The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-12-08


difference with me what you and Bill
Smith think about It. may be be eev.
cral different sorts of fool. but TIL be
dadblamed if ever will be clothes
elm the solcncholy Days.
Even down to his last dyin day Jor-
dan Biggers took his odd ways and his
Oncst upon another time went over
there to pass q few preliminary re.
marks with the old man, but there want
house. Every door and window was
standin wide open and lowed to my
self that old man Jordan must be some
So after wanderin around promiscus,
finally at last found him down in the
apple orchard. He had toted his old
agin q big apple tree. He was wavin
his hands and gesterin and talkin with
himself and goin on at such q high rate
drunk on sishsr crazy s WHAT ss as 1se &C.
he had on high plug hat and a red
plush vest, and was maxim his motions
with gold-headed wallkin stick.
Hello Unclue Jordan, how are they
comm by this time ?'' says !.
,'Mornin Rufe,' says he. pull up and
take a seat and set down. l am mighty
around in the low grounds Of sorrow,
as it were. The sperit is willin, Rufe,
but the flesh is too durn weak. What
solemcholy days are here and Christ
mas comes but oncst a year? Well now
that hits me, Rufe-hits me square in
K Hs my good ga dath ego
up. as the preacher says, and on his
dyin bed he give me this bee-gum hat,
h .a6 r,1p1 he h0
wanted me to keep EN- and wear 'em as
he had wore 'em on the evenin of the
and put em on and slipped off down
here to keep the word I give to him
old man that l would stay at the house
monstrous glad I didn't. Somebody
1nought come along and see me, and
burned if 1 would be caught at the
ten dollars. But the solemcholy days
are here, Rufe, and Christmas will new
er come for Jordan Biggers any more.
evenin of the last day is now clost TO
hand. Thirty years ago the old man
laid down his hand, quit the game, and
rushin down to me through the dim
and distant past, ringin in my ears like
a thousand evenin bells. His bones lie
bn 1 in the graveya ,,, over eth, there at
same he was one of the mainest pillars
thereof. And here I am in the sad and
solemcholy days. settin out here in the
tened it were with the perspirin
breath of the last rose of summer, or
words to that extent. And what is
sy, and 1 have got it durn bad. Look
at them feet, Rufe. Do you reckon both
of 'em will go in one coffin If they
wort you must tel the the boys to put one
BY this time the old man had got such
far away look in his eyes till felt
kinder restless about him.
IF the evenin of the last day is that
clost to hand, Uncle Jordan says 1,
1T mought be good notion for You to
kneel in prayer
1t would never do, Rufe,-it would
never do in CREATION says he. II amt
ftten to approach the throne Of grace.
Look at them feet, Rufc. Wouldn't I
and this goid-headed walkin stick and
this red plush vest on and my feet look
in like q pair of potato banks? Not
keep the promise made to my good old
father on his dyin bed thirty years ago,
but by gollys amt fifteen to approach,
on and my feet swelled up as big as the
barn door,
"Too Late to Git Fltten."
Hence forwards from that time on It
seems like old man Jordan got worse
and more rapid and constant. He would
stop now and then and talk with me a
little, and Presently he would light in
and talk with himself whole passle.
At last late along in the cvenin got
him in notion to hobble back to the
house, and when he went to bed he told
me how he believed he wouldn't git ny,
any more. He hung that bee-gum hat
on the bed post where he could look at
it every mint and then laid down with
the red plush vest on and the gold
headed walkin stick by his side lie
was right there the next 1nornin, but
by that time he was goin down hill
mighty fast and it was plum plain to
me that he would beat the sun down
that day. 1t leaked out amonst the
neigh bors somehow that old man Jor-
dan Biggers was on his death bed, and
some of them wanted to come and see
him, Deacon Joiner along with the
rest.
Keep 'em out, Rufe,-l>eep 'cln out
till the tight is over says he. There
is plenty OF niggers around here to help
You tend to me, and the settlement in
general amt got nothin to do with the
case. know what Deacon Joiner is up
to. He thinks I molght want him to
come in and hold prayer meetin for