perity to the plantation. Unlettered, and, to all
appearances, taking no interest in public affairs, he not only foresaw
the end of the Civil War, but looked forward to the time when the
Confederate Government, pressed for supplies, would urge upon the States
the necessity of limiting the raising of cotton.

He gave both Meriwether Clopton and Neighbour Tomlin the benefit of
these views; and then, when the rumours of Sherman's march through
Georgia grew rifer he made a shrewd guess as to the route, and succeeded
in hiding out and saving, not only all the cotton the three plantations
had grown, but also all the livestock. Having an ingrained suspicion of
the negroes, and entertaining against them the prejudices of his class,
Mr. Goodlett employed a number of white boys from the country districts
to aid him with his refugee train. And he left them in charge of the
camp he had selected, knowing full well that they would be glad to
remain in hiding as long as the Federal soldiers were about.

The window of the dining-room at Dorringtons' commanded a view of the
street for a considerable distance toward town, and it was at this
window that Mrs. Absalom had her favourite seat. She explained her
preference for it by saying that she wanted to know what was going on in
the world. She looked out from this window one day while she was talking
to Gabriel Tolliver, whose visits to Dorringtons' had come to be
coincident with Nan's absence, and suddenly exclaimed:

"Well, my gracious! Ef yonder ain't old Picayune Pauper! I wonder what
we have done out this way that old Picayune should be sneakin' around
here? I'll tell you what--ef Ab has borried arry thrip from old Silas
Tomlin, I'll quit him; I won't live wi' a man that'll have anything to
do wi' that old scamp. As I'm a livin' human, he's comin' here!"

Now, Silas Tomlin was Neighbour Tomlin's elder brother, but the two men
were as different in character and disposition as a warm bright day is
different from a bitter black night. Pulaski Tomlin gave his services
freely to all who needed them, and he was happy and prosperous; whereas
Silas was a miserly money-lender and note-shaver, and always appeared to
be in the clutches of adversity. To parsimony he added the sting--yes,
and the stain--of a peevish and an irritable temper. It was as Mrs.
Absalom had said--"a picayunish man is a pauper, I don't care how much
money he's got."

"I'll go see ef Johnny is in the house," said Mrs.