endin.

"Wo is me," sobbed the old man, wringin his hands.

"John Brown's karkis hangs a danglin in the air, but his sole is marchin
on.

"It took posseshun of Seward, and thro his ugly mouth it spoke the words
'the nigger is free,' and there is no more a slave in all the land.

"Wunst I hed a hundred niggers, and the men were fat and healthy, and
the wenches wuz strong, and sum uv em wuz fair to look upon.

"They worked in my house, and my fields, from the rising uv the sun to
the goin down uv the same.

"Wuz they lazy? I catted them till they wuz cured thereof; for lo! they
wuz ez a child under my care.

"Did they run away? From Kentucky they run North, and lo! the Locofoco
Marshals caught them for me, and brought them back, and delivered them
into my hand, without cost, sayin, lo! here is thy nigger--do with him
ez thou wilt (wich I alluz did), wich is cheeper than keepin dogs, and
jest as good.

"Solomon wuz wise, for he hed uv konkebines a suffishensy, but we wuz
wiser in our day than him.

"For he hed to feed his children, and it kost him shekels uv gold and
shekels uv silver, and much corn and oil.

"We hed our konkebines with ez great a muchness ez Solomon, but we sold
their children for silver, and gold, and red-dog paper."

And all nite long the bereaved old patriarch, who hed alluz bin a father
to his servants (and a grandfather to menny uv em) poured out his
lamentations.

In the mornin the niggers wuz called up, and ez they all hed their koats
on, and hed bundles, I spect they must hev heard the news. The old
gentleman explained the situation to em.

"Yoo will," sed he, "stay in yoor happy homes--you will alluz continue
to live here, and work here, ez yoo hev alluz dun!"

The niggers all in korious, with a remarkable unanimity, remarkt that ef
they hed ever bin introdoost to theirselves, they thought they woodent.
In fact, they hed congregated at that time for the purpose uv startin
life on their own hook.

[Illustration: EFFECT OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION IN KENTUCKY.]

A paroxysm uv pain and anguish shot over the old man's face. Nearest to
him stood a octoroon, who, hed she not bin tainted with the accurst
blood uv Ham, wood hev bin considered beautiful. Fallin on her neck, the
old patriarch, with teers a streamin down his furrowd cheeks,
ejackilated,--

"Farewell, Looizer, my daughter, farewell! I loved yoor mother ez never
man loved nigger. She wuz the solace uv my leisure hou