The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1885-11-06

~ u hHN ~ ~ bHN o
the ocean ever concealed. Eyes, We will
GO said the master, and we were soon
tramping along the broad, sandy road, on
our way to the festivities. So perfectly
time and the surroundings, that our voices
naturally sank into tones that, in day time,
would not have been audible. The sweet
scents that hung upon the quiet air; musky
scents from the bottoms mingled with re-
sinous odors from the adjacent pine forest
and an occasional sniff from a clump of
late blooming wild flowers.
jay bird died wild de whoopin' congh,
Sparrer died wild the collie;
Long come er frog wild er fiddle on is back,
'Quirin' de way to de frolic.
hummed Ike, as he tuned his fiddle with a
Observation-Disclosures Then again,
Gated Miss Sue to de ball las night,
sot 'er down to supper.
She tainted an ober de table fell,
stuck her nose in de buttah!
(Twang-tingting-tum.)
sem fur de doctah to fotch or to
An e was sumfin latah,
She stuck err turkey bone n 'er eye,
And choke to def on de tatah,
Just then a turn in the road revealed the
take place. In a few moments we were
there, and Ike was seated in the corner
tweaking his old fiddle, rubbing resin on
the bow, and going through a good many
other premonitory evolutions that made up
a prelude to the music. At last he struck
an attitude, drew the bow across the
vibrating strings, and accompanied by a
vigorous stamping of the right foot he be-
gan to reel off the music of Green Persim-
mons" with a hearty good will. Jake. the
plantation dandy. was the most prominent
figure in the room. Rugged ont in his best
| clothes, his coat, a Prince Albert. that had
seen service before. when the boss whisked
it's generous sweep of skirts in the crowded
bathrooms of the city, and his hat a tall
beaver that had served its apprenticeship
in the same select company. And it was
Jake who cut a pigeon-wing on the floor,
and called out, ''pa'dne's to yo' places, :
as he led a dusky damsel to the place at
the head of the line.
Law me. dat big foot niger,
Danced all night and ouldn cut 'er Tiger.
Big brass buttons on 'er long tan blue.
said e cut 'er figgeron 'er crow ba' too"
sang Ike. ''Git to yo' wo'k now; come to
it," and they came. Jake ''called de fig
ures." ''S'lute yo' pa'dne's-lady on de
lcf-fus' couple promenade down de CEN
tah-half way back-gent to the ler and
lady to de right, an swing roun'-Oh
swing erroun' :"
Ole massa gimme some meat,
Ole mistis gimme some bread,
But Sally glib me one sweet kiss.
Wat almost kill me dead.
oh, I'm gittin' in er weaving way,
Ispen' my money free,
oh, yer's good Iichah, come an drink.
Fur Sally is de gal fur me-"
sang the fiddler, as he threw his head back
and rolled his eyes in an ecstasy of enjoy
ment. ''Hans all round de room-right
an lef' frough-fall into lines, an dance
to yo' pa'dne's-den swing roun-oh
swing ~erroun,' My brain swan with gid
diness as ! watched the rapid motion of
the dancers, and when the tune suddenly
changed to ''Ole Bill" l caught myself
shuffiing my feet, and, glancing around to
see if the young master had observed me.
| was tickled to death to see him patting
with his hands and feet, totally uncon-
scious of his ludicrous behavior, so en-
tirely absorbed was he in watching the
wild fandango.
Ez l walked erlong by de light o. de moon.
so merrly singin' dis ole chune,
1 coined ercross a big raccoon.
Settin' on er rail.
Raccoon on err rail-raecoon on er rail,
Raccoon ON er big oak rail
Sleepin' berry SCUM.
I sally to dis coon did creep,
An, | fin dis raccoon fas' ersleep,
An, l cotch dis raccoon by de feet,
An toss i'm to de groun'.
Toss inn to de groun'-toss i'm to de groun,
cotch dis raceoon by de feet
An toss i'm TO de groun.'
De ole coon gun ter scratch an bite,
An 1 iainNleu erNAN VIII All my HiSHt.
An | bunged is eye an split : sight,
AMI pick i'm ON or banjo TOO!
s'Get long, dere, yo' not dancin',' cried
the merry fiddler, and they redoubled their
exertions. The fire was burning low, and
a querulous rooster, perched in the big
mulberry tree, crowed long and loudly.
Lets GO said my friend, ana stepped
out into the night, and we made our way
down the big road toward the big house.
We had nearly reached the gate before
either of us broke the silence. Listen
said my friend, tits a mile to the quarter,
and ! can hear old lke's foot just as plain
ly.'' And then we stopped and listened.
We could near the faint tinkle of the
fiddle, and ever and amor the tones of the
musician as he tuned his instrument to the
words of some wild plantation song. Far
out across tho level cotton fields the dark
wall of the river swamp rose grand and
gloomy against the western sky. Toward
the south a stretch CT white mist outlined
the course of a narrow strip of lowland
that cut through the wide field of Indian