Middletown transcript., 1895-02-16

ethon logical.
black. There was no trace of
lighter tint anywhere in his complex
ion. Not a suspicion of brown ap
peared in his cheeks, and even hi
great thick lips, pro,ruding far be
yond the outposts of his nose. were Al
sable as the rest of his face. 1t was al
dead black too, unaccompanied By
by that lustre which, by surface re-
fection, relieves the shadow upoI
commonplace African faces.
And nobody knew all this better thar
Phil did.
"Phil ain't none o. yer coffee-coloreC
nigga,," he would say in moments OF
exultalloD. When bis mood was u
straigtIten his broad shoulders and
boast little-"Phil amt none % vel
crffr--cnlnrrd niggas. ner none % yel
alapacKpr nIggas nuther. rs bla k
is. Dt . snn'. Amt gol no bacon.
hine in my skin; bu' jrs' lell you
what, mosla, Phil kin take de very
sun fin dem sniny nigg.s an hnf1
a. IF ,ise,>, w'~n', c'm-s 10 dr
Wmk."
(By shut" aud "suk" Pull mraht
"sniit" and work" just rs h- mean
'Dirds" When he said "Oud."
"Driv-p Kin L? Kin Phil driv,
What You mean, musla, by AKIN slct'
a quest on" IN. b. Nobody ha'
asked anything of he kind, but Ph
had some remarks t. make on be sub
ject of his accomplishment in ibis
spect, and, like The witnesses in
Gent great trial, was disposed :"
sMeI uhai hr Wished suineb "a, 49, !:
SKI '.Drive? Course | kun. DE,
ever had IA mouf an two legs dai Phi
CAM handle, am you better blIeve,
mosla, PM XIX plaun, de wheel 'twlx
de acorn am de she'll"
If report PhiPs bUastings, it is only
because they constituted too large a
prapurti ion of what he said 10 be omit
ted. do SO to confirm, not to gainsay
them, or to hold their author up to
ridlcule. He was my friend, the faith
fullest ever kntw-and he sleeps now.
If he boasted pew and then, no one
could have had be, ter right. His was
the pride Of performance and not the
vanity Of pretention.
Phil was Virginian "a gentleman
In his way-and slave, though doubt
if he ever suspected his gentility, or
felt his bondage as burden, in the
least. He had no aspirations for free
dom, or foranything else, Ithink, ex-
cept juility and comfort. lido not say
this was well, but it was fact. The
reader will understand that this paper
is in. ended to be in no sense an essay
ON slavery. The s'instatution" is GER
talnly past praying for, or against
either, for that matter, and if / speak
at all Of some Of its phenomena, l do
80 precisely as l should describe fossil
remains of any other sort, with none
but an antiquarian interest in theil
peculiarltles. 1t is simply one of the
accidents of The humble biographical
sketch herein attempted, that its sui.
ject Was slave, and perfectly content
to remain 50; and menIi the fact
just as L should state that Mr.. Greeley
was printer if were writing of that
gentleman's life.
My acquaintance with Phil began
when was half-grown boy. Until
that time had lived in a free State; 81
that when l returned 10 the land of m!
fathers and became all inmate Of tht
old family mansion, in one Of the soutf
side counties of Virginia, the planta
tion negro was fresh and very inter
esting study to me.
On the morning after my arrival, al
/ lay in the antique carved bed as
sigiiea me, wondering at. The quain
pietHresqueness of my surroundings
and The delightful strangeness of lht
life with which was now in contact
for the first time, u weird, musIca
sound, of singular power and marvel
Ious sweetness, foatsd through th'
dormer windows, borne upon the breatl
Of such June morning rs l had neve
before seen. listened, but coult
make nothing of it by guessing. L
was music neutrality-suspicious. music
if Mr.. White will allow me the phras
and yet it was not music in The Ordln
ary sense at all. 1t rose md fell likt
the ground swell of the sea, and Wa
as full Of melody aud sweetness as i
the song of birds, but it was as desti
tut, as they of anything like like ,
tune. IL began nowhere and went no
whittier. 1 listened entranced Ant
wondering, but could make nothing o
it. L had 10 memory of anything
with which could compare it, ant
could conceive Of no throat or instru
ment capable Of producing such
sound. Springing out of bed, mad
u hasty toilet and descended to th
great piazza at the front Of the house
:. There sat the master Of the mansion
and of him | straightway made In
sqpiry.
tWhss is tlatp" | asked eagerly.