The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-20

It seems the jolly god Bacchus reign ed supreme in Montgomery Tuesday if the menu in Police Court can suc- eessfully masquerade as criterion. There e~~were trunks and then some and 8 glance at the docket convinced the harpies who hang about the court gloating over the woes of the unfor- tunate, that there would be something doing in the fine line. Not so.
 The man of Tarsus presided in the absence of Monsieur Baber, and Mir. Saul was in. beatific mood, good will radiating from his noble brow and formed an auriola about the crisp, eb- ony curls. A benign smile settled on the Ieonine countenance, and mercy tempered with justice was writ large in the plaintive, whimsical little smile.
 Tom Masterson, an old white man, was first to dodge out from under the rod. Tom had an ear like a liver pud- ding caused by the State of Alabama flying up suddenly and skipping his face. Tom had been on lower Com merce Street where liquifed anti-pro- hibition is encased in bottles ana solo for a song. Tom had bought, imbibed and left. Standing still In the hol- lows he would wait for the waves III the paving to catch him and would slide down the inclines, thereby nav igatine from the underpass as far as the First National Bank. But here the cross current caught hirp and ca reening he crept, carabbing to leeward until he fouled a cop and was taken in tow Because of the great, juicy crimson ear and the general dilapidat- ed aspect of the derelict. the court gave him his clearing papers, over ruled the salvage, and re-launched him on a new life.
 Following Tom there was an assort- ment of fully developed piccaninnys, all in full bloom and ful1 ripe. Most of them had blown in from the country to get one last shot at capital booze before the clouds of you-can't-get-it closed down. The adamant heart of the court melted. and the jags flowed out on the excretion of pardons.
 But after that the pardon spring dried up, 1t had exhausted itself and when a bunch of crapshooters were brought in charged with having bar ricaded themselves in room and played, some of them making faces at the disgruntled officers from upper windows. until Captain Smith had come and smitten to the door from its hinges and arrested them. Then it was the court rolled up its sleeves, theo- retically spat in it's hands, and did so and more also to make up for the coin lost in pardoning trunks.
 Bob Hudgens, a negro, wound up the excitement. Bob during the swell tering days of the last two months of summer. was an adjunct of the city wagon that went about capturing un- homed canines. Bob knew every mig ger dog in the city by reputation, if not personally. and great was the havoc he wrought in the ranks of the serenaders of the moon.
 Because of the activities of Bob and his net an undercurrent of resentment grew and thEobbed, and the owners of the erstwhile coon chasers and possum finders swore individually among themselves a great oath to cause Bob much grievance as soon as he ceased to be a member of the municipal fam fly.
 Bob has felt the sting of vindictive ostracism, has heard the whirr of a brick passing his head on dark nights He found wads of hair in his hominy, bit into toothbrush handles in his cornbread, and scanned his bed hourly at night with matches searching for the red-Cpated enemy.
 Every little species of torment any mind of African origin could devise were heaped upon him. and tle clima9 came Tuesday night in a pool game Rob leaned over the table to take long shot and "Whack! The we'll grown end of a cue landed on his de- voted head. When he came to he ac' cused Ben Williams. al negro. or th' foul deed. and had Ben pinehed' hu
 witnesses testified that Ben had peer in another part of town when the DION was struck, So nursing the miniature Chimborazo on the port side Of hi' CO.oanut. Bob mourned his way ou If court.. "unwept, unhonored and uh sung