A SLAVE in the island of Jamaica, of unusual intelligence, and a fine player on the violin, was brought under the power of the truth through the labors of the English Baptist Missionaries, and became a decided Christian. Fearing his instrument might prove a snare to him, he broke it. Soon after, his master told him that he should want him before long to play his favorite instrument. He replied:
“Fiddle broke, Massa.”
“It must be mended, Sam.”
“Broke all to pieces, Massa.”
“Well, we must get a new one, Sam.”
“Me tink that no good, Massa; he soon broke.”
The master, suspecting that this breaking of the fiddle had something to do with religion, to which he was no friend, said:
“I hope you do not go to pray, and run after these mad-headed folks, Sam!”
“To tell de truth, me gone, Massa.” His master now threatened to flog him, to which he returned answer “Dat no good, Massa; whip no flog de Word out.”
His master now removed the refractory slave from his comfortable position as a house-servant, to work in the field under a burning Jamaica sun. He was now in the midst of three hundred slaves, to whom he soon began to talk about Christ, inviting them to go and hear his minister. His master, hearing of this, was still more incensed, and, calling him up, said:
“How dare you trouble my negroes? I will have no praying negroes.”
“Me no tink dey are troubled, Massa. Do dey work much worse, or are dey more saucy, Massa?”
“That is nothing to you; how dare you trouble my negroes?”
“To tell de truth, Massa, me tink dat de bread dat is good for my soul, is good for my broder neger; and me tink dat if it is a good ting for me to escape hell, it is good for broder neger; and if heaven is a good place for me, it is good for broder neger ; and me pray; and me pray for rich massa, and me tink dat if my rich massa would once go and hear de missionary, he would always go afterwards.”
At all this the master was angry, but sent the negro parson, Sam, from his presence with nothing worse than threatening words.
Negro Sam was not ashamed to confess Jesus before his master, and before his brother slaves.
ML 03/15/1903