Untitled

noshilljin'terners'llw'enenendayoutxviINTRODUCTION.recurrence of the caesura, as, for instance, the first stanzaof the Kevival Hymn :" Oh, whar we| go de| great comes| |Wid de blow er de| trumpits de| bang in' er de|drums|How man| po' sin be kotch'd late| ["En fine latch de| | gold | gate |In other words, the songs depend for their melodyand rhythm upon the musical quality of time, and notupon long or short, accented or unaccented syllables.I am persuaded that this fact led Mr. Sidney Lanier,who is thoroughly familiar with the metrical peculiaritiesof negro songs, into the exhaustive investigationwhich has resulted in the publication of his scholarlytreatise on The Science of English Verse.The difference between the dialect of the legendsand that of the character-sketches, slightas it is, marksthe modifications which the speech of the negro hasundergone even where education has playedno part inreforming it. Indeed, save in the remote country districts,the dialect of the legends has nearly disappeared.I am perfectly well aware that the character-sketches arewithout permanent interest, but they are embodied herefor the purpose of presenting a phase of negro characterwholly distinct from that which I have endeavoredto preserve in the legends. Only in this shape,and with all the local allusions, would it be possible toadequately represent theshrewd observations, the curi-