Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-03-02

NAii iltlh llleil III u pOOh eOlIt w lltlt.
Let me have some of your regular
plantation tunes that you used to sing
at corn-shuckings."
He hesitated a moment, with a re-
luctant air. "Seem lax | kinder tu'n
ter de hymn chunes ter day, lady, des
natchul, but | mus try to please yo'.
How yO' lax dis one?"
"Look-a-look-a-heah, lOOk-a-lOOk wharf
Look-a-look away o. yander!
Don't you see the old gray goose
4 smiin' at de gandah?
Unh unh um, low DOWN.
Unh unh um. n low downl
Unh unh um, low downl
Johnny come down de hollowi
settin' on a ole gum log,
A lookin' for his dahtah,
Terrapin crope up behine dat frog
An pushed him into de watah.
Unh unh um, low dOwnl
Unh unh um. low dOwnl
Unh unh um. a low down!
Johnny come down de hollow.
Oh, de squirrel am got de bushy tail,
De possum tail am bar,
De raccoOu tail am ring all 'roun',
An stumpy am de tail OBJ de har'l
Unh unh um, a low dOwnl
Unh unh um, low DOWN.
Unh unh UNI, low dOwnl
Wooow! Johnny come down de hollow ~
L laughed and ,clapped heartily
"Splendid! Just the thing. I'll put
the words down right away"-taking
a pencil and sheet of paper out -6f my
satchel. ''Now say the first words
over"
"Look-a-look a heah, look-a-look a
wharf" he repeated; "set that down
in yo' rememberandum book"
Then when had all the words be-
fore me | began TO sing them as well
as | could, with a random acOOmpani-
ment on my banjo. How weak and
thin my imitation
Royal wriggled in his seat-"Scuse
me eff l dislup' you, man, but you
don't scrcech non half louI enough !;
des make up yo' mind Ter take de roof
Of-dis way-'wooowp
He open d his mouth like yawning
cavern. - johnny, come down de
hollowr Strike t'err string dar, dat
off string yandah, pull on it lax yo'
bOuu' ter rip de insides outen de ban
jer. You is as well built a lady as
Ntl L CtCs hOll DC ehttltu W oNH
voice-des holler 'wooowp wild de
bes' of 'em. OATS some better"
After | had gone over the sorg twice,
'Don' yo' be disencouraged; eff l lad
yo' two or free days I'd make fust-
rate singin' bird out o. yo'. Can't yo'
lay yO' plans ter stay awhile in Wei
don9"
"Stay here, in this placer no in,
deed ~
dat wat dey all say dat has ter
stop heah-dey swivetin' to git on"
81 wish you'd let me have your
banjo to carry away with me, Royal,
ana take mine in place of it. Perhaps
[ could learn to play if had yours"
He glanced down lovingly at his, as
parent regards an afflicted child.
Laws, ma'am! dis heah instrument
aim wuf shucks long side O. yourn;
can't tell me muffin bout him; /
knows dis banjer inside and out; didn't
desc hands make him f'om de wud go?
He gittin' ole an shreaky, He don't
hold he age as good as he marster, but
[ got ottacbed to him, somehow. /
don't want ter part wild him twell dey
gives me harp. ter play on, up in de
New Jerusalem. | made Gis here
banjer on de old Roy'l plantation wen
was co'tin' Tidy. Dat 'oman-she
gwine ter stick to me clean fru' twelI
de cnck o. DOOM nuver had no wife
like her"
After strumming at "Look-a-look
heah" awhile longer, l said, Cant
you sing me another one. now,
Royal?"
lie turned his eyes to the ceiling
with an distracted air, as though his
thoughts were wandering far away
from this room, There was something
pathetic in his gaze, something i'm
pioring; was the an praying? His
fingers strayed over the strings till
they found soft minor, and then
came n tender. lingering wall that
thrilled me to the core, his voice melt
ing to the consistency of a wistful
lullaby:
'oh, Susie, OH, Susie! wouldn't you like to
20
Way up in de inount.:ns?
DAr's whsr dc river flow,
Oh, de nils an de mountains will all pass
away.
An rOu viii have new Lcart sgAin some
ether GSyl"
IT, I1Gsic ha;! ceased with a broken
500. Royal leaned his head against
iae banjo; his tears fell over the
strings. whats tie ratteri Poor
teIioN F.! Are you sick? Is it that you
are SO awfaily peer! Never mind, I'll
help Jon some.'
.. mighty TO-, lady; dat why 1
'b!esge 20 come hea an pick up few
cent? Oday bat dat amt troublin' me
now You must 'scuse me. Roy1
heart too heavy. He can't sing no mo-.
Oh, ny III Susie. dat onlies' lamb de
Lave send me after all my mis'ry-I
sbs lying daid at home l''-Frances Al
bert Doughty, in the Home Magazine.
= life of leisure and life of laziness
are two things. Many without labor,
,vouiJ liva hv .t,air yytfs only but fhav