Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-05-22

he wuZ indeed a man and a brother. He
took me in-he sheltered me-he gave me
whereof to eat and to drink and to make
merry, and with him [ tarried till | wuz
reglerly installed es paster NV the Church,
and thereby reglerly pervided for.
The cause NV the Elders death WIZ a
broken heart. He wuz ardent Confedrit,
and manfully bore up under the reverses of
the war. His courage wuz mistaken door
ing the repeated successes uv the Federal
y. armies, and even when emancipation de-
prived him NV his slaves, he still he'd faith
that, evcnchooly, all wood be well. . We
may be beaten now wuz his constant
remark, = but the Northern Dimocrasy are
all right, and throo them we'll yet eonker y
/ Confdin in EN-, beleevin in EN-, he held out
brave up to the passage NV the military
reconstruckshen bill
| then saw a change steal insensibly over
my venerable friend His head bowed with
supprest crief-his bosom throbbed with
the emoshen that wuz strugglin for utter
ance. He wood come over to my offs five
or siX times day, and ask me to read him
that passage NV the law giving the nigger
the ballot. | wood do it, when, without
saying word, he wood reel off with tears
f1owin down his wasted checks, to Bascoms.
| wood toller him. to see that no harm came
to him. The old man wuz 50 broken that
he'd pay for his own likker and mine too,
without noticin. Fearin to awaken un-
pleasant emoshens in his mind. | never
mentioned the latter circumstances.
/ Things grew worse with him. When
Mr.. Randall wrote me to conciliate the Mig
gers ez Wade Hampton wuz a doom it, the
old father III Dimocrisy obeyed without a
murmur. Dimocrisy wuz his first idea, and
he obeyed his behe>ts, tho twuz consoomin
his very sole. He shook hands with mig
gers at my rekest tho the touch wuz ez red
hot irOn-he took two NV EN- into his pew
tho his promovity TO EN- set him a shakin
like the ager, and he votid to change the
name and objects NV the Institoot, tho the
convulsive workins Nv his face showed wat
the struggle cost him.
Day by day the Elder faded The iron
entered his sole, and il wuz corrodin cor
rodin corrodin and eatin him up by de-
grees. He walked the streets listlessly, his
eyes suffoosed with tears, and his lips NOV
in ez eff mutterin suthin to hisself | be-
came concerned for him. and so did the
entire cirkle. Bascom fggered up his ak
kount at his bar, and went to the records to
see whether his farm was unincumbered,
and sich of the neighbors ez let him small
sums sot about gettin en-.
Last Sunday the pitcher went to the well
for the last time | he'd four niggers in his
pew, upon whom he looked vacantly, but
sed nothin After servis | stopped him.
=. Elder" sez |, in a whisper & it wood hev
good effeck ef 700 Good kiss them little
niger girls"
q Parson ," sed he trembling like leaf,
. is it absolootly necessary"
: 1t is sez |, firmly, "a dooty evry
/ Dimokrat owes to his party, in this crisis,
to kiss ez many nigger children ez posi-
/ bic"
\ strange expression lit up the old mans
countenanee. In a trenzied manner he
kissed all ther wuz in the church, and ez eff
insane. commenst on the audult femails Nv
that persuasion. With difficulty we re-
strained him, but breaking loose from Us he
started down the street runnin down and
kissin every niger child his eve rested on.
Finally he sunk to the earth eggsaustid.
and we bore him to his house and put him
to bed. From that bed he never ariz. He
was a goner. We he'd TO give him his lik-
ker in spoon, and | never knowd Ken
tuckian TO recover who wuz past drinkin
out NV bottle.
Slowly his strength wasted. Yesterday
he rallied and asked for me- ez the candle
NV life fickered feebly in the socket
"Perfesser " sed he with an effort, Is
Kentucky TO rool the niger or the nigger
to rool Kentucky, Has the Dimocrisy
swallered the nigger or the nigger swallered
the Dimocrisy
And all wuz DER He fell back piece
Nv clay which never Good rally TO the
poles again.
Bascom and [ turned aside and wept
Sed Bascom, he'd he lived two years more
+ | wood hey he'd his farm.
Not any" sed | Dustin into teers. /
wood hev he'd it to endow the Institoot"
- In that event it wood evenchooly hev
bin mine, gasped Bascom, relapsin into a
fresh spasm NV grief.
We buried him yesterday. 1t wus the
/ biggest funeral ever knowd at the Corners.
1t wuz a tetchin site. Standin around his
bier, wus his four children by his first wife,
and his six children by his second wife, and
twelve or fifteen other children NV all col
ors, from that NV new saddle up to dark
molasses, who insisted upon bein counted
in ez mourners. 1t wuz the tightest place
L ever wuz in my life.
My friends sed | to 'em, "is this
seemly Is this proper?"
They replied that it wuz. / mourn a
father sed one "not much NV a father.
but he wus the on one | ever he'd" Il
mourn husband" sed the mother NV the
first speaker, mot legally a husband but
morally, or rather, immorally." We
weep" sed all these various shades in ko-
rus, and they busted out into a torrent NV
greet wich completely extinguished them
on the tother side NV the grave, wich he'd
the legle rite TO mourn.
/ Ez a matter Nv coarse, 1t ended in n row.
+ Issakcr Gavitt swor that no ID bleached
nigger shood shed teers at his fathers fu-
neral, and Amandy few at a quadroon wich
wuz cryin too prominently, and Mrs. Gavitt
attacked the quadroon's mother who wuz
displayin altogether too much white pockit
/ hankecher. In the melee | left satisfied
that the Democrisy hez altogether too
many rough pints to git over pleasant
! [ feel it my dooty to erect monument
to the memory NV this good and true man
this martyr of Democrisy. Demokrats
feelin an interest in the matter and wishin
TO contribute to the holy work may enclose
sich donashens ez they see fit, to me, with
perfect confidence that they will be yoosed.
Let 'em remember that but for his devoshen
to the coz he wood hev bin livin to-day.
Ef we can not do much for the livin let
not forgit the dead.
PETROLEUM V. NAsBY, p. NJ
(Wich is Postmaster1 and Professor In the