The Christian by the Pound

The Christian by the Pound

[At a recent slave sale, in one of the Southern states, the auctioneer, in a drunken humor, guaranteed the Christianity of the negro upon the block, and offered to sell him by the pound.]

He can mow and how, and shovel and dig,

And team, and lower, and hoist;

His muscles are firm and strong and big—

And he belongs to the Church of Christ!

The blood that followed the soldier's spear

Has scoured the stains of sin;

So what will you give for his body by weight,

If we throw you the spirit in?

No healthier man, no honester man,

No piouser man is found,—

Say quick!—Who bids? How much do I hear?

How much will you give a pound?

David Barker

1:32, p. 1

2.25.1860

From the Bangor Whig