Aunt Ceely lay as if she were dead, and two of the Christian
men (for no sinner must touch her at this critical period) bore her to
her cabin, followed by the "chu'ch membahs," who would continue their
singing and praying until she "come thu," even if the trance should
last all night. The children returned to the house without Mammy, for
she was with the procession which had followed Aunt Ceely; and as they
reached the yard, they met their father returning from the lot.
"Papa," called Dumps, "we're goin' ter have awful troubles hyear."
"How, my little daughter?" asked her father.
"The Lord's goin' ter sen' s'ords an' famines, an' they'll eat up all
the young men, an' ev'ybody's sons an' daughters," she replied,
earnestly. "Uncle Dan's said so in meetin'; an' all the folks was
screamin' an' shoutin', an' Aunt Ceely is in a trance 'bout it, an'
she ain't come thu yet."
Major Waldron was annoyed that his children should have witnessed any
such scene, for they were all very much excited and frightened at the
fearful fate that they felt was approaching them; so he took them into
his library, and explained the meaning of the terms "swords and
famines," and read to them the whole chapter, explaining how the
prophet referred only to the calamities that should befall the
Hebrews; but, notwithstanding all that, the children were uneasy, and
made Aunt Milly sit by the bedside until they went to sleep, to keep
the "swords and the famines" from getting them.
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