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

an dar wus good many mo- jes like
it-ter las Gin'l Lees army fur six
months, at de berry leas'-an' all de
time dey was talking bout de army
bein' starbed out Sho 'twa'n't so.-
De vittles wus locked in dat's what
wus de marter An when de crowd
got inter dat commysserry sto', de fus
ting dey tackled was de Ticker. Oar
was plenty NV it in dar, an some ohm
got it in pitchers, an some in basins,
an some in bottles, an, fo' de Lawd !
l seed some ketchin' it in dey hats,
an drinkin' it dat way jes' like twas
fresh water from de well. De Gub'm
folks was a-doin' all dey cud ter 'stroy
de sto's, an dey knocked out de heads
O. de bar'ls an po'ed de liker out jes'
like twain no count tall an de
Ticker run out ter de gutter an splashed
on down jes' like after rain, an /
seed lots O. mems an women folks, too,
down on dey hans an knees in de gut
ter drinkin' it up jes' like hogs. I'clar
twas awfl
"Berry soon l seed mo- lights an
smoke, an de fires denzginz ter break
out in eb'ry d'reckshun. In mos no
time at all dar was mo- fires'n yer cud
count, an de n'ise'n' de crowd got
wuss'n' wuss. OF folks an young
folks, white folks an brack folks, VIM
min an sojers, wus all mixed up terged-
der like sheep, an dey broke inter eb'ry
sto' dey come ter an trowed de tings
out, an scattered UNI roun' like Faris's S
plegs-eb'rybody got some, an mos
on um more'n dey wanted. Dey rolled
de bar'ls O. bac'n, flour, sugar, m'lasses,
Ticker, eb'ryting. SO thick yer cudn't
step. Some ohm had bags O. coffee,
chists O. tea, kags O. butter'n lard, an
de Lawd knows what not; an all on
um had more'n dey cud tote ter sabe
dey life. Some OBJ md fling away what
dey'd done got kase dey seed sup'n dey
tho't dey'd like better, an kase hit
hidn't turn out what dey'd tho't twas,
dey'd ra'r an cuss an swar at deyse'ves
fur not keepin' what dey had fust.-
Den some oders hel' on like de'th ter
what dey'd got, an wundn' drap it fur
fear dey cudn' git no mo-. Den dar
wus lots O. folks whar wus up ter big
game. Dey had wheelbar'r rs, an coffee
sacks, an furniter wag'ns. an kyarts,
an drays, an wus a-doin' de stealin'
business by de hullsale. Dey got de
tings way mighty peert, tell yer
Some ohm l know'd, an, knows dey
got a big start by de Dustin up O. de
Kinfed 'racy, kase dey sot demse'ves up
in bus'nes putty soon afterwards, an
is done grow d rich by this time. l
knows some ohm by name, yas l does.
An all dis time, Marse Tom, de fires
was a CROWN up on eb'ry side jes' like
bresh heaps in dry spell o. weather.
De flames wus a-ragin, an a-roarin' ez
highs de heab'ns, de walls wus a-tumb-
lin an a-dashin' an a-crashin' all
roun' like thunder, de people wus a.
cryin' an shoutin' an yellin' an SWARM
like debiis, de cullud folks WIS crazy
wild j'y. an dey jes' let out dey feelin's
ez hard ez dey cud. Dey wus jes' like
de chil's> O. Isrul in de Lam o. Canal n,
Marse Tom. De good Lawd he'd done
bin wild um thu all dey suff' rims all dey
bondige. Dodey ydidn' knowit. He'd
bin dey piller O. cloud thu all dey days
O. slab'ry, an dat night He wus de
piller O. fire, an it wus de light O. His
Dressed face dat wus shinin' out from
it, Marse Tom. l tell yer, de Lawd
sot down mighty sud'n an mighty hard
on de OIL marsters n de OF missiSses
dat night, dat He did,"
The ole fellow is now beyond the
reach of trouble, and his merry songs
and quaint recitals will be heard nc
more. The death of a great man is tc
the community in which he lived, ol
the nation at large, a great calamity
to the individual it is naught. Osten-
tatious public grief is merely the cloak
of private indifference, not manifesto.
tion of sincere personal sorrow. More
genuine tears are shed over dead house.
hold pets than over the bodies of the
greatest heroes. A great career merely
dazzles the vision and excites the ad.
miration, and death awakens only a
feeling of regret, short lived and shall.
low, that so brilliant course should
not longer be run. 1t is only when the
hand of Fate reaches down and ruth.
lessly grasps the strings that bind oul
hearts and homes and humble friend
ships together that the deeper depths
are stirred.