The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-07-06
ONE AUGUST NIGHT In 81.
Wilkie Collins Last Story Plot, Written From
His Original Sketch.


I an exaltation Of delight. They were
bringing along an aged negress, whose
gaudily turbaned head and tatterdemal-
ion garments made her q singular fig
ure. That was Old JUDGE, of familiar
repute in the county as a witch, but an
engrossing novelty to the guests. A wan
dering vagabond she was, aud she told
fortunes with all the weirdness OF which
she WAS capable. She was regarded as q
l voudou necromancer, and among the
4 blacks she was feared, IL not quite rever-
enced; while the whites We're not free of
superstition regarding her charms, spells
and prophecies, although at the Willett
homestead there was an intelligent dis
4 position to treat her loosely whenever
she visited the place.
But she vgs quickly the center Of d
/ group comprising all the persons Of the
premises, and she slrewdly chose the
two strange ladies to especially impress
herself upon The account which is
here to be given of her prediction, and
what ersued, is to be construed as the
4 reader pIeases-eitEer as a narrative of
! something occult, or of something alto
/ gether explainable as matters of chance
coincidence. The writer is merely a his
torian, with no disposition to theorize
upon the incidents which he sets forth.
Old JUDGE was formal in her method
as prophecies. She prodefed her
services to Mrs. Armytage first and
/ then to Mrs Dimmock; but those ladies,
conscious of their roguery in having
4 figured before their two wooers as mai
dens. were scared by the negress offers
Of divination and refused to have their
fortunes told.
.Den yo', Mass'r Oliver old JUDGE
said: s.lelnme tole yo' fortin' Dah's
fotellin' in yo' case, sab, inpo'tent fo'-
tellin'. kin see dangah, Mass'r Oliver;
dangah right ahead O. yo. >
That's not hard to foretell in these
war times, Oliver laughingiy responded.
The solemnity Of the black witch was
not disturbed by ridicule. She was used
to that. Striking slowly to her knees,
closing her eyes and waving her arms
1 slowly above her head. she half muttered
and half chanted a jargon of meaning
less words. This lasted two or three
minutes Then she stopped her move
ments. opened her eyes and stared fixed
Iy at Oliver. He had witnessed her mum
merry before, and was not much inn
pressed now, but to the two guests it
was new and strange.
FAX me, Mass'r Oliver. ak me, she
droned.
Tell me what you see. he said, aim
ing only to satisfy the curiosity of the
ladies.
Il see yo' in de middle OBJ soldier
comp'ny -rnarchin -marchin'
sWell, trust they're Confederates in
gray, Aunt JUDGE. Aud can't you put
me at their headg am to be a captain,
you know
sDey yan't in gray. Dey's in blue,
sab. Dsy's Union soldiers marchin
marchin', and she swayed her body and
held up her head, as though in unison
with the tread of the troop which she
saw. 'sAn' yo' yan't in de command.
Yo's wearin' de same clothes 30 got on
now. OH see dat yo's pris'ner, fo'
| yo' arms is tied, an de comp'ny guards
/ yo' close" Her eyes turned slowly away
(
ing something that wasanoving steadily
\ away ..Marehin marchin' -marchin', /"
1 she repeated over and over, but in low
er and lower tone, until she finally whis-
pered: "Dey's gone out'n sight, sab, an
don'i see no NOAH"
'sBut I'd really like to know what be-
comes of me, Oliver remarked careless
/ l. t,.,r
addressed Mrs. Armytage, ''have some
regard as to that.
Old JUDGE turned her gaze on that
lady, and stared steadily, yet vacantly.
"Well, well" Mrs. Armytage asked;
''and what are you seeing now?"
81 see yo' on horseback, iady-ridin'
hard-ridin' fast. Great trouble in yo'
J face - great trouble" Suddenly she
ceased to speak and spread one hand to
her ear in the attitude of listening. II
4 heahs yo say somefng. I must sabe
him-I must sabe himr OATS what yo'
sayin'. An now yo' rides into de woods
She had seemed to follow with her eyes
the course of the equestrienne, making
recognizable the movement of a person
in the saddle of running horse "Dah,
yo's gone. l doan see no noah"
"Try again.
''No, missy; dean' see no NOAH"
Even those who had seen Old JUDGE
before in similar exhibitions were sober
! Iy impressed There was martial ex-
element in the air, and the woman's
rude yet moving description of Oliver a
captive in the hands Of a company Of
soldiers stirred them. Within week
they had witnessed the incursion OF Gen.
McCulloch and his Confederate rangers
! from Texas and Arkansas. The local
sympathies of the whites favored the
cause of the south, and they had been
widely enthusiastic when the redoubta-
! bic McCllloch came into sight, surround
4 ed by his gayly dressed staff and accom-
panied by Governor jackson, Gen. Price
and Gen. Pearce. They had looked with
delighted eyes on the first Confederate
soldiers that they had seen, the men all
dressed in gray, and their officers re-
( splendent with gilded buttons, golden
braid and stars Of gold. To look like
these gallant soldiers; to be of them; to
fight beside them, was the one desire Of
most Missourians in that immediate
neighborhood. But to oppose this force
Gen. Lyon had brought from the east
A -.