and when I came to the humming, which we all know is the marked
peculiarity of the negro singing, he stopped me and said, "Whenever
you hum that way it means 'Hush!' and among the tribes I have known it
always comes in baby songs." He then sang this one, which a heathen
woman used to sing to his little sister "Amber":
"Amber in a wa,
Keen yah feenyah ma,
Amber in a bamboo carri,
Amber eeka walloo.
Um, um, um."
A rough translation of this means: "Amber, be quiet and I'll give you
something. I'm not going to flog you. You are quiet, so I thank you.
Hush, hush, hush!"