"And do people allow themselves to be bullied out of their property
by such ruffians?"
"Ah, my dear! 'tis the custom of the country, and 'tis not so easy
to put it down. But I can tell you that a charivari is not always a
joke.
"There was another affair that happened, just before you came to the
place, that occasioned no small talk in the neighbourhood; and well
it might, for it was a most disgraceful piece of business, and
attended with very serious consequences. Some of the charivari party
had to fly, or they might have ended their days in the penitentiary.
"There was runaway nigger from the States came to the village, and
set up a barber's poll, and settled among us. I am no friend to the
blacks; but really Tom Smith was such a quiet, good-natured fellow,
and so civil and obliging, that he soon got a good business. He was
clever, too, and cleaned old clothes until they looked almost as
good as new.
