By P. M. HALE.
- -.- .i u .
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may be made at the office of tha
i-
RALEIGH REGISTER,
Second Floor of' Fisher Building, Fayetteville
Street, next1 to Market House.
VOL. II.
RALEIGH, N: C, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 1885.
NO. 78.
OFFICB;
Fij-etteville St., Second Floor Fisher Bulletin.
KATKS Of 8CB8CRIBTION :
one copy one year, mailed, port-paid .. ;'.2 00
Oue copy six months, mailed poet-paid J, 1 go
jr No name entered without payment, and
oo par1- 801,1 ftler xPlrt!on of timej paid for.
- 1 i" 1 1 . . in.
WHEN JACK ITALL ANDTWERTT.
Good Words.!
Wheu Jack is tail and twenty,
We know what Jack will do,
With girl so sweet and plenty,
He'll find him one to woo.: '
And soon the lovers' twilight .
Will bear a story told, 1
And Jack will die or fly sky-high. ;
For sake of hair of gold. '
Hearken, Jack, and heed me-
Ponder what I say t ' '
'Tis fools are sold for locks of gold, " ; "'
For gold will turn to gray.
But Jack; If troth be spoken,
Is simple Jack no more ;
If gold his heart has broken,
Tis scarce the gold of yore."
He wots of dowrfor daughters.. '
Not all in ringlets roll'd ; ' .
To beauty steel'd, his heart will yield
To stamped and minted' gold.
Hearken, Jack, and heed me
Fonder what I say 1
If gold bath wing, as poet jsiug, ,
Then gold may fleet away, .
When Jack goes forth a-wooing, ' 'J
If Jack has heart or head,
Aud would not soon be rueing
The hour that saw him wed,
ile will not pine for graces,
Nor cringe for wealth to hold,
But strive and dare by service fair
To win a heart of gold.
Hearken, Jack, and beed me . ,
Ponder what I say 1
The gear will fly, the bloom will die,
But love will lat for aye.
VARIETIES or tfOl'IHKBxN HFE.,
A-Playln' of Old Sled ait the Settle
int.
(Misa Murfree.! ,
" I hev hearn tell es how them thar boss
rides thar horses over hyar ter the Settles
mint nigh ou ter every sight in the week
ter play kyerds Old Sledge,' they calls
it ; an' thar goin's-o'n air jes scandalous
jes' a-drinkin' of apple-jack, an' a-bcttin'
f thar money."
It was a lonely place: a sheer precipice
ou one side of the road that curved to its
verge ; on the other, an ascent : so abrupt
that the tall stems of the pines seemed laid
upon the ground as they were marshaled
in serried columns up the slope. No broad
landscape was to be seen from this great
projecting ledge of the mountain; the val
ley was merely a little basin, walled in on
every side by the meeting ranges that rose
so high as to intercept all distant prospect,
and narrow the world to the contracted
area bounded by the sharp lines. of their
wooded summits, cut hard and clear against
the blue sky. But for the toad, it would
have seemed impossible that these wild
steeps should be the chosen haunt of aught
save deer, or bear, or fox ; and certainly
the instinct of the eagle built that eyrie
called the Settlement, still higher, far
above the towering pine forest. It might
be accounted a tribute to the enterprise of
Old Sledge that mountain barriers proved
neither let nor hindrance, and here in the
fastnesses was held that vivacious sway,
potent alike to fascinate and to scandalize.
In the middle of the stony road stood a
group of roughly-clad mountaineers, each
in an attitude of sluggish disinclination to
the allotted task of mending the highway,
leaning lazily upon a grubbing-hoe or sorry
spade except, indeed, the overseer, who
was upheld by the single crowbar furnished
by the county, the only sound implement
in use among the party, i The provident
dispensation of the law, leaving the care
of the road to the tender mercies of its
able-bodied neighbors over eighteen and
under forty-five years of age,' was a god
send to the Settlement and to the inhabit
ants of the tributary region, ia'that even
if it failed of the immediate design of se
curing a tolerable pass way through the
woods, it served the far more important J
purpose of drawing together the diversely
scattered settlers, and affording them un
wonted conversational facilities. These
meetings were well-attended, although
their results were often sadly inadequate.
To-day the usual complement of laborers
was on hand, except the three boys whose
scandalous susceptibility to the mingled
charms of Old Sledge aud apple-jack had
occasioned comments -; - i
' They'll hev ter b fined, ef they don't
take keer an' come an' work," remarked
the overseer of the road, one Tobe Rains,
who reveled in a little brief authority.
" From what I hev hearn tell 'boat thar
. goin's-on, none of 'em is a-goin' ter hev '
nuthin' ter pay fines with,' when they gits
done with thar foolin' an'-secn,'" said Ab- i
ner Blake, a man of weight and importance,
and the eldest of the party.
It did not seem to occur to any of the
group that the losses among the three card
players served to enrich one of the num
ber, and that the deplorable wholesale in
solvency shadowed forth was not likely to
ensue in substance. Perhaps their fatuity
in this regard arose from the fact that
fining the. derelict was not an actuality,
although sometimes of avail as a threat.
" An' we hev ter leave everythink whar
it full down, an' come hyar ter do thar
work fur 'em a-flxin' up of this hyar road
fur thtm ter travel," exclaimed Tobe Rains,
attempting to chafe himself into a rage.
" It's got ter (iiit that's what I say; this
hyar way of doin' hev got ter quit."' By
y of lending verisimilitude to the indus
trial figure of rhetoric, he lifted his ham
mer and dealt an ineffectual blow at a
large bowlder. Then he . picked up his
crowbar, and, leaning heavily on the im
pit-merit, resigned himself to the piquant
interest of gossip. ''An' thar's that Jo
siah Tait," he continued, "a settled mar
fed man, a-behavin' no better'n them fool
ta's- He hain't struck a lick of work fur
nigh on tera month 'ceptin' a-goin' hunt
with the t'others, every wunst in a
hil lie hev jes' pulled through at the
I'ttle tend of the horn. I never sot much
Hore by him, nohow, though when he war
married ter Melindy Price, nigh 'bout a
year ago, the folks all 'lowed ez shc'Tvar
"-doin' mighty well ter git him, ez he war
toler'ble well-off Ihrmmh hia folks all bein'
i( "d but him, an' he hed what he hed his
,Jnself.'
" I wouldn't let my darter marry no man
t'z plays kverds." said a verv vouner fellow.
with great decision of manner, "no matter
"'"t he bed, nor how he hed it."
As the lady referred to was only two
eeks old, and this solicitude concerning
''er matrimonial disposition was somewhat
l'reniatuie, there was a good-natured guf
faw at tl,,. ..,. rii v. .nn
' ' n' .. m m I Tl II r $
Jsiah keeps on the wav ez he hev started,
nt hain't a-goin' ter hev no more'n the
ther boys round the mounting mebbe
Egbert Craddock (MiM Murlree)t ninth
'U : Boston llnuirhtin Mifllia & Co.:
Vork. It F.axt Hvntvnth ftlreet i The
iverside Frew, Cambrfdjre. 1885. s 16nao. Cloth,
V u or by all bookartlen, or tnafled by
l"t Publishers on receipt of the price. .
"In
t'lurl
wtitk
.N
not ez moch-ilau' Melindy Price hed better
nev a-tuken somebody what owned less, but
hed a harder grip." ,
A long silence fell upon the party. Three
or the twenty men assembled, in dearth of
anything -else to do, took heart of grace,
and fell to work ; fifteen leaned upon their
noes in a variety of postures, all equally
expressive .of sloth, and,' with slow eves,
followed the graceful sweep of a hawk,
drifting on the wind, without a motion of
Jta wings, across the blue sky to!the oppo
site range. Two, one of whom was the
overseer, searched their pockets for a plug
of tobacco, and when it was found its pos
sessor gave to him that lacked. At length,
Abner Blake, who furnished all the items
of news, and led the conversation, removed
his eyes from the flight of the hawk, as the
bird -was absorbed in the Variegated Octo
ber foliage of the opposite mountain,9 and
reopened the discussion. At the first word
the three who were w6rking paused in at
tentive quietude; the fifteen changed their
position to one still more restful the over
seer sat down on a bowlder by the road
side, nnd placed his contemplative elbows
on his knees and his chin in his hands
" I hearn tell, " said Abner Blake, with
the pleasing' consciousness of absorbing
the attention of the company, and being
able to meet high expectations, ez how
Josiah hev los that' thar brindled heifer
ter Budd Wray, an' the main heft of his
crap of corn. But mebbe he'll take a turn
now an' win 'cm back agin. "
" Toin't likely," remarked Tobe Rains.
"No, Hain't, ' coincided the virtuous
fifteen. ; '
' The industrious -three, who might have
done better in",better company, went to
work again for the space of a few minutes;
but the next inarticulate gurgle, prelimi
nary always to. Blake's speech a sort of
rMng-belt't ting up somnolent attention
brought them once more to a stand
still. ' - '
" An' cornsideriri.ez how Budd Wray
he it war ez ;won 'em: I seen the heifer
aion.
g o the cow ter his house yestiddy
nn, ez I war a-com in' from a-h
evem
yander ter the sulphur spring an' cornsid
erin' ez he is huthin, but a single man, an'
haint got no wife, it do look mighty grasp
in' ter be a-takin' from a man ez hev got a
wife an' a houseful of his wife's kinsfolks
tolookarter. Mighty graspin', it 'pears
like ter me. "
"I s'pose," said one of the three
workers suggestively "I s'pose ez how
Budd won it fair. Twarn't no onder
hand job, war it ? "
There was a portentous silence. The
flight of the,hawk,again floating above the
mountains, now in the shadow of the rest
ing clouds, now in the still sunshine, was'
the only motion in the landscape. The
sudden bark of a fox in the woods near at
hand smote the air shrilly.
" That thar ain't for me ter say, " Blake
replied at last, with significant emphasis.
The suspicion fell upon the party like a
revelation, with an auxiliary sense of sur
prise that it had not been earlier presented,
so patent was the possibility.
Still that instinct of justice latent in the
human heart kept the pause unbroken for
a while. Then Blake, whose information
on most points at issue entitled him to
special consideration, proceeded to 'give
his opinion on the subject : " I'm a per
fessin' member of the church, an' dunno
one o them thar kyerds from t'other; an'
what is more, I ain't a-wantin' ter know.
I hev seen 'em a-playin' wunst, an' I hearn
'em a-talkin' that thar foolishness 'bout 'n
' high ' an' ' low, ' an' sech they'll all be
low enough 'fore long. But what I say is,
I dunno how come Josiah Tait, what's al
ways been a peart, smart boy, an' his dad
afore him always war a thrivin' man, an
Budd Wray war never nobody'nor nuthin'
he war always mighty no'-count, him an'
all his folks 1an' what I dunno is, how
come he kiu git the upper hand of Josiah
Tait at these hyar kyerds, an can't git it
no other way. Ef he keeps on a-playin'
of Old Sledge hyar at the Settlemint, he'll
be worth ,"ez much ez .anybody on the
mounting what's done been a-workin' all
thar days, an' hed a toler'ble start ter be
gin with. It don't look fair an' sensible
ter me. "
" 'Pears like ter me, " said the very
young fellow, father of the very young
daughter, " cf a man is old enough ter
git married, he is old enough to take keer
of hissclf. I kin make out no good
reason why josiah Tait oughter be perfec
ted agin Budd Wray. 'Pears ter me ef
one of 'em kin lam ter play Old Sledge,
the t'other kin. An' Josiah hev got toler'
ble good sense.
" That's how come all ye young musk
rats dunno nuthin', " retorted Blake in
some heat. "Jes' let one of you-uns git
turned twenty years old, an' ye think ye
air ez wise an'cz settled as ef ye war sixty,
an' ye can't Tarn nuthin' more. M
" All the same, I don't see ez Josiah Tait
needs a dry-nuss ter keep off Wray an'
sech critters, " was the response. And
here this controversy ended.
" Somehow; " said Tobe. Rains, reflec
tively, " it don't look likely ter me ez be
an' Josiah Tait hev enny call ter be sech
frien'ly folks. I hev hearn ez how Budd
Wray war a-followin' round Melindy Price
afore she war married, an' she liked him
fustrate till Josiah tuk to coinin' 'bout 'n
the Scrub-Oak Ridge, whar she lived in
them days. That thar ain't the stuff ter
make frien's out'n. Thar is some sort 'n
cur'ous doin's a-goin' on. 'bout'n these hyar
frien'ly kyerds. " . - :. : -
"I knowed that thar 'bout 'n his a-fol-lowln'
round Melindy afore she was mar
ried. I 'lowed ode time as Melindy hed a
mind ter marry Wray stiddier Josiah, "
said the young father, shaken in his parti
sanship. " An' it always 'parcd ter me
ez it war mighty comical ez he an' Josiah
tuk terplayin of Old Pledge and sech to
gether. "
These questions were not easy of solu
tion. Many speculations were preferred
concerning the suspicious circumstances
of Budd Wray's singular proficiency in
flaying Old Sledge; but beyond dispara
ging innuendo and covert insinuation con
jecture could not go. Everything was left
doubtful, and so was the rood.
It was hardly four o'clock, but the lan
guid work had ceased and the little band
vf as dispersing. Some had far to go
through the deep woods to their homes,
and those who lived closer at hand were
not disoosed to atone for their comrades'
defection by prolonging their stay. The
echoes for a long time vibrated among the
lonely heights with the metallic sounds of
their horses' hoofs, cvtry moment becom
ing fainter, until at last all was hushed.
Dusky shadows, which seemed to be ex
haled from the ground, rose higher up the
mountain side from the reservoir of gloom
that lay in the valley. The 'sky was a
lustrous contrast fo the darkling, earth.
The sun still lingered, large and red,
above the western - summits; the' clouds
about were eorgeous in : Borrowed color;
even those hovering in t lie east had caught
the reflection of the sunset splendor, and
amone their gold and' crimson flakes
swmsr' the silver grobc ' of thd hunter's
moon. Plow ana men, at long intervals,
the bark of the fox quivered on the air;
once the laurel stirred with a faint rustle,
and a deer stood in the midst of the ill
mended road, catching upon his spreading
antlers the mingled light of sun and moon.
For a moment he was motionless, his hoofs
uplifted; the next, with an elastic spring,
as of a creature without weight, he was
flying up the steep slope and disappearing
amid the slumberous shades of the dark
pines. A sudden, sound comes from far
along the curves of the road a sound
foreign to woods and stream and sky;
again, and yet again, growing constantly
more distinct, the striking of iron against
stone, the quick, regular beat of a horse's
tread, and an equestrian figure, facing
the moon and with the sun at his back,
rides between the steep ascent and the
precipice on his way to the Settlement and
the enticements of Old Sledge.
He was not the conventional type of the
roistering blade. There was an express
ion of settled melancholy on his face very
usual with these mountaineers, reflected,
perhaps, from the indefinable tinge of sad
ness that rests upon the Alleghany wilds,
that hovers about the purling mountain
tops, that broods over the silent woods,
that sounds in the voice of the singing
waters. Nor was he like the prosperous
"perfessin' member of the card-playing
cuke. His listless manner was that of
stolidity, not of a studied calm; his brown
leans suit was old and worn and patched;
his hat, which had seen many a drenching
winter rain and scorching summer sun,
had acquired sundry drooping curves un
dreamed of in its maker's philosophy. He
rode a wiry gray mare without a saddle,
and carried a heavy rifle. He was perhaps
twenty-three years of age, a man of great
strength and stature, and there were lines
about his lips and chin which indicated a
corresponding development of a firm will
and. tenacity of purpose. His slow brown
eyes were fixed upon the horizon as he
went around the ledge, and notwithstan
ding the languid monotony of the express
ion of his face he seemed absorbed in some
definite train of thought, rather than lost
in the vague, hazy reverie whichis the ha
bitual mental atmosphere of the quiescent
mountaineer. The mare, left to herself,
traveled along the rocky way in a debonair
fashion inplying a familiarity with worse
roads, and soon was around the curve and
beginning the sharp ascent which led to
the Settlement. There was a rickety bridge
to cross, that spanned a deep, narrow
stream, which caught among its dark
pools now a long, slender, polished lance
of sunlight, and now a dart from the moon.
As the rider went on upward the woods
were as dense as ever; no glimpse yet of
the signet of. civilization set upou the wil
derness and calK d the Settlement. By the
time he had reached the summit the last
red rays of the day were fading from the
tops of the trees, but the moon, full and
high in the eastern heavens, shed so reful
gent a light that it might be questioned
whether the sun rose on a brighter world
than that which he had left. A short
distance along level ground, a turn to the
right, and here, on the highest elevation
of the range, was perched the little town.
There was a clearing of ten acres, a black
smith's shop, four log huts facing indis
criminately in any direction, a small
store with one story and one room, and a
new frame court-house, whitewashed and
inclosed by a plank fence. In the last
session of the legislature, the Settlement
had been made the county-seat of a new
county; the additional honor of a name
had been conferred upon it, but as yet it
was known among the population of the
mountain by itfj time-honored and accus
tomed title.:
Wray dkmeuhted in front of'the store,
hitched the mare to a laurel bush, aud, en
tering, discovered his two boon compan
ions drearily waiting, and shuffling the
cards again and again to while away the
time. An inverted splint-basket served as
table; a tallow dip, a great extravagance
in these parts, blinked on the head of a
barrel near, by, and gave a most flickering
and ineffectual light, but the steady radi
ance of the moon poured in a wide, white
flood through the open door, and kindly
supplied all deficiencies. The two young
mountaineers were of the usual sad-eyedj
type, ana inejimpenaing iesuvmes migm
have seemed to those of a wider range of
experience tban the Settlement could fur
nish, to be clouded with a funereal aspect.
Before the fire 'burning low and sullenly
in the deep chimney, were sitting two; el
derly men, who looked with disfavor upon
Wray as he came in and placed his gun
with a clatter in the corner.
" Ye war a long time a gittin' hyar,
Budd,' said one of the card-shufflers in a
gentle voice, with curiously low-spirited
cadences. He spoke slowly, too, and with
a Blight difficulty, as if he seldom had oc
casion to express himself in words and his
organs were out of practice. He was the
proprietor of the store, one Tom Scruggs,
and this speech was by way of doing the
honors. The other looked up with recog
nizing eyes, but said nothing.
"I war hendered some," replied Wray,
seating himself in a rush-bottomed chair,
and drawing close to the inverted basket.
" Ez I war a-comin' along, 'bout haffen
mile an' better from our house 'twar nigh
on ter three o'clock, I reckon I seen the
bigges', fattes' buck I hev seen this yeai
a-bouncin' through the laurel, an' I shot
him. An' I hed to kerry him 'long home,
'kasc suthiu mought hev got him ef I bad
a-Ieft him thar. An' it hendered me some."
" An' we hev ter sit hyar a-wastiu' away
an' a-waitiu while yo goes a-huntin' of
deer," said Josiah Tait, angrily, and speak
ing for the first time. " I could hev gone
an' shot twenty deer ef I would hev tuk
the time. Ye said cz how ye war a-goin'
ter be hyar an hour by sun, an' jes' look
a-yander," pointing to the lustrous fMsc of
the moon.
"That thar moon war high enough 'fore
the sun war a-settin'," leturned Wray.
" Ef ye air in sech a hurry, whyn't yer cut
them thai kyerds fur deal, an' stop that
thar jowin o' your'n... I hev hed ez much
of that ez I am a-goin' ter swallow."
" I'll put it down ye with the ramrod o'
that thar gun o" mine, ef ye don't take
keer how ye talk," retorted the choleric
Tait; "an' ef that don't set easy on yer
stomach 1 11 sec bow ye ll digest a bullet."
"I'm a-waitin' fur yer ramrod," said
Wray. "Jes" try that fust, an' see how it
works.
"The melancholy voiced store-keeper in
terrupted these amenities, not for the sake
of peace white-winged angel but in the
interests of Old Bleage. "jsi I neq
a-knowed ez how ye two boys war a-goin'
ter take ter quarrelin' an' a-fightin' round
a . ... i . r .1
nyar, a-stiuuier piayin oi Kyerus sensiuie
like, I wouldn't hev shet up shop so quick.
I hed a good many little turns of work ter
do, what I hev lef ter play kyerds. An
ye two mought jow tergether some other
day, it 'pears like ter me. Ye air a-wastin'
more time a-jowin', Josian, tnan Budd tux
up in' comin' an deer huntin' tergether,
Ye het cut the lowest in the pack, so deal
thtfkveVda. or crive 'em ter them ez will."
The suggestion to resign the deal touched
Josiah in a tender spot. He protested that
he was only too willing to play that was
all he wanted. " But ter be kep' a-waitin'
hyar while Budd comes a-sn'akin' through
the woods, an' a stoppin' ter shoot wild
varmints an' sech, an' then a-goin' home
ter kerry 'em, an' then a-sn'akin' agin
through the woods, an' a-gittin' hyar nigh
on ter night time that's what riles rnc"
"Waal, go 'long, now!" exclaimed
Wray, fairly roused out of his imperturba
bility. ""Deal them kyerds, an' step
a-talkin'. That thar tongue o' your'n will
git cut out some o' these hyar days. It
jes' goes like a grist-mill, an' it's enough
ter make a man deaf fur life."
Thus exhorted, Josiah dealt. In receiv
ing their hands the players looked search
ingly at every card, as if indoubtf ul recog
nition of an old acquaintance; but before
the game was fairly begun, another-Interruption
occurred. One of the elderly men
beside the fire rose and ndvanced upon the
party.
"Thar is a word ez we hev laid off ter
ax ye, Budd Wray, which will be axed
twict wunst right hyar, an' wunst at the
Jedgmint Day. War it ye ez interjuced
this hyar coal o' fire from hell, that ye call
Old Sledge, up hyar ter the Settlemint f "
The querist was a gaunt, forlorn-looking
man, stoop-shouldered, and slow in his
movements. There was, however, a dis
tinct intimation of power in his lean,
sinewy figure, and his face bore the scarlet
scar of a wound torn by a furious fang,
which, though healed long ago, was an
ever-present reminder of a fierce encounter
with a wild beast, in which he had come
off victorious. The tones of his voice and
the drift and rhetoric or his speech be
spoke the loan of the circuit-rider.
The card-players looked up, less in sur
prise than exasperation, and Josiah Tait,
fretfully anticipating Wray, spoke in re
ply: "No, he never. I fotched this hyar
coal o' fire myself, an' ef ye don't look out
an' stand back out'n the way, it'll flare up
an' singe ye. I larnt how ter play when I
went down yander ter the Cross Roads,
an' I brung it ter the Settlemint myself."
There was a mingled glow of the pride
of the innovator and the disdainful superi
ority of the iconoclast kindling within Jo
siah Tait as he claimed the patent for Old
Sledge. The catechistic terrors of the Last
Day had less reality for him than the present
honor and glory appertaining to the trav
eled importer of a new game. The Judg
ment Day seemed imminent over his dodg
ing head only when beholding the master
ly scene-painting of the circuit-nder, and
the fire and brimstone out of sight wdre
out of mind.
" But ef ye air a-thiukin' of callin' me
ter 'count fur sech," said Wray, nodding
at the cards, "I'll hev ye ter know ez I
kin stand up ter anything I does. I hev
got no call ter be ashamed of myself, an' I
ain't afeard o' nuthin' an' nobody."
"Ye gin me ter onderstand, then, ez
Josiah l'arned ye ter play ? " asked the
self-constituted grand inquisitor. " How
come, then, Budd Wray, ez ye wins all
the truck from Josiah, ef ye air jes' a-l'arn-in'
? "
There was an angry exclamation from
Josiah, and Wray laughed out triumphant
ly. The walls caught the infrequent mirth
ful sound, and reverberated with a hollow
repetition. From the dark forest just be
yond the moon-flooded clearing the echo
rang out. There was a subtle, weird in
fluence in those exultant tones, rising and
and falling by fitful 6tarts in that tangled,
wooded desert; now loud and close at
hand ; now the faintest whisper of a sound.
The men all turned their slow eyes toward
the sombre shadows, so black beneath the
silver moon, and then looked at each
other.
" It's 'bout time fur me ter be a-start-
in'," said the old hunter. "Whenever I
bear them critters a-laffin' that thar way in
them woods, I puts out fur home an' bars
up the door, fur I hev hearn tell ez how
the sperits air a-prowlin' round then, an
some mischief is a-happcninV
" 'Tain't nuthia: but Budd Wray a-laf
fin'," said the storekeeper, reassuringly.
"I hev hearn them thar rocks an' things
a-answerin' back every minute in the day,
when anybody hollers right loud. 7 . ,
" They don t laff, though, like they war
a-laffin' jes' a while ago."
" No, they don't,'1 admitted the store
keeper, reluctantly ; "but mebbe it air
'kase thar is nobody round hvar cz hev
got much call ter laff."
He was unaware of the lurking melan
choly in this speech, and it passed unno
ticed by the otners.
". It s this hyar a-foolin along of Old
Sledge an' sech ez calls the sperits up,"
said the old hunter. "Ab' ef ye knows
what air good fur ye, ye'll light out from
hyar an' go home. They air a-laffin' yit "
He interrupted nimselt and glanced outoi
the door.
The faintest staccato laugh thrilled from
among the leaves. And then all was silent
not even the bark of a dog nor a tremu
lous whisper of the night-wind.
The other elderly man, who had not yet
spoken, rose from his seat by the fire.
" I'ma-gom', too," he said. " I kera hyar
ter the Settlemint," he added, turning
upon the gamblers, " 'kase I hev been
called ter warn ye o' the wickedness o' yer
ways, ez Jonah afore me war tolc ter go up
ter Nineveh ter warn the folks thar."
" Things turns out . powerful cur'ons
wunst in awhile, " retorted Wray. " He
war swallowed by a whale arterwards."
" 'Ease he would n't do ez he war tolc;
but even thar Providence pertected him.
He kem out 'n the whale agin, what no
body kin do cz gits swallowed in the pit.
They hev ter stay. "
" It hain't me ez keeps up this hyar
game, " said Wray sullenly, but stung to
a slight repentance by this allusion to the
pit. " It air Josiah hyar cz is a-aimin ter
win back the truck he hev los' ; an' so air
Tom, hyar. I hev hed toler'ble luck along
o' this Old Sledge, but they know, an'
they hev got ter stand up ter it, cz I never
axed none of 'em ter play. Ef they scor
ches tharselves with this hyar coal o' fire
from hell, ez ye calls it, Josiah brung
it, an it airTom an' him a-blowin' on" itez
hev kep' it a light. " .
"I ain't a-goiu ter quit," said Josiah
Taitv angrily, the loser's desperate eager
ness pulsing hot and quick through his
veins " I ain't a-goin' ter quit till I gits
back that thar brindled heifer an' that thar
gray mare out yander, what Budd air a
ridin', an' them thar two wagon-loads o'
corn."
" We hev said our say, an' we air a-goin'
" remarked one of the unheeded coun
selors. "
" An' play on of yer kyerds! " cried Jo
siah to the others, in . a louder, shriller
voice than was his wont; as the two elder
ly men stepped out of the door. The
woods caught the sound and gave it back
in a higher key.
"S'pose we stops fer ter-night, " sug
gested the store-keeper;"?' them thar rocks
do sound sort 'n cur'ous now. " .
" I ain't a-soinr ter stoD fur nuthin. an'
nobody ! " exclaimed Josiah, in a tremor
of keen anxiety to be at the sporty "Dad
burn the sperits! Let 'em come in an' I'll
deal 'em a hand. Thar I that trick is mine.
Play ter this hyar queen o' trumps.
The royal lady was recklessly thrown
upon the basket, with all her foes in am
bush. Somehow, they did not present
themselves. Tom was destitute, ana Budd
followed with the seven. Josiah again
pocketed the trick with unction. This
trifling success went disproportionately far
in calming his agitation, and for a time
he played more needfully. Tom Scruggs's
caution made ample amends for his lack
of experience. So slow was he, and so
much time did he require for considera
tion, that more than once he roused his
companions to wrath. The anxieties with
which he was beset preponderated over the
pleasure, afforded by the sport, and the
winning back of a half-bushel measure,
which he had placed in jeopardy and lost,
so satisfied this prudent soul that he an
nounced at the endof the game that hewould
play no more for this evening. The others
were welcome, though, to continue if they
liked, and he would sit by and look on. He
snuffed the blinking tallow dip, and re
seated himself, an eager spectator of the
play that followed.
Wray was a cool hand. Despite the awk
ward, unaccustomed clutch upon cards
and the doubtful recognition he bestowed
on each as it fell upon the basket, he dis
played an imperturbability and nerve that
usually comes only of long practice, and
singular pertinacity in pursuing the line of
tactics he had marked out lying in wait
and pouncing unerringly upon his prey in
the nick of time. The brindled heifer's
mother followed her offspring into his
ownership; a yoke of oxen, a clay-bank
filly, ten hogs every moment he was grow
ing richer. But his success did not for an
instant shake his stolid calm, quicken his
blood, nor relax his vigilant attention ; his
exultation was held well in hand under the
domination of a strong will and a settled
purpose. Josiah Tait became almost mad
dened by these heavy losses; his hands
trembled, his eager exclamations were in
coherent, his dull eyes blazed at fever heat,
and evcrand'anon the echo of his shrill,
raised voice rang back from the untiring
rocks.
The single spectator of the game now
and then, in the intervals of shuffling and
dealing the cards, glanced over his shoul
der at the dark trees whence the hidden
mimic of the woods, with some strong
suggestion of sinister intent, repeated the
agitated tones. There was n silver line
all along the summit of the foliage, along
the roofs of the houses and the topmost
rails of the fences; a sense of freshness
and dew pervaded the air, and the grass
was all a-sparkle. The shadows of the
laurel about the door were beginning to
fall on the step, every leaf distinctly defin
ed in the moon's magical tracery. He'knew
without looking up that she had passed
the meridian, aud was swinging down the
western sky.
" Boys, " he said in a husky undertone
he dared not speak aloud, for the mock
er in the woods " boys, I reckon it's
'bout time we war a-quittin o' this hyar a
playin' of Old Sledge; it's midnight an'
past, in' Budd hev toler'ble fur ter go. "
The tallow dip, that had long been flick
ering near its end, suddenly went out,
and the party suffered a partial eclipse.
Josiah Tait dragged the inverted basket
closer to the door and into the full bril
liance of the moon, declaring that neither
Wray nor he should leave the house till he
had retrieved his misfortunes or lost every -th
ing in the effort. The host, feeling that
even hospitality has its limits, did not of
fer to light another expensive candle, but
threw a quantity of pineknots on the smoul
dering coala; presently a white blaze was
streaming up the chimney, and in the min
gled light of fire and moon the game went
on.
"Ye oughter take keer, Josiah," re
monst rated the sad voiced store-keeper,
as a deep groan and a deep curse empha
sized the result of high, jack and game for
Wray, and low alone for Tait. " An' it's
'bout time ter quit."
" Dad-bum -the luck!" exclaimed Jo
siah, in a bard, strained voice. " I ain't a
goin'ter leave this hyar spot till I hev won
back them thar critters o' mine what he
hev tuk. An' I kin do it I kin do it in
one more game. I'll bet I'll bet" he
paused in bewildered excitement; he had
already lost to Wray everything available
as a stake. There was a sudden unac
countable gleam of malice on the tacky
winner's face; the quick glance flashed in
the moonlight into the distended hot eyes
of his antagonist Wray laughed silently,
and began to push hW chair away from the
basket.
"Stop! stop!"' cried Josiah, hoarsely.
" I hev got a house a house an' fifty acres,
nigh about. I'll bet the house an land
agin what ye hev won from me them two
cows, an' the brindled heifer, an' the gray
mare, an' the clay-bank filly, an' them ten
hogs, an' the yoke o' steers, an' the wagon,
an' the corn them two loads o' corn: that
will 'bout make it even, won't it!"
He leaned forward eagerly as he asked
the question.
"Look a-hyar, Josiah, " exclaimed the
store-keeper, aghast, " this hyar is a-goin'
too furl Hain't yer los' enough a'ready
but ye must be a-puttin' up the- house
what shelters ye? Look at me, now: I
ain't done los' nothin' but the half-bushel
measure, an' I hev got it back agin. An'
it air a blessin' that I hev got it again, for
't would hev been mighty ill-convenient
round hyar 'thout it. "
"Will yer take it ' " said Josiah, almost
pleadingly, persistently addressing him
self to Wray, regardless of the remon
strant host. " Will ye put up the critters
agin the house an' land?"
Wray made a feint of hesitating. Then
he signified his willingness by seating
himself and beginning to deal the cards,
saying before he looked at his hand,
" That thar house an' land o' yourn agin
the truck ez I hev won from ye ? "
" Oh, Lord, boys, this must be sinful ! "
remonstrated the proprietor of the cher
ished half-bushel measure, appalled by the
magnitude of the interest involved.
" Hold yer jaw ! hold yer jaw ! " said
Josiah Tait. " I kin hardly make out one
kycrd from another while ye're a-prcachin'
away, same cz the rider ! I done tole ye,
Budd," turning again to Wray, "I'll put
up the house an land agin the truck. 1 11
git a deed writ fur ye in the raornin', cf
ye win it, he added, nastily, thinking he
detected uncertainty still lurking in the
expression of Wray's face. "The court
air a-goin' ter sit hyar ter-morrer, an' the
lawyers from the valley towns will be hyar
toler'ble soon, I reckon. An' 111 git yo a
deed writ fust thing in the mornin'."
"Ye. hearn him say it?" said Wray,
turning to Tom Scruggs.
. " I hearn him," was the reply.
And the game went on.
"I beg," said Josiah, piteously, after
carefully surveying his hand.
" I ain't a-goin', ter deal ye nare 'nother
kyerd," said Wray. , f Ye kin take a p'int
fust."
The; point was scored by the faithful
looker-on in Josiah's favor. High, low,
and game were made by Wray, jack being
in the pack. Thus the score was three to
one. In the next deal, the trump, a spade,
was allowed by Wray to stand!. He led
the king. "I'm low, anyhow," said Jo
siah, in momentary exultation, as he played
the deuce to it. Wray next led the ace,
whisking for the jack, and caught it.
"Dad-burn the rotten luck!" cried Jo
siah. With the advantage of high and jack a
foregone conclusion, Wray began to play
warily for game. But despite his caution
he lost the next trick. Josiah was in doubt
how to follow up this advantage ; after an
anxious interval of cogitation, he said, "I
b'lieve I'll throw away fur a while," and
laid that safe card, the five of diamonds,
upon the basket. "Tom," he added, " put
on some more o' them knots. I kin hardly
tell what I'm a-doin' of. I hev got the
shakes, an' somehow 'nother my eyes is
cranky, and wobble so ez I can't see."
The white sheets of flame went whizzing
merrily up the chimney, and the clear
light fell full upon the basket as Wray
laid upon the five the ten of diamonds.
"Lord ! Josiah !" exclaimed TomScruggs,
becoming wild, and even .more ill-judged
than usual, beginning to feel as if he were
assisting at his friend's obsequies, and to
have a more decided conviction that this
way of coming by house and land and cat
tle and goods was sinful. " Lord ! Josiah !
that thar kyerd he's done saved '11 count
him ten fur game. Ye had better hev
played that thar queen o' di'monds, an'
dragged it out'n him."
"Good Lord in heaven !" shrieked Jo
siah, in a frenzy at this unwarrantable dis
closure. " Lord in heaven ! " rang loud from the
depths of the dark woods. "Heaven!"
softly vibrated the distant heights. The
crags close at hand clanged back the sound,
ana tne air was rilled with repetitions of
the word, growing fainter and fainter, till
they might have seemed the echo of a
whisper.
1 he men neither heard nor heeded. Tom
Scruggs, although appreciating the depth
of the infamy into which he had unwit
tingly plunged, was fully resolved to stand
stoutly upon the defensive he even ex
tended his hand to take down his gun,
which was laid across a couple of nails on
the wall.
"Hold on, Josiah hold on!" cried
Wray, as Tait drew his knife. "Tom
never went fur ter tell, an' I'll give ye a
ten ter make it fair. Thar's the ten o'
hearts ; an' a ten is the mos' cz that thar
critter of a queen could hev made out ter
hev tuk, anyhow."
Josiah hesitated.
" That thar is the mos' ez she could hev
done," said the store-keeper, smoothing
over the results of his carelessness. " The
jacks don't count but fur one apiece, so
that thar ten is tne mos' ez she could hev
made out ter git, even ef I hedn't a-forgot
an' tole Budd she war in yer hand."
Josiah was mollified by this very equit
able proposal, and, resuming his chair, he
went on with the play. The ten of hearts
which he had thus secured was, however,
of no great avail in counting for game.
W ray bad already high and jack, and game
was added to these. The score therefore
stood six to two in his favor.
The perennial faith of the gambler in the
next turn of the wheel was strong in Jo
siah Tait. Despite his long run of bad
luck, he was still animated by the feverish
delusion that the gracious moment was
surely close at hand when success would
smile upon him. Wray, it"was true, need
ed to score only one point to turn him out
of house and land, homeless and penniless.
He was confident it would never be scored.
If he could make the four chances he would
be even with his antagonist, and then he
could win back in a single point all that
he bad lost. His face wore a haggard,
eager expectation, and the agitation of the
moment thrilled through every nerve. He
watched with nery eyes the dealing of the
cards, and, after hastily scrutinizing his
hand, he glanced with keen interest to see
the trump turned. It was a knave, count
ing one for the dealer. There was a mo
ment of intense silence; he seemed petri
fied as his eyes met the triumphant gaze of
his opponent. The next instant he was at
Wray s throat.
The shadows of the swaying figures
reeled across the floor, marring the exquis
ite arabesque of moonshine and laurel
leaves quick, hard panting, a deep oath,
and spasmodic efforts on the part of each
to draw a sharp knife prevented by the
strong intertwining arms of the Other.
The store-keeper, at a safe distance, re
monstrated with both, to no purpose, and
as the struggle could end only in freeing a
murderous hand, he rushed into the clear
ing, shouting the magical word "Fight!"
with all the strength of his lungs. There
was no immediate response, save that the
affrighted rocks rang with the frenzied
cry, and the motionless woods and the
white moonlight seemed pervaded with
myriads of strange, uncanny voices. Then
a cautious shutter of a glassless window
was opened, and through the. narrow chink
there fell a bar of red light, on which was
clearly defined an inquiring head, like an
inquisitively expressive silhouette. "They
air a-fightin' yander ter the store, whar
they air a-playin' of Old Sledge," said the
master of the shanty, for the enlighten
ment of the curious within. And then he
closed the shutter, and, like the law-abiding
citizen that he was, betook himself to
his broken rest. This was the only ex
pression of interest elicited.
A dreadtul anxiety was astir in tne store
keeper's thoughts. One of the men would
certainly be killed ; but he cared not so
much for the shedding of blood in the ab
stract as that the deed should be commit
ted on his premises at the dead of night;
and there might be such a concatenation
of circumstances, through the malefactor's
willful perversion of the facts, that suspi
cion would fall on him. The first circuit
court ever held in the new county would
be in session to-morrow ; and the terrors of
the law, deadly to an unaccustomed mind,
were close upon him. Finding no help
from without, he rushed back into the
store, determined to make one more ap
peal to the belligerents. "Budd," he
cried, "I'll help ye ter hold Josiah, ef ye'll
promise ye won't tech him ter hurt. He
air crazed through a-losin'. of his truck.
Say ye won't tech him ter hurt, an' I'll
help ye ter hold him."
Josiah succumbed to their united efforts,
and presently made no further show of re
sistance, but sank, still panting, into one
of the chairs beside the inverted basket,
and gazed blankly, with the eyes of a de
spairing, hunted creature, out at the sheen
of the moonlight.
" I ain't a-wantin' ter hurt nobody,' said
Wray, in a surly tone. " I never axed him
ter play kyerds, nor ter bet, nor nuthin'.
He l'arned me hisself, an' ef I hed los'
stiddier of him, he would be a-thinkin'
now ez it's all right."
"I'm a-goin' ter stand up ter what I
done said, though," Josiah declared bro
kenly. "Ye needn't be afeard cz how I
ain't a-goin' ter make my words true. Ef
ye comes hyar at noon ter-morrer, ye'll git
that thar deed, an' ye kin take the house
an' land ez I an' my folks hev hed nigh on
ter a hundred year. I ain't a-goin' ter fail
ol my word though."
He rose suddenly, and stepped out of
the door. His footfalls sounded with a
sullen thud in the utter quietude of the
place ; a long shadow thrown by the sink
ing moon dogged him noiselessly as he
went, until he plunged into the depths of
the woods, and their gloom absorbed both
him and his silent pursuer.
A dank, sunless morning dawned upon
the house in which Josiah Tait and his
fathers had lived for nearly a hundred
years: it was an humble log cabin, nestled
in the dense forest, about four miles from
the Settlement. Fifty cleared acres, in an
irregular shape, lay behind it ; the corn
stalks, sole remnant of the crop lost at Old
Sledge, were still standing, their sickly
yellow tint blanched by contrast with the
dark brown of the tall weeds in a neigh
boring field", that had grown up after the
harvested wheat, and flourished in the.
summer sun, and died under the first fall
of the frost. A heavy moisture lay upon
them at noon, this dreary autumnal day;
a wet cloud hung in the tree-tops; here
and there, among its gray vapors, a scar
let bough flamed with sharply accented
intensity. There was no far-reaching per
spective in the long aisles of the woods;
the all-pervading mist had enwrapped
the world, and here, close at hand, were
bronze-green trees, and there spectre-like
outlines of boles and branches, dimly seen
in the haze, and beyond an opaque, color
less curtain. From the chimney of the
house the smoke rose slowly; the doors
were closed, and not a creature was visible
save ten hogs prowling about in front of
the dwelling among the fallen acorns,
pausing and looking up with that odd,
porcine expression of mingled impudence
and malignity, as Budd Wray appeared
suddenly in the mist and made Lis way to
the cabin.
He knocked ; there was a low-toned re
sponse. After hesitating a moment, he
lifted the latch and went it. He was evi
dently unexpected ; the two occupants of
the room looked at him with startled eyes,
in which, however, the momentary surprise
was presently merged in an expression of
bitter dislike. The elder, a faded, care
worn woman of fifty, turned back, without
a word, to her employment of washing
clothes. The younger, a pretty girl of
eighteen, looked hard at him with fast
filling blue eyes, and, rising from her low
chair beside the fire, said, in a voice broken
by grief and resentment, "Ef this hyar
house air yourn, Budd Wray, I wants ter
git out'n it."
"I hev come hyar ter tell ye a word,"
said Budd Wray, meeting her tearful
glance with a stern stolidity. He flung
himself into a chair, and, fixing his moody
eyes on the fire, went on: "A word ez I
hev been a-aimin' an' a-contrivin' ter tell
ye ever sence ye war married ter Josiah
Tait, an' afore that ever sence ye tuk
back the word ez ye hed gin me afore ye
ever seen him, 'kase o' his hevin' a house,
an' critters, an' sech like. He hain't got
none now none of 'em. I hev been a-lay-in'
off ter bring him ter this pass fur a long
time, 'count of the scandalous way ye done
treated me a year ago las' June. He hain't
got no house, nor no critters, nor nuthin'.
I done it, an' I come hyar with the deed
in my pocket ter tell ye what I done it
fur."
Her tears flowed afresh, and she looked
appealingly at him. He did not remove
his indignant eyes from the blaze, stealing
timidly up the smoky chimney. " I never
hed nuthin' much," he continued, " an' I
never said I hed nuthin' much, like Josiah,
but I thought ez how ye an' me might
make out toler'ble well, bein' ez we sot
consider'ble store by each other in them
days, afore he ever tuk ter comin' a-huntin'
yander ter Scrub-Oak Ridge, whar ye war
a-livin then. I don't keer nuthin' 'bout'n
it now, 'ceptin' it riles me, an' I war bound
ter spite ye fur it. I don't keer nuthin'
more 'bout ye now than fur one o them
thar dead leaves. I want ye ter know I
jes' done it ter spite ye ye is the one. I
hain't got no grudge agin Josiah ter talk
about. He done like any other man
would."
The color flared into the drooping face,
and there was a flash in the weeping blue
eyes.
"I s'pose I hed a right ter make a
ch'ice," she said, angrily, stung by these
taunts.
"Jes so," responded Wray, coolly; "ye
hed a right ter make a ch'ice atwixt two
men ; but no gal hev got a right ter put a
man on one eend o' the beam an' a lot o'
senseless critters an' house an' land on the
t'other. Ye never keered nuthin' fur me
nor Josiah nuther, ef the truth war knowed ;
ye war all tuk up with the house an' land
an' critters. An' they hev done lef ye,
what nare one o' the men would hev done."
The girl burst into convulsive sobs, but
sight of her distress had no softening in
fluence upon Wray. "I hev done it ter
pay ye back fur what ye hev done ter me, an'
I reckon ye '11 'low now ez we air toler'ble
even. Ye tuk all I keered fur away from
me, an' now I hev tuk all ye keer fur away
from ye. An' I am a-goin' now yander
ter the Settlemint ter hev this hyar deed
recorded on the book ter the court-house,
like Lawyer Green tole me ter do right
straight. I laid off, though, ter come hyar
fust, an' tell ye what I hev been aimin' ter
be able ter tell ye fur a year an' better.
An' now I'm a-goin' ter git this hyar deed
recorded. "
He replaced the sheet of scrawled legal
cap in his pocket, and rose to go ; then
turned, and, leaning heavily on the back
of his chair, looked at her with lowering
eyes.
"Ye're a pore little critter," he said,
with scathing contempt. "I dunno what
ails Josiah nor me nuther ter hev sot our
hearts on sech a little stalk o' cheat."
He went out into the enveloping moun
tain mist with the sound of her weeping
ringing in his ears. His eyes were ho J,
and his angry heart was heavy. He had
schemed and waited for his revenge with
persistent patience. Fortune had favored
him, but now, that it had; fully come,
strangely enough it failed , to satisfiy him.
The deed in his breast-pocket weighed
like a stone, and as he rode on through the
clouds that lay upon the mountain top,
the sense of its pressure became almost un
endurable. And yet, with a perplexing
contrariety oi emotion, he lelt more bit'
terlv toward her than ever, and exnerienc
ed a delight almost savage in holding the
possessions for which she had been so will
ing to resign him. " Jes' kicked me out'n
the way like I war nuthin' more'n that thar
branch o' pisen-oak, fur a passel o' cattle
an' tech like critters, an' a house an' land
'kase I don't count Josiah in. Twar the
house an' land an' sech she war a-studyin'
'bout. " And every moment the weight
of the deed grew heavier. He took scant
notice of external objects as he went,.
keeping mechanically along the path,
closed in twenty yards ahead of him by
the opaque curtains of mist. The trees at
the greatest distance visible stood shadow
like and colorless in their curious, unreal
atmosphere ; but now and then the faintest
flake of a pale rose tint wonld appear in
the pearly hze ;" deepening and deep
ening, till at the vanishing point
of the perspective a gorgeous scarlet-oak
tree would rise, red enough to
make a i respectable appearance on
the planet Mara. There was an audi
ble stir breaking upon the silence of the
solemn woods; the leaves were rust
ling together, and drops of moisture be
gan to patter down upon the ground. The
erspectivc grew gradually longer and
onger as the riding wind cleared the forest
aisles ; and when he reached the road that
ran between the precipice and the steep as
cent above, the clouds were falling apart, the
mist had broken into thousands of fleecy
white wreaths, clinging to the fantastical
ly tinted foliage, and the sunlight was
striking deep into the valley. The woods
about the Settlement were all aglow with
color, sparkling with the tremulous drops
that shimmered in the sun. '
There was an unwonted air of animation
and activity pervading the place. To the
court-house fence were hitched several
lean, forlorn horses, with shabby old sad
dles, or sometimes merely blankets; two or
three 'wagons were standing among the
stumps in the clearing. The door of the
store was occupied by a coterie of moun
taineers, talking with unusual vivacity of
the most startling event that had agitated
the whole country-side for a score of years
the winning of Josiah Tait's house and
land at Old Sledge. The same subject was
rife among the choice spirits congregated in
the court-house yard and about the portal
of that temple of justice, and Wray's ap
proach was watphed with the keenest in
terest.
He dismounted and walked slowly to
the door, paused, and, turning as with a
sudden thought, threw himself hastily
upon his horse; he dashed across the clear
ing, galloped heedlessly down the long,
steep slope, and the astounded loiterers
heard the thunder of the hoofs as they
beat at a break-beck speed upon the frail,
rotten timbers oi the bridge below.
Josiah Tait had put his troubles in to
soak at the stiQ-house, and this circum
stance did not tend to improve the cheer
fulness of his little home when he returned
in the afternoon. The few necessities left
to the victims of Old Sledge had been
packed together and were in readiness to
be transported with him, his wife, and
mother-in-law to Melinda's old home on
Scrub-Oak Ridge, when her brother should
drive his wagon over for them the next
morning.
Ihey never knew how to account for it.
While the forlorn family were sitting be
fore the smoking fire, as the day waned,
the door was suddenly burst open, and
Budd Wray strqde in impetuously; A bril
liant flame shot up the chimney, and the
deed which Josiah Tait had that day exe
cuted was a cinder among the logs. He
went as he came, and the mystery was
never explained;
there was, "however, "a savin' goin'
bout the mounting ez how Josiah and Me
lindy jes' 'ticed him, somehow 'nother, ter
thar house, an' held him, an' tuk the deed
away from him tergether. An' they made
him send back the critters an' the corn
what he had dene won away from 'em."
This version came to his ears, and was
never denied . He was more ashamed of
relenting in his Vengeance than of the wild
legend that he had been worsted in a tus
sle with Melinda and Josiah.
And since the night of Budd Wrav's
barren success, the playing of Old Sledge
has become a lost art at the Settlement.
Acceptances at Bank.
New York Journal of Commerce. J
Richmond, Va., Aug. 5, 1885. Mr. A
has a sixty-day draft presented to him
for acceptance by the runner of a bank.
He accepts it. After doing so he recalls
to mind that the amount of the draft is
incorrect; calls to the runner, but he does
not hear him. Mr. A goes at once to the
bank and informs the cashier that he made
mistake in accepting the draft, and
wishes to recall br cancel his acceptance.
The bank refuses to allow it. Has the
bank this right f B. C. W.
Reply. The bank could not have made
any use of the bill, or sent it to the drawer
or other holder for value, and was bound
to allow the drawee to cancel his accep
tance. Story on Bills (sec. 252) says that
before the bill has been delivered to the
holder the acceptance is revocable; " and
although written it may be cancelled by
the acceptor.' Daniel on Neg. Inst., vol
ume 1, page 36S, says: " If it were dis
covered by the acceptor immediately after
the accepted bill had been re-delivered that
he was not in funds as he supposed, so that
his acceptance was in fact made under a
mistake, J-e may. recall and revoke It, pro-
vmeu mere ue ie lime tor iuo uoiuer to
notify the drawer and indorsers and save
himself from loss." Also Irving Bank v.
Wetherald, 36 N. Y., 335, to the same ef
fect. "The return of a bill with an ob
literated acceptance, without evidence to
account for the obliteration," precludes all
recovery upon it of the acceptor. Cox v.
Troy 5 B. and Aid., 474; 1 Dow. and Ry.
38; Chitty on Bills 847; Thomson on Bills
220. '
HOW LONG?
How long shall man oppress his fellow-man,
And grossest ignorance curse the multitude,
The heartless, mean and selfish scheme and plan,
The honest, pure and virtuous to exclude
From all high posts of honor and renown,
And make them toil for bread, but all in vain;
And while they toil, manage to trample them
down
Still deeper in their want, disgrace, and shame.
Say, shall this ever be desponding thought I
Too heavy for a freeman long to bear !
Oh ! mercy, come, and hope be with thee brought,
And banish from me all sadness and despair,
And do quicken grace within my breast
To grow and flourish there till lt'a matured ;
And In exertion lei me find my rest
Tfll something yet more perfect is secured.
I will not quail, however, nor turn aside
From honest virtue's straight and narrow way;
Nay, not to reign s king In regal pride,
And o'er a cringing world a sceptre sway.
Wealth, fame, and power are all bought too dear,
When to win them we've to oppress the mass,
Or from the paths jof truth and honor veer,
To exalt self, ora few of any class,-
The poor have right", and if they be their all,
Then should all patriot their right defend.
What, though the conflict's hard, and many fall?
Troth and justice will triumph in the ead;
For humanity hath ears, and to the call
Of justice soon aid to them will surely send
In troops of volunteers, both great and small.
The honest, poor, and needy to defend.
Not many farmers know thai on the
middle stem underneath a cotton leaf Is a
mall cell, or cavity, that contains A -rrrop
of blood which can be seen by pressing
between the thumb nails. -Lexington ( OaT)
Echo. I