Charles Lyell, A Second Visit to the United States of North America, Vol. I (London, 1849), 327-328.
Item
Title
Charles Lyell, A Second Visit to the United States of North America, Vol. I (London, 1849), 327-328.
Context
But wherever there was a break in the fringe of trees, which flourished luxuriantly in the swamps bordering the river, a forest of evergreen pines was seen in the back ground. For many a mile we saw no habitations, and the solitude was profound; but our black oarsmen made the woods echo in their song. One of them taking the lead, first improvised a verse, paying compliments to this master's family, and to a celebrated black beauty of the neighborhood, who was compared to the "red bird". The other five then joined in chorus, always repeating the same words. Occasionally they struck up a hymn, taught to them by Methodiists, in which the most sacred subjects were handled with strange familiarity, and which, through nothing irreverent was meant, sounded oddly to our ears, and, when following a love ditty, almost profane.