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Show longer, an' who gwintcrtck enroobino den? Freedom moiit do fer young nigger, nig-ger, but ole, done tas' nigger's better oil in slaliory, wid nutliii to do oil plenty ter eat," and she wept bitterly. " 'K ko fer true! 'E bo fer true!" sobbed old Zack. "Oil! drill was fine days! ter lib alongcr do quality folks, en eat scraps from do huckra tablet Hut all dat is pax' now, '011 wo Ion' our lies' frieu'I Alii ho was a inaiHser fer tniel"aud ho dashed the tears from bis checks. Wliil.) Maum Dinah wept nnd wailed: "Do lies' maiisser! I hi bes' maiiKHrr dat nigger cber ball!" 1'uul Grant in At-laiitu At-laiitu Constitution. open mid old Zaok, taking advantage of his mistress' absence, crept in in crying shoes. "Who is that?" asked the old man, rousing up. "Mo, sub, Sach'riah, sub," said Mr. Zachery Uakestraw, going back to his plantation name. "Well, Zack, what is if? Have you attended at-tended to tho horses?" Old Zack was speechless, till ft fierce nod from Tobo, who was his nephew, made him mutter, "Yes, sub." "Whoro aro tho horses?-' asked Mr. Conner, noticing tho pantomime. "Dey donegono," stammered old Zack. "Tell 'em dey in tho ya'd, you ole fool," muttered tho respectful nephew. "Dey in do ya'd, suh," repeated Zack; "do stable ya'd, 1 mean." "Saddle Mazeppa and bring him round for mo to ride, and Tobe, help mo on with 'my clothes." He struggled to rise, but Tobe gently laid him back upon the pillow. "Not today, mausser; you ent well miff. Wha' you como in yer an' start him fer?" bo added, turning fiercely on old Zack. "I wanter sco 'em. I sho 'o my mausser maus-ser well as yourn," said tho old man in an aggrieved tone. "Dat'a bo," said Maura Dinah, joining Daddy Zack at tho door. Mr. Conner ceased to struggle with Tobo to inquire: "Who's there?" "Dinah, sur," said tlio old woman; "dunno you know me, mausser?" "Of course, Dinah; I have invited Col. Tyler and Governor Gates to dine with mo todav; give us agood dinner, Dinah." At this old Dinah grew as ashy pale as she could, for both tho gentlemen had been in their graves for thirty years. "Good Laud!" she muttered, "whogwiiu-cook "whogwiiu-cook fer sperits?' and sho hastily retreated. re-treated. " Yes," said Mr. Conner, whose thoughts now ran in a new channel; "they'll both como in their sail boats, Flyaway and Waterwitch; you know tliem, Tolie?" "Yes, mausser," said the imperturbable imperturba-ble negro. . "And my boat, the Seagull, I want you to get her out." "Yes, mausser." "We'll have a race this evening; see that everything is ready." "Y'es, mausser." "I ll take Zack with me to steer." At this Daddy Zack shuddered. "I'll go in no sperit boat," he muttered, and shuffled out. "Sa've you right for comin' yer way you had no business." muttered Tote. "De ij ob mindin' a delirious pussoti!" ; ' Ste i the fastest sailer on thesound,'" joniinuei the old man. "Yes, mausser," repeated the impass- tr Tobe. 'She's built for speed, forty feet long and a foot wide." "Good Laud!" ejaculated Tobe, thrown off his guard, "what a lie! Dat ain't nuthin' but er boss trough." After a moment mo-ment he recovered from his surprise, and said in beguiling accents, "S'posen you tek er nap, sub, befo' the gentlemans come, so voull feel fresh en libely." He gently turned the sick taan over, smoothed the pillow under his head, and soothed him to sleep. Summer had passed and autumn had come, and nature was preparing herself to meet the death that winter brings. With the waning season the old planter s life had ebbed away, very slowly but surelv, as if in sympathy with the approaching ap-proaching death of nature, he was. goins to ins own painlessly, calmly, surrounded surround-ed by his family and his old servants, Seeing these, n quarter of a century lapsed out of his life, and he still fancied himself back in his island home, surrounded sur-rounded by the slaves ho had leoii raised with, and his old neighbors, dead this many a year. His servants viewed this phase of his sickness with superstitious sorrow. " 'K gwino berry fas'," said Maum Dinah, Di-nah, wiping her eyes in tho corner of her apron. " 'E talk constant ob do dead, er sho sign 'e'll soon bo wid 'em." As the sun was setting Mr. Conner fell asleep, and his wife left tho sick room to see a friend, who had cajled, leaving Tobo alone with the sick man. All at onco ho roused up, and his eyes fell on the faithful nurso standing motionless at tho foot of the bod. "I am not so well, Tobe, I feel weak. If any one calls, I'll seo them in hero." "Nobody gwino call," said Tobe, "so don't worry, suh." "Good evening, doctor," said the sick .nan, looking over Tobe's shoulder und towards tho door. "Walk in." Tobo turned and looked, but saw no me. "Flaco a chair for Dr. McAllister, l obe, here close to me." Tolio hesitated, but obeyed ils his mas 'er said: "Hit down, doctor. I don't feel so veil today. Why hero comes Mr. Morrison Mor-rison and Judge Derry nnd Mr. Lasallcs. 'Tis most kind, gentlemen, to call. It is quite a while since I've seen vou. (As they had been dead many years It was very likely.) Tobe, place chairs for the gentlemen." In spite of his vaunted courage, Tobe's face began to turn ashy, and tho whites of his eyes to show, but ho strung the chairs along tho bedside and listened agba;:t, wliilo Mr. Conner affably conversed con-versed with them. The evening shades were creeping into tho room and gave a weird look to things. Presently the old man's eyes were again riveted upon the door. "Here comes Col. Tyler and Governor Gates. Chairs, Tolie. Come in, gentlemen. gentle-men. I'm so glad to seo you, Tobe, what aro you alwut? Why don't you place chairs for them?" "Dey's none," stammered Tolsj "Wait er minute, sub, tell I kin git some," arid ho hurried to the dxr. "Missis!" ho whispered. Mrs. Conner hastened in. "De room is full ob sperits," he gasped. "I can't stay in yere alone. De sjerits and gosses is jis' a-swarmin' rouu' de bed." And Tobe set his teeth fast to keep them from chattering as he listened list-ened to his master talking with the dead. Mrs. Conner seated herself on the side of the bed, and at last succeeded in lulling tho old man back to sleep, and from that sleep he never woke. Night came and settled on them, but still he slept on; and when the sun rose the next morning the old planter bad joined the friends whom his servants believed be-lieved had coma for hiro, and gone upon his journey to the hereafter. Tho old negroes wept when they found he had left them. "De lies' mausser nigger clier had!" wailed Maum Dinah, wringing her hands in the kitchen. Jetty, tho cook, a girl of the new regime, viewed her with contempt. 'Master!" cried Jetty in scorn. "Master! Whv you's free!" "Yes," wailed the old woman, "free tersta've! I se too ole ter wuck uiiuJi ONE OF THE OLD MASTERS. The old planter lay dying. He had been a long time ailing, worn down by anxiety and trouble, borne uncomplainingly uncomplain-ingly and in silence, he was now going of a slow disease, and lay in tho middle ground, between the bore and the hereafter, here-after, awaiting his summons. lie had once been a Sea Island nabob, he was now a pauper; all he and his wife had to depend on was the meager salary of a grandson, a lad of 18. But, reduced as he was, Mr. Conner was never too poor to lend a helping hand to any of his former slaves, who were old and feeblo like himself. And now in his last illness three of them came to assist his wife in nursing him. They were old Daddy Zack, tho former coachman (whose carriage and horses had long since vanished); Tobe, the chief butler, whose pantry had become be-come a thing of the past, and old Maum Dinah, the former cook, whose turtle soup had once had a coast wide reputation. reputa-tion. Maum Dinah, now Mrs. Ragsdil, made a precarious living at scouring; and Daddy Zack, now Mr. Zackery Rake-straw, Rake-straw, a yet more uncertain one, as a vender of scrubbing brushes. Tobe, now Tobias Conner, was a well to do citizen and chief cook at the hotel. Nevertheless Neverthe-less he threw up his place and came to nurse his old master, and between him and the two old darkies a deadly rivalry raged as to who should be nurse. Worn out with watching, old Mrs. Conner Con-ner had gone to lie down, leaving the patient in charge of Tobe. Lie was a tall, very black man of 40, and 6ome red marks on his face made him look tattooed and gave him a fierce appearance. The sick man was in a mild delirium, his mind wandering back a quarter of' a century to the days of hi3 prosperity. He talked incessantly, but received only monosyllable answers from Tobe, who "as naturally taciturn. With sooie difficulty diffi-culty he succeeded in lulling his patient l-slDi when the door slowly creaked |