Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-01-28

1
| Kindle my thought and shall for many day,
Recalling what blithe presence filed the place
OF one who oftentimes passed up that way,
/ By garden close and lane whore boughs bend
low,
Until the breath of Hampstead touched his
Edith M. Thomas in Century.
THE BAXTER FAMILY.
On those nights when the theaters
ard the like find no favor with me I
lnger in Uncle Reuben's dim lit place
until the last grateful guest has gone,
and, slipping the ''madeery." listen
through the long hours to the quaint old
darky's stories Of his people and his
south-queerly told old tales of hot pas
sions, heart conquests, harsh days, hap
py nights and all that life which was
at once the color and character of the
time now dead and gone forever out of
the sunlight and into the shadow Of
Dixie.
In all the years Of his life in New
| York do not think Uncle Reuben has
ever quite reconciled himself to his en-
vironment, and there is the tone of af-
fection and admiration in his voice
when he speaks Of those Baxters who
had been his masters All the Baxter
women were angelic, all the Baxter men
were brave. Reuben was himself
Baxter if you asked him for his lineage.
Uncle Reuben's restaurant was al
most deserted the other evening at the
late hour when dropped in for baked
bass and bottle of his ''madeery." The
old negro came shutting forward at my
entrance and, with "How dye dor"
began to spread the snowy cloth.
Whut kin l sarve yuh tuhnight,
suh?''
lone of those fish. Uncle Reuben :the
way like it,
eyes, sub, = and the order went into
the kitchen, Uncle Reuben returning. as
soon as he had given his directions for
the cooking.
'fBeen outen thu city, subj"
"Yes, uncle.
Ewes Ten see, maybe?'
tNo; North Carolina.
"No'th Ca'linaf Wuz yah meetin any
folks down thah by thu name nv Bon
we'll? ?''
II hadn't that pleasure, Uncle Reu-
ben. Do You know anybody in Caro-
lina?"
Yes, sub. Least I know some folks
whut cum FUN thah. Thu Bonwells
wuz Ca lima folks TO they come tub
wes' Ten'see. They is mixed up wiv
thu Baxtahs--kindah married amongst
'em, yuh know, an thu Baxtahs bein
my folks, Nv co'se. mus know thu
Bonwells Yuh see, thu Bonwells cum
ovah fun Moth Ca'lina long time ago
an settle in wes' Ten'see. an wantin
tuh be thought we'll nv in thu county,
they naohully git tub know thu Baxtahs.
Thu two families been mo- less togethah
evah sence. Pow ful nice folks is thu
Bonwells; only kindah hasty."
'tHasty?"
Yes, sub, yuh knows; hasty bout
sayin things bout people an hasty bout
reachin fo' they pockets. Mos evah
bit nv trouble in Obion county used tub
have Bonwell in it. Gwine tub take
long time fo' tha' bass, sub" (apologet-
ically).
''Then tell me about the Bonwells. "
Yes, sub. Yuh see, sub, they wuz
these kin nv folks whut wuz allue
roun at thu wrong time, allus gittin
intuh trouble whut they couldn't keep
outen. Nv co'se they didn't mean no
harm, but yuh know how it is. A gem
man, he gifts insulted by somebody, an
he des got tub fight. Tha's thu way thu
Bonwells. They had so much trouble
tha' aftah while they des kindah got in
thu habit nv it, an when one nv 'em
got shot r shot somebody, nothin wuz
said family roun, SO they all say it
mus be 'cept between thu mediate
frien's an relatives. But they wuz allus
nice folks"
Some of them in Jail. reckon, en-
Gle Reuben?''
No, sub, no, sub, not as knows.
Some Nv 'em in Texas an some in New
Yawk, but none in Jail. Jail is built
fo' niggahs an po' whites. "
Some of the family in New York,
you sayi''
Zone nv 'em. He do me thu honah
nv dinin wiv me onct in while. Thah
aim many nv 'em left anywhah now" !"
Zone Of the old families passing
away, eh?'
Yes, sub; passin way. Thah nevah
wuz great numbah NV thu Bonwells,
an thu habits NV which spoke sho ain
fittin fo' long livin. They commence
tub thin out bout thu time thu Bene-
diets moved intuh Obion. Them Bene-
diets want thu bes' people, but they
wuz pow'ful many. They had thu same
habit as thu Bonwells, an, bein mo- NV
'em. they had it mo-
" 'Twan't long aftah thu Benedicts
moved in that thu Bonwells found it
out Thu two fam lies had some diffunce
'bont hog mark, an both sides got
hasty. Tha' wuz thu beginnin, an it
went on an on ontil thah want many
nv thu Bonwells lef' in wes' Ten see. /
thought yuh might have met some Nv
'em in Ca'lina
Wv co'Ee in thu affaiahs I'm tellin
yuh bout lots Nv Benedicts stopped
talkin, but rhah mus have been big
spring nv 'em up in thu middle counties
whah they come fun. kase evan time
a Benedict had a fun'ral, two mo-
new Benedicts come tub thu sarvices
Tha's mighty. disheartenin tub FAM
ly like thu Bonwells, who is pow full
nice folks wiv fault r two. Thu
Benediots KEEP gittin mo- an mo plenty,
till by an by they got tub 'lectin sheriffs
an judges an othahs. Then thu Bonwells
Bho wuz disencouraged.
sScuse me, sub, / reckon yuh bass
nus be bout sweetenin." Uncle Reu-