Mr. Covey's FORTE consisted in his power to deceive. His life was
devoted to planning and perpetrating the grossest deceptions. Every
thing he possessed in the shape of learning or religion, he made conform
to his disposition to deceive. He seemed to think himself equal to
deceiving the Almighty. He would make a short prayer in the morning, and
a long prayer at night; and, strange as it may seem, few men would
at times appear more devotional than he. The exercises of his family
devotions were always commenced with singing; and, as he was a very poor
singer himself, the duty of raising the hymn generally came upon me. He
would read his hymn, and nod at me to commence. I would at times do so;
at others, I would not. My non-compliance would almost always produce
much confusion. To show himself independent of me, he would start and
stagger through with his hymn in the most discordant manner. In this
state of mind, he prayed with more than ordinary spirit. Poor man! such
was his disposition, and success at deceiving, I do verily believe that
he sometimes deceived himself into the solemn belief, that he was a
sincere worshipper of the most high God; and this, too, at a time when
he may be said to have been guilty of compelling his woman slave to
commit the sin of adultery. The facts in the case are these: Mr. Covey
was a poor man; he was just commencing in life; he was only able to buy
one slave; and, shocking as is the fact, he bought her, as he said, for
A BREEDER.
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