Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-02-28

| his old marBter gave nlHis snu
talk Of ode good ole times befo' dc wAi
,nha, ~ " ali dat do Niger had to do was 70
a. that de white folks tole him." ana
evervthing to eat and wear was pientnui,
and when "de niggers didn't nave 10 'aAo
no thought for to-morrcr." Nil o..
Rsine invited by Young Mr.. Ball 70 60
out bird-hunting with him., accePmtcu'
and we went down to the oia ne'ghood
hood IN WHICH he had spent MS ooyIo
and from which he had taken nnss . iea.o
on the approach of the Federal troops'
Hearing that old Uncle John was still alive.
and wishing to see him once more pelore
bis departure to the bright and sninih
shor - he proposed that we should go IN
that direction, On reaching the ola man
humble cottage we found him ID the yarn
bidding over some farming impie'hen'
which needed repairs. y..;d mr.
GOOD morning, Uncle Jonn' saiu my
companion. md nrt
TING his hand up to his eyes 10 exciude
the light of the sun, scanned US Closely
and said: o,i,p
Hi. Who dat knows me so well
Uncle John, this il Gus Ball.
II had been many wears since he had seen
bis Young marster, and he was perfectly
delighted, and said be was " de very spit o
his pa pa nall, wall, Mars, Gust ain
seed you sence 'reckly arfter DE vacuaIi9h
., Rychmun, How mas you bun all dis
timeg" ;.h L;,
Alter exchanging n few words with MN
no was asked II there were any BIRDS
about there. .,sp
Yes, cartridges"
"Ya-as. sir. dars lots on 'em here, sir.
| low if you go right down dar oeyan dat
pea-patch you'll find FIVE or SIX gangs OF
'em. sir. Go down dar and hep yo'seit,
cause | can't xii 'em nohow, as dey ny
too swift to- me"
We thanked him and started OF for the
uea-patch. When we had got about h.ty
yards from the house he called TO Mr.. ban
and said N
Look here. Mars Gus, want to tell
you one thing befO' you go art dem pros,
ana dat is, CT you see any ole hyars uoWh
dar, lef 'em dar for me. cause oats one
kinder game dat q Niger ken XIII. gu re
welcome TO all de birds, and As de ole nyars
Is de onliest game ever shoots, an dsn
only when de snow i on de ground and
can track EN-. please sir, don't shoot eui.
"All right. uncle John; we'll leave Tue
old hares for you"
On reaching the ground pointed out to
u.s. our dogs at once showed tnat tne scent
of game was strong. and In minute OF
two stralg htened out on point. FOR an
hour we had fine sport, bringing to bag
about twenty-five birds. While kicking
up the scattered birds. rabbit bounced
out IN front OF Mr.. Ball and, forgetting the
parting Injunction of the ola negro ana
his promise not TO shoot them. he blazed
away and keeled II over.
There now" said he, what shall do
about It2 That old niger would never
forgive me If he found 1t out
=" Put her in your pocket" said /. ana
if You see the old darkey give it to him;
he would as soon have il now a. when dc
snow comes and he'll save the ammuni-
ton"
but" said he, - that old darkey has
always been q stickler for what he calls
de PLAIN, unvarnished truth and al
though he ought TO accept the hare as a
full apology for my violation OF the pro
mise made him, | would rather suffer the
sting of conscience than have him think
| that | would, under any circumstances, go
| back on my word
"Oh, 90 along" said ], land forget all
about your transgression. and II you don't
say anything about 1t you'll have that
much more game and the old fellow Will
be none the wiser"
Hearing so much shooting down there,
and feeling proud of the fact that Mars
Gus was convinced dat he Uern't tellln' no
lie about dem birds bein down dar,"
Uncle John concluded he would come
down and watch us take down the game
that was too swift for him. Before no.
ticing his approach we found him within
twenty yards of us. and he cried out;
You foun' 'em ies' like l said, didn'
your"
=" oh. yes. old man, we found them. and
we are much obliged to you, too"
said |.
Gus was thinking about that old hare
he had in his pocket. and had but little TO
say as he turned round aud round hunting
the scattered birds. Presently the old
darky observed the plump game
pocket of my friend, which stuck out be-
| hind as though he had fifty birds in it.
Look n here, Mars Gus. dat game
pocket o. yourn done fatten up nightly
| since you passed de house It's my pin.
| ion you done shot ole hyar You sho-ly
amt shot all dem birds since you bin
| down here
| With a look OF guilt as plainly depicted
| in his countenance as was ever seen on
| that of a criminal. my companion neither
owned nor denied the charge. The old
darby saw that he had him in a corner.
| With look OF disappointment on his
| black face which settled into brown
| study as though he was recalling past re-
collections of his dear old marster, who in
| his estimation was the very soul OF honor
| and whose word was as good as his bond,
| he broke forth with the cry of:
| well. sir, dat jes' shows de dif1unce be-
| twixt de ole times an de new Why, sir,
| yo' pa wouldnt'er tole lie for horse,
much less for ole hyar
Polk MILLER.