Ihavebeenshown——inlateryears——manytabletops,ornamentedinmarquetry,inlaidwiththousandsoflittlebitsofwood,cunninglyarranged,andpatientlyjoinedtogether。Ialwayslookatthemwithinterest,forIknowtheworkspentuponthem:IremembermyAndersonvillepantaloons。
Theclothingupontheupperpartofmybodyhadbeenreducedtotheremainsofaknitundershirt。Ithadfallenintosomanyholesthatitlookedlikethecoarse\"riddles\"throughwhichashesandgravelaresifted。Wherevertheseholeswerethesunhadburnedmyback,breastandshouldersdeeplyblack。Thepartscoveredbythethreadsandfragmentsformingtheboundariesoftheholes,werestillwhite。WhenIpulledmyallegedshirtoff,towashortofreeitfromsomeofitsteemingpopulation,myskinshowedafinelacepatterninblackandwhite,thatwasveryinterestingtomycomrades,andthesubjectofcountlessjokesbythem。
Theyusedtodescantloudlyonthechasteeleganceofthedesign,therichnessofthetracing,etc。,andbegmetofurnishthemwithacopyofitwhenIgothome,fortheirsisterstoworkwindowcurtainsortidiesby。Theyweresurethatsostrikinganoveltyinpatternswouldbeveryacceptable。IwouldreplytotheirwitticismsinthelanguageofPortia\'sPrinceofMorocco:
Mislikemenotformycomplexion——
Theshadowedliveryoftheburningsun。