Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-12-19

obnoxious to the blacks. and was no great
tayorlte with the white folks either. If
the squire would bring home COMPANY TO
dinner she would sulk and go to BED. and
refuse to preside at the table Then the
squire would have great ado bringing
her around, as II We're. Thinking of her
and the grand mausoleum where she and
the squire lay side by side, always feel
tender jealousy for sweet young Isabel far
away IN her lonely grave, and | won
der II the old man would not have
chosen his last resting place beside his FIRST
love.
Both the second and third wives of the
squire died childlesS, and that S a blessing.
at least to my client land to my house.
which makes a respectable sum of the
Magruder estate, enriched and improved
as 1t Is by the last wife's fortunel My
client was a babe in long clothes when
Reuben and Lummy received their free
dom. Now he Is a grave portly gentle
man, with tine air of a soldier. a kind face.
a slight limp caused by a Yankee bullet
in his left FOOT, which somehow does not
distract at all from the dignity of his ap-
pearance, and very small hands and feet
which seem TO become him, though never
a
He received me Hospitality. standing
bare-headed in the open doorway as we
drove up, the ruddy hight from the big
lire Iopposlte the door throwing his
shadow, wayering, distorted, and unnatur-
ally large, far out on the frozen lawn. As
we approached the house Reuben had sung
out, "E-fwum! Aw, E-fwum! E-fwum
Sylvaneel Aw, E-fwum! Come an ten
ter der colts! And just as we jumped
out Ephraim Sylvanus lounged up and
took charge of the team, while Reuben fol-
lowed me into the house, and receiv-
ing a nod from the colonel waited in the
background while we talked
The Colonel told me that Reuben would
be my attendant during my stay. He is
old, said the Colonel, but he will serve
you better than any young darkey on the
place. Only don't let him talk you to
death.
So pretty soon Reuben took me to my
room. First we went up the broad stairs,
then round a half-circle of hallway curry
ing to the left, Though curtained arch
and narrow high passage lighted by little
sky-lghts. up flight Of four or FIVE stairs
into a handsome wide gallery and across
this and up another set of stairs into the
room assigned to me- Goals glowing in
an open CRATE in the half circle and a
large log FIRE in the gallery, only half-lit
the way ! caught the CLEAN Of white
statues in inches in the wall, and the CLINT
of armor from pedestal in the gallery, d
dinted scabbard and musket over the fire.
place, and one or two misty portraits in
furnished frames. All so dreamy and in
distinct that ! found myself wondering
how should find my way downstairs
again if Reuben left me-
This. however. was not IN the mind of
the white-haired retainer He lighted a
pair of the candles for the bureau, and an
other for the mantel. Then he solemnly
and slowly repIenished the fire, and with
great deliberation unpacked my bag.
Something about the old man sloNness
and soberness impressed me. All the ser
wants down here are slow, but none of
them are sad. aud it struck me f0rclbly
that this air Of sadness had fallen on Reu-
ben as soon as he entered the room Think
ing of this | stood for moment looking
back through the half-it gallery, and
vaguely noticed that there were branches
Of cedar and holly and pine over some Of
the pictures and arches and doors, and
over the scabbard and musket that hung
above the fireplace. And they gave a
wholesome woodsy fragrance to the air.
But while noticed things | was dis
tinctly conscious of Reuben movements
behind me. and his heavy signing as he
put my things in place. Presently | heard
soft laughter III another part OF the house,
scampering of feet a faint strain OF
music, then "A sound of closing doors, then
silence. And somehow that silence made
me shiver. And the negro shivered, too.
Well, ! never yield to any such uncanny
influence as / felt then, so | turned to
Reuben and tried to make my voice sound
perfectly natural as asked, House full Of
company ?'-t to which he replied rolling
his eyes around the room uneasily, and
standing back against the WALL
'WaIl, sah no, sab. We mus hab
some young folks, OBJ cose. for Miss Virgin
ia and de young genemans. But nothm
like when Marse George war alive. When
he war home tseem Jess like dey coudn {
hab comp'ny e,uff. Ebber see Marae
George, sah?'
knew that the Colonel had buried his
oldest son a few wears before. but ! had
never met him So pulled a chair up to
the fire and made Reuben ST down and tell
me about him.
'Marse George, said Uncle Reuben,
"Marse George war jes as handsome, an
les az good as de Lord above knows how
tomake. He was tall as me, and wide cut
according. an he stan up straight an
square. jes like de picture ob de ole squire,
out dar in de gallery. And his blue eyes
look out kinder stern under his black eye
brows. only when he smile, den his eye
les laugh. An his hair curl like grape
vine, only he kept too short. Marse
George warnt afraid o muffin in natui
He'd swim da river in der spring lreshets.
He broke in de wust colt We ebber had on
de place. he d ride his boss ober any fence
or hedge aroun hyar, an if anybody offer
ed to tech one of us lmeaning he blacks
"he'd fight like de debbil Marse war
main fond OBJ de ladies. too, all but Miss
Sally. yer couldn't tell muffin about Miss
Sally.
Miss Gresham -dat's Miss Sally-war
northern lady dat war down heah de
yeah Marse George died. use to
bliebe she trick Marse George, fur les es
soon as She come. all de obber ladies war
les nowhar. An yet she warn { nowa{s
6apdso,ne either But she les glance his