National Republican., 1883-07-28
UNCLE BOB'S RECOLLECTIONS.
The Old Gentleman Gives His Views on Dudes
and Diamond Studs.
The Bootblacking Business Amt What
II Used to Be before the War"
How President Lincoln Took the People by Surprise
When He Arrived in Washington.
An Interesting Comparison OF Moses with
Fred Douglass.

Uncle Bob Williams, the venerable polishor
Of shoes at the Riggs house, was found to be
in n state of deep dependency yesterday
morning Now" said he, as a gentleman
whose boots the ebon sage had just shined
went up stairs, "dar goes man wild u
damon shirt stud in his bosom and a rattan
cane in his hand. When l done shine his
boots he says, we'll old snorter, 'lll have
TO stand you or for dis shine and den he
walked or jos as if he had done
me n favor. / tell you times is
not what they used to be. Bcfo
the war no mau who wore damon ever give
lessun u quarter for shine. and fifty cents
wasn't oXtronory. Now look at desc here
judcs wild dar tight brecches, short coat tails,
and wax on dar moustaChe, twirlin of
canes, and standn' on street corners and
winkm at ladies. l tell you shoe black
who gifts five cents outen one o dem judcs is
lucky. When jude comes round here | gifts
benin dat door and says, " De bOOtblaCk has
gone out, colonel.
iaverite subject Of history, and got
down to the arrival of Lincoln
in Washington in 1861. " | recollect do day
mighty we'll" said he. 81 was workin in the
restaurant Mt de Baltimore depot, and we was
expecting him at o'clock in de mornin'.
w ell, fiji, we WHlteu Illl Train Ilut, DUJ no
Lincoln. Only five or six old farmers, wild
caps on, got outer de cars, walked out, and
took de nightliners and rode of. | tell you
desc niRhtlincrs is mighty bad set. If you
got money and dey can get you drunk. You
kin just say good by money Well,
de train come in, as said,
and no Lincoln. But he did come
after all, He was one O. dem old farmers
with caps oil, and the evenin' papers made u
big flourish about him at Willard's hotel.
Such Il hurrah you never saw. People was
sayin' d-n de Old abolitionist, he ought to be
killed, and colOred people was gwine round
pretty scared | tell you, De hotels was all
crowded, and one man hollered out, "whar's
dat old free niger rail splitter l want
to give him cravat wild hemp on it,"
But l tell you never liked
Lincoln. got big impediment
to him. Why didn't he say right
away when his innoculation TUX place dat he
was gon' to free de niggers. No, sir, he
didn't do that, and that's the reason l got an
impcdment to him. He wouldn't let colored
men fight until he was obleeged to- Men
come along and say, Here, Mr. President,
dars dem niggers stayin' at homo and raisin
corn and pork for the rebel soldiers to fight
OIL. Jes call out de slaves and let 'em fight
de rebels" But no Mr.. Lincoln didn't do it.
He was too circumhcx. He didn't be-
lieve colored mon could fight I'm
colored myself but l tell YOU Of
i see u lot of black men comm at me with
white teeth and red eyes you bet Pm gwine
to skudaddle mighty quick. Oars my i'm
pedment to Mr.. Lincoln. He freed the slaves
because he couldn't help it. He said to de
south you stop fightin' and j won't curtail
your slaves, but ef you don't stop | will cur
tail EN-. Now eff he was a friend of the col
ored man, why didn't he say gwine to cur
tail your slave whether you stop fghtin or
not? Now what was de termination? De
south said, You just go to - you can't
curtail our slaves" and so de termination was
de colored men come out. Lincoln thought
they couldn't fight, but whar did they ever
back out? IF it hadn't been for them whar
would the guvment be? Look at de colored
blood split all over dc country"
Uncle Bob is Il staunch republican, but
little demorali2ed over the recent history of
the party. He knew Charles Sumner wei,
and has an unbounded admiration for the
great Massachusetts, statesman. He looks
upon him rs Il man to whom the colored people
owe much, and whose memory they should
always revere. But of many other exalted
political lights he has only a small degree of
respect. "Whar," said he, is de wooden
gods and golden calves of the republican
party? Some of dem used to roost mighty
nigh, but they don't crow no more. Whar is
Conkin' and Blaine and Hayes? They done
read themselves outen the republican party.
They used to talk mighty loud, but
cause they couldn't boss everybody
else they wouldn't do anything more, All
dem fellers got rich, and | tell you dat's a
mighty onquestionabe kind of circumstances.
DE democrats got purity keen eyes and long
noses, and when they git over in the treasury
buldin lookout honey"
Uncle Bob looks upon Fred Douglass as the
greatest man of the age. Fred Douglass
said he, sis de peartest colored man anywhar.
l heard about him long beio de war in old
Nirginy. lie was de great Moses of de prom
iscd land, but he is greater man than Moses.
What did Moses do? Why he went and left
big family in Egypt and married a young wo-
man on the other side. And when he saw
Uriah's wife washin' clothes in de back yard
and saw her white arms, Moses says, Here,
Urah, YOU iis go up to the front aud fight in
de battle" and,so Uriah was killed and Moses
TUX his wife But Fred. Douglass never did
no sich doin's. He never went gallivantinG
round dc cOtnury pointin' to de promised
land, and keepin' his eye on every feller who
had handsome WIFE Eide democrats would
jest put Fred Douglas on de ticket, you'd
have to git telescope to hunt for the repub-
lican party"