Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-07-12
Democratic SeanianShin.

| DtIuUCEdtIC SCdifIduSulD.
The self complacency of sone of our good
friends of the opposition, in view of the
" new departure . of the democratic ship
aud the assurance with which they affect to
believe in the correctness of its present
Gauge, are forcbly illustrated by like in
stance of self confidence occurring in case
of actual navigation related in Ohm st cad 5
3 Slave States, - as follows
Among the largest and luckiest of the Vir-
ginia merchant-marine, was the fine, fast :
sailing light draft, putty bottomed, packet.
sloop, the Abstraction. The " old Alb >
was formerly owned and commanded by Cap
tain Jerry 5. and was manned by one black
. bug, - sixty years old. named Mopus, and
commonly called Uncle MOpus. MOpus was
slave, and Capt. Jerry bought him with
the sloop.
Mopns was proper slave, patient, meek,
/ stupid and stubborn talking donkey.
He had never been taught to read or to com
prehend figures. He could not understand
the dial, and the biunacle-compass was
sort of fetish t. him, the mystery of which
he was too humble to desire 10 penetrate
lie piOu.ly left these great things IN the
hands of his owner, and resigned himself to
the will Of that Providence, which had Civ
en- him a master to take care Of him, who
was responsible for his safety aud profits az
we'll as the sloop's.
This resignation and faith of the good
MOpus, however, often gave Capt. Jerry a
deal of trouble, for it obliged him to be near
Iy always on deck and wide awake, and be
sometimes Thought he might better sell Mo
pus and buy a Niger that was not quito 50
good, but the danger that such one won ID
prove entirely reckless Of all moral nugges-
lions and 90 and steal himself, prevented
his doing so, and he tried to make the best
of Mopus muscles and to supply the neces
saTy brain power for the slOOp from his own
private skull.
One night Capt. jerry having been up all
the previous night, and having just worked
the soop out Of Hampton roads against
wind and tide, and quite overcome with ia
tigue thought he might venture 20 trust
MOpus with the helm for few hours, the
sleeps course being now due north up Chesa-
peake bay, wind light aud Quartering a Clear
sky and nothing IN the way for fifty miles.
Mopus knew the North Star very well
"nieser5' generally DO, and telling him to
keep the bow-sprit straight at it, and not to
disturb him till he saw land to starbOard,
Cant Jerry put cut the binnacleliSht to save
oil and went below.
Capt. Jerry had the habit which small
craft men are apt to get. OF consulting aloud
with himself NJ sooner had he closed the
companion scuttle than M0pus with head TO
the stovepipe heard" Mo n fuiled Thurs
dav-slack water at SIX North ; sr--that'l Il
do till daylight sartin-d"o North.-Ftngier
Island-nOt afore tneridian-cau t q wrong
till arter daylight no hOw-goOd snoozc tins
time-go in-off boots -
Nope was a capital helm-man and ior
two hours wnile the breeze held. he kept IN
a Decline TO the northwari. Then IL fell
calm and then there came little catspa~s
from the northwest, and Nope, after giving
a pull at the main sheet lett the helm min
ute to fl ,tten the Ub. While he was tor
ward a Il ,w from tine northeast took him all
aback. Delaying iIb-sheet he came Ait and
put helm up to wear around. JUst as he
iIbbed came another 1tw from rhe -outhc at
and pretty smart one. Nope met it, trim
med close, and seeing it Vas gong 70 Be
steady lett the helm gain, and showed down
the centre board. Then he went u the
hatchway and got his coat, after which he
took pull at the scuttc- bgtt and struck
light for a smoke.
At this time old Abbey with her head
southeast was shaking like ralt-mill
Nope finally hauled the jib up to port TIL
the maInsad filled then took the helm again
and kept her rap full, heading south, but
running OF @ the westward n1w AMI then
ru search Of the North star, wEIca. as he
could not see It any where else, ne thought
for a long time must have got behind the
mainstIl.
lie had smoked out two pipes before he
found il, and then It was right over the
stern, which 1T first struck him as -iugu-
ar cir cumstance. There II was, d" pointer
and all /" ne could not lie mistaken. Bot
now did il get there
Nope pOndercd over it for two pipes more
all tue while giving her good lee > aui
nothing off lie was at first Inclined to treat
1t rs mystery; bat when about two % CLOCK
the moon rose, he grew bold, knDtted his
eyebrows. clenched his teeth took OIL his
tarpaulIn and struck his reflective organs
with has clenched fist.
At length the problem WIS solved, and
his lips trembled and gathered inward and
puckerci back with tuat pleasure which
- niggers 10 common with humal beings
enjoy when they are conscious ct having Il ~
quilted themselves we'll OF trying and non
0rable responsibility. lie Immediately hauled
the boom down close 70 the tadrail, he went
forward and Delayed the jlb To wtndward,
lighted his pipe again, and kept a good look
out till as day broke he made l.;,i u star
BOARD Just as he expo. ted land q star
board and-why didn't he see it before -
a light right ahead and not very far ahead
either
g.. Al right thought Mopus daylight,
humph let an ole niger alone % tut dc
Mort, and he let the ilb draw away, wcut
ait. took the helm, and called the si,ipper
The skipper turned out, Halo, Uncle,
close hauled Winds come out onorwari
has It? Why. Mopus why what the devil
what light 5 tina Why, Nope, why,
you-whcre have you been taking the sIOdp
to now, you black rascal here's the North
star over the starn
- Oh yes, massa, past the Norl star an
hour ago all right sar. here's &c land, right
off here to lewari Made fine run sar
On know how u lotch EN- along docs
myself, yah yah yah ~
- Ye-es (through his tccthJ mighty line
run Old Point by the blood of Pocai oatas =
just where I'd got her last night ut sunset
You GRIMM old catamount' Takes old
Nope You bloody old cuss, Ill sell You tor
a chaw Of terbacker to the first white man
that'l take you off my hands.
The men who fancy that the Democratic
ship has passed the guiding star Of Bcpub-
licanisn, will at the end OF the course in -,
find that she is back again to her old start
ing point, and they will be anxious to cell
themselves to any q white men " who will
take them.
Washington special dispatch reports that
tho na,y on-a = 81 KentucLv are heinz ,uncb