Los Angeles herald., 1891-01-11
A CHRISTMAS STORY.

A CHRISTMAS STORY.
1T was Christmas night, 1s4-," con-
tinued Plunkett, ''when first seed Peter
Simpson, though it had been norated
GKround for some time that there was er
stranger in the settlement, and that he
was erkin to old Billy Brooks, and was
ekgwyne to settle ermong us if he could
ind er place to suit him."
Brown drew his chair up closer to the
Old man and remarked:
Them war the days when you played
the fiddle, and hain't much to brag ON
myself nor on my kin, but never seed
no music that come up to Sugar in the
0ourd when I was er handling the
stxaws and you was er pulling of the
bow"
"rve seed the day could fairly make
er fiddle talk" nodded Plunkett, and
then continued:
"On the Christmas night of 1874 thar
was party at old man Jimmy Law
xence's, and we'd all gathered and the
young folks had played er game er two
Of sich as 'Thimble,' and Timothy Tub
erbutin,' and Snap Out, till at last they
gathered partners and begin to walk
GROUND and erround, and Peter he was
there stranger and he didn't have no
partner and wasn't er having nothing to
do with the walking erround. So Lucy
Coats, as good er girl as ever lived in
Georgia, wanted to make him feel at
home, and so she axed him to be the
middle fellow
! ''Thats the way the play is. They all
have partners but one. The odd one
gets in the middle as they all walk
srround and sing, and when they git to
tho part in the song where it says Right
here I'll find her they all change part
ners and the middle man has the right
to jump beside some of the girls if he is
quick enough and then that fellow that
loses his girl gets in the middle, and so
it goes"
''Oh, I know that old play" spoke
Brown, at the same time drawing his
chair little nearer to the old man.
"Well," continued Plunkett, '.Peter
he got in the middle, and the youngsters
walked erround and erround er singing
20 as you could er heerd em er mile:
Along comes the farmer drinking all the cider;
IN reap the oats and who'll be the binder?
] Ilost my true love and right here I'll find her.
"And then the change come and Peter
he throwed himself erround and got by
the side Of Lucy, and he has told me
since that he loved her from that very
mint"
Old man Brown was unable to contain
himself longer and he remarked:
"And Lucy made him as good er wife
~ ever or man had"
Plunkett frowned at being disturbed,
but soon continued:
1.-THE young folks went on with their
playing first one thing and then an
ueher-till pretty soon they got partners
and went walking erround and erround
ergin, singing:
''VerT we'll done. said Johnnie Brown,
This is the way to London town;
Stand you still, stand you by,
Til you hear the watchman cry.
!
Kis your true love in the field,
kiss the one that you love best
Just before she goes to rest.
"Pretty soon," continued Plunkett,
"they cried out, Seat your partners
and Peter and Lucy was right close to
me and Lucy she turned and lowed:
"'Mr. Plunkett, let me make you ac-
quainted with Mr.. Simpson,
'Then Peter he shook hands erlong
with me and took er seat by me, and it
warn't no time till me and him was just
Hike old friends, and he lived by me er
long time and never had er truerfriend
or better neighbor, and Christmas makes
me think erbout these old times and
these old neighbors that have passed
away forever.
"Well," continued Plunkett, ''Peter
and Lucy married during of the year
184-, and that's what want to tell you
about.
SIN that old hewed log house that you
passed on the road where the moss is er
growing on the roof lives er nigger man
by the name of old Tom that was the
&rSt nfgger that ever Peter and Lucy
had. Tom was some eighteen years old
when Peters dada givehim to them, and
old Tom and Peter had been brought up
together, and Peter done just as much
work as he required Tom to do, and they
made good crops and in two or three
years Peter had er right smart money
9ayed up, and so he bought some more
land, after that.he bought another niger
OK two and they helped him, and soon
paid for themselves and Tom and Lucy
got ambitious to be rich and they went
In debt, thinking they could work and
pay out, and SO things were moving
eEaoog when old Tom, over, yonder on
tho road, went to his young master and
mistress, and told 'em he wanted to MARI,
ono 1, old Squire Crawford's nigger gall