News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-11-04
Uncle Abe's Views.

Uncle Abe belonged to the class among
the colored people who were raised in
| slavery and were self-instructed In the
principles of Moral Philosophy. Inter
est, with that plausible sophistry which
a willing disposition furnishes the temp
| ter, argued that two wrongs make
| right; consequently stealing from a
master was not stealing. With his fer
vent religious nature, he was greatly in
terested in the discussion of niue moot
| ed points Of Christian tenet and doc
trine. But the polemics of learned doc
tors. in his hands, often led to startling
conclusions. After emancipation, real
| izing the boon of opportunity, Uncle
Abe sent his children to school, but,
| like all men, white and black, while he
| admitted the advantage of learning
| over ignorance, he always felt himself TO
be an exception to the application OF the
rule. He believed it necessary to edu-
cate other people in order to bring them
on level with his mother-wit There
is no denying his general shrewdness,
although the sincerity of some of his
propositions may be doubted. Jacob,
his oldest son, soon began to display an
activity of intellect, and evince dispo-
sition to inquire into first and final
causes that gave the old man some
trouble to maintain that supremacy
which he assumed, and which had hith-
erto been unquestionably conceded by
the famIlY--zThe oGaaSe Was hard pressed
by the devotee.
Daddy" said Jacob of the nascent
intellect, one night as they sat around
the wide-mouthed, mud daubed, stick
chimney, while the pot of chittlings
suspended from the crane dubbed low
and savory song of JOY, "you said your
moster was mighty hard man, an
didn't give you all enuff to eat How
could you work when you was hungry?''
"Huh! chile, l got plenty. l didn'
ak nobody to feed me, l USE go to de
smoke house an fare sum'tious, an de
chickens said dere prairs ev'y night =
kase dey didn' know which one had to
90 mex. Eff you wants to ketch
chicken so he won't holler, jis take him
by de make So" illustrating with the
poker, IAN you got i'm"
But, daddy, whose meat an chickens
was they 2"
"Dey war mine when I got holt NV
EN-, said the old man, laughing bois,
terously.
"But whose was they before you took
'em ~
wy, moster claimed 'em, but I
guess some NV 'em belonged to me, see
ms l worked fur EN-"
But was it right to take EN- without
askin' for 'em e.
''Uv course, cause eff had a-ast I'd
agot a whippin' an no meat neither. "
This ratiocination did not seem conclu-
sive, for Jacob continued:
Would it be right for me to take
some of them big October peaches
helped you to plant ~
No." said the old man, hastily,
alarmed for his best fruit, ''an' you bet
ter not
"Why wouldn't it be right ~ said
Jacob, acquiescing without question in
the inexpediency of the proposed act.
"'Cause Use your pa" said Uncle
Abe, conclusively.
"Would it be right to take some of
mammie's preserves z"
No." sententiously responded the
philosopher.
"Why ?"
"'Cause she's your ma" confidently.
"Would it be right to take buddie
Jim's hickory nuts 2"
"No!"
"Why ?"
'''Cause he's your brer," triumphant
ly.
"Would it be right to take some of
Mr.. Thompsons roas'in' ears p
''No, an you better not go foolin'
'roun' dere neither. for he doan' take no
foolishness."
when is it right to take something
from somebody 2" asked the boy, using
indefinite terms, finding all specific ones
under the ban
" faint never right for you to take
nOthin' fun nobody" answered Uncle |
Abe, in sentence that was a triumph |
Of jugglery in the use of negatives. And |
fearing lest Jacob might still be in
clined to emulate his proves, he CON
tinued: ''You mus'n' try TO do as duz,
case circumstances alters cases-you sc |
little boy an Use a man; Use got a
family TO pervide fur, an you amt. Eff
you wuz to try to do what | duz you'd |
git cotched de fust time. Chilun amt |
so sharp desc days. Min now, eff you
touches dem October peaches, L gwine |
to skin you live. III. T. HEALING, in
the Century.