Newspaper Page Text
fpr n o’i’TRS CQLLECtfOK
VOL. XIX.—NO. 880.
ATLANTA, GA„ DECEMBER 3, 1892.
VOICE: $2 00 a YEAR.
Ol
[Tlii* Story was Written for Thanksgiving,
bat arrived too late for that Number.]
HE SMALL FEET OF
Colonel Millard Lamar
were upon a level with
his bead and his eyes
gazed between them
straight out the open
window through which
floated the odor of the
lilac blossoms. Every
body in the South knows
that when the china tree
blooms, the bream and
yellow- breasted perch
will dart upon the baited
hook if it be dropped over
the rotting log by the still lilies, or if suf
fered to drift in the eddy under the tail
boards down at the mill-race; and it was
this flavor of spring that invaded the
lounger’s sanctum and caused his eyes to
lose locus and fix themselves upon noth
ing, in that old familiar, dreamy way.
The Colonel was not au old man, nor
even middle aged, as his title would sug
gest. Far from it; he was merely a Geor
gia Colonel, elected after the good old
Georgia fashion; but just as thoroughly
elected as though the suffragists hau sus
pended business and voted lor him in a
special election. A man is a colonel in
Georgia as soon as he is authorised to walk
inside the railing of the Superior Court
room, remove temporarily the cigar stump
from nis mouth, lift a dipper of water to
his lips from the bucket winch Bits in frout
of the Cuuit, and mopping into a cuair,
teat ms feel upon the nearest desk. Such
a man, to tue negroes who crowd me outer
benches, become at ou.e a Colonel, and is
to bn auureseed, hat in hand. Tne title is
ratifieU by tne repotters, when the maiden
spcecn is pourcu out upon a devotee jury,
and the uaiiy paper next morning pa>s
tubule to tne genius of the debutante,
whose auotsiois, it may be, have been for
fltty years suoaenbers.
bo it was mat Colonel Millard Lamar
was not old; iu fact, he was what is
known as ‘‘rising twenty-one,”and looked
younger. Me looked especially youthful
today, lor nis heart ana mind were a way
off uowu tue couuliy ana he wus a hoy
again, iu laucy, nd oi Oiick waits, o Coke
aud tne Code, of tne smell of ancient vol
umes, of tne uusy mpatnet u bar* ready
witu a k< eu wit no nad not learned to
parry, wrm sarcasm ana ridicule ana jest,
wild reference to laws ne had UoVtr
ureamed of and with nis own aigumeuts
reversed upon bis devoted head. He was
out ol it ail as lie lay there letting his
thoughts diift througu the window upon
the end famuiar pcuuino of the flowers.
He saw tne stately pines bending Uaugut-
iiy in me breeze, tne wuite dogwood blos
soms git aiding along me wild Slopes, tne
Shy aZaieas in the cool depins, the down
pour of me petals as tn« uinuio storm
aw tried mr.rngu me pe«cu orchard, auu
lieaid above the lumouug or tue grist
Inin now n Ibe Vaiiey, the lar caff ol the
boys driving !he cows to pasture. Back
Went h.s nead suiiner over the chair, aud
Colonel Lamar actually laughed aiouu—
laughed alter a k»pp\, chiiuisii fashion,
he had almost forgotten.
in au instant, ashamed and fearful
that he had been heard, he pulled hiruseil
together, sat up and laced tne doorway al
most de Uauily. Tne vision vauisbtd; in
ia place' nunc another mat put an expres
sion of wonder upon nis lace. At the uooi
Was the figure ol an enormous negro wo
man, attempting every lew minutes an
elaborate courtesy, hut coming up lroiu
eacu tiiai a mile more laboriously. Tne
smile upon her lace in tne beginning hau
changed to au expression of anxiety and
distil so, and her t ft or is were hscoiniug
fainter at each frtsu effort. Tne as ton
lined lawyer lubteu nis eyes afresh.
•• W nat V W here in the thunuer uid you
come lroiu?”
• Furnde Shoulderbone, sah; yes, sab,
fain de Buuulueiboue.”
“The ueuce you did, and what brought
your" The young dreamer had regained
|us composuie.
•*Unc‘ Billy White, he brung me en es
wagon lur as de market; yes, rah.”
"Yta, hut wibat do >cu want? Quit that
bobbing around, you make me dizzy 1 Bit
down!'
•*Xes, sah.” She squeezed harself into
the largest chair.
‘‘Now, what ctn I do for you?” Colonel
Lunar looked at his wac ih, a* all Georgia
colonels do on such occasions.
“WVII, Marie Millard, dsy done grab
little Ban, es de say, fur stsalin’ er sh >t«
and got *im locked up. I aiu got m
money, and Got knows Ban ain’t got
none, and dure tis!”
C ilonel Li nar paid no attention to the
fact that the woman had mad his fl-st
name. The practice is com nun among
Southern negroes when about to ask a
favor. He simply said.
"Well if Ban hain’t got any money to
pay a lawyer and you hav'nt any, it looks
very much as if Baa will htva to take his
chances along with the balance of the pau
pars.”
“Marse Millard, ef yon could sorter help
em er little honey—you know Bin is er
mighty smart boy aud he could come hyah
an’ work it out.”
“Can’t do it Aunty; yon darbies seem to
think lawyers have nothin* to do butt*
get yon oat of difficulties and be waited on
Aunt Tddy you are three tim is as big as
v.»u used to bel”
“I know hit ckile; de harder d ) tim is de
fatter r git«: lo>ks like deir aiu’ no eu I
ter hit. Old Hoc Pater das fo he die sty—”
“Es old Cue Pater dead?” Thera was a
new tone in the vouag in in’s voice.
“Deal? Yes Indeed; does you r’olec’ him
honey?”
“Old Pater? Recollect old Pater?’ ’The
young lawyer smiled as he laid his head
ba*.k in the chair, he had resumed and
clasped his hau<ls under it. “He is about,
the first person E do recollect. You know
he was oar miller in the old times, and E
could'nt have been nver three years old.
when he persuaded Papa to let him tak^
me down to the mill- Et was the first tiuir
E ever left the house lot. I rode befor*-
him on the mule astride a sack; ho w it all
c >mis back to me now! Every incident is
as clear as if the j mruey was yesterdiy. 1
can see the swallows circling in the blue
sky, the jo-reeds playing in the aider
bushes,the head wood peck clinging to the
dead pine on which he hammered. There
dropped the hook in a dark, cool place and
a perch bit, and be let ms pull him ont, I
was the proudest boy in Georgia. Nothing
would do then but E must go right home
and putting down everything, old Peter
took me, the fish upou a willow switch.”
Tae lawyer rose and pace the floor. “Re
member him? as soon forget my natne.Ye«r
in and year ont we were friends. He first
taught me to fashion reed arrows for the
grandsou.”
“Yes sah, de las’ of de Peter crowd.”
He took up his hat and cane still smil
ing:
“And where have they got the little ras
cal?”
“Eajail. Is yer gwine ter git him ont,
Marse Millard?”
“Yes: If I have to convict him first
and then buy him. Go home and wait.”
She heard his voice outside as he replied
whiteoak bow he made me, to carve whis-1 to a p tsser's j-jst, and iu it was tbe boyish
ties from the green willow, to tempt the ring she notic-d when he told of the oiden
trout from his shady nook under the lil- days. R-deasing herself with difficulty
lies, to swim in the pond, to wield tbe boat from the chair which seemed bent on ao-
paddle, to cron sh in tbe sedge and kill oompauying her Lome, she too, left the
the mallards as they rustled in to roost, office.
He it was too, who, when the bateau
turned over and becoming tangled in the
long lily stems, I was about to drown,
came to me hand over hand, crying pite
ously:
‘Hold up Marse Millard, hold up for
yo ’ ma’a sake! Hold up honey for old Pe
ter’s sake! Hold up for God’s sake—hold
np! Hold up till E gir. dar.” Ami E held
and took sick and died, she said ter me:
Y. M. C. A. BUILDING, ATLANTA, GA.
for their trouble* If I listened to such
propositions, I couldn’t make a living. I'd
have people falling over each other in the
office, cleaning np, a dozen hands to shine
my shoes, and aouie day I’d come back and
find every book gone. Yon go and get me
ten dollars, aad I’ll defend tbe boy I” He
got np and began to look around for his
bat; tne woman was tying and untying tbe
corner of her apron.
“Yes sah;” she said presently. “Hits all
so, God knows; but Marse Millard, dis
hyah is er mighty little case, an’ less’n we
all come to some of our folks ter help ns,
ain’ nobody else gointer do bit, yon kuow
dat? Ef yo’ pa was byah. Pshaw, I
would’n no mu’ bother mjself ’boat dat
little nigg+r—he'd drssay, ‘Tildy, go Tong
back borne I Yon let him ter me. Colonel
Lamar was now interested and studying
tbe face black intently.
“What is yonr name?” he asked present
ly.
“Laws-a-mnssy, chile, ain’t yen done
know me yets! Tildy;—Tildy Lamar, what
usedtob’long tar yer Aunt Sally.” He
laughed softly.
” why to be enret Bat .great heareas
was a hole fir up the tree and Unc Peter
showed me the birds' mate sitting there on
her eggs; he said that the other one was
knockiog, thinking she wonld come to the
door and he wonld slip in and take her
place and make her go off and get some
rest; but she just put her head ont and
screamed at him and he screamed back,
and then he tried to pnll her out and she
pecked him.” The narrator laughed over
tbe recollection. “By this time,” he con
tinued. “we were a long way past the tree,
bat I made old Peter go back and let me
see the wood-peck’s qnarrel. I never was
more delighted in my life. Then when we
went on, I remember Latthe water in the
creek just touched the mule’s chest, and
as he urank be thrust bis head far down
and held it there until ont of breath. When
be brought it np with a jerk the drops went
far and wide and shone like diamonds!
Then old Peter sat me on the hopper in the
mill and let me see the grains go dancing
down, and he held my hand where the
warm meal ran ont and let me fill my
pockets for the blue hen’s ehickens. It
was the greatest day of my life Aunt Tildy
MdttettUls. When he got ont a pole ana
np principally for my own sake; and h*
“got dar.” Forget old Peter? not nnti
yonth itself fades from memory I Not
while life lasts I”
Was it the oior of China blossom, or the
sweep of the green memories through a
heart not yet free from home sickness?
None may say; but Colonel Lamar had
grown earnest and eloquentin his address.
He stopped a little ashamed, and stood at
the window. Here he laughed softly and
said:
“Well, God bless the old fellow; they’ve
qnit making his kind I”
The woman wiped her eyes with tbe
corner of her apron; after a few moment’s
silence she continued:
“Yes sab, Unc Peter was a good man;
an’ when Cal lint—yer know Calline was
bis only chile—when Calline come up byah
'Tildy, tek cyah littl* Beni’ an* God snows
I tried; bat hit’s er bad place to raise boys
es dis hyah Macon I”
Tbe words at first did not seem to have
any effect npon tbe lawyer, who stood
looking far away into the blue sky, sud
denly he turned:
“Iheathif Utti# Bet Ji old Peter’*
CHAPTER SECOND.
A few days later Colonel Millard Lamar
counsel for Boujiiuin alias “Ben’’ Lunar,
(colored) charged with hog stealing, re
ceived a note from Justice Bivens an
nouncing foruiaily the removal ol hifl
court to Wall’s Crossing, aud the day ap
pointed for the defendant's commitment
trial. Smiling over tne queer phraseology
of the notice, the young lawyer thrust the
paper iuto his packet, and as tiie time
named was at hand, mounted his horse
aud rode out rapidiy to ttie Shoulderbone
district, presided over by the able justice.
The uewly selected court room was loca
ted over the po.tullide. Wueu lie entered a
motley assemblage met his gaze; behind a
iittl laebie, armed with tus code aud speo-
tacits sat tue justice who gravely bowed,a
aud not Very cordially,!or ue was not fond
ot attorneys in the cases that oowe before
iiso.* Xlir.y uad a disagreuaula kuch.t of
mixing him up ou law questions, of ap
pealing his cases Slid matting life a burden
to hiiu in oilier ways. He was au old man
with tye-hds turned uearly wrong-side
out from granulation and steady drinking,
aud f tom them teais continually trickled,
necessitating a irequent removal aud wip
ing of glasses. Tne process was rapid or
olUerwise as the wood of the Justice va
ried, aud gave him at ail times, even
when smiling, a sad and pathetic appear
ance.
Ou one side, among quite an assemblage
of prisoners, but towards tne rear sat little
Ben, nis bullet dead aud keen black eyes
moving constantly, auu flunking him, in
easy supporting distance, sat Tildy. In
the rear of the room crowded wauy ne
groes, witnesses for tne State, witnesses
for the defense, prosecutor*, kinsmen aud
idlers. AU tnese points Colonel Lunar
gathered as he sat aud gaz^d silently
about tne room.
It was uot long before the busi
ness of the day Was iu full swing,
aud dually came the case of the state vs.
Ben Lamar. '
Colonel Lamar, scored the first point for
himseii aud prisoner, when he gravely ex*
arniueu tne warraut aud moved to dis
miss it ou the grouud that toe prisoner’s
Udine was spoiled wrong. Judge Bivens
wiped his glasses aud studied tne docu
ment carefully, white the young lawyer
was sustaiuiug his motion with various
authorities. Finally wueu tue surprising
statement was made that the warraut
ought to be dismissed aud coats assessed
upou tne prosecutor, tue court hurriedly
gave the Case tuat direction, mere being
uo opposing counsel, aud a Weli-ld-do old
uegro stepped forward aud paid tue costs.
Tne lact tuat the Court ltsoii had drawn
the warraut did uot eater iuto tue discus
sion. Xue warrant was tueu amended
aud the case called again. Coiouei Lamar
| saw uiauy a misspelled words iu tue docu
ment auu it occurred to him tuat per naps
ue might with tae cheerlut assistance of
the Court coutiuue to dismiss tue case aud
assess costs uutiliUe prosecutor was bauk-
rupt, bat he was too young a lawyer uot
to leel coinpassiou for ihe poor old fellow;
so waviug ad other techuccaiilies out in
nigh tavor with ike Court, ke suffered tne
trial to begin.
Tue witnesses were reputable aud very
clear. Tke iacts brought out Were tuat '
Beu bad bceu secu carrying a way tke
auoie from tke uwuer s premises aud wueu
caught .was ouildiug a pen about it, iu -a
piuo tuicaet Uacn of Aaut Xudy s uoase;
tuat ke adiuuted stealing it and prom
ised uot to siu again; tuat ou tuS succeed
ing day, ke actually stole tke same pig
and was caugut witk it iu his arms.
It was au upkili case for Coiouei Lamar,
but ke weut at it witk all tke kopeiUiuess
ol youtk. He hore iu inmd a famous eay-
lug ot a Geoigia jurist—“Advance ail tke
arguments possioie; tkere is uo teiiiug
what peg a fool Judge is goiug to get huug
off.” Besides it was a good opportunity
to impress future clients. So ue spoke
elcquout.y, abiy, continually, tki crowd
iisteuiug iu wrapped attcutiou, tke Court
smiling under tke many references to kis
well kuowu ‘impartiality' “vastlearning,”
“able disposition of justice,” etc, etc.
Finally iu some way ke reacked a point
wkere it became necessary to desenoa a
barbecued pig and tkis ke did witk suck
lCONTINUED ON KOUBTH PAON,J