The Democrat. (Montrose, Pa.) 1876-1878, January 19, 1876, Image 1

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    ME=fl
=EMM
. .
LEY :84 U
:
TUE DOORSTEP.
"--11.4---.
. •
' too, strong .:. , • -
.; 2 i
„ ; The conference meeting through, at hist, ~
' ' .Iye - i his flther helieied .him guilty.
•
We boys around the vestry waited; . :.' i• ''' ' • t_ •
, , ,_ ,L,t,,was i t!,Eas terrible 'trial 'which had
To see the girls come tripping past r
'' Like snowbirla willing , to be, mated. ' brought fhe wrinkles upon his ffice, and
Not biavehe that leaps the wall
. , made him s lot, lissoold beyond his . time.
' _:._ B,y level musket-flashes litte,u, ,
._,
~ , - • Stern justice,
.he felt, would have sent
, Than l', Who stepped beforethein . all, - ,- - :his ion to the , gallows ; but"thie he obtild
Who longed to ace me get the 'mitten.,
, not . do: His own 'flesh and blood 'Must
•
But no ; she blushed, and took•my arm 1 - I be saved, it possible, this,disgrace.
' We let:the old folks have, the' highway, ' , Therefore he , had .connived "at his'es-
And started toward ;he Maple Farm ' cape; :and by extreme good' fortune ''had
--
Along a kind of lover's by
. . way,. . got hini.out , of the coun , try.
I can't remember what we said,„ ._ . - Since he had been . assured of'lhiti; 'no
'Twas mithing worthiaotig or Story ; . living soul had ,heard - him Mention his
Yet that rude.path by which weaved ; ..
Seemed all:transformed and in. a g10ry...... _.
son's name. , ''' - . • - ,
, ,:', , . •
.-;- Front him one would n ever hate known
The snow was crisp beneath 'our feet,
bu s t!what he had; been . chil dl ess his
The moon w fun,the fields were gleam
leg ; . • / • :, -
'By hood and ppettheltered sweet, ~ • Friends he had but .few. -He was not
) 7
Her face with youth and health was, a roan”id, those days, who , would attract
beaming. . -
.. people,to‘hirn. ,Thoso old ones *hi :still
The little band outside her muff— lived near by never mt ntioued,, his 'tion's
- , olgiulptor; if you could but , mould it l— , .•. ~
name tu ; iiirn,.
So.lightly. - mucheifmy jacket:cult . ' '
. . There.. was t„ . „ c?ne of them "who .had
To keep It W I had to hold it,
arm , , - the courave to do it., Had they,,done so
To have her there with me alone,-- . b . . .
it woulit .119bably have „been., an ', end to
'Twas love and fear and triumph blended
At last we reached the foot-wornstone ' . . all . future intercourse between them.;_` ,
Where that delicious journey ended. , I Thus, it was ,the : days of . Hugh Ailen's
, ' The,old folks, too, wore almost 41)mA' ~. . life : c am e '.O vi
dent - :'-. ' . ‘
' -lier dimple ' d hands theAate t. ll es tlnierd; `.There was o ily. ; One inmate
~rifi
,the
`Wielieard the,Voices nearer collie,. Grange,..saye the servant.
Yet oii - the doorstep Still we lingered.. . . .
' ThiS.WaS a . di s t ant ' relative, Dera Ad.
She shook her ringlets from her hood, :113313., i 11.18 - wife had died before the,gi t.
Andwith a "Thank you, Ned," clissein-' disgrace was brought Upon. the %mil
bird, and' thus; she bad been spared' the blow,
And Yet I knew she understood , _ . , , .
With
which, with-8 terrible torture would' havee
what a daring wish I trembled.
~ , wrung her life frotn her.
A:cloud pasielkindly oterhead, •
.Soon• after her. death, Dora Adams
'hie moon Was slyly peeping through it, . )
Yet bid its lace, as if it said, - then a mere child; had come to South
,
"Conte, now or never ! do it ! do it!". Ridge to live. ' She ° was an orphan, the
,
M ylips till then had only known . child of , a cousin of Hugh Allen's, and
The kiss of mother and of sister, she came to him penniless. ,
.
But somehow, full upon her own ' But he had enough for himself_ and
-,' sweet , rosY,darling mouthi-I kissed herl her, and when hjs son was the same as.
.
Perhaps 'twas -boyish - love, yet still, dead to him, he turned' to the child for
• 0 listen woman, weary lover 1 ' allAhe Consolation he could hope for in
To feel once more that freshi t h is w° -
wild thrill rld. -
I'd give— But who can live youth over ? 4
.s the years went on,.
he regarded her
as his own. , • . .
Had he indeed . been her lather, he
eoUld noehave been:kinder to her.'
He made his . will hiller . favor; , and,
althOugh :the fact ' was not generally
known yet it was. shreWdly surmised
that die
,was to be the heiress of South
Ridae. : ' ; • • - , . ,
TiiESICK,MAWS)SECIIET.,, ,,
,
011 31 Ridge was a g rand old place.
1,3 The, house, or grange,as it, was called,,
stood on' the SIIMMIt
,of -a gentle eminence
and always on eitherside stretched 'the
bromi aeres appertaiiiing to. the estate:
_ Here were nicely cultivated field', and
there long reaches of woodland; covered
with the primeval forest. ,
On one side at the foot of the eminence
lay a beautiful lake, its surfaee, dotted
with Many green' whfch lay like
so many 'emerald gems upon its bostim.
A fairer domain there was not to,
found within the broad _border's: Of the
State. The louse itself was grand land
imposing. A broad :veranda ran' :,but
olieither side,, from which,- at any point,
a most beautiful view•was to be,obtained.
Within, the rooms were high 'and - lOfty,.
and furnished with all that; wealth',.and
taste'could suggest.. - • • •
.
4Lhe owner of
~South Ridge ha s
,
been
. blessid with' pleutt• • Or' the world' s
goods. The founder of the house.,:had
brough . t
from the. Mother country plenty
of wealth, and this had_ teen husbanded
frugally blt his 'HU `2cessors, al though there
had been nothing' niggardly about theixt.
Each and all had striven •to Make
South Ridge Grange the most atqlictive
of' an yplace in that. region of OutitrY,.
and iu this: they had. succeeded • Without
a doubt • • •
So much for the Grange and. its sur
roundings, and, now let us intrOduce to
the reader its itimaQs at the 'Jilts our
story opens. r
Its owner," Hugh Ann, vas a . marl
past the prime of 'life, yet . Ins
form was still , unbentoind his hair hard=
ly silvered by, the baud of ti e.
Tile only chalige 'that the ffeeting years
seemed to have made upon him wa4 allan
his face.
Here there ,were deep. tvrinkles .and
marks of care, the frults, maybe, of d.eep
emotion. -
People who had knows him well bid
, ,
markedthem there for the last ten years.
There were those" who, said that they'
had -set their sealthere in one 'short . ,Week
of time.
A great cross:had come to him, then;
such a cross, as : hut few °people are re
quired to bear in this world.
Ills sou, his only child, had beep, lost
to him.
Butit wla n6t death who was the rob
*
He.could,haye borne .: this, 'haye i sub
mitted to why was iniiitable" 'with' as
go.,d grace se thOusands and • thottaands
of otherp w4olose near and dearf rluutis,
but this case *was different.
For ought he knew, Ills son vva-stin
alive.
Yet he was, as. dead to 'him as thbugh
he had inouldered.in his grave f.,;ir the ten
years past. ' 1
He•had committed • a ori;me for which'
he had beet;,. obliged
_to- ilee,-apd, tide
from the face of men co save: his life,'
which he had forfeited„ by hie act..
He He had t,eeu acc,osed, of murder, and
the 'Pkigt , ir,aa SO great 'agaidst" Mit that
there was no - etothly hope that'he‘ oo o l 4
not make Mot innocence manifest.
'Still he I na& stOiltry . declared, _t hat he
was•inrif,itei l L• ••• •
Butt there were none Who believed that
E=R=
I he spoke the truth. The evidence was
People said that if the outcast was liv
ing, and,Hugh Allen:knew - of his where
abouts; not a dollar' of his wealth tvould
ever go to him. \
And they were right. Hugh Allen did
not know ithe fate of his son. Heimight
be living, or, he . might be dead. At 'any ,
r,ate he was dead to him forever.
At the time our story opens; Dora
Adams was a beautiful woman. None of
the:' fair lidies'Offliat sectiOu ' eclipsed
;her.. She was the acknowledged belle
and beauty of that region of country'.
Suitors bad she scores, but as Yet her
heart was free. None had managed to
win it from her own keeping. : Hugh
Allen guarded- her jealously. He,wished
to keep her to , himself, until at least the
time Should some when a" man should
seek her who in his estimation was ,wor
thy ( f her.l Many others - were in her
train Cvlio were her equals in wealth and
poeition, but lie saw' no one 41
.wi)out lie
felt that; henotild confide her.l
It might be that It( was selfish,
wished to keep her by him while he liv d.
4
One day there was an arrival aSouth:
stranger made his appearance at the
Grange and demanded to see its owner.
Hugh Alien - ivas bu-y in his study,; but
he gave orders fur the stranger to be ad
ttt.d.
The servant showed 'him in,jani he
rose! , ,to 'receive ‘a gqitlenian who by his
looks seemed to be a fereigner.:
The stranger _introduced hirneelf as
Cal Batche, and asked leave to present
to him a lettei'of, MtPoduetioni of 'Mph
f
he' was the, bearer. • -
Ifugh` .Allen took the missite, and
opened it, sloWly perused its. contents.
„......11t,was from an old. friend and school
inate.ot his, who bad made a' German
town his home far manv years.
It begpd leave to :introduce; to the
kind attention of his friend, Prot Batche
the celebrated .untversity of his adopt
ed, town. -
. .
• He was about paying a visit to America
On a tour of obbervation,and to add what
he' could to the knowledge .of 'geology,'
and,he bad decided to spend some weeks
in his ' iminediate neighborhood, in the
furtherance of that objPcf,,iii accordance
*ith his recommendation.
T o
! , reasons' decided him, tO, receive
the a ranger cordially, aside from: his oWn
gentl manly instincts.
On WAS t hat he would do anything - in
reaso to oblige his Old friend; ,and the
'other, that he was interested :=in the same.
pursuit hiinself.. , , • ',I
, Geology had always pOssesSed a charm
for him, and he was quite - well Posted for
One who had not= ma the study of a
life4ime. 1- , -i • R ._ • I ;
.
It was not long before he and the stran
gei Were oh the - best of .ternia: They read
and talked, :rode 'and walked -together,and
'Hugh Allen found hirraeiriaking more
Interest iihis:pqrankt OAR : be,had ever
done before.: , ; ,
31,(301R05t_.--PA.,,JA.O 1.
,N1TA:,,1:9,:',.'0. i 7
As - Well-posted as he was,' he felt that
he knew really nothing when it was put
into the seales'and weighed - with that - of
his - new acquaintence. .• -
Peeple about South Ridge- wondered
why it was that he opened 'his -, house to
the stranger, and. was seed nIsO nineh iii
his company.— •
. - 'Acid well they might, fdr it was some=
thing unusual . fortiin:•• • - •
Dora Adams, too, - -heeisme• very_ much
'interested in him. ;; •
She, too, WitS with him..a great' deal;
lind 'vetted to take wonderful intkresfin
his pursuits: , • . - .• •
• r•Vlien Hugh indispose& to
aecoMpany him; or something • made , it
-inconvenient for , him- to ; - do so; she took
Ilia Place.'
Ere lung it carne to be- whispered' that
slie.*as moreinterested 4n=the matt than
she was in,bis
But it might have been . .envioui people
who said this.
There \ were , plenty of folloWers in her,
train who :were jealous , Of her evident
partiality fat the' profess Or ., .;,
Whether - she regarded hltnin the light
of alover,:hr not, wag known, only' to'
herself. - .
. _ . .
~: As: vet it was- tertain that s he-_ bad made
no one berohnfident. .:- •% =. . •' , .
They could - only:Surmise . the state , of
her, feelings towards . thee-luest atuth
Ridge. '.--•,• • ,. ..' • 1 ..-
Perhaps- whaler . feelings were,, Wasi . . as
et, hardly known to ' herself: . : ' . i ' -
. That she admired the professor she' was
wi ing:to:adrnit.. - i ... . r .
ad she ...be'en. . acused . of- loving him,
te!would have, discovered , she fact..,.
One'day it Chanded. that some business
connected with the estate kept the 'owner
of ,South` Ridge at borne to -.Consult with
his lawyer, Who. had come, to the .Grange
without any notice of, his intention to do
so:
..
, • , _ _ • - '.,-,._ ,
, . .
' Re bad plarined'a trip WitiChiS guest
to.some rocks: at •a . point: ' severaE' miles
away, and now . he . was :disappointed. -in
not .beinrable ; .to aecompany.him :Dora
was solicited to take his. placeas a guide,
and she at once consented..l.:_
' ..- Her faivrite black .steed ' was 'brought
around,' and; mounting,• she rodei,beside
her .ettoi t, who .:was also, thounts4. on a
fine
,chtirg,T. : . . i, . -. ~. r -, ,_...:-
, The. couple. rode.' briskly away, down
'overlhe hill, acrOss.tbe . brid:_ge.that spa*-
lied the stream, at &A - 111'044AI* triity
little, village, which'. lay'. thereon, with
its many clattering wheels, they dashed,
Dora is i guide, a littlein
. adviince. - _ L
• In due : tithe the place of destination .
Was readhed. " Laving their horses; they .
clambered over the 'rocks, and 'set . .abOut
the work on .which they had com 4 - ----'
.An . hour, .had passed in this manner
and. they had sated. themselves : .iii, a spot
sheltered froth the rays of theinn, to rest
from the. fatigue which 'they 'felt after . the
scramble over the rocks. - .. - 1 --- --
From one subject to another . the con
versation glided along, until it Came .to
Hugh Allen and, the past history . of South
..
Ridge. - .- - '',-
"He had a -sent; I believe ?"said the
professor; . carelessly, with his eyes flied
on a specimen lying besidehim, Which he
had . harnmertd from; the rooks., .
Dvrit I . ),died - up quickly. . 'l . - .1.
. : "IV iiv - tio you. ask' that queStion ?" sh e
asked -evasively. - . . -, - 4.- ,
4 1 have tieard zo. . My friend-had told
an soifiettii (lg. alyd u ts , the ' sad affair before
I - Wit home._ . .
..- ,
"You have never mentioned it talk
Allen ?"
"No. Of course 1, would nottdo that.
I should say nothing on the first Object.
"I would not do so: If you knoW, the
Whole history ofthat terrible affair, you
can imagine how he feels. Although I
am theianie as a' daughter- , to' him, he
never spoke his name to me . . From him
I never leained that he had a .;son, but
from.others I have heard, the terrible ato-
FS'
"No. clue had . ever ,been had which
might go to shoW that his . . soil. might
have been innocent?"
As he said this,the .professor raised
his eyes to her face with a strange ,'wise-,
ful look. -.
"No. Wthe'itorY be true how - cotild
there be ? There is proof that he' and
his victim had quar.eled prOof that
could not be denied. Then he was found
standing above the body, of the murdered
man in the breast of, whom his knife was
found.. He &Lied the deed, and said
that be had only that minute
. atrived at
the spot. Yet he could not Prave - his
innocence. Everyboy was sire that he
did the, deed--his own father among the
rest. He contrived to cesape and since
that moment . I do not,think that he,has
ever heard frOm him, and knows not
whether he is living or dead. If hi does
he haikkt.pt the'secret to himself; There
is none with whoiihe hail shared it..;
"And he never speakas , Of trim ?"
"I do not think that his name has pas
sed his Ups since'tbat fatal h'0ui.". 1 ..-:!
"It is a sad case ? " . said the'profeasor,
rousingly. . -
truth is, People say that Hugh
Allen is :not, the man that 'he, waa,before
_
the event, which ' threw-snob a cloud over
4
his whole life,./cai belieie that he
is not. It was eceugh to change :any
man. thengh he be made of 'iron. ...
"You
"You are right. It was a' terrible
thine. Fig- hie sake, and for . the sake of
the son, ifr heet living, I wish 'that _the
latter's innoce (le might ' be p - zoved..;4:.-
What .a weigh ' it - would lift from his
1:
heart if itii coal be done. " -1,."
"Yes, bnt that seems.impossible He
must beat the burden to his, dying day,
M
The professo r' said ,no ore, and the
conversation dhanged' to .another 'enla;.
,
An 'weir later they!, were, on their wag
homeward,: The_gfoun4s ol i South Ridge
were aim* reached when a wonian daft
ed wildlylOnt On a cottage by` the
side.' ii ' '" ' ' ' '- ' ''' l'.' .
'"For t 'e lo eof Heaven 'come in, Misia
Npora !" s 'e cr ed,.‘fruy busbandis.dying.
lie.bas s
''upon
fo. Master-Ati, , Thereia
Somethin upon his mind `which
,_lie,itiva
he must ell bifore hedies, ecim in. 'ft
May be t 'it 'you can' do - something for
him. , ,!.. : 1 -- , 1 , If
Dismotinting, theyfollowed.,,ber into
the hous; and to the, ti
,bedside of - lie,sick
nian: i .'- [ ' - , , _.l
I I
It nee ed Only. 'one Ilanee Mil . their
part to sliew them that: he was dying. :''.;
He gianed 0 eugerly atAls,em,and there
tv as a d sappointed: look Aniegled, : ,with
one of a ony on his countenance.:] ,
'"lt is !not Hugh Allen r' he.' cried..'-'-
Why do IyOu' 'tlot - .• bring hiin. 'here? :: I
cannot dile until , ' -tell. the: aecret which
has made:a place of torment of Augheact
for so Many years. Why is it tbat,i he
does not Come ?" , „ . i', . ,
"Can you.not confide in me t' said the
professor; eagerly, 'as be bent - fibers the
dying man. "Speak. It may be too
late when, be comes.", ' ,
"No, no; I must tell, it to him. I ___l can
not die until I have 'told hint: No one
could take'my life-until I have sriciken.-,-
Bring hinvhere—bring - him here 1"
At that moment the door of, the cot
tage opened, and Hugh 'Allen, followed
by his laWyer„ whom the messenger found
still with! him, entered the. ipartinent:
The dyitYg man saw and recogniied them
at once. 1 : : - - .', \•--. : - ' :
"Hugh Allen,l am glad you have come
and that; you have ;,brought„tlie ; . lawyer
with yon. I want , him to write . down
what I have to say:' I am dYing, and
what I hive to tell mustte told qiiickly."
i ll t‘Not- so bad as that I . hope; Toni,' an
swered ldr. Allen, 'in an ~e ncouraging
tone.: "iVir.hy did you not ;send ,to e
that you; were sick ? but we , will try'`to
get you up even now. ,
"I atn! dying; ' Sir Hugh„al'knoW ybu
cannot dee it as well as 'the other:: But
I canno4 die, until I have confessed a ter
rible crime, and,a crime against,you, be-.
sides you who haVe allays treated mesa
Telh---.„ ugh Allen; your son was intio-'
li,
cent.' was l:who took thelifed R i ch-
H ,
and Ha b n 1" i , ;:.i.. :'', : '
.-For_ a' mement Hugh ;Allen:stood;as
though be. was made .of stone., Then
,'he
sprang 'forward with his hip& outstretch
ed as thOugh he 'would clutch the 'dying
man by throat. :-.: ' ' i t.
- This he 'Would have done, had 'not the
profeasOr held him ; back.. .
`,•Do him no violence," he, said,' in a
tone which trembled with" emotion.=
Don't yOu sce that he 'is fait goiilg ? Let
m
hi spiak while he may, and let the law
yer take down the confession," ...-,
' "Speak I" said the injured, father, in' a'
terriblei tone. ."You have the bloOd ; - of
two upOn your soul. No Wonder that
you could not die and carry your guilty
tacret with you."
As though t4ough be had heard ,nothing of
this the dying man went on. • ,
"Yea, Sir Hugh, it was I who - wiis ! the
murderer. : I struck the fatal' blow With
a knife!' had stolen from your son.!. I
did, it for the money I knew. he -had
about Om ;_but I did not get if., Your
'son Ralph happened to come to the spot.
I . heard his footsteps and . fled. He,did
not seelme; and so;the guilt was fastened
upon him. - A great many times I was
tempted to .speak, :and so meet the pen
nity of imy crime. , I should have done so
.had fle been brought to 'the, scaffold I but
he made his eseape, and so I Was silent.
My'life has_been one of torment, bdt it
is ended now;" • .: - :' ' " !'.
- Theie were the last : words- Abe_ dYing
man uttered. There was Due ; ,convulaive
struggle, as the spirit . departed, from: the
body, and then all was Over..: . 1
For ithe space of a' moment Hugh Al
len stood motionless, gazing uponi the
dead than.. No sound - was . heard in the
room save the scratening. of, tile lawyer's
pen as he wrote down his confession and
the sobs of the dead man's Wife. .
Dora Adams. wasthoOM: to sneak.--
Stepping to the, side _ of Hugh AlleO, she
said
oli,eaven be . thanked, father,- that the,
,truth is -known at, last, -Your ~son and,
my adopted bre.ther, as I ,_
Nu . at- call' him
now, is free from: the stains which rested
upon his name so long." ,
` • "I am -thankful, Dorn ; -bnts,vtlip did
Heaven deciee that it should'have'come
'so late ? Oh, my, boy—my boy 1. And
I turned against "you- likeB,lr,tke,rest.. I
might. Wave ,known that , yOn,,,47lralapp
oent igthougli the iiroof against yon.as
terr i ble. .oh, mi'cliild r wouldt(inv'av-i .
en that Lknew - at this moinent.-Wheth -
, you were dead or 'alive I
MEM
"Ralph All pa is shire," Eraid , the profits.
sor;liti a low, tremulous voice.
Hugh Alien •turned upon him with the
rapidity,of thought. ..
son alive 2-40 that
said ?"
"Yee."
"Where is • he ?"
"Here, - father . ..4 - ittri - he:
you not know,me , no*'?"
He pulled .the long,, fale
,heard
wore trom.hislace,andthe . srieqacles from
his oyekind t - iicionalfdriThim !oohing
every, inch an Allen; 'though' older 'and
more careworn than .wheti his' father hid
seen him last.
"My.
,sod--=my - scitirThatik God, you
are given to me again 1" and,he clasped
hitwin a close embrace.'
Little , more there is , to add to `my att.
That much thereader hailalready Co •
jectured., - Ralph - told of hie wanderings
in foreign lands.;:-of his , meeting . wits
leis: ather's old friend there ; how-at taft.
he ,had ventured home in disguise, in
hOpe3, if time was men, him, 'and if he
vas not discoveied, niight4tain -smite
proof which would establish his inno
, cence. . That! proof bad - , corne, n oow;in
way. little. suspected. ,
A year 'later, Dora Adams. married
.Ilugh Al!en's heir,:and all the - country
`side agreed in 'saying that 'South Ridge
had never seen , a 11111.er...bride.
A Prayer that Created Unpleasant
ness.
They' come near having a .row irrqt
colOred prayer meeting a few nights *oil
One of the sisters who had a grieTan,o
prayed: „
• "Oh, Lord ! look down 'pon Dy rasem
bled children hyre die ebentie, an' moot,
'em wid Dy grace. Tetch dyer hearts
wid de bpirit ob all boundie lub. Build
no dar faith so strong dat de . debbil Wirt
.budge it, an"specially would .we ax, if it
am possible iwid de redeemer,. dat Dan
put a leetle more Bence into de obfusti
cated pate ob de yallaw \wench what aim
a giggling" on de bench 'preopposite Di
belubbed sarvant."
"What's, dat you're, sayin' to de Lord.
'bout me ?" asked the wench, rising O f t
point of onier.
Isla seeming to notice, the interruption,
the supplicator continued t .`
. "Gib . our ,tool tile. emu' sister more
,disguniption, oh Lord: : to see cisa
terumence atwiat wright an' wrong, an,
Tarn de huzzy to - behave herself in Dy
holy sari k choony, 'ste:Ad of wriglum "rourid
like she vas eigirtiiied a corkscrew, an
"tan:lonian" dese -Baked *sinks 'wu.l un
holy witikite'• at de male an' maskelirie
proportion ob, 'die ' aoembled gathcriri:
An' oh
"It's a lie ! good Lord, it's it lie ar►'
Don in DY inflaitimite - wisdom•knowti'l
nebber done it!" shotited the, traduced
member. who . had bow become nearly
wild with rage. Dar's nott one particle
of tropth It's a lie-in' I can mash
de lie' I" .
Wi,th these words she threw herse l .ll
over the bench on the hack of the kneel
ing sister, plunged her hands into the
bustle of that devout but indiscreet per
son and lifted her up bodily.
Confusion reigned. and dire dime
was in many Goes but Elva a moment be
fore were bright with . hope ,:of heavett.
But a stalwart deacon finally separated
the females reduced the unnaturally el»
evated feeling of the other, and, address
ing the relieved audience .in an impress
ive tone, said ;. ' = •
"liredcrii,it am - better' dat we- dwell
tngether in impunity. Less ,p-al to de
from , ob grace..dat dal.' be no, mu:lh - such
graceful. disruption in our midst.: Will
&Udder Johnson please made de 'peal. in
one of his uowahful nrahrii?"
There were two of them squatted dims
on the sunny side of a show bill board,
munching the remnants of &linger cake.'
The blackest one' remarket melanchol
ically : ' .
"Mose, did' yer 'eber tinkhow !spelt
sive di:: freedomlEi tO a nigger?" -
"You bet,hOney I It mighty nigh makes
dis ole.man wish he was done
back on the ylantaslinn, .wbar de smoke
house was e'en arnost as big as de State
. .
capertel."
'Dat's de ticket .' Now, jis take fiat
breakfus what [had die mornin'.. Dar
WAS a piece of beef, dat waa ten cents;
hunk ob breid; dat was flit cents; fried
sweet 'tater& dem Wu flee 'cents, and dad
whole breakfus costs die nigger thirty
cents ; der cash Think ob dat now."
"Dem's purti billions figures, fur V .
a
flack I" said.the old man."
dey's -Ps down right
bankruptin" dey is. Hyar I stab to play
seben up ez , bard ez I can ebery night de
Lord sends to, git a aqua meal for break.
fus, the big odes. agin'de braid% to
boot l"
Job.
Then they relapsed : into silefice and
finished .thaginger cake.
Ter slorVilin . pociket:
P 4 . 1
cse
put ,berland
of
Y 431 1: v‘
Tesler the' kooeiper's
;~ ;:~
VOL: .'33.-iNO.:'',3.,
Struggle For a Square seal.
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~.: •x,
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what _ you,
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