448 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 



a privileged character. He had his time pretty much to 

 himself, and no one pretended to interfere with its disposal, 

 as his master humorously styled him a " necessary nuisance" 

 to the neighborhood, because he kept the darkies in a good 

 humor by his fiddle. Now Dick had most strongly developed 

 the strongest and most marked traits of the fiddler, the world 

 over, namely, punctiliousness and punctuality. Upon either 

 of these points he was peculiarly irritable, nay even ferocious. 

 With all the proverbial timidity of the " child of genius," 

 Old Dick was yet as savage as a hyena at any improprieties 

 of etiquette which might chance to turn up during the sable 

 orgies over which he presided ; but nothing caused him to 

 so far forget "the proprieties" in his own person, as the 

 intervention of any unusual or accidental causes of delay 

 which prevented his being on hand in time ! Poor Dick ! 

 but the story I have to tell of him will explain ! 



On the occasion of a grand wedding festival among the 

 colored gentry of a neighboring plantation, some six miles 

 distant, Old Dick was, of course, expected to officiate as 

 master of the ceremonies. It had been an unusually severe 

 winter, and a heavy snow lay upon the ground on the event- 

 ful evening, when, having donned his "long-tailed blue," 

 with its glittering gilt buttons, and mounted the immense 

 shirt collar, by the aid of which the dignity of his official 

 character was properly maintained, the ancient Apollo 

 sallied forth, fiddle in hand, to dare the perils of the distant 

 way alone: for the younger darkies had all gone to the frolic 

 hours ago, with a haste and eagerness altogther unbecoming 

 his importance. 



The moon was out, and the stars twinkled merrily over 

 head, as the spry old man trudged away over the crisp and 

 crackling snow. The path, which was a very narrow one, 

 led, for the greater part of the way, through the dark shadows 

 of a heavy bottom forest, which yet remained as wild as 



