The Press., 1911-12-20

"I rode down to Ehar I could see two or three miles an sot on my 1 hose, lookin' down de road Fust thing knew sor nigger gal Iookin' frOu de rails ob de fence. She war smilin' at me, showin' her teeth lak an alligator's jaw. An she says, 'Wha' yo' doin' dar?' An I says, .Watchin' fo' de Yanks.' An she says, 'Wha' yo' watchin' fo' de Tanks fo'Y An l says, To wan ma mars if dey come
 'She talks to me awhile. an bimeby. she says, Come down dar an l glib yO' some applejack.' l war all tired out ridin' so had an powerful thirsty, but say, I don't want no applejack.' Yes, yo' do,' she says. I kin see yo' mouf waterin' fo' it. Go way an let me alone,' I says.
 "Do yO' know wha' dat gal did3 She p'inted to de house whar de apple jack war, an she says, I keep watch fO' yO' while yo' go down an get drink fell under de temptation an. lak a fool, left dat gal to watch an went down to de house an filled ma canteen with de applejack. Same time tux long drink. l war gittin' ready to go back when l hearn a chatter ob critters hoofs on de road above an saw a lot ob bluecoats gallopin' past toward de house whar Mars Harry war writin' the Tub letter to Missy Della,
 'I want to kill somebody sartin. l got on ma hose an, ridin' back to de road. saw de gal dot brought de trouble on me skulkin' away. l fired ma re- vOlver at her. Den l rode on. follerin' de Tanks. I hearn shootin' ahead, but when got to de house whar Mars Harry was writin' he Tub letter de sOjers war all gone. But dar beside de road saw what hants me eber since.'
 He put his hand to his eyes as if to shut out some painful sight. Presently he moaned:
 Mars Harry layin' dar shot dead"
 For that few minutes he had been tempted to relax his waLchfulneSS he was paying a lifelong penalty. Possi- bly, he had dwelt upon his fault so long that 1t had affected his mind. I wondered at the love this black man had for one whom he considered so far his superior-the daughter of the man who had owned him and could have sold him as a horse or a dog.
 "T knelt down beside him." he con tinued. ''an' called to him: Mars Har- ry. come to life ag'in an femme l'e daid in yO' place. cain't live to face Missy Della nohow. How l gwine to go through life with this curse OH me? Come back, Mars Harry; come back fo' Missy Della. She cain't gn through de worl' without yo'.'
 "But he didn't wake up no mo. an when see it want no use talkin' to him I tux him up an carried him into de house. An then got a wagon an driv him to de plantation.
 He made an effort to tell me of his reception there. but failed.
 How did your mistress treat you after the misfortuneY' l asked.
 "Misfo'tune! Dat want no misfo'- tune: dat war yieldin' to temptation. Is one ob de goats dat is tooken from de sheep. Elf 1 hadn't listened to dat gal Mars Harry wouldn't "a got kin ed. didn't hab de courage to go back to de plantation fo' long time; den ] sneaked in among de udder niggers an hid in de ban. Some nigger sor me an tole Missy Della was come home. She hearn all about how Mars Harry got killed, an thar want anything fO' me to 'fess. She sent fo' me to come up to de house. My legs ha'dly car ried me dar. Missy Della war standin' by herself in de hall. I stood at de do. When she sor me she put up her han chekuff to her eyes an held out her hand to me. She didn't say wod, but 1 knowed she fo'gib me.
 Dat didn't do me no good" he con tinued after a pause, "'cause l didn't fo'gib maself'
 'Is your mistress living at the plan tation house now?' 1 asked.
 '1 reckon she is dar or l wouldn't be hyar. Much as I respec' mars. l wouldn't stay hyar if missy war away. doin' penance. De plantation run nin' down since de prockelmation. De niggers dat laks to wo'k Iaks to wo'k fo' hairselves. De udders won't wO'k nohow. Bi'mby all go to de debbil den 1 glib my 'arnin's to missy"
 At that moment a woman dressed in deep mourning came out of the front door of the manor house and stood looking pensively on the landscape
 "Dat Missy Delia.' said Julius. look ing at the lady. the usual melancholy of his eye intensified. 'She neber git | ober it. l neber git ober it. She war strucken in de heart: war strucken in de feelin' In de day see missy mow'nin': in the night wake up an see Mars Harry lyin' dead in de road"
 Teaching the Teacher.
 The teacher of the first grade in the district Si hool in the cattle country | had much trouble with the six-year-old boy who was the sole member of that | grade. The boy is the son of a cattle | man. After d week or so of refusal l to learn the alphabet the teacher said l
 Johnny. if you do not learn your letters you never will know any thing'
 "Shucks" replied Johnny. "I know more'n you do."
 ''Why, Johnny. what do you mean by such laIk?' gasped the teacher. ''I never heard of Such i.npudence.''
 Johnny bolted for he blackboard | and drew half a dozen cattle brands the Flying ID. the Lazy E. he Trian- gle Dot. the Lazy Crutch. the Bar : and some others.
 Whats them!'' he asked.
 The teacher couldn't guess.
 SsWoI1 p uoid Inhnnv ~vopp tolly 10 me no more about them things you call letters when you cant tell cattle brands apart" = Saturday Evening Post.
 Drunkenness in China.
 As regards the sobriety of the Chi nese there seems to be difference of flniIlifnn md if iS