'I sunk the Preble, and the Vincennes did I send to thunder. I peppered
'em.
'The ram has rammed everything to pieces, and the rest did I drive high
and dry ashore, where I peppered 'em.
'What was left did my ships destroy; verily I peppered 'em.
'The residue thereof, lo! was it not burnt up by my fire-ships?--yea,
they were peppered.
'The remainder I am even now peppering, and the others will I continue
to pepper.
'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers--even so did I--such a
peppering never yet was seen, neither aforetime, or aftertime, not in
the land where the pepper grows, or any other time.
'I peppered 'em.'
And lo! when this was read there arose such a cry of joy as never was
heard, no, not at the Tower of Babel on Saturday night.
And he who read, said: 'Rome was redeemed for a thousand pounds of
pepper and a thousand of gold, pound for pound did they weigh it out.
But such pepper as this is beyond price--yea, beyond all gold.
'But what are they whom he has conquered, oh my soul? Dirt and Iniquity
is their name, evil are their ways, cuss and confound them!
'It was not worth the while for a gentleman to fight such
scallawags--behold, a blind nigger in a mud-scow could have put them to
flight--even a blind nigger should we have sent against them.
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