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diff --git a/41590-8.txt b/41590-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 97a94e4..0000000 --- a/41590-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4144 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Negro Tales, by Joseph Seamon Cotter - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Negro Tales - -Author: Joseph Seamon Cotter - -Release Date: December 9, 2012 [EBook #41590] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEGRO TALES *** - - - - -Produced by sp1nd, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -NEGRO TALES - -[Illustration: Joseph S. Cotter - -_Frontispiece._] - -NEGRO TALES - -By - -JOSEPH S. COTTER - -NEW YORK - -THE COSMOPOLITAN PRESS - -1912 - - -COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY -THE COSMOPOLITAN PRESS - - - - -CONTENTS - - PAGE -The Author 7 - -Caleb 9 - -Rodney 23 - -Tesney, The Deceived 35 - -Regnan's Anniversary 50 - -"Kotchin' De Nines" 62 - -A Town Sketch 67 - -The Stump of a Cigar 74 - -A Rustic Comedy 81 - -The Jackal and the Lion 103 - -The King's Shoes 110 - -How Mr. Rabbit Secures a Pretty Wife and Rich - Father-in-Law 127 - -The Little Boy and Mister Dark 133 - -Observation 138 - -The Boy and the Ideal 141 - -The Negro and the Automobile 144 - -Faith in the White Folks 146 - -The Cane and the Umbrella 148 - - - - -THE AUTHOR - - -The Author is one of a race that has given scarcely anything of -literature to the world. His modest tender of some Christmas verses to -me led to an inquiry which revealed his story of unpretentious but -earnest and conscientious toil. He is wholly self-taught in English -literature and composition. The obstacles which he has surmounted were -undreamed of by Burns and other sons of song who struggled up from -poverty, obscurity, and ignorance to glory. - -Joseph Seamon Cotter was born in Nelson County, Kentucky, in 1861, but -has spent practically all his life in Louisville. He had the scantiest -opportunity for schooling in childhood, though he could read before he -was four years old. He was put to work early, and from his eighth to his -twenty-fourth year earned his living by the roughest and hardest labor, -first in a brick yard, then in a distillery, and finally as a teamster. -At twenty-two his scholarship was so limited that when he entered the -first one of Louisville's night schools for colored pupils he had to -begin in the primary department. His industry and capacity were so great -that at the end of two sessions of five months each he began to teach. -He has persevered in his calling, educating himself while at work, and -is now Principal of the Tenth Ward Colored School, at Thirteenth and -Green streets. The man whose advice and encouragement at the beginning -chiefly enabled him to accomplish this was Prof. W. T. Peyton, a -well-known colored educator of this city, whom he regards as his -greatest benefactor.--THOMAS G. WATKINS, _Financial Editor Louisville -Courier-Journal_. - - - - -NEGRO TALES - - - - -CALEB - - -Patsy and Benjamin, her husband, were talking about their first and -second weddings, and of Caleb, their son. They were also thinking of -Rahab, Caleb's teacher. - -"We have been blessed in the number of our weddings," said she. - -"Yes; but cursed in Caleb," he replied. - -"Our last wedding, as free people, was not equal to the first as -slaves." - -"That was because Caleb came in between." - -"How many ex-slaves have considered the significance of these second -weddings?" - -"How many fathers and mothers have been cursed by only sons?" - -Caleb entered the room as his father uttered these words, and struck him -violently over the heart. The old man straightened up, gasped -spasmodically, clutched at his breast wildly, and then fell heavily to -the floor. Caleb, with a parting sneer, left the room, while Patsy ran -to the aid of her husband. She turned him on his back, opened his shirt -at the neck, but her efforts were of no avail. Benjamin was dead. - -Patsy did not report Caleb for the murder of his father, but went on -thinking her own theology and asking Rahab to explain. - -"A thirty-dollar coffin? No, no, undertaker! A five-dollar robe? No, no, -undertaker! Four carriages? No, no, undertaker! Think you the living -have no rights? Cold, rigid dignity will suffice the dead, but the -living must have money. He was my father, and I am his heir; therefore, -speedy forgetfulness for the one and luxury for the other. Five hundred -dollars are upon his life. As four hundred and fifty slip through my -fingers I'll remember I owe him something for dying a pauper. Twenty -dollars will keep Patsy chewing starch; and you, undertaker, may have -the rest, and the thanks of science for your services. Why gaze upon the -dead? Think you how you can make it twenty? At twenty? At twenty, you -say? Cigars, cigars, ten dollars for cigars. You can't? Out! Out! Out! -Offend not the living by pitying the dead." - -Caleb thus addressed the undertaker while gazing upon the dead body of -his father. - -As the undertaker left the room Patsy hobbled in upon her crutches, sat -close to the corpse and sobbed aloud. - -"Why those tears, old woman?" asked Caleb. - -"Where is your heart, Caleb, my boy?" - -"In the twenty dollars you hold in your hand. Disgrace, and disgrace, -and ever disgrace! The old man was a boaster in life and a pauper in -death. Now you would spend for starch what I should spend for cigars. No -more disgrace for the family, old woman. Eschew starch, bless your son, -and hie you to the washtub." - -He took the money and arranged it in the shape of a cigar. - -Patsy looked lovingly at Caleb, and considered Rahab's offer to preach -Benjamin's funeral sermon. - -On the day of Benjamin's funeral Rahab was present. Patsy gave him a -chair close to the coffin. The people were so seated that egress was -impossible. - -Leaning upon her crutches and gazing straight into Rahab's face, Patsy -gave out, and the people sang: "A charge to keep I have, a God to -glorify." - -Rahab looked at the corpse; and, seeing a sermon in the cold, rigid -form, turned and looked at Patsy. "Beware of the immediate future," said -she. - -Rahab trembled, stammered something, and looked at the ceiling. Patsy -brought her crutch in close proximity to his head. - -Said she, keeping her crutch in motion and her eye in Rahab's: "Words of -the dead to the dead avail little. Were it not for your presence there -would be no funeral sermon. The man in the coffin is not dead, but -sleeping. Why should we disturb his slumbers? You have just life enough -to hear your doom. Why should we not pronounce it?" - -Rahab started to rise. Patsy moved her crutch, and the people sang: -"That awful day will surely come." - -Rahab dropped back into his seat and looked wildly around the room. - -Patsy laid her hand gently upon his shoulder and said: "Rahab, -Benjamin's blood is in part upon your hands. Caleb believed you when you -said that God would curse him. After seeing your crimes he believed that -God had cursed both. To be cursed, he thinks, gives the right to curse. -Rahab, the Master is waiting and calling." - -"He is waiting," said Rahab; "but not to bless." - -The people sang: "While the lamp holds out to burn the vilest sinner may -return." - -Rahab raised himself up with difficulty and pitched forward upon the -floor. - -"Rahab, what do you see?" asked Patsy. - -"I see Caleb's undoing between me and the New Jerusalem. Fool was I. I -won his confidence, and led him to believe false doctrine. God, pardon -Caleb. I sinned in his sight and laughed at his virtue. Damn not Caleb, -O God, but me." - -Rahab ceased to speak and was carried out. His last words were: "Damn -not Caleb, O God, but me." - -Some said he died of excitement; others said it was of pure -consciousness of guilt. - -A few weeks passed. The night was cold, and Patsy was dying. Caleb sat -in a corner of the room. In his mouth was a lighted cigar. At his feet -was a split-covered box, from which came a sound that was music to his -ears. - -On a similar night about a year before Patsy cried out pitifully: "My -baby, my Caleb, perdition, perdition!" She had sprung forward, as though -about to clutch something, and had struck her head against the stove, -inflicting an ugly wound. - -"It was all a dream," she afterwards said. "Methought my Caleb was a -babe again. I pressed him to my heart and crooned one of those -nonsensical baby ditties so old, yet so sweet to the mother's heart. -When he said 'Dad,' 'Dad,' I held him up and kissed his chin, mouth, -nose, eyes, and forehead. I looked five years ahead and saw him clinging -to my dress while I gathered roses for his brow. I looked ten years -ahead and saw him among his schoolmates, contending for the mastery in -sports and studies. Again I looked and saw him a man of thirty, I, bent -and gray, leaning upon his arm, receiving the confidence of the wise, -the respect of the just. Time, the robber, would steal my angel. I held -him up and kissed his hands and feet over and over. I fell asleep. When -I awoke my baby was lying upon the floor. Thinking it was hurt, I -screamed: 'My baby.' Straightway it turned into Caleb, the man, and I -called: 'My Caleb!' A flame of fire sprang up and began to circle him -round. Then it was I cried: 'Perdition, perdition!' and sprang to help -him. This ugly wound on my head will be my death; but Caleb, Caleb!" - -The night was cold, and Patsy was dying. Caleb sat in a corner of the -room. In one hand was the stump of a cigar. In the other was a chicken, -still making the sound that was music to his ears. When Patsy's groans -disturbed him he moved the empty box with his feet. - -"Old woman," said he, "I have stolen a chicken. Will you be my guest?" - -"Caleb," groaned Patsy, "you should not steal." - -His answer was: "Old woman, you should not meddle." - -"Caleb, have you seen my chicken?" asked a voice without. - -"Would you disgrace your mother in death?" asked Patsy, with great -effort. - -"Would you starve me in life?" was Caleb's reply. - -"My chicken, my chicken!" roared the voice without. - -"It is fat and tender," chuckled Caleb. - -Patsy's last words on earth were: "May the Lord forgive my Caleb." - -Caleb fell asleep and left his mother to die alone. Her death-struggle -covered several hours. She raised herself upon her pillow, so that her -last glance might rest upon Caleb. His loud snoring was music to her -dying ears. She clapped her hands feebly to awaken him, but he snored -the more, and mumbled something about chicken. The end came with a -little choking in the throat and a slight movement of the head to the -left. - -As Patsy lay cold in death Caleb had a pleasant dream. He dreamed that -she was well and at the washtub. He thought he held in his hand money -she had drawn in advance for him. When he awoke the next morning and -found it was but a dream he lighted the stump of a cigar; and, between -puffs, mumbled something about starch-eating mothers and dignified sons. -When a neighbor called to see what Patsy would have for breakfast, he -said: "Ask the old woman." - -"She is dead," cried the neighbor. - -"Then bury her," said he. - -The next day Noah, the father of Melviny, the grave-digger for the poor, -said: "Melviny, my child, I go to dig poor Patsy's grave." - -"Poor Caleb!" said Melviny, and covered her face with her apron. - -Noah's hands fell to his side, leaving the spade dangling about his -neck. - -"Melviny!" he shouted fiercely. - -"Father?" she answered soberly. - -"Why your thought of Caleb?" - -"Why your interest in Patsy?" - -"She is dead, child." - -"So is Caleb, father." Melviny dropped her apron and began to toy with -the spade. "Dear father, you are kind to the neighbors." - -"Dear child, you are making your own perdition." - -"Where go you, father?" - -"I go to bury Patsy in the potter's field." - -"I go to bury Caleb in my affections, that he may be resurrected a man." - -Noah kissed his daughter three times. - -"The first," said he, "is for your mother, who was a wise woman." - -"In marrying you, father? I never heard her say so in her curtain -lectures. Why didn't you say she was a brave woman?" - -"Don't be frivolous, child." - -"Cling to facts, father. Remember, you will soon be on the brink of the -grave." - -"The second is for your innocence," said he, kissing her again. "The -third--the third----" - -"Is for what, father? Say it's to encourage Caleb in his wooing. Say it, -father." - -"'Tis my dying kiss--my curse. Go! When he drags you to want and death, -you will see how foolish you have been." - -"When I lift him to honor and life the world will see how wise and -heroic I have been. That extra kiss, father?" - -Noah looked puzzled. - -"I see it now, father. That's to commend my heroism. You would say so in -words, but you are a bit too human at present. Poor Patsy is to be -buried in a pauper's grave; poor Caleb in my affections. Your task is -noble. No parting word for me? None? I go not alone." - -"You go not alone, for the fires of tribulation go with you," said Noah, -and shouldered his spade. - -As Noah crossed the bridge leading to the potter's field he met Caleb. - -"Hello, old graybeard!" This was Caleb's salutation. "I jilted the -cobbler's Mary for your Melviny. A mess of perdition she is. You have -the honor of burying my mother; I would have the pleasure of marrying -your daughter. 'Tis a fair exchange. Speak the word; the magistrate is -waiting for his fee. You won't? Your beard is a foot long." - -"I go to dig your mother's grave." - -"I detain you to pleasure my mother's son." - -"She must be buried." - -"I must be married." - -"Oh! Oh! Oh!" - -"Speak the word." - -"My beard is being wasted." - -"Speak the word, or I'll pull out another handful." - -"Y-e-e-s," stammered Noah. - -Caleb stroked what beard was left, evened it up with his penknife, and -said: "Go! You are adorned for your task." - -What Noah felt and thought while digging Patsy's grave would make a -serious, instructive volume. A like record of Caleb and Melviny, as they -stood before the magistrate, would show the brute in man, the folly in -woman. So long as woman is sure she has mastered man, so long is man -sure to degrade woman. 'Tis the equation of the fall. The rib that gave -woman life ever waits to give her temptation and death. - - -Caleb had been away from Melviny six months when their child was born. - -Fancy a man, dirty, ragged, and lousy, sitting beside a post. Notice -the convenience of the post. Look well at the grin that is indicative of -a bite; forget not the smile that means one intruder less. Why those -dice? He shakes them in his hand, throws them out, and says seven. Any -money at stake? No! Any fellow-players? No! See the point? Look closely! -When he grins he shakes the dice. Know you what that means? There is a -bite. When he smiles he throws out the dice and says seven. Understand -that? The post and a movement of his back have done the work, and there -is one intruder less. He is actually gambling with the lice on his back. - -A fellow-gambler comes up and says: "Caleb, you have an heir in your -family. Happy dog you should be." - -"Let's celebrate it with a game," says Caleb. - -He throws down a ten-dollar bill; the other lays down five silver -dollars. - -Caleb shakes the dice, grins fiercely, throws them out, smiles a double -smile, and says seven twice. This means a double victory. More lice have -been killed, and five dollars are won. - -"Five more! Will you have it?" asks Caleb. - -"I'm a gambling man and never flinch," says the other. He lays down five -more silver dollars. Caleb rises and uses the post vigorously. His face -is a solid grin. The dice are shaken and leap from his hand. The broad -grin relaxes into a little smile that spreads so as to almost hide his -nose. His left hand assists the post, while with the right he picks up -the silver dollars. - -"A gambling man are you?" twits Caleb. - -"Yes," nods the other. - -"Then a generous man am I," continues Caleb. "Take the ten-dollar bill -and remember you have met Caleb." - -"Caleb," replies the other, "I am a more generous man than you. Take -back the counterfeit bill and keep the silver dollars you have stolen. I -will assist you further by inventing a new way of killing lice." - -"Lice, sir?" roared Caleb. "Where are they? Do you mean----?" - -"I mean a post is a good louse-killer, but a little oil and a match are -better." - -Caleb, as you know by this time, was a coward. He outran fire-and-oil -justice, and was caught in the mesh of circumstances. He leaped over a -beehive and alighted between two lines of barbed-wire fence. After -spending the night with barbed-wire and bees he was very properly -removed to the hospital. - -"His legs must be amputated," said the physicians. - -"That means what?" asked Caleb, arousing himself as from a dream. - -"Death, perchance," said they. - -"That means the morgue?" asked he, with a grunt. - -"For such as you, yes," replied one. - -"My legs, gentlemen, my legs! The morgue! The morgue! I see it. How cold -it is! Gentlemen, are you gentlemen? My legs! My legs!" - -The next day he learned that his legs had been taken off. The following -day he roared about the morgue and fought with both hands. He cried out -at intervals: - -"Off! Off, you doctors! My legs are here to carry me from the morgue, -but you are waiting to cut them off again. Off, you butchers! Come, my -right leg! Come, my left! On, my right leg! On my left! Yes! Yes! -Welcome, tried friends! Down the steps now! Halfway down are we! Back! -Back, you butchers! You shall not! My right foot--you shall not turn -around. 'Tis done. The toes are where the heel should be. I go a step -forward and fall back a step. Your knives are sharp, you butchers. My -right leg is off and hops upstairs. My left leg is off and hops -downstairs. My body falls and is carried to the morgue. The morgue, -gentlemen, is so cold--so cold!" - -After this there were several hours of indistinct raving. The next day -his legless body was upon a marble slab in the morgue. - -His fellow-gamblers, hearing of his fate, begged his body that they -might give it a "decent" burial. They removed it to an old out-house and -sat up with it the first night. Why do they gaze upon it so often? Why -do their hands touch his face and hands? Would they learn a lesson from -the cold, deathly touch? The next night, the next, the next, and the -next it is alone. - -You searchers of the city's offal, you living buzzards who remove the -dead and rotten of your kind, fling open the doors! Is that Caleb you -find? 'Tis a part of him. His legs are buried somewhere. His ears and -fingers are in the pockets of his fellow-gamblers. Now carry out Caleb -minus Caleb. Stop up your nose--stop up your nose! - - - - -RODNEY - - -Rodney was an illegitimate child. He knew not what this meant, but the -sting of it embittered his young life. - -The Negro has as much prejudice as the white man. Under like conditions -the negro would make the same laws against the white. This crept out in -the treatment of Rodney. His worst enemies were always negroes. The -Anglo-Saxon blood in his veins made scoffers of some and demons of -others. - -To be pitied is the boy who has never framed the word "father" upon his -lips. Rodney attempted it once, but failed, and never tried it again. He -stood before his father bareheaded and with the coveted word upon his -lips. - -"You have a fine head of hair," said his father. - -"That's what people say," replied Rodney. - -"Are you proud of it?" - -"Should I not be, sir?" - -"Well, my little man, it's a disgrace to you." - -This was the first and last meeting of Rodney and his father. - -Once two fine ladies of ebony hue visited his mother, to show their -silk dresses and to take dinner. A large dish of parched horse-corn was -placed in the center of the table. His mother said a solemn blessing, -and the ladies looked vexed. - -"My dear people," she said, after looking them into a smile, "if you are -good, this is good enough. If you are not good, it is too good. In -either case, help yourselves." - -Rodney learned from this and similar incidents to make the most of a bad -case. - -"A little corn, if you please," said one. She was helped plentifully by -Rodney's mother. - -"Give me a part of yours," said the second to the first. She received -about four-fifths of it. - -"You are too generous," said Rodney's mother, and refilled the plate. - -Rodney sat on the floor, stroked his cat, and eyed the fine dresses. The -ladies munched with dignity, or fingered the laces on their sleeves. - -"I see Rodney has had the smallpox," said one. - -"Yes," replied his mother. - -"My boy had it, too." - -"How did it serve him?" - -"It killed him. All the good children die. It was a sad stroke to me. -Well, since his death I have been able to dress like a lady." - -"Like a lady!" said the other. "How my old mistress used to say that -word. I caught the inspiration then. It lingered in my bones a long time -before it crept out thus." - -Here she surveyed her clothing with satisfaction. - -"I see that parched horse-corn and fine dresses go well together," said -Rodney's mother, as she helped their empty plates. - -"You see we are considerate," said one. - -"Yes, and ladylike," said the second. - -"Yes, and patched with the blue and the gray," said Rodney's mother. - -They looked at their clothes, but saw not the point. - -"Mother," said Rodney, lying flat on his back, hugging the cat, and -beating his heels upon the floor, "what is fine lace worth a yard?" - -"What is it worth, ladies?" said she. - -They looked at each other and frowned. - -"Rodney has begun, ladies. Be prepared," said his mother. - -Here she emptied the last of the corn into her visitors' plates. - -"When I washed for Mrs. Rodman a few months ago she had beautiful lace -on her pillow slips." - -"Yes, she did, mother," said Rodney. Then, turning to the two women: -"You ladies work for her now. You cook, and you wash. She and her -daughter, General Bradford's wife, have gone to the springs. Did it take -all the pillow-slip lace for your sleeves?" - -"Don't be too plain, Rodney," said his mother. - -"Mother, that's the dress General Bradford gave his wife. You know she -told you about it. Mother, mother, what did you mean when you said that -the ladies are patched with the blue and the gray?" - -"Mrs. Rodman is of the North. General Bradford is of the South. One -means the blue, the other the gray." - -"If we are wearing things that belong to the blue and the gray, we are -not patched," said one, as she arose from the table and put on her hat. - -"No," said the other, "we are ladies when we are dressed so." - -"That hat!" said Rodney. - -The other one put her hat behind her. - -"That one, too!" roared Rodney. - -"Look after your half-white brat," said they. - -"Look after your bare heads when Mrs. Rodman and her daughter return," -said Rodney's mother. - -"Now," said one, "I believe what the fortune-teller said." - -"Tell it," said the other. - -"I lost some money." - -"Yes, you did," said the other. - -"I went to the fortune-teller." - -"I went with you." - -"She pointed out a half-white brat." - -"She then pointed out his mother." - -"She said we would all meet some day." - -"Now we have met." - -"What did she say about parched corn?" asked Rodney's mother. - -"She said a half-white brat stole the money." - -"She said he would die, too," joined in the other. - -"That's all plain enough," said Rodney's mother. - -"Your boy is dead, and you know about his father." - -"Now," said the one with the hat behind her, "I don't blame Uncle Jack -for choking your brat." - -"Nor Aunt Sally for throwing hot soup on him," said the other. - -"Uncle Jack and Aunt Sally," said Rodney's mother, "will be important -witnesses when Mrs. Rodman and her daughter return. They know all, and -will tell more." - -One of the ladies picked up a glass. - -"How's your cat, my son?" - -"My cat's nice and good and sweet." - -Here both ladies spat into the glass. - -"Cats are respectable and worth talking about, my son." - -"This we leave with you," said the one with the hat behind her, as she -set the glass upon the table. - -"What do you take with you?" asked Rodney's mother. - -Both looked around a second. "Corn in our stomachs," said they. - -"Are the ladies insulted, mother?" - -"They are dull and nasty, my boy." - -The ladies hurried out, one knocking over a chair, the other -deliberately pulling down a picture. - -"Here, mother," said Rodney, bringing her a comb and brush, "tidy up my -cat. Mary's coming with her doll." The mother combed and brushed the -cat, while Rodney jumped on and off the table for joy. In the meantime -Professor Brandon was conversing with the ladies on the outside. - -"Ladies! ladies!" said he. - -"Ha! ha!" was the response. - -"Let it flow right along," continued the professor. - -"We'll be generous enough," said they. - -"Ladies, those poses are superb." - -"Professor, you can judge." - -"No one doubts it, ladies." - -"Professor, I need words just now," said one of them. - -"Professor, I need a professor," said the other. - -"That's epidemic, ladies." - -Little Mary entered the room and ran around holding her doll by one -foot. "Oh! oh! oh!" said she. - -"Is your doll hurt?" asked Rodney, following her around the room with -his cat in his arms. - -"No, no, no," replied she. - -"A cat for a doll," said Rodney. - -"I must tell it first," gasped Mary. - -"Go on, while I fan you with my cat, Mary!" - -"The professor and the ladies--are drinking--from--a big black bottle." - -"Let's see," said Rodney, as he ran to the door and peeped. Mary -followed and stood behind him. - -"Ha! ha! let it flow right along," came from without. - -Rodney held up his cat for a bottle and made a gurgling sound. Mary held -up her doll and imitated him. - -The professor now parted from the ladies and approached Rodney's home. -As he walked into the room Rodney and Mary sat upon the floor and -exchanged the cat and doll. - -"I am Professor Brandon," said he, pulling his mustache. - -Rodney went through the motion of pulling his, and Mary pulled the -cat's. - -"'Tis delightful to meet ladies," said he. - -Rodney's mother nodded. - -"Schoolteaching would be unbearable were it not for meeting ladies." - -"Must you have the big black bottle every time?" asked Mary. - -Here Rodney held up the doll and made a drinking noise. - -"These young ones need curbing," said the professor. - -"So do appetites, sir," replied Rodney's mother. - -"I am a schoolteacher, madam," roared he. - -"I am a washerwoman, sir," was her reply. - -"Very well, I'll give you a job. What can you wash?" - -"Shirts." - -"What else?" - -"Drawers." - -"What else?" - -"Socks." - -"What else?" - -"Diapers, sir." - -"You are brutally plain, madam." - -"You are devilishly inconsiderate and inquisitive, sir." - -Both children emphasized the remark by beating upon the floor. - -"To my business," said the professor. "This boy should be at school. -Where is his father?" - -"I ask you the same question, sir." - -"Madam, that leads me to suspect." - -"What does 'suspect' mean, professor?" asked Mary. - -"It means--the Latin of it is--let's see----" - -The professor stopped to pull his mustache. - -"It means to dream out something and swear it's true," spoke up Rodney's -mother. - -"Madam, I want to talk to you about this boy's schooling. Have you any -drinking water?" - -"No. Rodney, a bucket of water." - -"A bucket of water, Rodney. Go fast and return slowly," put in the -professor. - -Rodney started briskly, but Mary held him back and looked saucily at the -professor. - -"Let's bring back the bottle," laughed she, as both ran out. - -"First, madam, I am a professor. I hold a diploma from a college." - -"You carry it with you?" - -"Sometimes." - -"You have shown it to leading white men?" - -"Yes." - -"Well, many a good-meaning white man has been deceived by a college -diploma in the hands of a negro." - -"You presume too far on your limited knowledge." - -"You travel too far on your flimsy diploma." - -"Secondly, madam, I would elevate the morals of the race." - -"Very good, sir. How?" - -"I would begin by cutting off from society every illegitimate negro -child." - -"You would, in so doing, train your thumb and finger to pinch your own -nose." - -"My mother and father were married, madam." - -"Your mother and her husband were married." - -"Madam, I came in the interest of your child's education." - -"You are a liar from the roots of your hair to your toe-nails. You came -to pry into my private life and to take note of my mental stock. You may -proceed, sir." - -"I haven't time to stay." - -"You have a sufficient supply with which to go." - -"If you were a lady, I would say prate on." - -"If you were a merchant, I would say speak tersely, weigh justly, and -keep ever in mind a marble monument. - -"If you were a poet I would say tear out and fling to the crowd as much -of your heart as you would have the crowd return. If you were a -philosopher I would say weaken not your philosophy with wit, nor weigh -down your wit with philosophy. Philosophy and wit are good neighbors, -but indifferent twins. Since you are a fool, I will simply say all -remedies have failed, and you are happy and safe in your ancient -calling." - -Professor Brandon pulled his mustache a few seconds. He then said: "For -your peace of mind, I will go." - -Rodney entered with a pitcher of water, and Mary with a big black -bottle. - -"Have water, professor?" asked Rodney. Here Mary pretended to drink from -the bottle. The professor took the pitcher and poured some of the water -into the glass into which the ladies had spat some time before. He held -it at some distance from him and said: "Woman's tedious, but pure water -is wholesome." - -"Professor!" roared Rodney's mother. - -"You are just and polite, at last," calmly observed he. - -"What's in the glass, sir? Examine the glass." - -"That is best done in the dish-water." - -The professor was about to drink it when he saw the spittle. - -"You did this, boy?" - -"I was holding Mary's doll, professor," gasped Rodney. - -"Was it you, girl?" - -"I was holding Rodney's cat and your big black bottle, professor," slyly -replied Mary. - -"You, madam?" - -"Be calm, professor. That is the compliments of your fine ladies, -without whom schoolteaching would be unbearable." - -"They spat into this glass?" - -"No, professor," retorted Mary. "Rodney said they puked into it." - -"They had a mighty big stomach full of corn, anyway," put in Rodney. - -The professor dropped the glass and stepped out of the door, seemingly -very uneasy about the stomach. - -"Professor," called Rodney's mother. - -He stopped and grunted. - -"Your attitude is undignified, sir." - -He started to answer, but his mouth was too full. Rodney's mother walked -to the door backwards and closed it. - -"You did that, Mary," said Rodney. - -"How?" retorted Mary. - -"I didn't say they puked into the glass. I said they spat into it." - -"It's all one, Master Rodney, and give me my doll." - -"I won't. Give me my cat." - -"I won't. My doll." - -"My cat." - -They tugged at the doll and cat. Rodney's mother threw her arms around -them, and said soothingly: "My Rodney and his little sweetheart, Mary!" - - - - -TESNEY, THE DECEIVED - - -Tesney, the frail, the good, the beautiful mulatto, was known of child, -man, woman, and beast. - -"Wait, Tesney! We have something good for you and a secret to tell." -Daily such invitations came from the white children of the neighborhood. -Daily Tesney ate "good things" and listened to talks about dolls, -playmates, stories, and so on. The dogs that accompanied the children -pulled Tesney's apron strings and seemed to enjoy her good nature and -the confidence of her little white friends. - -"What a servant she is!" said white family men, as they passed. "She -fondles the babies, and they do not cry. She talks, and older children -listen. She moves, and they follow her. She does not command, but they -do her bidding. There should be a million such as she." - -"She is a lady born," said white women. "May no ill befall her." - -Tesney was servant to Mrs. Wakely, a wealthy Southern white woman. -Tesney's presence was energy to the other young negro servants. They -thought of her, and put thought into their work. They looked at her and -dignified their persons. "There may be queens of the kitchen as well as -queens of the parlor," said they. "We belong to the first. Let us glory -in the honor." - -The lace curtains at the windows, the pictures on the wall, the lint on -the carpet, the china in the closet, the wearing apparel of Mrs. Wakely, -and the food on the table, all knew the touch of Tesney's delicate -yellow hand. The washerwoman followed her instructions, and the clothes -lasted months longer. - -The other servants learned through her that honesty in a servant is a -greater virtue than dignity in a parlor queen, and the grocery bill was -reduced ten per cent. She studied the needs of the family, and expenses -were reduced ten per cent. more. Her forethought for the family and her -genius in arranging games and work for the children gave Mrs. Wakely -many hours of leisure and comfort. - -"The house can do without me for hours," said Mrs. Wakely to her guests, -"but it cannot do without Tesney for a minute." - -Tesney's mother was a mulatto, with the hair and features of that type. -She died when Tesney was too young to know anything about her. Tesney -never knew her father, but she had a suspicion. Her suspicion was -wrong, and it caused all her trouble. She heard Agnes, who knew her -mother, talk, and it was upon Agnes' talk that Tesney had founded her -suspicion. - -"He is my father," she often said to herself, as a certain rich man of -another race passed by. "He will give me something some day." - -On her twenty-third birthday she saw Mrs. Wakely in company with this -man. After leaving the man, Mrs. Wakely said: "Tesney, here is a ring -your father sent to you. Look on the inside of it." - -Tesney looked, and read: "To my daughter, Tesney." - -"The man, Mrs. Wakely?" asked Tesney. - -"Your father." - -"His name, please?" - -"Do you not know? Has not Agnes told you all about it? She said she -would." - -Tesney wore the ring, and renewed her hopes of getting something from -the man whom she considered her father. - -That very afternoon a pony, hitched to a dogcart and driven by Tesney, -became frightened and ran. To keep the two children behind her from -jumping from the cart and receiving unnecessary bruises Tesney held them -with one hand and gripped the lines with the other. However, the -animal's wild flight was of short duration, for the man of Tesney's -suspicion stopped the pony and led the now docile beast back to Mrs. -Wakely's gate. As Tesney lifted the crying children from the cart he -said: - -"Tesney, you are a good, brave girl. I was talking to Mrs. Wakely this -morning about you. I gave her a ring for you. How do you like the -present?" - -"Well, sir, well," answered Tesney. - -There were tears in her eyes, but the man did not see them. - -"Tesney," continued the man, "how would you like to live with me?" - -"Well, sir, well," answered Tesney. - -Mrs. Wakely now hurried from the house, having witnessed the -misadventure of the ponycart. - -"Oh, thank you, Mr. Bankner, thank you!" she cried. "The children are -all right, are they not? Tesney is a good, brave girl, isn't she?" - -"She is that, and more," replied the man, as he bowed and departed. - -Tesney wore the ring, remembered the invitation, and renewed her hopes. - -Three months from that day Tesney stood behind Aunt Agnes combing her -hair while Agnes examined the ring. Agnes was about sixty years old, an -ex-slave, a meddler, and liar. Her three hundred and fifty pounds kept -her in her big arm-chair. There she made the coffee, beat the biscuits, -abused the cook, lied to Mrs. Wakely, said the blessing, and urged all -to live good Christian lives. She had nursed Tesney and knew her -ancestry. - -She called Tesney her daughter, and wished her for a daughter-in-law. -Tesney was fond of Agnes, but scorned her son, who was unfit for any -woman. - -"Read, Aunt Agnes," said Tesney, "while I comb." - -"No; you jes' stop combin' an' read." - -Tesney read the inscription, and dropped a word about her suspicion. - -"Now, comb on, chile. Me! My! Whew! Stop, chile, stop! Dat comb's mighty -fine. Whut dat you say 'bout dem ring-wuds an' dat big white man?" - -Tesney repeated the inscription and emphasized her suspicion. - -"Is dat so?" asked Agnes doubtfully. - -"Didn't you as good as say so, Aunt Agnes?" - -"Maybe I did, chile. Now, look heah, chile, is you gwine ter be my -daughter-in-law?" - -"Aunt Agnes, it cannot be. You know your son is a bad man." - -"Yes, chile; but er bad man needs er good wife." - -"Thanks, Aunt Agnes; but it cannot be." - -"George, you triflin' rascal, come heah," Agnes called to her son. - -George entered and smiled at Tesney, who frowned and turned her back -upon him. - -"Son," continued Agnes, "daughter says no. It's good 'nough. Go, you -triflin' rascal, go." - -George went. - -"Chile," said Agnes, with a great show of kindness, "you is right. You -knows dat you is good-blooded stock. Fine stylish white blood runs in -yo' veins. You is right, chile. Look up! Look up! You knows whut de -yeast does fur de bread. White dignity does dat fur yo' blood. You knows -whut de skerecrow does fur de cornfield. White wisdom does dat fur yo' -womanhood. Whut de steam does fur de steam-cyar white go-er-head does -fur you. You is right, chile. Look up! Now you mus' be feelin' mighty -good. Ain't you? George is er little no-er-count, but Agnes'll wuk fur -Tesney, an' George'll wuk fur Tesney, an' won't dat be er good bargain? -Honey chile, say dat it will, an' please de heart ob po' ole Agnes." - -"Aunt Agnes, it cannot be." - -"Does you mean dat, chile?" - -"I mean it, Aunt Agnes." - -"Does you mean eb'ry wud ob it?" - -"I mean every word of it." - -"Now, I'se gwine ter make you er speech, you ha'f-white nigger. You -thinks bekase yo' face ain't whut you calls raal black, an' bekase yo' -haih ain't smack-dab ter yo' haid, an' bekase---- Oh, Tesney, honey -chile, don't cry dat way. Aunt Agnes wus jes' er foolin'. I takes it all -back. Let me kiss you all ober de face. Dere now. I knows dat you's in -good humor. You sees, chile, how Aunt Agnes kin hurt yo' feelin's. You -better be George's wife den hab yo' feelin's hurt all de time." - -"It cannot be, Aunt Agnes. Don't ask me any more." - -"Now, I'll say de res' ob my speech. It'll not be er speech ob wuds, -nuther. It'll be one ob acts. It'll hit you hard. It'll make you 'shamed -ob yo-self. It'll dribe yo' friends ter turn dey backs erpon you. It'll -put you out ob doors. It'll make you say: 'I'se er fool--er fool.' It'll -hit you hard--hard." - -Agnes stopped to breathe. Mrs. Wakely entered the kitchen. Tesney was -looking at the ring. - -"Tesney," said Agnes, "yo' mother wus er ooman nearly white, an' yo' -father wus er nigger man." - -"My father!" gasped Tesney. "I have always learned that my father -was----" - -"Yo' father wus whut I tells you, chile." - -"What have you always told me?" - -"Listen! I tells you de facts. I tells you de facts." - -"Aunt Agnes!" screamed Tesney. - -"Tesney," said Mrs. Wakely; "that information seems to trouble you." - -"Ha! ha! De chile! Ha! ha!" Agnes stopped to hold her sides. - -"Why, Agnes, what is the matter?" asked Mrs. Wakely. - -"Ha! ha! De chile thinks de man whut gibed you dat ring fur her is her -father." - -"Do you, Tesney?" asked Mrs. Wakely sharply. - -Tesney put the ring on her finger and remained silent. - -"Speak, Tesney! The matter is serious," demanded Mrs. Wakely. - -"I do," answered Tesney. "Did not Mr. Bankner give you the ring for me?" - -"He did." - -"Did you not say that the ring was sent to me by my father?" - -"Your father sent it to you; but another brought it to me." - -"Is you sma't 'nough ter see de differunce between de sendin' an' de -bringin' ob er thing, chile?" - -Tesney looked at Mrs. Wakely and nodded. - -"Have you not deceived yourself?" - -"I have in part. Aunt Agnes, here----" - -"De chile lies! De chile lies! Mrs. Wakely, de chile----!" - -"Be quiet, Agnes," demanded Mrs. Wakely. "You are too fat to become -eloquent with ease and safety." - -"She better be," said the washerwoman, who happened to stop at the -window a few seconds. "All de coffins erbout heah is fur heabenly-sized -people." - -Agnes, in a rage at this interruption, turned and threw the rolling-pin -at the washerwoman, but she was at a safe distance. - -"Tesney, Agnes said that she would explain this whole affair to you." - -"Missus Wakely, you has knowed ole Agnes er long, long time, an' jes' as -sho' as you an' me is gwine ter de same heaben, jes' so sho' I wus gwine -ter tell dis chile de whole truth, but she kep' on makin' de -lookin'-glass talk erbout her face an' her haih dat I jes' thought I'd -fling out er little hint an' lay low." - -"I knew your father, Tesney; and, as Agnes says, he was a negro." - -"I reckons you'll beliebe now," shouted Agnes. "De white folks done said -so." - -"Heah is yo' rollin'-pin," said the washerwoman, as she paused at the -window on her return. - -"Hand it heah," demanded Agnes. - -"I will when you is ob er sweet temper," answered the washerwoman. - -"Please to explain about my father and the ring." - -"Your father, Tesney," Mrs. Wakely went on, "was reared in Mr. Bankner's -family. He married a woman whom none of us, save Agnes, ever knew. -Shortly after the death of your mother, he killed a man in self-defense. -Mr. Bankner's people, knowing the circumstances, furnished your father -money with which to escape. Mr. Bankner, a few weeks before he gave me -the ring, saw your father and told him of you. Your father bought the -ring, had the inscription put in it, and intended to bring it to you -himself. However, at the request of Mr. Bankner he had returned to the -scene of the killing for trial, and was mobbed. Mr. Bankner secured the -ring before his death, and gave it to me for you. Now, as we are to -leave for the West within a year, Mr. Bankner would like to have you -serve in his family. He holds himself somewhat responsible for your -father's death, and would like to help you. I would have told you this -before, but Agnes asked me to leave it to her." - -Mrs. Wakely now left the room, giving Agnes a stern look on her way out. - -"Aunt Agnes," sobbed Tesney, "I have been deceived as to my father, and -maybe as to my mother." - -"Has you bin deceibed in me too, chile?" - -"Yes." - -"Den ma'ry George, an' be deceibed in him." - -"It cannot be, Aunt Agnes." - -"Now I'll say de res' ob dat speech I tol' you erbout. You may ma'ry -George yit. Mr. Bankner may heah from dis. He _shall_ heah from it. Do -you think he'd ever let you stay in his house den?" - -Tesney left the room in silence. - -"George, you triflin' rascal, come heah. I got things started, son. -Listen! Watch me! You don't desarbe it, but watch me. Tell Mr. Bankner -dat Tesney says dat he is her father. Go! You good as got Tesney now. -Go!" As George went out the door, Agnes added: "Dat's er triflin' -rascal, but he's my George." Agnes began to grind the coffee, but -stopped to abuse the cook. - -George contrived to have the message of Agnes reach Mr. Bankner's ears. -Agnes, in turn, told Tesney that the rich white man knew of her -suspicion. Tesney looked at the ring, and said: "I am Tesney the -deceived." - -A few months after this Mr. Bankner sent his wife and children to -Europe, and came to board with Mrs. Wakely. Tesney, knowing that George -had had his mother's message delivered, feared the result. She worried -until she was a mere skeleton of her former self. - -"I cannot face my blunder," she said. "I must leave." - -She accordingly rented a room and lived alone. In a short time she took -to her bed as the result of isolation and worry. - -When Agnes heard of Tesney's illness she said: "Dis is our chance, son." - -Her three hundred and fifty pounds were soon at Tesney's bedside. Tesney -was flighty. George and the preacher came. George held her hand while -the preacher asked questions. George answered for himself, and Agnes -answered for Tesney. - -A week passed. Tesney arose from her pillow and said to Agnes: "Are you -here?" - -"Yes, chile," answered Agnes; "an' George, yo' husban', is heah, too." - -"George, my husband!" ejaculated Tesney. - -"Yes, child," said the preacher, who happened to be present, "I married -you to him a week ago." - -Tesney swooned, and fell back upon her pillow. When next conscious of -her surroundings, Tesney found herself in bed in a log cabin, with her -three-hundred-and-fifty-pound tormentor still at her side. - -From that time until her death she was a prisoner. Not more than a dozen -times did she seem sane. She would stand before the glass and ask for -her old self. Sometimes she called Agnes a girl. Then she would call her -a woman. - -"Agnes," said she, on one occasion, "here is a rope. Let us skip." - -When Tesney's baby boy was between three and four weeks old George was -killed in a drunken brawl. Two days afterward he was buried, a short -distance from the house. Tesney was in bed. Agnes did not go to the -grave. She dragged her three hundred and fifty pounds out doors to cool, -cry, and repent. - -Tesney took a looking-glass from under her pillow and looked at herself. - -"Tesney has come back again," she said. "This is her face. This is her -hair. Tesney has come back again." Then turning to the wasting child at -her side, she said: "Don't cry, little rascal. You are a George, like -your father. Little fool, don't cry. Night will soon come. You may go -then. Cry, cry, little George! Stop! Stop!" - -Tesney fell asleep. After several hours she was awakened by the crying -of her baby. It was night. She took the baby in her arms and stole -softly out of the house in her bare feet. She went straight to George's -grave and sat down upon it. - -"Little rascal," said she to the baby, "your father is in the ground and -can't steal me any more. Agnes can't follow me. You must not be a big -George. How you are growing! Stop! I'll hold your legs and arms. Stop! -You won't? You must!" - -She dug a hole in the top of the grave with her hands. She placed the -baby in it, and covered it as well as she could. She then sat on a stump -nearby and said not a word for several minutes. Tesney, sitting there, -paid no heed to the rising wind, nor the distant flash of the lightning. -Presently it thundered. She arose, put her hand to her ear, like one at -a telephone, and waited. It thundered again. She leaned to listen. There -was more lightning. - -"My name?" asked she. "It is Tesney." There were renewed thunder and -lightning. "My baby?" asked she. "I sent it up. Is it there?" Again it -thundered, again the lightning flashed. "It is not there?" she asked. "I -must come with it? All right! Welcome!" She ran to the grave and -uncovered the baby. It kicked feebly and gave a faint cry. "I knew you -were still here," she said. "The Voice of the Clouds said so." A -terrible storm was breaking. "Listen, little rascal: We go together. -Listen! The Voice is coming. We go! We go!" - -These were her last words. She embraced the baby and sat calmly down -upon the grave amid the raging elements. The storm's fury lasted an -hour or more. The next morning Tesney and the baby were lying dead on -George's grave. - -Agnes had Tesney and the baby buried in the same grave with George. -After ten years of terrible mental and bodily suffering Agnes died. A -certain part of each day during this time she spent looking at Tesney's -ring and praying aloud. Some said that her intense agony and earnest -prayer thoroughly purged her soul of guilt. Others said not so. God -knows. - - - - -REGNAN'S ANNIVERSARY - - -"I'll be up afore day to-morrow morning, Regnan." - -"I'll sleep an hour longer, Kitty." - -"That may bring bad luck, Regnan. Remember Nordad, the tinker." - -"He mended a pot and married a woman the same hour." - -"That was well enough. He always had a bit of bacon for the pot and a -faithful wife." - -"What of his bad luck, Kitty?" - -"He fell asleep on the day of his anniversary, was kidnapped, gagged and -locked up in his garret. On payment of a neat little sum his wife was -informed where he was, just in time for the ceremony." - -"Anything may befall me, Kitty, just so we stand before the preacher -again to-morrow night." - -Thus spoke Regnan and Kitty, his wife, the night before their -twenty-fifth anniversary. - -Kitty arose early the next morning, fed Posey, the mare, chatted with a -neighbor, and returned to find Regnan still snoring. - -"Regnan," cried she, "will you remember Nordad, the tinker?" - -"Kitty," rejoined Regnan, "will you always remember to bring bad news?" - -"Out with you, Regnan." - -"Be lovely to-day, Kitty." - -"The bottom of your foot is clean." - -"That tickles! That tickles, Kitty!" - -"Your big toe is a good door-knob." - -"Oh, Kitty." - -"Out, Regnan!" - -"'Tis better to stand on two feet than to lose one big toe. I love you, -Kitty." - -"The way you stand such treatment shows it. A true lover is the old man -who enjoys the whims of an old wife." - -"You are a young wife to-day." - -"A good breakfast, a hard day's work and the ceremony to-night! I'll -warrant that you'll outshine the preacher, Regnan." - -Regnan and Kitty were good, religious people. They took pride in the -fact that they divided their religious duties. He prayed night and -morning. She said the blessing at all times. She gathered the moral and -religious news of the neighborhood, and he discussed it for their own -benefit. At these functions Kitty was Kitty and Regnan was Regnan. -Joking and arguing always found other means of outlet. - -"Let us be serious, Kitty." She looked at him and nodded her haid. "Let -us pray." They knelt and prayed. He prayed aloud, and she silently. His -"amen" seemed to be a link connecting the past and the present. So much -for a beautiful human picture. - -Regnan, his wife, and friends were negroes. He dealt in rags, old iron, -and second-hand furniture. Kitty was a plain housewife. - -"I'll have a breakfast like the one we ate twenty-five years ago, -husband." - -"Do, wife! I'll give Posey a good currying-ing." - -"Do, husband!" - -Kitty set about getting breakfast, and Regnan curried Posey. Kitty -talked to the pancakes, and Regnan talked to Posey. - -"I would not burn a pancake on my husband's wedding day. Now, cakes, -turn well!" - -"I would not slight you, Posey, on my wife's wedding day. Now, Posey, -shining Posey, see yourself!" - -When Regnan and Kitty sat down to breakfast, Posey, hitched to the -wagon, was standing with her head partly in the window. A pancake was -passed to the plates of Regnan and Kitty, and one to the mouth of Posey. -When breakfast was over Regnan kissed Kitty, patted Posey, and drove -off, saying: "Nordad the tinker comes ever to my mind. I wonder what -to-day will bring. I will prepare for to-night." - -Regnan had a district where he bought and sold. He was regular, honest, -and good-natured; and therefore popular. His "rag-cry" was his own. It -always brought trade. It ran something like this: "_R-a-g-s_, rags, -rags, _r-a-g-s_! Any _r-a-g-s_, _o-l-d iron_? Come up, Posey! _R-a-g-s_, -old iron!" This cry had brought a little fortune. As this was his -anniversary he thought he would not buy any rags, but deal in other -things. - -A newly married man, whose wife had made kindling wood of the furniture, -sold Regnan a cooking stove. "Beware of the first wedding day," said the -man. Regnan thought him unwise, and drove on. He knew of another newly -married couple who were living in hopes of many anniversaries. To these -he would sell the stove. He could fancy the good wife cooking pancakes -for her husband. Ere he could reach them he exchanged the stove for a -sofa. "All good wives need rest," said he. "The sofa will therefore -serve as well as the stove. I can see the good man and his wife resting -upon it now." - -Later in the afternoon an old friend stopped Regnan. - -"Now, listen," said he, "to an anniversary march. While I play you think -of the days agone." The friend played, and the tears stole down -Regnan's cheeks. - -"How much for the fiddle?" asked Regnan. "Take the fiddle for the sofa." -The exchange was made. "The newly married couple are loving and patient. -They can wait," said Regnan. "I will stop here and get my beaver hat, -white vest, and swallow-tailed coat." He went into the tailor's shop and -got them. He had had them cleaned for the anniversary. - -Regnan was now very tired. He had been in the hot sun all day. He had -had nothing to eat since morning. Besides, the malaria made him drowsy. - -So he stopped under a tree to rest. The clothes and fiddle were -tempting. He spread the coat upon some newspapers in the wagon and put -the vest in the proper place. He then placed the beaver at the head. -"Kitty," said he, as though she was present, "look at your husband." He -became more and more drowsy. He played. He nodded and closed his eyes. -He stopped playing with his fingers on the bow and the bow on the -strings. - -Several boys were watching Regnan. They thought it would be nice to put -the vest, coat, and hat on the biggest boy and dance around him while -Regnan "played in his dreams." It was done. The boy so dressed stood in -a clear place and held out the tails of the coat. The others circled -around him. - -In every neighborhood there are at least two factions among the boys. -Fight is born in a boy. Letting it out occasionally will help to tame -him. It was so in this case. It happened that the opposing faction had -business that way. When they saw what was going on, they cried: "Fun, -boys, fun!" A dozen pebbles fell among the dancers, who fled from the -attack, and the fun began. The beaver hat and swallow-tailed coat were -kept in the lead. The opposing faction followed, threw pebbles, and -laughed. - -Regnan awoke and began to play. "There must be fun in it," said he. -"That reminds me of my young days." He looked into the wagon. The -playing was cut short. He looked at the boys again. The beaver hat and -swallow-tailed coat were kept in the lead. He called a spectator and -paid him to take Posey and the wagon home. With fiddle in hand and -thoughts on anniversary he followed the boys. The opposing faction -stopped and scattered. It was growing dark. Regnan caught one of the -boys and began to scold him. - -"The boy with the beaver hat and swallow-tailed coat is the one you -want. We were trying to catch him," gasped the boy. - -This was the truth, but it misled Regnan. The boy escaped. Regnan -gained on the others. The boy followed. - -"Mister," said the other boys, as Regnan overtook them, "we just can't -catch him. There he goes. Mister do you care much for such old things?" - -As Regnan pursued his moving anniversary suit the boys fell in behind -and shouted: "Run, partner, run! The sum that's after you is an old head -plus young legs. Run, partner, run!" Here the boys left their partner -and Regnan to finish the race. - -"Stop, thief!" cried Regnan. The boy looked back, and, thinking the -fiddle a club, turned and ran into a pond. They were now on the edge of -the town. Regnan called to the boy to come out, and raised the fiddle -involuntarily. - -"If you throw," said the boy, "I will dip up water in your hat." - -Regnan called again, and up went the fiddle. - -"If you throw," cried the boy, "I will lie down in the water." - -It was growing darker. The boy was going farther into the pond. - -"It is the fiddle that frightens him," said Regnan to himself. He laid -it beside a tree. "See, my boy, see! My hands are empty. I will come to -you." He plunged into the pond and followed the boy. - -"I will wait on this side. The club is over there," rejoined the boy, -going all the while. - -In trying to increase his pace, and watch at the same time, he stumbled -and fell up to his neck in the water. The beaver upset and floated. - -Regnan caught it and pushed on. When the boy reached the bank his wits -came to him. He pulled off the coat and vest, left them and disappeared -in the darkness. Regnan embraced the hat, vest, and coat as he walked -around the pond to get his fiddle. He was wet and felt a chill coming -upon him. He sat down beside the fiddle. For an hour he shivered and -thought of his wife, the neighbors, and the anniversary. All at once he -thought of Nordad the tinker. - -Just then someone rode a horse up to the pond a short distance from him -and let the reins fall for it to drink. - -"Am I to be kidnapped like Nordad the tinker?" whispered Regnan to -himself. "I will crawl off." In dragging the fiddle one of the strings -was broken. The noise frightened the horse. It plunged through the pond. -The rider, in trying to reach the reins, fell into the water, but -quickly rose to his feet and started in pursuit of the fleeing horse. -Soon both horse and rider were out of sight and hearing. - -Regnan breathed freely and said: "My fiddle, it may be you have saved me -from being kidnapped." He then arose and started homeward. An hour -later he was on the lawn before his house. Posey, arrived home some time -since, came up to him. - -"Posey, my girl," said he, "I wonder if your mistress is as patient as -you are. Oh, how could she be?" - -He then crept up to a corner of the house where he could see and hear. -Everything showed that Kitty had done her duty. She was sitting in the -center of some twenty women. Some were fanning her; some were crying. -Others were at her back conducting a mock marriage. The men and women at -the window were discussing Regnan aloud. - -"He should never marry _me_ again," said one woman. - -"I would never let the first marriage stand," said another. - -"Don't be too hard on Regnan," spoke up one on the inside. "Remember his -widow is listening." - -"What think you of his case?" asked a young man of an old one. - -"Well," answered the old man, "old Welby, who was a wiser man than -Regnan, killed himself upon a similar occasion." - -"Gentlemen," asked the woman from within, "do you think that Kitty would -look well in mourning?" - -The women on the outside laughed. Some of those on the inside cried -aloud. Kitty buried her head in her hands. - -Regnan, now understanding the state of affairs, ran into the room and -cried: "My Kitty!" His breeches were wet and muddy and he had on the -wet, muddy swallow-tailed coat and vest. He held the wet, bedraggled hat -in one hand and the broken fiddle in the other. At his call Kitty made -no motion, but kept her face hidden. The women formed a close circle -around her. Those on the outside sneered: "My Kitty!" while the men -yelled: "Scat, old tom, scat!" and "Is he drunk?" "Is he crazy?" "Is he -going to kill Kitty?" "Help! Help! Call an officer!" - -These were some of the cries that came from different parts of the room. -Regnan ran around the circle, crying: "My Kitty! Am I drunk? Am I crazy? -Am I going to kill you, Kitty?" Now two men seized Regnan and dragged -him toward the door. - -Just then the preacher entered the other door, wet and muddy from head -to foot. He raised his hand, and Regnan was released. Kitty, noting the -hush, peeped through her fingers, first at Regnan and then at the -preacher. There was a tense silence. The preacher now spoke. He told of -Regnan's trouble with the fiddle, clothes, and pond. - -"How do you know?" asked Regnan. - -"It was my boy who kept the vest, coat, and beaver in the lead. Tell the -adventure yourself." - -"Not here! I will tell it to Kitty." - -"What about yourself, parson?" asked Kitty. - -"While on my way here," said the preacher, "I stopped my horse at the -pond to drink. There was a noise like the breaking of a fiddle string." - -"The fiddle again," interrupted Regnan, and held it up. - -"My horse became frightened and ran through the pond. I fell off, waded -out, and have not seen the horse since." - -"That's true, ladies and gentlemen." - -"How do you know?" asked the preacher. - -"I was there, parson." Regnan then told of the chill, the broken string, -and the accident to the rider. - -By this time the people were around the edges of the room, leaving -Kitty, Regnan, and the preacher in the middle. - -Regnan kissed his wife, and said: "Are you my Kitty?" - -"Since you and the parson are so much alike in dress and story, he may -answer for me." - -"I will, my good woman." He said a few solemn words, and the important -business of the night was over. - -For many days the town was alive with the story of Regnan's -anniversary. Thereafter, whenever Regnan wished to tell Kitty the story -he always played a march on the fiddle first. - -The preacher later turned his boy over to Regnan to be punished for his -mischief. - -It was decided that he should go on the wagon with Regnan for three -months and cry out: "Rags, old iron." The lad did so willingly. During -his enforced apprenticeship his father died, leaving him homeless, as -his mother had died in his infancy, and Regnan adopted the boy, who -became a valuable assistant to the old man in his business. Before the -lad was of age Regnan and Kitty both died, and left the preacher's son a -snug little fortune. He kept the fiddle to remind him of the ways of -Providence. - - - - -"KOTCHIN' DE NINES" - -(A NEGRO TALE CURRENT IN LOUISVILLE) - - -"Git up from dar. Whut's you dreamin' erbout? No need ter ask, fer I -knows. You's dreamin' right now 'bout kotchin' dem nines. I bounds you -dun had er dream last night. I knows it by dat smile in de corner of -your mouth. You kin smile outen both corners, ef you wants ter, but you -don't git dis fifty cents I got." - -"Old woman, I got er new dream." - -"Whut's it erbout?" - -"Dem nines." - -"Look heah, old man, you take dat dream and yourself an' go out ter dat -woodpile so's I kin git some breakfast. You's got er dream, an' I'se got -fifty cents, an' we's gwine ter keep whut we has." - -"I'se gwine ter tell you dis dream, ef I has ter pay you ter listen. -Take dis dime." - -"Make your story mighty short. I wonder ef dis heah dime is tainted -money. Ef it is---- Well, I reckons it ain't." - -"I wuz in er great big parlor, an' you an' de chillens wuz dar. An' it -wuz in er great big house, an' you owns it." - -"Wuz I bossin' it?" - -"Oh, yes!" - -"Go on wid your dream, old man." - -"Dat parlor wuz so fine dat when you sneezed you asked de pictures on de -wall ter 'scuse you." - -"Go on wid your dream, old man. We kin habe breakfast at dinner time." - -"When you walked on de cyarpet you fairly bounced up an' down, an' when -de chillens played on de payano you said: 'Dis ain't heaven, but we's -heah, and dat's de same thing.' De spoons an' knives an' forks was -silver, an'----" - -"An' you's still got more ter say?" - -"Yes, an' everything else wuz jes' like whut de white folks has." - -"Whut bringed erbout all dat in your dream?" - -"It wuz kotchin' de nines in de lottery." - -"Is you sho you kin kotch 'em wid your eyes open?" - -"Dey's bound ter come wid dat dream back of 'em." - -"Old man, you's jes' fishin' 'round ter borrow dis fifty cents I'se -got." - -"Never lend money when you's got er soft snap like dis, old woman. Jes' -'vest your sixty cents in de nines, an' I'll do all de rest. De nines -is comin', an' when dey comes we'll be jes' like de white folks." - -"Heah's de sixty cents. I'll 'vest it." - -"Old woman, de nines is yourn now. I'se goin' erway on foot, but I'se -comin' back in one of dese kerridges on top. When you sees me comin', -fling oil on de cabin an' burn it down. I'll be on top de kerridge in -all my dignity. Habe de chillens out heah, an' let 'em be er singin' an' -er dancin'. Keep your eye on de road, an' when you sees er little speck -on de road, why dat's me. When I gits back we'll all git into de -kerridge an' drive off ter er new home, and leave de cabin in ashes. -Good-by, old woman, till I comes again." - -The old man walked into the city to play the lottery. He thought fifty -cents would be enough to invest in "de nines," so he bought ten cents' -worth of bananas to give him strength to stand his new fortune. - -"When I'se through eatin'," said he, "I'll play de nines." - -He stood on a stone wall that overlooked a row of public carriages, so -that as he ate he could be thinking of his ride back home. He did not -think of the harm in the banana peels he dropped upon the wall, until he -stepped upon one. He fell between two horses hitched to a carriage, was -kicked by them, and left with both legs broken. - -When the hackman discovered where the old man lived, and that he had -fifty cents on his person, he had the injured man placed on top of the -carriage, took a seat by his side, and drove him home. - -The old man was now thinking of the bananas and the cabin, and his wife -was thinking of "de nines an' de kerridge." She was watching the road. -When the old man saw his wife in the road, and remembering his parting -words to her, he cried out: "Old woman, old woman, don't burn de cabin." - -She, recalling what her husband had told her, and thinking he was -calling to her to hurry up and fulfill his instructions, called to the -children: "Fling on de oil, chillens! Light er match an' let de cabin go -up in smoke, fer your daddy is er-comin' on his own kerridge wid all his -dignity on him. Look how proper his legs looks. Dey is straight out -before him an' his arms is er-wavin'. He's kotched de nines, sho'. Sing -an' dance, fer he's kotched de nines!" When the carriage stopped the old -woman was still instructing the children in their work of destruction, -and the cabin was ablaze. - -"Old woman!" called the old man. - -"Stop, chillens!" screamed she; "dey's sumpin' wrong wid your daddy's -voice." - -"Yes," replied he, "an' dey's sumpin' wrong wid my legs. I bought a -dime's worth of bananas, an' dis man charge me fifty cents ter bring me -home wid both legs broke, an' dere wuz no money left ter play de nines." - -"Husban'," said she, "your little speech don't 'zackly 'splain matters." - -The old man said nothing, but groaned in anguish. - -There was no more talking, but much working over legs; and a bright day -dream was banished to the limbo of things that are not. - - - - -A TOWN SKETCH - - -There were about fifteen hundred people in the town of Lockburg. Some -five hundred of these were negroes. Nearly every white man owned his -home; nearly every negro owed his rent. Nearly every white man had a -bank account; nearly every negro, a grocery account. Renfroth, the -banker, was an ordinary man of the white race. Jiles Brennen, the -smartest negro in a circle of twenty miles, did not know the meaning of -interest. White children listened to their parents, read the daily -papers, and discussed the signs of the times. Negro children paraded the -street, delighted in being out of sight and hearing of their parents, -and but few could tell the time of day on the face of a clock. The white -teachers were competent and faithful. The one negro teacher had neither -legs nor training. The white people returned from church saying: "These -points in the sermon fit right into our business ventures. These show -our need of moral fiber and the remedy. May they do us good, as the -truth always does the meek and far-seeing." The negroes returned from -church shouting and praising some "preaching man." - -Jiles Brennen and several others were an exception to this rule. Jiles -knew most of the white people better than they knew themselves. When he -conversed with them he always "talked up." He knew the negroes better -than they wanted to know themselves. There was not one who could not -repeat a score of "wayside sermons" preached by Jiles. "A rat to its -hole, and a negro to his folly," Jiles used to say. "When the last -trumpet sounds some negro will be dividing his time between saying -'amen' to a sermon and 'cluck, cluck' to his neighbor's chickens." This -remark brought Jiles more than fame. It brought blood. - -"If the teacher and preacher of this district were killed and put into a -bag, their ghosts would be too lazy to say 'Howdy.'" When the preacher -heard this he offered a prayer for Jiles that was intended to remind him -of a warm region. When the teacher heard of this remark, he said: "As I -have no legs to go after the blackguard, I will let him come to his -sense at leisure." - -One dark night, as the preacher and others were crawling across a creek -on a log someone held up a lantern in front of them. - -"Go on," said the rest to the preacher. - -"I can't," replied he. "This light blinds me." - -"Come on," shouted Jiles, "my light has blinded you before." - -The white people took up the remark, and with it fought all Jiles' -future battles. - -Sickness and death determined negro society in Lockburg. All visited the -sick. All attended the funeral. Why should not all attend all other -functions? All answered the question for themselves, and attended -regularly. - -A score of men and women were chatting in Sister Renfro's bedroom when -the preacher peeped in at the door and paused long enough to say: "Come -out to 'sifting meeting' to-night. Spread the news." - -"Will Jiles be there with his lantern?" asked Neal Grafton, a friend of -Jiles. - -"Never mind about that," answered Sister Renfro. "Say what you please -about him, but he's a preaching man." - -Sister Renfro's guests soon began to spread the news. Neal Grafton was -the most active of all. He stood where he could command four corners. - -"Sister Polly," he called to a rather corpulent woman who was passing -with a heavy bundle of clothes on her head, "stop a minute--'sifting -meeting' to-night!" - -"What you say, Brother Grafton? Come here! You knows I can't hear like I -used to. I caught cold from shouting at the big meeting five years ago. -Who could have kept sober feet? _That_ was a preaching man." - -"I say, Sister Polly----" - -"Now, stop, son. Let me get in hearing order." After wiping her face -with her apron, she said: "Now go on, son." - -"Sister Polly, there will be a 'sifting meeting'----" - -"Hold, son! The bundle comes down over my ears. Raise it a little. A -'sifting meeting'? Where? Oh! at the church? Raise up the bundle again, -son. Now hold it there. Now tell me about it." - -"That's all, Sister Polly." - -"No! No! It's been five years since we had one. You heard your mother -tell about it, didn't you?" - -"Yes, but----" - -"I know you did; she was there. Sister Renfro was there. I was there. It -was a glorious time." - -"Yes, Sister Polly, but----" - -"My head's just beginning to rest, son. Well, the negroes lied and lied, -but one told the truth." - -"May I put the bundle on the ground?" - -"The clothes are clean, son. I'll head them again soon. That sister told -the truth and her head fell. Hold a little longer." - -"Oh, my arms, Sister Polly!" - -"Hold till I raise up that woman's head. I'll listen afterward." - -"After I take the bundle?" "No, son. Hand it here. 'Sifting meeting' at -the church? I'll be there." - -Sister Polly went on humming, and left Grafton rubbing his arms. He -notified a number of others, at a distance. - -Polly delivered the clothes and mentioned the "sifting meeting." - -"What is such a meeting, Polly?" asked her employer. - -"It's a meeting where you tell what you don't know and where people know -what you don't tell. If you want more light, come to the meeting. -Good-by, I'm in a hurry," answered Polly. Her employer was content to -hear from the meeting. - -An hour before meeting time Sisters Polly and Renfro were ready. They -had spent considerable time arranging their hair. Polly's hair was -rolled around a saucer that belonged to her employer. Sister Renfro's -was put into the same shape by means of the flounce of an old black -dress. - -Just then one might have seen forty or fifty people, moving in single -file, led by one with a lantern. There were no lights in the town. It -was customary for someone with a lantern to come along and gather up the -church-goers. The leader to-night was Grafton. Sisters Polly and Renfro -joined the procession in the rear. It moved silently on to the end of -the little bridge, when Sister Renfro stumped her foot and fell. Sister -Polly, in trying to assist her, fell also. Both had to return home, and -were late in reaching the meeting. Grafton led the procession into the -church. - -The church was cold, and fairly well filled with smoke. The sexton was -rubbing his eyes. The preacher with closed eyes was tapping his foot and -humming a hymn. Grafton suggested that the windows and doors be opened a -few minutes, but the preacher demurred, saying that it was too cold. In -consequence, the cloud-laden condition of the room was not altered. It -is difficult to understand how the congregation remained in that smoky -room two hours; but they did so. - -The next day Neal Grafton reported the proceedings of the church to -Jiles Brennen, and it took Jiles just six months to laugh "sifting -meetings" out of the town and the community. - -Sisters Polly and Renfro declared the preacher stopped the meeting to -keep them from showing their new style of head-dress, and it took him a -year to live down the accusation. - -"Is your head well?" - -"Not quite. Is yours?" - -"Well it's doing better than it did after the other 'sifting meeting.'" -These remarks and others of like tone showed the nature of the meeting, -and also served to divide the congregation. - -And the teacher? He did not count, and never had a wish to. - - - - -THE STUMP OF A CIGAR - - -Stump of cigar, as I am, I have a history that is interwoven with that -of human beings. When I was in the form of seed I was safely housed in a -nice glass jar in a large seed store. For some reason or other I was -given the best shelf in the show window. - -One day a beautiful young lady came into the store and priced me. - -"Why," said the clerk, "that is----" - -"Never mind," said she, "what it is. I simply want to know the price." - -He told her; she paid it, and bore me off gracefully. - -"Ah," said I to myself, "I shall never again see the young man who comes -every day and stops opposite the show-window." One windy day, as he -stood in his usual place, a lady's hat came rolling along the pavement. -What immediately followed this will be told further on. - -As I said before, the lady bore me off gracefully. It was night when she -entered her well-lighted apartment. "She will examine me," thought I, -"and sniff me. Then how I will worship the tears that fall from her -eyes." - -However, I received no such attention as I had anticipated, for the -young lady simply placed me in the center of a large table, sounded a -bell, and began to talk, as if addressing someone present. - -"You were there, weren't you? You will take me at my word, will you? -Let's see. This is how it will go." She then walked to the middle of the -floor and acted out a little play that will be given further on. As she -finished, she turned to a young woman who was standing in the door and -said harshly: "What do you want?" - -"The bell sounded," replied the young woman. - -"That was not for you," said she. "That was for the devil." She threw a -glass at the young woman and left the room. Several times during the -night I heard her say: "That was not for you. It was for the devil." - -At eight the next morning the servants put breakfast on the table, -leaving me still in the middle. At ten minutes past eight my mistress, -whom I shall call Ladybug, came into the room and addressed a little -speech to me that I did not understand until matters grew much more -serious. You could not understand it at this point, so it will not be -given now. Five minutes later the young woman who had been chased out of -the room the night before, came in. For the sake of convenience I shall -call her Butterfly. I was astonished to see Ladybug embrace Butterfly -and kiss her twenty times on the forehead. I thought this a bit of -amusing comedy. I afterwards found it stern tragedy. - -They sat opposite each other at the table and remained about thirty -minutes. They spent the time talking and smiling. They did not eat in -the common acceptation of the term. - -Ladybug rolled her chicken into nicely rounded balls and tossed them -down her throat. Butterfly soaked her chicken and bread in milk and -drank the milk. - -They finished this unusual task together, and started to leave the room, -hand in hand, when Ladybug, glancing at the clock, whispered to -Butterfly: "I must go; it is time for me to test his heroism and -devotion." - -Coming to where I rested, Ladybug picked me up, pressed me closely to -her heart, and left the room, carrying me with her. She went straight to -a nearby lake, and entered a little boat, in which sat a lone -individual. It was the young man who had stood so often opposite the -show-window. Ladybug took a seat in the boat, and in silence the young -man rowed across the waters. - -Two hours on the lake were we, and no words were spoken. Then rising, -still in silence, Ladybug hurled me upon the bosom of the lake. Twenty -times I was thrown into the water, and nineteen times rescued by the -young man. The twentieth time? It was fate and heroism. Ladybug pressed -me closely and began to rock from side to side. This she did twenty -times, each time more and more violently. Her great black eyes seemed to -burn into his all the while. - -She then once again tossed me into the water--and leaped after me. This -was the action of the play she rehearsed out in her room that night when -first I came. The young man followed Ladybug in her mad plunge, and at -length succeeded in bringing her to their craft. Ten minutes later she -was stretched out upon a boat, alive but unconscious. The young man was -flesh for the fish, and I was in possession of a countryman. - -When Ladybug regained consciousness and learned that the young man had -been drowned, she said: "My lover is free. Hell cannot hold him. Human -blood and water have atoned for his crime." This is the little speech -she addressed to me that first morning. Then it had been put in the -future tense. - -Twelve months later a beggar gave Butterfly a hand of tobacco for his -supper. While he ate she rolled the best leaf into me, placed me between -her teeth, and left the room. Soon Ladybug entered, sounded a bell, as -was her nightly custom, and waited. - -In a few minutes a hideous form entered, smoking me. - -"I am the devil," said the shape. - -"I am his mistress," said Ladybug, and seized the shape by the throat. -The beggar, whom Ladybug had not seen, and whom Butterfly had forgotten, -was present, and tried to separate them. In so doing he caused me to get -entangled in the laces worn by the woman, communicating my fire to the -flimsy garments. Now, the hideous form was Butterfly. Soon the clothing -of both was ablaze, when they were darting about the room, the beggar -trying to help first one and then the other. Both fell across the piano -about the same time, and began to reach out, as if to clamber from the -flames. In this way they played, as it were, their own dirge. When the -sounds ceased they were dead. A mystery? Yes! No! - - * * * * * - -On the morning of the wedding-day a groom-to-be sailed out upon the -lake. Said he to himself: "Christian people say that he who provides not -for his household is worse than an infidel, and that a millstone had -better be placed about his neck and be sunk into the sea. What have I -for wife and children? Prosperity has passed me by. Friends are not -friends. Fate is my executioner." - -Three days after this his body was recovered and buried. - -The preacher said to the people: "Suicide is an unpardonable sin. The -young man, therefore, who was of noble birth and parentage, who was -chaste in life and honorable in business, is in hell." - -Ladybug, the dead man's fiancée, believed the rash-judging preacher. She -soon lost her reason. Then came upon her the hallucinations that wrought -the other tragedies. She believed that if her lover's twin brother, the -young man of the fatal boat ride, would stand opposite the seed store -for twenty days, and then perish as described in the boat ride, her -lover would be released from hell and returned to her. Ladybug, among -other hallucinations, believed that the number twenty held potent -virtues; hence, the twenty days, twenty kisses, and the like. The lover -was twenty years old, hence Ladybug's counting by twenties. The twin -brother out of pity consented to humor her whim, not thinking it would -cost him his life. - -Ladybug passed the seed store every day to see if he was true to his -pact. As she passed the twentieth day, her hat blew off. He started to -get it, but she said: "Let it be. Some of my troubles may roll away with -it. I will be at the boat to-morrow morning with a charm. Then my lover -shall live again. Blood and water shall atone for his crimes." - -She immediately bought me of the clerk. There was no logic in this part -of the affair. She simply thought the first thing her eyes fell upon -would serve her purpose. - -To make sure of her lover's return, she would also practice upon -Butterfly, her sister. Butterfly, too, submitted to humor her whim. - -The embraces and twenty kisses were the beginning of this. - -Butterfly of her own accord had dressed and acted the devil on the fatal -night, in the hope that the appearance of the devil would act as a -counter-shock, and restore Ladybug's reason again. The presence of the -beggar was a mere accident. The hand of tobacco out of which I was made -was ground from the jar of seed left with the countryman. - -As I lay upon the floor that dreadful night and saw Ladybug and -Butterfly lying dead across the piano, I said to myself: "Stump of -cigar, as I am, I have a history." - - - - -A RUSTIC COMEDY - - -Abraham and Ruth, his wife, were stingy and childless. Three children -had come to them, whose taking off left Abraham embittered against men. -Ruth often said: "Complain not, Abraham, my man. Is not an angel more -than a child? The little ones were your flesh, but my soul. Complain -not, Abraham, my man." - -Abraham had met, wooed, and wed Ruth in the fields, and ever afterward -kept her there. Side by side they toiled, eating little, visiting -seldom, and ever replenishing the money-bag at the bottom of the meal -barrel. At the time of this incident the money bag was full and the meal -barrel was about empty. - -It was winter, and the old couple had just returned from a visit to a -neighbor. As Abraham stirred the fire he said: "Ruth, we are getting old -and must soon be done with things earthly. We have toiled hard and been -a little saving. The neighbors have never had the opportunity of finding -fault with your cooking; nor has the good parson ever had the hardihood -to look this way for a contribution. I have been thinking of the best -way to dispose of our wealth just before the breath leaves our bodies. -Ruth, like yourself, I have always been pious-minded and desirous of -doing something that will benefit the neighbors, and at the same time -start their tongues to wagging about our good parts. It strikes me the -best way to do this is to leave our money to erect a parsonage and to -place a bell in the chapel. The bell will spread our fame above, and the -women who visit the parson's wife will spread it below. I know from -experience, Ruth, that it is a blessing as well as a curse to have ones -acts linked with the tongue of a woman. Now, what think you?" - -"Abraham," said Ruth, "I have always thought you had some good aim stuck -away in your soul; and as time rolled on your good angel would discover -it to you. This is why I have seldom differed from you. Why wait until -we die to have this done? Let us take our savings of years to-morrow and -place them in the hands of the parson." - -"You have spoken wisely, my dear wife," said Abraham. "It shall be -done." - -After kissing Ruth, Abraham turned and stirred the fire. Just then -someone knocked at the door. Abraham opened it, and in came a stalwart -stranger, carrying a pair of saddle-bags. He asked for supper and a -night's lodging. The old couple frankly told him they had no supper for -him, but he was welcome to warm by the fire and sleep in the loft. He -gladly accepted their proffer, and took his seat by the fire. Soon he -began to spin yarns of all lengths and descriptions, and ended by -telling how, while stopping with an old couple, he had kept them from -being robbed. After this he crept upstairs and retired. - -When Abraham thought the stranger was asleep he told his wife to prepare -an ashcake for their supper. She told him there would not be meal enough -if she threw away the husk. - -"Well," said he, "put in husk and all." - -The ashcake was soon spread upon the hearth and covered with hot ashes. -Abraham bowed his head as though to ask a blessing. - -"Not yet," said Ruth. "We are told there may be many a slip between the -cup and the lip." Here they were interrupted by a noise from above. - -"My dear friends," said the stranger, as he tumbled downstairs. "I -forgot to tell you how my land runs." He took the poker, and, placing it -in the middle of the ashcake, and moving it in keeping with the words, -said: - -"My land runs north, south, east, and west; then, coming back to the -middle, it runs around and around." Having thus ruined the ashcake, he -went back upstairs. After a considerable silence, Abraham said: "The -Lord giveth and the Lord taketh, and blessed be the rope that hangeth -the stranger." - -After removing their treasure from the meal barrel and almost -worshipping it, they returned it and retired. They were soon fast -asleep, but the stranger was not. Hours passed, and still the stranger -was awake. Before knocking at the door to be admitted he had heard the -old couple's talk concerning their money, and what they intended to do -with it the next day. He had also seen them take it from the barrel, and -replace it. He was now thinking about it. What were his thoughts? Was he -planning some way to rob them? Was he thinking how he might protect them -in a case of emergency? Hearing a noise below, he crawled to the opening -and looked down. He saw that the side window had been opened. Looking -farther, he saw a man stooping over the meal barrel. With the greatest -precaution he descended and slipped up behind the man and soon gagged -him with a handkerchief. He held the intruder easily by pressing him -against the barrel. Beside the barrel lay a meal sack. This the stranger -slipped over the intruder's head and arms, and wrapped him around with a -rope that was lying near. By this time Abraham and his wife were awake. - -"Look," said the stranger, "what I have done for you. This thief almost -had your treasure when I apprehended him. He is all right, now. Where -shall I put him. What about this closet here? You know we must keep him -until morning and turn him over to the officers." With this the stranger -dragged the robber into the closet. - -"Let us have more light," said Ruth. - -"No," said the stranger; "there may be more. Light might frighten them -away. I want to serve you well to-night. You know I owe you a little -something for listening to how my land runs." - -"What was that white something," said Ruth, "you had over the fellow's -head?" - -"It was a meal sack," said the stranger. - -"That is strange, indeed," said Ruth. "There was not a meal sack on the -place when we went to bed." - -"This is a strange night," said the stranger. "I am your friend, and yet -I am so strange I would not let you eat that delicious ashcake. Go to -bed, Aunt Ruth. Uncle Abraham and I will watch the thieves. The Lord -giveth and the Lord taketh; and, Uncle Abraham, will you finish the rest -of it?" - -Abraham said nothing. He thought the stranger was getting very familiar; -but since he had done them such a good turn they could stand almost -anything at his hands. - -Ruth could not return to bed without first looking into the meal barrel -in search of her treasure. It was there, and around it were a dozen or -more bundles. - -"How is this?" said she. "It is quite an honest thief that will take one -treasure and leave another." - -"Be not deceived," said the stranger; "a thief is by honor as a criminal -is by his chains. A criminal does not worry himself and bruise his hands -against his chains because he wishes to atone for his evil ways, but in -order to get loose so that he may continue his crimes. Whenever a thief -puts forth an act that smacks of honor, it is simply that he may conduct -his business on a larger scale. Don't you see the point, Aunt Ruth? The -thief we have in the closet stole those things somewhere else. He was -afraid to leave them outside lest someone should steal them from him. -When he saw your bag of money was so heavy he could not take them both, -he concluded to leave the things and take the money." - -"Why did he take the pains to put them into the barrel?" said Ruth. - -"That is clear enough," said the stranger. "Had he put them on the floor -you might have stumbled over them before morning and had your attention -drawn to the robbery ere he could have gotten out of the neighborhood. -By the way, he must have had the bundles in that sack in which he is -now safely housed. He had emptied the sack before I saw him, and, I -think, was stooping over to lift out the bag of money." Ruth and Abraham -accepted this as a logical argument, and Ruth was soon in bed and -asleep. - -"I think I hear footsteps," said Abraham to the stranger. - -"I am quite sure of that, sir," said the stranger. "I will settle him -about as I did the first. I have a handkerchief. You get a bed quilt and -a cord and follow me." They walked into the yard, the stranger leading. -In the distance they saw a figure approaching. - -"Let us go a little farther over this way," said the stranger. The words -were hardly out of his mouth before he uttered a groan. When Abraham -looked, the stranger was nowhere to be seen. Another groan, however, -located him. He had fallen into an old cistern. On turning, Abraham -stumbled over a ladder. With this the stranger was soon rescued. - -By this time they could see that the approaching figure was a man with -something like a sack on his shoulder. Instead of coming straight to -them he turned his course a little in order to reach the side window. - -"Uncle Abraham," said the stranger, "while we are out here wrestling -with this fellow, some other one might go in and make off with the bag -of money. Don't you think you had better bring it out and hold to it? I -can handle this chap." - -"Yes, yes," said Abraham; "it is a good thought." - -He accordingly returned to the house, brought out his treasure, and sat -down by the side of it, watching the newcomer. - -The man with the sack walked up to the window and leaned the sack -against the house. He then deliberately opened the window and peeped in, -placing himself in very much the same position as had the one who had -stooped over the barrel. Stepping swiftly up to the window, before the -man could remove his head, the stranger had him gagged. In another -minute he had been enfolded in the quilt, with a cord fast around him. - -"I groaned in yonder sinkhole," said the stranger, "but you shall both -groan and sleep in there the rest of the night, if you sleep at all." -With this he rolled the latest intruder into the old cistern and placed -boards across it. - -"Uncle Abraham," said the stranger, "you take the money and I'll bring -in the sack. Aunt Ruth, we have another of your honest thieves. He is -out in the old cistern, thinking how he will not use your money. See -what he has left you?" - -Removing the contents of the sack, they so filled the barrel that there -was no room for the bag of money. - -"Young man, my dear young man," said Abraham, "there are no family ties -between us, as far as I know, but I find myself drawn as closely to you -as a father to his son. I could trust you with our lives, much less with -our money. Keep watch over the bag of money while we take a good, solid -nap." - -The old couple were soon fast asleep. About four o'clock Ruth awoke and -said: "Abraham, the door is open." - -"So it is," said Abraham. - -"But--but--Ruth, where is the stranger?" - -"But--but--Abraham, where is the bag of money?" - -Sure enough, both stranger and money were gone. - -"I thought he was claiming kin a little too soon," said Ruth. "These -folks who claim kin so soon are just like the folks who come to your -house and tell you one lie about your neighbor in order to get you to -tell a hundred. Then they will have a sufficient stock to supply the -whole neighborhood. Is the fellow in the closet safe?" - -"I'll see." - -"How about the one in the cistern?" - -"Safe, too," said Abraham. "We will turn them over to the officers as -early in the day as possible, and then set them on the trail of the -stranger. Maybe he will have some of the money when caught. In the -meantime, what shall we do to keep up our spirits until it is good and -light?" - -"I never in my life," said Ruth, "felt more like hearing a prayer by -Deacon Brindlebee and a sermon by Parson Prudence." - -"Why, look," said Abraham, "the rogue has left his saddle-bags. Let's -see what is in them." - -He opened one side and drew out a copy of an old newspaper. He unfolded -it, and there was a sermon on Patience by the identical Parson Prudence. - -"Ah," said Ruth, "the rogue has also left his hat. What's in it?" - -There was a folded paper between the hat and inner band. This she -opened, and found that, among other things, it contained a prayer by -Deacon Brindlebee. - -"Now we have them," said Ruth. "Let us take our minds off rogues and -place them on the words of these holy men. It would be far better to -have them here, but let us stammer through them as best we can." - -For nearly two hours Abraham and Ruth prayed the deacon's prayer and -preached the parson's sermon. When six o'clock came they were still so -carried away with the prayer and sermon that they were not conscious of -the presence of two men who were standing near the door until they -spoke. - -"What's up now, Abraham?" said one of them. "Have robbers been about?" - -"Pretty officers are you," said Abraham. "You should have been here last -night. We have been entertaining robbers the whole night. Their aim was -to rob us of our life's savings. One was good enough to entrap the -others, so that you will have no trouble in securing them. Then, as soon -as we were asleep, he took the bag of money and made off with it. -Assemble the whole neighborhood, and I will turn two of them over to -you." - -In a short time nearly every man, woman, and child in the neighborhood -was there. The man in the closet was dragged out and laid in the middle -of the floor. The one in the cistern was hauled up and laid by his side. -Then Abraham told the people how he and Ruth had labored through forty -years to save the money; how at last they intended to spend it for a -parsonage and a bell for Parson Prudence's church, and how the rogues -lying before them tried to steal it, and were prevented and captured by -the other and greater thief, who succeeded in getting away with it. - -The people grew furious. Some wanted to hang them; others wanted to -drown and bury them. One good deacon declared that it would be a great -advantage for such characters to go to torment bundled up in that way, -for, after they were in and their wraps were burned off, the devil -would not know when they had come in nor what they had done. - -"Let us do nothing rashly," said Ruth. "These poor souls may never hear -another prayer or sermon. Let some brother come forth and read Deacon -Brindlebee's prayer and another read Parson Prudence's sermon." - -Two brethren came forth and conducted the services, after which the two -men were untied and uncovered. To the surprise and consternation of all, -there lay Parson Prudence and Deacon Brindlebee. The men were so chilled -and cramped it was fully an hour before they could make themselves -understood. - -In the meantime other scenes took place. - -"The very thought of a parson and a deacon turning thieves," said some, -"is enough to give every sinner a license to miss heaven." - -"The parson and the deacon are innocent," said others. "This old -scoundrel and his wife, and maybe someone else, have played a trick on -them. Where did they get money enough to buy a parsonage and a bell? -They have always lived from hand to mouth. During forty years they have -never had enough to give a neighbor a meal, and were never known to give -the smallest contribution to the church. Gag them and serve them as they -have served our parson and deacon." - -The men seized Abraham, gagged him, and lowered him into the cistern. -The women served Ruth in the same way and stored her away in the closet. - -At this point the storekeeper stood upon the edge of the barrel and -said: - -"Parson Prudence and Deacon Brindlebee came to my place last night and -bought two sacks full of groceries. They said that Abraham and his wife -seemed to be in need, and that they were going to bring some things over -here and slip them into the room while Abraham slept, so that the -heretics might be surprised in the morning. Now, this is the way they -were paid for their kindness. Ladies and gentlemen, think also of that -prayer and sermon. Was that a mere accident? I think not. The whole -affair was planned. They were not satisfied with sacking, quilting and -cording them. They must stretch them out upon the floor like -sure-enough, night-prowling, dishonest thieves; and, while in that -position, pray to the deacon the prayer that he has been budding and -blossoming into length and boisterousness for the last twenty years. -Then think of the parson in the same position, listening to the sermon -on 'Patience,' when you know, ladies and gentlemen, as well as I, that -the parson, with a very little vocal effort and a slight movement of his -hands, has put three generations to sleep with that identical sermon. -Let us look for the groceries, and, if found, take vengeance." - -As the word "vengeance" was uttered the speaker's feet slipped into the -barrel so far he had to be extracted. This showed the people where the -groceries were. By this time the parson and deacon were on their feet -and ready to state their side of the case. - -"Hearing that Abraham and his wife were in hard lines," said the parson, -"the deacon and I, as has been said, bought two sacks of groceries from -the gentleman who has just spoken, intending to come together and slip -them into this room. By some means we were separated, so I came alone; -and, finding the household asleep, I crawled into that window and put -the contents of this meal sack into the barrel yonder. I was surprised -to find in it a large bag of money. All this time Abraham and his wife -were asleep in this bed. Just as I straightened up to go two strong arms -caught me, gagged me, sacked, and closeted me. I think, ladies and -gentlemen, I have said enough to prove my innocence, and that of Abraham -and his wife. There has been a mistake, somewhere, or the man with the -strong arms was playing a winning game for himself." - -The deacon came forth, and in a few words told his story, and ended by -saying that the two strong arms that so lovingly handled the parson -must have gagged, quilted, and imprisoned him. - -Abraham and Ruth were ungagged and brought before the people. Their -statement of the case at certain points was just like the parson's. They -told how the stranger had been admitted, how he treated the ashcake, how -he claimed kin, and, lastly, how they had trusted him with the money, -and been deceived. - -"Innocent! innocent!" shouted the people; "all here are innocent. The -stranger alone is guilty. Is there nothing here by which he can be -identified?" - -"Here," said Abraham, "are his saddlebags and hat, with a name on the -former that is doubtless his." - -"He must be a strange thief indeed to leave behind him such telling -witnesses as these," said the deacon. - -"Ah," said the parson, "I fear there is still more mystery in this -matter." - -While the people were speechmaking and changing their opinions, the two -officers who were the first to arrive and hear Abraham's story had been -prowling over the farm. Just at this point they bore a man through the -crowd and laid him on the floor where the deacon and parson had lain. He -was gagged and corded after about the same fashion as they had been. - -"Ah," said one, "the stranger has been playing gagging-binding master -to another weakling." - -"No, my man," said Abraham, "that is the stranger himself." - -At this the mob seized the bound man and yelled: "Confess, confess! You -shall confess!" They pulled him in and out of the closet. They lowered -him into the cistern and hauled him out again and again. At times a -hundred voices were bawling: "Confess, confess! You shall confess!" -During all this confusion the parson was the only person who noticed -that the poor fellow was still gagged. - -"How can he confess," said the parson, "when he is gagged as daintily as -a parson in a closet?" - -They removed the gag, but not the cords. - -"Gentlemen," said he, "if you are as ready to give me justice as I am to -confess the truth in this matter, my part of the mystery will soon be -cleared up and I can enjoy myself here with my uncle and aunt." - -"Claiming kin again, Abraham," said Ruth. "Look out for your life next -time." - -"Strangle the hypocrite," said one. - -"Give the impudent whelp a bath in the mill-pond," said another. - -"No," said the parson, "let him confess." - -"Gentlemen," said he, "I am innocent. If I stole the bag of money, why -should I leave my saddlebags behind, with my name on them, and one side -of which is full of money?" - -The saddlebags were now examined by the crowd, and the stranger's -statements found to be true. - -"Then," said he, "why should I encumber myself this way? In fact, how -could I? It would be impossible." - -This somewhat appeased the crowd, until someone suggested that maybe he -took the bag of money outside to hide it, intending to come back and get -his own property; but as daylight overtook him he hired someone to gag -and cord him in that way. On hearing this one man grabbed the prisoner -by the foot and started to drag him to the cistern again. In so doing -one boot was pulled off, out of which fell a picture. - -"Here, Abraham," said Ruth, handing him the picture, "this may be all -you will ever get for your bag of money." - -Abraham took the picture and looked at it closely. - -"Now, gentlemen," said the stranger, "a few more points, and I will have -this mystery clear." - -"You had better clear it quickly," said the crowd. - -"Don't be too hard," said the parson. "Let him confess." - -"Yes," said the stranger, "I am anxious to confess. This gentleman is -really my uncle. He and my father have not met since I was born. Father -and I agreed to pay him a visit. Since I have always been a funny chunk -of humanity, father thought it might be well for me to come last night -and twit uncle a little. He promised to arrive this morning. As I neared -this house last night I saw two men standing close to the door, as -though listening to what was going on inside. On seeing me they moved -off at a brisk pace. Before knocking, I listened and heard Uncle Abraham -and Aunt Ruth talking of their money, and what they intended to do with -it the next day. Now, of course I thought the two men were listening to -the same thing, and would be back in the night to rob them. After I had -been admitted and had spoiled the ashcake--so that I could have a good -excuse for giving them a nice little gift this morning for wronging -them--and had gone to bed, it seemed I could see those two men trying to -get into the house. Sleep fled my eyes; and, as I lay pondering what I -would do in an emergency, I beheld the good parson here at the meal -barrel. Thinking that he was one of the men I distrusted I slipped up -behind him, and, after bundling him up in the fashion you beheld him, I -tucked him into the closet. When the deacon came I treated him likewise, -and rolled him into the cistern. The groceries they brought were put in -the barrel. I could not account for this part of it, but now I see. -Having disposed of the supposed robbers so nicely, Uncle Abraham put the -bag of money in my keeping. Thinking I had nothing more to fear, I set -the bag at my side and fell asleep. When I awoke a man was looking in -the window through which the parson had climbed. As I heard no signs of -another, I opened the door and grappled with him. While we were rolling -over the ground a second man walked off with the money. I started to -follow him, but my man clung to me so that I had to drag him a -considerable distance before I could beat him off. In fact, he was so -exhausted he did not rise for some time, to follow me. I caught up with -the other fellow just as I neared the old well. He evidently thought I -was his confederate. I said not a word, but lifted the bag from his -shoulder and dropped it into the well. Seeing his mistake, he struck me -a terrible blow that felled me to the ground. When I came to myself I -was bound and gagged, just as these officers found me." - -The crowd gazed at one another in unbelief, but decided, nevertheless, -after some parley to proceed to the well to investigate the truth of the -strange story the prisoner had to tell. Arrived there, a man was lowered -into the well, and soon gave the signal to be drawn out, with the bag -of money. Some of the crowd were still disposed to doubt the innocence -of their captive. They claimed that he was one of the band, that the bag -of money fell into the well by accident, and that he was beaten, bound, -and gagged because he was too mean to go along with the others. - -"In short," said one, "they left you here for an outraged people to dull -their vengeance upon. Let every lover of justice help to string him up." - -"Hold! hold," said Abraham. "This picture has a story to tell. There are -two likenesses on here. One is that of a brother that I have not seen -for thirty years, and the other is of the stranger here. Is this not -sufficient evidence with what you have already heard? I -think--guess--believe--that this is enough for---- Well, gentlemen, -don't you think this is enough for me?" - -"Yes," said a low-browed son of passion who was trying to put a noose -around the stranger's neck, "it is enough to make this fit decently." - -"Let the man have a chance to confess," cried out the parson and the -deacon jointly. - -"Let me have a chance to collar his neck with this noose," said the -low-browed son of passion. - -Then followed a struggle, in which the parson and the deacon seized the -noose on either side of the fellow's neck, and kept it from being -tightened. The struggle grew in intensity, so much so that none of the -excited throng noticed a dignified old gentleman dismount and run up to -the crowd. Abraham, standing to one side in the confusion, noted the old -man's approach, gazed at him, and at once clasped him around the neck -and cried: "My brother! my brother!" - -Disengaging himself, and upon seeing the young man in his sorry plight, -the old gentleman hurried forward crying: "My son! my son!" - -The young man hearing the cry in the midst of the melee looked up and -gasped, "My father! my father!" - -By this time Abraham and the young man's father forced their way to the -young man's side. The people fell back and scattered in all directions, -leaving the young man almost exhausted. His bonds were at once cut, and -he was put upon his feet and refreshed. - -The young man was soon able to smile. - -His Uncle Abraham and Aunt Ruth kissed him and commended his heroism. - -Sometime later in the day the two real culprits were apprehended, and -confessed their guilt, stating that they had overheard part of Abraham's -conversation regarding the money when the young man's approach had led -them to await a better hour. Thus were Abraham and Ruth vindicated; -thus, too, were all doubts as to the young man's story laid at rest. -Parson Prudence got the bag of money with which to buy the parsonage -and bell, and Deacon Brindlebee was handsomely rewarded for his part in -the comedy. - -Ashcakes were never thought of again in that house, for Abraham's -brother and nephew were rich, and they all lived as one family. The -parsonage was erected. The bell was hung; and, as Abraham prophesied, -the bell spread their fame above and the women who visited the parson's -wife spread it below. - - - - -THE JACKAL AND THE LION[1] - -AN AFRICAN FOLK-LORE TALE - - -The Jackal and the Lion were hunting in the jungle. "Brother Lion," said -the Jackal, "the young elephant we seek is a good distance away. Well, -it is not so far away either, but you see it will run around and around -and in and out, and that will make the distance long. I see that you -have a sore foot, and so long a journey might cost you your life. It -would be a pity to lose your great head and pretty voice." - -"It would, indeed," said the Lion. "I am glad to find someone who -understands my worth." - -"You see, Brother Lion," said the Jackal, "if I should get lost or -killed the world would not miss me, but you, Brother Lion--you----!" - -"Yes, Brother Jackal," broke in the Lion, "my place could not be filled; -but do not take my greatness too seriously. You are worth a little, and -that little should be saved." - -"Brother Lion," continued the Jackal, "I would gladly give my whole -self for your pleasure. You lie down here in the shade, keep cool and -think great thoughts, while I take your spear and run down and kill the -elephant that you have long desired to eat. When I have done so I will -return and take you to it!" - -"Very good," said the Lion. "You are kind and thoughtful. Take my spear -and best wishes and be off. I can almost taste the feast now." - -The Jackal took the spear, and in a short time had killed the elephant -and covered the body with leaves. It then ran to another road, cut its -finger and let the blood drip here and there for a great distance. Then -it returned to the Lion and said: "Brother Lion, I almost lost my life -in killing the elephant. Just go through yonder forest until you come to -the straight road. By the elephant's blood you can trace it to the spot -where it fell. As soon as I rest I'll be with you, I charge you now that -to taste the meat before I come will mean death to you. This is a new -law of the jungle." - -The Lion went in search of the bloody path, and the Jackal returned to -the elephant and began to eat. Now it happened that the Lion hurt his -foot and, while binding it up, saw the Jackal eating and looking around. - -When the Lion came up to the Jackal he said: "You little rascal, I have -a notion to eat you for deceiving me." - -"Be patient, Brother Lion; I am doing you a favor. Unless a Jackal eats -of a young elephant first, its meat will kill a Lion. This is a new law -of the jungle, and I am still in love with your great head and pretty -voice. You remember I gave you a charge to this end." - -"Yes," said the Lion, "I remember, and I thank you for saving my head -and voice; but since you have tested the meat, what keeps me from eating -my fill?" - -"Just another new law of the jungle," said the Jackal. "This new law -says that such meat must be put upon a high stone tower where the sun's -rays may strike it. Then all may eat it unharmed." - -"Oh, Brother Jackal," said the Lion, "how can I ever pay you for saving -my head and voice?" - -"In this way," replied the Jackal. "According to the law, my wife and -children must be masons upon the wall, and you and yours must hand up -the stones; and you see there are plenty of them about here. Of course, -I remain on the ground to direct. I have told my wife and children, and -they are coming. You go and bring yours." - -"That suits me quite well," said the Lion. "I'll be back with mine in a -short while." - -When the Lion and his family had returned, the Jackal and his family -had eaten half of the elephant and were dancing. - -"You little rascal!" roared the Lion, "have you deceived me again?" - -"Not a bit of it," replied the Jackal. "See that little bird lying dead -there? That is the messenger of the new laws. By accident I killed it. -The new law requires that the one who kills such a bird, and his family, -must eat half the meat present as a punishment; and such a punishment as -it has been! But for this new dance my wife invented we should all be -dead. This means that you would be dead, too. The life of the Jackal in -such a case goes into the bird. It becomes ten times as powerful as a -Lion and kills everyone it meets. See?" - -"I do," replied the Lion, "and thanks again for my head and voice. Let -me remind you, Brother Jackal, that my wife and family are not likely to -die at present from over-eating." - -"Let me remind you, Brother Lion, that one more speech like that from -you will put life into that bird, and you will never eat another -dinner." - -"Thanks, Brother Jackal, for your wisdom and kindness. Let's build the -tower." - -In a short time the tower was erected. - -"How are we to get the meat up?" asked the Lion. - -"Oh," said the Jackal, "my wife, who invented the dance, has invented a -rope to pull the meat up with." - -"I am glad to hear that, Brother Jackal," said the Lion, "for my wife, -who is rather dull, may learn many things from yours." - -"Brother Lion," said the Jackal, "when a Lion passes a compliment like -that upon a Jackal's wife he had better roar it far and wide, or he will -be counted a flatterer, and flattery puts life into that little bird." - -The Lion roared the compliment until every beast in the jungle heard it. -The Jackal's wife and children let down the rope and pulled the meat up. - -"Brother Lion, there is one precaution we must take. That little bird -lying there must never be allowed to come back to life, and there is but -one way to do it." - -"Brother Jackal, pray what is that?" - -"Pick up that rock lying there by the bird. When my wife has pulled me -to the top of the tower, throw it to me. If I catch it, the bird is dead -forever. We will then pull you and your family up, and what a feasting -there will be!" - -"My dear Brother Jackal," roared the Lion, "you are all wisdom. Now you -are up, and I am ready with the rock. Shall I throw it?" - -"My dear Brother Lion," said the Jackal, "I am so high up I fear I shall -not be able to catch it. There is one way to keep me from missing it. -Put your wife right under my hands as I hold them out." - -"She is there," called the Lion. "Now catch the rock." The Lion threw up -the rock. The Jackal withdrew his hands, and it came back, striking the -Lion's wife and almost killing her. - -"You've killed Ma! you've killed Ma!" cried all the little Lions, and -scampered off into the forest. - -"That was a terrible mistake, Brother Lion," said the Jackal. "It was -all your fault. You didn't ask me whether or not I was ready. That bird -is coming to life! I feel it. Unless I can get you up here in five -minutes it will be on wing and right after you. Now throw up the rock. -That's right. I have it. Good for you. Here, wife, heat this rock and -hand it back to me when I ask for it. You understand?" - -"Yes, Mrs. Jackal," called the Lion, "hand your husband the rock when he -asks for it, for that is indeed a precious rock." - -The Jackal let down the rope, telling the Lion to tie it tightly around -his body below the forearms. When this was done the Jackal began to pull -the Lion up. - -"Brother Lion," called the Jackal, "that little bird down there is -moving." - -"Sister Jackal," cried the Lion, "have you the rock?" - -By this time the Jackal's wife was holding the rock with a pair of -tongs, for it was very hot. - -"That's right," shouted the Lion, "hold that rock carefully." - -"That terrible bird!" mourned the Jackal. - -"Ha, ha!" said the Jackal's wife, "I'll drop this hot rock into your -mouth, and then how you'll kick and claw the air!" - -She tried to drop the rock, but the tongs would not open. She then tried -to drop both tongs and rock, but could not. The tongs soon began to burn -her hands. In trying to throw them from her, she fell from the tower and -killed herself. - -The Jackal dropped the rope and so freed the Lion. The tower trembled -and fell. - -The little bird that the Jackal thought dead was the cause of the -change. It was the spirit of the jungle and believed in fair play. It -sang a sad song while the wife of the Jackal was being buried. It then -sang joyously while the Lion and his wife and children, who had come -back, ate the rest of the meat. - -The Jackal was badly hurt and crippled by falling with the tower, yet he -had to wait on the Lion and his family while they were feasting. And -ever afterwards the Jackal was an outcast among animals, despised by all -because of his evil and deceitful spirit. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] This story was told to me by a native African who was lecturing in -this country. - - - - -THE KING'S SHOES - - -When King Mesina died his twin sons, Savo and Savoda, became joint heirs -to the throne. This was according to the King's wishes. He thought, -however, that as Savo was the older and meaner he might at some time rob -his brother of his part in the kingdom. So he had placed in his will a -clause to the effect that should this happen Savoda was to be the sole -heir. Ere the people had ceased mourning for the King, Savo began to -persecute Savoda. It mattered not what Savo did Savoda always had an -excuse for him. In fact, he thought his brother angelic; and, hence, -could do no wrong. - -As the time for the coronation approached Savo more and more ignored and -persecuted Savoda. At last he said: "Savoda, my servant, sit down in the -corner and be as little as you really are while I, your king, conduct -matters." Savoda obeyed with a smile upon his face, thinking that all -things work together for good to him who is the son of a king and has an -earthly angel for a brother. - -Savo looked after the coronation in every part. He made all kinds of -demands upon his people, and they gladly responded. He sent his leading -captain to visit distant lands and bring back luxuries for the occasion. -Everything progressed nicely until the captain returned with, as his -sole cargo, an ugly dwarf. - -This threw Savo into a rage. He had the captain seized, beaten and -thrown into prison. When the dwarf was brought before him, he said: -"Begone, human reptile! Go, dwell in the woods with your kinsmen." - -"My body is small and weak, but by the power of wit shall I be -remembered in the affairs of this kingdom," said the dwarf. - -Savoda was still sitting in the corner, trying to smile, and to be small -at the same time. - -"You, sir," said Savo, pointing at Savoda, "are as impudent as this -dwarf. Your stillness means plotting, and your smile means ridicule. You -think that by your wit too you shall be remembered in the affairs of the -kingdom? I'll see to that. My wisdom is a seine that holds fast to the -big fish and crushes the minnows as they slip through. Minnow, sniff -your fate. Well, you may have wit enough to dish out soup. Soldiers, to -the woods with this abominable dwarf, and to the soup-house with this -simpleton who dreams of being king." - -After Savo had recovered from what he considered a very righteous -indignation he sent for his trusty porter. - -"Well, Porter," said he, "is everything ready for the coronation?" - -"Everything is ready, my King, save your shoes; and to-morrow is the -event. The dwarf you sent to the woods took them with him." - -"Go quickly and have the same shoemaker turn your king out another pair -on time." - -"My king, there is no relief in that; for he went with the dwarf, and -neither can be found." - -"By the clearness of my conscience, is there not one other in all my -vast domain that can so fit my feet that my wrath shall not be called -upon to fit him?" - -"There was one this morning, my King." - -"Is he not now?" - -"He is, my King." - -"What is he doing?" - -"He is shoeing his soul." - -"Shoeing his soul? What mean you?" - -"A shoe is used to cover something that very much needs to be covered. -Is it not, my King?" - -"It is." - -"As you know, this shoemaker was skilled at making shoes, and especially -skilled in stealing leather, my King. He believed that the ease with -which a king treads upon his handiwork will blot out the theft in -procuring the leather. The story runs that this morning he went to the -soup-house to get his usual bowl of soup. A stranger waited upon him. As -he put the bowl to his lips the soup turned clear as water, and in it -appeared two pictures. The first was the likeness of the stranger before -him, and on his breast was the name, 'King Savoda.' The second -represented himself standing before a great white throne. His soul was -uncovered, and over it were written the names of the ones from whom he -had stolen leather. His soul was the shape of a boot; and there he stood -trying to make a shoe to cover it from the sight of Him who sat upon the -throne as the Great Judge. The longer he looked the more fearful became -the second. In a fit of despair he gulped down the soup so fast that it -strangled him, and he fell dead at the counter. So, my King, is he not -shoeing his soul? My King, the people say that Savoda, who was a -stranger to the shoemaker, knew not what he saw in the bowl. He simply -thought he was weak from overwork and, in keeping with his good nature, -he straightway gave him a decent burial." - -"Ha, ha! The dreams of a porter frighten not his king. If there be no -real workman about, find me a cobbler." - -"A cobbler there is at the turn of the square, but, O my King, his -failure at making you shoes will be equaled only by your success in -cutting off his head." - -"Porter, you are wide-awake when you speak of cutting off heads. Take -this leather and my measure to the cobbler. Remind him that to-morrow is -the coronation, and that no shoes for the King means no head for the -cobbler." - -The porter departed, and the cobbler soon received the leather and the -measure and the message and, despite the gloom of the latter, he worked -bravely on until he had completed his task. Being very tired, he fell -asleep. When he awoke he found that the cat had turned the candle over -on one of the shoes, and, as a result, the upper was burned completely -out. He had received just leather enough to make the shoes, and there -was no more of that kind to be had. The hour of the coronation was near -at hand. What was he to do? Just then the porter came in. Without saying -a word he put the shoes under his arm and carried them to the king. As -soon as the king saw them he ordered the cobbler's head to be taken off. - -The cobbler had hardly finished kissing his wife and children when the -king's soldiers seized him and began dragging him through the streets -toward the block. A terrible voice then sounded forth. It was more like -thunder than that of a human being's. The soldiers knew it was the -voice of the great giant Lubercal; so they left the cobbler and hastened -to save themselves. After giving the cobbler something to refresh him, -the giant put him in one of his coat pockets and carried him off to his -mountain home. The cobbler soon found there were two others in the -pocket with him. - -"Ah," said they, "we are glad you are in here." - -"Ah," said the cobbler, "you are no gladder than I. They were about to -cut my head off out there. How relieved I feel!" - -"On the life of us," said they, "we don't see where the relief comes in. -As we see it, you have simply exchanged a beheading for an eating. So -certain were we to be eaten by the giant and his wife for supper that we -had already said our prayers. As you are so big and tender, it may be -the giant will feast upon you to-night and leave us for breakfast, -giving us a chance to escape in the darkness. We are told that he always -refreshes the one he is going to eat first. So, you see we are glad you -are in here." - -By this time the giant had reached his home. He took all three out, and -said to his wife: "Here they all are. Prepare the cobbler first. The -other two will keep." - -We must now leave the cobbler and his friends to their fate with the -giant and his wife, and return to the coronation at the palace. The -palace is thronged with noblemen, and Savo is pacing up and down -barefooted and bareheaded. We know why he is barefooted; but why is he -bareheaded? He had the crown placed upon the throne instead of on his -head. He did this he said in order to start a new custom; but it was -simply to hide, if possible, the mishap with the shoe. - -The king and his noblemen soon sat down to supper. The order was, eat a -while and boast a while. To make the events of the supper clear we must -know something that took place at the gate just before the coronation. - -The porter had served under the old King Mesina, and had kept fairly -straight. Being a wise man, he saw that Savo was weak and his kingdom -would soon fall, so he set about making himself whole. As soon as Savo -cast aside the shoes because of the burnt one, he saw the possibilities -of a fortune in the good one. His business that night was to sit at the -palace gate and admit the guests. To every simple looking nobleman that -passed he would hold up the good shoe and say: "How much am I offered -for a shoe that is so fine the king will not wear it?" - -At last there came a nobleman whose bluntness equaled the porter's wit. -He took the shoe, and left the porter a bag of gold. - -As has been said, the order at the supper was eat a while and boast a -while. - -Nobleman after nobleman told of some precious keepsake he had, and its -history. At last they called on the nobleman with the shoe. He was so -slow to respond that he was roundly hissed by the guests, as having -nothing worthy the attention of a king. This was too much for nobility -at a feast. He first told a strange story of how he came into possession -of the shoe. Then he snatched it from his pocket so quickly that it -dropped from his hand and fell plump into the king's dish of soup. - -"Soldiers of the king," said Savo, "cast the intruder into prison, and -see that his head comes off bright and early to-morrow morning." - -Thus ended the coronation. The guests departed, and Savo retired for the -night. Just after the nobleman was placed in prison the giant Lubercal -passed the palace gate and saw the porter asleep beside his bag of gold. -Knowing what had happened, he took the porter and the bag of gold around -to the prison. There was a huge chimney leading down into the cell where -the nobleman was. The giant reached down and brought out the nobleman -and put the porter in his place. The nobleman and his bag of gold were -carried by the giant to his mountain home. - -In the meantime what had become of the cobbler and his two friends? - -They were still at the home of the giant, safe and sound, with no fear -of being eaten. What had the giant meant by telling his wife to prepare -the cobbler first? Simply that he had heard the conversation that passed -among the three men in his pockets as he went home, and as he was of a -rather grim but jovial nature he made pretence of devouring his -captives. Of these three we know of the cobbler, but who were the two -friends? One was the captain that Savo had put in prison for bringing -the dwarf. The other was Savoda. - -The giant Lubercal thought that Savo might make away with them during -the coronation, so he protected them in this way. - - -Early the next morning Savo sent word to the jailer to dispatch the man -in the cell and bring the head to him. It was done; but, when the head -was brought, Savo almost fell from his throne. - -"My porter! my porter!" said Savo, "you have been dealt with foully. How -dare you, Jailer, to turn the nobleman out and put my porter in his -place? Soldiers of the king, seize the deceiver, and off with his head." - -Before the soldiers could carry out the order the giant Lubercal -appeared before the palace and sent his voice through the halls. - -"Come, Savo," said he, "it is time to reckon." - -The giant first took from his pocket the cobbler, who was red-eyed and -sneezing, and bidding him no longer to fear King Savo, gave him his -liberty. When the cobbler was set free he secured the burnt shoe, that -it might remind him never again to fall asleep over his work, and -hastened to his family. - -Lubercal then followed this by freeing the nobleman, with a similar -injunction. When the nobleman was given his liberty, he distributed the -bag of gold among the poor, and, after awaiting Savoda's coronation, -departed to his own estates. - -Then the giant Lubercal now, in keeping with King Mesina's will, put -Savoda upon the throne, and made Savo gate-keeper. - -A good giant was Lubercal? Well, he was not so good, after all, as one -other act will show. Even giants must live by some law. - -The law by which Lubercal was controlled allowed him to be king if he -could steal the whole nation at once. To do this all the people must be -gathered into one house. Lubercal's aim was to deceive the people into -building a house large enough to hold them all, and then proclaim -himself king. - -He suggested to Savoda that he force his people to erect such a house, -so that the whole nation might come together and celebrate his -(Savoda's) accession to the throne. Savoda did so. After much time and -labor, the house was ready. The morning of the fatal day arrived--the -day on which Lubercal intended to put into execution his plan of -stealing the throne and Savoda's people. Lubercal stood upon the -mountain and sent his voice ringing over the country. Savoda and the -people thought this a good omen, and expected the giant to come down and -rejoice with them. While King Savoda was arranging his crown, in walked -the dwarf. - -"Good morning, my King," said he. "I have come to rescue you and your -people this day from the hands of the designing Lubercal." Noting -Savoda's look of suspicion and incredulity the dwarf continued: "I see, -my King, that you have little faith in my remark. Go you now to the -temple, and ere the day is done you shall see your own salvation." - -King Savoda and his people, after further insistence, though still not -convinced, went to the temple, while the dwarf hastened to encounter the -giant. - - -Again we must go back, in order to make clear events soon to be -narrated. - -Savo had been too silly to remain king, yet he was wise enough to see -the force that removed him. He therefore set about finding the source of -Lubercal's strength. While Lubercal was away he went up into the -mountain and hid himself where he could see, but could not be seen. -Lubercal soon came, and straightway tried to pull up a large tree by the -roots. At first he failed to move it. He then went to a large cask -containing fluid of some kind, and smelled it. At the next trial he -pulled the tree halfway up. He went back to the cask and smelled again. -Then he walked to the tree and with a slight effort snatched it from the -ground and tossed it down the mountain. - -"Ah," said Savo, "I have the secret of your strength. It is in that -fluid." - -Then Lubercal sat down, and began to talk to himself of how his strength -lay in smelling the fluid in the cask, and how his length of days -depended upon the running of the old-fashioned clock that hung beside a -tree. - -That night, as the giant slept, Savo slipped to the cask and examined -it. He found it had two chambers, and that the fluid was in the lower -one. He climbed into the upper chamber, thinking he might find some way -of letting the fluid out. He found none, and to his surprise smelling -the fluid made him weak instead of strong. He soon became so weak he -could not get out; so there he stayed until morning. At daybreak he -first heard the giant's voice ringing over the country. He next heard -the shouts of King Savoda and his people as they were hurrying to the -great temple, and lastly, the small clear voice of the dwarf piping out -a challenge to Lubercal. - -"Giant Lubercal, I have come to thwart your designs upon King Savoda and -his people. Strength, I suppose will be your weapon; but wit shall be -mine. The war is on. Here's at you." - -"A flea in a kettle of hot water, my little man, is not more at a -disadvantage than you are with me," said Lubercal; "but if you want a -quick, easy death, come on." - -At this the dwarf scratched the giant's great toe, but did not even make -it bleed. - -"For that, sir," said the giant, "you shall serve to whet my appetite -for breakfast." - -Now, according to an ancient custom, the giant could not eat a human -being without first closing his eyes and saying a long blessing. While -he was thus engaged, the dwarf turned himself into a fierce bird and -circled above the giant's head. Every now and then he would strike the -giant a stinging blow. After a hard struggle the giant succeeded in -catching him. He held him tightly in his great hand; but in a flash the -dwarf turned to a flea. The giant was not well proportioned. His body -was large, with a deep crease between the shoulders, and his arms were -so short they could not reach it. - -The dwarf found the crease and began to bite. The giant soon became -frantic. He ran to the tree; and, in trying to kill the dwarf, he broke -the old-fashioned clock upon the running of which depended the length of -his days. - -He lay upon his back and rolled and tumbled, and then with marvelous -force he drew up his limbs and straightened them out. One of his feet -struck the cask, and fluid and Savo were dashed down the steep -mountain-side. The once mighty Lubercal soon became so weak that the -dwarf assumed his original form, tied a rope around his neck, and led -him into the temple where King Savoda and his people were celebrating. -At the dwarfs command Lubercal told the assembled multitude of his -designs against them, and begged that he be allowed to return to his -mountain home and breathe out his last as his forefathers had done. He -returned, and soon a terrible wail told the people he was no more. - -"Honor to whom honor is due," said King Savoda. "Let us honor the dwarf -who has saved our whole nation. Truly, the power of his wit shall be -felt in the affairs of this people." - -"My great and good King," said the dwarf, "I am honored in being in your -midst, and happy in seeing you happy. My life work is ended and I am -ready to go." - -As the autumn leaf falls withered to the ground, so the dwarf fell dead -at the king's feet. - -"My people," said King Savoda, "let us spend the rest of the day -mourning for the dwarf and honoring his memory. How shall we best do -this?" - -"My King," said an aged man, "I have a suggestion." - -"What have you done that you should be allowed to even make a suggestion -concerning so great a person as the dwarf," said the King. - -"My good and wise King, look closely and you will see that I am the -captain who was imprisoned for bringing the dwarf into this kingdom." - -The King looked, and seeing the man had spoken truthfully, told him to -draw near. - -"You shall no longer be the captain of a ship, but the first of my wise -men. We will follow your suggestion. Let us have it." - -"My King," said the captain, "yonder mountain-top upon which the giant -Lubercal now lies dead is a solid rock. I suggest that you send your -best workmen in stone up there. As they look upon the giant, let them -shape out of the rock his exact image with the arms extended. Let them -lay a marble slab across the arms, and upon this place the image of the -dwarf." - -The King was so impressed with the suggestion that he sent hundreds of -his best workmen to carry it out. A signal told when they had finished -the work. Then the King, followed by the people bearing the body of the -dwarf, ascended the mountain. He was much pleased with the images, and -ordered that the bodies of the giant and the dwarf be buried in the -solid rock side by side. - -As he started to leave he heard some one say: - -"My brother, Savoda, I am nigh unto death. Hear me ere I depart." - -The King turned and, seeing it was his brother Savo, clasped him in his -arms, and placed a kiss upon his cheek. Savo in a few words begged his -brother to forgive him for what he had done, told him of his adventure -in the cask and how it ended. He then kissed his brother again and -again, and expired. Savoda was so overcome that he had to be borne to -his palace. Knowing their King's feelings in the matter, the workmen -made an exact image of Savo, and placed it beside that of Lubercal, -after which his body was buried close to the others. At the command of -the king a huge stone was placed near the statues to remind the king and -people of their duty. - -Ever after that people would take their children to the mountain top and -tell them the story of the king's shoes and the lessons to be learned -from it. - -King Savoda lived a long and useful life. His people loved him for his -wisdom and goodness. He left twin sons to succeed him. They were so -small that both sat in the same chair. They always agreed, and under -them the kingdom flourished. They were so much like their father that -the people called them the double king with one soul, borrowed from -their father. - - - - -HOW MR. RABBIT SECURES A PRETTY WIFE AND RICH FATHER-IN-LAW - - -Mr. Rabbit was hard to please in love affairs. Those upon whom his eyes -fell were either too ugly or too poor, and in some cases both. At last -he concluded that the greatest failure in the world is courting that -does not end in a wedding. - -He arose early one morning and sat down by the roadside to think over -the different flowers along the path of love that had proven thorns to -his soul. As he sat there, taking them up and dismissing one by one, -with a frown on his face and a bachelor-like sourness in his soul, he -chanced to see a beautiful maiden tripping over the meadows. As soon as -he saw that she was pretty, he believed he loved her, as soon as he -learned that her father was rich, he knew it. - -"O soul, my poor wounded soul! a smile from yon creature of grace and -beauty would cure you. Let us haste and secure the remedy. I can well -afford to exchange a task like this for the smiles of so pretty a wife -and her father's pocket-book." - -Mr. Rabbit knew his only stock in trade was wit, so he sharpened this -and visited the girl's father. He walked up to the old gentleman and -said: - -"Good morning, sir. My name is Mr. Rabbit. I have come to be your -son-in-law, and your daughter has my letter of introduction." - -The old gentleman was so surprised at Mr. Rabbit's words he did not call -his daughter to test their truthfulness. He admired his visitor's -boldness and readiness of speech and, after talking awhile, invited him -out to breakfast. Having learned the girl's name during the -conversation, Rabbit spoke to her on coming out, and also took her by -the hand. Now, he carried in his hand a stamp bearing the words "I -propose." - -After breakfast the old gentleman asked his daughter if she had Mr. -Rabbit's letter of introduction, and she answered by holding up her -hand. Then he asked her if she had ever met him before, and she said she -had not. Without further ado he seized Rabbit by the throat and said: - -"My dear child, this whole thing has been forced upon you. Now, how -shall I punish the impudent young whelp?" - -"Why, father," said she in her sweetest tones, "let both of us punish -him by making him your son-in-law." - -Seeing that he could not withstand the combined forces of Cupid, his -only daughter, and a wily lover, the old gentleman said: "Well, Mr. -Rabbit, you may have the girl on the condition that you go down to the -great frog settlement and prove that you are master of all the frogs -there. This must be done by to-morrow at twelve o'clock." - -"It shall be done," said Mr. Rabbit. - -He dressed himself as strangely as possible, and, taking a looking-glass -in his hand, went down to the frog settlement. He stood by the branch -and waved the glass until the frogs gathered around him. - -"This is not the place," said he. "This is not the place." - -"Yes, it is," said an old frog. "It is the very place that has been here -all the time." - -Mr. Rabbit looked again and said: "It is the place, sure enough." - -"Didn't I tell you so?" said the old frog. "If this place had moved, we -would have known it." - -This served to open the conversation. While talking, Rabbit held the -glass so the frogs could see themselves. He told them it was a -soul-drawing machine, and that by looking into it the soul would come -out of the body and go behind the glass. - -"Do you know," said Rabbit, "why Mr. Snake swallows so many of you? It -is simply to get your souls. As the soul is in the body, he must -swallow the body, also. Let him see that the soul is out of the body, -and he will no longer bother the body, but go after the soul. If the -soul is behind the glass, he can't get it. So you see, gentlemen, every -frog should have a glass. All he has to do is to carry the glass with -him, and, when Mr. Snake comes, just hold it up so as to see himself. -Mr. Snake, seeing the soul out of his reach, will scamper off." - -All agreed with Rabbit, but wanted to know where glasses sufficient for -all could be had. - -"Ah," said Rabbit, "that is my business here. I have come to build a -factory for making them. All you have to do is to turn the wheel I will -make. This wheel will turn the mill and out will come the glasses. There -will be no charges." - -The frogs agreed to turn the wheel as long as needed. Then Rabbit built -a watermill for grinding wheat and corn, and put the wheel above the -water. The frogs knew no better. - -"In order to turn the wheel," said Mr. Rabbit, "you frogs must be -divided into as many bands as there are paddles to the wheel. The first -band must jump upon a paddle and force it down, then jump into the water -and swim to shore ready for the next turn. Each band must do so in turn, -and the wheel will go round. There are several things you must do. You -must not be seen until I give the signal. Then you must come, start the -wheel, and keep it going until I tell you to stop. At the second signal -you must bellow as loudly as you can, or your souls will be so long in -getting behind the glass that Mr. Snake will catch them. On the third -signal you must dance as you come around, or the glass will be easily -broken." - -All agreed, and said there should not be a single hitch in the -programme. - -Then Rabbit sent for his father-in-law to come, and bring his wheat with -him. He did so; but laughed at Rabbit's mill-wheel. - -"The wheat will be ground," said Rabbit, approaching the water and -giving the signal agreed upon with the frogs. - -At the first signal the frogs came by hundreds and sent the wheel over -and over again in great haste. At the second signal they began to -bellow; and, at the third, to dance. This procedure was continued, and -in a short time the wheat was all ground. - -"Now," said Mr. Rabbit, "I am not a member of the family as yet, but see -what a means of income I am. How will it be further on? By the way, my -father-in-law-to-be, how do you like the wedding-march my slaves are -playing for me?" - -"Very well, my son Rabbit, very well," said the old gentleman. "Come, -let us have the ceremony." They then proceeded to the magistrate, when -Mr. Rabbit and the young lady were duly wedded. - -What became of the mill? Mr. Rabbit cared nothing for a cheap affair -like that when he had succeeded in securing a pretty wife and rich -father-in-law. - -What about the frogs? - -There is no telling how long they turned the wheel, bellowed, and -danced; or how they got the glasses from between the millstones. - - - - -THE LITTLE BOY AND MISTER DARK - - -My name is Little Boy, an' I'se gwine ter tell you er story 'bout myself -an' Mister Dark. Once 'twuz night, an' my Mammy an' my Daddy an' my dawg -an' my cat an' myself wuz in de big cabin-room. My Daddy, he dun skinned -de rabbit fer de breakfust time, an' my Mammy, she dun stirred up de -hoecakes fer ter go 'long wid de rabbit, an' I dun make up my mind ter -sleep till I gits er appertite fer bofe de cakes an' de rabbit. -Meanwhile my cat, she says: "Meaw, meaw!" an' my dawg's tail says: "I -whop, whop on de floor." - -Atter while my Mammy, she snored an' my Daddy, he snored, an' de cat -meawed, an' de dawg's tail whopped on de floor, an' I got so skeered I -could hardly keep comp'ny wid my own bref. - -Den sump'in' happened. Mister Wind, he broke down de door an' roared in -an' licked up de candle light. Den I shet my eyes an' listened fer my -cat, but didn't heah no meaw. Mister Rain, he spattered down de chimbly -an' swallowed up de fire. Den I put my hands over my face an' listened -fer my dawg, but didn't heah no tail flopping on de floor. Atter bein' -skeered er long time I spunked up an' opened my eyes, an' dere wuz -Mister Dark es big es de cabin-room. - -Atter er nudder while I spunked up erg'in an' says I: "Mister Dark, whar -does you live?" - -Mister Dark says: "I lives everywhar when de sun's in bed." Den I asks -him a r'al spunky question: "Mister Dark, how big is you?" - -Mister Dark says: "I'se es big es de whole world when de sun's kivered -up in bed." - -Den I says: "Dis cabin-room's too little fer you. Jes leave it fer us." - -Mister Dark, he says: "I'se gwine ter stay heah an' have sum fun outer -you. Ef you's skeered, Little Boy, jes' call on yo' Daddy's snore an' -yo' Mammy's dreams, an' yo' cat's meaw an' yo' little dawg's floppin' -tail. You must read me a story. Heah's er book. Heah's specticle-glasses -fer de dark. Now read an' let de fun begin." - -I shakes my head, an' den I seemed jes' like er big piece o' gumbo. I -wuz tall an' den short, an' in an' den out an' square an' den round. I -says ter myself: "Ef I ends er foot ball, Mister Dark will have a great -big kick cum'in'." All at once I felt de book in my hand, de -specticle-glasses on my nose, an' I wuz tryin' ter read. I could read, -an' den I couldn't. I'd call de fust wud, an' den dat wud would jump on -all de udder wuds es I cum ter 'em, an' I'd jes' call dat wud right on -frum de top ter de bottom o' de page. - -"Looker-heah, Little Boy," said Mister Dark, "you jes' cyarn't read. -Let's all laf." Den Mister Dark chuckled er laf, an' Mister Rain -spattered er laf, an' Mister Wind roared er laf, an' my cat meawed er -laf, an' my little dawg flopped er laf wid his tail, an' I lafed jes' er -little teeny bit, an' I wanted it back erg'in. - -Mister Dark made er funny little noise, an' whut does you reckon -happened? My cat wuz on one knee, an' my dawg on de udder. De -specticle-glasses wuz on dey noses, an' dey read every wud in dat book. -Now what does you reckon dem wuds wuz erbout? Dey wuz erbout dat wud dat -played leap frog frum de top ter de bottom o' dat page when I tried ter -read, an' erbout dat rabbit an' dem hoecakes, an' how I wuz gwine ter -oversleep myself, an' how my mouf would wotter when I seed de rabbit's -bones picked clean. - -Den I said ter Mister Dark: "Mister Dark, you's pokin' fun at me, an' -you's makin' my cat meaw fun at me an' my dawg flop fun at me wid his -tail; but I'se gwine ter beat you in de end fer I'se gwine ter sleep." - -"'Scuse me fer readin'," meawed my cat, an' jumped down frum my right -knee. - -"'Scuse me fer readin'," barked my dawg, an' jumped down frum my left -knee. - -"'Scuse us too," mumbled de book an' de specticle-glasses. - -"Now, my Little Boy," said Mister Dark, "ef you'll jes' shet yo' eyes -an' open yo' mouf you'll 'scuse me too to-morrow mawnin'." - -I closed my eyes an' opened my mouf an' went ter sleep. I sleeped an' -sleeped an' sleeped, an' at last I waked up. Mister Daylight wuz dere as -big as de cabin-room, an' my Mammy wuz frying de hoecakes, an' my Daddy -wuz stewin' de rabbit, an' when I got all de glue outen my eyelids I -sed: "Mammy, I'se bin erway, an' I'se hongry." - -"Give dat chile er cake," says Mammy. - -"An' sum rabbit," says Daddy. - -"An' give my cat an' dawg sum too," says I. - -Den we all eat an' eat an' eat, an' all at once Mammy says: -"Look-er-heah, chile, you dun growed er whole pound last night." - -"Yas'm," says I, "an' it wuz dis way. While you all wuz er snorin' -Mister Dark cumed in an' tried ter skeer me, but I jes' spunked up an' -closed my eyes an' opened my mouf an' swallowed Mister Dark right down -an' went ter sleep, an' course I'se bigger." - -"Give dat smart chile er nudder cake," says Mammy. - -Daddy puts de cake in my mouf, an' I starts ter swallow it 'fore I -thinks ter say: "I thank you." Den I tries ter say it an' swallow at de -same time, but I gits choked. Den I swallows an' swallows an' swallows -jes' dis way (Imitate swallowing), an' at last I swallows it down. Den I -reaches fer en nudder cake, but it ain't dere. - -My cat, she meawed, an' my dawg's tail whopped on de floor, but I ain't -gwine ter tell no more stories, no I ain't, till my Mammy makes more -hoecakes, an' my Daddy stews more rabbit, an' de great big Mister Dark -cums back ter make me grow an' give me er appertite. - - - - -OBSERVATION - - -"Madam," said the negro principal of a public school to an old negro -woman who was washing, "I wish your boy to attend my school." - -"Whose boy?" asked the old woman as she straightened up and wiped the -suds from her arms. - -"Your boy, madam." - -"Well, ef he's my boy, I reckon I'll look atter him." - -She placed one hand on the rim of the tub and resumed washing with the -other. - -Every few seconds she would change her position, allowing each hand a -rest period. She would also change the pitch of a negro melody she was -singing, accordingly. - -"'Fesser," said she, "is you still waitin'?" - -"I am, madam." - -"'Fesser, you cyarn't git dis boy." - -"Madam, I'll stay and argue with you." - -"I won't argue wid you, 'fesser. I'se got ter argue wid dese suds. Does -you heah?" - -"Your boy, madam, is running wild." - -"'Fesser, you don't need ter run. You kin jes' walk. I'se mighty -perlite, but does you see dat gate?" - -The principal started toward the gate. In passing an ant-hill he walked -around it. As he reached the corner of the house a large fierce dog -sprang at him. He spoke to the dog, and patted its head. The dog wagged -its tail and followed him to the gate. After much trouble he opened and -closed the gate and started off at a brisk pace. - -"'Fesser! 'fesser!" cried the old woman, "you kin hab dis boy. Come back -an' git him right now." - -The principal returned and asked the old woman what had converted her. - -"It was dem ways of yourn, 'fesser. You's got er mighty good heart in -you, 'kase you walked erround dem ants. Dat's jes' de heart I wants ter -beat fer my boy. Dat dog bites most folks, but you jes' charmed all de -fight outen him. My boy's got er lot of fight an' some meanness in him, -but I sees you kin charm dem out. Most folks leaves dat gate open, but -you jes' kept on till you closed it. I knows you'll keep at dis boy till -you makes er man outen him. Heah's de boy, 'fesser. Jes' take him -erlong." - -As the principal and boy walked in the street the old woman stood at -the gate and said: "Jes' look at dat boy of mine; he's walkin' lack de -'fesser erready." - - - - -THE BOY AND THE IDEAL - - -Once upon a time a Mule, a Hog, a Snake, and a Boy met. Said the Mule: -"I eat and labor that I may grow strong in the heels. It is fine to have -heels so gifted. My heels make people cultivate distance." - -Said the Hog: "I eat and labor that I may grow strong in the snout. It -is fine to have a fine snout. I keep people watching for my snout." - -"No exchanging heels for snouts," broke in the Mule. - -"No," answered the Hog; "snouts are naturally above heels." - -Said the Snake: "I eat to live, and live to cultivate my sting. The way -people shun me shows my greatness. Beget stings, comrades, and stings -will beget glory." - -Said the Boy: "There is a star in my life like unto a star in the sky. I -eat and labor that I may think aright and feel aright. These rounds will -conduct me to my star. Oh, inviting star!" - -"I am not so certain of that," said the Mule. "I have noticed your kind -and ever see some of myself in them. Your star is in the distance." - -The Boy answered by smelling a flower and listening to the song of a -bird. The Mule looked at him and said: "He is all tenderness and care. -The true and the beautiful have robbed me of a kinsman. His star is -near." - -Said the Boy: "I approach my star." - -"I am not so certain of that," interrupted the Hog. "I have noticed your -kind and I ever see some of myself in them. Your star is a delusion." - -The Boy answered by painting the flower and setting the notes of the -bird's song to music. - -The Hog looked at the boy and said: "His soul is attuned by nature. The -meddler in him is slain." - -"I can all but touch my star," cried the Boy. - -"I am not so certain of that," remarked the Snake. "I have watched your -kind and ever see some of myself in them. Stings are nearer than stars." - -The Boy answered by meditating upon the picture and music. The Snake -departed, saying that stings and stars cannot keep company. - -The Boy journeyed on, ever led by the star. Some distance away the Mule -was bemoaning the presence of his heels and trying to rid himself of -them by kicking a tree. The Hog was dividing his time between looking -into a brook and rubbing his snout on a rock to shorten it. The Snake -lay dead of its own bite. The Boy journeyed on, led by an ever inviting -star. - - - - -THE NEGRO AND THE AUTOMOBILE - - -A white man wished to sell an old-time negro an automobile. To this end -he took him a spin around the town. Soon something was in the way, and -that "honk-honk!" warning was sounded. - -"Boss," said the negro, "I don' see no wil' geese 'roun' heah." - -As the automobile increased its speed the negro braced himself with his -feet and gripped the seat with both hands. - -"Is the machine running too fast?" asked the white man. - -"I don' keer how fast you runs, but I does objects ter flying," said the -negro. - -The automobile was stopped and the white man got out. The "works" -continued with that "chook-er-chook" sound. The negro, seeing that the -wheels were not moving, sprang out excitedly. - -"Will you buy the automobile?" asked the white man. - -"No, suh," said the negro. "I don' buy no thing lack dat whut flies -when hit's running, an' whut runs when hit's standing still. No, suh! -Good-by! I'se gone!" - - - - -FAITH IN THE WHITE FOLKS - - -It was night, and Elm Street was dimly lighted. From a negro -eating-house that opened into the street came sounds of harsh voices and -the rattling of pans. Rachel, the mulatto, who believed everything a -white person did or said, and who tested all information with: "Did de -white folks say so?" was tugging at her little grandson, who was selling -papers. - -"I can't sell papers here, grandma." - -"Why, son?" - -"The folks in the eating-house won't let me." - -"Did de white folks say so?" - -"No, ma'am. This route was given to another boy." - -"Did de white folks do it?" - -Just then some one threw a loaf of bread in the eating-house. It passed -through the door and struck Rachel. Her little grandson pulled her apron -and asked: "Did the white folks do that too?" - -"No, child. Dis is de way of it. Dis bread will fatten de chickens. De -chickens will sharpen de white folks' wits. De white folks, dey'll boss -de niggers; and de niggers, dey'll be niggers still. Come on now, honey -child, an' bring de bread erlong wid you." - - - - -THE CANE AND THE UMBRELLA - - -A man who had never seen a cane or an umbrella chanced to be at a sale -and bought one of each. He held the umbrella over him and tapped upon -the ground with the cane as he walked. The wind rose suddenly. He -boarded a car quickly without lowering the umbrella. Away went the car, -and away went the umbrella. - -He alighted from the car after riding several squares. He was tapping -the ground with his cane as he walked. - -"How are you?" said a man he had not seen for years, and extended his -hand. - -"How are you, old friend?" he replied and offered the hand that held the -cane, giving his friend a severe whack. - -"You rascal!" cried his friend, and knocked him down. - -In falling he broke his cane and alighted near the fragments of his -umbrella. - -"Cane and umbrella," said he, "you are the cause of all my trouble." - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Negro Tales, by Joseph Seamon Cotter - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEGRO TALES *** - -***** This file should be named 41590-8.txt or 41590-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/5/9/41590/ - -Produced by sp1nd, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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