The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-08-14

PrTY THE SoRR rvs OF a Poor OLD
MAS.-There resides in this city an
ancient colored gentleman whose fam
lily name, il any he has, is unknown to
the writer hereof; but he is called and
known by everybody in the city, old
and young, great and small, as .'Uncle
Ben" In some respects Uncle Ben re-
sembles another venerable African
"Uncle" chronieled In song. Like him
he has no wool on the top OF his head,
and the teeth that once delighted in
corn cake are things of the past. Age
has dimmed Unsle Ben's eye, though it
has not faded the color from his cheek;
| and while il has shrunken and shaken
his once athletic form, II has not
Quenched the fires that blaze indig-
| nantly in resentment of personal
] wrong, Uncle Ben Is not handsome,
but he has great sole and his figure Is
/ striking and calculated to attract at
tention. The younger portion OF the
! juvenile population stand in great awe
of him. From their earliest hours they
are admonished that "Uncle Ben" will
catch them If they are naughty. When
they get big enough to see him passing
| along the streets nothing less than
the width of the street is a
safe distance. Uncle Ben carries large
| cane. ne wears Stove pipe uhI Oh
| gothic architecture. He wears long
coats and longer trousers, and still
| longer shoes, and when he walks it Is
with his entire person. The old
er Juveniles who have got accus
toned TO Uncle Ben's appearance and
are outgrowing the impression OF the
nursery, Imagine there is something
comicaI in his style. Some embryo
| poet among them has invented a legend
| about him which runs in this wise,
| Uncle Ben Uncle Benz
Shot goose and killed a hen.
And this they are accustomed to shout
! after him on the ST. Gets. Whether there
/ is any truth in thestory or not, the tell
/ ing of II eXasperates the old gentleman
very much and woe to the graceless
urchin that dare utter it and come
| within reach OF the old mans cane. For
| years and years this poor old man has
! gone about the city with none to pity
his sorrows, the object of the contume-
! IL and insults (which are not always as
| harmless as those described) of all the
bad boys in the eastern part of the
city. He is often pelted with stones
and sticks by boys whose parents
! would be ashamed to confess
they knew their children had been
guilty of such conduct without correc-
ton. Indeed the old man, who is just
able to hobble about, can scarcely APP
pear on street without being pelted
aud insulted by children who ought to
be taught better manners and morals.
The latest case of such abuse occurred
Monday. Two boys, nine or ten years
old, one named George Anderson and
the other Thomas McCandless, stoned
the old man az he was passing along
the upper part of Main street. They
were arrested and put in the lock up.
Yesterday morning they were brought
before Judge Good. Uncle Ben appeared
in court, aud being sworn, identified
the boys as those who had stoned him,
one of whom had knocked off the gothic
tile. Little McCandless' father was
present, and the Judge, on promise
that he would take the boy home and
switch him soundly and restrain him
in future, let the youthful culpnt of.
Little Anderson having nobody to
made a similar promise for his benefit
WAS fined 81 and costs and sent back to
the lock up.
Boys, il you want to keep out of Jail
let uncle Ben alone hereafter.