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diff --git a/old/60807-0.txt b/old/60807-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index dd79262..0000000 --- a/old/60807-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5898 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Ole Mars an' Ole Miss, by Edmund K. Goldsborough - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Ole Mars an' Ole Miss - -Author: Edmund K. Goldsborough - -Release Date: November 29, 2019 [EBook #60807] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLE MARS AN' OLE MISS *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, MFR, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: - - Meh Marster, you mo’ an’ mo’ like Mars Francis ev’y day, same bright - eyes, like uh fish hawk’s, but sorf an’ big. -] - - - - - OLE MARS - AN’ - OLE MISS - - - BY - - EDMUND K. GOLDSBOROUGH, M. D. - -[Illustration] - - WASHINGTON, D. C.: - NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO., - 1900. - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1900 - - BY - - EDMUND K. GOLDSBOROUGH, M. D. - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - ❧❧ - - - _Ole Mars_, _Frontispiece_ - - _Page_ - - _Miss Sanson in the saddle_, _8_ - - _Ef’n you don’ git of’n dat cow I’ll whup you tell dere - ain’ no bref lef’ in you_, _14_ - - _Tench Tilghman_, _18_ - - _Anne Francis_, _20_ - - _Miss Henrietta’s gift that hung over the pulpit_, _28_ - - _Tench Francis_, _32_ - - _Mars Pinckney when a boy_, _48_ - - _Pawson Demby baptizing Tilly Mink just after cutting - ice_, _50_ - - _Mars Pinckney’s home, “Fausley,”_ _62_ - - _The picture on the face of the Moses clock_, _78_ - - _Mars Torm fishing in Black Creek_, _90_ - - _Rob Roy and Rose_, _94_ - - _Yo’ gwine ter merry uh King an’ hab thutteen chillun_, _106_ - - _Dem two gals, Marfy an’ Muhtilda, out da in de watah - sorf crabbin’, is meh gran’chillun_, _112_ - - _Deah gre’t gran’mammy gibs ’em too much cawn-bred, an’ - hit natchelly puts noshuns in deah haids_, _114_ - - _Ole Mars had de gre’tes’ confluence in meh ’rasity_, _118_ - - _Scipio Jonas Jones and Nimrod_, _120_ - - _So I bine meh haid up’n uh hankcheah an’ wen’ ter see - Ole Mars’ boutin Saul_, _128_ - - _Black Creek Falls_, _136_ - - _Ole Mistis at sweet sixteen_, _140_ - - _Ole Miss (Miss Henrietta)_, _152_ - - _Black Creek Ford_, _170_ - - _Skylark_, _172_ - - _Mars Matthew_, _174_ - - _Ezra_, _176_ - - _Miss Mary_, _182_ - - _Mars Arthur_, _184_ - - _Miss Sanson_, _190_ - - _Mars Torm_, _194_ - - _Ezra and the children_, _196_ - - _Mammy_, _212_ - - - - - INTRODUCTION - - ❧❧ - - -_My subjects are all typical Eastern-Shore-of-Maryland darkies, some of -whom “had erligion, ’longed ter de Babtis’ chuch an’ wuz monstus pious.” -Others danced, sang, played the banjo, fiddled, fished and frolicked in -Talbot County “Befo’ de Wah.”_ - - “_Ole Joe kickin’ up behin’ an’ befo’, - Yaller gal kirkin’ up behin’ ole Joe._” - -_Their smiling, shining, happy faces can be fully appreciated only by -those who played with them, heard them sing, preach and pray, and had -among them Mammies._ - - _To all such I dedicate this volume._ - -[Illustration: - - MISS SANSON IN THE SADDLE. -] - - - - - PERSONS REPRESENTED - - ❧❧ - - - _Parson Phil Demby_ - - _An adept in breaking colts and steers, and especially hearts. Can read - a wee bit and has a remarkable memory. Very gallant among the dusky - damsels. Has the best coon dogs on the plantation._ - - - _Uncle Reubin Viney_ - - _Sensible, truthful and pious. Sir Oracle among the negroes. Can read - some and is familiar with the Bible._ - - - _Damon Danridge_ - - _Courtly, intelligent and observant body servant to Rev. William - Pinckney. His bow would have charmed Beau Brummel._ - - - _Ezra_ - - _Quite as much of a beau as Rosin, and not as pious as the prophet._ - - - _Frisby Jemes_ - - _A pupil of Uncle Reubin Viney. Afraid of shirks [sharks]._ - - - _Scipio Jones_ - - _A firm believer in witches, ghosts and “spirits,” especially - applejack._ - - - _Hesakiah Sprouts_ - - _Would rather coon hunt than debate. A fiddler._ - - - _Little Billy_ - - _A crafty wag. Nimble witted._ - - - _Juba Viney_ - - _A fine singer and hymn raiser. Kinsman to Uncle Reubin._ - - - _Deacon Rasmus Jasper Jemes_ - - _A pompous, dandy darkey; very wise in his own conceit. A good - preacher._ - - - _Stephen Demby (Uncle Stephen)_ - - _A dear old servant. A devoted fisherman. Little and Bent._ - - - _John Poney_ - - _A very entertaining darkey. Took hold of his wool when he bowed to - you._ - - - - _Jerry Butler and Caesar Butler_ - - _Brothers. Very credulous and superstitious. Free negroes._ - - - _Horace Duley_ - - _Janitor._ - - - _Aunt Phillis_ - - _Gentle, sweet tempered, intelligent cook. Everybody liked Aunt - Phillis._ - - - _Tilly Mink_ - - _Chickens were afraid of her, and roosted high when she was about._ - - - _Sue Benson_ - - _A good natured, lazy housemaid._ - - - _Becky Williams_ - - _A faithful nurse._ - - - _Sister Chew_ - - _A dairymaid._ - - - _Mammy_ - - _Good as gold._ - - - _Nancy Young_ - - _A fortune teller._ - - - _Uncle David_ - - _Who loved his mule._ - - - - - CONTENTS - - ❧❧ - - - “_Fogitfulness_,” _21_ - - _Acts 7:8—“Ab’ham fogot Isaac, Isaac fogot Jacob, an’ Jacob fogot de - twelve Petracks [Patriarchs].”_ - - _Debate_, _34_ - - _Ef’n uh man er ’ooman hab salbation in deah hyarts, will dey be feard - ter babtize wha shirks [sharks] is._ - - _“Romp’s Mustake”—Doggerel_, _45_ - - _“Little Billy’s Pumpkin”—Story_, _47_ - - _Sermon—Psalm 63:6_, _60_ - - _Debate_, _76_ - - _From Zachariah 2:6—“Ef’n Ho Ho wan’ uh Chine er Japne, who wuz he?”_ - - _“Rash-nal an’ Pus-nal”—Doggerel_, _90_ - - _“De Composation ub de Snipe”—Story_, _91_ - - _“Nancy Young”—Story_, _100_ - - _“Mars Pinckney’s ’Simmons”—Doggerel_, _110_ - - _“Dem Days”—Story_, _112_ - - _“Dat Chrismus Cake”—Doggerel_, _126_ - - _“When Saul Run ’Way”—Story_, _127_ - - _“Let Us Meck Brick”—Sermon_, _137_ - - _“Juba Viney’s Yaller Pants”—Story_, _153_ - - _“His Bref Kinleth Coals”—Sermon_, _164_ - - _“Dat Auntydote”—Doggerel_, _171_ - - _“Ezra”—Story_, _173_ - - _“Mammy”—Doggerel_, _213_ - - _“Anah”—Story_, _215_ - - - - - “OTWELL.” - - -Otwell was originally an estate of some 2,000 acres, situated on a -beautiful peninsula, the land rich and productive, and the forest would -have charmed Silvanus. Here and there on the shores of the inlets grew -majestic oaks, black walnut, and immemorial elms. The peach, pear, -apricot, fig and other fruit trees flourished, and would have charmed -Eve, and the Cart House apples, Adam. - -The forest was entirely of lofty pines—many of the trees so large that -one tree made a canoe; they were made and used principally by the -servants and were in evidence almost everywhere. The forest had very -little undergrowth; the ground was carpeted and cushioned with pine -fallings, and the huntsmen were delighted when reynard was started -there. The murmuring of the wind in the lofty pine tops, the tongueing -of the hounds “like sweet bells jangled out of tune,” delighted the -hearts of the Tilghmans, Chamberlains, Dickinsons, Tripps, Robins, -Lloyds and many others that followed the hounds, horsemen of the -first-flight type. The hunt over, there was “The feast of reason and the -flow of soul.” - -The river was as lovely as the Bay of Spezia, and from its bed and -shores the canvas-back and red-head plucked the wild celery and -fattened. Fish, terrapin and oysters abounded, and the _mint_ -luxuriated. The Eastern Shore of Maryland was then as now the garden -spot and sunny side of creation. - -Before the hour of parting two songs were always sung, “Sportsman Hall” -and “The Bottle,” the former sent by The Beef Steak Club of London to -one of the above named gentlemen. I could give the words, rich and rare, -left me by my father, but delicacy forbids; both are exquisite double -entendres fit to sing before kings, but not before queens. - -There was a school at Otwell, taught by John Singleton and —— Garrick, -two fine belles-lettres scholars, to which came the Robins from Job’s -Content, Tilghmans from Plimhimmon, Chamberlains from Bondfield, Haskins -from Canterbury Manor, Morrises and Collisters from Oxford. John -Singleton’s sister was the mother of the eminent portrait painter, John -Singleton Copley, who on a visit to his Uncle at Otwell with his former -preceptor, Smibert, made portraits of Anne Francis, James Tilghman, -Matthew Tilghman and his wife, nee Annie Lloyd, whilst spending -Christmas there. - -[Illustration: - - Dem’s meh gre’t gran’ chillun an’ dey monstus bad! Ef’n you don’ git - of’n dat cow I’ll whup you till da ain’ no bref lef ’in you. -] - -Standing on his front porch Ole Mars Nickey viewed his broad acres, -whose shores were washed by the Tred-Avon, by crystal creeks, and coves -with beautiful mouths that kissed with briny lips the bosom of the -river. The windmill on the shore added to the scenery as its sails moved -languidly, grinding the wheat and corn for the negroes. - -To the south on the river side was the little town of Oxford, a tobacco -port, and riding at anchor was a brigantine from Liverpool, being loaded -with tobacco by Morris & Callister (Robert Morris and Henry Callister), -shipping merchants.[1] - -From the back porch, through a long, wide and high arbor entwined with -fruitful grapevines, you saw Otwell Creek, and the arbor-way led you -into a more enchanting garden than the one mentioned in “EZRA,” where my -fancy loves to wander, for “a thing of beauty is a joy forever.” - -It was some fifteen acres in extent. The encircling fences were so -overgrown with honeysuckle, clematis and trailing roses as to look like -a flowery hedge, with here and there lilacs and snowballs. The winding, -wooing walks were hedged with box, and bowing trees were caressed by -fruitful grapevines. It was a banqueting place for bees, and a paradise -for birds, from little Jennie Wren to the proud mocking bird, and they -filled acres of air with their melodious lays. - -Ezra loved to assist old Kurchibell, the Scotch gardener, and one day he -was heard to say, “Mr. Kurchibell ain’ no gyardner less’n he kill dem -plegon sassy catbirds and robins; dey jes spilin’ all dem cherries. I’m -gwine right straight an tell Ole Mars an Ole Miss!” Betimes Ezra would -saunter with basket on each arm to the garden and gather the dew-kissed -peaches, apricots, juicy melons and other fruits, and later cull the -100–leaf roses and assist the old gardener in distilling them. The rose -cakes left were tucked away in the house linen, the fragrance of which -in fancy I still inhale. - -The apple trees flung down so many blossoms that they covered the -ground. All are gone! so are the other fruit trees and fragrant vines. - - “Leaves have their time to fall - And flowers to wither at the North - Wind’s breath, - And stars to set; but all— - Thou hast all seasons for thine - Own, O death!” - -About the middle of the garden was a large bower, roughly made of cedar, -but as strong as Jacob’s ladder. Clematis, honeysuckle and beautiful -trailing roses covered its sides and dome-shaped top so thoroughly that -only here and there little sunbeams could pierce and play among the -interwoven vines and blossoms. In the center of the bower was a large -table, from which fruit was eaten, cards played, tea made (echo), and -love made! Almost within arm’s reach of the arbor was a brimming spring, -whose water was soft and pure as a dewdrop. The spring is there to-day, -and, like the brook, flows on forever. - -When the weather was dry Miss Henrietta dipped its pellucid water and -sprinkled the thirsty arbor vines, - - “But O! for the touch of a vanished hand - And the sound of a voice that is still.” - -Around the spring grew _mint_ in exuberance, that was as much cared for -as the foxhounds. Mayhap in that arbor Tench Francis tinkled the sides -of his glass in mixing _sugar_ and _grass with spirits_, sipped and read -letters from his gay and brilliant nephew, [2]Sir Phillip Francis, the -supposed author of the letters of Junius, then one of England’s Counsel -for India; maybe told all about his duel with Warren Hastings, then -Governor-General of India; for we know that his cousin, the beautiful -Anne Francis, visited “Otwell” with her husband, James Tilghman, who met -there his brother, Matthew, the great patriot, and his wife, who was -charming Anne Lloyd. There, too, Tench Tilghman, aide-de-camp to -Washington, and his wife, spent happy hours. Later his daughter married -the host, and there in luxury and loving kindness lived - - “OLE MARS an’ OLE MISS.” - -’Twas a very cold Sunday in December. The sun shone brightly, but the -wind was on a frolic. High-crested, white-capped waves leaped upon and -lashed the shore. Ole Miss, as usual, had service for the house servants -in the brick kitchen. She said the Lord’s prayer, read the 63d psalm, -commented upon their deportment for the past week and then they were -dismissed. - -Pawson Demby was to preach in the new Zion church, and the servants were -now on the lawn looking for the Plimhimmon, Bondfield and Job’s Content -boats. In those days visiting was done for the most part by water, the -numerous creeks, coves and bays making distance so great by land. The -servants used the eight-oared barges, boats of burden, with sails and -generally two masts, called a pinnace; they carried to the large -schooners wheat, corn and other cereals for the Baltimore market, and in -return brought hogsheads of molasses, sugar, coffee, rice, boots and -shoes for the servants. - -[Illustration: - - TENCH TILGHMAN. -] - -Presently Little Billy sang out, “Heah dey come!” and sure enough, -rounding Wind Mill Point and turning into Otwell Creek, were three -barges—tip-tap-toe—each pulled by eight lusty oars. The angry roar of -the waves, the struggling boats, the landscape and the breaking billows -made it a picturesque sight. Soon they were at the wharf. Most of them -were house servants, and it would be for me a hopeless task to describe -their raiment, the old-time courtesies, graceful bows and how-dys with -which they greeted one another. - -Those negroes were environed for generations with kindness, culture, -refinement and Christian teaching, so that many of them had finished -manners, knew perfectly - - “How ter wait - On Marster’s table an’ han’ de plate, - Pars de bottle when he dry - And brush away de blue-tail fly.” - -They were dependent, kind, obedient, full of music, contentment, and -happiness. The venom of the politician and carpetbagger had not stung -them. - -Greetings over, they all strolled to the new brick church, distant about -three-quarters of a mile. Like all the churches of that day, the pulpit -was much nearer heaven than the pews, and above it hung a picture given -them by Miss Henrietta. It had a bell, a clock—described in Ho-Ho—and a -fireplace large enough for half a dozen darkies to stand and warm -themselves. When all were seated Uncle Stephen was asked to pray, and -then Parson Phil Demby preached. - -His text was “Fogitfulness.” - -[Illustration: - - ANNE FRANCIS. -] - - - - - “FOGITFULNESS.”[3] - - -“Dat is de subjec’ ub my discose dis mawnin’ and I is preachen mo’ -’specially to de chillun in de meetin’ house. Uncle Reubin Viney an’ I -was a huskin’ cawn lars’ week an’ he tol’ me boutin dis tex’, and arsked -me to preach fum it; an’ you will find de ’zact words in de 7th chapta -ub Acts, 8th vus: ‘Ab’ham fogot Isaac, Isaac fogot Jacob and Jacob fogot -de twelve Petracks.’ Dem ole Petracks was a pow’ful fogitful race ub -people! Now, ten ub dem Petracks, Simeon, Levi an’ Zebulon, dey wuz Miss -Leah’s chillun (I fogit de names ub de res’ ub her chillun, but dey wuz -all Jews). An’ Joseph an’ Benjamin, dey wuz Miss Rachel’s chillun, an’ -de Bible say dey wuz saints. One ub ’em er his uncle, I fogit which, -foun’ some mules in de wilderness ez he wuz watchin’ his father’s sheep, -but he wuz so fogitful dat he didn’t gib de names ub de mules or how -many dey wuz—some people say da wan’ no mules at all, dey wuz all -Jackasses. Well, lemmy see—da wuz two mo’ ub Jacob’s sons (I dun mention -five), an’ I fogit deah Ma’s name, but deah names wuz Dan an’ Naptha, or -sompin’ like dat (I lef’ my specks hom’). I don’ think dey wuz Jews, er -Dukes like Esau’s sons, an’ I don’ ’zactly no deah ’ligion, but I specks -dem two wuz Babtis’s. ’Pears to me I hearn Uncle Reubin say so! -How-some-eber, all ub dem chillun ub Jacob’s wuz born in Panorama -[Padanaram] an’ dey’s all uh pow’ful fogitful race ub people. - -“Brudderin, da is nothin’ ez bad ez fogitfulness. Ef’n my memory wuz not -good (kase I lef’ my specks at hom’) I could not gib you any ub dese -beautiful names. Now, den, dese ten brudders wuz sent by deah Pa way -down in Egyp’ lan’ futto buy cawn fum deah eleventh brudder. An’ bless -yo’ soul, when dey got down da, dey didn’t eben no deah brudder—but he -no’d dem. Mebby de color ub his coat ’fused ’em. I tell you dem old -Petracks is a pow’ful fogitful race ub people. So wuz deah Ma’s an’ -Pa’s. Laban, de Granpa ub de Petracks, and prob’ly de bigist farmer in -dem days, wuz uh fogitful man. We is told dat Jacob (wonder why dey jes’ -call ’em Jacob), an’ Noahy, an’ Moses, an’ Peter, an’ Rasmus dey’s mos’ -ub ’em kings an’ dukes an’ sich like. I mus’ ask Uncle Reubin boutin -dat. Well, Jacob merried Miss Rachel, so he did, but I specks Jacob got -a little _het up_ at de weddin’. An’ Laban, he mus’ hab had some ros’ -apples wid apple-jack. Brudderin, apples is bin makin’ trubble eber -since Adam totch ’em—kase Laban he fogot which daughter Jacob wuz gwine -ter marry. ’Pears like Jacob fogot, too, kase he didn’t scover de -mustak’ till de nex’ mawnin’. An’ ’pears like Miss Leah an’ Miss Rachel -fogot. Now, wan’ dey uh fogitful lot ub people? De nex’ mawnin’ arfter -de weddin’—or as de Bible say, de feas’—when Jacob got up to milk de -cows an’ yoke de oxin, da was Miss Leah up, an’ shakin’ down de stove -an’ grindin’ de coffee. An’ Jacob say, ‘Wha Rachel?’ an’ Miss Leah say, -‘I dunno nuffin boutin Rachel.’ Da wuz uh mustak’ some wha, sho. So -Jacob merried ’em bof to be sartin an’ pleas’ Laban. No wonder dat de -Petracks wuz uh fogitful race wid four Ma’s an’ uh Pa all fogitful; an’, -mine you, Miss Rachel she wuz so fogitful seems to me her mine mus’ hab -been ’stressed, kase you recommember when her boys Jacob an’ Esau went -out an’ kilt uh deer, she fogot which kilt it—leas’wise it ’pears so. -Well, as fo’ dat, I specks de fus’ man, Adam, hissef was absen’-minded. -He sut’ny lubbed fruit. We all knows dat. An’ I specks he wuz hongry, -an’ mebby po’ Adam when he clum up de apple tree in de dark tho’t it wuz -uh peach tree—kase when a man is hongry he ain’ ’stressin’ hissef boutin -de fruit, so it’s good. An’ I specks he got ’fused ’bout de trees, kase -dat gyarden wuz full ub fruit trees, from apple trees clean down to -cucumbers and watermillions. - -“King Dabid come outin uh fogitful fam’ly. De Bible tell us dat in dem -days Pharez fogot Hezron, an’ Hezron fogot Ram——” - -Sister Becky (interrupting): “Pawson Demby, you mus’ mean Ham or Sham?” - -“Chile, I kin read; I means Ram! Dat’s what I mean! Ram wuz uh white -pusson; Ham wuz uh cullud pusson. Well, dey kep’ on fogittin’ till Jesse -fogot Dabid. But blessid to say, de lars’ one wuz not uh fogitter; he -recommembered mos’ too well—leas’wise fuh dese days. He had Uriahy kilt -kase he wuz rite smart tuck on Uriahy’s wife. In dese days it’s mo’ dan -de chuch ’low; how-some-eber, in dem days it didn’t stress uh pusson -ef’n uh man’s wife fogot him, kase dey had so many dey wouldn’t miss -’em, ’cep’in five er six lef’ ’em. Now, chillun, boys wuz bad in dem -days same as now. Po’ King Dabid’s son ’stressed him pow’ful, but he -neber fogot him, an’ he mus’ uh favo’d he Pa and bin uh monstus -fine-lookin’ chile, kase de Bible say—lemmy read it to you: ‘Ab-so-lum -wuz prais’ fuh he beauty fum de sole ub he foot ebin to de crown ub he -haid.’ An’ de king wuz gwine to meck a Babtis’ preacher outin him, but -he fogot his po’ father an’ run uh way; and what wuz de consequasion ub -dat boy’s badness? Sistus an’ chillun, it’s wussa dan stealin’ -watermillions er chickens; it’s mos’ ez bad ez dancin’ an’ playin’ de -fiddle on de Sabbuth. Well, de Bible tell us dat Ab-so-lum[4] rid ’pon -uh mule, an’ de mule went under de thick bows ub uh jack oak, an’ his -haid kotch hold ub de oak (I mean de haid ub little Ab-so-lum) an’ he -wuz’ tuck up ’tween de heaben an’ de uth; an’ de mule dat wuz under him -went ’way, an’ dat wuz de las’ ub po’ Ab-so-lum. Ez many hosses ez dat -ventersum chil’ mus’ uh had, an’ ez many ez his brudder Solomon had, -it’s quare to me why he rid uh ornry mule. Dey mus’ uh bin uh breed ub -mules an’ jackasses dat’s died out—kase mules an’ jackasses wuz de -favorite beases in dem days. - -“De chillun ub Ephram fogot de works ub de Lawd, an’ his wonders, arfter -he had rain down manner ’pon ’em to eat. Uncle Reubin say de manner wuz -mushrooms. De reason ub de flood, is kase de chillun ub man fogot deah -benefits. Dey wan’t satisfied wid creeks an’ ribbers, but dey mus’ -provok’ uh flood. Is dar any pusson in dis chuch dat would fogit Miles -Ribber? De Petracks would. Dunno though! Kase I reckin da wan’t no -ribbers in dem days lubly as Miles Ribber. Kin I eber fogit her wha’ I -wuz born? How it charm an’ conjur me when I goes fishin’, oysterin’ er -crabbin’ in de mawnin’s, when de ribber is cam. Den de trees is ’flected -in de watah an’ de heb’nly clouds meck rainbows in de watah. An’ dat -Miles Ribber is so clare when de trees is ’flected in de mawnin’ befo’ -de sun-up, you kin see de jewdraps on de leabes. An’ sometimes all day -long when de breeze is sorf de sun plays on de ripples, an’ when de sun -git tired an’ sink in de wes’ de moon plays on de watah sorter ridin’ de -canterin’ wabes. An’ de hooppo-wills sing, an’ de mockin’ birds chant, -an’ de wabes chases de moonlight, an’ de moonlight chases de wabes; an’ -de stars way down deep in de watah winks an’ twinks at yer, an’ dey -looks ez bright ez de eyes ub Phareoh’s daughter an’ almos’ ez sorf’ ez -uh possum’s. It’s uh sin to play on de fiddle, flute an’ fife, an’ to -dance, but, brudderin, it’s ’spirin’ an’ heb’nly to see de moon dance on -Miles Ribber, spreadin’ hissef on de top ub de wabes, makin’ dem de -color ub silver, jes’ like dear ole Missis hyah. - -“Yes! Pawson Demby born close to Miles Ribber, an’ he lubs de watah nex’ -to music. I’d lub to hab bin on de ark; dey tells me mos’ everything wuz -on it, so ’cose music wuz. An’ I wouldn’t be s’prised ef dat sweet -little cullud boy, Ham, didn’t play de banjo, an’ Sham de bones, an’ -’cose de udder brudder (I fogit his name) played! I reckin de hyarp. -Kase hyarps wuz in de fashin in dem days. Dear little Dabid used to play -de hyarp at night when he watched his Pa’s flocks, to make hissef feel -happy, an’ to skere de wolves an’ bars ’way. An’ he played fuh Saul er -his daughter, I fogit which. Wonder how dey got deah hyarp an’ banjo -strings dem days. Well, I kin almos’ see dat jus’ man, de captin ub de -boat, arfter all de beases bin fed an’ bedded, set down in de stern ub -de ship, take de rudder, lite his pipe, sigh fuh de watahs to cease an’ -long fuh his dove to come back. An’ when de moon ris I specks Ham chune -his banjo, Sham his bones, an’ de udder brudder wid a quare name, twank -de hyarp. An’ den dey mus’ hab played, ‘Roll, Jordan, Roll,’ ‘One Bright -Ribber to Cross,’ ‘Swing Lo’, Sweet Chariot,’ ‘Go Down Moses,’ till de -stars sunk in de skies, and de beases got relarmed. - -“Brudderin, we ain’t sung dat lars him fuh uh long time. Uncle Eph, you -rase it an’ we will sing some ub de vuses, so I kin res’ mehsef uh -little.” - - - GO DOWN MOSES. - - When Israel wuz in Egypt’s lan’: - Let meh people go, - Oppressed so hard dey could not stand, - Let meh people go. - - Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt land, - Tell ole Pharoh, Let meh people go. - - O, twuz uh dark an’ dismal nite, - Let meh people go; - When Moses led de Israelites, - Let meh people go. - - Go down, Moses, etc. - - O, cum ’long Moses, yo’ll not git los’, - Let meh people go; - Stritch out yo’ rod an cum across, - Let meh people go. - - Go down, Moses, etc. - - Yo’ll not git los’ in de wilderness, - Let meh people go; - Wid a lighted candle in yo’ bres’, - Let meh people go. - - Go down, Moses, etc. - - ’Twas jes ’boutin harvis’ time, - Let meh people go; - When Joshua led his hos’ divine, - Let meh people go. - - Go down, Moses, etc. - -[Illustration: - - Miss Henrietta’s gift, that hung above the pulpit. -] - -“Brudderin, da wuz one man dat wuz not fogitful, an’ a man we all should -intimate. I hab befo’ briefly ’luded to him. I say briefly, kase a -pawson mite talk boutin him fum de commencement to de closin’ ub a big -camp meetin’ an’ not git fur on de subjec’. He nebber fogot. T’ink ub de -animals he had to recommember, fum elephants clean down to coons an’ -’possums. Dey tells me he eben kep’ de chickens fum eatin’ up de -watermillion seeds. He wuz uh sailor, gyardner, farmer, blacksmith, -carpenter—King Dabid wuz no wha when he wuz ’bout. His name wuz Noahy. -Uncle Reubin say de elephants, whales and hippopotamusses wuz so big an’ -bad dat he chained dem outside de boat an’ let ’em float to make room. -An’ de shirks an’ crocodiles had et up all de dogs, sepin fo’ coon dogs. -So Noahy chained dem outside, too. ’Cose Noahy wuz uh gre’t animal -tamer, an’ I kin ondastan’ how he like so many animals, but I kyant -ondastan’ why he didn’t pisen dem shirks. De Bible tells ’bout -fishhooks, fishpools, fish spears an’ fishermen, an’ all ’bout Peter’s -gwine uh fishin’, an’ de five loaves an’ two fishes (dey mus’ uh bin -whales, kase dey fed so many)—but it don’t say nuffin boutin shirks. -How-some-eber, I specks when Peter’s net broke da wuz uh shirk in it, -kase when dey cum ’long da ain’ no use you takin’ up yo’ net, kase it’s -clean gone. Uncle Reubin say ef’n it wan’ fuh de pitch on de wood ub de -ark dey would hab chawed uh hole thoo huh. Dey’s kep’ many a sister fum -comin’ in de Babtis’ chuch, when dar’s only salt watah to dip in, like -it is down heah on de Easton Sho’.” - -Aunt Phillis Viney (interrupting): “Pawson Demby, ef’n dem sistus had -salbation in deah hearts dey wouldn’t keer fuh dem shirks any mo’ dan -little Moses keered fuh de Bull-rushes.” - -Voices: “Dat’s what I say, too!” “Yas, dat’s it!” “You done sed it.” -“Dat’s de law, Sistah Viney.” - -Tilly Mink: “I’s got salbation mehsef.” - -“Uncle Eph, will you pleas’ pars de barsket ’roun’? An’ I hope dis -congation will stop dis shirk ’citement an’ not be fogitful boutin de -collection. I exhort sistus an’ all heah present to gib lib’ly, an’ not -be like dem fogitful ole Petracks. - -“We will include by singin’ de three fus’ vusses ub him seventy-fo’.” - - Zion is de place fuh me, - Oh, I want to git da; - Zaccheus clum uh sycamo’ tree, - Oh, I want to git da. - - In de heb’nly hom’ we’ll all be free, - Oh, I want to git da; - De Angel Gabriel den we’ll see, - Oh, I want to git da. - - Mary an’ Marfa’s gone befo’; - Oh, I want to git da; - Baptized an’ shoutin’ on de golden sho’; - Oh, I want to git da. - -Pawson Demby requested Uncle Stephen to “Please led us in prayer,” -whereupon Uncle Stephen prayed as follows: - -“Sistus, brers an’ little chillun, recommember! Dat’s de qualificashun, -an’ don’ fogit it. Po’ Lot’s wife, she fogot, looked back, an wuz turnt -inter uh pillow ub salt. - -“Fogitfulness is wuss’n playin’ de fiddle, dancin’, an’ uh cuss’n one -nerr. Hits almos’ ez bad ez fishin’ on de Sabbuth day. Y-a-s, Lawd, -fogitfulness is bin uh ’stressin’ people ev’y sense Adam clum de apple -tree an’ eat dem apples. Ab-so-lum fogot his Pa’s ’structions, er he -wudn’ er rid un’er dat oak tree an’ let dat lim’ twiss his neck ef’n he -hadn’ bin frolikin’, I specks, wid dat ornry King Fario. Y-a-s, Lawd, -tech us ter recommember. De prodigal son fogot he Pa’s ways, an’ you -know de consequation. Sted ub fogittin’, meck us ter recommember; y-a-s, -Lawd, meck us ter recommember dat de debbil is uh rovin’ lion, seekin’ -who he may eat up.[5] Don’ let us be like Jacob, de Petrack, who fogot -hissef an’ tried ter rassel wid uh angel, an’ de fus’ fall he got his -leg wuz flung outin jint. - -“But da is one thing dat you kin fogit; hits dem shirks [sharks] in -Miles Ribber. Some ub our sistus is got de shirk fright so bad dey is -persidderin jinin’ de Presbyters. Sweet sistus, don’ yer do hit. Ev’y -man’s mouf ain’ uh prayerbook, an’ uh case orntried is hyard ter -justify. Persidder us, deah Lawd, burhol us, be wid us, cum down right -now in de spirit ub de lam’; cum right th’oo de roof, Ole Mars will pay -fuh de shingles. Dese moners is uh waitin’ fuh you. Y-a-s, indeed, cum -down dis minit an’ _cur-tail_ de work ub de debbil.” - -By this time old Harrison, Colonel Lloyd’s faithful and credulous -servant from “Wye,” became so much excited that he jumped up and -shouted, “Yas, Lawd, cum down an _cut_ he tail clean orf,” whereupon -Uncle Stephen arose, patting his hands, and singing: - - - DIDN’T MY LORD DELIVER DANIEL. - - Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel, - D’liver Daniel, d’liver Daniel, - Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel, - And why not a every man? - - He deliver’d Daniel from the lion’s den, - Jonah from the belly of the whale, - And the Hebrew children from the fiery furnace, - And why not every man? - - Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel, - D’liver Daniel, d’liver Daniel, - Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel, - And why not a every man? - - The wind blows East, and the wind blows West, - It blows like the judgment day, - And every poor soul that never did pray, - ’Ll be glad to pray that day. - -[Illustration: - - TENCH FRANCIS. -] - -The singing over, Parson Demby announced—“Befo’ goin’ I wan’ ter say dat -de deacons is so ’stressed ober ’mersion dey has ’cided ter hold uh -rebate in de Zion Chuch fo’ weeks fum nex’ Chusday, an’ de subjec’ -chusin will be, ‘Ef’n uh man er woman hab salbation in deah hyarts, will -dey be feared ter babtiz wha shirks is?’ Ef’n hits ’cided hits -dangersome, salbation er no salbation, I hope dis congation will git -somebody’s ice pon’, an’ ef’n dey kyant do no better, somebody’s big -hoss trough fuh de ’mersions. - -“I ’pints rebaters fuh dem dat’s not feared—Frisby Jemes, Hesekiah -Sprouts, Damon Mink. - -“Fuh dem dat’s feared, Uncle Reubin Viney, Juba Viney, Scipio Jones, -Horace Duley. I puts fo’ on de side ub dem dat’s feared, kase it’s de -weak side. - -“Judges—Pawson Phil Demby, Deacon Rasmus Jasper Jemes.” - - - - - DEBATE. - - -Ef’n uh man er woman hab salbation in deah hearts, will dey be feared -ter babtiz wha’ shirks [sharks] is? - -“Aunt Tillie, is de ’bate commence?” - -“No, indeed, honey, but you almos’ late fuh de feas’—dar’s resins, -ammons an’ dates lef’.” - -“Is dem dates? Bless Gord, I tho’t dey wuz dried ’simmons; well, I’ll -teck some resins an’ dates. How cum de ’bate not commence?” - -“Why, Phillis, dey got word ter ’speck three loads ub people fum -Kyarline County, an’ two loads fum Queen Anne’s an’ Kent.” - -“Now, hush!” - -“Y-a-s dey did! So dey’s waitin’; besides, dey ain’ got all de books -outin de kyart. Uncle Reubin Viney fotch uh wheelbarr load hissef, an’ -dey tell me Damon Mink is so ’thused fuh his side, dat fuh two weeks he -has bin speakin’ ter hissef. How cum you so late, Phillis? We had uh lot -ub plum-puddin’.” - -“Well, dat lars chile ub Miss Mary’s is pow’ful hyard ter put ter sleep; -when I commenc’ ter nuss de chile I had jes’ larnt dat new hym, “Git on -board little chillun’”, an’ I am sut’ny sorry Pawson Demby fotch dat hym -ter de chuch, kase dat chile mecks me sing it ober an’ ober, till I -sho’ly ’spise de chune. Mon dat, de chile wuz bo’n on de fus’ ub de -moon; lars yeah wuz leap yeah, an’ da wuz only three full moons, an’ dat -chile wuz bo’n on one ub dem moons. ’Cose Miss Mary kyant help dat. Dey -tells me cats bo’n on de full ub de moon neber mecks mousers, an’ -chickens hatched on de full ub de moon is fussin’ all de time and neber -mecks good layers. - -“I lef’ home plenty time er nuff ter git ter de feas’. De moon wuz so -bright I tuck de parf th’oo de peach archard, ’stead er gwine roun’ by -de road; you see, it cuts orf erbout uh harf mile. When I wuz ’bout harf -way th’oo de archard I saw in de parf uh hooppo-will singin’ fuh deah -life, goin’ jes’ like uh pump handle; an’ wussa yit, when I look good da -wuz two ub ’em. Dey say it’s bad luck fuh nine year ef’n you flush uh -hooppo-will, so what mus’ it be ef’n you flush two? I wudn’ hab flushed -dem two hooppo-wills fuh uh load ub watermillions—so I walked heah -erlong de ribber sho’; den I wuz almos’ skeer’d stiff, fuh I -recommember’d what I had fogot, an’ dat wuz, dat lars’ wintah Scipio -Jones wuz mus’-rattin’ an’ uh Jack-uh-ma-lantern tuck an’ led him in de -watah clean up ter his neck, jes’ erbout wha I wuz walkin’, kep him in -de ribber fuh two hours, uh laffin’ at an’ sassin’ him.” - -Aunt Tillie: “Served him right, fuh dem days he wuz al’ays trav’lin’ -’roun’ wid uh juice-hyarp in his mouf.” - -“Aunt Tillie, dey tell me Mars George’s Bob is broke his erligion an’ -tuck up his fiddle ergin. Howsome-eber, Mars Richard say de Bible tells -all erbout trumpets, shams an’ flutes, but you see dem trumpets wuz made -ub ram’s hohns; leas’wise de trumpets dat Gideon made de Pawsons play—so -Uncle Reubin say, so ubcose, dey wan’t bad like brass hohns; nobody kin -meck me bleebe dat playin’ on brass hohns wid keys an’ locks is right. I -think Pawson Demby orter keep ev’y one outin de chuch dat plays de -fiddle er hohns. John Poney’s son, Jim, is goin’ erstray; I hearn him -walkin’ ’long de road lars nite sorter twankin er tryin’ ter twank uh -cow’s hohn an’ singin’ loud ernuf futto almos’ bus’ hissef— - - I ain’ no tukkey buzzard - I ain’ no saint, - I ain’ no tukkey buzzard, - So glad I ain’t. - -“Now, wan’t dat scanlus? It’s jes’ ez bad ez fishin’ on Sunday. Dat’s -what gib Jim Brooks de brake-bone fever, fishin’ on Sunday; but de -doctor tole Kyarline, his wife, not ter be relarmed, but reposed; dat de -_bone-set_ tea he wuz ergibbin’ him would kow de wus kine ub brake-bone -fever. Doctor Dawson is sut’ny uh pow’ful doctor. Fuh instinct, meh arms -wuz all broke out. He say dey wuz too clean fum habin’ dem in soapsuds -too much, so he tole me ter grease meh arms wid goose grease befo’ I -commenc’ ter wash. Well, it made de skin sorf, kep’ de water outin de -poors, an’ it sholy cured meh arms. Aunt Betsy wuz ’tirely mustakin; she -say dat when I got het up washin’ da wuz uh checkeration ub -pusspuration, an’ dat made it. - -“I heah de bell ringin’, Aunt Tillie, so let’s go in, fuh dat mus’ mean -de speechifyin’ gwine futto commence.” - -Just as they entered Pawson Phil Demby said: “Sistus an’ brudders, de -fus’ ter pester dis subjec’ will be Brer Frisby Jemes; den Brer Rasmus -Jemes, den Brer Hesakiah Sprouts, an’ de gre’t speller an’ reader, Uncle -Reubin Viney. Da ain’ no use ub interjuicin’ ’em, kase almos’ ev’ybody -heah has kep’ company wid ’em.” - -Frisby Jemes: “I wuz ’pinted on dis side, an’ de mo’ I think erbout it -de mo’ I think hits de rong side; de fac’ is, meh mind is pow’ful -’stressed. You see, I bin rasslin’ wid bof sides ub de ’bate, an’ de -consequation is, I is bin dreamin’ ’bout ole shirks an’ young shirks fuh -two weeks, till I kyant res’; an’ I kyant see why dey tuck such uh fishy -subjec’ ter ’bate erbout. Reposin’ on erligion, I shall res’ meh remarks -on de salbation part ub dis ’bate, an’ I wan’ ter say rite heah dat -salbation an’ de funnel-shape pen is all dat will preserb you fum dem -shirks. We _mus’_ hab de pen, fuh ef’n da is anyone heah ornsartin -erbout deah faith, an’ nach’ly timid like many ub de sistus (_ub cose we -men ain’ feard_), dat pen mus’ be built an’ de rails kivvered wid tar, -ter keep dem shirks fum chawin’ de rails. Now, we kin make uh -funnel-shaped pen, an’ hab de mouf ub de funnel jes’ big ernuf fuh one -at uh time ter go in; de shirks, ub cose, kyant git in.” - -Wilson Small (interrupting): “Why kyant dey git in? Kyant dey jump same -ez you? Dey kin chaw up de pen. Dey is monstus sens’ble, an’ ef’n dey -raal hongry dey would jump in, tell dey fill dat pen an’ hab all ub dem -moners in uh cluster.” - -Damon Mink: “You kyant qualify what you say, an’ fum yo’ talk, uh pusson -mite s’pose de shirks know’d deah A. B. C.’s. Mon dat, you ain’ in dis -’bate! Wha you cum fum, anyhow?” - -“Fum Queen Anne’s County; I’m uh free pusson.” - -Damon: “Well, we don’ ’low no free niggahs ter ’bate heah!” - -“Suppose meh sistah ’longs ter Mars John Tilghman? What den?” - -“Set down; we ain’ talkin’ ’bout yo’ sistah, an’ dis subjec’ is -’stressin’ ernuf ’doutin you breakin’ de hyarts ub dese po’ sistus -talkin’ erbout _jumpin’_ shirks!” - -Hesakiah Sprouts: “Fris, you ain’ got salbation nuff in yo’ heart, dat’s -what’s de matter wid you! Ef’n you had uh bin wha Jona wuz, in de -whale’s belly fuh three days, you’d uh had spavins an’ cramps, kase you -wudn’ had any faith an’ condidence in de whale, but Jona did.” - -Frisby Jemes: “Hessa, ef’n you had bin ris’ by de qual’ty you wudn’ say -belly in de presence ub dese sistus; hits bad nuff in de presence ub -shirks. Den ergin, da ain’ no whales in dis ’bate.” - -Hessa: “Why, you don’ no nuffin erbout de Bible, Fris! Talkin’ ’bout -qual’ty; I reckon de prodigal son ’longed ter de qual’ty, didn’t he? His -father had plenty ub serbants, fuh de Bible say: ‘An’ when he cum ter -hissef he said, “How many hired serbants ub meh father’s hab bread ter -spare an’ I perish wid honger?”’ An’ now, lis’n to dis: ‘An’ he fain wud -hab filled his _belly_ wid de husks dat de swine did eat.’ Now, ef’n -Jona, de prodigal son, St. Matthew, King Solomon, Jerry Myah, Genesis, -an’ lars, but not leas’, John de Babtis, who all hab spoke on dis -subjec’, didn’ cum fum de qual’ty, wha’ did de qual’ty cum fum? I will -preserb de res’ ub meh remarks fuh de ’clusion.” - -Aunt Kyarline (in a whisper): “Hes, don’ you mine Fris; his haid bin -turnt since he bin drivin’ de coach fuh Ole Miss.” - -Uncle Reubin Viney was Sir Oracle among the negroes. He was very pious -and austere, looked like an old portrait, could read a little, and spent -his Sundays in reading and memorizing verses from the Bible. If he -talked to you five minutes he would quote something from the Bible. When -he got up all ears were listening, and all mouths were open. He said: - -“Sistus, brudders an’ chillun, I is bin readin’ an’ studdyin’ fuh three -weeks on dis ’bate, an’ Becky say she is tired ub dippin’ candles fuh me -ter read by. De young oxen I is brakin’ is de wus’ I eber han’led; so -worryin’ wid dem in de day time an’ rasslin’ wid dis ’bate at night, -mecks me truly glad dat de time is come ter arbiter. I shall try an’ -confine mehsef ter one word—watah. You will see de application pres’ny. -Sister Sue, meck dat boy teck his musrat gum of’n de pew; you kin set -yo’ musrat gum in de mash ez much ez you want, but not on dese pews, -kase dey’re sanctified. - -“We read in de fus’ book ub Gensis, ’dat a ribber went out ub Edum ter -watah de gyarden,’ an’ in Sams, ‘He maketh me ter lie down in green -pastures, he leadeth me beside de still watahs.’ De _still_ watah wuz de -drink ub Mars Adum an’ Miss Eve in deah Edum home. Da wan’ no snakes, -shirks, frogs, whales, er crockdiles in dat watah, fuh de Bible -spressify hit wuz _still_ watah. An’ mon dat, it mussa bin fresh, kase -dey drunk it, an’ it mussa bin jes’ ez clare ez uh jewdrap, fuh I heah -uh gre’t Meffodis’ preacher say: ‘It ’flected back de lubliness ub Miss -Eve when she dress hersef.’” - -Aunt Tillie: “Uncle Reubin, Miss Eve didn’ hab no clos’ ter dress wid!” - -Uncle Reubin: “Well, I didn’ say what sort she put on; mout erbin -crows-foot, spechly ef’n de fros’ had kilt de fig leaves, er it mout -erbin Firginny Creeper, er she mout uh rap hersef in clusters ub -grapevines; we all no dar wan’ no fashion in _dem days_. - -“De Bible say: ‘Ez in water de face anserreth ter face, so de hart ub -man ter man;’ so de water wuz Miss Eve’s lookin’ glass, dat’s what it -mean; an’ all dat watah wuz fresh; de consequation wuz, da wuz no shirks -in it.” - -Jim Brooks, from Queen Anne’s County: “I rid 20 miles ter heah dis -’bate, an’ I wan’ ter no what watah got ter do wid it. Ev’body seems ter -hab fogot de shirks.” - -Uncle Reubin: “I has jes’ ’cited uh vus fum Sams, an’ I will ’cite an -nerr fum Proberbs: ‘Tho’ thou shouldst bray uh fool in uh morter ’mong -wheat wid uh pessal, yet will not his foolishness depart fum him.’ Why, -Brer Brooks, ef’n it hadn’ bin fuh watah de twelve Petracks mout neber -bin bo’n. De narration say dat Mars Jacob met Miss Rachael at de well, -an’ ef’n de well had uh bin dry he mout neber hab met de mudder ub de -Petracks. - -“Now, what wud dat gyarden bin ’dout plenty watah? Dey wud uh lef’ it, -an’ got an nerr gyarden; fuh not only Mars Adum an’ Miss Eve baved in -dat Paradice watah, but de seeds an’ de vegetables sipped it, de flowers -when deah faces got dusty, washed in it, de cups ub de blossoms hilt it, -I specks, till de watah tu’n inter perfume, an’ I kin almos’ see de -jewdraps hangin’ on ev’y leaf, mo’ lubly dan uh oyster pearl. It makes -Uncle Reubin glad when he looks at watah, fuh it tu’ns our mills, gibs -us cawn bred, brings de big schooners wid our boots, shoes, clothes an’ -mullasses, an’ when de tide comes in, ’specially at sundown, when de -birds is goin’ ter deah nesses, an’ de busy bees is wanderin’ home, da -is nuffin I lubs mo’ ter look at, it’s so quiet an’ repose. No place kin -be lonely ef’n watah is da; but it’s uh sad thing, too, fuh what is mo’ -’stressin’ dan eyes full ub tears. But mos’ ub all, young people ub dis -chuch don’ fogit dat watah wash yo’ sins uh way, an’ meck you ez white -ez de lam’. But I am condident da is only one kind fit fuh ’mersion, an’ -dat’s fresh watah.” - -Sister Sue: “Dat’s it; now yo’r climin’ dem golden stairs, Brer Viney!” - -Sally Mink: “Blessid be his brow, he’s fairly chantin’ de songs ub de -Sams.” - -Mrs. Rodgers’ Ned: “I is convicted, Brer Viney, an’ I plays de fiddle no -mo’!” - -Uncle Reubin: “Now, you begin ter see de application. Jordan, wha’ John -de Babtis, wuz ’mersed, is fresh watah. Not far fum Jordan is de dead -sea, which has mo’ salt dan Miles Ribber, kase it will float uh man same -ez uh egg; but de ’Postles tuck de fresh watah, kase I hab no doubt -skirks wuz bad in dem days, an’ prob’ly wusser, ’speci’lly in de dead -sea. Jes’ think ub our dear sistus, trem’lin’, soaked wid faith an’ -salbation, speckin’ ev’y minit ter hab deah legs bit orf! Da ain’ uh -sistuh in dis chuch dat ain’ had chills dis spring. De cold watah got -nuffin ter do wid it; it’s shirk fright; dat’s what’s de matter wid ’em. -But blessin’s cum in disguise, an’ Providence mus’ hab brought dis -’bate, fuh it sot me ter readin’, thinkin’ an’ prayin’, an’ I am -confluent we will all hab ter be babtize a-_fresh_; den da will be mo’ -moners, mo’ shoutin’, an’ bless Gord, no shirk fright. I shall hab mo’ -ter say ef’n de application ain’ well ondastood.” - -Hesakiah Sprouts (in a whisper): “Pawson Demby, uh young man jes’ cum in -wants ter speak ter you. He is bashful; bin peepin’ an’ lis’nin’ at de -do’. Mebby Uncle Reubin’s speechifyin’ hab made salbation in his heart.” - -“Jes’ so! Young man, who you ’long ter? Mars John Skinner? Well, wispuh -what’s in yo’ heart; don’ be feared, kase salbation’s free!” - -“Pawson Demby, yo’ dogs is treed uh coon ’cross Peach Blossom Creek. Meh -boat is on dis side.” - -Pawson Demby: “Belubbed sistus, as Brer Viney’s gre’t an’ pow’ful speech -has fuh _ever_ ’cided dis question fuh fresh watah, it is move, secon’, -an’ carried, dat dis meetin’ ’jurn.” - - - - - ROMP’S MUSTAKE. - - - Lars Sunday night me[6] an’ Fred went ter de swamp - An’ it wan’ many minits fo’ we heahd ole Romp - Talkin’ ter hissef, an’ tree’in’ up’n uh pine - Dat wuz all obergrow’d wid uh big grapevine. - - Speak ter him Romp! Mus’ be uh ’possum, Fred, - De way dat dog is cacklin’ an’ losin’ ub he hed. - An’ feedin’ on dese fros-bit grapes an’ fat - Ef he won’ meck yo’ lip go flip-flop, teck dis hat. - - Well, it won’ be long fo’ de breck ub day; - An’ de possum, showly, he kyant git ’stray, - So den I’ll clime dat little black-gum tree; - Dat pine’s too full ub grapevines futto see. - - De day broke clare, an’ up’n de tree I clum, - An’ in dem grapevines, twixt de pine an’ gum, - A ressin ub his’self, yaller, slick an’ fat, - Da lay uh gre’t big ornry Thormas cat! - - I tuck uh match an’ lit de varmint’s tail, - An’ when he jump po’ Romp an’ Fred dey wail; - Dat yaller Thormas cat, on fire, ub cose, - Dey tuck to be uh red-hot, flamin’ ghose! - - Romp ain’ no use fuh night dog any mo’, - An’ neber ter de swamp he wants ter go; - An’ when he comes uh cross uh wile grapevine - He al’ays gits relarmed an’ ’gins ter growl an’ whine. - - Ef Romp had bin ub houn’ blood, stid ub cur, - He’d know’d de difference in de scent ub fur. - So arfter dis I wants uh thorrybred; - When dey speaks up’n uh tree you ain’ misled. - - But if I steals de finis’ thorrybred - Da ain’ no use ub praisin’ him ter Fred— - He’s jined de chuch. Dat yaller Thormas cat - He tho’t uh ghose is all de cause ub dat. - - I ’gin ter think mehsef dat cat uh witch, - Fuh in de swamp ef it is dark ez pitch, - An he cum out! de branch it looks so bright - De brabest niggah’s obercome wid fright. - - I ’spises cats, an’ fuh dem hab no use, - But it’s mos’ time I’d ended wid uh buse, - Fuh when I think erboutin’ “Romps mustake” - Dis haid ub mine cummences soon ter ache. - - - - - LITTLE BILLY’S PUMPKIN. - - -Hayland Meadow was some ten miles in length, and on the upper half, used -for growing timothy and for grazing, here and there stood -aristocratic-looking trees—poplar, black-walnut, majestic oaks, imposing -and graceful elms. The lower half was thickly wooded with smaller trees -of many varieties, among which flourished the persimmon. Nature had with -generous hands festooned many of the trees with wild grapevines, and -when these were in bloom and twilight dews fell upon their blossoms, -they filled that meadow with a delicious fragrance, sweet enough for -Eden; every dewdrop in the dell seemed perfumed. - -Through this vale, over mossy stones and snowy pebbles, chattered and -meandered a crystal creek which joined other streams and emptied at -Hayland marsh into Miles River. - -The woodcock nested there, and in warm June days dozed under the shade -of the fine old trees; and there the oriole sang a lullaby to her -hanging cradle that rocked in the wind. - -The tranquilness of the place was never disturbed save by the canticles -of song birds and the almost nightly baying of some coon dog, for until -of late the darkies never thought of going anywhere else to put up coons -or ’possums than “Haylan’” Branch, as they called it. - -Little Billy was not pious, and, if he knew his prayers, never said -them. He doted on all sorts of sports, and, though a poor shot, entered -all the turkey-shooting contests Thanksgiving Day. He chewed the best -tobacco, danced with the dancers, played the banjo and jewsharp, always -had a jug of molasses, a pair of gum boots, fiddle-strings and -fiddle—all purchased with his coon, ’possum and muskrat money. - -Scipio Jones’ experience had pretty well frightened off Miles River Neck -hunters (see “Romp’s Mustake”), but of late darkies from Queen Anne’s -and Caroline Counties had been hunting Hayland Branch, and Billy became -jealous, wanting to be the only hunter, and sought to get his Mars -Pinckney, who owned the meadow, to help him; and his success was more -than he anticipated. - -“Romp’s Mustake” had been talked about until the story had so grown that -most of the darkies thought the cat a ghost, and among the converts was -Scip’ Jones. The matter was discussed at bush meetings, corn-huskings -and cake-walks; so after the christening of Mollie Jones’ son (Scipio -Jonas Jones) at Zion Church, John Poney, Uncle Stephen Demby and Scip’ -Jones were appointed to investigate Hayland Branch. - -[Illustration: - - MARS PINCKNEY WHEN A BOY. -] - -Billy was at the christening, of course, and wanted the ghost story to -flourish, as it kept Talbot coon hunters from the branch. So he told his -Mars Pinckney that “niggahs cum fum Kyarline an’ Queen Anne’s County ter -hunt dat mash an’ branch, an’ ’skusin’ de Talbot hunters, he wouldn’ be -s’prised ef dey som’ time, when dey hongry, teck de oysters fum de -cove;” (Billy did)—“an’, young Marster, won’ you qualify me ter say dat -de branch hanted pow’ful?” - -His Mars’ Pinckney said with sternness: “Billy, that is not the truth! I -want, however, to keep rogues and intruders out, and I will make and -give you something that will scare every nigger out of my meadow from -this day forward forevermore.” - -So his Mars Pinckney, full of youth and deviltry, took a big pumpkin, -cut a hole through the top and bottom, and through the latter pushed a -tallow candle with a big wick. He cut eyeholes and a mouth, and, at -Billy’s suggestion, tacked on a medium-sized cucumber for a nose, and on -the sides or cheeks of the pumpkin, put sheepskin for whiskers, as Billy -said, “ter meck hit look sassy;” and then a grapevine was trimmed up and -tied through the top, and Billy was instructed what to do. - -Parson Phil Demby was to baptize some sisters the next day—Sunday—and -Billy thought that a good time to consummate his plans. - -It was very cold. The boys were skating, and the sisters were dipped -where the farmers had been cutting ice the day before. When Tilly Mink -was shoved under she had one of her pockets full of apples. The water -shocked her so, she immediately commenced to throw her arms around, -pawed the bottom, pawed Parson Demby overturned an’ thoroughly drenched -him (it was an honest dip) and pawed and tore the pocketful of apples; -and when Little Billy saw the apples come popping up, bobbing like -net-corks, and the Parson’s haste to get on dry land, he called out: - -“Jes’ gib huh ’nubba dip, Pawson Demby; huh sins is cummin’ up fum huh -in clustahs!” - -The negroes on the shore thought salvation at last had struck Billy, -and, the immersion over, they crowded about him. - -Billy in a moment embraced his opportunity, and after a few remarks -about the cold, wanted to know where he could buy another coon dog; -expatiated upon the coon and ’possum tracks he had recently seen in -Hayland meadows, and further said, apparently unconcerned: - -“I kyant ondastan why dey don’ hunt dat branch mo’. Ef’n I had uh nubba -dog (Jasper is foot-sore, an’ I gwine ter git one), I’d pestah dat lubly -branch when ebnin’ cum, an’ ornless hit snow er rain, I’d hunt ev’y parf -in it.” - -[Illustration: - - Jes’ gib huh an-nubba dip, Pawson Demby, huh sins is cummin’ up fum - huh in clusters! -] - -Then and there the witch committee arranged for a hunt the next night. -They asked Billy to go, but “he wuz gwine ter Kyarline County futto buy -uh dog.” - -The moon was new and went down about 11 o’clock, and Billy calculated -they would be along about that hour. So, holding the grapevine in his -hand, he climbed a _witch-elm_ tree, threw the vine over its slippery -limb, rested his pumpkin-face on the ground, and whilst he was -“meddowtatin’” he heard the voice of Scipio say to his thoroughbred -hound: “Put ’im up, Noahy!” and later, “I like de stile an’ rovin’ ub -dat dog, don’ you, Uncle Stephen?” - -Uncle Stephen said, “Monstus fine! Carry hissef jes’ like uh houn’ I -hunted over lars’ wintah in Kyarline County dat wuz stole fum de man dat -los’ him; an’ I heah him say he hope dat dog tree nuffin fuh de pusson -dat stole him ’ceppin’ ghos’es, witches an’ sperrits, an’ ef’n he ebba -ketch him, dis uth wud trimble when he twiss he neck.” - -Scip’s eyes began to feel too big—his roguery rebuked him; Noahy was the -stolen dog. But his conscience was momentarily relieved by Noahy’s -giving tongue, and was tickled and delighted when Uncle Stephen said: - -“Dat’s uh coon, an’ dat’s uh qualified coon dog; uh sweetah tongue I -ain’ heahd sence Mars’ Nickey’s Jerry-Myah died, name arfter a profit; -an’ he wuz a profit, too.” - -By this time they were all in a brisk trot, Uncle Stephen grumbling -about the pace and declaring he could not keep up. - -The witch committee were about one hundred and fifty yards from Billy, -and when he saw the dog some thirty yards off, and hunting towards him, -he quickly lit the tallow candle and slowly pulled the pumpkin face a -few feet from the ground. Noahy saw it in a moment, retreated and yelped -like a wild dog. All was consternation, and all hearts went pitapat. -Presently Uncle Stephen, who had the most courage, said: - -“’Pears ter me dat dog cum ’long wid som’ varment he ain’ ’quainted wid. -I had a composation yistiddy week wid uh coon hunter I’s knowed fuh uh -long time, an’ he say dogs dat ain’ ris on de watah al’ays gits skeered -de fus’ time dey see pompusses an’ shirks playin’ on de ribber sho’.” - -Scipio caressed the dog with trembling hands, and said: - -“I don’ ondastan’ de ’spression ub dis dog. Otters is ornpropper -varments ter projic’ wid; maybe he s’prised a sleepin’ otter, an’ de -otter smack him, an’ den babtiz him in de creek tell he mos’ drown. Dey -will do it! ’Specially on de new moon.” - -John Poney said: “De dog mus’ uh scent dat witch Scipio bu’n de tail ub, -sted killin’. Hit wuz ornrichious not ter kill dat witch, an’ de fus’ -ting we know, de witch will hab young uns, an’ den dis branch will hab -ter be gib up, kase uh branch full ub scan’lous witches is wuss’n uh -woods full ub sperrits.” - -Scipio Jones (affrighted): “Don’ talk dat way, Brer Poney.” - -By this time Billy had slowly pulled his pumpkin face some twenty feet -from the ground, and as the _witch-elm_ bow was gently moved by the -breeze, it gave the pumpkin face such a weird look that even Billy got -_lonesome_. Uncle Stephen, less timid and more observant, though behind, -was the first to see the pumpkin face. With a gasp, and dropping quickly -on his knees, he wailed: - -“Ef’n you is a ghos’, Mars’ Ghos’, I ’spec you is uh ghos’, an’ ef’n you -is uh witch, my Mistis Witch, I ’spec you is uh witch! I nebber sed -nuffin ergin ghos’es an’ witches in meh life, an’ I’s 70 year ole—an’ -nebber see an’ bleebe in witches an’ ghos’es; but I bleebe now, ’fo’ de -Lawd, I do! an’ now I ondastan’ why dis branch so full ub _witch-elm_ -an’ _witch-hazel_ trees.” - -Just then Billy gave his grapevine a gentle pull, bobbed the pumpkin, -and Uncle Stephen, more frightened than ever, exclaimed in great -humility: - -“O Lawd, ’fen’ Stephen, an’ let he salbation resis’ dat witch, an’ de -witch resis’ he salbation, an’ keep de witch fum leadin’ po’ Stephen -ter”—— - -“Is you got de kramps, Uncle Stephen?” half frantically exclaimed Scip’. -Uncle Stephen pointed his trembling hands at the witch-elm tree, and -Scipio and John saw the pumpkin face. - -A few minutes thereafter Uncle Stephen was trotting homeward -alone—tired, dejected and scared almost out of his senses, and every now -and then ejaculating, as he stumbled and trotted along: - -“Dat orn’ry niggah, Scipio Jones, done breck up coon huntin’ in dis -branch!” - -Scipio and John ran until they came to a haystack some two miles away, -in which they made a hole and hid themselves until daylight, when Scipio -took Noahy back to his owner. - -On Sunday next Parson Demby gave notice “Dat Scipio Jones had got -salbation in he hyart, an’ wud be babtiz’ Sunday cummin’.” - -There was a great difference of opinion among the committee as to the -appearance of the witch, and this was their testimony: - -Scip’ thought “Hit wuz erboutin ez big ez uh cow, an’ had hohns ez long -ez uh fencerail.” - -John Poney thought “Hit wuz ’boutin de size ub uh shock ub wheat, wid -eyes ’bout de size ub buckets, an’ uh mouf ’bout ez big ez uh shirk’s.” - -Uncle Stephen said he “Wuz sho’ de face wuz ’boutin ez big ez uh barrel, -an’ melted lead run fum he nose, an’ pusspuration ub fire drapped fum -all ober he face, an’ ebbry time de win’ blow his eyes wink an’ his mouf -larf.” - -A few days after the ghost investigation Little Billy went over to the -quarters of Uncle Stephen to hear the news, and found the old man -putting his little grandchild to sleep and singing: - - Sooky licked de ladle, - An’ de baby rocked de cradle. - Rock—— - -Billy interrupted him, saying: “Howdy, Uncle Stephen?” - -The old man was glad to see him, nervous and startled, too, for he had -not gotten over his witch fright. - -“Po’ly, Billy, ve’y po’ly; pow’ful mis’ry in meh back an’ legs.” - -Billy said, in an innocent sort of way: “I jes’ bought fum Kent County -de fines’ kin’ ub coon dog—cross ’tween uh houn’ an’ rat-tan-terrier—an’ -I drap in ter arsk ef’n you won’ teck uh hunt wid me in Haylan’ Branch -to-night. Tell me hit’s full ub coons, an’ uh hunt mout do yo’ back -good.” - -Uncle Stephen gave Billy a solemn, stern look and said: “I wan’ nuffin -ter do wid coons, ’possums er ’coon dogs. Scip’ Jones an’ John Poney dey -bof exerted me. I’s los’ meh tase fuh night hun’in’; an’ when you heah -de ’po’t ub de witch committee, you will sell yo’ dog, kase when dat -’po’t gits knowed, da won’ be no use fuh coon dogs, leas’wise ’roun’ -heah. I had uh talk wid Caesar Butler yistiddy, an’ he say: ‘He sho’ dat -Haylan’ Branch witch tuck an’ stole he ’possum fum de ashes lars’ fall, -an’ bin stealin’ he oystus all wintah.’ Now de wexin’ quession is, What -we gwine ter do? Hit wud not s’prise me ef’n I move fum de county.” - -“Uncle Stephen, what wuz de ’port ub de witch committee?” - -“Well, dey met lars’ night over Bennett Tumlinson’s wheelwright shop. -Pawson Demby wuz chusen ter teck de cheah. Den we hed uh long -composation an’ hit wuz ’cided dat ghos’es may lib in cows’ hohns, but -witches don’—leas’wise de breed dat’s in Haylan’ Branch. We also ’cide -dat ef’n all de cowhohns in Miles Ribber Neck wuz made inter one hohn, -hit wud be too small fuh de witch ub Haylan’ Branch ter ’pose in. Hit -wuz also ’cluded dat de sperrit in Haylan’ Branch wuz uh witch, kase hit -hab whiskuhs, an’ ghos’es don’ hab whiskuhs. Pawson Demby say he sho’ -hit’s de same breed ub witches dat’s spok’ ub in Samuel de Fus’, and dat -we mus’ stop coon hun’in’, hintimate Saul, an’ all go ter witch hun’in’ -an’ witch killin’. Dat de Bible ’splicitly spressify in de book ub -Ex-odus: ‘Thou shal’ not suffah uh witch ter lib.’ Pawson Demby mus’ be -mustakin’. Hit kyant be de same breed ub witches Saul kilt, an’ ef’n dey -is, dey’s grown monstus since dem days; an’ I bleebe ’sted ub de -brudders ub Zion Chuch ’stroyin’ de witches, de witches will ’stroy de -brudders. Talk ’bout babtizin’ in de presence ub shirks! I’d rudder -sleep wid shirks dan see dat witch ergin. Hits de lars’ time I’s gwine -on any committee! Mo’n dat, I’s made up meh min’ ter jine uh chuch dat -don’ ’low coon huntin’, an dat chuch is de Presbyters.” - -After the war Billy, old and dispirited, drifted to a small town in -Maryland. His independence, quaint humor (narrations and mirations) soon -attached the townspeople to him, who kept him in tobacco, clothed and -made him comfortable. Billy never tired of expatiating upon his old -home, haunts, ole Miss and ole Mars. It was his nature to exaggerate, -and he told about the fo’-in-hands he drove (he never drove) until it -got to be a joke; and they would tease him and say they had heard he -only drove mules and steers, which made him furious, and he would -brandish his cane at his accusers. - -When Mr. Cleveland was first elected President Billy was very much -disturbed. He thought all the negroes would be sold into slavery, and -his loquaciousness and solicitude suggested the following joke, which -was played upon him to the amusement of the township: - -At several places in the town, to which Billy’s attention was called, -printed notices were tacked up that on a certain day all negroes in -Maryland would be sold to the highest bidder. When Billy saw it, he -swore lustily, and on the day of sale he was made to stand on a -goodsbox, and cried to the highest bidder. It was a very funny sight. -Billy said: “Ef’n ole Mars, er Miss Henrietta wuz erlive dey’d kill -ebery lars’ one ub you.” - -The spectators walked around him, looked in his mouth feigning to tell -his age, and praised his noble appearance. Billy looked scornfully at -the laboring people, some of whom had been instructed to bid on him, and -graciously at the gentry present. A pretended buyer asked if he belonged -to the church. - -Billy said: “I don’ ’long ter no chuch, an’ I ain’ gwine ter jine, an’ -gib up meh fiddle an’ banjo.” - -Just then some one looked him over and said: “Splendid, honest face! I -will give $5,000 for him.” - -Billy said, with great pomposity: “I al’ays knewed uh quality niggah, -an’ I’s glad ter be uh slabe, ef’n uh gemman buy me. I tole de niggahs -ef’n dey wote de Dimcrat ticket dey’d all be sol’ ergin, but dey sech -ornry fools.” - -Finally a man said $5,000 was nothing for him; he would give $10,000. -Whereupon a carpenter nailing shingles on a roof within earshot of the -sale, knowing Billy’s weakness for talking about his ole master’s -horses, and thinking to draw him out and please him, asked: “Can Billy -drive a carriage?” Whereupon Billy broke up the sale by saying: “What in -de h—l you wan’ ter know fuh? You nebba own uh kerridge.” - - - - - SERMON.[7] - - -Befo’ preachin’ I gib notice dat Miss Henrietta gwine ter gib uh -cake-walk Chris’mus night ter all de serbents ’ceppin’ Scipio Jones. Dar -will also be uh feas’ in de brick kitchen arfter de walk. De ’freshments -will be uh cake ub figs, two clustahs ub resins, harf bushel ub kisses, -pancakes, an’ uh keg ub molasses. Some sistuh at de rebate ax Aunt -Phillis how she cook pancakes. She ’ques’ me ter say: “Three eggs bet up -light, wid uh pint ub milk an’ uh pint ub flower, den add uh -tablespoonful ub butter an’ lard, den cook, _de mo’ carelesser de -better_.” - -All de chillun dat got bladders hog killin’ time an’ kep’ ’em, kin bus’ -’em Chris’mus night arfter de cake-walk. - -Mollie Jones will also hab her two chillun chrissin. She qualify me -futto say de names chusin will be Scipio Jonas Jones an’ Nimrod. - -De c’lection lars’ Sunday wuz 83 cents. Aunt Phillis wuz sick wid de -rumatiz an’ wan’ heah. She ’ques’ me ter gib notice when she cum she -will gib uh levy—dat will make 95½ cents. - -De deacons has ’cided ter buy wid it, de new strain ub watermillion -seeds, call de Annarandal Sweets. - -Dey will be put in little packs, an’ straws will be drawed fuh de packs. - -Da will be uh fes-ti-val in de meetin’ house nex’ monf. De money made -will be tuck ter buy uh kyarpet to go ’roun’ de pulpit. Some ub de -brudders fum Kyarline has promis’ twelve gourds, uh new kine wid curled -handles, one bushel ub sweet potatar slips, eight ’possums, an’ fo’ new -mus’rat gums. - -I am charm ter say de deacons has secur’d fum Mr. Plummer fuh 25 cents -uh monf de priblig ub babtizin’ in de Wye Mills dam, ’ceppin in de -winter, _jes’ befo’ dey cut ice_. - -You will find meh tex’ in de 63 Sam, 6 Vus, writ by King Dabid when he -wuz in de wilderness ub Juda an’ hidin’ hissef in de mountain ub Zip. - -“When I recommember de ’pon meh bed, an’ meddowtate on de in de night -watches.” - -Sistus, brudders an’ little chillun, we might fill dis chuch full ub -some ub Mars Nickey’s craps, cawn, oats, wheat, hay, fodder, an’ -buckwheat, an’ fill de corners wid spider’s webs, wasp nesses, mouse -beds an’ sich like, hab de chuch jam full, an’ ubcose when it full it -kyant be any fuller, den dey wud hab ter go ter de bawn; but dat what -dey call mem’ry require no bawn. It can be packed jes’ like dis chuch, -ev’y crack filled, ev’y little hole chinked, an’ yit da wud be plenty ub -room. - -Ef’n yo’ mem’ry wuz chock full ub all de chunes in de Zion hymbook, an’ -uh camp meetin’ cum wid 500 new hyms, dat mem’ry wud right straight meck -uh place fuh dem chunes an’ teck ’em in widout crowdin’ anything. - -Ef’n de Angel Gabrul wuz ter meet you, an’ gib you ’struction fuh uh -week, an’ say: “I miricle you ter recommember all dis Scriptur’,” dat -strange thing called mem’ry wud in uh moment make room, de mos’ triflin’ -thing wud not be ’sturbed. Oh! it’s uh pow’ful thing, mem’ry. “When I -recommember de ’pon meh bed”—dat’s de application. What wud we do -widoutin mem’ry? - -[Illustration: - - MARS PINCKNEY’S HOME. “FAUSLEY.” -] - -S’pose, fuh instinct, de tremlin’ stars _fogot_ ter cum out ter keep -deah faithful watch; s’pose de moon fogot de stars an’ lay uh sleep fuh -six months. But wussa still, s’pose de sun fogot de sunrise, sunset an’ -twilight, an’ as de Bible say, “Darknes’ brooded ober de deep.” Mars -Pinckney say, “No wegetables an’ plants wud grow, ’ceppin pisin ones; de -trees wud all die, da wud be no birds singin’ ’ceppin de martingales an’ -hooppo-wills, no bees hummin’, no flowers bloomin’, no playful colts an’ -skippin’ lam’s—it wud be like de lars’ day fuh sinnahs.” But I heah -somebody cummin’ long talkin’ ter hissef. It’s mem’ry, an’ he meck de -stars say: “I recommember an’ lub de young moon, de harf moon an’ de -harves’ moon.” Den de man in de moon say, “’Cose you do; kase I am de -crown an’ you de stars in it.” Den de moon say, “I recommember de -ribbers, coves, creeks, all de beases ub de field, all de fishes dat -keep quiet in de day but leap an’ play in meh meller light, an’ I rides -th’oo de clowds mo’ prowder dan King Solomon did wid his prancin’ race -hosses an’ chariots in Egyp’ lan’ co’tin’ Phareo’s daughter; kase I is -so gran’ I am bleege ter be noble, fuh I hab millions ub trees, ribbers, -creeks, ribbulets, fruits an’ flowers—all de beases ub de field ter -burhol, but dey hab only one moon ter make mirations erboutin, so I am -de gran’ oberseer ub de night.” - -Den heah cum de sun creepin’ up, sorter playin’ hide an’ seek wid de -mawnin’, an’ say ter de dawn, “Recommember me! Recommember me!” Den de -dawn put his arms roun’ de yearth an’ you heah de sweet jewdraps say ter -de flowers, trees an’ watermillion blossoms, “Good bye;” an’ right ’way -de birds sip de jewdraps jes’ befo’ dey melt, ter wet deah th’oats fuh -de lars’ mawnin’. Hallaluja, dey’r gwine ter sing. - -Bimeby de sunbeams cummenc’ ter play an’ say, “I recommember uh dark -place; I will drap in an’ meck it bright,” an’ de sweet potater wines, -cucumber wines, all de wegetables, fruits, flowers, craps an’ grasses is -kiss’ an’ caress’ by dem sunbeams. - -Ah, sistus an’ chillun, I cud preach uh monf boutin dat sun, but I mus’ -pars on an’ say befo’ I include recommembrance, dat we kin all be -sunbeams; we kin hab uh brighter light in our bresses dan de sunlight, -ef’n we recommember what babtism will do, feas’ our hyarts on de ripe -fruit ub salbation, hab on our feet de golden slippas ub faith, an’ -shoostrings ub justifycation. Den de sunlight ub de c’lestial home will -flud our souls ez we sing an’ pray ter be at de lars’ day ’mong de -cherupins an’ serupins dat dances—no, not dances—dat shouts by de light -ub de sun, moon an’ stars, on de c’lestial sho’. - -We will now teck de nex’ application ub meh tex’, “Meddowtate on dee in -de night watches.” - -Brudderin, all nature is uh meddowtationist; dat is, all satisfied -nature. - -Did you eber think erboutin it? - -Now, teck fus’ uh cow, when she gits plenty ub grass, lays down an’ -chaws huh cud, blinks, winks huh eyes an’ meddowtates, an’ ef’n she is -not uh stripper, I specks she thinks how nice it will be when somebody -milks huh gre’t big bag, so full ub milk dat it will ’stress huh befo’ -long ef’n it’s not stripped. - -Uh settin’ hen is uh gre’t muser (I wan’ ter ’splain dat what dey call -meddowtatin’ in de Bible days, dey call musin’ in dese days, an’ what -dey call damsels in Bible days, we call ladies in dese days). Yes! uh -settin’ hen is uh gre’t meddowtater, prob’ly one ub de gre’tes’. Dey -sets twenty-one days, an’ dey say ter git uh good hatchin’ dey should be -sot on twenty-one eggs, so as ter ’low huh one egg uh day ter muse on. -’Cose she thinks erboutin what de diffunt color ub de chicks will be, -how many will be roostus, how many hens, how many will be black legs, -specklelegs, yaller legs, an’ how many good layers. Den she gib uh -little cackle, which is larfin’ ’mong fowls, an’ say ter huhsef: “Heah -cum ole Miss Osman, de hous’keeper, de keys jinglin’ same ez bells fum -huh ap’on strings, lookin’ ergin fuh dat speckle hen, settin’ an’ musin’ -un’er de steps right at de do’.” - -But, brudderin, de gre’tes’ meddowtaters is de ’cendents ub Mars Adam -an’ Miss Ebe, an’ ’mong de ladies in de Bible, I s’pose Miss Rachel, de -mudder ub some ub de Petracks, wuz de slyis’ meddowtater, an’ de mos’ -’spected, kase Uncle Reubin say she hab de finis’ toom, de biggist -chariot, an’ mos’ moners ub any ooman de Bible speak ub. When Jacob fus’ -met huh at de well she wuz musin’; dat is, huh ’flections wuz deep like -de well. She look so peart, sweet, an’ sad-like, de narration say, dat -Jacob wep’. How-some-eber, Jacob wuz uh unsuspectin’ shepherd, an’ wuz -smut ’mejately by Miss Rachel’s cunnin’ lubliness. Mo’n dat, Miss Rachel -had bin ris’ by de qual’ty, an’ knew’d how ter look sorf-eyed an’ sly, -jes’ like Miss Henrietta use ter look when she feel sassy; ’sides, Miss -Rachel cum outin’ uh musin’ fambly. Her pa, Mars Laban, meddowtate (so -de Bible say) seven year befo’ he gib Miss Rachel ter Jacob, an’ he made -uh mustake den, kase Jacob soon tu’n ornry, an’ hab fo’ wives. - -One ub de gre’tes’ meddowtaters mention ’mong de men in de Bible, is -spoke ub in de fus’ book ub clover. - -Rasmus Jasper Jemes: Pawson Demby, da ain’ no book ub clover in de -Bible. - -Did I say clover, Rasmus? Well, den, I meant de fus’ book ub Timothy. -I’s bin mowin’ grass all de week, an’ I got ’fuse erbout de name. - -But I mus’ hurry on to de gre’tes’ meddowtater in de Bible, de one dat -writ de ’squisit’ tex’ I preach fum, King Dabid! I ain’ bin able ter -fin’ it in de Bible, but I think he mus’ uh bin close kin ter Noahy, -kase he had mos’ ez much charm ober beases, an’ he had uh _arm ub -steal_. Jes’ think ub dat! It wuz his lef’ arm. De Bible don’ say what -his right arm made ub, but I ’specks it wuz made ub steal er brass, kase -he kotch de lion by de beard wid his lef’ han’, smut an’ kilt him wid -his right han’. Now, Sampson kilt uh lion, but it wuz uh young one. -Little Dabid mus’ uh bin thinkin’ ’bout dem lions when he writ, “Meh -hyart wuz _hot_ widin me; when I wuz musin’ de fire burned.” Well, it -cum ter pars dat de Lawd say unter Samuel de fus’, “I wan’ uh king;” an’ -Samuel de fus’ say, “I no uh man named Obid, dat’s got some monstus fine -sons, but Obid he ain’ no ’count kase he fogot his son name Jesse; but -it turn out all fuh de bes’, kase Jesse got ’fended, run ’way, an’ -merried what dey call in dem days uh damsel, an’ ris uh fine lot ub -sons.” - -While Samuel wuz musin’ erbout deah quare names, who should cum ’long -but Jesse, deah pa. So Samuel say, “Wha you gwine?” An’ Jesse say, “Ter -help Saul ter ’noint meh youngis’ son.” An’ Saul meck uh ’miration -erbout his oldes’ boys, an’ say, “How many chillun you got, anyway?” An’ -Jesse say, “Six sons, an’ de youngis’ uh sweet boy name Dabid, fair ub -eyes, lubly coun’nance, an’ uh monstus cunnin’ hyarp player. I s’pose -he’s meh favorite son, kase he so bad; dat’s why I wan’ you ter ’noint -him.” An’ Saul say, “Wha is he? I will ’noint him an’ meck him uh king.” -Jesse wuz so s’prise he almos’ had uh spavin, an’ say, “Dat chile nuffin -but uh boy, an’ you kyant think how bad he is. Mo’n dat, I kyant well -spare him; he mines de sheep, sells de hides ub de beases; an’ ’tain’ -nuffin fuh him ter kill uh ox kyart load uh week, ub lions, bars and -striped tigers.” - -Belubbed, Jesse didn’ wan’ ter say anything ergin his son, but de fac’ -is, dat boy spent mos’ ub his time playin’ de hyarp wid uh cunnin’ arm -an’ han’ ub steal, an’ wussa yit, young ez he wuz, meddowtatin’ an’ -longin’ fuh Phareo’s daughter an’ other damsels. - -Jesse bu’nt insects erroun’ hissef, an’ ’pon ’flection ’cided ter let he -son be uh king, an’ git salbation. - -Befo’ I go any fudder wid dis King Dabid narration I wan’ ter say ter de -chillun in de chuch, you don’ hab ter be so strong ter de looks ter be -gran’. De feebles’ an’ de baddes’ chile in dis chuch may meck de -strongis’ man an’ de bes’ Babtis’ preacher. - -King Dabid wuz tuck fuh uh king, tho’ he wuz de younges’ an’ de feebles’ -ub dem boys, wid uh lubly face an’ long curls, jes’ de way Miss -Henrietta’s use’ ter grow—but heah is de application: - -De Lawd look in de hyart ub little Dabid; he saw brabery, an’ de future -writer ub Sams; so he right way gib him uh arm ub steal an’ meck him -king! - -Will he meck you uh king? - -Yas; de Lawd will gib you uh erligious arm ub steal, meck ebery chile in -dis chuch uh king in his army ub salbation, an’ mebbe uh Sams writer, -ef’n you intimate little Dabid. - -Well, arfter dis’ gression, I cum ter de time when Dabid grow up, hab uh -beard, git mad wid Saul an’ de Flistines, an’ meck his barbers cut orf -one side ub de Flistines’ whiskus ter tell dem in battle fum his -soldiers; so when Goliar heah tell ub it he larf, stroke he beard, an’ -say: “He nuffin’ but uh sassy boy.” - -How, it cum ter pars when King Dabid fine out how Goliar talk erbout -him, he den an’ da meddowtate in de night watches how he kill Goliar, -an’ s’prisin’ ter say, he ’cluded ter kill him wid uh stone. So he jump -fum his chariot, tuck fum uh brook five stones, put ’em in his sheppard -bag, an’ in his han’ ub steal he had uh sling. When Goliar saw him, de -Bible say, “He disdain him kase he wuz but uh striplin’” an’ he tole him -ef’n he totch him “he wud gib his flesh ter de fowls ub de air (cose dey -mus’ uh bin buzzards), an’ ter de beases ub de field.” - -Goliar look so much biggah dan de cunnin’ little hyarp player, ’magin’ -dat he stop futto meddowtate, an’ ter git his steal arm wuckin’. He put -his han’ in his sheep bag, tuck out uh stone, an’ when Goliar wuz -erboutin fo’ hunard yards orf he sling dat stone, not ’speckin’ ter hit -him de fus’ sling; but bless yo’ souls, dat stone tuck de hole top uh he -haid orf—ez de Injuns say, “scalped him.” Den Dabid run, stood on -Goliar, cut de res’ ub he haid orf, hurray an’ shout, when his -sharpshooters cum up an’ run de army ub Goliar to deah tents. - -De nex’ day de man dat King Dabid wuz feared ub, wuz feared ub King -Dabid, fuh it almos’ tuck Dabid’s bref when Saul cum wid uh white flag -an’ say: - -“I is tuck Goliar’s place; you had better s’render; ef’n you will I will -gib you meh daughter.” - -David meddowtate, shuck Saul’s han’, tuck his daughter, had huh sant ter -his tent, an’ as de Bible say, “Behabe hissef wisely.” When King Dabid -look good at Saul an’ think how small he wuz ter Goliar, he felt peart, -spunky, an’ say, “Ef’n you cud see de mules, jackasses, chariots, an’ -jablins dat I hab got you wudn’ talk dat way” (er words signifyin’ dat). - -Brudderin, Saul’s temper ris, he throw’d one ub dem jablins at him, -which Dabid dodge, run home ter his damsel, tole huh erboutin his -father-in-law. Now, what did dat ’stress damsel say? She say, “You ain’ -heahd de wus yit. Pappy sant me word dat when you teck yo’ robe orf, go -ter baid, an’ fall uh sleep, futto let him no; dat den he will cum an’ -’sasinate you. Dat’s what I merried you fuh, but you got sech winnin’ -ways, you sech uh lion killer, hab sech strong ahms, look so lubly when -you play de hyarp, dat you hab conjur me, an’ I lub you jam down ter de -roots ub meh soul. Dey shan’t ’sasinate you; so jine yo’ army, I will -put uh scarecrow in de baid, an’ while he rejoice an’ stab de baid you -kin be marchin’ on his army.” - -[8]Bimeby Saul cum ’long, stole in de room, stab dat scarecrow all ter -smash; but jes’ den he heah de artil’ry ub Dabid. So he run ter his -army, an’ walk ober uh hunard acre field full ub kilt Flistines, an’ saw -de res’ ub his army flyin’, leabin’ all deah camels an’ jackasses. - -Saul had de biggist army, kase dat night ’cruits cum fum Zip, an’ de -nex’ day dey met ergin, fit and skirmish, skirmish an’ fit, till bof -armies got ve’y tired. - -Saul, he ’gin ter meddowtate, an’ think King Dabid uh witch, kase he -sho’ he kilt him in baid, so he got pow’ful skerd, ’fraid ub King -Dabid—too skerd futto wait till de night watches ter meddowtate; so he -meddowtate all day, an’ dat night he made spittoon bridges, tuck his -army ’cross de ribber, so he cud ’cruit fuh jackasses an’ camels, ez da -wan’ none lef’ ’ceppin’ sixteen white asses dat pull his chariot, so he -cummenc’ ter mortify de place, sant his staff futto look fuh uh drobe ub -asses, an’ his sutler say, “We kyant fine dem asses.” - -Saul say, “I kin fine dat drobe; so he meck bleebe he look fuh de asses, -but all de time he wuz ’rangin’ ter ezert.” (Meh eyes is so bad I kyant -wear meh specks, so I got Uncle Reubin ter read dis gran’ narration ter -me lars’ week; so I is preachin’ ezactly de way de Bible say.) Well, -Saul say ter Jonah, his spittoon oberseer, “King Dabid is so cute an’ -cunnin’ I’s feared he may hab one ub dem torpeders un’er dis mountain -futto blow us up; dafo’ I am gwine ter ezert, an’ wan’ you ter go wid me -’cross de ribber in one ub dese spittoon bridges ter see King Dabid.” - -Jonah say he lub King Dabid, hab de gret’s speck fuh him, wuz anxious -ter be an’ exerter, but he had once bin in de whale’s belly three days -and three nights; so he had ernuff ub de sea. Den he wep’ on de bres’ ub -his Pappy Amelikite, who wuz skerd stiff, an’ wuz weepin’ on de bres’ ub -Jonah, who fudder say, dat he rudder risk his life in battle, er be kilt -by de jawbone ub an ass, dan sink on one ub dem spittoon bridges an’ be -et up by shirks.” - -Amelikite had condidence in de spittoon bridges, ezerted wid Saul, an’ -wid two fence rails dey paddled de boat ober ter de camp ub King Dabid. - -Sister Becky: “Pawson Demby, wha’ dey git fence rails fum dem days?” - -Sister Becky, mos’ any pusson but me wud teck a _fence_ at dat question. - -Ev’ybody nose dat de rods ub ches’nut, hazel, poplar an’ pine Jacob, de -son-in-law ub Mars Laban, had piled up, wuz fence rails. In dese days -dey call ’em fence rails; in dem days, rods. Ez big uh farmer ez Jacob -wuz, wid all de thousands ub mules, jack-asses, speckled cattle, goats, -sheep an’ cows he had, how he gwine ter raise de cawn, oats, wheat an’ -barley he did ’doutin fences? Why, his beases wud hab ’stroyed his craps -in one day. - -It cum ter pars Amelikite wen’ wid Saul, an’ Saul say, “Tell it not in -Gath” (I s’pose dat wuz uh army ’spression er watchword); so dey bail -out de boat, paddle ’cross de ribber, an’ landed near uh tent. Da sot -King Dabid on uh sycamo’ stump (sycamo’ trees wuz de fa-vo-rites in dem -days; dat’s de tree dat little Zackius clum), musin’ an’ I s’pose -longin’ fuh de wife ub Urihy, an’ meddowtatin’ er dotin’ on Miss -Abigail, de wife ub Nabal, who wuz smut wid him, cudn’ resis’ his -beauty, an’ cum ter him wid five damsels ez bridemaids, all uh straddle -ub asses. I kyant gib deah names kase Samuel de fus fogot ter mention -’em. - -Saul open de composation, an’ speak fus by sayin’: “King Dabid, dis man -kep’ comp’ny wid me crossin’ de ribber; his name Amelikite. We is bof’n -us ezerters an’ tired ub wah.” Den King Dabid say, “Set down; I speck -you horngry, too? Hab some kid an’ hardtack, an’ tell me de news.” - -Saul told him de Flistines wuz mortifyin’ de mountain, an’ ev’y man wud -die befo’ dey waccinate de place. - -King Dabid ris up, shuck his curls, an’ say, “Ef’n it ain’ waccinated -mejately I’ll cross de ribber wid uh thousan’ chariots, fifty thousan’ -artil’ry, twenty thousan’ cavelry on mules, all my damsels on white -jackasses, all blowin’ rams’ hohn’s, an’ de Flistin’s I don’ ’stroy I’ll -teck pris’ners, throw in de ribber to de shirks dat’s bin feedin’ heah -fuh two weeks on some ub meh dead mules.” - -Jes’ den one ub his spies cum in an’ say, “King Dabid, dat young mule -yo’ son Ab-so-lum bin ridin’ hung him in uh oak tree!” - -Den King Dabid snort smoke fum his nose, weep an’ wep’, an’ wep’ an’ -weep; jes’ ez he begin ter git pearter his fus’ wife heah Saul’s voice, -so she stold ’way fum de res’ ub de wives, stood by de sycamo’ stump an’ -say ter King Dabid: - -[9]“I look thoo uh winder lars week, saw you leapin’ an’ dancin’ befo’ -de Lawd wid all yo’ might, an’ I ’spise you in my hyart!” - -Den King Dabid cry, grit he teeth, meddowtate, an’ made up he mind ter -stop dancin’, sin no mo’ an’ jine de Babtis’ chuch; so he throw erway -his swo’d an’ say, gimmy de pen, cummenc’ ter wright sweet Sams, an’ he -eyes shine same ez two stars, he lubly face glo’ wid de beauty ub -holiness, he call fuh he hyarp ub uh thousan’ strings, twank it—an’ -lemmy read you what he sing: - -“De Lawd is meh shepherd; I shall not want. He meck me ter lie down in -green pastures; he leadeth me ’side de still waters. He resto’eth meh -soul; he leadeth me in parfs ub richtousnes fuh his name sake (mus’ ask -Uncle Reubin who he name fuh). Yea, tho’ I wa’k thoo de valley ub de -shadder ub death, I will feah no evil, fuh thou art wid me; thy rod an’ -thy staff dey comfort me.” - -Den he chuned his hyarp ergin; he wep’ an’ he weep, an’ he weep an he -wep’. Den he meddowtate an’ bimeby he say: “O, my son Ab-so-lum, my son, -my son, Ab-so-lum!” - -Uncle Reubin Viney: “Befo’ we teck up de c’lection I wan’ ter say, da -will be uh gre’t rebate Thanksgibbin night in Zion Baptis’ Chuch; -subjec’, secon’ chapta Zacharyhy, 6 vus. - -“‘Ho, ho, cum forth an’ flee fum de lan’ ub de north, saith de Lawd; fuh -I hab spred you uh broad ez de fo’ winds ub heabin saith de Lawd.’ - -“De rebate will be ter ’cide ef’n Ho, ho wan’ uh Chine er Japne, who wuz -he?” - - - - - HO, HO. - - -There had been a great deal of discussion among the darkies as to who -was “The gret’s rebater, Mars’ Pinckney’s Damon Danridge, er Mars’ -Nickey’s Rasmus Jasper Jemes,” and a committee was appointed to select a -subject, with the advice and consent of the negro preachers of Queen -Anne, Caroline and Talbot counties. They were about three weeks -deliberating, and finally a part of the following verse from Zachariah -was selected: - -“Ho, Ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the North, saith the -Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of heaven, saith -the Lord.” (Chapter II, verse 6.) - -Deacon Damon Danridge for the affirmative. - -Deacon Rasmus Jasper Jemes for the negative. - -Damon Danridge was the body servant of the Rev. Wm. Pinckney, once -Bishop of Maryland, and was a splendid servant, neat, orderly, and as a -rule very dignified—“Kase he driv uh preacher.” He heard most of his -marster’s sermons, was a good listener, and was so devout and worthy -that his brilliant and learned marster became much attached to him, read -to him, and taught him to read. - -His learning made him very top-lofty, and he assumed an air of great -wisdom with all, was credulous and simple-hearted; the darkies thought -him wondrous wise because they could not understand the big words he -used. He conjured up and cherished the preaching and sayings of his -grand marster, and delighted in repeating the same. If his marster had -said to him, “Do you see yonder cloud, that’s almost in shape of a -camel,” he would have seen it as did Polonius. - -Rasmus Jasper Jemes had a great local reputation as a debater; he was a -deacon, and when the regular preacher did not turn up Ras filled the -“pull-pit,” and filled it well; two of his sermons—“His Bref Kinleth -Coals” and “Let Us Meck Brick”—were considered marvelous by the darkies. -Indeed, some of them thought him inspired (Ras thought he was)—for -instance, in 1833, when the stars fell, all the negroes on the -plantation were terrified; they hid under beds, in barnlofts, hay and -straw stacks; they thought judgment day had come. Finally Aunt Phillis, -John Poney and Little Billy, more courageous than the rest, went to see -Rasmus. He was frying some bacon and did not know about the falling -stars. He walked boldly and confidently out of his quarter, but when he -saw the shower of stars, was soon affrighted, and dodging about, said, -“Look out, Mars Lawd, hits Rasmus Jasper Jemes.” - -Ras could read a little, was far from being dull and doted on debating. -The subject, “Ho, Ho,” had been discussed far and near, and Rasmus had -“rassled” with it diligently; and now that the time had come, Zion -Church was packed and jammed. Uncle Reubin Viney, good and just, Sir -Oracle among his “Brers,” was judge. - -The servants had all chipped in and gotten Captain Stitchberry, of the -grain schooner Margaret Jane, to buy the best $15 church-clock in -Baltimore. It was bought just after Parson Demby preached his great -sermon on “Fogitfulness.” Three-fourths of them could not tell the time. - -On the door-face of the clock was a picture and written under it, “The -Finding of Moses.” It represented eleven females and a camel. Four of -the figures were very black. One of them, sitting in the bullrushes and -water, held in her lap a large basket with a top, in which was Moses, -and the daughter of Pharoah was looking wistfully at the prophet, who -was crying lustily, judging from the size of the tears in the picture. -The black figures had in their ears immense gold-colored earrings, -almost big enough for Moses to crawl through. - -[Illustration: - - The picture on the face of the Moses clock. -] - -Captain Stitchberry had selected wisely, for no rosary could have been -more adored than that clock. The sun, moon and stars went by it. When it -struck you would suppose a small dinner-gong dwelt within. - -Uncle Reubin Viney was seated on the platform when in strode Damon and -Rasmus, looking as proud as peacocks and confident as two victorious -gladiators. - -They were both well-figured and had fine faces. Rasmus had on a blue -swallowtail coat with brass buttons, which he had borrowed from Ned -Young and which was given the latter by his marster _twenty years -before_. It was still new-looking, and rarely ever worn except on -Sundays. - -Damon wore a coat given him by his marster. It was too big and too long; -however, it gave him a priestly look—was once worn by his “Mars’ -Pinckney,” and of course, fit him. Shortly after they were seated, had -sipped some water and cleared their throats loud enough for the deaf to -hear, the Moses clock struck eight, whereupon Uncle Reubin arose and -said: “Sistus an’ brudders, I hab bin ’pinted futto judge an’ ’cide dis -rebate, which am, ‘Ef’n Ho, Ho wan’ uh Chine er Japne, who wuz he?’ - -“De jan’tor will please light de big lard-oil lamp, an’ ev’y nuss, dairy -maid, maid, cook, laundress an’ farmhand, young an’ ole, is ’quested not -ter gib any ’spression ter deah feelin’s ez dis house is sanctifide. I -now hab de honah ter interjuice Brer Deacon Damon Danridge.” - -Damon sipped water complacently, pulled up his coatsleeves that were too -long, and said: “Sistus an’ brudders, I heahd meh Mars’ Pinckney ub de -Piscopalium Chuch an’ de gret’s preacher on uth, say, ‘De gret’s books -ebber writ wuz de Bible an’ uh book called Shakespeare,’ which say, -‘Dar’s mo’ things in heaben an’ yearth, _Horace_, dan wuz ebber dremp ub -in our phlos’phy’ (phlos’phy means rash-nal), an’ I’s gwine ter cummenc’ -meh speech wid de miration he woun’ up wid—leas’wise it will sorter -clustah ’roun’ meh arg’ment. - -“Lars wintah arfter meh Mars’ Pinckney got fros’-bit crossin’ Miles -Ribber ferry, an’ wuz kep’ in bed, ev’y day he used ter read an’ ’splain -de Bible ter me, an’ arfter he drap uh sleep, ter keep meh mind fum -bein’ too sot on erligeon I used ter go down to Haylan’ Branch an’ set -snares. One mawnin’ Little Billy went to de snares wid me, so in one ub -’em wuz uh dog fox, kotch by he tail.” - -Deacon Jemes (interrupting): “What Little Billy an’ fox tails got ter do -wid dis rebate?” - -Damon Danridge: “Uncle Reubin, dis is de rash-nal part ub my discose.” - -Uncle Reubin: “Is you layin’ de foundation, Damon?” - -Damon: “Ezactly so; precisely!” - -“Well, Little Billy he say, ‘Strange ter me Noahy didn’ pizin dem shirks -in de yark, an’ strange, gre’t ez he wuz, he didn’ hab mo’ ’fluence wid -de Petracks.’ - -“‘Erboutin’ what?’ sez I. - -“‘Well,’ sez Little Billy, ‘why did dey meck de animals’ tails so -curisome? Why did dey gib uh fox long hyah so uh fly kyant bite he skin, -an’ uh long bushy tail dat ain’ no use ter him?’ - -“Kase when de fields is frosty, de houn’s feel good, an’ his tail git -wet—jes’ full ub fros’ an’ dew—den dar’s sho’ ter be uh kilt fox, an’ -den Mars Nickey will say, _not pursidderin’ de wet tail_, ‘Da ain’ no -red fox on uth kin git erway fum meh houn’s.’ - -“Brudderin, dis is uh gre’t subjec’. Now, teck uh pig fuh instinct, dat -we lubs ter eat; dat ain’ ornry like uh fox, yet he’s made fuh de flys -ter pester! His leetle curly tail is not much bigger dan uh goose quill, -an’ not mo’n harf ez long; uh tail he kyant switch when de blue-tail fly -dribes him in de ribber. - -“‘Well,’ sez I, ’s’posen de fox hab de pigtail; it would breck up fox -huntin’; dey nebber cud ketch him den! Mo’n dat, de Bible say Sampson -went out an’ kotch 300 foxes an’ tern ’em tail ter tail, an’ lit deah -tails wid uh torch, den sot ’em loose an’ dey run ’mong de cawn an’ -craps ub de Flistines an’ buhn ’em up. Now, s’spose Sampson, sted ub -takin’ 300 foxtails, tuck 300 pigtails—sot dem uh fire. Da wud uh bin uh -pow’ful lot ub squeelin’, dat’s all!’ - -“An’ Little Billy say, ‘Jes’ so; jes’ so!’ - -“Uh terrapin’s tail ain’ longer dan yo’ eyelash, an’ uh mus’rat’s tail -almos’ ez long ez _Rasmus’ foot_; you skins mus’rats, hangs ’em up by de -tail, an’ sells de skins, but you don’ sell terrapin skins, an’ don’ -hang ’em up—consequencely dat’s de application. - -“S’pose de peacock hab de elephant’s tail, an’ de elephant de peacock -tail, _now how wud dat look_? Er uh cow had uh roostuh’s tail, an’ uh -roostuh uh cow tail? Da is some free niggahs fum Henracka County, -Furginny, haulin’ deah sain in Miles Ribber, an’ fum what I kin heah, -dey wud soon breck up de breed ub chickins, ornless de chickins all -hens. Jes’ tread on de roostuh’s tail, dat’s all. - -“Sistus an’ brudders, I no I got yo’ condidence—I cud _swap tails_ all -night, an’ you wud see all de time de wissum ub de c’rator ergin -swappin’. ‘Da is mo’ things in heaben an’ yearth, Horace, dan is dremp -ub in our phlos’phy.’ - -“Now, dis is de rash-nal part ub meh discose, ter show dat you kyant -change things ’doutin’ makin’ mustakes. You kyant meck Ho Ho uh Chine -any mo’ dan you kin change de animals’ tails. - -“Dese days people don’ meddowtate ernuff. Ef’n people wud meddowtate an’ -read de Bible like I is fuh two weeks on dis subjec’, dey wud hab no -doubt ’boutin de thurrybred Japne ped’gree ub Ho Ho. Hit’s plain ez -daybreck, an’ I spressify ergin, you kyant change it any mo’ dan you kin -change de animals’ tails. - -“Now, dis brings us ter de pus-nal part ub meh discose, an’ ef’n you -projic wid dat fambly you kyant git erway fum de fac’ dat Noahy wuz uh -man ub quare tase, an’ prob’ly had uh harf dozen wibes, which wuz de -fashion in dem days. - -“Noahy mus’ uh bin uh man ve’y fon’ ub de differn’ shades ub color; fuh -instinct, Ham’s Ma mus’ uh bin uh cullud pusson, _Sham’s_ uh white -pusson an’ _Jap_heth’s uh Japne. - -“I am confluent dat Ho Ho wuz uh Japne, wid uh strain ub Chine blood, -an’ my phlos’phy will show it. - -“De Bible tells us plain ez plain kin be, dat Noahy had three -sons—_Sham_, Ham an’ _Jap_heth. Sham, ez befo’ mentioned, wuz uh white -pusson; Ham wuz uh cullud pusson, an’ _Jap_heth mus’ uh bin uh Japne. I -bleebe ef’n Noahy cud speak, he wud say so, an’ ef’n you will follow de -application, hit will be ez clare ez de jewdraps on de vines, er de -fros’ on de fodder. - -“I ain’ bin ridin’ wid Mars Pinckney fuh nuffin.” - -By this time the audience was fast getting “Japne,” and Rasmus anxious. -So he said: “Damon, Mars Pinckney bin heppin’ you wid dis rebate!” - -“Well, s’pose he is; don’ I ’long ter him an’ he ’long ter me?” - -“Well, hit don’ pester me, fuh Mars _Arthur_ holp _me_. He ain’ no -preacher, but I reckon he kin read an’ wright ter keep pace wid de bes’ -ub preachers.” - -“Meshac wuz de son ub _Jap_heth. He wuz uh cunjerrer an’ cud walk on -fire, an’ ub cose he got hit fum he Japne Pa. - -“In de fus’ book ub Cronicles, fus’ vus, by ’westigation, you will fine -dat _Jap_heth wuz de gre’t-gre’t-gre’t uncle ter Joktan, an’ he had uh -son name Jobab (you see how dey keep up de fambly names), an’ Joktan wuz -kin ter Mibsam (dat’s wha de Chine cross cum in), an’ Joktan wuz also uh -connection ub Ja_k_an. Well, put uh “p” wha dat “k” am, an’ you hab -Ja_p_an. Mars Pinckney say hit’s plain ter his mind. - -“Dar’s fusion in de Bible erbout de name, kase in some places dey call -it Akan; an’ dat fusion is kase dey got uh “k” ’sted ub uh “p” in po’ -Jakan’s name. It’s uh sad thing ter twiss uh man’s name dat way. - -“Ez I hab de ’cludin’ re-marks, I will add mo’ ter de application ef’n -Brer Rasmus rassles hyard wid de subjec’.” - -Deacon Rasmus Jasper Jemes: - -“Sistus an’ brudders ub Kyarline, Queen Anne’s an’ Talbot County: Ef’n -Shake—what de res’ ub he name?” - -Uncle Reubin Viney (with austerity)—“Shakespeare.” - -“Well, ef’n Shakespeare an’ Horace (I dunno what Horace he talkin’ -erbout, but ef’n he mean Miss Rodgers’ Horace, I won’ bleebe anything he -say), an’ if dat book an’ Horace is ez ornsortin an’ mixed up ez de -mirations ub Brer Damon Danridge, den I don’ think much ub de book. Mo’n -dat, Rash-nal an’ Pus-nal got nuffin ter do wid dis rebate, an’, Brer -Viney, I wan’ you ter rule Shakespeare, Horace, Rash-nal an’ Pus-nal -outin’ it. - -“Hits ornpropper ter talk erbout dat book ’long side de Bible. I wouldn’ -walk ’cross dis room ter shake hands wid Shakes-peare, an’ ef’n de truf -wuz knewed, I speck he wuz one ub dem Quakers. - -“Belubbed, ev’ybody kin see fum Deacon Danridge speech dat he got no -confluence in Ho Ho’s breedin’, ebin got ter bring pig-tails in dis -rebate. What dey got ter do wid uh Japne er Chine?” - -Deacon Damon Danridge—“Ef’n you had read any phlos’phy you’d no dat -Chinese hab pig-tails.” - -“You kyant see th’oo a millstone less’n it got uh hole in it, but you -kin see th’oo uh pain ub glass ef’n da ain’ no hole in it, an’ it’s -clare ez uh pain ub glass dat Ho Ho wan’ no Chine er Japne. I kyant read -an’ spell so ve’y well, ez I nebber _’longed ter er dribe fuh uh -Piscopalium preacher_, but Little Billy kin read, an’ he bin readin’ -ober an’ ober ter me de Book ub Cronicles, Rebellation, Jerry-Myehr, -Sams, Daniel, Jona an’ Zacharihy, so I reckon dem books jes’ ez trufful -ez de Book ub Genesis. Now, de Book ub Daniel say, chapter de fus’, “De -chillun ub Juda, Daniel, Hana-Nia, Mishel an’ Azarihy all had deah name -chang’ by Nebacudnezzer. Daniel’s change ter Bell-Shazzer, uh ooman’s -name; Hana-Nia, uh man wid uh ooman’s name, ter Shadrack; Mishel ter -Meshac, an’ Azarihy ter Abed_negro_. ’Cose he mus uh bin uh dark pusson -like Ham””—— - -Deacon Damon Danridge—“Brer Jemes, kin you qualify dat lars miration?” - -“Sut’ny I kin! Hit’s all in de Book ub Daniel erboutin de time Daniel -saw de han’writin’ on de wall. Now, ef’n de chillun ub Juda had deah -names changed, why cudn’ Noahy change de animals’ tails ef’n he felt -like it? Brer Danridge, wha’s Rash-nal now? An’ wha’s yo’ condidence in -Ho Ho’s breedin’? - -“Why dey change de names ub dem chillun is mo’ dan I kin ondastan; dey -wan’ ornry, an’ had dun nuffin; fac’ is, de king say [reading from the -Bible], ‘Dey ten times better dan de musisioners an’ ’stronemers in de -law;’ an’ dey wuz fine players, too. De Bible say, ‘Dey played de -cornet, flute, hyarp, an’ sackbut.’ Dat lars’ instrument is ez much uh -myst’ry ter me ez Ho Ho. - -“We read in de book ub Daniel dey played _all kinds ub music_; mo’n dat, -dey wuz all ’ceppin’ Daniel _fireproof_. - -“I kin almos’ see sweet little Ham playin’ wid dem gre’t musisioners. -Kin anybody see Ho Ho? Not ef he wuz uh Chine er Japne, kase dey wudn’ -_’low no sech music ez dat dem days_, when de Petracks made de laws.” - -Now, Zacharyhy he only name fo’ pussons—(I’m readin’ fum de Book ub -Zacharyhy)—an’ all de names ’ceppin’ Ho Ho’s cummenc’ wid de letter “b.” -He lubbed “b” so much, wonder he didn’ name Ho Ho Bo Bo. I s’pose Brer -Damon wud call Bochim, Bill-hah, Be-Tah, Beth-Sham an’ Belzebub Chine er -Japne. Well, I reckon _de lars one_ wuz Chine. Leab you alone, Brer -Danridge, you’d meck rat-eaters ub all de saints. - -“Obid, de pa ub Jesse, is only spoke ub uh few times in de Bible; -how-some-ebber, he wuz uh gran’ man, an’ he gre’t-gre’t-gre’t-gre’t -granpa wuz Ram.” - -Damon—“Ras, you mean Sham.” - -“No, I don’; I mean Ram! I reckon I bin readin’ an’ westigatin’ de Bible -ez well ez Brer Damon, an’ I wan’ ter tell him when C’lumbus ’sciver’d -Americy he ’sciver’d Talbot County befo’ he did Kyarline County. I -s’pose you’d call Obid uh Chine? - -“Ho Ho is only mentioned once in Zacharyhy’s narration, but think what -er gre’t man he wuz, fuh de vus say, ‘Ho Ho, cum forth an’ flee fum de -lan’ ub de North, saith de Lawd: fuh I hab spread you abroad (jes see -what condidence Zacharyhy had in him) as de fo’ winds ub de heaben, -saith de Lawd.’ - -“In dem days de fo’ winds mus’ uh all blow’d _Souf_, kase Zacharyhy -tells him ‘Ter flee fum de lan’ ub de _Norf_.’ - -“My erpinion is dat Ho Ho wuz de nick name fuh one ub de Petracks, fuh I -once heah Mars Pinckney say in uh sermon dat Ab’ham, Isaac er Jacob, I -fogit which, dwelt in de Souf country. - -“Zacharyhy knew how ter spressify hissef. ’Tain’ no use mentionin’ gre’t -people all de time. Damon nose how ter spressify hissef _sometimes_, but -not ter night. He wudn’ interjuice Rash-nal, Pus-nal, Horace, -Shakespeare, an’ all sorts ub animals’ tails in dis rebate, ef’n he -wan’t skeetin’ [skating] on thin ice, an’ fustyfied. - -“Mo’n dat, is da _any_ pusson heah dat s’poses Zacharyhy, whose Pa wuz -uh king, would put all dat condidence in uh Japne er Chine? - -“Lars’ but not leas’, Little Billy say he thinks he read somewha in de -Bible dat Ho Ho hab a beard. Now, ef’n de Japnes an’ Chinese don’ hab -beards dese days, ’twuz ornpossible dey had beards dem days.” - -Uncle Reubin Viney: “Dis hab bin uh pow’ful arg’ment, an’ arfter careful -meddowtatin’, I ’sposed ter think Ho Ho uh Japne wid two Chine crosses, -but it’s uh subjec’ ub gre’t consequation; dafo’ I pint Pawson Phil -Demby, Deacon Damon Danridge an’ Deacon Rasmus Jasper Jemes arbiters -futto such de Scripturs, an’ ef’n dey fine Ho Ho had heavy whiskus den I -’cide Ho Ho wan’ no Japne er Chine.” - -Little Billy: “Pawson Demby, hit woudn’ s’prise me ef’n hoe-cake wuz _Ho -Ho_ cake, name arfter Ho Ho. John Poney al’ays sez ho ho cake.” - -Tilly Mink: “Dat’s kase he stutters! Let dat man’s tung ’lone, Billy; -you no he tung-tide.” - -Deacon Rasmus Jasper Jemes (with great ostentation): “Uncle Reubin, it’s -bad ’nuff ter hab Horace, Rash-nal, Pus-nal an’ Shakespeare in dis -rebate, an’ wussa still ter call Ho Ho uh Japne er Chine, but ter call -de sweet hoe-cake uh Japne er Chine cake, is mo’ dan I kin ondastan, an’ -hit’s scanlous an’ ornichious.” - - - - - RASH-NAL AN’ PUS-NAL. - - - De summer night hit’s lubly when you wa’kin wid yo’ gal - An’ she sweetah dan de honey ub de bee; - An’ she ’low dat you kyant kiss huh, kase hit ain’ rash-nal, - At de grapevine hangin’ by de holly tree. - - But de summer night gits lublier, when swingin’ ’side dat gal, - An’ yo’ ahm a’mos’ destracted ’roun’ huh waise; - Kase she look inter yo’ face, an’ say, “Ain’ you pus-nal?” - When you go down on huh mouf an’ teck uh tas’e. - - Da’s no swing like de grapevine! hit’s sut’ny de bes’, - Kase you hab ter set ornpropper all de time, - You swing so close togedda dat you kine er mus’ caress, - Fuh you al’ays got dat black gal on yo’ mine. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: - - BLACK CREEK, BELOW THE FALLS. -] - - - - - DE COMPOSATION UB DE SNIPE. - - -Little Billy was as black as a tar pot, short of stature, very -bow-legged, cunning as a fox, and smart. When he drew his bow across a -fiddle it made you feel like dancing, and when there was a dance among -the overseers, Billy played, and called out, “Swing yo’ partners;” -“pigeon wing,” “ladies ter de center,” etc. He set muskrat traps, fished -on Sundays, and often coon and ’possum hunted Sunday nights. His bow -legs enabled him to climb like a cat, and no tree was too big for him to -_negotiate_ if Truman treed up the same; and when Billy sang out, “Put -him up, True!” and Truman “chawed de bark an’ wep, an’ ’stressed -hissef,” as Billy would say, you might be sure there was a coon in the -tree. - -Billy was a slave, helped to milk the cows, tote fire wood, pick the -chickens, turkeys and geese, and was “horngry” all the time. The negroes -thought Billy monstrous wise, but thought Satan would get him. He was an -innocent fabricator, and a harmless rogue. - -One day whilst husking corn he said he had once killed twelve eagles at -a shot. The darkies remonstrated with him, and said they had never seen -more than two eagles at a time, whereupon Billy said he had killed ten. -They continued to taunt him until he dropped to three, and then said, -“I’ll die befo’ I drap another eagle!” - -One Saturday in March Billy sauntered to the humble cabin of Jerry and -Caesar Butler, brothers and free negroes, to steal a dozen raw. They -lived at the head of a creek, fished, oystered, and hunted the marsh for -muskrats for a livelihood. Saturday night the boat came, and he knew -they would have several barrels of oysters for the steamer. The weather -was not very cold and he assumed they were oystering, because the day -before whilst they were out Billy had slipped over and stolen a cooking -’possum. Arriving at the cabin, lo! and behold, Caesar and Jerry were -both on deck, the former lamenting and pondering about his ’possum, the -latter skinning a lot of muskrats he had trapped the night before. - -Caesar was fond of ’possum, and returning from oystering hungry and -tired, stopped at the country store, bought a pint of applejack and a -fat ’possum, went home, put his ’possum in the ashes, covered it with -coals, took several swigs of applejack, and went soundly to -sleep—_’possum struck_. - -When Billy appeared the ’possum was nicely roasted, which Billy ate, -piled the bones in Caesar’s lap, greased his hands and face, so when -Caesar awoke he found his hands and cheeks greasy, and a pile of ’possum -bones in his lap. He licked his hands, and said, “Dat’s ’possum;” felt -his cheeks and said, “Dat’s ’possum sho’,” and when he saw the pile of -bones in his lap, said: “Dat’s ’stonishin’ applejack, an’ de mos’ -ornsatisfactionis’ ’possum dat ebber I et.” - -Billy was very generous and when he had money would buy oysters, but -without money would invite himself to take, and generally took them, for -he was prodigal. It was nothing unusual for him to go to the country -store and buy two eggs’ worth of molasses, of which he was very fond. - -Billy had to have an excuse for his midday visit, so he pondered quite a -while inventing one. The ’possum came to mind, and his heart sank into -his boots. Then he thought of the snipe that had pitched on the marsh -the night before, and soon had a yarn ready; so as the two old brothers -sat gazing into the soothing fire, watching some bacon fry, he sauntered -in, looking _meek like_, and said he had “come to tell dem what he heahd -de Jack Snipe say on de mash lars nite, when he wuz mus’rattin’.” Jerry -and Caesar were credulous and superstitious, but questioned Billy’s -hearing the snipe talk. True they thought them “ve’y ’ceitful and -_quare_ birds, but nebber heahd dem talk.” Billy said, “Crows an’ -parrots talk, but dey wan’ anyt’ing ter jack snipe. Ghoses an’ witches -libbed in cow’s hohns! Watah rail tu’ned inter frogs an’ jack snipe -tu’ned into jack-uh-ma-lanterns, which wuz ’ceitful larf in witches, but -after all, hit all ain’ harf ez strange ez uh little blossom meckin’ uh -watermillion.” - -The brothers were now perplexed and anxious to hear Billy’s story, and -when urged said he “wuz too horngry to tell ’bout hit, mus’ go home an’ -git some dinner;” whereupon Jerry suggested oysters, which Billy said he -“wuz not ve’y fon’ ub, but dey wud do.” Then he gave the snipe story, as -follows: - -“I wuz mus’rattin’ on de mash lars’ nite. De moon had jes’ riz, an’ de -tide wuz creepin’ in jes’ ez quiet an’ rash-nal ez uh settin’ hen. De -creek an’ de mash look so lubly, I ’gin ter muse an’ fogot ’bout de -mus’rats, an’ wuz t’inkin’ boutin uh new chune I’s learnin’ ter play, -call, ‘I Sweeps de Kitchen Clean’—when, sizz! cum uh flite ub dem snipe, -an’ dey mos’ lit on me. I reckon dey wud, but I say, ‘You better mine -yo’sef, snipe!’ Bimeby one ub ’em say ter uh frog dat wuz chawin’ uh -grasshopper not mo’n de length ub uh fence rail fum me, ‘Lubly nite, Mr. -Frog!’” - -Jerry: “Now, hush! I al’ays sed dem birds wuz strange—cum ter day an’ -gone ter morrow!” - -[Illustration: - - Partridge Hunting at “Fairlands”—Rob Roy and Rose. -] - -“Den de snipe say, ‘What sort ub frogs you bin keepin’ comp’ny wid?’ -Uncle Jerry, I got so skeerd an’ cole I ain’ got warm yit.” - -Uncle Caesar: “Po’ Billy! Won’ you hab ub sip ub applejack?” - -“Ef you don’ t’ink I’ll get too het up.” - -Uncle Caesar: “’Cose you won’!” - -“Well, den, heah’s luck!” - -“Sarvis ter you, Billy! Now go on ’bout dat sassy frog an’ snipe.” - -“Well, de frog he say, ‘I’s uh white-bellied frog, I is! I ain’ no kin -ter toad frogs. I is uh qual’ty frog. What kounty you fum, Mr. Snipe?’” - -Uncle Jerry Butler: “Now, Billy, you mean ter tell me you heahd dat -composation?” - -Little Billy: “’Cose I did! Ain’ you nebber heahd uh frog talk, Uncle -Jerry?” - -“No indeed, chile!” - -“Dat’s kase you don’ keep quiet ’nuff. How cum dey hab sich _long tungs_ -ef’n dey kyant talk? Why, heah’s uh book gib me by Mars John Charles -lars’ Chrismus, writ by (I kyant read de fus’ part ub de name, but hit -en’s wid Sop) [Aesop]. Dat pictur’ is wha de frogs is askin’ fuh uh -king.” - -Uncle Jerry: “De Lawd bless meh soul, what is we ter speck nex’? Lemme -see de pictur’, Billy.” - -“Well, I struck at dat frog wid meh paddle. He jes’ wink he eye, grunt, -an’ gib me sich uh curisome look, dat I got so skeered an’ cole I kyant -git wa’m; so I don’ feel peart ’nuff ter tell de res’ ub de story.” - -Uncle Jerry: “Teck sum mo’ applejack, Billy; but don’ teck much, kase -hit’s applejack dat mecks you _ve’y fogitful_.” - -“Dat lars’ drink mecks me feel nice an’ wa’m! Well, when de frog say, -‘What kounty you cum fum?’ de snipe say, ‘Souf Kharlina!’ Den de frog -say, “What meck you set so fur out in de mash? De mud, grass an’ bresh -is fine in heah, an’ jes’ ez wa’m ez uh tose, an’ plenty ub tussocks, -too.’ De jacksnipe say, ‘I nebber sleep er feed ’doutin I kin see all -’roun’ me. I’s got uh game leg, an’ I will tell you all erbout mehsef. -What yo’ fus’ name, Mr. Frog? Bull! Dat’s uh lubly name. Meh name is -Cap’n Jack Snipe!’” - -“Mr. Frog: ‘What sorter spring you hab?’ - -“Cap’n Snipe: ‘Not ve’y nice. Grasshoppus an’ wumms is so sca’ce, an’ ez -I befo’ tole you, I got uh game leg an’ kyant git ’roun’ good. “All -moufs mus’ eat, but all moufs musn’ eat gravel.” Dat’s chicken an’ -tukkey food, I eats wumms, grasshoppus, an’ sich like.’ - -“‘Well, how boutin de game leg, Cap’n? I ’gin ter think you ain’ got no -game leg.’ - -“‘Deed I is; an’ dat game leg cum fum fallin’ in lub. Let me tell you -fus’ what meh tase is an’ how brabe I is. I lub de juicy mash, glade an’ -meadow, an’ I is feared ub nuffin ceppin hawks, owls, guns, dogs an’ -mus’rats. But when I tu’ns inter uh Jack-uh-ma-lantern I ain’ feared ub -nuffin.’” - -Uncle Jerry: “Billy, look at me! You sho’ dat snipe spressify dey tu’n -inter Jack-uh-ma-lanterns?” - -“Cross meh hyart an’ bref.” - -Uncle Jerry: “Well, den, I eat no mo’ snipe! Dat mus’ be de reason I’s -bin dreamin’ so bad.” - -Little Billy: “Talkin’ ’bout dem Jack-uh-ma-lanterns meck me feel quare. -I is trimlin’ like uh aspine leaf.” - -“Teck ’nubba nip, Billy, an’ try ter ’stain yo’sef tell you git th’oo -dis s’prisin’ narration.” - -“Well, he say: ‘Meh name Cap’n Jack Snipe, an’ I cummand uh comp’ny ub -snipe, an’ we gwine ter summer on dis mash wid some cute young lady -snipe fum Souf Kyarlina, dat’s gwine ter mate heah, an’ ub cose, nes’. -De mus’rats don’ meck any mo’ mirations ’bout dis mash den I do. An’ de -wumms, an’ de sweet roots dat grow heah wud ’tract uh snipe fum any -State. I heahd uh woodcock say lars’ summer dat she had trabel uh good -deal, but had nebber seen sich uh mash ez Wile Goose Mash. I sleeps well -out on de mash kase I am de cap’n ub dis comp’ny ub snipe, an’ has ter -watch out. Dat’s why I ain’ shuck yo’ han’, Mr. Frog; kase I is ve’y -sociable, an’ likes frogs eben ef dey do say when he go co’tin’ he carry -uh swo’d an’ pisel by he side. Hit’s mos’ my co’tin’ time!’ - -“Mr. Frog: ‘When’s dat?’ - -“‘When de peach an’ cherry trees am bloomin’, when de bees am suckin’ -clober, an’ de patridge say, “Bob White,” we gits in lub, an’ wants uh -mate. It’s ’nuff ter meck you cry, Mr. Frog, but dat’s de time I got uh -game leg. Hit wuz one lubly day early in May. I wuz sorter dozin’ ’side -uh tussock, ebery now an’ den ketchin’ uh grub wum, when I saw uh gran’ -lookin’ pinter dog, gallopin’ same ez uh race hoss, cummin’ my way, an’ -not fur behin’ him uh man in gum boots. Sez I ter mehsef, sez I, when -you git erboutin uh hun’erd ya’ds fum me I’ll dart ’way. Jes’ den uh -putty young lady snipe fum Firginny darted fum un’er uh nearby tussock, -winked huh lubly black eyes in de mos’ coaxin’ way, spread huh tail like -uh dear little fan.’” - -Uncle Caesar: “Wan’ she uh sassy snipe?” - -“‘So I say in de p’lites’ way, “Won’ you tase dis wum?” In uh moment she -stood ’side me an’ say in words mo’ sweetah dan de mockin’ birds, “I’s -got such miration fuh you I kyant resis’.” A moment later I heahd dat -gunner say, “Careful da!” I ris up. Bang! Uh number ten shot wen’ th’oo -meh thigh, an’ dat’s why I got uh game leg.’” - -Uncle Jerry Butler: “Billy, I s’pose I mus’ bleebe yo’ story, kase I -heah ’em read down ter de sto’ lars’ nite, dat uh hen lay uh gole egg, -which is wussa yit. How-some-eber, I sut’ny wud lub ter ketch one ub dem -breed ub chickens uh roosin’ ’roun’ heah.” - - - - - NANCY YOUNG. - - -In Pleasant Valley, at the head of Fausley Creek, there were several -quarters, in one of which lived Nancy Young, not a stone’s throw from -the quarter of Aunt Cassey. Nancy helped in milking the cows, churning, -making butter, and at harvest time helped the cooks, but Mammy Nancy, as -the darkies called her, was virtually her own mistress, and was never -required to do hard work; in short, she was the plantation doctress, and -it was seldom that any little darkies came into the world without Mammy -Nancy’s assisting their advent. The negroes thought her inspired, and -when they had ailments Nancy made them a decoction that went to the -spot; in brief, she was well acquainted with the use of herbs. She had -faithfully nursed Mrs. Isaac Atkinson, a Quakeress and neighbor, who -imparted to her many of her secret remedies; some of these would have -enlightened a modern doctor. For example, she had a remedy for what she -called “cowbuncle,” which was almost a specific for carbuncle. Nancy -especially doted on making catnip tea, and when she held in her faithful -arms a cantankerous baby, and crooned and gave it catnip tea, “De chile -wan’ pestered no mo.’” - -She was motherly, sympathetic and a born nurse, and not only attended -the servants, but nursed the ladies of the neighborhood. She was -extremely pious, and if she had not been, I do not know what would have -become of Little Billy; she was his wife. - -Nancy was full of determination and spirit, and when Billy came in early -in the morning from ’possum hunting without a ’possum, she always -suspected he had been to Major Rudd’s store, and took the strong hand -with him that he took with his steers, and would not let him have his -banjo and pipe. - -The earliest watermelons grew in her garden, and she had spring chicken -weeks before her neighbors. Billy was not allowed even to go into the -garden, for she was afraid he might disturb her herb patch. It did not -disturb Billy, however, who preferred his corncob pipe and banjo. Nancy -was very fond of music, and once she said to me: “Billy ain’ got no -erligion, but he do play de banjo same ez uh cherrypin” [cherubim]. - -Some gypsies struck their tents on the main road about a mile from -Nancy’s home, and one night a man rode up, inquired for Mammy Nancy, and -said his wife was sick. She was soon with the gypsy, who was ailing some -two weeks, and when Nancy returned she was not only a doctress, but a -firm believer in witchcraft, and could tell your fortune by looking at -your hand. - -Nancy was making some bone-set and snake-root tea—Billy had the shakes, -so she said—when Billy broke the silence by asking, “Nancy, what’s de -matter wid dem hens?” - -“Billy, you know uh mink skerd de hens week ’fo’ lars’, an’ ’sturbed -deah mem’ry fuh layin’. I ain’ got but eight eggs ter-day an’ none -yistiddy, so dese all we got fuh suppah.” - -“Is you got de spider hot? Well, den, cut orf eight slices ub bacon an’ -den we will hab uh slice ub bacon fuh each egg. Heah’s some kinlin’ wood -I picked up in Mars Pinckney’s woodpile, an’ by de time de bacon is -fryin’ good—dat is, de grease bilin’—speck me back wid fo’ catfish I -kotch in de net lars’ nite, which will keep us fum gittin’ horngry befo’ -suppah time. I’m gwine ter de rebate ter-night.” - -“Billy, ez I ondastan’ hit da ain’ much use gwine. Uncle Reubin, Pawson -Demby an’ Damon Danridge is on de side futto ’sterminate de witches, an’ -dat fusty niggah, Jerry Jones, is fuh lettin’ de witches lib. Now I don’ -kuh any mo’ fuh him dan I do fuh uh shirk! Tell me, lars’ nite at Mage -Rudd’s sto’ he spressify hissef dat he wuz so well ’quainted wid de -witches in Haylan’ Branch dat dey al’ays bow ter him when dey meet him; -an’ he say he of’n hab composation wid ’em, an’ dat dey hab de gre’tes’ -condidence in him; an’ Mage Rudd say he has heahd de witches mo’n once -praisin’ him. He’s got uh bran’ new fiddle an’ bo’ dat cos’ $9, which he -made fum coon hides in one monf. De fac’ is, strange ez hit may seem, -dey won’ let nobody hunt in Haylan’ Branch ceppin Jerry. Mo’n dat, dey -tell me he said he wan’ feared ub de sponsibility ub rebatin’ by hissef; -dat de witches sass him sometimes, but fuh de mos’ part dey kine and -lubly.” - -“Now, Nancy, Jerry nebba spressify dat de witches lubly.” - -“Yas he did! Mo’n dat, Ceaser an’ Jerry Butler heah him, an’ dey so -pestered ’boutin dem witches ’stead ub walkin’ fum deah house thoo -Pleasant Walley ter wha dey keep deah boat on de ribba, not mo’n uh -quarter ub uh mile fum deah house, dey walks two miles ’roun’ de walley, -dey so feared dem witches ride an’ whup ’em. Hit wudn’ s’prise me ef’n -de debbil wuz ter transplant Jerry same ez de Lawd transplanted Eunuch. -Why, he’s ebin ’cused de Petracks ub lubbin’ an’ keepin’ comp’ny wid -witches. Hit’s scan’lus! Damon Danridge say dat he heah Jerry Jones say -dat Samuel de fus’ use ter let witches roos’ all erroun’ his house, an’ -dat hit’s true dat Moses fell out wid uh witch an’ say, [10]”Thou shall -not suffah uh witch ter lib,” an’ he mout uh kilt ’em all, but jes’ den -Mars Noahy an’ his cullud son Ham driv up wid uh bag an’ say, “Saul, I’m -bleeged ter hab uh par ub witches fuh meh boat,” an’ Jerry ’low dat de -sponsibility resses wid Mars Noahy, de father ub dat lubly boy Ham. - -“Stephen, what is de rebate ezactly? I dunno what you gwine fuh! I hab -uh gre’t mine ter meck you stay home an’ hab nuffin ter do wid witches. -How kin you go ter de rebate when da is three hens hatchin’, an’ minks -imperdent? Da is only one thing I want you ter go fuh, an’ I bin layin’ -out futto tell you. - -“Yistiddy mawnin’ I wuz crossin’ de road gwine ter de thicket wha dat -speckled hen name “Yaller Legs” is hatchin’—in de pile ub jack-oak brush -close ter de spring—when, lo an’ beholst! dat free niggah Jim Brooks cum -erlong. He wuz dribin’ in his kyart uh po’ leetle harf-starbed steer, -an’ I wuz jes’ thinkin’ ter mehsef, Is dat kyart movin’ er no, so slow -wuz he gwine. De truf is de leetle steer wan’ much bigger dan one ub -Mars Pinckney’s wethers. Tho’ I nebba been interjuced ter dat Jim Brooks -(me dat waits on de qual’ty), jes’ ez I cross de road dat free niggah -say ter his steer, ‘Step up, Pete, step up; an’ look out, stranger, dat -you don’ git run ober!’ Now, I cornsider dat de wus’ sort ub impotence, -an’ I wan’ you ter tell him so ef’n he is at Zion ter-night. I’m not -gwine ter stan’ hit. Ef’n he had uh par ub fars-trottin’ steers like -Uncle Simon’s, hit wud be bad ’nuff, but ter be ’sulted by dat sort ub -miration is scan’lus.” - -“Well, Nancy, stay home an’ let me go ter de rebate; dem chickens’ -hatchin’ is pow’ful waluble. I gib Mage Rudd five levys fuh thutty ub -dem eggs, an’ he say dat breed ub chickens cum fum Henrico County, -Firginny, an’ once lay uh gole egg; so ub cose dey wuf watchin’ day an’ -nite. Mo’n dat, I am one ub de arbiters, an’ I won’ let dat imperdent -free niggah Jim Brooks dat ’sulted you cum in Zion, ef’n hit breck up de -rebate. I holp ter meck de brick fuh dat chuch, an’ I sut’ny got some -sponsibility in de matter.” - -“Well, Billy, when you spressify yo’sef dat way, ez de moon is so young, -an’ hit so dark, I will stay home.” - -Their conversation was interrupted by a gentle knock at the door, which -Nancy opened and exclaimed, “Bless meh soul an’ body, an’ body an’ soul, -ef’n hit ain’ young Mistis! Why, honey, howdy; an’ wha you bin?” - -“Mammy Nancy, one of Father’s ewes died in February and left a dear -little lamb. I took it to the house, fed it from a bottle, and it became -like Mary’s little lamb—everywhere that I went the lamb was sure to go. -Early this morning I started out to get the first spring flowers. After -I had walked about a mile I heard Snow Flake bleating, and looking back -saw her gambolling after me. When I passed the fold a hundred or more of -beautiful leaping lambs romped around her, and soon my sweet Snow Flake -seemed to forget me and skipped and played with the other lambs. I felt -that I would be a wolf to take that lamb from the flock; and yet, Mammy -Nancy, I love that little lamb so much. And, oh! how I have watched and -tended it! Finally I walked to your spring, sat down and cried, and then -I felt thirsty; and when I looked for the gourd that hangs on the nail -in the pine tree it was gone. So I have come for the gourd.” - -“Dat’s Billy’s carlesomeness; dar’s de gourd, honey, in de watah bucket. -Miss Marg’retta, you looks ez sweet ez dem flowers dat’s reposin’ on yo’ -bres’. I bin heahin’ erbout you. Dey tell me de bows jes’ cum in drobes -futto see you. De fac’ is, you is mo’ beau’ful an’ beau’ful ev’y day. -Dey tells me dat de young marsters cum fum Balt’mo’ ter see you; -how-some-eber, I heah dat Mars John Charles Dickinson, fum Queens Anne’s -County, is yo’ favorite. He! He! He! Dat’s what Miss Osman say. Got uh -new ring on yo’ fingah, too; but Ole Mars ain’ gwine ter let you merry -anybody ceppin uh Pres’dent er sompin’ like dat. Chile, lemmy tell yo’ -fortune?” - -[Illustration: - - Courtesy Knaffl Bros., Knoxville, Tenn. - - You gwine ter merry uh king an’ hab thutteen chillun! -] - -“All right, Mammy Nancy.” - -“Do you wan’ uh long fortune er uh short fortune?” - -“Well, a short one to-day and to-morrow I will come and get the long -one.” - -“Mistis, I will teck yo’ lef’ han’ ter-day. How does you keep yo’ han’s -so white an’ dimpled? Dar’s many uh one ub dem young men dat fox hunts -wid Ole Mars dat wud gib deah hyarts ter hole dis han’; deed dey wud. -One, two, three, fo’ five, six, sebin, eight, nine, ten, ’lebin, twelbe, -thutteen. Yo’ gwine ter merry uh king an’ hab thutteen chillun. Billy, -go out an’ see how dem hens is hatchin’.” - -When Billy was sent out Margaretta thought it was going to be a long -fortune, so she switched the conversation off and said, “Has Billy got -religion? We haven’t heard of his being at Major Rudd’s store of late, -fiddling and banjo playing.” - -Nancy said, “Billy goes ter Mr. Dawson’s sto’ now, uh mile fudder up de -rode, futto sell his eggs, mus’rat hides an’ coon hides. You see Mage -Rudd fell out wid Billy, an’ ’twuz all uh accident. It wuz dis way: Fus’ -place Mage Rudd sol’ Billy some eggs dat cos’ 2 cents uh piece. He say -dat de breed ub chickens dat dey cum fum once laid uh gole egg. Well, -Billy’s eggs all hatched ducks. Billy wuz furisome, an’ wen’ right ’way -ter Mage Rudd’s sto’, but he got sich uh way ub twissin’ his tongue dat -he twiss out ub it by sayin’ dat somebody swap eggs wid Billy. Cose den -I molested him boutin dem duck eggs, an’ he say, ‘Nancy, I hab got uh -ve’y fine new lantern fuh sale, an’ I wan’ ter sell you one.’ Sez I, -‘Why; I’s got uh good lantern.’ ‘Well,’ sez he, ‘Billy’s so black you -wan’ uh fus’-class lantern ter stick outin de winder in de mawnin’ ter -see ef’n day is broke!’ Now, qual’ty people wud nebba talk dat way, an’ -dat’s what made Billy skeer dem frogs ub Mage Rudd’s.” - -“Well, what did Billy do?” - -“Well, Mage Rudd had uh empty mullasses barrel in front ub de sto’, an’ -de flies wuz swa’min’ erroun’ hit same ez uh swa’m ub bees, an’ Mage -Rudd’s toad-frogs wuz almos’ ez thick ez de flies, an’ dey wuz ketchin’ -de flies same ez de debbil ketches sinnahs. - -“Well, ’twuz erboutin sundown when Billy cum erlong an’ seed dem flies -an’ frogs. So he got uh piece ub ole rope, hide hissef ’hine de barrel, -an’ den he twiss dat rope thoo de grass ezactly like uh snake. De frogs -dat wan’ full ub flies an’ cud jump went all ober dat sto’, in de -butter, mullasses, sugar, brakin’ eggs, lamp chimneys, nockin’ down -bottles, an’ wussa still, dey jumped ’roun’ Mage Rudd’s ole maiden -sistuh’s feets an’ ankles, tell she tuck up huh dress like she gwine -wadin’. Mars Pinckney say she mussa tho’t de frogs wuz _garter_ snakes. -But de mos’ ’stressin’ part ub all wuz de frogs dat wuz full ub flies -an’ cudn’ hop; dey los’ deah mines—bellerd an’ wep’, wep’ an’ bellered -wuss dan uh pon’ full ub horngry calves. Uh big frog pon’ wuz nuffin ter -hit. - -“Mage Rudd ’low he didn’ keer fuh de flies, er de things dat wuz -’stroyed in de sto’, but he did keer _fuh dem frogs_; dat he wuz uh -widderer, wid no chillun, an’ summer ebenin’s dem frogs ’mused him; an’ -lars, but not leas’, dat he wuz keepin’ dat rope _fuh Billy_, an’ when -he kotch him he wud meck him jump leap frog.” - -Billy fully intended going to the debate, but on his way he met a lot of -coon hunters, forgot the debate and returned to his quarter about -daylight, when he explained matters to Mammy Nancy. She said, “You -shan’t hab yo’ pipe fuh uh monf.” Whereupon Billy, to melt Mammy Nancy, -tuned his banjo, twanged it and sang: - - “Didn’ my Lawd d’liver Daniel? - D’liver Daniel, d’liver Daniel. - Didn’ my Lawd d’liver Daniel? - An’ why not ev’y man. - - “He d’liver’d Daniel fum de lions’ den, - Jo-nah fum de belly ub de whale, - An’ de He-boo chillun fum de fiery furnace, - An’ why not ev’y man. - - “De win’ blows Eas’ an’ de win’ blow Wes’; - It blows like de judgment day, - An’ ev’y po’ soul dat nebba did pray - Will be glad ter pray dat day.” - -When Billy had finished singing Nancy said, “I reckon you kin hab yo’ -pipe, Billy, ef’n you promise ter jine de chuch.” And Billy promised -“ter jine.” - - - - - MARS PINCKNEY’S ’SIMMONS - - - De chickens all hab gone ter roos’, de milkin’s almos’ ober; - I heah de hooppo-will’s loud song, de rabbits in de clober, - De ’possum gittin’ out ub bed, de coon he ’gin ter wake, - An’ one, er bof, in Haylan’ Branch, I specks ter obertake. - - Da ain’ no moon, de stars is brite, de ’simmons ripe an’ sweet— - De ve’y night fuh Traveler ter sent uh varment’s feet; - Befo’ de roostus crow hit’s day, an’ ’fo’ de Bob White stir, - I no I’ll heah de lubly tongue ub meh dog Traveler. - - Jes’ ez I harked him in de branch, an’ wa’k ’long de parf, - I seed de bushes moobin’, an’ I heahd uh leetle larf; - ’Twuz den de dog cum ter de tree an’ made uh monstus fuss, - An’ what wuz in dat ’simmon tree wuz wuss dan scanalous. - - At fus’ I tho’t hit wuz uh owl, but coon dogs don’ tree owls, - An’ Traveler wuz too skeer’d ter bark, ’twuz jes’ uh stream ub howls; - So den I look up in de tree, an’ settin’ ’pon uh lim’, - Wuz uh cunnin’ leetle niggah, sorter hummin’ ub uh hymn. - - I saw ’twuz leetle Ezzy feedin’ on dem ’simmons ripe— - De night befo’ he’d tole “De composation ub de snipe;” - He al’ays spressify hissef in sech uh cutesome way - Dat ev’ybody lubbed him, an’ bleebe what Billy say. - - So I didn’ wan’ ter ’stress him, but meck bleebe I did, - An’ said, “Fum Caesar’s quarters hencefof you is fuhbid;” - An’ den dat leetle roscal say he didn’ cuh fuh me, - “Dese is Mars Pinckney’s ’simmons, an’ Mars Pinckney’s ’simmon tree.” - - I tole him ef’n I had uh ax I’d cut de fruit tree down, - An’ ef he fell an’ breck he neck when he struck on de groun’ - Hit wouldn’ ’stress me any, kase you t’ink yo’sef so wise, - An’ you de sort ub niggah dat de Babtis’ chuch dispise. - - - - - “DEM DAYS.” - - -“Is this Uncle Stephen Demby?” - -“Yas, honey; dat’s meh name! I jes’ got in fum crabbin’. Lemmy put meh -paddles un’er de house ter keep dese carelessom’ gre’t-gran’chillun ub -mine fum fin’in’ ’em. Dem two gals, Marfy an’ Muhtilda, out da in de -watah sorf crabbin’ is meh gran’chillun. An’ jes’ look at dem two boys -er ridin’ dat cow ub Mars Pinckney’s; dem is meh gre’t-gran’chillun, an’ -dey monstus bad. (Ef’n you don’ git of’n dat cow I’ll whup you till da -ain’ no bref in you!) Dar’s three ub dem boys, an’ dey name Stephen, -Saul an’ Bonypart, an’ like ez not de one name Bonypart is ridin’ dat -cow’s calf. Deah gre’t-gran’mammy gibs ’em too much cawn bred, an’ hit -natchelly puts noshuns in deah haids.” - -“Do you live here?” - -“Yas’um; but de road don’ go no fudder. You’r sho’ly on de rong road, -chile; dat’s de road ter de Royal Oak, an’ de road you on is wha dey bin -haulin’ oyster shells, ter fix de road you lef’.” - -[Illustration: - - Dem two gals, Marthy an’ Muhtilda, out da in de watah sorf crabbin’ is - meh gran’chillun. -] - -“Uncle Stephen, I know exactly where I am, and I have come to see you, -and want you to tell me all about Talbot County before the war, so that -I can put it in my magazine.” - -“Well, bless meh soul an’ body, an’ meh body an’ soul. Heh! heh! heh! -Jes’ speckin’, I reckon, futto see Mars Pinckney ’roun’ heah; I’m sho’ -he bin meckin’ ’mirations at yer. Uh foxhoun’ don’ lub uh fox hunt mo’ -dan de ladies ’roun’ heah lub Mars Pinckney, an’ I heah Mars John -Charles Tilghman say ter ole Mars Nickey, ‘He is ez hainsome ez de son -ub King Dabid-Ab-so-lum, dat got kilt by uh mule.’ Mules wuz ornry in -dem days. Now, how you gwine ter put Talbot County in yo’ mag’zine? You -jes’ tezin’ po’ ole Stephen. You see I’s al’ays libbed wid de qual’ty, -an’ ain’ easy ter fool. Now, you sho’ly ain’ got uh mag’zine?” - -“Indeed I have, dear Uncle Stephen.” - -“Well, what we gwine ter cum ter. Ef’n meh dear ole Missis had ebin seed -one ub huh chillun ridin’ on one ub dem one-wheel t’ings she’d uh tuck -an’ spanked huh an’ kep’ huh in bed fuh two weeks; but ter t’ink ub uh -lubly young mistis like you is, habin’ uh mag-zine—chile, I is libbed -too long. It’s mos’ ez bad ez ghoses an’ witches.” - -“Uncle Stephen, don’t you think I could manage a magazine and put the -nicest sort of stories in it?” - -“Well, den, what good it gwine ter do you? I wish de one dat ’sploded at -Petersbu’g had nuffin in it but stories. Why, honey, it blowed up an’ -kilt fo’ thousan’ mules, an’ I dunno how many millions ub solders, an’ -de good Lawd only nose how many plantations. Is you got uh pa? Well, -chile, you will twiss yo’ po’ pa’s feelin’s sum ub dese days ornless you -stop playin’ wid mag-zines.” - -“Why, Uncle Stephen, you are too old to have been a soldier in the civil -war.” - -“Indeed I wuz, honey, an’ I wuz skeer’d stiff! You see dey tuck me ter -Easton, gib me toddy, ’fused me, an’ ’swaded me ter go. I’s got uh -pension, fuh I drobed uh fo’-hoss mule team fuh six monfs. I didn’ keah -fuh de wah; fac’ is, I kep’ ’way fum de battlefields. I wud uh bin uh -exerter, but wuz fear’d ter ezert! So I jes’ had ter pine fuh ole mars, -ole miss, an’ Sookey. Sookey’s meh wife, an’ she al’ays wid ’em. She use -ter look fuh ole mars’ specks, an’ keep de flies of’n ole miss.” - -“Uncle Stephen, my magazine is a kind of book that comes out every month -and has pretty stories in it, and they tell me that you can tell a -pretty story.” - -“Heh! heh! heh! mistis, I al’ays know’d I wuz uh qual’ty niggah.” - -[Illustration: - - Deah gre’t gran’ mammy gibs ’em too much cawn-bred, an’ hit natchelly - puts noshuns in deah haids. -] - -“So I have brought you a nice bundle of tea, tobacco, and a new straw -hat, for I want you to tell me all about yourself and something about -Talbot County before the war.” - -“Well, I s’pose dey name books arfter mag’zines, kase dey big soun’in’ -t’ings? I’s pow’ful bleeged ter you fuh de tea, ’baccy an’ de hat. I’ll -hab ter teck dis sweet blue ban’ of’n de hat, kase it will skeer de fish -an’ keep ’em fum bitin’. You mus’ be fum de Souf?” - -“No, I am from the North.” - -“Well, you mus’ uh had uh mammy fum de Souf, den.” - -“Maybe, Uncle Stephen. And now tell me something about the Eastern Shore -of Maryland, Talbot County, before the war.” - -“Well, hunny, I cum outin’ uh fambly dat lib wha you see dem tall elm, -hoss chestnut an’ big oak trees. De place name Otwell. I wuz bo’n da—and -so wuz meh fava an’ his fava. Meh fava’s name wuz Phil Demby, an’ Pawson -Demby, de ’stinguis’ Babtis preecher, is meh brudder, an’ name arfter -meh fava. None of my fambly wuz free niggahs, er ’longed ter po’ white -trash. My muvva she named Phillis. Dey called huh Arnt Phillis; an’ she -libbed at Otwell, an’ wuz Mars Nickey’s favorite cook. All de niggahs on -dat plantation slep’ wid sheets on deah beds. Mars Nickey didn’ hab, an’ -he wouldn’ hab no common niggahs. When de oberseers cum ter de po’ch ter -git deah orders, dey al’ays stood wid deah haids unkivvered, rain er no -rain; dey know’d deah place. An’ Chrismus Ole Mars gib all de serbents -toddy, but ef’n dey get tipsy, he whup ’em sho’! Meh muvva, Phillis, wuz -de fus’ cook at Otwell. Chile, she wuz uh cook! but one ub de slow-paced -sort. Nowdays dey cook uh ham in fo’ hours; dem days it tuck meh muvva -two days, an’ dem wuz Mars Nickey’s orders. - -“How-some-eber ev’yt’ing wuz slow in dem days. Dey use ter teck uh gre’t -big silver tank dat hilt boutin uh gallon, er mebby two gallons, an’ -fill it wid mint julip, an’ it had two gre’t big han’les jes’ like ram’s -hohns on de sides. An’ Saul an’ Damon—dey wuz de house serbents—dey meck -de julips (I use ter holp when dey ve’y busy, an’ tase de julip an’ see -ef’n it sweet nuff), an’ when de gemmen cum in fum fox hun’in’, Saul an’ -Damon wud pars ’roun’ de tank; an’ _you kyant tell how slow dey wud -drink fum dat tank_. An’ when dinner time cum it tuck ’em boutin fo’ -hours, sometimes mo’n fo’, an’ sometimes all nite futto eat dinner. Dey -riz bees, an’ dey meck peach brandy, an’ dey drink what you call peach -an’ honey. How cum dey don’ drink peach an’ honey dese days? Why, de -ve’y bref ub it mecks you feel nice. - -“Fo’ de wah all de hom’ny wuz bet in uh gre’t big morter; de hom’ny dey -mecks nowdays is nuffin ter hit. All de wheat wuz cut wid uh cradle, an’ -when dey all in uh row swingin’ deah cradles, sayin’ nuffin an’ lookin’ -so full ub condidence, it remin’ you ub de fus’ ub de flood tide in de -creek—mus’ go on. Uncle Reuben al’ays tuck de haid row. Swing he cradle -same ez Sampson. Steambo’ts cum once uh week dem days, an’ dey tuck all -day ter cum, an’ dey stay all nite, an’ go ’way nex’ mawnin’. Now dey -cum in fo’ hours, an’ fo’ er five uh day. - -“People ebin dance slower dem days; use ter dance de min-e yet. Mars -Tilghman co’tin’ Mis Henrietta, an’ he bow ter huh same ez uh tall -poplar when de win’ blow hyard; an’ ez fuh Miss Henrietta, she jes’ ez -graceful ez uh putty kitten, an’ stylish ez uh unbroken thurrybred colt. -Ef’n de flo’ had uh bin kivverd wid de hunard-leaf roses, an’ she wuz uh -dancin’, she wudn’ mash one. Many uh time, thoo de wintah, I’b seed ’em -dance. I’d bin de haid waitah at ‘Otwell’ ef’n I hadn’ bin so waluble -futto breck de steers an’ colts. Ole Mars’ he had de gre’tes’ confluence -in meh ’rasity, an’ I wuz al’ays ’roun’ de kitchen, kase, ez I befo’ -tole you, meh Muvva Phillis de haid cook. Mam Juby, she de secon’ cook, -and ’sis’ mammy. - -“Why, hunny, ebin de peaches an’ watahmillions wuz bigger dem deys, kase -dey didn’ grow up so fars; dey tuck deah time; an’ ez fuh oysters an’ -fish, why dem days you cud walk out in dat cobe not fudder dan yo’ nees, -an’ git all de oysters you wan’, an’ set rite at dat stake an’ pull in -de fish tell you go ’stracted, an’ de wile ducks quackin’ all ’roun’ -you. Dat’s de stake Leetle Billy wuz uh fishin’ at when de shirk pull -him ove’bode. Leetle Billy wuz uh ornry niggah, al’ays playin’ de -fiddle, mus’rattin’, tellin’ ghose stories, fishinin’ on Sunday, an’ -dancin’. Mo’n dat, he nebber ’longed ter de chuch, an’ it wan’ no use -ter talk ter him. How-some-eber, ev’ybody liked Billy; al’ays peart, -al’ays hab ’baccy in he pocket, an’ gib lib’ly. Billy wuz uh qua’ chap; -he wan’ lazy, but he didn’ lub hyard wuck. Well, he tied he bote at _dat -ve’y stake_, an’ jes’ fuh fun, befo’ de tide tu’n an’ de fish bite, he -put uh gre’t big sorf crab on he hook, flung de bait out, tied de line -’roun’ he leg, tuck his fiddle out an’ ’mence ter play jigs an’ sich -like. Bimeby he wen’ uh sleep, an’ uh shirk cum ’long an’ tuck dat bait, -pulled po’ Billy ove’bode, an’ Billy wen’ uh skeetin’, bobbin’ up an’ -down like uh passel ub ’scovey ducks bavin’ deah sef, an’ prayin’ fas’ -ez he cud git de watah fum he mouf. Billy say he wuz jes’ prayin’ dat de -fiddle wudn’ git los’, but Cap’n Stitchberry sez he nebba heahd uh -moanah pray mo’ pow’ful. Mo’n dat, ef’n Cap’n Stitchberry hadn’ cum -’long in he pungy wid uh load ub oyster shells, an’ kotch Billy when he -wuz fai’ly sailin’ ’long, de shirk wud hab ’stroyed Billy. Mars Innis -Randolph says, ‘Dey kyant tell whedder de niggah wuz uh fishinin’ er de -fish wuz uh niggerin’.’ Dat’s de way people gits talked boutin dat -fishes on Sunday. - -[Illustration: - - I’d bin de haid waitah at “Otwell” ef’n I hadn’ bin so waluble futto - breck de steers an’ colts. Ole Mars had de gret’s confluence in meh - ’rasity. -] - -“Dem days dear ole Mars Nickey had seben sons, an’ dey all wen’ Souf in -de wah; all got kilt ’ceppin’ Mars Pinckney, name arfter uh Bishop, an’ -he wuz de wiles’ an’ de gayes’, an’ he didn’ git uh scratch. Dem chillun -gittin’ kilt, wid _me_ leabin’ Ole Mars, meck him seck an’ breck his -hyart. (’Skuse dese teahs, young mistis!) So he died! Meh pappy Demby -use ter ’long ter Mars Nickey’s fava, an’ dribe de fo’-in-han’ an’ rid’ -’hine in de saddle when Mars Nickey drobe in de gig. Bof ub ’em wuz name -Nickey, an’ he wuz de fif’ Nickey dat wuz bo’n at Otwell. I heah Leetle -Billy say dat he heah Mars Tilghman say dat he heah Mr. Stevens say—de -man dat use ter run Mars Nickey’s win’ mill—dat de fus’ Mars Nickey cum -ober de bay wid uh man name Klumbus, an’ dey ’scover Talbot Kounty. Dat -wuz in de time ub de Petracks. [Patriarchs.] - -“Dem days dey had what you call gigs. ’Cose you nebber saw one ub dem -ole-time gigs. Well, you almos’ had ter git up in ’em wid uh leetle -ladder, dey so tall an’ stylish. Dey wuz fuh two hosses tandy, one in de -shaf’, de udder in de lead. Dat’s de way dey wen’ co’tin’, an’ dey wo’ -silk stockin’s, an’ no pants, ’ceppin’ ter deah knees. Pappy say -ev’ything wuz slow in dem days, ’ceppin’ de race hosses, foxhoun’s, an’ -de young; an’ de ole marsters, dey luck so peart an’ ’squisit’ in deah -silk coats an’ socks, silk all ober, dat de young ladies cudn’ resis’ -’em. Dem days som’times dey had three er four wibes. One mistis hardly -hab de hunnysuccle growin’ ober huh grabe ’fo’ dey git annurr wife. I -had five wibes mehsef. Heh! Heh! Heh! - -“When Pawson Demby, meh brudder, got ’ligion, den I got ’ligion. ’Fo’ -dat I use ter ride race hosses, an’ me an’ Mrs. Rodgers’ Ned, an’ Mars -Nickey’s Big Billy (you see dey had two Billys, an’ dey use ter call one -Big Billy an’ de udder Leetle Billy) use ter play de fiddle, an’ two -waitahs fum Myrtle Grobe, Hesakiah Sprouts an’ John Poney, use ter play -de flute an’ banjo, an’, hunny, people use ter cum fum Kyarline an’ -Qweens Anne’s County futto heah us play, ‘Wha You Gwine, Sistah Sue?’ -‘Rosin de Bow,’ ‘Debbil ’mong de Tailors,’ ‘Yaller Cow,’ an’ sich like. - -[Illustration: - - SCIPIO JONAS JONES AND NIMROD. -] - -“Meh deah chile, I cud tell you heap mo’ ’boutin dem days; but when I -look ober da—Ole Mars’ gone, all de hoss ches’nut, elms an’ poplars (dey -call dem Lombardy poplars) dead—de apple an’ de peach archard ’stroyed -wid age, de cobe wha dey use ter swim de hosses so shaller dat uh kildee -kin wa’k ’cross, an’ wussa yit, de man what wuz wonce uh oberseer -libbin’ in de ole house, how you ’speck I feel? An’ much ez I lub de ole -place, I’s ’fear’d ter go da; fuh dey tell me Leetle Billy plays de -fiddle an’ dances in de yard sometimes, an’ he bin dead six monfs nex’ -harves’. Ef’n I hadn’ preserbation in meh hyart, an’ ’long ter de chuch, -I’d be ’fear’d ter lib heah. Do you ’long ter de chuch? Ef’n you don’ -git salbation rite ’way, den yo’ mag’zine will bloom jes’ like de -blossoms on dem crabapple trees, an’ you will long fuh de chuch jes’ ez -much ez uh hen longs fuh huh los’ chickens. Ef’n I hadn’ jine de chuch -I, tu, mout be uh ghose like po’ Billy—he died fum eatin’ tu much -watahmillion he stole—an’ I mout uh bin wid him. - -“Ef’n Ole Mars wuz libbin’ dem crabapple trees wud hab uh new fence -’roun’ dem. Das wha’ he burried Cicero, he favorite p’inter dog. Hunny, -I will nebber fogit dat name; I recommember it jes’ ez well ez I -recommember yistiddy. All de niggahs in de mansion call him Cis, an’ it -meck Ole Mars ’stracted. He stan’ us all, young an’ ole, leetle an’ big, -Aunt Phillis, tu, all in uh line, befo’ de po’ch, an’ he say: ‘Dem me, -ef’n I don’ sell you all ter Georgy ef’n you don’ stop callin’ dat dog -Cis. He’s uh gre’t dog, an’ name arfter uh gre’t man; I won’ hab it. I -will wuck de plantation wid free niggahs ’fo’ I hab it.’ An’ he tell de -leetle niggahs dey kyant play ’roun’ de po’ch fuh uh monf ef’n dey don’ -learn ter call dat dog Cicero. Den he meck us all say arfter him, -C-i-c-e-r-o, C-i-c-e-r-o, C-i-c-e-r-o—Cicero! - -“When he wuz uh young dog, boutin two year ole, Ole Mars cum fum -partridge shootin’ one day, an’ all de dogs jump out de wagon at de -po’ch ’ceppin’ Cicero; he wuz almos’ tu tired an’ sleepy ter mobe. But -when Mammy Phillis call him he got hongry rite ’way; jump out an’ struck -he haid ’gin de iron scraper dey teck de mud of’n deah boots wid, an’ -kill hissef. Hongry an’ thusty ez Ole Mars wuz, he wep’! An’ he say, ‘I -wan’ you an’ Reubin ter dig uh grabe un’er dem crabapple trees, an’ in -de mawnin’ we will burry him.’ An’ so de nex’ mawnin’ Uncle Reubin an’ I -wuz stan’in’ by de grabe meddowtatin’, an’ heah wuz me, heah wuz Uncle -Reubin, an’ heah wuz Cis. Pres’ny Marster cum an’ put Cis in de grabe, -an’ I thowd uh spade full ub uth on Cis; an’ Uncle Reubin riz up his -haid, an’ he say, ‘Mars Nickey, ain’ you gwine ter say nuffin?’ An’ Mars -Nickey he luck like his hyart wud breck, an’ he say ‘Nuffin, Reubin!’ -Den Uncle Reubin thowd in uh spade full ub uth, lean on he shovel an’ -sorter whispuh like, ‘Den I will say he wuz uh good _ole_ dog!’ - -“Marster’s favorite dogs wuz houn’s; he lub ’em so he nebber low you ter -call uh houn’ uh dog. An’ he had seben hosses dat done nuffin but hunt -ober dem dogs; an’ dey _wuz_ hosses, fuh it tuck uh hoss ub qual’ty ter -kerry him; he wuz uh pow’ful man. Fus’ you read de Bible, hunny, boutin -de time King Dabid wuz all dress up in his new nuniform an’ whup de -Flistins, an’ den teck uh look at Ole Mars’ pictur, you sho’ly wud think -King Dabid favo’d Ole Mars, he so hainsome; an’ Mars Pinckney de ve’y -spit ub him! When Mars Nickey git on he hun’in’ close he glitter jes’ -same ez uh star! Yaller wes’ (yaller wuz he favorite color), no pants -’ceppin’ ter de nees, an’ dey yaller; an’ green welwet cote—bless meh -soul an’ body, an’ meh body an’ soul, he look jes’ like King Solomon -mus’ uh look when he wen’ struttin’ arfter annurr wife. An’ when he blow -he hohn an’ you heah de houn’s moanin’ an’ Jedge Kyarmichael’s, Mars -Lloyd’s, Kun’l Winders, an’ Mars Tilghman’s an’ all de qual’ty dogs -cummin’ troo de cawn fields almos’ nockin’ down de cawn, an’ all ub ’em -carryin’ uh chune, chile you’d almos’ wish yo’sef uh houn’! Yas, indeed, -hunny, dem wuz days futto recommember. An’ sich hosses Ole Mars had; dey -jes’ jump an’ hunt. Da ain’ no hosses dese days like de hosses dem days. -Fuh instinct, like Don Won, Black Nite, Jew-drap, Junius, Fanny Esler, -an’ Sky Lark. Jes’ cum in meh quarter an’ I’ll show de pictur ub dem -hosses. I done lef’ ’em ter Mars Pinckney when I die; you see, I wan’ -ter keep ’em in de fambly. - -“Mars Nickey had he quare ways, tu, jes’ like udder people. Fuh -instinct, he wud nebber lite he cigah fum uh match, al’ays fum uh cole -uh fire, stuck on uh fork; an’ I lub ter tote de fork ter him—sho’ futto -gimmy uh levy. When he shabe he nebber look at uh glass; jes’ wa’k all -’roun’ de room meddowtatin’ an’ shabin’, an’ shabin’ an’ meddowtatin’, -kase he wo’ no whiskus, an’ ’spise uh beard. One time I nebber will -fogit; Mars Jimmy cum fum Woodstock, had his fiddle in de kerridge an’ -wuz full ub peartness. He wuz dribin’ Robbin an’ Red Bird tandy -togedda—jes’ cum futto see he pa—an’ tho’t he wuz ve’y fine wid uh -mustache on he lip. Ole Mars wuz in uh fine umuh, wid uh barsket full ub -mushrooms on he ahms, but when he see dat mustache on Mars Jimmy, he -say, cussin: “You kyant lite tell you cut dat hyah orf.” - -“I recommember one thing mo’ I fogot. Ef you wants ter git uh good view -ub de ribber, an’ be tu fur fum de house ter heah Billy’s fiddle, jes’ -teck dat parf, an’ hit’s uh nice leetle wa’k ter dat grobe ub cedar -trees, an’ when you gits da you will see what’ll s’prise you. Ole -Marster lubbed ev’yt’ing dat wuz good—an’ da’s wha he burried he good -an’ favorite foxhoun’s. I kyant read, but I nose ev’y name on dem -_houn’s toomstone poses_. He nebber done anyt’ing ’dout hit rashnal, an’ -he sho’d dat ’sponsibility when he name he foxhoun’s. Lite-foot wuz uh -booful houn’; neck almos’ ez long ez uh goose’s, an’ sich long, sorf -ears, gre’t big brown eyes, an’ sech uh signifyin’ ’spression ’bout he -haid, dat when he los’ de sent, an’ bay an’ look at de sky, hit made yer -raal sad. He wuz so swif’ an’ nimble dat he skeercely tech de uth, an’ -hardly bresh de jewdraps fum de clober. - -“Chimes had uh tongue dat wuz ez sweet ez uh _martingale’s_, same ez uh -bell. Jefferson wuz uh gran’ feller, white all ober, ’ceppin’ uh yaller -spot on he lef’ side, not much bigger dan uh new moon. He wuz ve’y -stylis’ an’ clean, ’pear’d like he wuz dressup all de time. He wuz ez -brabe ez Mars Pinckney, an’ ez gentle ez uh lam’—’ceppin’ uh _black_ dog -cum ’long; den da wuz trubble. Mars Nickey didn’ like nuffin _black_ -hissef, ’ceppin’ de niggahs, so he ’cided ter hab no mo’ black houn’s er -black sheep on de plantation, all fuh de lub ub _Jefferson_. - -“But Ole Mars had one houn’ he lub mos’; he wan’ so pow’ful fas’, but he -wuz al’ays true. Ef de sent wuz cole, er ef’n it wuz uh los’ sent, you’d -heah ’em say, ‘Wait tell Jerry cum ’long, he will pick it up;’ an’ de -young an’ de ole houn’s had condidence in him, an’ ’spected him. His -name wuz Jerry-Myah, an’ Ole Mars say he gib him dat name kase -Jerry-Myah wuz uh profit.” - - - - - DAT CHRISMUS CAKE. - - - Scipio Jones say dey gwine ter hab uh cake walk - An’ uh hus’in’ Mars John’s cawn—it wuz ev’ybody’s talk, - So dey ’pinted uh cummittee ter ’quire ’bout de cake - Ter be raal sho’ dat Scipio wuz makin’ no mustake. - - He al’ays foun’ out ev’yt’ing, an’ yet he wuz no good, - An’ ef’n he tried ter tell de truf, wuz nebber ondastood; - Fuh de ghoses an’ de witches he lubbed ter talk erbout - Wuz al’ays in de cow’s hohns when udder people out. - - De cummittee went uh ’quirin’ an’ dey foun’ dat Sistuh Chew - Had tole de plum-cake secret ter only one er two; - An’ Scipio he lis’en while she milk de cows an’ say - Dat Mistis gwine ter meck uh cake dat’s walked fuh Chrismus Day. - - So Mistis mixed de Chrismus cake an’ fill it full ub plums, - An’ Scipio look in de stobe an’ stuck in it his thum’s. - De heat wuz so ornple’sant an’ bu’n dat roscal so - He scream an’ cry, “Aunt Phillis cool de thum’s ub Scipio.” - - When Mistis saw de Chrismus cake an’ heahd ’bout dem thum’s - She say, “Dat niggah Scipio shan’t ebin hab de crum’s;” - An’ when dat walk wuz ober you cud see rite on he face— - Don’ stick yo’ thum’s in plum cake an’ git yo’sef disgrace. - - Da ain’ no use ub talkin’; it’s al’ays out ub place - Ter stick yo’ thum’s in anyt’ing ter ebin git uh tase— - Ornless you bin inwited, an’ den it’s al’ays bes’ - Ter wait an’ hab cool fingahs an’ eat wid all de res’. - - - - - WHEN SAUL RUN ERWAY. - - -Miss Marg’retta wuz ve’y fon’ ub Saul, an’ when he run erway hit ’stress -huh pow’ful. Uh showman cum ’long wid uh circus an’ ’swaded po’ Saul ter -go. Miss Marg’retta teach him ter read an’ rite, kase da wuz -recommembrances clustah’d ’roun’ Saul’s mammy dat made Miss Marg’retta -fon’ ub de chile. Lars’ week I had uh lettah fum de po’ boy, rote fum -Balt’mo’. Mars Pinckney red hit fuh me, an’ hit say dat when de circus -got ter Balt’mo’ de showman sot him ter wuck feedin’ de snakes. Saul’s -letter spressify dat he lef’ dat circus in uh run! Saul al’ays wuz -smart. He! He! He! Ef’n he had fed dem snakes, he mite bin ’flicted like -Uncle Snake-bit Jim. - -Arfter uh few days Saul say he got de place ub waitah on uh tugboat; uh -nice place, but de lettah say he wuz so sad an’ lonesom’ he wuz mos’ -dead. (’Skuse meh cryin’, Muhtilda.) He say he misses de ribber so—de -cluckin’ hens, crowin’ roostus, de calbes moanin’ fuh deah ma’s, de -sweet little skippin’ lam’s an’ de singin’ birds—but he say he mos’ miss -Mars Nickey’s houn’s, an’ dat he will nebber refuse ter hunt fuh hens’ -nesses fuh he aunty ef’n he kin git home, but he sho’ Ole Mars won’ let -his foot tech Woodstock. - -Fus’ I tho’t ub gwine ter Ole Mistis, but she so sad I ’cided not ter -trubble huh. Muhtilda, she will nebber git ober de deaf ub Mars Francis. -Ev’y day befo’ he died she teck uh barsket on huh ahm, pahr cissers in -huh han’, an’ go ter de gyarden befo’ de jewdraps of’n de flowers, an’ -wid dem cissers she wud cut wiolets, heal’trope, ’benas, sweet-lizziums, -roses an’ udder sweet flowers, tell de barsket full. Den Mistis wud meck -’em in bokays, an’ meck me ty ’em wid lamp wick. You see hit’s sorf, an’ -don’ squench de flowers. Dem days I had ter put one ub de bokays in ev’y -room, but dese days she don’ hab no bokays; jes’ puts all dem flowers -ev’y mawnin’ on Mars Francis’ grabe. - -Whenebber I tho’t ub po’ Saul meh hyart got sick; ’pears ter me ’twuz -sick all de time. So I wa’k up an’ down de gyarden prayin’ sorf ter -mehsef, thinkin’ an’ thinkin’, so I ’cluded ter see Ole Mars, an’ bine -meh haid up’n uh hankcheah an’ wen’ ter see Ole Mars erboutin Saul. He -wuz gwine fox huntin’, wuz settin’ in de hall, Damon wuz puttin’ on he -spuhs, when I wa’k in, made uh curchysy an’ cummenc’ ter cry an’ limp. -Ole Mars lif’ up he hainsome face an’ say: - -“Well, Sookey, what’s de matter?” - -[Illustration: - - So I bine meh haid up’n uh hankcheah an’ wen’ ter see Ole Mars boutin - Saul. -] - -I say, “I heahd fum Saul; it meck me so ’stressed an’ po’ly, Marster. He -say he so rejected an’ lonesom’, dat his hyart mos’ breck. He wan’ ter -cum home.” - -Den Marster cuss an’ say: “Wha de scan’lus scoun’l at?” - -An’ I say wid meh hankcheah ter meh eyes, “Balt’mo’.” - -Den Ole Marster say: “Sookey, Saul’s muvva Nancy (yo’ sistah) wuz uh -splendid ’ooman; nuss’d yo’ Miss Marg’retta when she had de scarlet -fevah. Saul wuz uh baby, an’ she mos’ fogot Saul, she wuz so faithful -ter yo’ Miss Marg’retta.” - -Den I say: “’Zac’ly so, precisely, Marster!” - -Den he say: “Nancy kotch de fevah an’ died; yo’ Miss Marg’retta wuz so -’stracted she mos’ ’dopted dat chile—tech him ter read an’ rite.” Den -Mars Nickey cuss ergin an’ say: “Eddication mecks niggahs bad!” - -Den I say: “So hit do, Marster, so hit do; fuh hit sut’ny meck Saul bad. -Fuh he wuz riz so careful. Miss Marg’retta ebin bo’t him uh nanny-goat -fuh uh wet nuss, an’ dey got so fon’ one nerr dat when Saul wud tottle -outin de quartah de goat wud ’mejately nanny, twinkle huh little tail -jes’ like uh aspine leaf, run up ter de chile, an’ he wud set un’er dat -goat, nuss huh hissef, an’ pat he han’s on de goat’s sides. It mecks me -think ub yo’ son Mars Francis what died. I nuss him tell he so big he -hab teef. When he wuz horngry he wud run up ter me same ez uh little -lam’, pat meh bresses when he nussin’, same ez Saul did de goat’s sides, -an’ sometimes when he feel sassy—mos’ got ernuff (jes’ playin’ wid de -milk)—he wud bite me. An’ many uh time I had ter smack him hyard; an’ -den his brite eyes, brite ez uh fish-hawk’s, but big an’ sorf, wud fill -up wid teahs. Den he wud git in meh lap, pat meh ole face an’ say, -‘Mammy! Mammy!’ play wid an’ put he fingah froo meh earring, jes’ ez -gentle an’ lubbin ez uh cherrypin er serrypin. My! he little fingah jes’ -ez smoobe ez de inside ub uh oyster shell. Den I sing, ‘Git on bode, -little chillun.’ Den he go ter sleep, an’ he bref on meh cheek jes’ ez -sorf ez de down on uh goslin’.” Den I say, “Mars Nickey, he wuz de ve’y -spit ub you!” - -Den Mars Nickey teck out his silk hankcheah, wipe he weepin’ eye, -trem’lin mouf, an’ he say, “Sookey, teck uh seat!” - -Jes’ think ub meh settin’ down befo’ Ole Mars! Den he teck uh pinch ub -snuff, th’ow some on de flounces ub he shut, call Damon an’ say, “Bring -me some peach an’ honey!” - -Den he say: “I will ’struct Cap’n Stitchberry, de fus’ time de Margaret -Jane sails fuh Balt’mo’, futto bring Saul home, but he kyant lib heah -wid meh good an’ faithful serbents; he got ter lib at ‘Fausley,’ drap -cawn, plough—be wuf sompin’. Kyant hab any mo’ boots. Tho’ Nancy wuz his -mother, got ter weah shoes; I only gib de bes’ serbents boots!” - -Muhtilda, I jes’ natchelly swep’ de flo’ wid meh curchysys, I feel so -thankful. An’ when I lef’ I say: “Meh Marster, yo’ mo’ an’ mo’ like Mars -Francis ev’y day; same brite eyes, like uh fish-hawk’s, but sorf an’ -big!” - -Den Ole Mars teck nubba pinch ub snuff, dust he shut flounces wid it, -cut hissef on de leg wid he ridin’ whup an’ say: “Sookey, I change meh -mine; when Saul cum back he kin wuck in de gyardin wid yo’ husban’, -Stephen.” - -When I wen’ out de do’ da wuz Cap’n Stitchberry stan’in’ befo’ de steps -wid he haid orncover’d waitin’ fuh his orders fum Mars Nickey; Stephen -wuz holdin’ Sylph, Marster’s favorite mare; Music, Jerry-Myah, -Sweet-lips, Jefferson, Chimes, an’ all de res’ ub de houn’s (Ole Mars -wudn’ let you call ’em dogs) wuz playin’ erroun’ Stephen, chunin’ up, -an’ Sylph wuz almos’ crazy fuh Ole Mars ter git in de saddle—she jes’ -scorn de yearth when she gallopin’ an’ cud almos’ jump ober de moon. -Well, I felt ez prowd an’ happy ez Sylph an’ de houn’s did, kase, -Muhtilda, ev’ything look’d lubly ter me. So I meck up meh mind I ain’ -gwine ter scold Stephen any mo’—he did look so peart, holdin’ Sylph wid -uh yaller wes’ Ole Marster jes’ gib him. But what meck me mos’ happy, I -heahd de wabes moanin’, I luck at de ribber, an’ da wuz de Margaret Jane -wid huh sails sot, jes’ prancin’. I knew’d what dat signify—so hit won’ -be long befo’ Saul cum back. - -Saul sing songs, play de hohn dat Little Billy gib him, wid locks an’ -keys, dances, too. How-some-eber, hit’s jes’ what de qual’ty do; but da -ain’ nuffin wichious erboutin Saul, an’ I sut’ny has miss him pow’ful. -Da ain’ uh houn’ on dis place dat ain’ look sad sence Saul lef’. When -dey cum home wid deah sore feet, ears an’ legs all scratch up, full ub -briars, Saul, ’doutin Ole Mars habin’ ter tell him ev’y day, biles uh -pot ub squaw-root, baves dem houn’s feet an’ legs, an’ you kin see dem -settin’ ’roun’ waitin’ fuh deah turn. - -Heah cum Ole Miss now; look at dem chickins an’ de cows all lookin’ at -huh—ub cose meckin’ mirations ter deahsebs erbout huh. Dat lady behin’ -wid uh barsket on huh ahm an’ all dem keys on huh ap’on strings, is Miss -Betsey Orsman, de housekeeper. Dey bin ter kivver all dat grabe ub Mars -Francis wid flowers—’ceppin’ de toomstone. De vusses on hit ev’y serbent -in dis house has larnt. Think ub dat! - -“Kyant you say ’em, Aunt Sookey?” - -“Yas, indeed, chile, dat I kin; but I will arsk Miss Betsey arfter Ole -Miss gits by. Honey, she’s uh ’citer; she jes’ gibs huhsef up ter glory -when she speechifyin’. I will ax huh kase she likes ter say it. - -“Miss Betsey, will you say dem vusses what’s on Mars Francis’ -toomstone?” - -“Why, certainly, Sookey; now listen good: - - “The seasons as they fly, - Snatch from us in their course, year after year - Some sweet connection, some endearing tie. - The parent, ever honored, ever dear, - Claims from the filial breast the pious sigh; - A brother’s urn demands the filial tear, - And gentle sorrows gush from friendship’s eye. - To-day we frolic in the rosy bloom - Of jocund youth—to-morrow knells us to the tomb.” - -“Miss Betsy is an ole maid, Muhtilda. De reason she’s wa’kin’ fum us so -slow is kase she’s meddowtatin’. Dey tell me dat one time Cap’n -Stitchberry wuz in lub wid huh, but he gib huh up kase she tu fon’ ub -vusses; an’ he tell Mars Pinckney dat she lubbed him tu much. She’s ve’y -fon’ ub Mars Pinckney, an’ don’ mine his teasin’, so de udder day he -tole huh— - - “Da nebber wuz uh goose so gray but soon er late - Wud fine some wan’rin’ gander fuh uh mate.” - -“Now, wan’ dat sassy? - -“Saul wuz pow’ful fon’ ub cracklin’-pone wid mullasses, an’ I gwine dis -minit futto meck uh pone fuh dat po’ boy. I’s bin watchin’ de ribber all -de mawnin’. It wudn’ s’prise me ef’n de Margaret Jane cum in de ribber -befo’ de sun sot; so don’ you go home, Muhtilda. Den I will sen’ fuh -Little Billy futto tell us some stories; Susan fum Mars Carroll’s is -cummin ober—ub cose Ezra Viney will keep comp’ny wid huh; an’ lars’, but -not leas’, Stephen got three dozen sorf crabs, six watahmillions an’ two -ole hens I kilt yistiddy dat had stopped layin’. So we will hab uh happy -time eben ef’n Saul don’ cum ter night. - -“Dar’s Billy now, talkin’ ter Juba Viney; got his banjo hung ’roun’ his -neck. Dem’s mus’rat hides he’s got tied ’roun’ his wais’; gwine ter Mage -Rudd’s sto’, I ’specks. O—h, Billy; we are ’speckin’ Saul dis eb’nin’. -Kyant you cum ober, sing us some songs an’ play us some chunes arfter -Stephen goes ter set his net? He rejects ter you bein’ so pus-nal wid de -witches;[11] ain’ fogib you yit fuh gittin’ up’n dat ’simmon tree an’ -sassin’ Uncle Caesar Butler.”[12] - -Billy knew Aunt Sookey would have something good for supper, and knew -that she doted on Saul, so he soon turned up at her quarters, and -quickly asked for Uncle Stephen, whom he knew would not welcome him. - -“Da he is, jes’ paddlin’ his boat fum de sho;” responded Aunt Sookey. -“Gwine ter set his net.” - -Billy smelt the frying crabs, and asked in apparent ignorance: “Is you -had supper, Aunt Sookey?” - -“No indeed, honey; de lard jes’ cummenc’ ter bile.” - -“Well, den, I will sing uh new chune I jes’ larnt, while de table -gittin’ sot: - - “On Tom-big-bee ribber so fair I wuz bawn, - In uh hut made ub leabes ub de tall yaller cawn; - An’ dar I fus’ met wid meh Ju-la so true, - An’ I row’d huh erbout in meh gum-tree canoe, - Singin’ row away row, o’er de watahs so blue, - Like uh feather we’ll float, in meh gum-tree canoe. - - “Wid meh hands on de banjo an’ toe on de oar, - I sing ter de soun’ ub de ribber’s sorf roar; - While de stars dey look down at meh Ju-la so true, - An’ dance in huh eye in meh gum-tree canoe. - Singin’ row away row, o’er de watahs so blue, - Like uh feather we’ll float, in my gum-tree canoe.” - -“Billy, dat’s lubly; kyant you sing jes’ one mo’ song befo’ I puts de -butter on dese sorf crabs?” - -“Yes’m!” - - “Sometimes I libs on de fat ub de lan; - Sometimes I libs on de lean; - An’ when I gits meh day’s wuck done - I sweeps de kitchen clean. - Den heah meh true lub weep, - Heah meh true lub sigh, - Way down in Callio - Dis niggah’s bawn ter die.” - -“I kyant sing an nerr vus, Aunt Sookey, kase I so horngry, an’ I kyant -stay tu long kase I ain’ sot meh mus’rat gums yit, an’ I bleege ter go -ter de sto’ futto sell dese hides. Mo’n dat, Mars Pinckney gwine fox -hun’in’ de fus’ thing in de mawnin’ long befo’ de sun up.” - -Billy ate heartily, and the _jamboree_ was broken up by the incoming of -Uncle Stephen. Billy, to be very polite to Uncle Stephen, whom he knew -did not like him, said: “Uncle Stephen, I jes’ watch you all _day_ long -yistiddy ketchin’ oysters; you sut’ny kin ketch oysters.” - -Uncle Stephen leaned wearily on his paddle and said: “Y-a-s, Billy! Ef’n -I wuz uh chicken you wud watch me all _night_!” - -Billy soon departed, and when he was well into the darkness, twanged his -banjo and sang: - - “I ain’ no tukkey buzzard, - I ain’ no saint; - I ain’ no tukkey buzzard, - So glad I aint.” - -[Illustration: - - BLACK CREEK FALLS. -] - - - - - “LET US MECK BRICK.” - - -Sistus, brudders an’ chillun: Pawson Demby wuz ’specially ’quested futto -prech at de gre’t bushmeetin’ gwine on in Bolingbrook Neck, an’ dey sent -up uh _fo’-hoss-mule team_ an’ kyart fuh him lars’ night. He ’quested me -futto say ter de congation dat he wanted yo’ pray’rs fuh de gre’t cause -he gwine ter prech erbout, an’ he also qualify me ter say his tex’ will -be fum de book ub Deutron’my, 22d chaptah, 10th vus: “Thou shalt not -plough wid uh ox an’ uh ass togedda.” - -Some free niggahs ’long de Choptank dat cum fum Henraccah County, -Firginny, is ploughin’ wid uh mule an’ uh ox, an’ hit’s stressin’ de -Babtis’ ’roun’ de ribba pow’ful, kase hit’s sech uh wiolation ub de -Scripturs. - -De witches in Haylan’ Branch is keepin’ uh good many sistus fum cummin’ -ter de chuch Sunday nights. De c’lections consequationly is so small I -is ’fraid we kyant git de kyarpet fuh de pulpit by Chrismus; but ev’y -little bit helps, ef’n hit’s only uh rabbit’s foot, kase dey will sell -at de festival fuh 6 cents uh dozen. - -Ez I ain’ had uh ve’y long notice, meh discose dis ebinin’ will be -breef. You will fine meh tex’ in de book ub Gen’sis, 11th chaptah, thud -vus: - - “LET US MECK BRICK.” - -Den, ergin, de fif’ chaptah ub Exodus, all ub de sebinth vus: “Ye shall -no mo’ gib de people straw ter meck brick, ez heahtofo’; let dem go an’ -gavva straw fuh demsebs.” - -You all recommember dat Mars Nickey say lars’ New Year Day dat ef’n his -serbents, young an’ ole, ’habe demsebs well fuh uh hole yeah he gwine -ter build ’em uh little brick chuch. Well, de serbents is bin monstus -good fuh uh hole yeah, ’skusin’ Little Billy, an’ he so curisome Marster -don’ mine him. ’Sides, he muvva Nancy nuss Mars Pinckney. So arfter de -cawn wuz hus’in’ Mars Nickey tole me an’ Reubin ter go ter de clay bank -an’ meck boutin fifty thousan’ bricks, an’ dey wud be uh plenty ter -build uh chuch dat wud hab uh real top-lofty pulpit, uh moaners’ corner, -an’ hole boutin two hun’erd serbents. Mars John Chamberlain, Mars Tench -Tilghman, Mars Samuel Dickinson holp ter buy de shingles an’ furnachy. - -Wuckin’ dat clay (an’ Moses wud hab praised dat clay), meckin’ an’ -haulin’ dem bricks ter dat lubly cedar grove, made me think ub dis tex’ -night an’ day, an’ I is wanted fuh uh yeah ter preach on dis gre’t -subjec’. - -I see some dear sistus heah fum Queen Anne’s. I s’pose you cum ober ter -de bushmeetin’ in Oxford Neck, so I wan’ you ter ondastan what uh -’squisite spot Cedar Grove is fuh uh brick chuch, befo’ I git fudda wid -meh spressifications boutin bricks. - -Sistus, da is uh little creek called Peach Blossom. De fus’ peach seed -dat cum ter Amer’ca wuz fotch ober an’ planted ’long Peach Blossom -Creek, Mars Pinckney say, erbout de time Klumbus ’skivered Amer’ca; -dat’s why hit’s called Peach Blossom. De same man fotch ober some apple -seed, an’ de apples wuz named arfter him, Catlin apples. - -Peach Blossom is erboutin uh harf mile long an’ uh hun’erd ya’ds wide, -an’ empties inter Fausley Creek. De watah is fum five ter eight feet -deep, de bottom ez clean ez de deck ub Cap’n Stitchberry’s schooner, de -Margaret Jane, sandy, an’ ez hyard ez uh mule’s haid, but you kyant see -de bottom ’ceppin heah an’ heah, kase da’s wha Mars Nickey got he -oysters bedded, an’ da’s wha Uncle Stephen sets Mars Nickey’s net, -ketches de spot, hogfish an’ pan rock dat cums in dat creek ter feed -ober de oysters, an’ den ter meddowtate. Mos’ at de haid ub de creek is -uh proud-lookin’ grove ub cedars; ’mong dem cedars is _twenty cedar -toomstone poses_, wha Ole Mars burried he good an’’ favorite houn’s, an’ -da’s wha de new Zion Chuch gwine ter be swottuated. - -Belubbed, da nebber wuz uh mo’ ’chantin’ creek! On hits banks grows -lubly trees, fum de sas’fras an’ dogwood ter de gre’t elms, walnut an’ -poplar trees. Sistuh Cassey, befo’ she died had uh cabin at de haid ub -de creek; de honeysuckle an’ wile rose seeds strayed fum huh house all -’long de banks ub dat creek, an’ now de honeysuckle an’ wile roses -blooms an’ clustus ’roun’ one nerr day an’ night—hit’s uh heb’nly spot. -Hit don’ matter how de win’ blow, ef’n you paddle yo’ skiff in Peach -Blossom Creek hit’s so cam, quiet an’ shady you kin heah de little jinny -wrens, sparrows an’ crickets singin’. De watah looks so smove an’ happy -when de tide go out an’ when de tide cum in, dat it al’ays mecks me -think ub Ole Miss’ face; fac’ is, you jes’ wanter set down an’ muse, an’ -you won’er why all erligeons ain’ de Babtis in Talbot County, ter wash -deah sins erway in Peach Blossom. But I mus’ tu’n ter de application. - -Little Billy wucked two days dribin’ uh ox team, den ub cose he got -tired. Mammy Nancy ’quested me ter arsk you all ter pray fuh him arfter -de doxol’gy; he is ve’y bad. Ef’n Mars Nickey knew’d what he say he’d -whup him sho’; kase he say Mars Nickey wud hab built dat chuch, good er -bad niggahs; dat he tole him all dat he wanted him ter do wuz ter see -ezactly wha de bricks wuz drapped, an’ ter be sho’ none ub dem bricks -wuz drapped ergin dem _houn’ cedar pos’ toomstones_. Billy fudda -spressify dat he bleebe de chuch wuz gwine ter be uh kind ub monumen’ -ter he good an’ faithful houn’s an’ good an’ faithful serbents. - -[Illustration: - - Ole Miss, when sweet sixteen, going to dance the minuet. -] - -Meh brudderin, I hab now laid de foundation. So I wan’ you fus’ ter -persidder de pictur on de face ub dat lubly clock; befo’ she strike -ergin I am gwine ter tell you who de fus’ brickmakers wuz, an’ how dey -cum ter meck bricks. - -Way down in Egyp’ lan’ long time befo’ Klumbus ’skivvered Talbot County, -da wuz uh king named Fario. He wuz uh gre’t man, an’ you kin ’magin’ -what style he lib in fum de fac’ he had six hun’erd wibes, two chariots -fuh each wife, an’ dey nebber is bin able ter fine out ezactly how many -hosses, mules, jackasses, steers, cows, sheep, goats an’ serbents he -had; an’ he had so much ter meck him peart dat he got ter be uh ve’y -wile man. Well, dis king had uh lubly daughter, de apple ub he mouf an’ -de ve’y spit ub de king. She had uh nice ’scluded little ribba (I specks -it wuz mos’ ez putty ez Fausley Creek) futto bave in; she likewise had -fo’ er five hun’erd han’maids, an’ all longed ter de qual’ty. De Bible -call ’em damsels. I think hit’s uh good name fuh maids dese days, -’skusin’, ub cose, free niggahs. Well, de narration say dat Miss Fario -wen’ down ter de ribba wid huh damsels futto bave. Dey wuz orndressin’ -huh, ten maids wuz teckin’ de rings of’n huh ten fingahs, two mo’ maids -wuz teckin’ huh earrings out, an’ uh nubba teckin’ de _earrings_ outin -huh nose. (All de qual’ty wo’ rings in deah noses dem days.) Jes’ ez she -erboutin orndress—you see dey didn’ ware no bavin’ suits in de time ub -de Petracks, an’ bad ez de men wuz dey didn’ bave wid de ladies; so da -wuz sut’ny no mails ’roun’, ’ceppin’ uh monstus fine baby boy three -monfs ole, dat wuz kivverd up wid bullrushes, an’ ’rapped in flags (I -s’pose de flags wuz some ole sorf battle-flags)—well, jes’ ez de king’s -daughter put huh little feets in de watah ter see ef’n it tu cole, she -heah uh chile cry. She jumped back relarmed, an’ say ter huh maids, -“What’s dat?” Den she look in de bullrushes, an’ lo an’ beholst, da wuz -uh cutesome lookin’ cradle wid flags ’roun’ hit (Is’lite flags, I -s’pose), an’ uh baby fairly harkin’; he cryin’ so. - -Hit is s’pose by narrationists dat de ma ub de chile got de frog fright, -kase frogs wuz so thick, an’ gittin’ thicker, dat dey wuz in de -kitchens, smoke houses, parlors, tubs, cookin’ ubbins, an’ in de beds; -so de chile’s ma meck uh sort ub deck-ober cradle ub mud, tar, pitch an’ -beeswax, dat made hit frog-proof, an’ da’s wha dey sho’ly foun’ de baby. -Pres’ny Miss Fario saw uh ooman stan’in’ neah by, so she say, “Is you de -muvva ub dis chile?” She say, “Yes’m!” Miss Fario say, “Cum heah an’ -nuss dis chile right ’way an’ I’ll pay you ter be de chile’s mammy. I’m -gwine ter ’dopt him; he uh monstus fine chile. ’Sides I want something -futto caress; an’ ez I foun’ him in de watah, I’m gwine ter gib him de -lubly name ub Moses, kase de Bible say in Egyp’ lan’ Moses is de name -fuh watah.” - -Bimeby he grow’d up ter be uh gre’t man, an’ wuz ve’y friendly wid de -Petracks. Pres’ny you will see de application. - -Well, de king say ter de Petracks, “We is gwine ter hab uh gre’t famin’, -kase de frogs, locusses an’ grasshoppus is uh carryin’ on high.” So dey -all ’cided ter buy all de cawn dat wuz riz dat yeah. Pres’ny heah cum de -famin’, sho’ nuff; den de Gyptian farmers an’ sheppards cum ter Joseph. -Dey say, “Joseph, we horngry; we ain’ got no cawn!” Joseph right ’way -say, “I’s got plenty cawn!” So dey buy uh plantation ub cawn, an’ Joseph -teck de money ter de King, an’ de King he hab uh gay time ober dat money -ub de Is’lites. - -Now, strange ter say, wid all de hosses, chariots, foxhoun’s, an’ I -’specks, fine coon dogs dat dey could wusship, an’ wid deah wissum tu -(kase Mars Pinckney say dey knew’d mo’n we do)—fuh all dat dey wusship -crockdiles (why, de Bible say King Solomon had six hun’erd wibes an’ -three hun’erd _crockdiles_; jes’ think ub dat!), el’phants, ants, bulls, -butterflies, grasshoppus, frogs, an’ I dunno what not, an’ dey didn’ -keer no mo’ fuh one ooman dan uh man keer fuh uh yaller-jacket’s nes’. -Yas, indeed; dey wusship ’mos’ ev’ything ’ceppin’ uh damsel. Dey had -drobes ub wibes, but dey didn’ hab no condidence in deah wibes. Why, -ef’n dey hab uh composation ebin wid uh Pawson, dem Kings an’ Judges wud -’mejately hab deah haids cut orf. - -Well, hit cum ter pars in erboutin uh yeah dem po’ Is’lites cum back ter -de Petracks mo’ horngry dan ebba, an’ tell deah tale ub ’stress. Dey -say, “We ain’ got no money; we spend hit all fuh cawn. Our fodder is all -’zausted, so we fotch our cattle; we will gib dese cattle fuh cawn. So -Joseph count de cattle an’ teck ’em fuh cawn. Now, dat’s two yeahs ub de -famine. Dar’s five mo’ yit.” - -Well, hit cum ter pars uh yeah arfter dat dey cum ergin an’ dey say, “We -ain’ got uh _cent dis time_, an’ no cattle; how-some-eber, we mus’ hab -cawn; we kyant lib ’dout hit. So dey gib all deah plantations. So King -Fario own all Egyp’ lan’, an’ he carry on higher still, jes’ scan’lus, -ve’y mischevious, kase he own mos’ ez many plantations ez Ab’ham.” - -Brudderin, uh yeah went by, an’ heah cum dem po’ horngry sheppards an’ -farmers ergin. Dey say, “We almos’ starbed we so horngry.” King Fario -say “What you got ter gimmy, now?” An’ dey say, “Nuffin ’ceppin’ our -bodies, futto be yo’ slabes.” - -Moses wuz uh gre’t man, ve’y gre’t man (he nuss wuz uh cullud pusson), -so he look on all de time, stroked his whiskus, leaned on dat cutesome -rod ub his’n an’ didn’ say nuffin, jes’ meddowtate an’ muse, muse an’ -meddowtate. Now, Moses natch’ly felt po’ly kase he had kilt uh Gyptian -de day befo’ fuh kickin’ uh Is’lite, one ub he people. Pres’ny heah cum -King Fario, dribin’ fo’ jack-asses in uh chariot he had jes’ bought wid -sum ub his cawn money. Little Billy say he read somewha in de Bible dat -King Fario shuck han’s wid Moses, an’ say ter him in uh whispuh: - -“Moses, I’m gwine ter teck all dem Gyptians ez slabes. Dar’s such uh -drouf, so many frogs, locusses an’ grasshoppus, da ain’ no use ter set -’em at wuck in de fiel’s, so I’m gwine ter meck ’em wuck hyard fuh dat -cawn. I wan’ at leas’ uh harf million sot ter wuck dis day, but what dey -gwine ter do? Dat’s de consequation! Dar’s uh gre’t deman’ fuh bricks -ev’ywha, but meh clay ain’ ve’y good.” - -Den Moses riz up his rod, gib it uh twiss, an’ cunjured dat rod. Den dey -had uh little serpent dance, an’ while dey wuz uh dancin’ Moses say, -“You got ’bun’ance ub straw, an’ ef’n de straw gib out you got plenty ub -stubble.” King Fario say, “Uh case orntried is hyard ter justify.” Den -Moses gib he rod nubba twiss (Little Billy say dat de rod wuz made outin -witch hazel wood), an’ he spressify, “I’s foun’ out uh way ter meck -bricks ’doutin straw!” An’ right ’way dem po’ slabes wuz sot ter -brick-meckin’. - -“Let us meck brick.” - -Den arfter dey bin meckin bricks ’boutin two hun’erd yeah hit cum ter -pars dat de profit Ex-o-dus said, “Ye shall no mo’ gib de people straw -ter meck bricks, ez heahtofo’; let ’em go an’ gavva straw fuh demsebs.” - -Brudderin, when you gib bricks uh _solid_ thought hit’s uh pow’ful -subjec’. Fac’ is, we is all bricks, an’ made fum de same clay. I is not -spressifyin’ de application ter straw bricks, kase I dunno how dey is -turnt ter clay. - -Bricks is our house futto dwell in an’ wusshup in while we libbin’, an’ -our house in de groun’ tell de day cum when de gre’t Marster blow He -hohn an’ we stan’ befo’ uh gate finah dan any King Sol’man ebba had. -Belubbed, is you gwine ter try an’ swing on dat gate? [A voice: “Yas, -Lawd!”] an’ be da ter heah St. Peter say “Heah cum meh chillun; lemmy -call deah names.” Brudderin, sistus an’ little chillun, will he call yo’ -names? - -Tilly Mink: “Brer Rasmus, I’m mos’ swingin’ on dat gate now!” - -Well, den, meck dat boy Scipio Jones, settin’ ’side you, teck dat -sweet-tater harness orf, an’ dat piece ub sheep rib outin his mouf, he -chawin’, fuh uh bit. - -At de lars camp meetin’ uh ve’y ’stinguish’ Babtis’ pawson said he wuz -s’prised dat de lubly daughter ub King Fario merried King Sol’mon, uh -man dat wusshup’d frogs, bulls, el’phants an’ crock’diles fuh pets. My -’pinion is she fell in lub wid dat _brick_ house ub de King’s, dat de -Bible say had two thousan’ baf tubs, an’ teck thutteen yeah ter buil’. -Den, ergin, de bricks wuz laid in gole. King Fario’s daughter cudn’ -resis’ uh house like dat, an’ I don’ think ’twuz hyard ter ondastan’. -Huh merryin’ de King, dafo’, wuz uh subjec’ dat wuz rash-nal. - -When we gittin’ our heb’nly trunk packed, an’ when we trabblin’ up ter -St. Peter’s gait, I kin see Uncle Reubin, Aunt Phillis, Uncle Stephen, -Aunt Sookey, Rasmus Jemes, Damon Danridge, Pawson Phil Demby an’ Mammy -Nancy trottin’ ’long de road in de beauty ub holiness, goin’ ter St. -Peter’s gait an’ longin’ ter git deah han’s on de gait futto ring dat -bell. An’ I kin see Little Billy (be sho’ an’ pray fuh him, Sistus; ef’n -coons, ’possums, fiddles an’ banjos had nebba ’zisted, he wudn’ be uh -sinnah)—yas, I kin see Little Billy stan’in’ wid Jasper pullin’ dat bell -tell he mos’ breck de wire, an’ pester St. Peter so dat he say, “Who dat -tryin’ ter breck meh bell?” Den de bell wen’ jing-uh-ling ergin! Den St. -Peter ’mejately stuck he lubly haid ober de gate an’ say, “Gwuffum heah, -Little Billy; you ain’ bin ’nointed. Yon got ter lib wid dem you likes -ter keep cump’ny wid; fuh instinc’, witches, ghoses, jack-uh-ma-lanterns -an’ de chillun in de wilderness ub Zip!” You kin ’magine how po’ Billy’s -face look—much mo’ sadder dan Scip Jones’ look at de cake-walk lars’ -Chris’mus; an’ when St. Peter smile same ez uh serrypin an’ say, “Heah -cum meh chillun; walk in de watah, fuh hit’s al’ays wahm; let me babtiz -you in de golden ribba,” Billy wuz so ’stressed dat he kicked Jasper an’ -say, “Hit’s all yo’ fault; ef’n you wan’ sech uh good coon dog I’d nebba -bin led ’stray.” - -Now, dis will cum ter pars: When St. Peter sees Aunt Phillis an’ Uncle -Reubin cummin’ ’long he will say, jes’ ez sho’ ez judgmen’ day is -cummin’, “Cherrypins an’ serrypins, an’ Ham, de cullud son ub Noahy, -bresh de dust fum two ub de bes’ seats in de Lawd’s kitchen fuh dem two -saints, an’ tell ’em we gwine ter hab uh festibal!” I wan’ Ham ter set -’long side you an’ pint out Samuel de fus’, an’ secon’, Moses, King -Dabid, King Fario, Zackeus de climber, an’ lars’, but not leas’, Ho Ho, -an’ you’ll see fum he habin’ whiskus he ain’ no Chine er Japne. Den de -profit Noahy will renounce dat King Dabid an’ he son, King Sol’mon, -gwine ter sing uh jewette togedda—King David, ub cose, playin’ on his -hyarp ub uh thousan’ strings; an’ I ’specks dat sweetes’ son ub Noahy, -Ham, will play de banjo. Bless meh soul an’ body, an’ meh body an’ soul, -belubbed, what uh festibal hit will be! Sistus, I kin see ’em all. - -Tilly Mink: “Yas, Brer Rasmus, all clustah’d ’roun’ de pul-pit.” - -John Poney: “Kin you see me, Brer Rasmus?” - -No; I am lis’nin’ ter ’em talk. Dear little Jona will tell erboutin’ his -sea voyage; St. Peter, dat lubly ’possel, ub how many shirks he kotch -an’ kilt; Little Jack-a-ass erboutin how slippery wuz de sycamo’ tree he -clum; Jacob erboutin de lubly streeked, striped an’ speckled cattle he -riz; Nimrod erboutin coon dogs, King Sol’mon erboutin he -thorrybreds—brudderin’ I cud preach fum dis tex’ fuh uh monf an’ nebba -git rejected, but I mus’ migrate ter dem dat ain’ bin ’mersed. Wha will -dey be when dat sweet festibal is gwine on? Cole ez hit is—an’ dar’s fo’ -back logs on de fire—I say cole ez hit is, tu cole fuh uh ’possum ter be -out, yit I feel so het up fum dis discose dat I kin almos’ tase de red -hot melted lead, an’ sizzlin’ brimstone dat de sinnah hab ter resis’ on. - -“You kyant eat uh hoe-cake but once!” so cum ter de moanah’s bench now; -cum while de hoe-cake ub salbation is brown wid faith, an’ all kivver’d -ober wid de graby ub redemption, an’ hab yo’ fingahs filled wid streams -ub goodness. When you go befo’ St. Peter, de gre’t fisherman, he got -Moses stan’in’ by he side wid dat curisome rod ub his’n.[13] Den Moses -tap you on de han’ wid he rod, an’ ef’n you good yo’ fingah nails will -fly back, an’ Moses will pull fum yo’ fingahs gre’t long strings ub -goodness; an’ ef’n you bad, gre’t long black bad strings. - -Uncle Reubin Viney say dat he heah uh gre’t Mefodis’ pawson say dat -Unuch, who wuz transplanted, wuz so good dat he didn’ hab any fingah -nails, an’ de Mefodis’ pawson also say de reason de debbil is called Ole -Scratch is kase he fingah nails long ez uh roostus spuhs. - -Now, when Moses tap yo’ fingahs what he gwine ter pull out? Belubbed, -now is de time fuh de checkeration ub yo’ sins. Burhol’ de golden stairs -starin’ you in de face! Sistus an’ brudders, you mus’ try ter clim’ dem -stairs. Hit will meck yo’ legs, ahms, risses an’ hyarts so strong, jes’ -ez it did little Zackasses when he clum dat slippery sycamo’ tree; an’ -when you git ter de top ub dem golden stairs you will see fus’ Ole Mars -Nickey, Mars Tilghman, Mars Jimmy an’ Miss Henrietta wid wings _’hine_ -an’ _befo’_ an’ cullud angels consonly breshin’ de dus’ fum Miss -Henrietta’s cheah, an’ lookin’ fuh huh specks, an’ you’ll see de same -sweet ringlets in huh hyah. Yas, indeed! kissen huh lubly brow, neck an’ -bres’ jes’ like de jewdraps kisses de snowballs in de gyardin. An’ -pres’ny she will raise up dem sweet han’s ub huh’n dat’s of’n bin bu’nt -meckin’ poltices fuh good an’ bad serbents, open huh cherrypin mouf an’ -say, “Dem’s meh good serbents; I knew’d dey’d be heah!” An’ den she’ll -call Ham an’ say, “Gib ’em nice seats in de Lawd’s kitchen;” an’ while -she gibbin’ orders King Dabid chune he hyarp, Gabriel he trumpet, an’ -all de res’ ub de gre’t singers an’ players git ’roun’ de organ. Den -King Sol’mon, wid uh pow’ful bow an’ uh book ub songs un’er his arm, ax -Miss Henrietta futto play de organ; an’ Miss Henrietta bow fum him an’ -look ez prowd ez uh peacock—an’ she wuz, tu! An’, belubbed, she say, -“I’m sho’ you ain’ pus-nal, den ergin you ain’ rash-nal, King Sol’mon, -kase you had tu many wibes; an’ ef’n it wan’ fuh dem lubly songs ub yo’n -I wudn’ fogib yo’ sassyness er keep comp’ny wid you.” - -Lars’ but not leas’, I ’specks Aunt Phillis sot at de melojin in de -Lawd’s kitchen wid all Marster’s good an’ faithful serbents ’roun’ huh, -an’ when Moses teck he rod an’ gib dat rod uh twiss, dey all included by -singin’ togedda, de fo’f vus ub hym 473: - - “He suvrin pow’r widout our aid - Made us ub clay [dar’s de application] an’ formed us men; - An’ when like wan’rin’ sheep we strayed, - He fotch us ter his fol’ ergen.” - -Befo’ we sojourn I fogot ter renounce dat Mage Rudd say de keys ub de -heb’nly organ wuz all made ub gole. Yistiddy I ax Mars Pinckney erboutin -hit, an’ he say, “Sho’! Da wuz uh _Key_ made ub gole dat writ uh gre’t -an’ pow’ful song.” Think ub dat! I dunno what he mean ezac’ly, but I -s’pose hit sompin in rebellation. - -[Illustration: - - OLE MISS. - - (Miss Henrietta.) -] - - - - - JUBA VINEY’S YALLER PANTS. - - -Flowers were fading. Roses, hyacinths, honeysuckle, buttercups and -bluebells all gave “sigh for sigh.” ’Twas the last of summer—the hour -when birds fly homeward to their nests, wandering bees seek their hives, -chickens their roosts. ’Twas twilight, and its dews bathed the blooming -clematis, climbing and caressing the latticed porch; a wooing breeze -wafted its perfume through Otwell House, and awoke the waves on the -slumbering river. - -Aunt Phillis had early leave to attend a Baptist prayer meeting, -consequently the crickets were having a concert in the kitchen, little -darkies were romping merrily on the lawn. Ole Mars was visiting Col. -Leonard Hollyday and shooting sora and blue-wing duck on Wild Goose -Marsh. Miss Henrietta had just tuned her harp and bade the servants be -quiet. Presently all was silence, save the drowsy burr of some insect. - -Her voice was mellifluous, her face pure and noble, and the servants -worshipped her as the ancient Jews worshipped Queen Esther. She sang, -“There is a green hill far away,” and her beautiful fingers at times -touched the strings softly as snowflakes that fall upon the warm cheek -of a maiden and melt into tears—as did her voice. - -Below the porch sat Little Billy an enrapt listener. Just as the song -was ended Juba Viney strolled by, and Little Billy said: - -“Howdy, Juba! Which way you bin?” - -“Ain’ bin no wha; jes’ gwine.” - -“Wha you gwine?” - -“Gwine ter Mage Rudd’s[14] sto’; tells me mus’rat hides is riz—wuf uh -levy. I’m gwine ter sell mine.” - -“Well, wait tell I chain Jasper, den I’ll go wid you.” - -“What’s de matter wid Jasper, Billy?” - -“Why, uh coon bit him in de foot lars nite. Nebber wud hab bit him ef’n -Jasper hadn’ been ’fused. I smoked de coon outin uh holler, an’ de smoke -’fused de dog.” - -“I’s glad futto hab you go, Billy, kase I wants yo’ ’sponsibility. I’s -gwine ter buy some things at de sto’. I specks ter fill bof dese bags, -dat’s full ub mus’rat hides, wid what I buy.” - -“I wud teck meh mus’rat hides, too, but I sprain meh ankle, back, ahms, -risses an’ han’s lars nite clim’in’ uh tree. I ain’ able ter tote -nuffin, so I kyant teck meh skins ter nite.” - -“Tho’t you say you smoke de coon out?” - -“So I did, but dis wuz uh nubba coon.” - -“I hope Mage Rudd won’ be shut up; I wan’ ter git sompin nice fuh Susan. -She ’bout done promise she gwine ter hab me, Billy; wud uh merried me -long ’go, ’ceppin’ fuh dat yaller niggah dat dribes fuh Mrs. Rodgers. -She nebba bin in lub wid Jerry; hit’s only when Mrs. Rodgers cum ter see -Miss Henrietta, an’ he got on glubs dat’s got fuz on ’em, uh ban’ ’roun’ -he hat; bras’ buttons on he coat, white-top boots on, an’ uh sorter pine -burr on de side ub he hat, an’ al’ays hab he pocket full ub can’y dat’s -got vusses in ’em. Billy, don’ you say nuffin boutin hit, but I’m gwine -ter hab meh pockets made bigga, an’ gwine ter hab one pocket full ub dat -can’y all de time. What you s’pose dat can’y got in it? Hit almos’ -cunjah Susan. - -“Ef’n Susan cud jes’ see me once dress up dat way, why, man, she cudn’ -resis’ me futto sabe huh life. Nite befo’ lars’ when she seed me gwine -ter Zion, wid meh yaller pants on dat’s got black stripes down de legs, -dem I bo’t at Mage Rudd’s, she jes’ wuz charm’; an’ when I show’d huh -meh new par ub gallisters[15] I got ter ware wid dem pants, she ’low, -‘Juba, you sut’ny do look peart.’ When Aunt Sookey seed me she sez, -‘Juba, you luck tu sweet ter lib.’ Den Uncle Stephen he smole uh grin -an’ say, ‘Wait tell Jerry cum prancin’ erlong, you won’ think so.’ Den -dey cummenc’ titterin’ an’ pokin’ deah necks out jes’ like uh passel ub -geese wid young goslin’s; mos’ ’gusted me! Billy, Mrs. Rodgers al’ays -call dat niggah Jerry-Myah. I nebba knew’d any niggah ’roun’ heah name’ -Myah, did you?” - -“Not dat I kin recommember. He cum outin de Cyahrmichael fambly, an’ dey -monstus cute sort ub niggahs.” - -“Well, he ain’ ’stressin’ me! I walk home fum Zion lars’ Sunday wid -Susan. She did luck tu cute in dat new Josey ub hern! I dunno which -’track huh mos’, de gre’t sermon ub Pawson Demby er meh yaller pants. He -prech fum de book ub Daniel erboutin de time de William goat (Pawson -Demby say ’twan’ perlite ter say Billy goat in de pulpit) fit an’ smut -de ram an’ breck he hohns. He ’cluded fum two profits (I fogit de name -ub de fus’ one, but hit got Zek in it), an’ hit wuz all erboutin de new -moon, six lam’s an’ uh ram. De udder profit wuz de gre’t Gencis, an’ -Pawson Demby ’splain ter us ’bout de two hun’erd yews an’ twenty rams -dat Jacob sont See-saw.” - -“Juba, you mean Esau, de hunter.” - -“Yas, dat’s hit, Billy. You see, I kyant read ter ’fresh meh mem’ry. -Well, hit wuz uh real farmer’s sermon, but I wuz glad when de ’cludin’ -time cum, kase Pawson Demby prech two hours an’ uh harf, de pew wuz so -crowded an’ we sot so close dat bof meh feet wen’ ’sleep; truf is, dey -got so tired, an’ ’twuz so wahm, I wud hab tuck meh shoes orf, but I -didn’ hab no stockin’s on. Mrs. Rodgers’ Jerry wan’ at chuch. Tilly, he -sistah, say he had uh chill. Wish hit had shake he haid orf! So I walk -home wid Susan. When she got in de kitchen an’ tuck huh shoes orf she -say ergin, ‘Juba, you sut’ny do look peart!’ Den she put huh han’ in huh -pocket, pull out one dem can’y vusses, an’ she say hit say: - - “Wiolets red, roses blue, - Sugah sweet; me too.” - -“Den she pull out nubba, an’ hit say— - - Lub hangs ’round dis lubbin’ hyart - Like flies ’roun’ uh apple tart. - -“Den she put huh han’s un’er de ap’on strings ’roun’ huh ’squisit’ -waise—so! ’Cose I knewed what dat me’nt, so I tuck uh good tase ub dem -big sweet lips ub huh’n. Den she try ter look like she ’fended, an’ say, -‘Go ’way, Juba; you al’ays wan’ ter be pus-nal.’ Den she skip ’long ter -de dairy, an’ huh feet tech de groun’ jes’ ez sorf an’ lite ez uh -’possum’s. Bimeby she cum back wid huh ahms full ub uh gre’t big crock -ub clabba, all kivvered ober wid brown sugah. Den I hilt huh an’ kiss’d -huh sho’ nuff, mo’n six er seben times. I’d uh kiss huh six er seben -hun’erd times, but I heahd Miss Henrietta cummin’ ter see boutin some -ginger cakes she cookin’ in de stobe. I wuz sut’ny glad to heah huh, tu, -kase I specks Susan wud uh scolded me pow’ful. Dunno tho’; kase when -Miss Henrietta cum tippin’ in so sorf dat huh little feets wudn’ uh mash -uh rose ef’n de kitchen flo’ bin kivvered wid ’em, Susan she wuz uh -singin’, ‘Dar is uh happy lan’ fa’, fa’ erway,’ same ez uh martingale. -How-some-ebba, she mus’ uh bin uh little ’fused, kase she cummenc’ ter -stir dat clabba—when I heah Miss Henrietta an’ breck uh ’way—same ez hit -wuz eggs, butta, cawn meal an’ butta milk, gittin’ stirred fuh -johnny-cake. I’s teckin dis bag futto carry what I’s gwine ter buy huh. -I wudn’ teck uh kyart-load ub mus’rat hides fuh dat gal’s lub! An’ ef’n -Mage Rudd is got ’em, I’s gwine ter buy harf peck ub dat sweet can’y -dat’s got vusses, some ammons, resins, dates an’ apples—’nuff futto fill -dis bag. Den fuh mehsef I wan’ ter git uh mouf orgin, two mo’ -juice-hyarps, an’ wid de res’ ub de money I’s gwine ter see ef’n I kyant -buy uh new par ub pants, yaller wid black stripes, an’ uh fiddle.” - -“You better buy sompin’ dat will meck money.” - -“What’s dat?” - -“Why, some ub dem new kine ub steel traps, ’sted ub wasein’ yo’ money on -can’y, resins, an’ sich like fuh dat gal Susan futto eat wid Mrs. -Rodgers’ Jerry. Juba, you sut’ny mus’ t’ink ’tain’ no trubble ter ketch -mus’rats an’ skin ’em, de way you wase yo’ money; mo’n dat, I wants ter -borry two dollars fum you mehsef tell I sell meh mus’rat hides. Now, -what you wan’ wid two par yellow pants’ Dey ve’y putty, but one par nuff -fuh dis summer, dat’s harf gone.” - -“Well, Billy, I spile dem pants day befo’ yistiddy, which I will tell -you boutin, tho’ hits uh composation dat’s ornpleasan’ ter me. Well, I -had bin haulin’ cawn all day ter Cap’n Stitchberry’s schooner, de -Margaret Jane. I wan’ ter dress up ter teck Susan ter de ’bate at Zion -Chuch, so I jes’ fed Crow an’ Ab’ham, tu’n ’em loose, an’ didn’ teck -deah yoke off. Fus’ place, dat white steer Crow is dangersome ter projic -wid—Uncle Stephen say de gre’tes’ kicker he ebba saw; an’ he say de nite -Crow wuz bohn wuz de wus’ nite he ebba saw. Blowin’, dark an’ snowin’—so -dark dat’s why dey call him Crow. Uncle Stephen say when uh leetle ca’f -he wud kick his ma, ole Snowball, quick ez he wud kick you. So, ’cose I -didn’ wan’ dat steer ter kick me big ez he is. I heahd Uncle Silas say -one time he wuz plowin’ wid Dove an’ Pigeon—dey wuz de bigges’ an’ -strongis’ mules Mars Nickey had. He plow’d up uh yaller-jackets’ nes’, -an’ he wuzn’ watchin Dove er Pigeon; he wuz jes’ watchin’ an’ fightin’ -dem yaller-jackets. He say he had mos’ wo’ out uh bran’ new straw hat -fightin’ ’em, an’ wuz mos’ ’zausted, when dey got on Dove. She gib uh -kick, _bof_ huh feet hit him on de haid an’ gib him de haidache all day. -An’ dat uh steer name Sampson—an’ he wan’ sech uh pow’ful steer -neba—kick him on de haid wid _one_ foot, an’ he haid ache fuh _two_ -days. - -“Well, ez I wuz tellin’ you, I hadn’ mo’n fed Crow an’ Ab’ham, when dat -new oberseer, Dan Sharp, cum ’long an’ sez ter me, jes’ ez I wuz -startin’ ter see Susan, ‘Why didn’ you teck de yoke of’n dem steers?’ So -I say, ‘Kase I fogot hit!’ ‘Well, den,’ he say, ’you lazy roscal, teck -hit orf now!’ I wuz all dress up in meh bes’ summer close, an’ I -recommembered what you say boutin dat oberseer; so I riz meh haid up an’ -say, sassy-like, ‘You roscal yo’sef.’ Billy, wid dat he fairly foam at -de mouf, run arfter me fas’ ez uh colt; den I run an’ run, but he gain -on me (you see, I had meh shoes on), an’ I wuz so feard gittin’ kotch -an’ whupped, da wuz nuffin lef’ fuh me but ter run in de creek, at de -mouf ub Haylan’ Branch, up ter meh neck—_wid dem new yaller pants on_. -Arfter I had bin in de watah boutin twenty minutes, mebby uh harf hour, -long nuff fuh Dan Sharp ter git his bref back, he say, ‘Who uh roscal, -you black imp; me er you?’ I sez rite quick, ‘I is!’ Den he say, ‘You -kin cum outin de creek.’ Den I tu’n fool, ez hit tu’n out, an’ say, ‘I -ain’ gwine ter cum out; I’s gwine ter suffah in heah. I’s gwine ter git -de cramps, an’ uh mis’ry in meh back, an’ den go an’ tell Mars Nickey -an’ Miss Henrietta how I kotch dem cramps.’ Den Dan Sharp say, ‘Ef’n you -gwine ter tell yo’ Mars Nickey an’ Miss Henrietta, den I will keep you -in heah tell midnite.’ Den he teck out he watch an’ say, ‘I’ll send de -fus’ one ub de chillun dat cum ’long de road fuh meh supper. I ain’ -sorry ter stay heah, kase I heah tell ub de dancin’ parties de witches -hab in dis branch, an’ I wanter see how long hit will teck ’em ter gib -you spavins when dey gits ter dancin’ an’ meddowtatin’ ’roun’ you an’ -tryin’ ter meck sturrups in yo’ hyah.’ - -“Billy, I had meh hyah all tied up in twisses, but when de oberseer talk -dat fashion, meh hyah riz up on meh haid so quick hit bus’ dem twisses. -I mos’ had uh spavin, sho’ nuff. When meh bref cum back I say, ‘Befo’ de -Lawd, Mr. Sharp, I promis’ not ter tell.’ Den he lemmy cum out. Well, -Billy, ef’n you cud hab seed de colour de salt watah tu’n dem lubly -pants, you’d uh wep’. Do you recommember uh ole white-eyed, pie-coloured -hoss dat good ole Quakah, Mars Isaac Atkinson, had name Skeuball?” - -“’Cose I do. Mars Isaac use ter say witches made stirrups in he main, -an’ sometimes rid him ober ter Fausley.” [Billy was that witch!] - -“Well, de colour ub dem pants ’mine me ub ole Skeuball; I kyant ’magin’ -what de man dat made de muslin cud uh put in hit. An’ Billy, I kyant -ondastan’ how cum Mr. Sharp run me in dat creek. I’m mo’n twice ez big -ez you is, an’ you say when he cuss you, you cuss him back. ’Cose arfter -what you spressify ter me, when he sass me I rite ’way ’cluded ter sass -him. So I say, ‘You roscal yo’sef.’ Billy you no de consequation ub dat -miration. I ’ten’ ter ax Mr. Sharp when he meck up wid me how cum hit -dat Billy kin cuss him an’ I kyant ebin sass him.” - -“Juba, don’ tu’n fool ergin. Don’ say nuffin ter him nohow; hit will -jes’ meck him mad ergin, an’ dat gre’t big man mite breck bof our necks. -Da wuz uh checkeration in our composation de nite I tole you, fuh Mage -Rudd tuck his broom an’ fairly swep’ me outin his sto’ fuh spillin’ -mullasses on de sto’ flo’, an’ I wuz tu fusstified ter tell you de res’ -ub what I did boutin Mr. Sharp. Well, Juba, de res’ is, when I wan’ ter -cuss him I goes way up ter de top ub de hill ’hin’ de bawn. Den I looks -all ’roun’ an’ ’roun’, an’ ef’n I don’ see Mr. Sharp no wha neah, I jes’ -cuss, cuss, an’ cusses him; an’ dat way, hit do mo’ good dan yo’ way, -kase you kin git mad ez you wan’ ter, spressify yo’sef jes’ ez yo’ wan’ -ter, an’ hit don’ teck de colour outin yo’ pants.” - -“Well, Billy, I ain’ fogot de spilein’ ub dem pants, I tell you. I bin -t’inkin’ ’bout breckin’ meh wud an’ tyin’ meh haid up’n uh hankcheah an’ -tellin’ Mars Nickey de ve’y fus’ time he ax me how I feel. Den I’ll say, -“Po’ly, Mars Nickey; ve’y po’ly eber sence Mr. Sharp run me in yo’ creek -at de foot ub Haylan’ Branch mash an’ kep’ me stan’in’ in da mos’ all -nite tramplin’ on yo’ oysters. Now, what do you t’ink, Billy, boutin -dat?” - -“Ez you gwine ter tell Marster in de summah time er de wintah time?” - -“Dunno, Billy; I ain’ t’ink ’bout dat.” - -“Well, teck my ’vice an’ tell him in de summah time, kase boutin uh harf -hour arfter you tell him, da will be tu pussons stan’in’ in de creek up -ter deah moufs—one will be Mr. Sharp, tudda, Juba Viney.” - - - - - “HIS BREF KINLETH COALS.” - - -Sistus, brudders an’ chillun: You will fine meh tex’ in de forty-fus’ -chaptah ub Job, an’ uh part ub de twenty-fus’ vus: “His bref kinleth -coals.” - -Fus’ly, meh discose ter-day will be ’boutin strange things. - -Da is some people in dis congation, ’tickerly Little Billy, dat kyant -ondastan’ why we don’ no mo’ erboutin witches, an’ ghoses. De fac’ is, -sence de witch cummittee went inter Haylan’ Branch, saw uh ghose er -sperrit—an’ dey sut’ny saw one er de udda—da has bin too much witch talk -in dis congation. Fuh instinct, what diffunc’ do hit meck ef’n hit de -same sort, er not de same sort, ub witches dat Saul talk erboutin when -he say, “Thou shal’ not suffah uh witch ter lib.” Mo’n dat, he cud ’ford -ter talk dat way, fars ez he cud run. - -De Bible say, “Saul an’ Jonithan wuz swiftah dan eagles.” - -Secon’ly, Meh belubbed sistus, da is some things you nebba kin fine -out, stranger dan witches an’ mo’ ’structive dan witches er -jack-uh-ma-lanterns. - -Thudly, Dis lubly oak pulpit Mars Nickey had built full us wuz once uh -acorn—think ub dat; an’ you may keep on thinkin’, but you kyant -ondastan’ it. - -Fo’fly, Miss Henrietta cum in de chuch yistiddy an’ look ’roun’ while I -wuz sweepin’. She say: “Reubin, Chris’mus I gwine ter gib de chuch uh -melojin.” She had in huh bres’ fo’ er five little wiolets, an’ dey jes’ -fill de chuch full ub deah sweetness—dunno tho’, kase I specks some ub -de sweetness wuz fum huh bref, kase hit’s jes’ like uh lam’s. - -Now, den, what cud be mo’ strange dan de odah fum uh little wiolet? Hit -cums peepin’ up in de early spring, den hit buds an’ blooms, an’ uh bed -ub dem wiolets is ez sweet ez dat hyarp ub uh thousan’ strings dat -little Dabid played ’pon. What’s in de groun’ ’ceppin’ de wumms ter gib -dat wiolet odah? Mars Nickey say dat wumms sweeten de uth an’ meck holes -futto let de air in. You kin smell de wiolet, but you kyant kerry dat -odah ’way wid you; but uh jewdrap kin cum ’long erboutin sundown, drap -on dat flowah, res’ uh little while, an’ what’s de consequation? Why, -dat little jewdrap will ’sorb ernuff ub dat odah ter meck yo’ hankcheah -smell sweet fuh uh hole Sunday, an’ you kin teck hit outin yo’ pocket -ev’y five minutes, ef’n you wan’ter. - -What’s witches er ghoses ’long side de mistification ub uh jewdrap? Why, -de action ub young chickens is mo’ curisome ter me dan witches. Ef’n uh -chicken is only two days ole, and not strong ernuff ter git on he ma’s -back, an’ uh wile tukkey, er wile goose, er buzzard cum sailin’ ’long, -hit don’ pesterfy de ole hen er any ub huh chicks. Dey keep on playin’ -wid dere toes an’ tryin’ ter pick up ebery little trem’lin’ sunbeam -dat’s playin’ wid de grass; but jes’ let uh little sparrow-hawk, er any -kind ub hawk cum ’long, you’ll see dat ole hen renounce hit ter huh -chicks quick ez you kin wink yo’ eye. Den you kin look an’ look, but you -kyant fine one ub dem little chickens ter sabe yo’ life. - -Now, why is dat? Hits da _in_-sence; dat is, de sence dat’s in ’em. - -Sixly, Teck uh little cherry blossom dat you cud put in Miss Henrietta’s -thimble; hit mecks uh cherry tree. I’s talkin’ now boutin dem small -breed ub cherry blossoms dat grows at Fausley, on dem monstus gre’t big -trees. Why, some ub de bumps on dem trees is big ernuff ter set on. -Pow’ful big cherry trees! What’s witches ter de cherry blossoms dat -mecks dem big trees? You kyant ’splain hit. - -We do no sompin’ erbout witches; fuh instinct, we kin ondastan how some -breed ub witches kin lib in cows’ hohns—dem small ones dat Little Billy -say lit on Pigeon’s mane (an’ you no mules don’ hab long manes) jes’ -same ez uh pack ub mice wid wings, one night when he ridin’ Pigeon thoo -Haylan’ Branch. Billy say de biggis’ one he saw dat time wuz uh white -one, wid spuhs on, boutin ez big ez uh young rabbit befo’ dey leabe deah -nes’—an’ ub cose at uh ’stressin’ time like dat Billy mus’ uh saw twice. -Mo’ober he say ef’n de witches had uh had bobtails he wud uh tuck ’em -fuh rabbits; but deah tails wuz ve’y curisome—erbout twice ez long ez uh -’possum’s, an’ rap all ’roun’ deah ahms. - -But de stranges’ thing ub all is what I now cum ter seben’ly— - - “HIS BREF KINLETH COALS.” - -We kyant say our pr’ars widout hit. Hit’s got fingahs, I s’pose plays -hohns an’ all insterments dat you blow on. Hit sings, howls, whispuhs -an’ moans same ez uh mo’nah. Hit’s uh thing wid three names. - -Ev’ybody lubs de part dat ’longs ter him mo’n uh jus’ man lub his wife, -er King Dabid lubb’d Ab-so-lum. We kin see hit in wintah when hit’s cole -an’ frosty, but kyant see hit in de summah when it dry. Hit’s wid us -whedder we ersleep er wake. Som’times hit’s ez weak ez uh nat, den ergin -stronger dan de little hills dat de Bible say, “skipped like lam’s.” -Hit’s wahm in summah an’ cole in wintah. Hit’s gentle one day an’ sassy -nubba day. Hit kerries in hit’s bres’ de storm an’ scatters de clowds. -Hit wuz wid Jonah in de whale’s belly. Hit kin sow an’ reap. Ezactly so, -precisely. Hit’s stronger dan all de steers, cows, hosses, mules an’ men -on dis plantation. In quaresomeness da’s nuffin kin tech it; uh barnyard -full ub witches is nuffin ter dis mis’try. - - “HIS BREF KINLETH COALS.” - -Ately, hit kin be ez sorf ez de fevvers on uh hummin’ bird’s bres’ er de -down on uh wile goose’s neck. Belubbed, hit’s nebba still; al’ays goin’ -somewha, an’ de Bible say you kyant see hit. No snail kin creep ’long -slower dan hit kin, an’ no ghose run fasser. - -Ninely, Hit kin canter, rack, gallop, trot; hit’s got all de gaits, an’ -when hit comes ter swif’ness, dar ain’ nuffin un’er de sun, an’ I specks -ober de sun, dat kin run erway fum hit. Hit kin sing ez high ez Aunt -Phillis an’ ez low ez Little Billy. Sometimes hit coughs same ez an ole -cow dat’s tryin’ ter swaller uh nubbin ’dout chawin’ hit. - -Leb’nly, De fac’ is, sistus an’ brudders, our bref, de win’, er -air—three names fuh one thing—mus’ be uh pusson. How cud it cough, -whistle, sing, cry, moan same ez uh sinnah, whispuh, sow an’ reap, ef’n -it wan’ one ub dem Possels er Petracks in disgise. - - “HIS BREF KINLETH COALS.” - -Twelf’ly, _Any way you look at hit_, hit sut’ny mus’ be some kine ub -pusson. Brudderin, hit mus’ be Job, fuh Job say, “O, recommember dat meh -life _is wind_.”[16] Dar’s uh gre’t deal mo’ ub it in Haylan’ Branch dan -witches. In de summahtime hit sweetens Haylan’ Branch; huvverin’ ober de -wile grapewines, dem nights in June, drinks itself full ub ’licious -odahs an’ brings dem two miles ter Mars Nickey, Miss Henrietta an’ de -chillun settin’ on de po’ch lookin’ at de Tred Avon, an’ ter ev’y good -an’ bad niggah on de plantation. Sistus, I specks de gyarden ub Edum wuz -full ub wile grapewines. ’Cose Miss Eve knew’d what de sweetes’ ub odahs -wuz, an’ I specks Mars Adam an’ Miss Eve spent da moon-honey ’roun’ dem -wile grapewines. - -Thutteenly, Ter cum back ter de application, what is de win’? Is it uh -Cherrypin er Serrypin, er Job in disgise? - -Damon Danridge: “Uncle Reubin hit cudn’ be uh Cherrypin er Serrypin, -kase sometimes de win’ good-temper’d, den ergin hit’s angry.” - -Uncle Reubin: “Damon, I ’cepts yo’ ’spons’bility, kase when de win’ gits -rale mad hit orften mecks de clowds weep snow an’ cry rain. Think ub -dat! An’ when you see de ole steamboat Marylan’ lash ter de warf, an’ -Cap’n Stitchberry’s ole yaller sail schooner, de Margaret Jane, clair up -ter de haid ub Fausley Creek, you kin see ’mejately de win’ almos’ got -uh spavin.” - -Fo’teenly, Sistus, brudders an’ little chillun, teck care ub yo’ bref; -fuh de Bible say, “We all do fade ez de leaf.” You wan’s de bref ub life -all de time, night an’ day, right wid you. Brudders, sometimes hit’s too -full ub applejack, udder times mebby hit’s wasted tellin’ lies, dancin’, -playin’ de fiddle, singin’ songs, stealin’ watahmillions, an’ habin’ -foolish composations erbout ghoses, jack-uh-ma-lanterns an’ witches, -when de same bref mout uh bin used futto pray wid an’ sing hyms. Ef’n -you don’ teck care ub yo’ bref you will be class wid dem dat’s call uh -bag ub win’—an’ da ain’ nuffin mo’ onsartin’ dan de win’. - -Lars’ but not leas’, when you go home talk erboutin’ de win’ ’sted ub -ghoses an’ witches, ondastan’ yo’sebs, pray fuh de bref ub de lam’ futto -be wid you, an’ when you rassle wid yo’ lars bref an’ hit whispuh sorf -ez uh Cherrypin— - - “Yo’ll not git los’ in de wildernes’ - Wid uh lighted can’le in yo’ bres’.” - -Light de can’le! Ef’n you don’ light hit good an’ hab de wick ub -salbation, den de blessed Lawd will _blow_ hit out an’ say ergin: “Foxes -hab holes, an’ de birds ub de _air_ (dar’s de application) hab nesses; -but de Son ub Man hath not wha ter lay His haid.” - -[Illustration: - - BLACK CREEK FORD. -] - - - - - DAT AUNTYDOTE.[17] - - - Dramatis Personae. - - Mars Dick—A country doctor. - Ben—a credulous darkey. - Mike—a Talbot County mule. - - - ACT I. - - - SCENE I.—Ben’s cabin near a swamp. - - When Mike, meh mule, tuck sick Mars Dick cum ridin’ by - An’ say, “Uh case orntried is hyard ter jestify; - Still, I kin git him well, meck up yo’ mine ter dat, - Ef you will turn yo’ pollyticks an’ be uh Dimmycrat. - - “I’s gwine ter try an’ git inter de Legislater, Ben, - An’ I wan’ ter run uh haid ub de res’ ub all de men.” - De consequation wuz I say, “I’ll vote fuh you, Mars Dick, - Fuh dis po’ wretched mule ub mine is mighty, monstus sick.” - - Den Mars Dick say, “Be quick! Run ter de swamp an’ get - Snake-root, squaw-root, mash-mallers an’ bone-set; - Ros’ ’em in uh spidah tell dey squench up inter uth, - Den da ain’ no tellin’ what sich uh powder’s wuth.” - - Hit seems ter me de price wuz big dat I got fuh meh vote, - Kase Mars Dick say dem swamp yearbs wuz uh pow’ful auntydote - Fuh hic-cups, cramps, brownchytiz, bruises, bu’ns, haidaches, - Rheumatiz an’ measles, conwulsions and de shakes. - - An’ den Mars Dick he tole me, in de mawnin’ ’fo’ I feed - Futto go inter de swamp an’ git de largis’ reed I seed, - An’ fill hit full fum en’ ter en’ wid dat gran’ auntydote, - Pull out Mike’s tongue, put in de reed, an’ blow hyard down he thote. - - - SCENE II. - - In ’bout uh week I heahd uh nock—’twuz Mars Dick at de do’; - I’d jes’ begun uh leetle bit ter walk ’cross de flo’; - De pussperation baved meh face, an’ I had so leetle bref, - Dat Mars Dick say, “Why, Ben, what’s de matter wid yo’sef?” - - I say ter him, “Dat auntydote wuz wus’n dangerous, - De mule he gib uh pow’ful snort, _an’ his blow wuz de fus’_! - De bone-set’s clustah’d ’roun’ meh bones, de snake-root’s in meh brain, - Meh back is full ub mis’ry, an’ meh haid is full ub pain.” - - - MORAL. - - Young Marster ain’ de kine ub man dat suits de Legislater, - He spressify his condidence too much ter meck uh ’bater; - Dat auntydote dey call it wud nebber tech meh thote - Ef I hadn’ pestered pollyticks an’ sole fuh weeds meh vote. - -[Illustration: - - “SKYLARK.” - - Mars Matthew wuz ridin’ in de lead on Skylark, an’ his favorite hound, - Jerry Myah, wuz tonguein’ - ez sweet ez er Melojin, an’ leadin’ de pack. -] - - - - - EZRA. - - -Ezzy, as the servants called him, was a brother to Little Billy, almost -as smart, but in character as unlike as Jacob and Esau were in -appearance, for Billy had very little character and Ezzy a great deal. -He was short of stature, well figured, good featured, perfect teeth, and -though 60 years old, was full of life, gracious and light-hearted. He -doted on a horse race, could cut the pigeon wing and was as fond of a -fox hunt as Squire Weston. As much as he loved to eat, he would leave a -steaming breakfast of hominy and sparerib if he heard a pack in full -cry. - -He had a most remarkable memory; for instance, he knew the mothers of -all the calves and lambs, the names of all the oyster pungies, schooners -and canoes in the river. I suppose in Bolingbrook District there were a -hundred foxhounds; he knew all of their names, and when they passed him -in full cry would exclaim, “Da goes Chimes, Jerry-Myah, Boxer, Juno, -Jew-Drap, Sweet-lips, Heatherbell, Sweetheart,” etc. He sang, played the -banjo and was a decided beau. Indeed, he was a born sport, and like his -brother, Little Billy, not fond of hard work. He was an exceptionally -good horseman, had good hands and good judgment; in Queen Anne’s County -had ridden and won two races for his Marster; could break a yoke of oxen -in a week; schooled the hunters, broke the colts, rode them bare-back, -and, as he would say, “Dey jes’ drapped into his ways.” - -Ezra had his faults, however, and annoyed the overseers with his -shortcomings. For example, he doted on coon hunting, and when he had -been coon hunting all night, would go to sleep for hours next day -husking corn and not husk enough to pay for his bacon. If a fox was run -through the estate, Ezra would pack in and forget his work. When the -overseers would call him to account he would say, “I cudn’ help gittin’ -’stracted an’ harkin’ up dem houn’s. Mars Matthew wuz ridin’ in de lead -on Skylark, an’ his favorite houn’, Jerry-Myah, wuz tonguein’ ez sweet -ez uh melojin, an’ leadin’ de pack.” - -Late in September, 1857, to judge Cotswold sheep his Marster was invited -to the great cattle and horse show to be held in Memphis, Tenn., the -next month. As Ezra was fond of animals, and trifling about hard work, -had good manners and full of kindness, his Marster concluded to send him -to Memphis with eight sheep, the pick of the flock. - -[Illustration: - - Dey ’long ter Mars Matthew; his Gre’t Gran Pa, dey tell me, hope - C’lumbus ter ’sciver Talbot County, an’ dat wuz befo’ de Petracks - (Patriarchs) cum ober. -] - -They stopped in Baltimore, where Noah Walker & Company fitted him out -with two suits of brown livery with brass buttons. He was given a new -hat, as he expressed it, “Wid uh burr on one side de hat;” but his new -boots particularly charmed him, as the best servants got boots, and the -others shoes. From Baltimore, Ezra was sent direct to Memphis, and his -Mars Matthew joined, in Richmond, Col. John Ware, of Virginia, who bred -Cotswold sheep and exhibited in Memphis. - -At the Memphis show, three of Ezra’s sheep took blue ribbons, one a red -ribbon. He was standing in front of his sheep cot, two days after -arriving—standing as though he was going to have his picture taken, -delighted with himself and the blue ribbons. A man came along and said: - -“Has your Marster many sheep like these?” - -“Many? Erbout ten thousan’; dey jes’ run an’ tuck de fus’ dey kotch.” - -Another man said, “Whose sheep are these?” - -“Dey ’long ter Mars Matthew; his gre’t granpa, dey tell me, holp -C’lumbus ’sciver Talbot County, an’ dat wuz befo’ de Petracks cum ober.” - -Presently a neat, likely looking mulatto girl came along, looked -admiringly at Ezra, leaned over the rail of the sheep cot and said -demurely, “Kin I pat one ub yo’ sheep?” - -“Sut’ny, honey; dey won’ bite,” Ezra said. “Do you lib ’roun’ heah?” - -“Yas, indeed;” and she added, “Wha you cum fum; ’roun’ heah?” - -“Bless meh soul an’ body an’ meh body an’ soul—ter think I cum fum dis -place! Why, dar ain’ no salt watah heah! I cum fum de Eastern Sho’ ub -Maryland, Talbot County. Uncle Stephen Viney say dat he heah John Poney -say dat he heah Pawson Phil Demby say dat meh fambly bin libbin’ in -Talbot County fum de times ub de Petracks. It’s de fines’ place on uth; -don’ hab ter wuck much; da ain’ much lan’, mos’ ev’ything salt watah, -ribbers, bays, creeks and cobes. Fuh instinct, I tecks meh boat”—— - -“Is you uh free pusson?” - -“Me? Dey don’ ’low free niggahs down dar; dey all qual’ty slabes.” - -“Well, you said you had uh boat.” - -“Sut’ny I did. Ef’n uh serbent wants uh boat he jes’ say ter Mars -Matthew, ‘I wants uh pine tree, meh Marster, futto meck uh boat,’ an’ -rite ’way he say, ‘Teck yo’ choice in de fores’;’ an’ den ten er twelbe -serbents almos’ meck dat boat in one night; dey call ’em dug-outs. Well, -I kin teck meh boat an’ cross de watah fum Mars Matthew’s ter Mars -Jimmy’s, erbout uh harf mile, in uh harf hour an’ mebby fish meh net on -de way; ef’n I had ter go by lan’, it wud be twelbe miles erroun’.” - -“Is de fishin’ good down da? Any mullets?” - -[Illustration: - - Meh name is Ezra, but dey call me Ezzy. -] - -“Mullets! We gib dem ter de hogs. We eats what dey call spot, hog-fish, -yaller-neds, catfish, pearch, sheepshead, crokusses, bay mackrel—dat -lars fish de bes’ ub all; don’ hab ter mobe yo’ lips an’ tongue ’tall; -hit jes’ melt in yo’ mouf—an’ crabs an’ oysters dey almos’ beg you ter -eat ’em. Coons in de swamps, an’ ’possums in mos’ ev’y ’simmon tree. -Serbents don’ hab much ter do; I dress up dis way mos’ all de time.” - -“Well, you sut’ny do look peart in dat suit, an’ you sut’ny mus’ lib in -uh pow’ful fine country. I’m a chambermaid, an’ ’longs ter Mars Bedford -Forrest, who’s showin’ some game chickens an’ fine cattle, heah; dat’s -one ub his serbents stan’in’ in front ub dem cattle; ax him ter bring -you ’roun’ ter-night ter see me; I’s jes’ pinin’ ter heah sum mo’ erbout -dem ribbers an’ ocean. Meh name is Muhtilda.” - -“Meh name is Ezra, but dey call me Ezzy.” - -“Well, kin I ’speck you, Ezzy?” - -“Yes’m; erboutin supper time.” - -Every night Ezra went to see Matilda, and every day, as long as she -could get off, Matilda came to see Ezra. The result was, at the end of -the week they were married. Ezra never said a word to his Marster about -it, and urged her to be silent. She was faithful, dependent and -obedient. Ezra told her “he wuz not gwine ter say anything ter his ole -Marster tell de day befo’ gwine home, and den his Mars Matthew wud buy -huh. Ef’n I say anything rite ’way he mout git rejected, teck me home by -mehsef, teck off dis nuniform; mo’n dat, he mout whup me, an’ nebba let -me go ter any mo’ shows.” Matilda grew so worried that she cried and -cried; she was more than perplexed, almost hysterical, so she told Ezra -she was going to see and talk to his Marster. Ezra was affrighted, and -said, “Ef’n you tu’n fool an’ git ter prancin’ erroun’ Marster, he will -say dat he is sho’ you mus’ uh run ’way wid me, an’ dat he don’ like -Tennessee niggahs.” - -Matilda had more courage, however, than Ezra, so she interviewed Ezra’s -Marster, who said: - -“Are you a slave?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“I hope your Marster is good and kind to you?” - -“Y-a-s, indeed, meh Marster; he is ve’y ’zactin’ an’ punnounced, but he -is jes’ ez kind ez kind kin be; ef’n I hadn’ fell in lub wid Ezzy, dat -Eastern Sho’ an’ his boat, I wudn’ arsk you ter buy me an’ leabe Mars -Bedford; but you know Ezzy hab ve’y cutesome ways.” - -“Suppose I can get your Marster to buy Ezra and make him promise never -to sell him as long as he behaves himself; how then? I hate to part with -him, but I have servants enough.” - -“Meh Marster, dat will settle de ’spute rite ’way; please sell Ezzy to -Mars Bedford. I’m sho’ he wudn’ part wid me, an’ Ezzy wild suit him -futto handle de hosses.” - -Mr. Forrest said he would not take five thousand dollars for Matilda; -she was all in all the best servant he ever owned, and after a brief -talk not only bought Ezra, but the sheep; so they did not have to come -home and carry their tails behind them. - -N. B. Forrest soon became attached to Ezra, thought the world of him, -and when the Civil War broke out took him as his body servant. Ezra -served him faithfully during the war, and when General Forrest disbanded -his troops at Gainesville, Ala., May 9th, 1865, General Forrest told -Ezra he would give him a home and take care of him as long as he lived. -Ezra said, “He wud like once mo’ ter see Mars Matthew an’ Miss Mary an’ -den cum back.” Whereupon General Forrest presented him with Pigeon, a -mule, and gave him money enough to go home. He rode some hundred and -seventy miles to the home of a Mrs. Sanson, where he stayed two weeks, -and then took the train from Rome, Ga., for home; and one bright, -beautiful morning early in June, timid and lonesome the steamer landed -him at Miles River Wharf, Talbot County, Maryland, a mile by water from -“Fairlands.” - -All faces were strange to him; he knew no one and no one knew him. “The -Rest” had been burned during the war, and the new house looked strange. -Across the river and opposite “The Rest” was “The Anchorage.” It looked -changed; there were no little negroes playing on the lawn. “The Villa” -further up the river was almost hidden by the trees that had grown so -since he left. Timidly he turned his longing eyes on “Fairlands,” and he -saw, a mile away across the river, grand pecan nut, majestic oak, poplar -and horse-chestnut trees. He pulled from his pocket a bandanna -handkerchief almost big enough to cover a baby’s crib, and said, -brushing tears from his eyes, “Dat’s wha Mars Matthew an’ Miss Mary lib. -Dat’s ‘Fairlands.’” He asked an old darkey unloading fish and soft crabs -from his canoe if, for thirty cents, he would land him at the foot of -the “Fairlands” garden. “Git abode; I got meh net sot at de foot ub de -gyarden.” - -“Ev’ything is so changed,” he said inaudibly, as he took his seat in the -bow of the boat. “Mars Bedford tole me I al’ays had uh home wid him,” -and he almost regretted leaving his far Southern home. - - -What a lovely day it was! The air was of caressing softness; the breeze -was so light that the sail sometimes jibed, the ripples kissed lightly -the sides of the boat that floated lazily along; the balmy June air, the -sweet breath of the salt water, all, coupled with Ezra’s fatigue, -soothed him and presently he was asleep. His hat fell off beside him, -and - - Da wuz no wool on de top ub his haid, - In de place wha de wool orter grow. - -Here and there on his face were little tufts of beard that looked like -tiny grains of popped corn. - -In about an hour the boatman turned the stern of his boat towards the -shore and pushed her on the beach at the foot of the garden back of the -dwelling—spanked the water with his paddle, and Ezra awoke, got out, -walked through the water bushes and soon was strolling along one of the -garden walks. He thought how strange it was in the month of June those -once leafless and carpet-like walks should be strewn with leaves; then -he noticed that the box hedges were ragged and in places had paths -through them; the grape arbors were decayed here and there and -tottering, and many grapevines were trailing over and embracing leafless -and dying peach and pear trees—— - - All that’s bright must fade, - The brightest still the fleetest; - All that’s sweet was made - But to be lost when sweetest! - -Only the birds seemed to care for and own this once enchanting and -beautiful garden, “warbled their native wood notes wild” and sang -hallelujahs to the morning-glories and other flowers. Acres of air were -filled with the delicious perfume of blooming grapevines, and the -canticles of birds. - -Ezra sank upon an old rustic seat and said again, “Mars Bedford say he -wud al’ays teck care ub me. I’m sorry I spent meh money and lef’ de -Souf, but I wan’ ter see Mars Matthew an’ Miss Mary once mo’,” and again -he took out that bandanna handkerchief. His solitude was broken by old -Sam’l, once one of the gardeners, the only servant that stayed when they -were emancipated. He had on his arm a basketful of cling peaches. He -said, “I s’pose you bin sorf crabbin’ ’long de sho’ an’ cum up heah ter -res’ yo’sef dis sweet, lubly day?” - -Ezra said: “I ain’ bin crabbin’, do’ I lubs crabbin’ an’ lubs crabs -futto eat. I’m jes’ fum de wah; fit in mos’ ev’y battle. Mars Bedford -Forrest _wuz wid me all de time_. Ub cose you hearn tell ub him.” - -Sam’l looked at him inquisitively, and said: - -“Now, hush!” - -And then Ezra’s face beamed, he recognized old Sam’l, and he said, “Don’ -you recommember me, Brer Sam? I’s Ezzy, Leetle Billy’s brudder, dat Mars -Matthew sold ter Mars Bedford befo’ de wah.” Whereupon they embraced. - -[Illustration: - - So by and by “Ezra” was bowing to and greeting Miss Mary. -] - -Ezra was very hungry, and soon commenced to eat up the peaches, when a -little darkey about three years old whom Sam’l said was his grandchild, -looked into the basket and said something that probably meant to ask for -peaches. Whereupon Ezra said: - -“Do de chile talk, Brer Sam?” - -Brer Sam’l said, “Well, I kyant tell ezactly; he mecks de sounds, but -kyant fo’m de wuds yit.” - -Then with timidity and a trembling voice he asked Sam’l for Mars Matthew -and Miss Mary. Sam’l said, “Losin’ he good an’ faithful serbents dat wuz -’swaded ’way, seein’ de lawn kivvered all de time wid twigs an’ leabes, -ev’ything goin’ ter wase, young Mars Matthew gittin’ kilt at Petersbu’g, -’stressed him so pow’ful dat he got so he cudn’ recommember anything; -fuh instinct, he wud fogit de tex’ befo’ he lef’ de chuch; he almos’ -fogot his A B C’s; den ergin, he wuz eighty years ole, an’ den he died. -Mistis ’structed Pawson Phil Demby, John Poney, Damon Danridge, Rasmus -Jemes an’ mehsef ter meck de toom. She wudn’ hab nobody else, an’ you -kyant ’magine how fine it look. - -“Ezzy, sence you bin ’way we has had uh gre’t preacher at Zion Chuch, -an’ we hab all got erligion an’ tu’n Presbyters; de shirks wuz so bad we -had ter gib up de Babtis’ erligion. Jes’ let me git annerr barsket ub -peaches, Ezzy, an’ den I’ll go up an’ tell Ole Mistis you’r heah, an’ -she will sho’ly see you.” - -Whilst Sam’l was gone, Ezra thought of the straw stacks he used to climb -and slide down, how his young Marster, killed at Petersburg, used to -drive Rasmus, Saul, Little Billy and himself tandem, all harnessed up -with sweet potato vines, and prancing with sheep-rib bits in their -mouths like colts. And then he recalled the colts he broke, gazed upon -the river where he used to wade the hunting horses along the beach to -wash and tone up their legs; then he thought of his brother, Little -Billy, his coon dog, Jasper, and of his boat, and wondered where they -all were. He wiped his eyes, took a chew of tobacco, when his crowded -thoughts were diverted by Sam’l’s return. So by and by Ezra was bowing -to and greeting his “Ole Mistis.” Thinking to condole with her and leave -the impression that he always thought his Marster of sound mind, he -said, “Miss Mary, people use ter say dat Mars Matthew wuz rash-nal, but -I nebber did think Mars Matthew wuz rash-nal.” - -The old lady could scarcely repress a smile, and told Ezra the quarter -where he was born and lived (on Heart’s Cove, a beautiful sheet of water -near the homestead and an arm of Miles River) should be renovated and -made comfortable as his home, and all that she required of him in his -declining years was to keep her in oysters, fish and crabs, an easy task -and eminently to the taste of Ezra. - -[Illustration: - - MARS ARTHUR. -] - -In a few days, helped by his young Marster Arthur, Ezra was comfortably -domiciled in his quarter on Heart’s Cove, and was very happy. He wished -he had ridden Pigeon home instead of giving her away; he missed her so. -He did not seem to worry about his wife the war had separated from him. -One day whilst he was chinking and fixing up his boat, which old Sam’l -had taken good care of, and singing lustily— - - “When Israel wuz in Egyp’ lan’; - Let meh people go; - Oppress’d so hyard dey cud not stan’; - Let meh people go; - Go down Moses, way down in Egyp’ lan’; - Tell ole Phario, - Let meh people go”— - -his young Marster Arthur, a lad of 15, who had already grown fond of -him, and found him always entertaining, took a seat near him, asked him -some questions about the South and if he saw anything of the war. - -“Who, me? Mars Bedford wuz wid _me_ an’ we fit mo’n uh hunard battles, I -specks, skirmages an’ all.” - -“Who do you mean by Mars Bedford?” - -“Why, Gen’l Forrest; de gre’tes’ warrior dat ebber libbed. Yo’ Pa sole -me ter him. He wuz jes’ Mistah Forrest dem days, an’ wuz uh private de -fus’ ub de wah; think ub dat! Well, when de wah broke out he tuck me fuh -one ub his bodyguard; dat is, ter guard his body an’ keep dem blue coats -’way. He had uh hunard an’ fifty men in his bodyguard, an’ I wuz rite -’side him, his serbent an’ waitah—an’ mo’n dat, wid him night an’ day, -ceppin in de battle; den I al’ays hilt his hoss when he fight on foot. -You see when de battle ’tall ornsartin he meck dat bodyguard git of’n -deah bosses an’ he draw dat big swo’d ub his’n an’ say, ‘Foller me,’ an’ -’mejately de blue coats see Mars Bedford an’ dat long swo’d ub his’n, -dey sho’ ter run, don’ meck no difference ef’n dey ez thick ez -grasshoppus. Some people say he cud look like uh goblin an’ tu’n inter -uh sperrit in uh han’-ter-han’ fight; once uh week he sharpen his swo’d -same ez uh raiser, an’ arfter his brudder got kilt (nebba saw uh man cry -so in meh life) he sharpen dat swo’d ev’y day an’ he say, ‘Ef’n dey don’ -s’render arfter I say s’render, I’ll cut de haids of’n ev’y one I gits -close ’nuff ter,’ and he did it, too.” - -“Now, Ezra!” - -“Young Marster, I hab seed too much sufferin’ an’ too much sorrow ter -meck fun ub it; mo’n dat, I’m gittin’ ter be uh ole man, an’ I wan’ meh -heb’nly Marster’s lub; so what I am tellin’ you is de truf. I will cross -meh hyart an’ bref uh thousan’ times ef’n you wan’ me ter.’ Then he was -contemplative for a moment, when he resumed chinking his boat and -singing— - - “Oh, cum ’long Moses, you’ll not git los’; - Let meh people go; - Stritch out yo’ rod an’ cum ercross; - Let meh people go.” - -“Stop singing, Uncle Ezzy, and go on with your story.” - -“Jes’ think ub dat chile callin’ me uncle. I’s gwine ter teck him -fishinin’ ev’y day wid me, an’ sorf crabbin’, too, when I gits dis boat -fix’. He is de ve’y spit ub Ole Mars. Well, young Marster, I wo’ uh gray -nuniform, an’ rode de bes’ mule in de Souf, name Pigeon. Some wha -erboutin Chrismus, 1862, close ter Lexington, Tenn., uh gre’t big kunnel -s’rendered ter Mars Bedford. He wuz almos’ skeered stiff, trem’lin’ like -uh aspine leaf, but when Mars Bedford say, smilin’, ‘You fellows didn’ -meck much ub uh fight,’ it gib dat kunnel condidence, an’ rite ’way he -look peart an’ say, ‘Gen’l, won’ you please exchange me soon?’ An’ Mars -Bedford say, ‘Yas; go an’ git me de bes’ mule in yo’ cumman’, an’ I’ll -exchange you fuh de mule.’ Dat’s how I got Pigeon. Befo’ dat I had uh -wufless, lazy hoss, an’ Mars Bedford wanted ev’ything lively ’roun’ him. -Den ergin, I carried uh coffeepot, jes’ big ’nuff fuh _me_ and Mars -Bedford, sugah, coffee, hard-tack, blackin’, blackin’ brush, soap an’ -towels, an’ sich like. De Gen’l tied strings ’roun’ de bottoms ub uh -heavy par ub canvas pants, an’ I stuffed deah legs full, tell dey jes’ -strut out; den I put dem straddle Pigeon’s back an’ tied ’em ter de -saddle so ef’n de amblabus wuz behin’ I had ’nuff perwissions fuh Mars -Bedford an’ me tell de amblabus cum up. Pigeon, she al’ays kep’ up. De -mammy ub dat mule mus’ uh bin uh thurrybred, she wuz al’ays peart an’ -fresh; de fac’ is, da wan’ much jackass erbout huh; she nebber blowed -huh trumpet ’ceppin she horngry. When I got ev’ything on meh ahmy -saddle, front an’ back, de pack wuz erbout up ter meh shoulders when I -sot in de saddle, but den ergin, it didn’ pester me, kase I wuz almos’ -settin’ in uh bungproof. - -“Pigeon wuz ve’y feard ub watah (da sut’ny wuz no Babtis’ blood in huh) -an’ dat mecks me think ub what dey call de Streight raid. It wuz in -April, 1863. Mars Bedford had been fightin’ consonly fuh days, an’ de -hosses an’ men hadn’ slep’ fuh two nights, ’ceppin in de saddle, an’ had -nuffin ter eat. Mars Bedford picked up uh box ub crackers, put dem in -his amblabus an’ divided ’em wid his men. Da wan’ uh thing in meh pants -legs futto eat, ’twuz ’zausted. Befo’ tryin’ ter cross what dey call -Black Creek de Gen’l made uh speech ter his men, callin’ fuh all dat wuz -willin’ ter cross; all ’sponded ’ceppin de men asleep in deah saddles, -_an’ I wuz one ub ’em_. Gen’l Streight wuz retretin’ jes’ ez fars’ ez he -cud, an’ cross ober an’ bu’nt de bridge ober Black Creek. De creek wuz -muddy, swollen, deep an’ dangersome. Mars Bedford wuz meddotatin’ how -ter cross, an’ de sharpshooters wuz firin’ fum de udder side. Seberal -ladies walked up, an’ one ub ’em erbout sebenteen year ole, say, ‘Whose -cumman’ is dis?’ an’ somebody said, ‘De advance ub Gen’l Forrest’s -cavelry.’ She wuz all stirred up, an’ she say, ‘Pint Gen’l Forrest out,’ -an’ when dey pinted him out she made such uh curchysy she mos’ swep’ de -groun’, wiped wid huh ap’on de pusspuration fum huh face and said, ‘Dear -Gen’l Forrest an’ brabe soldiers, I know ub an ole ford neah heah, -erboutin uh harf mile ’way, an’ ef’n I had uh mount I cud teck you rite -ter de ford. We hab no hosses; dem blue coats teck ’em all. De way is -th’oo briars an’ fallen trees an’ drif’wood an’ sich like. I kyant walk -well in it.’ Den Mars Bedford say, ‘I will put you up behin’ me, my -chile.’ Then huh ma say, ‘No! No! meh daughter; you mout git kilt, an’ -you is meh only yew lam’.’ Den Mars Bedford say, drappin’ dem sorf eyes -ub his’n on huh an’ lookin’ ez fine ez uh cherrypin er serrypin, ‘Git up -behin’ me fum dis fallen tree.’ Den huh mudda almos’ hab spavins, but -she clum up on dat hoss. Mars Bedford call fuh uh scout an’ ’way he -went. Ub cose I wuz wid him; jumpin’ logs, tearin’ up de briars an’ -weeds. Arfter dey had gone boutin uh harf mile, Miss Emma, dat wuz huh -name, say, ‘Stop, Gen’l Forrest, dis heah ravine runs down ter dat ford -an’ de ford runs dis way: =>= .’ Den dey got off an’ walked ter de -ribba, but de watah wuz so high an’ so muddy dey cudn’ see de ford; but -she say, ‘It’s bin heah ev’y sence I wuz uh baby. I know almos’ ev’y -rock in it an’ ezac’ly wha it is.’ Den I heah bang! bang! bang! and den -erboutin fo’ty bangs, an’ heah cum de bullets. I wuz peepin’ wid Pigeon -fum behin’ uh big rock. _Oh, I wuz al’ays wid him._ Den I heah Miss Emma -say, ‘Gen’l stan’ behin’ me; dey won’ shoot me.’ Mars Bedford say, ‘Git -behin’ dat rock an’ stay da tell I cum fuh you.’ Den Mars Bedford teck -out his spyglass an’ spied all ’roun’ an’ he heah some twigs crackin’ -behin’ him, an’ he looked ’roun’, an’ da wuz dat chile almos’ in his -footprints. De Gen’l’s eyes almos’ spit fire, an’ his mouf trimbled. Den -he say, jes’ like he orderin’ uh charge, ‘Stay behin’ dat rock!’ Den she -say, ‘Gen’l, I wuz fear’d you mout be wounded, an’ I wanted ter be neah -you.’ Den he sot down befo’ de rock—me an’ Pigeon wuz behin’—tu’n’d his -sorf eyes up ter de sky an’ say, ’_De worl’ kyant whup us wid sech -women!_’[18] Pres’ny he holped huh up de ravine—all de time de -sharpshooters wuz firin’, an’ some ub de balls wen’ th’oo huh dress—an’ -when she got up de ravine she say, ‘Dey jes’ wounded meh crin’line!’ an’ -she tuck orf huh sunbonnet an’ shuck it at ’em. Gen’l Forrest sant her -back ter tell de res’ ub de cumman’ ter cum, artil’ry fus’. Almos’ befo’ -dey got ter de ford dey limbered up, fired uh few bung-shots, an’ dem -blue coats soon lef’ dat ford. Den Mars Bedford tole one ub his officers -ter teck uh regiment an’ hole dat ford, and dey hilt it. Ev’ything wuz -ready, an’ Mars Bedford started erhaid ober de ford, when Miss Emma call -him back, almos’ cryin’, and she say, ‘You’r gwine ’rong; you see de -ford run dis way: =>= .’ Den she clum er rock an’ say, ‘Lemmy git up in -front ub you an’ show de way.’ De Gen’l say, ‘No; git up behin’; dey -mout shoot you.’ An’ she say, ‘No; I mus’ ride in front, hab de reins, -so dat I meck no mustake.’ Den Mars Bedford teck orf his nuniform coat, -fold an’ put it in front ub him, den he teck orf his felt hat an’ put it -on de coat, an’ she jump on jes’ ez spry ez uh colt, an’ he say ter his -soldiers, ‘Follow me.’ His scout, Mars Torm, wuz one ub de fus’ ter -follow. Mars Bedford stop his hoss an’ say, ‘You kyant go; yo’ ahm is -badly shot an’ broken; you is not fit ter fight er swim.’ So den he wuz -orf ergin. De hosses wuz neighin’, de creek wuz twissin’, rum’lin’ an’ -tum’lin’, de hosses stoppin’, stum’lin’, an’ backin’ jes’ de same ez -ef’n ’twuz dark. I cudn’ say nuffin but meh prayers, an’ I mos’ choke -sayin’ dem. Mo’n dat, Pigeon she wuz carryin’ on high, jes scan’lus; -wudn’ eben put huh feet in de watah. De watah wuz so high dey had ter -teck de caissions orf, an’ de soldiers waded wid de powder on deah -shoulders. It tuck two hours ter cross, but bless Gord, dey all got -ober. Befo’ dey got harf way ’cross Mrs. Sanson, Miss Emma’s mudda, wuz -at de ford, an’ she wuz almos’ ’zausted fum walkin’ th’oo de briars an’ -tangled bushes.” - -[Illustration: - - MISS EMMA. DAT WUZ HUH NAME. -] - -Ezra commenced again to chink his boat, singing— - - “You’ll not git los’ in de wilderness; - Let meh people go; - Wid uh lighted can’le in yo’ bres’; - Let meh people go.” - -Arthur was by this time intensely interested, and after Ezra had bitten -off a fresh chew of tobacco, said, “Well, what then?” - -“Well, den Mars Bedford rode back wid Miss Emma, got orf his hoss, tuck -her down—I nebba saw him so ’cited an’ hainsome. Den he mounted, tuck -orf his hat, kissed his han’, jes’ so, an’ soon he wuz dashin’ up de -hill ter jine his troops. Mars Torm, po’ feller, did look so ’stressed -ter be lef’ behin’. - -“When Mars Bedford wan’ talkin’ his eyes jes’ ez sorf ez uh ’possum’s, -but when he wuz serioussum an’ opened his mouf, da wan’ no apples in his -eyes, nuffin but fire, an’ when he tole his favorite scout, Mars Torm, -ter stay back, he jes’ tuck root on dat spot. - -“He wuz uh ve’y curisome man; fuh instinc’, he had uh swo’d made jes’ -futto suit hissef. It wan’ quite ez long ez uh fence-rail, but mos’ -nighly; you wudn’ think he wud cut blue coats haids orf but he wud. It’s -so curisome—he wuz so gentle an’ he talk so sorf, but den ergin his -eyes, when he on uh scout er charge, jes’ like uh fish-hawk’s. -How-some-ebba, I once heah ole Mars Nickey say uh race hoss dat prances -an’ bucks an’ goes ev’y which way at de pos’—jes’ like uh dug-out in -rough watah—ain’ no race hoss; dey th’ow up deah tails befo’ dey go two -miles. But de nice quiet ones like de fo-mile hosses Mars Matthew use -ter own, when dey at de pos’ you’d s’pose dey habin’ deah pictur taken. -Well, Mars Bedford wuz sho’ly uh fo’-miler in his ways, an’ he al’ays -had his way, too. - -“Mrs. Sanson inwited Mars Torm ter meck huh house his home tell he git -well; mo’n dat, she spressify huhsef dat she al’ays lubbed ter nuss -Cornfederates. Den she look at Pigeon an’ me an’ say, ‘I kin teck good -care ub you, too, an’ yo’ mule. Peter, Simon an’ Nancy is ve’y ole, so -you kin holp ’em ter milk de cows, chu’n de butter an’ pick de -strawberries. Young Marster, I stayed da fuh two weeks, until de watah -fell in Black Creek. I got fat, so did Pigeon, an’ den I crossed de -creek an’ jined Mars Bedford. - - “’Twuz jes’ erboutin harves’ time; - Let meh people go; - When Joshua led his hos’ divine; - Let meh people go.” - -“Oh, go on, Uncle Ezzy.” - -“Well, in erboutin free monfs Mars Torm, de scout, jined us. He looked -fat an’ slick, an’ Gen’l Forrest lubbed an’ ’spected him so he kissed -him. He didn’ kiss me, but I wud uh kissed him.” - -Between you and me, kind reader, after greeting General Forrest, “Mars -Torm” hurried to his humble hammock. His thoughts were more of “Black -Creek” than the tented field. From a pocket in his gray jacket he pulled -out and fondly kissed a daguerreotype. When he opened it a pressed rose -leaf fell out. It may have been the rose leaf which a dear kind hand had -placed between the pages she loved to read to him, and the mate to the -one he had. He sank into his hammock, and the tranquil twilight saw him -weeping, and then reciting: - -[Illustration: - - MARS TORM. - - (From a time-worn photograph.) - - His thoughts were more of “Black Creek” than the tented field. -] - - “Between two songs of Petrarch, - I’ve a purple rose leaf prest, - More sweet than common rose leaves, - For it once lay in her breast. - When she gave me that her eyes were wet, - The rose was full of dew; - The rose is withered long ago— - The page is blistered, too. - - “One night we sat below the porch, - And out in that warm air, - A firefly, like a dying star, - Fell tangled in her hair; - But I kissed him lightly off again, - And he glittered up the vine, - And died into the darkness——” - -A bugle sounded. Forrest was in the saddle. The scout’s reverie was -over. - -“Well, de nex’ big fight wuz at what dey call ‘Brice’s Cross Roads;’ -dat’s de place Mars Bedford had uh spavin [fainted] fuh one hour. I -fanned him consonly wid meh hat; he had de gre’tes’ condidence in me. At -uh place call ‘Ripley’, a few days befo’ dis fight, uh farmer sant what -dey call in Mississippi, mountain oysters ter Mars Bedford. Dey ain’ -nuffin ter Eastern Sho’ oysters; some people say dat Mars Bedford eat -too many an’ dey gib him de spavin, but I know dat ain’ so. I wuz -waitin’ on de table an’ stan’in’ rite behin’ him, an’ arfter helpin’ -Gen’l Beauford an’ Gen’l Rucker he stir dat soup fuh mo’n five minutes -befo’ uh mountain oyster cum on top. Den I say, ‘Dar’s one, Marster,’ -an’ he tu’n an’ gimmy uh look wid dem eagle eyes ub his’n dat meck me -trimble. I know what meck him sick, an’ I’m gwine ter tell you. De -fightin’ wuz so furisome dat Gen’l Forrest say ter his bodyguard, -‘Dismount; draw yo’ swo’ds an’ foller me,’ an’ when de blue coats seed -Mars Bedford, ’way dey went. Well, he had so few men ’long side de blue -coats, dat not uh man cud be spared ter go an’ git watah, so Mars -Bedford felt so thusty an’ weary dat he drunk de powder watah fum de -sponge bucket, an’ dat’s what gib him dat spavin. - -“Honey, you ain’ but fifteen years ole, so Brer Sam’l say, an’ ef’n I -wuz ter tell you how many wuz kilt an’ wounded in dat fight it might -meck you see ghoses an’ witches in yo’ sleep, an’ keep you fum growin’. -I hilt Gen’l Forrest’s hoss, Pigeon an’ two other hosses when he -dismounted, an’ ’pears ter me de hosses looked ’stressed, da wuz so many -kilt on bof sides. Now, dat’s all I’m gwine ter tell you erboutin -battles. - -“Young Marster, chillun musn’ know too much. Fuh instinct, yistiddy I -wuz chinkin’ dis boat (an’ I gwine ter name huh Miss Emma) when Mars -Jimmy’s chillun cum erlong gwine home fum school; dey clum all ober me, -an’ pres’ny one ub ’em say, ‘Uncle Ezzy, what is uh vulgar fraction?’ Ub -cose, I had ter tell de truf, so I say, ‘Hit’s somethin’ little boys an’ -girls musn’ talk erbout.’ - -[Illustration: - - Uncle Ezzy, what is a vulgar fraction? - - Ub cose, I had ter tell de truf, so I say hit’s somethin’ little boys - an’ girls mus’n’ talk erbout. -] - -“In May, 1865, we all s’rendered at Gainesville, Alabama. Mars Bedford -gib me Pigeon an’ money ter cum home wid ef’n I wanted ter. Fuh fo’ days -I hunted ’roun’ Gainesville ’mong de troops futto fine Mars Torm. I -knew’d he lib near Rome, Georgia, an’, ub cose, he had ter ride de same -road I did, so I wanted him ter let me ride ez far ez Mrs. Sanson’s wid -him. Dem sweet people wuz so kine ter me I wuz gwine ter gib ’em Pigeon; -mo’n dat, I wuz feard ter ride by mebsef in uh gray nuniform fum -Gainesville ter Black Creek, erboutin two hunard miles. How-some-ebba, I -’cluded ter ride jes’ at night, an’ bless Gord, in erbout uh week I -struck Black Creek ford horngry an’ tired. De birds wuz singin’, roostus -crowin’, hens uh cacklin’ an’ de watah in de creek ez clear ez uh -jewdrap, an’ Pigeon she jes’ nach’ly went in de watah kase she seed Mrs. -Sanson’s house—wuz horngry an’ ve’y tired. I wuzn’ watchin’ de mule, an’ -de fus’ thing I knewed Pigeon gib uh monstus buck an’ mos’ jumped of’n -de ford in dat deep watah; den she tuck uh good look wid huh ears an’ -went ’long—-an’ what you s’pose frighten’d dat mule? He! he! he! he! dar -sot on uh plank ’tween two rocks Mars Torm (no wunna I cudn’ fine him) -an’ Miss Emma fishin’ in de deep watah at de foot ub de ford. I meck -bleebe I didn’ see ’em, _an’ dey sut’ny didn’ see me_; you see dey wuz -fishin’. When I got ’cross de ford, Pigeon wuz so tired she stop an’ -res’, an’ I watch to see ef’n de fish bitin’, kase I wuz al’ays fond ub -fishin’, and I heah Mars Torm say, in words ez sorf ez dem riffles, ‘I -lub dis creek; de watah so repose, an’ cums twissin’ in dis big pool -gittin’ stiller an’ stiller tell it seems ter stop, res’ an’ be so -happy. Oh, ef’n meh hyart wuz ez happy ez dis stream! It chatters, an’ -sings, an’ smiles, an’ baves itself in de sunlight; it looks so -contented, but I am so sad’—an’ he did look rejected. Den Miss Emma open -huh cherrypin mouf an’ say raal sorf, ‘What’s de mattah; yo’ ole woun’ -hurt you?’ An’ he say, ‘No; it’s de new woun’; I mus’ leabe ter-morrow, -so I mus’ tell you dat yo’ sweet eyes, lubly hyart, beautiful, brabe -soul has ’chanted me ev’y sence I fus’ saw you, an’ I wan’ ter arsk -befo’ I go, dear Miss Emma, dat you will let me lub you. I don’ arsk you -ter lub me.’ Jes’ de way I use ter cote—He! He! He! ’ceppin I use ter -say: - - “Roses red, wiolets blue, - Sugah sweet, me too.” - -“Den Mars Torm spressify, ‘Fuh free monfs, dear hyart, I et yo’ bread -an’ butter’—an’ I think he say mullasses—‘an’ ter-morrow I go ter seek -meh fortune, an’ ef’n Gord prospers me, I shall arsk you to meck meh -life ’chanted.’ Den she say, ez sorf ez de note ub uh _martingale_, -‘Thormas.’ Den he say, ‘Angel, did you say Thormas?’ An’ she say, ‘Yes; -meh brabe an’ gentle’—an’ rite ’way ’pears ter me dey bof had on dat big -sunbonnet ub her’n; an’ wussa yit, de two fishin’ rods wid deah reels -wuz floatin’ down dat ribba, ober an’ ober de riffles. Dey wuz fogot -when dem two chillun said yes ter one nerr. - -“Well, ’pears ter me all ub uh sudden I got so sleepy dat I put meh ahms -’roun’ Pigeon’s neck (she wuz use ter dat) an’ went ter sleep. Bimeby I -woke up wid uh curisome an’ mos’ quaresome feelin’. Bless de Lawd, I -tho’t uh jack-uh-ma-lantern had got me, sho’. Dem chilluns wuz feelin’ -so peart an’ sassy dat dey tied erroun’ meh neck uh live eel dey had -kotch, an’ I wudn’ fogit er fogib ’em ter dis day ’ceppin dey wuz in lub -an’ I wuz uh lissinin.’ Honey, I wuz skeard stiff. Bung shells wuz -nuffin ter dat. - -“Dey wuz all so kin’ at Mrs. Sanson’s (de Lawd bless dem people) I -stayed dar two weeks res’in’, an’ den dey sent me ter Rome, Georgy, -futto teck de train fuh ‘Fairlands.’ When I got in de kerridge ’long -side Simon, Miss Emma say, ‘Dear me, Ezra, what is you gwine ter do wid -Pigeon?’ So I say, larffin’ an’ sassy like, ‘I gib huh ter you, Miss -Emma, an’ Mars Torm, fuh uh weddin’ present.’ Mars Thormas smile an’ -say, ‘You scan’lus ole scamp.’” - -In his narrative dear old Ezra showed wonderful memory, but forgot to -mention that in that hour of anguish, whilst crossing Black Creek, as -the waters got deeper and deeper, finally up to the flanks of the -horses, Mrs. Sanson sank upon her knees and with wrinkled, aged and -uplifted hands, said: - -“From lightning and tempest, from plague, pestilence and famine, from -battle and murder, and from sudden death. - -“_Good Lord deliver us._” - - -Early in the spring of 1866 Ezzy frequently paddled his canoe over to -“Woodstock,” where in a cabin on the riverside lived Jerry and Ceasar -Butler, old bachelor brothers. Their sister Cassey, a widow of some six -months, was their guest. The brothers for the most part lived out on the -water, oystering, fishing and crabbing. Cassey liked her surroundings so -much that her visit was now three months long, and she interested -herself mostly in raising chickens and ducks. The dusky damsels in the -neighborhood said Cassey was going to marry Brer Snake Bit Jim, a hand -on Captain Stitchberry’s schooner, the “Margaret Jane,” and he had been -keeping company, as they expressed it, with her for about five months. -She was the loudest singer in Zion church, a _wholesale_ Baptist, and -walked in the water like a pious one when immersion time came, and some -uncharitable people said that when she came home from meeting chickens -had better roost high. Though twenty years younger than Ezra, his war -stories and adventures charmed her. She thought him a hero and soon they -were betrothed. Ezra was not one of the slow-paced sort. - -Ezra’s young Marster was very much annoyed at the idea of his marrying -Cassey. He knew her to be self-willed and high tempered, and told Ezra -that if he brought her to Fairlands he would charge him $25 a year for -his quarter and ten acres; but Ezra was too fond of telling war tales -and having a listener that almost smothered him with caresses when he -told of hair-breadth escapes. So one bright May day Parson Phil Demby -pronounced them man and wife—his third wife. - -Ezra made a living crabbing, fishing, oystering and cultivating a little -grain. He was an expert angler, and if a dinner was given by any of the -gentry between May and November and a boiling rock wanted, Ezra was -notified and he would be sure to catch the rock. He loved children and -children loved him. If the overseers’ little ones wanted to go fishing, -they would go to the garden and in sight of him commence to dig worms -and when they reached the bateau, he would be there bailing or shoving -her from shore. Soon he would add sufficient peelers and soft crabs to -the bate, and then to the hurdle. Ezra’s pole, some eighteen feet long, -was of cedar growth, with the bark stripped off; a coarse line and cork -about the size of a duck egg, and when he gave a grunt and slashed it -out, the water almost surged; but somehow or other, the fish, and good -ones, too, loved his bait. “Ef’n you chilluns don’ stop er talkin’ an’ -rockin’ dis boat I’ll paddle straight home. You pester de fish so dey -won’ bite, an’ hit ’stresses me pow’ful.” - -Autumn came and he did not find his quarter as happy as formerly. As a -consequence, he spent a great deal of his time at the mansion. Even the -solemn and sour old maiden housekeeper, Miss Betsy, whose apron strings -were strung with keys and who for forty years had lived at Fairlands, -was indulgent, and welcomed him. One day I came upon him cleaning her -bird cage and singing over and over: - - “Tell me a dream, M-a-r-y, - Tell me a dream; - My Lawd, de King ub Manuel.” - -I said, “Why don’t those canaries lay?” - -“Miss Betsy say dey bof boys,” was his reply. - -The cook liked him, and he liked her more than he did Cassey. He often -toted for her baskets of chips to make the fire burn brightly, put on -the big back logs, and turned the turkey in the tin kitchen. Twice a -week on winter nights he was sent for to beat the hominy in the big -mortar. When he grew weary of the iron pestle, and wanted to chaff -some servant, he would say, “I sut’ny does lub ter beat dis -hominy—a—heh—heh—heh,” and then we boys would “spell” him and he would -praise our industry until we nearly collapsed from fatigue. - -“O, call back yesterday; bid time return.” - - -He had a local reputation for his original sayings and deserved it. For -example: “You kyant eat uh hoecake but once;” “All moufs mus’ eat, but -all moufs kyant eat gravel;” “Ev’y man’s mouf ain’ uh prayer book;” “Uh -case orntried is hyard ter justify;” etc., but from being chaffed by the -young men at the “Royal Oak” and St. Michaels, towns near by, where he -sold his crabs and fish, and bought fishhooks and tobacco, had become -somewhat shy and reticent. - -One cold and windy day in December I started for Wild Goose Marsh, -famous as snipe ground, with the view of burning the same. So to fully -enjoy Ezra’s confidence and to get him to talk freely, I put a -half-dollar in his hand, invited him to stop shucking oysters and go -with me to the marsh and assist in burning the same. His young Marster’s -pointers, “Rob Roy” and “Rose,” whom he had adopted and who had adopted -him, were lying in his boat. He expatiated a few moments upon the -“quaresomeness ub snipe an’ jack-uh-ma-lanterns,” and then got in my -carriage. Meantime I was taking in his raiment. He said, “I’m not dress -up, kase I’m shuckin’ oysters.” He wore an old dressing gown some one -had given him in the long ago. It must have had twenty patches from the -size of a blacking box up to a tin plate. His vest, from patches, was of -many colors; it was fastened with seven buttons, and no two of them -alike. One foot was shod, and the other wrapped in an old piece of -carpet. “Meh cawns hu’t me so,” he said. He was smaller and more bent -than ever, and extremely interesting. A drink of applejack and a good -lunch, the brilliancy of the burning marsh and my interest in him made -him very loquacious. With apparent earnestness I said, “Uncle Ezra, how -long have you lived on this estate?” - -“Who, me! Bawn heah erboutin uh hunard year ago. I cum outin de Hollyday -fambly. Ole Mars’ grabe is ober dar wha you see dem willows weepin’. -Dar’s uh gre’t big slab ober de grabe, an’ on hit is uh passel ub A. B. -C.’s an’ uh anker, wid stars an’ eagles an’ little grapevines all -erroun’ ’em. Mars Pinckney say, ‘Dat’s what dey call in dem days de coat -ub mail.’ His wuz uh gre’t fambly, an’ Mars Thormas wuz uh cap’n an’ fit -an’ wuz kilt in de Resolutionary Wah.” - -“Are you sure of that, Uncle Ezzy?” - -“’Cose I is. I heah Phil Demby’s fadda say dat he holp ter put him in de -amblabus when he wuz shot. He saw de British what shot him, an’ de ve’y -bungshot dat hit him. Boss, what glorisome days dem wuz. I kin -recommember ’em mehsef. Dese days ’pears ter me dey is spilin’ ev’ything -by changin’. An’ hits ergin de Scripturs. Fuh instinct, when I wuz uh -young man de Mefodis’ ’roun’ heah use ter hab what dey call meetin’ -houses; dey use ter shout an’ moan, an’ moan an’ shout pow’ful. Dey -cummence ter pray at fus’ sorf, an’ den deah voice got so strong -toreckly you cud heah ’em uh mile orf. An’ de chunes wuz so fine, dey -didn’ stop at de corners; dey jes’ swong ’roun’; dey cud turn deah -voices same ez uh whirl-win’ an’ ter play de fiddle, dance, er hab uh -melojin wuz cornsidered ornry an’ onricheous, an’ hit wuz, too. But in -dese days ev’ything is changed in all de chuches, ’ceppin de Babtis’; de -only change de Babtis’ made is ter babtize regular in fresh watah in -Cap’n Tomlinson’s mill pon’, _’ceppin jes’ befo’ dey cut ice_. You see -dey had ter gib up salt watah, de shirks wuz so bad. Mo’n dat, de Bible -don’ spressify salt watah. Den ergin Pawson Demby tuck de shirk fright -an’ de consequasion wuz he hilt several pussons down too long. Tilly -Mink got erligion an’ wuz thinkin’ boutin it so much (jes’ persidderin -hit all de time) dat she fogot ter teck outin her dress some apples dat -wuz swotuated in huh pocket. Well, Pawson Demby hilt her un’er so long -dat she pawed de bottom; almos’ tore huh dress orf, an’ she mout erbin -hilt un’er de watah tell she wuz drowned, but she got holt Pawson -Demby’s legs, an’ fuh erwhile it ’peared like she wuz babtizin’ him. -Brer Billy los’ his specks lars’ spring, so cudn’ see good, an’ when he -seed de apples uh bobbin’ up, I s’pose he tho’t dey wuz sperrits, kase -he sung out ter Pawson Demby, ‘Jes’ gib huh annubba dip, Pawson Demby, -huh sins is cummin’ up fum huh in clustahs;’ but Pawson Demby lef’ well -ernuff be well ernuff. Kase Tilly Mink nebba did hab much erligion, an’ -when she seed dat distructed frock an’ dem kyart-house apples dat we all -knew’d growed in Ole Mars’ archard, huh ’ligion lef’ huh jes’ ez fars ez -she got it. Huh hyah riz on huh haid, an’ she talked jes’ scan’lous, an’ -’lowed she gwine ter jine de Presbyters. Well, hit may be fuh de bes’, -but uh case orntried is hyard ter jestify.” - -“Yas, sah; ev’ything is changed. Ebin Mefodis’ preachers an’ de elders, -shuh. Dey struts an’ prances erroun’ same ez colts an’ tukkey gobblers -in de spring, an’ hits dribin uh lot ub ’em ter distruction. All moufs -ain’ prayer books, boss. Hit’s de same thing wid dem Presbyters dat -Tillie’s gwine ter jine, an’ when it cums ter de ’Piscopaliums hit’s -wussa yit. Up heah at St. Thormasses dey bu’n insects in what dey call -uh—I fogit de name—an’ dem preachers dat kyant talk good—an’ mos’ ub ’em -kyant—dey sorter sing what dey talkin’. I heah Cap’n Stitchberry’s brer -say who halls de sain—an’, ub cose, he er Babtis’—dat ef’n Ole Mars wuz -erlive an’ went ter St. Thormasses, he wudn’ no wha he wuz, kase dey -bows like uh passel ub muscovy drakes. Boss, dem muscoves is quaresome -ducks. T’other day I saw Brer Sam’s boy, Rasmus, bowin’ ter uh passel ub -muscovy drakes an’ dey wuz bowin’ ter him. So I say ter de boy, ‘What -you doin’ ter dem ducks?’ - -“‘Talkin’ drake talk.’ - -“‘Well, what de ducks say?’ - -“‘I dunno, but _dey_ do!’ - -“All dis changin’ business is ergin de Bible, too. Lars’ Sunday Pawson -Demby preached erbout hit. His tex’ wuz fum de Profit Jerry-Myah: ‘Kin -uh Ethiopium change his skin er uh leopard his spots?’ An’ Pawson Demby -say ’twuz ornpossible. - -“Jes’ befo’ Chrismus I went ter Easton wid uh load ub Chrismus trees, -an’ one ub de fus’ things I seed wuz uh lubly lookin’ young Mistis -dribin uh cullud pusson; he wuz uh settin’ behin’ huh wid his ahms -folded, all dress up an’ smilin’ same ez uh ole gray goose smilin’ on uh -gander. Well, I nebba ’spected ter lib ter see uh change like dat. Fac’ -is, mos’ all de ladies ’roun’ heah gittin’ changed, an’ ve’y sassy, -tryin’ ter be like de men. Fuh instinct, dar is uh lady doctor an’ uh -lady lawyer, dey tells me, in Balt’mo’. Think ub dat! An’ hit’s all -ergin de’ structions ub Gen’sis, Rebullation, Jerry-Myah, Noahy an’ I -’specks all ub de profits. Kase de Bible say dat ’ooman kyant ebin pray -in publuc. Boss, da ain’ no use talkin’, fum de cricket an’ grasshopper -clean up ter man, de male de gre’tes’ an’ bes’ lookin’. Dar’s uh little -Jinny Wren settin’ on dat reed singin’ beau’ful. Now, ain’ hit s’prisin’ -wha he git dat voice fum dat you kin heah ’cross de ribba; hit sut’ny is -strange. Well, dat he wren, don’ he look peart; an’ he is peart, too. He -kin meck uh hawk hide hissef. You see he’s de male. Well, look at dat -cock sparrow; don’ de hen look meek ’long side him? Boss, I’m gwine ter -teck mos’ ev’ything dat wuz in de yark, ter show dat ladies musn’ try -ter be men, an’ change deahsebs. Hit kyant be did any mo’ dan you kin -gib de female birds de feathers ub de males. I s’pose de bobolink is de -mos’ dress up ub all birds, fuh he changes his clothes twice uh yeah, -an’ when he got on dat beau’ful spring suit ub his’n his wives do -clustah erroun’ him. De cock partridge (some people call ’em Bob White), -de oriole, pigeon, teal duck, tukkey, canlas-back duck, woodpecker, -red-wing blackbird, de wood-duck, tu beau’ful futto kill; how lubly de -males is ’long side de females. Den ergin, pursidder de roostus; don’ -matter ef’n dey shankhy, banty, game, er what not, dey’r boun’ ter hab -lubly feathers all streaked an’ striped same ez dem cattle dat Jacob, de -father ub de Petracks, owned. Mo’n dat, ef’n two roostus fight, de one -dat whups jes’ crows, flaps his wings, an’ heah cums his wives an’ de -udder roostah’s wives all runnin’ off wid him. Dat’s jes’ de way de -ladies ’roun’ heah runs arfter Mars Pinckney.” - -Ezra seemed much pleased with his talk, and with a wisp of burning grass -in each hand, continued to fire the marsh, and for the moment forgot my -presence and sang: - - “We cum ter dis worl’ bof naked an’ bare, - We al’ays goes thoo it wid sorrow an’ care; - We go when we die de Lawd only nose wha’; - Ef’n you’r uh thurrybred heah, yo’ll be uh thurrybred da.” - -Pretending to entirely dissent with Ezra and to keep him interested and -talkative, I said, “Well, how about robins, doves, mocking birds, jack -snipe, woodcock and other birds where the male and female are alike?” - -“Well, boss, Mars Pinckney say ef’n you gib de birds you kyant tell -erbout uh wumm, ef’n _he_ takes it hit’s uh he, an ef’n _she_ takes it -hit’s uh she.” - -“How about owls, Ezra; they look alike, and they don’t eat worms?” - -“Well, Noahy, dey tell me, name him de bird ub wissum, an’ ub cose made -him wise, an’ de female kyant fool him, _like dey mos’ gen’ly kin de -males_. Fuh instinct, when de female owls think deahsebs smart—bin out -all night an’ talkin’ in condidence ’mong deahsebs erbout it—de male, -ef’n he deceitful (_an’ some males is_), kin lissen an’ nod his haid -jes’ same ez ef he wuz uh sleep an’ meck bleebe he uh lady owl, an by -an’ by all unbenonsted ter de lady owl, fine out ef’n his wife bin uh -tootin’ an’ uh hootin’ erroun’. Mo’n dat, he mout erbin keepin’ comp’ny -hissef all night wid some sassy lady owl. _Dar’s wha his wissum cum in._ - -“S’pose de gentlemens an’ ladies look jes’ like one nerr an’ dress up de -same, Lawdy, by an’ by heah wud cum judgment day sho’ nuff, an’ we wud -soon burhol dis worl’ on fire an’ uh cislin’. So hit won’ do fuh dem ter -look de same, an’ we don’ wan’ no changin’, deed we don’; we wants de -males ter look proud an’ prancin’ all de time, an’ de females ter burhol -’em an’ not look sassy. I mos’ fogot one ub de lubliest ub de fowls, dat -will meck meh sponsibility stronger—dat’s de peacock. When de peacock -spreads his tail in de spring an’ looks his peartest, dey tells me -sometimes de hens git too po’ ter lay; dey so in lub dey jes’ eat -nuffin; jes’ meddowtate an’ look at deah mates struttin’ erbout. Da ain’ -nuffin like uh peacock’s tail ’ceppin sometimes in de fall when de dew -is ve’y heavy an’ sorter fog-like an’ fros’-like, jes’ uh little missy, -an’ heah cum de sun risin’; an’ when hit strikes de trees, bushes an’ -wines full ub dat fog, fros’ an’ mis’, da ain’ no rainbow er peacock’s -tail kin hole uh can’le ter it, I don’ keah who raises de peacock. Well, -boss, I am sho’ you see de application, but strange futto say, Mars -Pinckney, wid all his wissum an’ pursidderin’, is, ’pears ter me, on de -fence. Natchelly, ub cose, he is s’pose ter change kase he got so many -sweethyarts. He is ve’y fon’ ub fishin’ wid me. One day we wuz fishin’ -fuh rock an’ tailor an’ waitin’ fuh de tide ter tu’n. I rents meh house -fum him. I don’ al’ays pay at de lars’ ub de monf, er de lars’ ub nex’ -monf, an’ I owed him so much rent I wuz mos’ ’fear’d ter argue wid him -an’ talk ter him wid all meh soul erboutin dis changin’ business ’roun’ -heah, an’ ub de lubliness ub de male in contras’ ter de female; but I -did it. Well, den he say, sorter snuffin’ meh composation orf, ‘Ezra, -you no mo’ erbout sorf crabs, fish an’ watahmillions dan you do erbout -things changin’.’ Den he say, ‘Don’ people all erroun’ heah change -money, change deah names when dey git merried? Don’ de watah we fish in -change fum ebb tide ter flood? Eggs ter chickens, sinnahs ter moaners, -sun, moon, win’ an’ seasons change. De acorn changes ter de oak, peach -stone ter de peach tree. Wumms ter butterflies.” - -“Ezra, your Mars Pinckney is right. That’s the long and short of it. -Your Parson changed baptizing in salt water for fresh water. You have -confessed it, and you are changing all the time. Your hair was once -black, now it is white. To-day is bright, cold, windy and sunny. -To-morrow will be changed; it can’t be just like to-day. Even your oxen, -Lawyer and Farmer, like a change. Grass is good enough when there is no -wheat field to jump into, but when the wheat is green, sweet and rich, -they leave the grass.” - -“Jes’ so, boss, jes’ so.” - -“Why, you would get tired of bacon and cabbage if you had it all the -time.” - -“Who, me? I nebba got tired ub it yit.” - -“And, Ezra, if Aunt Cassey, your good and kind wife, hadn’t changed her -mind and married you instead of Uncle Snake Bit Jim, her name would now -be Mrs. Snake Bit Jim.” - -“Dat’s what I say, boss; dat’s de application ezactly. I don’ like dis -changin’ business. Bless Gord, I wish Cassey hadn’ change huh mine.” - -Memories of happier days come to us all. May they soften the pillow of -dear old Ezra. His first wife was my nurse, and many a time his willing -hands, to give her’s rest, have rocked my cradle. - -[Illustration] - - Who could our baby tears repress - And lull us into drowsiness. - Mammy. - - - - - MAMMY. - - -There are pictures of the past in memory’s gallery before which we love -to linger. To one it is perhaps the old homestead in the North, or the -South. To another, a woman’s face. To a woman mayhap this picture is -suggested by a simple tress of hair, or fragrant dust, _once_ violets, -or an old letter, perchance kissed many times, or tear-wet, who may -know? To me it is my old— - - - MAMMY. - - Who nursed and fed us from her breast - And in her tender arms caressed? - Mammy. - - Who washed our faces, combed our hair - And tied us in our baby chair? - Mammy. - - Who soaped and bathed our little forms, - And rocked us in her loving arms? - Mammy. - - Who, when we stumped our little toes, - Put balsam on to heal our woes? - Mammy. - - Who could our baby tears repress, - And lull us into drowsiness? - Mammy. - - Who tucked us in our baby cot, - And all our badness soon forgot? - Mammy. - - Who always patted us to sleep, - And “Prayed the Lord our souls to keep?” - Mammy. - - Who rests from sorrow ’neath the sod, - And all the paths of duty trod? - Mammy. - - - - - ANAH. - - -Uncle David, though threescore years and ten and bent with age, was -quite useful on the plantation, and was not afraid of work. His labor, -however, had not been of a wearing kind. Once a week he drove Sue, a -kind and gentle mare, to the mill with a load of corn and returned with -bags of sweet cornmeal, the like of which is hard to get nowadays. - -In 1853 Sue foaled a bay mule colt with a black stripe down his back -that made a cross on his shoulders. David christened the colt Anah, -because he heard Parson Phil Demby preach a _pow’ful_ sermon Christmas, -the text of which was, “This was that Anah that found the mules in the -wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibion his father.”[19] - -Anah was a lively colt, and when David went to the mill often romped -ahead of Sue on the road, much to the anxiety of the mother, and -sometimes in a don’t-care way lagged behind for a quarter of a mile or -more; and though Uncle David characterized him as _worrysome an’ -scan’lous_, he was very fond of the colt and the colt fond of him. By -and by Anah was big and old enough to break, and David soon had him -going kindly and taking his old dam’s place in the cart. - -David was always relied upon to select and haul the Christmas tree, -which was placed in the brick kitchen. It was literally a tree, and on -its many boughs hung gifts for the household and servants. - -The woods loam was selected by David and hauled by Anah for Kerchibell, -the old Scotch gardener, who put it on his early spring plants and -flowers; indeed, almost every day the mule was hauling something, with -David on the cart singing or nodding. - -Every Saturday at 12 o’clock the servants were allowed to quit work and -haul the seine. The terrapins caught were brought to the mansion, with a -goodly number of spot, hog and other fish; the rest of the fish the -servants were allowed to market for pin-money. At such times Uncle David -was always on deck with Anah. - -For twenty-five years Anah did faithful work, and David loved him and -talked to him as though he was a human being, and said, “Anah almos’ -knew’d his A. B. C’s.” Like most mules, however, in his old age he got -full of kinks, and would bite and kick anyone but David, who said, “He -hab grow’d ’ceitful an’ ub cose I hab ter scole him.” - -The old man was very credulous and as easily chaffed by his marster as -Polonius was by Hamlet. For example: One day whilst Anah was kicking up -and putting on airs and David was grumbling and saying, “He ain’ no good -no how; I sut’ny am tired ub dis mule,” his Mars Jimmy walked past the -cart and said, “I’m going to sell that worthless old mule and get you a -nice little mare I can buy at a bargain. True she is hip-shot, spavined -and very lazy, but will do for your work.” - -David was perplexed and disconsolate and at bed-hour went to the stable. -Anah was munching his oats, and David, little and bent, stood behind the -mule, who switched his tail and laid back his ears as if to say, You are -going to take away my oats. The old man’s eyes brimmed with tears; he -had a big, kind heart, and his affection for the mule was really -touching. Finally he said, “You recommember me all de time, don’ you, -Anah? Don’ I al’ays feed you good an’ rub you an’ gib you uh sorf bed?” -Then he walked into the stall, stroked the mule’s ear and said, “Jes’ ez -sorf ez uh ’possum’s ear; you know I ain’ gwine ter let ’em sell you, -Anah. Mars Jimmy kyant find an nerr mule in Talbot County like you. He -ain’ gwine ter sell you, an’ ef’n he do, he got ter sell me wid you, dat -he is! Well, da ain’ no tellin’; Mars Jimmy mout sell dis mule -ter-morry, so I’m gwine ter sleep wid him dis night, fuh it mout be de -po’ mule’s lars’ night heah. I’ll put some mo’ hay in de bottom ub de -manger, an’ wid dese corn-cobs I’ll meck ub pillah, put meh coat on it, -an’ den I’ll kivver mehsef wid hay. Lemmy see—no, I won’ teck meh shoes -orf, kase I mout hab ter git up futto git him some oats.” His bed -arranged, the old man said, “I heah Pawson Demby say dat our blessid -Lawd an’ Sabior wuz bawn in ub stable, so hit sut’ny good ernuff fuh -me.” Weary and sad, he leaned against the manger, said his prayers, and -then he snuggled in the hay and sang his favorite hymn: - - =“What kind ub shoes you gwine ter wear? - Golden slippers! - What kind ub shoes you gwine ter wear? - Golden slippers I’m bound ter wear, dat outshines de glitter-in’ sun.= - - =What kind ub crown you gwine ter wear? - Star-ry crown! - What kind ub crown you gwine ter wear? - Star-ry crown I’m bound ter wear, dat outshines de glitter-in’ sun.= - - =What kind ub robe you gwine ter wear? - White robe! - What kind ub robe you gwine ter wear? - White robe! - Long white robe I’m bound ter wear, dat outshines de glit-ter-in’ sun.= - - =What kind ub hymn you gwine ter sing? - New hymn! - What kind ub hyarp you gwine ter play? - Golden hyarp! - Golden hyarp I’m bound ter play, dat outshines de glit—ter—in’——sun——.”= - -Then all was hushed! - -Mayhap Uncle David dreamed he had on his golden slippers that outshone -the glittering sun, wore a starry crown and long white robe, sang a new -hymn, and played upon a golden harp, for the Bible tells us— - - =“The sleep of a laboring man is sweet.”= - ------ - -Footnote 1: - - Robert Morris was the father of the revolutionary financier, and Henry - Callister, a philanthropist who befriended the deported hapless - Acadians, sent to Annapolis, Md., in 1775, and gave large sums from - his own pocket to relieve their suffering, to the serious impairment - of his moderate fortune. - -Footnote 2: - - Macaulay says, “Our own firm belief is that he was.” - -Footnote 3: - - To appreciate this sermon the 29th chapter of Genesis should be read - if the reader is not familiar with the same. - -Footnote 4: - - II Samuel xviii, 9, 10. - -Footnote 5: - - Genesis, Chapter 32, Ver. 24, 25. - -Footnote 6: - - Scipio Jones. - -Footnote 7: - - Dr. John P. Durbin, one of the most eloquent of American orators, was - able to speak to a child with such beauty of expression and propriety - of enunciation that a company of educated ladies and gentlemen were - entranced. Conversation was suspended and regret felt when the doctor - turned from the delighted child to the rest of the company. In an - earlier period, when enfeebled voice compelled him to suspend public - efforts, he had gone from cabin to cabin among the negroes on the - plantations of Kentucky, conversing with them on religion, and claimed - that by this process he acquired his marvelously simple style. - - Extemporaneous Oratory, Buckley, p. 94. - -Footnote 8: - - Samuel i, 19. - -Footnote 9: - - II Samuel vi, 16. - -Footnote 10: - - Exodus xxii, 18. - -Footnote 11: - - See Little Billy’s Pumpkin. - -Footnote 12: - - See Mars Pinckney’s ’Simmons. - -Footnote 13: - - A negro superstition. - -Footnote 14: - - Told the negroes he was a major in the war of 1812. He was a teamster. - -Footnote 15: - - Suspenders. - -Footnote 16: - - Job vii, 7. - -Footnote 17: - - A story of the late Senator Vance Versified. - -Footnote 18: - - “The legislature of Alabama donated to Miss Sanson a section of the - unappropriated public lands of the state as a testimonial of the high - appreciation of her services by the people of Alabama, and directed - the Governor of the State to provide and present her with a gold - medal, inscribed with suitable devices commemorative of her conduct.” - -Footnote 19: - - Genesis xxxvi, 24. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. - 2. Anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as - printed. - 3. Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers and collected together - at the end of the last chapter. - 4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - 5. Enclosed bold font in =equals=. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Ole Mars an' Ole Miss, by Edmund K. Goldsborough - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLE MARS AN' OLE MISS *** - -***** This file should be named 60807-0.txt or 60807-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/8/0/60807/ - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, MFR, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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