48 



heart, as well as your arm, aches with its seve- 

 rity ; but, if you do not awaken his reflections 

 as well as his feelings, and teach him thus, 

 through the sense of awe, to seek a reconcilia- 

 tion with you ; if you suffer him to escape from 

 you, or to rise and set off when he likes, the 

 moment it is over; be assured you have only 

 been doing mischief: he will soon improve upon 

 the suggestions of self-will, and bid you defiance 

 in the open field; and then all is over. I say, 

 Sir, circle him a few times thus down; there 

 is magic in it ; we must subdue him thus ; draw 

 a little off, in the course of these circles ; the 

 whip still ready to rise, and the note of " Down 

 charge!" continued: stop, two or three yards 

 from him, full in front ; his eye still rivetted by 



as usual attended, and had just begun one of these homilies, 

 when the poor fellow, with a singular shrug of the shoulders, 

 as if he already felt the cat upon them, and with a rueful look 

 of drollery in his countenance, thus bespoke his commander : 

 " If you floggum, floggum ! If you preachum, preachum ! 

 But don't floggum and preachum too, massa !" This address 

 had the instant effect of stopping the sermon, amidst the 

 unsuppressed smiles of the surrounding officers : whether he 

 was equally fortunate in getting rid of the other part of the 

 punishment, the record does not say. Now, of the effect of 

 the latter, upon the animal whose irregularities it was here 

 intended to correct, I own, I have my doubts : but, with 

 regard to the other, whose tuition I am directing, I wish to 

 say, that you must "floggum and preachum too," if you 

 mean to do any good ; and that the latter is, perhaps, the 

 least, dispensable part of the ceremony. 



