The Ocala banner., 1905-11-17
peter stanley
and his
unkle bill.

He drove in from Stixville Friday,
twenty miles through the rain to see
Human Hearts," by the Park Stock
Company.
We had supper at seven O'Clock.
Uncle Bill swore it was eight or half
past eight by Stixville time. and he
wanted to go right now.
had procured tickets in advance
to save delay and trouble and argu-
ment, but he stopped at the box and
insisted on buying''a new set'' and
wanted Mr.. Park to pay me back for
the tickets.
Uncle Bill didn't know they were
complimentary.
Finally persuaded him to come
on. At the door he thought it moth
ing "but just" that we should keep
our tickets and deliver them as We
came out-provided the thing was
sAtisfactory."
We had scarcely sit, down when he
wanted to know of a fashionable old
lady who sat just ahead of us ''if tie
services had commenced"
She smiled frowned. Uncle
Bill bought three glasses of lemon
ade for a dime.
When the curtains dropped after
the first act. which Uncle Bill watch
ed with silent amazement, he turned
to me and said: ''Peter, / believe l
know that old lady. And that young
lawyer was out at Stixville at our
last picnic. / thought then he had
the ear marks of a--of ----!
scoundrel, sir! a scoundrel! Well,
We might as well 60"
"No, no, Uncle Bill. That's only
the first act. There's three more to
come yet Look! there we CO."
In this act was a scene of family
worship, wonderfully realistic of the
good and simple people who live in
the Arkansas hills, and when they
knelt il. prayer, Uncle Bill, too, got
down upon his knees.
wished, then. We had gone.
Uncle Bill afterwards remarked to
me that it was getting SO nowadays
that people let style keep them from
kneeling down in time of prayer.
Says 1, yes sir
Between shouts of laughter, tears
of sympathy and occasional RACES of
fury Uncle Fill saw the show to its
finish. When we were comfortably
seated around the fireside and he had
well filed pipe sending forth its
sweet, delicate perfumes from a gen
uine article of home raised, sugar.
cured "stingy- green tobacco. Uncle
Bill declared that his sleepy spell had
left him. He was right, and it never
returned that night.
PETER" he said, 'I've been study
ing about that negro in the show. He
reminds me of the old timers. If I
had such a darkey as that l wouldn't Il
care three cents who was elected TO
the legislature. Old Bill and that
negro would get along; and we'd be
a team on the farm. could rely up
on him. and he'd do what the women
folks told him to do, without growing
and sassing 'em- If you can see him
you might tell him that when he gets
tired of the show to come to Stixyille
and 1 will give him a good home,
plenty of pork and yam potatoes dur
ing the week and batteI-cakes and
'lasses Sunday morning for breakfast,
begad, sir!
"And that girl, Peter-that beauti.
ful specimen of noble womanhood-
that dark-haired angel whose kind,
-ness to that poor old lady was both
deserving and commendable. (Yes,
Peter, you may drop a cherry in this
one- It flavors it up about right
Not too sweet, please.) Ahem! Why,
begad, sir, size is the very picture OF
one use to know. That's been a
long time ago-I was only 1S-she
was little past Is. Seems now but a
few short years. memory brings hel
80 near tonight, since we wandered
together deep into the tangled forest
fingered long upon the bank of the