported that there were over 2,000 at the time of his death. He had uncommon caution about receiving people into his church. He was not willing to take people to count, and he preached searchingly to those who were thinking of applying for membership.

Just two little and yet important things call for a place in this chapter. Jasper was an inexorable debt-payer. The only debt that he could tolerate was a church debt, and he could ill tolerate that. The unsettled account of his great new church building grappled him like a nightmare. It was his burden in the day and his torturing dream at night. Even during his dying days the church debt haunted and depressed him, and loud among his parting exhortations was his insistent plea that the church debt should be speedily paid.

In his early life Jasper contracted the use of tobacco,--as, indeed, almost his entire race did, and he was also quite free with the use of alcoholic drinks,--though never, so far as is known, to the extent of intoxication. No question as to his sobriety has ever ridden the air. But these habits lingered with him long after he entered the ministry, and even until he was winning enviable and far-spreading favour as a preacher. So far as known, these facts did not becloud his reputation nor interfere with his work. Of course, he never entered a barroom, and never drank convivially, but he kept liquor in his house, and took it as his choice dictated. But gradually it worked itself into his conscience that these things were not for the best, and without the least ostentation or even publicity he absolutely abandoned the use both of tobacco and alcoholic drinks. He made no parade about it, and took on no fanatical airs. Just as he thought it was wrong to owe money which he could not pay and therefore hated a debt, so he felt that these habits, useless at best, might really be harmful to him and to others, and therefore he gave them up.

His moral and religious ideals were very lofty, and he lived up to them to a degree not true of many. Not long after his death a really magnificent monument was erected over his grave. It was quite costly, and the money for it was raised by his church people and other lovers of whom he had legions. While he lived, legislators, judges, governors, and many men of eminent distinction, went to hear him preach. Many of the most distinguished white ministers of the country made it a point to go to his church on Sunday afternoon whenever they were in the city, and he was justly ranked as one of the attractions of Richmond.

Now that he has found his grave not far from the site of his church, and this stately shaft has been placed as a sentinel over his dust, multitudes as they come and go will visit the tomb of the most original, masterful, and powerful negro preacher of the old sort that this country has ever produced.

XI

SERMON:--THE STONE CUT OUT OF THE MOUNTAIN

(_Text, Daniel 2:45._)

This rugged specimen of historical eloquence constituted the sermon delivered on Sunday afternoon, July 20, 1884. Jasper mounted the pulpit with the dash of an athlete and tripped around the platform during the preliminaries with the air of a racer. A sense of strength imparted to his face the triumphant glow. A smile parted his lips, and told the secret of an animated and aggressive courage.

“I stan’s befo’ you to-day on legs of iron and nun kin stay me from preachin’ de Gospil uv de Lord Gord. I know well nuff dat de ole devul is mad as a tempest ’bout my bein’ here; he knows dat my call ter preach kums frum Gord, and dat’s wat meks ’im so mad wen he sees Jasper ’scend de pulpit, fur he knows dat de people is gwine ter hear a messige straight frum heaven. I don’t git my sermuns out uv grammars an’ reterricks, but de Sperrit uv de Lord puts ’em in my mind an’ meks ’em burn in my soul.”

His manner was radiant, courageous, defiant, and was prophetic of one of his greatest discourses.

“It hev always bin one uv de ways uv Gord ter set up men as rulers uv de people. Yer know dat Gord ordains kings and rulers an’,--wat kinder bodders sum uv us,--He don’t always mek it a p’int ter put up good men. Yer know dat our Lord giv Judis a place ’mong de twelve, an’ he turn’d out ter be one uv de grandes’ raskils under de sun.

“Jes’ so Nebukidnezzur was pinted uv de Lord ter be king uv Babylon,--dat same robbur dat tuk de vessuls out uv de temple at Jerusalem an’ lugged ’em away ter his own country. Dat man had wun uv de powerfullest kingdums evur known on dis flat earth. He ruled over many countries and many smaller kingdums, an’ even had under his hands de servunts on de plantashun an’ de beasts uv de feil’. He was one uv dese unlimertid monnuks. He axed nobody no odds, an’ did jes’ wat he wanted ter do, an’ I kinnot stop ter tell yer wid wat a strong hand an’ outstretched arm he ruled de people wid an irun rod. It kum ter pass dat one time dis king dat did not fear Gord (tho’ Gord had sot him up), had a dream. Dreams iz awfully curus things. Dey used ter frighten folks out’n dere senses an’ I tell yer dey sometimes frighten folks now. I’ve had many dreams in my day dat got mity close ter me. Dey gravuled inter de very cords uv my soul, an’ made me feel lik de groun’ under my feet wuz libul ter giv way any time, an’ I don’t dout dat hundreds uv yer dat hear me now hev bin frightened an’ cud not eat nor sleep nor wuk wid any peace ’caus’ yer done hev strange dreams. Yer better watch dem dreams. In de anshient days de Lord spoke ter folks in dreams. He warned dem, an’ I don’t dout dat He duz dat way sometimes now.

“Neberkidnezzur’s dream stirred him powerful. He rolled all night an’ did not sleep a wink. So he sent out an’ got de magishuns an’ de strolgurs an’ de sorserers an’ de Kaldeuns, an’ dey wuz brought unter him. He tell ’em dat he had dreamed a dream dat had trubbled his sperrit. An’ de Kaldeuns axed him wat de dream wuz. De king say dat de dream done gone clear out’n him, an’ he can’t cotch de straight uv it ter save his soul. He tell ’em, moreovur, dat dey got ter dig up de dream an’ work up de meanin’ too, an’ dat ef dey don’t dat he gwine ter have ’em cut all ter pieces an’ turn dere houses inter a dunghill, an’ den he tell ’em dat ef dey will git de dream back fur him an’ give de explernashun he gwine ter give ’em nice gifs an’ put gret honurs on ’em. It waz too much fer de Kaldeuns. Dey cudn’t dream de king’s dream fer ’im, an’ dey kum squar out an’ tell Nebukidnezzur dat no man on de earth cud show sich a matter ter de king, an’ dat in dere erpinyun dar is no king on de earth dat wud ax fer sich a thing frum proffit or magishun.

“Den Nebukidnezzur got high. He went on a tare an’ yer know wen a king gits mad yer better git out er his way. He is got de power; an’ so he up an’ sent out a decree through all de regiuns uv de kingdom dat all de wise men everywhar shud be slain. Jes’ see wat a mad man will do wen he git furius mad. Dey got no mo’ sens dan a mad tiger or a roarin’ lion. Jes’ befo’ de slaughter uv de wise men kum on, Daniel hear ’bout it, an’ he axed de king’s captin wat it wuz all ’bout an’ why de king wuz so hasty, an’ de captin tol’ Dan’l all ’bout it. Dan’l brushed hissef up quick and struck out to see de king an’ ax him ter hol’ up de exercushun uv his bloody profesy, an’ he’d promise to splain his dream ter him. Den Dan’l goes off an’ gits all his Godly frien’s togedder an’ ax ’em ter pray ter de Gord uv heaven dat he an’ his frien’s shud not perish in de slaughter uv de tricksters uv dat country. One thing de Lord can’t do;--He can’t refuse ter answer de cries uv His people; an’ wen all dat prayin’ wuz gwine on Gord appeared to Dan’l in de nite an’ revealed ter him de secret uv de king,--an’ wat yer reckin? Wen de Lord giv Dan’l dat dream an’ de hinterpertashun dar of, Dan’l raised a gret shout an’ giv thanks to Gord for wat de Lord had done fer him. But he didn’t shout long, fer he had important bisnis ter attend ter; an’ very soon he went ter de king an’ kerried wid him de secrit dat de king had demandid at de han’s uv de erstrolgers an’ magishuns. He told de king rite ter his face de thing dat he had dreamed, an’ wat Gord meant by it. Truly Dan’l did behave hissef befo’ de king in a very pretty an’ becomin’ manner. He tel de king he did not hav no mo sens dan udder people, an’ dat he wuz not perpar’d to do things dat udder men cud do, but dat it wuz by de power uv Gord dat all dis matter had bin made known ter him. He tol’ de king dat wat he saw wuz a gret imige; dat de imige wuz brite an’ splendid an’ de form uv it wuz terrerbul; dat de hed wuz uv fine gold, his brest and arms uv silvur, his belly an’ thize uv brass, an’ his legs uv irun and his feet part uv irun an’ part uv clay. An’ he tel de king fudder dat he saw er stone dat wuz cut widout han’s out’n de mountin an’ dat de stone smote de imige erpun his feet an’ broke ’em in pieces, an’ dat de stone dat brok de imige became a gret mountin an’ filled all de wurl’. Den Dan’l,--dat brave an’ feerles bruther, dat nevur quailed befo’ de mitiest ruler uv de earth,--faced de king an’ tel ’im an orful an’ a warnin’ troof. He say ter ’im, ‘Yer is a gret king now. Yer hav er mity country an’ all power, an’ thy glory civers de groun’. Man an’ beas’ an’ foul obey yer. Yer iz de hed uv gold, but arter yer will kum anudder kingdum dat shall not be lik yourn, but still it shal be big an’ dar shall kum anudder kingdum and dar shall be a fo’th kingdum strong as irun, an’ dis kingdum shall brooz an’ smash all de udder kingdums.’

“An’ den Dan’l gits ter de big pint. He tels de king dat de Lord is gwine ter set up er kingdum an’ dat in de times ter kum dat kingdum shall crush an’ cornsume all de udder kingdums. Dat shall be de kingdum uv Gord on de earth, an’ dat kingdum shall stan’ fer evur an’ evur. You knows how yer saw de stone dat wuz cut out’n de mountin an’ how dat broke in pieces de irun, de bras, de clay, de silvur, an’ de gold, an’ my Gord hev made known ter you, O king, wat shall tek place in de gret herearter, and dis is de dream an’ de hinterpertashun dar of.

“Dat wuz a mity sermon dat Dan’l preached ter Nebukidnezzur. It ort ter hev saved ’im, but it look lik it med ’im wuss. De debbul got ’im fer dat time an’ he turn rite agin de Lord Gord an’ sot at nort His stashutes an’ countid His ways onholy.

“Yer know ’bout dat imige. It wuz med uv gold, an’ wuz threescore cubits high and six cubits wide, an’ twuz sot up in de plain uv Durer, not fer frum Bablun. Yer know er cubit is about eighteen inchis, an’ ef yer multerply dat by threescore cubits yer git 1080 inches, wich mean dat de imige wuz ninety foot high an’ nine feet broad. So yer see Nebukidnezzur got ter be a Gord-makur, an’ wen he got dis gret imige bilt he sont out ter git all de princis an’ guvnurs an’ all de res’ uv de swell folks ter kum an’ bow down an’ wurshep dat gret imige dat he had sot up. Now dis wuz de gret folly an’ shame uv de king. By dat deed he defied de Lord Gord an’ de raff uv de Lord wuz stirr’d agin ’im.

“An’ now, my brudderin, yer member Dan’l tol’ de king dat de imige dat he saw in his dream wuz ’imsef rulin’ over all de udder kingdums. He tol’ ’im also dat dat stone dat wuz cut out uv de mountin an’ kum rollin’ down de craggy sides an’ broke in pieces de irun, de brass and de clay, dat dat wuz de kingdum uv de Lord Jesus Christ. An’ he tel ’im, fuddermo, dat de kummin’ uv de stone ter be a great mountin means de growth uv de kingdum uv our Lord tel it shall fil dis wurl’ an’ shall triumf over all de udder kingdums. Dan’l tel de king dat his kingdum wuz gwine ter be taken frum him, ’caus’ he had not feared de Gord uv heaven, an’ in his folly an’ crimes he turned away frum dat Gord dat rules in de heaven an’ hols de nashuns uv de earth in de pams uv His han’s. He tol’ ’im dat de kingdum uv Satun, dat arch ennimy uv Gord, wuz gwine ter tumbul flat, ’caus’ dat stone cut out uv de mountin wud roll over Satun’s derminyuns an’ crush it in ter flinders.

“Glory ter Gord in de highis’; dat stone cut out uv de mountin is a mity roller. Nuthin kin stay its terribul progris! Dey dat fite erginst Jerhover had bettur look out,--dat stone is still rollin’ an’ de fust thing dey know it will crush down erpon ’em an’ dey will sink ter rise no mo’. Our Gord is er cornsumin’ fire, an’ He will overturn an’ overturn tel de foundashuns uv sin iz brokin’ up. Yer jes’ wait er little. De time is fas’ rollin’ on. Evun now I hear my Saviour sayin’ ter His Father, ‘Father, I kin stay here no longer; I mus’ git up dis mornin’; I am gwine out ter call My people frum de feil’; dey hav ben abused and laughed at an’ bin med a scoffin’ long nuff fer My name’s sake. I kin stay no longer. My soul cries fer My chillun. Gabrul, git down yer trumpit dis mornin’; I want yer ter do some blowin’. Blow gently an’ easy at fust, but let My people hear your goldin notes. Dey will kum wen I call.’

“Ah, my brutherin, you an’ I wil be dar wen dat trumpit soun’s. I don’ think I shall be erlarm’d, ’caus’ I shall know it iz my king marshallin’ His people home. It won’t frighten you my sisters; it will hev de sweetnis uv Jesus vois ter yer; an’, oh, how it will ring out dat happy mornin’ wen our king shall kum to gather de ransomed uv de Lord ter ’imsef. Den yer shall hev a new an’ holy body, an’ wid it your glorified sperrit shall be united, an’ on dat day we shall go in ter see de Father an’ He shall smile an’ say: ‘Dese iz My chillun; dey hav washed dere robes and made dem white in de blood uv de Lamb; dey hav kum out uv gret tribberlashun an’ dey shall be wid Me for ever an’ ever.’ I speck ter be dar.

“‘Well, Jasper,’ yer say, ‘why yer spec ter be dar. How yer know?’ Yer read de foteenth chapter uv John, will yer? ‘I go ter prepar er place fer yer,’ an’ dat word is ter rule; an’ so yer will see ole John Jasper rite dar, an’ King Jesus shall kum out ter meet us an’ tek us in an’ sho’ us de manshuns dat He hav prepared fer us.

“O Lusifer how thou hav fallin! You proud ones will find den dat your days iz over, an’ ye dat hav despised de chillun uv my Gord wil sink down inter hell, jes’ as low es it is posserbul ter git. Yer needn’t tel ’im dat yer hev preached in His name, an’ in His name done many wonderful works. Yer can’t fool Him! He’ll frown down at yer an’ say: I don’t know yer, an’ I don’t wan’ ter know yer, an’ I don’ wan’ ter see yer. Git out uv My site forever, an’ go ter your place ermong de lost.

“Ah, truly, it is a mity stone, bin rollin’ all dese senshuriz, rollin’ to-day. May it roll through the kingdum uv darknis and crush de enemis uv Gord. Dat stone done got so big dat it is higher dan heav’n, broader dan de earth, and deeper dan hell hitsef. But don’t be deceived. Don’t think dat I don’ let yer off. I got somethin’ more fer yer yit.