A TRUE STORY. 205 



he'd make to de Norf, o' course. So one day I comes in dah'whar de big ofiBcers 

 was, ip de parlor, an' I drops a kurtchy, so, an' I up an' tole 'em 'bout my Henry, 

 dey a-listenin' to my troubles jist de same as if I was white folks; an' I says, 

 'What I come for is beca'se if he got away and got up Norf whar you gemmen 

 comes from, you might 'a' seen him, maybe, an' could tell me so as I could fine 

 him ag'in ; he was very little, an' he had a sk-yar on his lef wris', an' at de top 

 of his forehead.' Den dey look mournful, an' de Gen'l say, ' How long sence 

 you los' him.'' an' I say, 'Thirteen year.' Den de Gen'l say, 'He wouldn't be 

 little no mo', now — he's a man ! ' 



" I never thought o' dat befo' ! He was only dat little feller to me, yit. I 

 never thought 'bout him growin' up an' bein' big. But I see it den. None o' 

 de gemmen had run acrost him, so dey couldn't do nothin' for me. But all dat 

 time, do' / didn't know it, my Henry was run off to de Norf, years an' years, an, 

 he was a barber, too, an' worked for hisse'f. An' bymeby, when de waw come' 

 he ups an' he says : ' I's done barberin',' he says, ' I's gwyne to fine my ole mammy, 

 less'n she's dead.' So he sole out an' went to whar dey was recruitin', an' hired 

 hisse'f out to de colonel for his servant ; an' den he went all froo de battles 

 everywhah, huntin' for his ole mammy ; yes indeedy, he'd hire to fust one officer 

 an' den another, tell he'd ransacked de whole Souf ; but you see / didn't know 

 nuffin 'bout dis. How was / gwyne to know" it 1 



"Well, one night we had a big sojer ball; de sojers dah at Newbern was 

 always havin' balls an' carryin' on. Dey had 'em in my kitchen, heaps o' times, 

 'ca'se it was so big. Mine you, I was down on sich doin's ; beca'se my place 

 was wid de officers, an' it rasp me to have dem common sojers cavortin' roun' 

 my kitchen like dat. But I alway' stood aroun' an' kep' things straight, I did ; 

 an' sometimes dey'd git my dander up, an' den I'd make 'em clar dat kitchen, 

 mine I tell you ! 



"Well, one night — it was a Friday night — dey comes a whole plattoon f'm a 

 nigger ridgment dat was on guard at de house, — de house was head-quarters, 

 you know, — an' den I was jist a-^«7/«' .' Mad.' I was jist a-^<7o/«/V./ I swelled 

 aroun', an' swelled aroun' ; I jist was a-itchin' for 'em to do somefin for to start 

 me. Ati dey was a-waltzin' an' a-dancin' ! my ! but dey was havin' a time ! an' 



