Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-10-04
THREE THUNDERB0LTS.

Ana hdIe tut bletetu lfht-lEultH ul 10 Onus
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THREE THUNDERBOLTS.
"Nebber seed hoss-race madam my
king ob Moses, whar you done raisedi'
Not very far from the kentucky blue grass
region, Uncle Marcellino; but you sec did
not improve my opportunities; and you have
always been such a pious, respectable man
since you've been our coachmau, that should
never have supposed that you knew any more
about the turf thnu l.
"Wen, dc fac oh it is madam, you can't
ailus judge by poarances. Here's dis ycre
Ihun' erhult, quiet u hoss us cbbcr paced along
10 any lady's coupe, an yet ! shouldn't be
when he was young
why is it that you always cuil any horse
you have charge Of Thundsrboit; When you
were Judge Kimball's coachmon you gave
That name to his horse, and he told me that
when he found you you were driving dray
Of your own and the miserable beast that
drew it rejoicld in the same astounding ii
tie
dat all fac, madam. allus calls any
any bit of hossfcsh ! has any ting 70 do wild
Thun'urbolt l names 'om for three Thun'or-
bolts dat happened to come togedder one day
-TLun'erbot. de little town nigh to Sayan-
HAN Nil'lt 1 hOlAs Eos LNlihAbhs AAhAA NAbbAAs
Massa Proudft's hoss dat won de races an
a right smart crack Of tlun'cr dat shook de
camp-meotin'. and made us all tink it war
Gabriel horn BLOWN for sho. Is under de-
preston now dat p'raps Gabriel did glib it
JUS a laetlu toot, calm an easy like. He low
I'd muffin short Of a tech oh dat ar horn would
call dis ngger's soul out oh Egyp's darkness,
an reduce me to take up my Christian cross,
an run Thun'erbolt at de races
why, Marcellino, what do yuu mean 7:
Not, hope, that it's n Christian duty TO race
horses =
1T war my Christian duty on dat 'casion,
madam. dough amt nebber felt 10 call to it
sence Is read my title clar as deep-watcr
Baptiss for nigh ON to ten year, but ef /
should hear dc angel oh de Lord calm to me
agen, rs he did dat night, you'd sec dis chile
praucin' down de home stretch once mo-"
Tell me about it, Uncle Marcellino."
WAS you cbber in Savannah. madam -
Yes, last winter
AN did you 30 out to Bonavcuiure =
Yes, we rode out to the cemetery. The
liye-oaks. with their festOons Of funereal Span
ish moss. form one of the most magnificent
and impressive avenues have ever seen
"Nebber could bar dem libe-oaks; allus
looks to me like parcel oh beggars wild dar
clio torrd in tatters. Nebb>r can get ober de
feclin' dat dcys poh. low-down, disrespecta-
BILE kline oh tree. for all dey grows SO high.
DE branches is all naked an cole, spite ob de
rags a-streamin from EN-. An when de moss
don't look like rags, it minds me oh gray har,
an | feel Zif | Orter make dc tree II present
| Oh parcel oh har-pins or Il hankchifi to do 1t
up wild. You didn't go no furder dan Bona
/ venture reckon =
No; is there any thing to see =
| And then Marceliino told me OF the little
] rl,s1t tho
nah river, and itself overlooked and over
| shadowed by grove of Druid-like hye-oGks,
| lifting their gaunt bare arms to heaven, their
| disheyellad gray locks and unkempt boards of
moss waving mournfully in the slightest
/ breeze The town ordinarily wore forlorn,
/ forsaken air. and the sombre little houses
| seemed to have gathered undCr this grove by
| the riverside rs mOuufuly rs the captive
daughters of Zion who hung their harps on
| the wilows that fringed the rivers of Babylon.
| This was Marceilino's simile, lie stated, too,
! that there were two occasions when the vii
1 lage put aside its robes of sackcloth and woke
1 the harp to strains of gayer measure. The
| first was at the time of the spring races (for
/ the horsey men of Savannah had established
a trotting park at Thunderbolt,) and the sec
! ond was whenever the cOlored Baptlsts ap-
pointed camp-meeting in their vicinity.
| One year not very long after the late war,
/ both of these festivities CHANGED to fall upon
| the same time, and the Druids Of Thunderbolt
shook their withered limbs and tore their haii
| in disapprobation of the reyelry going on be-
meath them.
Marcelino was one Of the negroes who had
seen fit to remain with his master after the
passage of the Civil Rights Bill, with no per.
ceptible change Of condition except that his
master now gave him money with which &c
purchase his clothes, instead of taking the
trouble to buy them for him. The war had
made far greater change inthe circumstances
| of AIarcelno's former master, Walter Proud
fit. Though too young to take part IN it per
sonally. his father had fallen in one of it,
earlier battles, and on Walter had devolved
the care of his mother and the estate, whicl
last dwindled rapidly, until the year of which
Marcellino spoke found him the possessor on
ly of the family mansion on Bull street and OF
n fine race-horse.
Things might have been worse than this
for great deal of money might be made by
a shrewd, INSCRIPTIONS man in racing tn,
/ splendid animal, which he had named Ihun
derbolt from the little town with its trottinl
course near by; andifM Mrs. Proudfthad chosel
she could have replenished their empty cof
fers from the pockets of the Northemers who
every winter looked enviously at the tea-rose
blooming in her garden, wishing that they
would only take boarders at that lovely place
But Mrs Proudft did not chOose-to her an!
suffering was preferable TO the ignominy o
taking boarders-and Jhe cherry satin of th,
parlor furniture grew every year more latter
cd and shabby, for she could not afford tn,
linen to cover 1t.
Walter had no taste for betting, but it wa
the only way of earning livelihood for hi
mother, and from participating regularly il
races he grew TO have a ralish air as well q