The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1888-03-29
A RARE BIT OF FUN.
.sFAR AWAY MOSESo AT THE
FEAST.

He Attends White House Reception
and Tells How He and s'wi;ly" Bar
ber Enjoyed Themselves.
From the Lsnoir Topt.s.)
I At the table 1 sat between the Brit
ish minister's wife and they envoy ex-
traordinary of France, while BARRIERS
| chair was next to that Of the Chinese
plenipetentiary, who wore yellow
silk dress and his hair in a plat down
his back like a woman. Barber car
! ried on as animated conversation as
he could with the almond eyed Gel
estial and told him wonderful stories
about the big tea crop of Wilkes.
| "Will you pass me the blernear7,ge %
said the British minister's wife to me,
and, IS was handing it to her, 1 saw
Senator Vance pick up limbertwig
apple, and using it as an illustration,
commenced telling joke to old Joe
HaWley. This distracted my atten-
tion and 1 spilled the whole mess on
the brilliant uniform of the French
envoy extraordinary.
".Sacre bleu Parlez uous Francaisl
Je ne sais qaaisl" exclaimed he, smil-
ing at me in mild hammered way as
who should say, l am very much
obliged to you for your polite attention
and sheuld feel hurt if you had not
spilled this stuff on me or if you had
been niggardly about it and spilled
any less than you did.
This annoying episode made me lose
Senator Vance's joke, but I heard
Havley's reply.
"Speaking of potatoe slips, Vance" F"
said he,. reminds me Of Loge Harris,
of your State. He has been a pretty
good friend of mine and has seemed
to want me and Tom Settle to run on
the ticket together. Since my speech
against the Blair bill, wonder if his
ardor has cooled any ?'
/: THAT depends" said voice that
did not recognize, as it came from
the other end of the table, whether
the bung of your bar'l is loose or
tight. If it is loose, the Blair bill be
blowed and you are the man. If it is
tight your opposition to the Blair bill
will hurt immensely"
Joseph R. said nothing but he look
ed at the Chinese minister and wink
ed.
This latter functionary was crack
ing chestnuts thatBarber had passed off
on him as Brushy Mountain almonds.
The British Minister'S wife seemed
to be very much pleased with some
sorg hum that was on the table and
asked me what it was. [ told her
that it was kind of molasses raised
ia North Carolina and that it grew to
perfection in Wilkes.
1T is certainly very fne,' said the
British Minister'S wife, ''and I must
get some Of it to send to the Queen.
The last thing she said to nae when we
left the Brisish Isles was to look out
for her interests and / know she would
like this sorghum"
Madame" said Will Barber, as
he gave the Chinese Plenipotentiary
another handful of chestnuts. 81 ex-
pect to return to my native State Of
Wilkes next week and [ shall make
it my business and my pleasure to
ship to you for her Britannia Males
ty's use barrel of as fine sorghum as
the far famed Yadkin river bottoms
can produce. | viii send it to you
for your sovereign"
Thanks, awtully," said the British
Minister'S wife.
And the British Minister himself
drew from his pocket not one but sew
eral soyereigns and offered them to
Will in payment for his sorghum
But Will gracefully declined the Brit
ish gold and said he would present
them-the molasses- to the Queen.
After the daughters and and wives
of several of the plenipotentiaries had
played upon the piano, the sociable
broke up, the Chinese minister folding
up his fan, tying his pigtail around
the top of his head. casting languish-
ing glance at Will Barber and going
off first. Will and that Heather
Chinee did firt together awfully.
The North Carolina delegation re-
treated in the same order in which it
had advanced and just as Barber and
I were stepping upon the porch arm
in arm the Envoy Extraordinary OF
France approached me and handed
me his card and asked for mine. I
gave it to him and passed on.
"What do you suppose he means by
that" / asked Barber.
"He is going to challenge you for
spilling that apple butter all over him"
replied Barber.
] wonder if he is
When we reached our room Bar
Der tumbled into the bed and, bund-
ling the cover around his head, was
soon fast asleep.
I was perturbed. The various ex-
citing episodes that had happened to
me and the prospect of an affair of
honor with a centre shot made me
nervous and / could not sleep. So /
sat up for an hour or two. At last |
too undressed and, blowing out
the light, went to bed. Very soon I
began to smell something awful. I
thought surely there must Je guam
tity Of dead rats in the wall. It grew
worse and worse and I could stand it
no longer. I hunched Barber in the
back saying:
Wake upl wake upl There is some
thing dead in the room"