outside of the Wall.

This House was the Abode of a Colonel who had a silver-gray Goatee and
the Manners of the Old School. All the First Families in the State were
related to him, and therefore he was somewhat Particular as to who Lined
Up with him when he took his Toddy.

He was proud of his Ancestry, and he carried the Scars to prove that he
would Resent an Insult.

Now it happened that the Thirteenth Amendment signified nothing to him.
He had been Reconstructed, but it didn't Take.

While on a Business Trip to the North he stopped at a Gaudy Hotel with
all kinds of Mirrors and Onyx Stairways.

The Head Waiter at this Hotel was a Colored Gentleman with a False Front
and a Dress Suit that fit him too soon. His Name was Mr. Winfield. He
was President of the Colored Waiters' Union, Vice-President of the
Republican County Central Committee, and Regal Commander of the Princes
of Ethiopia.

His Honors lay Heavily upon him. He showed People where to sit in the
Dining Room, and those who failed to Obey usually had to wait fifteen or
twenty Minutes for their Vermicelli.

[Illustration: THE COLONEL]

Mr. Winfield favored his Feet somewhat, which caused him to walk
Syncopated, but, everything considered, he was quite Important and
fairly Warm.

One morning the Colonel went into the Dining Room, and after he had
seated himself he called Mr. Winfield to him and said he wanted some Hot
Biscuit. At the same time he addressed Mr. Winfield as a Black Hound.
Mr. Winfield did not know that this was a Term of Endearment in
Apahatchie County, so he picked up a Silver Fruit Dish and bounced it
against the Colonel's Head.

The Colonel arose and pulled his Persuader, expecting to make it a Case
of Justifiable Homicide, but two Waiters named George and Grant grabbed
him and backed him up against the Wall.

There were other guests in the Dining Room, but they did not jump in
with any Gun Plays and make it a Race War, because Apahatchie County was
Eight Hundred Miles away. One of them Co-Operated to the extent of
Ringing three times for a Policeman.

The Officer of the Law who arrived in a few Minutes was Mr. Otis
Beasley, Most Worshipful Scribe of the Princes of Ethiopia, of which Mr.
Winfield was the Regal Commander.

Mr. Beasley walked up to Mr. Winfield, and placing his Left Hand on his
Brow, said, "Hail, Brother."

"Hail, Most Noble Prince!" responded Mr. Winfield, making the Mystic
Sign.

"What are the Objects of o