The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1882-09-09
THE GOLDEN CHANDELIER.


schemes and many gtEHadtfS% hopes De
sides the well known expectation tina
She United States government was Ioo;:
TO bestow upon every mothers son o
them "a mule and fifteen acres of land
One of the great difficulties, however
which presented itself in their view o.
tic triumphant future was hGw to dis
pose of their rapidly increasing weai's
and for the present where to bestow the
meagre surplus of their wages. lIither
90 their gains had been coniided for satt
seep;nr to "ole massa or ''ole miss,
or else the big silver '''fo-de-war y dol
lars were tucked into the toe of an Ole
odd stocking, and secured by sundry
l<uots tied in the leg above. But now
away with the time honored customs o
slavery!-a free man must make free
with his money also.
So there sprung up as if by magic al
immense number of societies of "bred
rem of "sistcrn,' of "bredren anC
siStern'' CONFINED, 3f which the ont
doing OF all the others in size and spien
dor was the primary object Of each, ana
the secondary and rather inferior one IL
give each meInber who paid up regularly
a sumptuous "berrai,' il case Of his 81
her demise. This last was great desid-
cratum in their eyes, for in regard to the
closing scene of their earthly career they
had some apprehensions.
Yer sce," said one gray headed Ahi-
can to another, enforcing his argument
by sandry taps of lnobby foreinger upon
horny pain, - b'iGngs ter myse now.
so duz; an kin TEX keer mysef now,
so duz; an dat + all right, yer see. But
W en- is done 'ceasted. who dllz | b'long
ter deno De niggers use ter b'lons ter
ole massa clean twel! dey was dead an
berried too; but ven Is done dead, |
won be hyar fer ter own myself no mo,
an who's gwine ter ten ter ne den. an
git me berried proper an becomin' as a
gentleman Ort2r Et
This Craze responsibility settled, the
cclored ladies and gentlemen launched
forti! into all manner Of eXtravamances
in connection with their beloved sic
ties" which multiplied and waxed fat.
There were PROFESSIONS on foot and in
carriages, the uniforms were Respondent
with gold and silver fringe and all the
colors OF the rainbow, and the banners
bore far stranger devices than that of
Longreiio~'s oaternris!ng youth, but it
was in their self-imposeh titles that these
associations We're most remarkable
The "RiSing Sons of Ham, and its ac-
companying banner, bearing upon one
side representation of the orb of day
inst clearing the horizon, and on the
other & nu9e sole iarg.aLy . sugar
cured, was worthy Of f'ahch i'll its palm
lest days, while the Ignorant Staff -
was a centre shot of nomenclature. The
number of the sons and daughters of
Pefc., 1.oyq, Jay, Hope, Faith. Charity,
rad Virtue kept one ii. constant e&peIta-
ton Of the milicniam, while the Lovers
of Liberty" "kn,ghts uf NiGodemps,'
and - orshippers Of Wisdom seemed
to imply that the aid of the three AS
had Ieeu invoked. The obsequies OF a
member of tLres ri four Of these socie-
ties was conducted with /. pOnir lnt!
magniIicence worthy of travelling cir
Gus. and followed by almost as many
ragged urchins.
For while all things seemed most en-
chanting, and the "bredren an sistern .
almost thought it would be pleasanter to
die than to live, but to these bright ex.
periences and anticipations came ali alb
rupt downfall. There was sudden de-
camping of treasurers and funds, sud
den deficit in accounts. a sudden collapse
of these i1nulishiHg associations. The
average negro was Il sadoet aId wiser
man or woman. and felt disposed to re-
gard with positive envy those lucky in
diyiduals who had died during the period
of prosperity, and got the worth of their
81 tell yer wat, said the old chap who
"b' longed ter hissef," IT'S kyo'd o
'stressin' myself bout dis po' ole broken
vessel arter | done got outen it. De
turkey buzzaris kin eat me eff dey's a
min ter, but gimme Il stock'n as ain /
got no perfection wild a nigger's foot fer
ter repose my money in. Dey amt n"
trabblin' to dat kin O. trejerer."
And so it came about that most of the
-" sieties y " ceasted" before their men,
bers: but few still remained in exist
euce, and have come down in moderate
to the present day, and among
them is THE Grand United Brothers
and Sisters of the Golden Chandelier
Mrs. Henry Highhorn is 4 wealthy and
fashionable lady of Richmond, Virginia.
She has for maid very respectable
" damson- colored domestic" whom she
has dubbed Readjuster,' in honor of
the political party Of that name. A few
weeks ago Readjuster requested leave of
absence of her mistress for several sue
cessive evenings, and at last the latter S
Curiosity was aroused.
Readjuster,'' inquired the lady in
"what in the world are you
getting SO dissipated for, you settled
woman with grown up children? If you
were young. now, and ha! Il sweetheart,
it might be excusable."
"Well, ma am replied Readjuster.
down her white apron, Il
tends de meetin's oh my siety, De
Gran United Bredren and Sistern Oh de
Golden Chandelier.
WHATS in Mot name ." said the lady,
with laugh. 81 suppose that intimates
that it's member are the lights Of the
world But are you obliged to so every
night ~
"Oh, no, 'm," answered the maid,
promptly; "but ies now ives ceierbratin
de six days in de Wilderness
Whose six days? - asked Mrs. High
born.
swell. don't rightly know, m, re-
piled Readjuster, looking rather pnzzled.
It's sumthin bout de chil'en o Isrul.
an our siety's been havin it cherry night
dis week. De passage an de front part
ub our hall is fullcd wild brars an
thorny s'ruhs an branches, an yer pays
ten cents. and yer tries ter scramble froo
ali dem bushes. Yer t'irs yo' clos mos
oG'n yo' back, an scratches go sef tere-