The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1884-01-12

and foliies and became stern, taciturn,
unsocial, and solemn. Perhaps this
transformation had something to do
with his speedy downfall. He took
for his model well known Judge of a
city court, whose personal qualities fell
far short of his legal ability, and the
likeness became so apparent after a
while that he was sometimes addressed
by his own name and sometimes by
that of his superior. But before the
era of the brass spcctacles there was
none of this afectation, and friends
were more frequent than when his for
tunes had risen.
In his youthful days the Judge had
been a great beau. The number of
feminine hearts he had captured and
demolished was, on his own showing,
something frightful to contemplate
Frequently, and especially when under
the influence ofa pine tag "wind raiser"
donated by yourself, he would enter
into minute descriptions of conquests
he had made among the dusky damsels
in the "old plantation days." at times
going into ecstacies of mir;h at the re-
membrance of some long past scene of
gallantry and display wherein he had
exhibited more than his usual address
and splendor. 1t was the "broken
soldier" over again, and one never
tired Of seeing him
Shoulder his crutch and show how fields were won.
l we'll remember certain representa-
ton he used to give of himself at plan
tation festivity of some sort, and in
truth if the original was like the copy,
the impression he made on the more
susceptible half of those presents must
have been tremendous indeed. With
head thrown back on one side, legs as
straight and firm as an incurable clip
ticism of large dimensions would allow,
thumbs stuck under his suspenders, and
smile of fincalculable extent and sweet
ness illuminating his shining visage, he
would 60 through the inimitable strut
of the African dandy, in all its grotesque
and amazing contortions, at the same
time exclaiming: "Walk down, Mr..
Morris! Step up, Mr.. Morris, to whar
de ladies kin see yer Mex way dar fur
Mr.. Morris, de beau, de sweet Ed'n-
boro, de 'fection an de ladies favor !
Walk up, Mr.. Morris and so on
with an interminable string of the same
sort. What the "sweet Ed'nboro"
was never could imagine.
The Judge had, of course, been a
slave the greater portion of his life,
which, as | have said, was long one,
and when he was for the first time
permitted to realize the happiness of
free existence, he was almost ready
for the greater happiness of the second
and final emancipation of death. |
hardly think he could have had suffi-
cient time in which to appreciate the
great boon he had received before he
was called upon to relinquish it for a
greater, ard for that reason, perhaps,
his present state may contain its COM
pensations. often heard him talk of
his slave life, of his masters and mis-
tresses, of the war, and the glorious end
of it-for him. 1 can almost repeat
word for word his description of the
last night of the Confederacy in Rich
mond. "Ef yer rec'lec', Marse Tom, y
he said-this was in the wood saving
days when he was humble and con
ciliating-"de day befo' de Yankees
come an sot de niggers free was Sun
day. Twas one O. dem ar bright,
warm sunshiny days in de airly part O.
spring, when de young men an de
young gals come out an sun deyse'ves
tergedder, an dey tink de summers
cone at las, an dey cotch er eberlast-
in bad cold jes' while dey's tinkin'
bout it-yah, yah! Twas one O. dat
sort O. days, an l thought I'd jes' tex
leetle walk out--fer my he'th, yer
know; ans l wus gwine long up Main
an Franklin streets, bout whar de big
folks lib, it 'peared ter me all at oncet
dat dar wus sup'n r oder more'n usu'l
gwine on. De folks wuS all a-sts2'ln'
at de dos an de gates; lookin' mighty
anxious like, an a-talkin' mongst
deyse'ves bout sup nj cud n mex out
at fust ies' zackly what. But bimeby
| walked leetle slower an chiSser like
yer see, dey didn' mind OF niger
like me; dey'd ben uster dem all dey
life-an' putty soon | heerd um say ez
now de Yankees wus comm at las
an WIS pwineter put um all in Jail an
kinfusca dey prop'ty, an heap mo-
like dat. done forgit mos on it now.
| heerd um say dat Jeff Davis was in
de 'Piskerpul churce dat morGin', an
dat he got mighty sud'n call down
Souf, an got up an ran out'n de
church, an skeered all de congregat'n
mos ter de'th. An den dey talked
some ob'm-'bout what dey wus gwine
ter do when de Yankees come-w' ether
dey wus gwineter let um in or po'
biling-ho water on um. Some O. de
ladies talked up mighty rough bout de
| Yankees, an said some monst' Gus hard
things, jes es eff dey want people like
| dey own folks. But l spec dey's done
| foun' out diffunt by this time.
"Well, long to'ds ebenin'. l TUX
it inter my Of head dat I'd go an see
my sister n-law, Sallie Woodfork, down
yander on de riber, jes' t'other side de
cooperation line, whar she wus lbin'
on leetle patch O. groun' her misti:
gin her when she sot her free. Twas
a good piece for a OF man like me to
go, an twas late in de eb'nin' when
got dar, an nigh onter dark when toll
de chil'en good-by an started ter &c
home. l didn' had much more'r
struck de town agin when l noticed dat
de streets wus full O. people, an sojers
an 'citement, an mise, an what not
Folks was reshin' hack ards an for ards
an shoutin' an yellin', an de sojers
was a cussin' an swarm, an dar WI:
de berry debil to pay genully, an
knowed den dat what I'd heerd in de
mornin' wus true, an dat Marse Jef'c
done got berry sud'n call down Souf
sho nuff. After a while, when l go
long up to'ards de thick O. de town
1