University of Virginia Library

22. XXII.

I ACCOMPANIED the President to Rawly.
The President doesn't feel safe at goin anywhere
without me to arrange the details, and do
the nice financeerin wich is necessary.

The Rawly trip wuz the occasion of a serious
truble in the Kabinet. The President wuz in favor
uv it. Ez he sed, he wuz essenshelly uv a filial
persuasion. He hed alluz experienced a most consoomin
love for his parents, pertickelerly for them
on his father's side. He hed swung around the
entire cirkle uv offishel honor, and hed found traitors
on all sides; but he could lay his hand on his
heart and say that he hed never knowd a troo man
but who, at some period of his life, hed a father.

Why, then, should we not honor our fathers? How
could it be better dun than by layin corner-stuns?
His father deceest in 1812, and it wuz time that
this dooty was attended to. Besides, at this crysis
in the affairs of the country, with Wilson and Kelly
a snortin through the South, he felt it wood be a
good thing to show ourselves.

Seward felt that it wuz well to go. Filial love
wuz charmin. Shakspeer, who wuz ez justly celebrated
ez a dramatist ez one he cood menshun wuz
for diplomatic telegraffin, remarkt, “How sharper
nor a serpent's tooth it is to hev a thankless child,”
— the truth of which he hed experienced, ez he hed
been styled the father uv the Republican party: but
that wuz not to the pint. It is the dooty uv every
son to lay corner-stuns. In this case it wood, perhaps,
hev been more creditable hed it been dun
fifty years ago; but wat difference is it? It is natral
ez we are about being gathered to our fathers, that
we shood remember em. Besides, he hed a little
speech wich he felt he'd like to deliver. He wanted
to bear testimony to the patriotism uv the son uv
Jacob Johnson — particularly to our colored brethren
in North Carliny, who hev bin listenin to Kelly
and Wilson.

Randall didn't bleeve in it at all. He made bold

to say that ez the deceast Johnson hed slept without
a corner-stun for fifty-five years, he'd manage to git
along a while longer. It wuz rather late in the day.
He bleeved in feelin sorrowful over the decease uv
our relatives, but he didn't go much on doin it fifty-five
years after date. It wuz too much like bustin
into tears over the suffrins uv the last illness uv yer
wife's great grandmother. The speeches he didn't
bleeve in at all. He hed seen some uv it — he hed
accompanied one toor uv the kind. He hed bin on
it. He wuz at Cleveland, at Indianapolis, and
Springfield, Illinoy. He begged to be excoosed.
He didn't keer about tailin sich a kite agin. Ef
the people uv the South shood receive us ez corjelly
ez the people uv the North did, he preferred to consult
his feelins and be absent. He wuz a sensitive
plant, and disliked sum things. Ef his memory
served him rite, the demonstrashens coodent be considered
flatterin. The people didn't fling dead cats
at us, but they did wuss. Ef they wuz cold, they
wuz rather too cold. Ef they wuz in a volatile
humer, they wuz rather too lively. He hed about
made up his mind that it wuzn't uv any yoose to
fite it out on that line ef it took all summer. Success
is a dooty; but when success is ez impossible
ez water in the great Sahara, wat's the yoose?
Wherefore struggle? Let us go slow, draw our salaries
to the end uv our 'spective terms, and so live
that wen the summons comes to jine the innoomerable
caravan that moves out uv Washington to'ards
their 'spective homes, we go not like the dusty slave
at nite, wat's bet his all on two pair, but soothed
and sustained by wat we saved, — go like one who's
got the wherewithal to live. It wuz a source uv
comfort to him to know that the worst uv men wuz
soon forgotten. Who ever speeks uv Tyler, or Peerce,
or Bukanon, now? Benedict Arnold is only spoken
uv on Fourth uv Julys, and Judis Iskariot on Sundays.
It will be so with us in time, for wich thank
the Lord.

But it was determined to go, and I was sent to
Rawly to find where the grave uv the honored
father of our honored President was reely locatid,
and to make sich other arrangements ez the eggsigencies
uv the case demanded, wich I did. I hed
difficulty in locatin the grave, and ain't jest shoor
that I found the right one. The people uv Rawly
wuz anxshus to hev it come off, ez trade was dull
in the retail line; and for fear that I wood report
that the grave coodent be found, and thus nip their
budding hopes, they giv me the choice uv sum twelve

or fifteen. Selectin the most eligible, I made the
uther arrangements and returned.

The eggscurzion contrasted very favorably with the
one we took last fall. The people receeved uz at
every stashen with the most affectin demonstrashuns
uv luv. “Johnson! Johnson! Johnson!” they yelled
at each stopping-place, wich sounded sweeter in
his ears and mine than the damnable iterashun of
“Grant! Grant! Grant!” wich greetid us at every
pint North. The President wuz sorry he hedn't
takin Grant with him, to show him that ef he wuz
the most popular in sum localities, we hed the
hearts uv the people in uthers. But ther wuz drawbax
to our enjoyment. No sooner wood the President
commence, “Fellow-citizens!” than Randall
wood pull the bell-rope, and off the trane wood
start. He wuz determined that the President
shouldent speek, wich put me to a grate deal uv
trouble, ez after we arrived I hed to write out and
telegraph to the papers the speeches the President
wood hev made.

At Rawley, General Battles welcomed the Presidential
party, and the President responded. He
remarked that in Rawley he first opened his tender
eyes, a penniless boy. Here is the scenes uv his
childhood; here is everything to bind man to his

fellow, and to associate him with that with wich he
is associated; here is where the tenderness uv heart
hev taken holt upon everything to wich it hez attached
itself. But he was wandrin from his subjick.
His mind went back to the day he left this
city a penniless boy. Where is them wich he left
behind him? He begged to inquire where is the
scenes uv his childhood? Where's the Haywoods?

“Killed at Antietam!” shouted a returned Confedrit.
“I wuz by William's side when he wuz
shot.”

“Where is the Hunters?”

“Running a distillery at Waxhall Court 'ouse,”
sed this same fellow, who thot the President really
wantid to know. He wuz choked down, and the
President proceeded: —

“Wher is the Roysters and the Smithses, the
Brownses and the Joneses? Wher is the long list
of men that lived at that day, and who, like me,
command respeck for constancy of devoshen? I
feel proud of this demonstrashen — I feel proud of
any demonstrashen. Ez alloosion hez bin made to
my boyhood days, when I wuz a penniless boy, I
may say here, ez pertinent to that subjeck, that I
hev adhered to the fundamental principles uv the
gov'ment, and to the flag and Constooshen. But

to return to my subjeck. When I went out from
among yoo a penniless boy, I adoptid the Constooshen
ez my guide, and by them I have allus bin
guided. To the young I would say that they will
be safe in takin me ez a model. Leavin here a penniless
boy, it is not for me to say whether or not I
hev succeeded. I am no longer a penniless boy,
nor is them wich are round me. Mrs. Cobb ain't
a penniless boy; nor is — But this is a wanderin
from the subjeck. For the encouragement uv the
young men afore me, I wood say, that I hev enjoyed
all I care about. I am no aspirant for nothing, and
therefore the way I now open for em. All places
uv honor is now before em. I thank you for this
corjel welcom. North Caroliny sent me out a penniless
boy, and did not afford me sich advantages ez,
considerin my merits, I ought to hev hed; yet I luv
her. It's better ez it wuz. Goin out a penniless boy,
and returnin after holdin every offis, from Alderman
uv my adoptid village up to President, shows my
qualities to much better advantage than ef I hedn't
gone out a penniless boy. I thank you for this
tribute to my many good qualities.”

And he startid to go down, when Randall whispered
suthin in his left ear.

Risin promptly, and drawin out his hankerchief,

the President assoomed a look uv subdood greef,
and resoomed.

“I hev come among yoo to participate in the
dedicashen uv a monument to a man which yoo
all loved, tho it hez taken suthin like fifty yeers for
yoo to diskiver it. He wuz poor and humble, wich
akkounts for my goin from among yoo a penniless
boy; but uv him I am proud, — for hed it not been
for him, I woodent hev returned the shinin example
to yoor young men wich I am.”

The corner-stun wuz laid, and the monument set
on it. It is uv red limestone, ten foot high. It's
ez good a ten foot uv stun respeck ez there is in
North Carliny. Ez the monument was elevatid,
there wuz the appropriate speeches, and then my
little arrangements cum in. A nigger woman I hed
took with us from Washington rushed for'ard, and
sed, “Bress de Lord, I'ze bin a waitin for dis day
to see de President, — OUR President!” at which a
squad of niggers I'd picked up and drilled, hollered
“'Ror!”

This little affectin sceen over, two quadroons,
wich I'd also bro't with us in a privit car, cum
for'ard with a expression of profound greef, at wich
the President wept, and tenderly slung bokays uv

the choicest flowers we cood buy in Washington,
upon the tomb.

It wuz reely a techin tabloo. The ancient nigger
woman a holdin the President's hand; the young
quadroons a slingin the bokays; the President with
his head bowed, apparently a dreamin uv the days
uv his boyhood; me with an expression uv thankfulness
that the niggers hed at last recognized their
Moses; Seward with a saintly smile on his face;
Welles tryin to look ez near like Seward as possible,
but failin miserably to look like anything but
the eggrejis old ass he is, and Randall with his
handkercher to his eyes ez ef onmanned by the
movin sceen, but keepin one eye cocked over the
handkercher to see how it took among the niggers.
It wuz a sceen easier to be imagined than described.

Ther wuz several incidents which occurred wich
did not appear in the telegraph. When his Excellency
wuz speekin uv himself, and remarkt that his
race wuz nearly run, a unregenerated nigger yelled
out “Tank de Lord!” And when the quadroons
wuz a strewin flowers on the grave uv His Excellency's
father, I observed rather more titterin among
the niggers than I approved uv on so sollum an
occasion. I askt Randall what he thought of the

[ILLUSTRATION]

NIGGERS RECOGNIZING THEIR MOSES. Page 192.

[Description: 633EAF. Illustration page. Illustration of the meeting described on page 192; a man in a dark suit shakes the hand of an African-American woman.]

spekelashen, and his answer, “It don't pay!” struck
me ez havin a vane uv trooth running through it.

On our return, the President wuz allowed to speek
more, for Randall got tired of watching him. We
returned in good health, and some uv us in good
spirits. Seward feels well, for he hez an abidin
faith that the mere showin uv hisself alluz hez an
effeck for good upon the people, and ez a matter uv
course Seckretary Welles thinks so to.