Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1910-06-09

|
kee guns, an got to go back to look
out To- mist'ess an de chin on de
| plantation. l t'ink nobody hab said
! nothin' bout Yankee sojers bein' souf
Of Nashville, so dat can't be Yankee
guns. Dat make it sartin dat it's
thunder. Git up, Bill l says; I'm
| goin' on
"Fust off l had bad luck gittin' dar
when de funeral war goin' on. |
knowed 1 mustn't wait but sor Ben,
| de niger wha' had de secon chanct
befo' de widder married Nose, crowd
In In to gilt de fust chanct now, an
dat made me hot to git ahead OBJ him.
He sor me an come up to me- an he
says, says he. Tom. yo' want de wild
derT Yes l says, says l, does
| Got Mars Phillips p'missionT No.
! l says, I hain't.' Il hab,' he says.
81 t'ink nothin' could be done twill
Mars Phillips for omission. Mars
Phillips knowed me-he t'ink mighty
fine nigger-so he glib me de omission.
an | went back to de cabin wha' de
widdcr jist come home from the fu-
neral. Dare l see dat Niger Ben jist
comm out. He looked at me kind o
qua, but goes in de cabin.
"'How yo' do, TomT says de widder,
says she.
GLOW yo' do yoselfT says 1. 4
reckon yo' feel porely, seein' yo' los
yo' man.
Eyes. | nebber git anudder sich
man as dat. lie war mighty fine man
"'You mought try says l. 'Yo know
l wanted yo' befo' yo' married Nose
"'Reckon yo' did
"'An' want yo now
"'Yo mighty hatterin', Tom says
she, an mought be willin', but yo're
too late. l jis' promised Ben a few
minute befo' yo KEN in
Il got up mighty quick an says
goodby an was goin out when de
widder called me back an says, says
she:
"If Ben goes to glory befo' me I'll
TAX yo. Tom. Dom feel bad bout 1t.
Yo' turn'll come sho'.'
when l goes out l see wha' l
gwine done-leaben mist'ess an de chill
'en to go lax a fool after n oman wild
anudder niger ahead o. me, an
knowed well enough dat de guns
hearn off In de east dat mawnin' at
sun up war Yankee guns. 1t war de
debbil tole ME dey war thunder. | jis'
mounted Bill, an | lam him twill
got to de plantation. 1t war full O.
Yankee sojers.
"Dey had gone into de manor house
an war runnin' off wild all de silber
an ali de furniture an clothes dey
could kerry When l come up mist'ess
war standin' on de gallery, lookin'
dreful.
Tom she said, 'whar yo' been?
A man rode up to de plantation at
o'clock dis mawnin' an tole US de
Yankees was marchin' down de pike to
Huntsville. knowed dey'd be here to-
day, an / wanted yo' to hide de val'a-
bles.'
Il 'membered Kunnel Coolidge stand
in in dat same place on de gallery an
sayin' to me, Tom, I'm gwine to leab
my family under yo' car l just
ris' 1t up since.
Dem sojers come from anudder
kentry wha' dey been used to kerry of
all de val dey kin git dere hands
on, an dey Jis' cleaned out de town an
all de plantations round 1t. Eberyt'ing
Mars Coolidge lef' in my car war
tooken, 'cladin' de pianny. Eff hadn'
N ENnr
busy buryin' her fus' husban' an had
'mcmbered wha' Kunnel Coolidge said
to me an what | said to Kunnel Coo
lid-e I'd been thar to hide all de val
ab!es. l had place all fixed fo' dat
away up in de trunk o. one o de trees
whI dere war rotten hole. war
goin to put 'em In box I'd made TO
'em a purpose, an had ladder ready
70 to git up to de hole, that war xiv
cred all over wild branches. But goin'
after dat wilder dat didn' git nohow
KEEP me from doin' all dis, an l hain't
nebber fo'give' myself nohow."
Tom finished his story, looking more
distressed If possible than before. l
gave him something to help him to
feel better and asked:
Are you still hoping for third place
with the widow"
Reckon not" he replied. EFF l
marry dat oman l hab my sin always
befo' me-"
On leaving Tom ! told him he had
better get married and have family
of his own. II miEht ease the burden
he bore. He needn't wait for the wo-
man who had slipped twice through
his fingers. There were plenty of good
women left.
But Tom said he had never loved but
one woman, and he believed he would
always have i'll luck in proposing to
her
left Tom as melancholy as when I
first saw him. But Il couple of years
later | returned ana found him trihe
more cheerful. The second husband of
his love had died, and Tom was No. 3.
l asked him if he had hurried away to
put in his claim on hearing that she
was In the market again.
"No, sah,'' he replied very sobery.
There war lots o time. Shed had de
smallpox"
Westminster Abbey.
The full! loyal title Of Westminster
abbey is the Collegiate Church of St
Peter. Westminster Very few peo-
pie have heard the famous burial place