Mary Baldwin College - Bluestocking Yearbook (Staunton, VA)

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18 The AiLgusta Seminary Anmial. dem ner touch nothin ' . Den de soldiers la£F an ' ax him what he can do. Mars Phil he jis stands up in front uvole Missus an ' yer Ma a-lookin ' ' zactly ez if he could whip de whole Union army. Den one big soldier rides up an ' sez wid tears in his eyes dat he ' s got a li ' l boy like Mars Phil at home an ' dat dey shan ' t hurt nuthin ' dat is ' fended by sech a brave li ' l soldier. At dat dey all wheel roun ' an ' ride off. And de big soldier he kiss Mars Phil for his li ' l boy ' s sake and says if ever he sees Mars Phil ' s pa he gwine ter tell him what a brave boy he ' s got. An ' dat ' s how Mars Phil took keer uv his ma and his li ' l sister. Now run along, honey, I ain ' t got no time to be a-tellin you stories. A Student ' s Dream. HAT is this ? Some one rapping at my door ? Before I had time to bid the unexpected one enter, the door opened wide, and in walked an aged man, withered and bent, with long, shaggy, black hair, and wild, staring eyes. He ap- proached my bed and upon seeing me cried in anger : So you are the wretch who dared to play ' Yankee Doodle ' and ' Dixie ' when you should have practiced my Landler Waltz ? To pun- ish you, I shall prevent Prof. M. from giving you that beautifully bound Beethoven which you have so long teased him to let you have. I am Beethoven, and with ihat he ceased, and stood at the foot of the bed glaring upon me. No sooner had he become silent than in came a blind man, very old, and very handsome, whom I recognized as ivfilton. Now what can you say, he began, for naming that blood- curdling Coleridge as the author of my immortal Paradise Lost ? You shall pay the penalty, and with that he took his place by the side of Beethoven. Trembling, I turned to see who had now darkened the door. It was a pale, sorrow-stricken man who approached and began severely : I am Mark Anthony, and when I cried ' Friends. Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears, ' do you think I said it in the thin, squeaky voice in which you repeated it this morninir in Elocution ? Each succeeding generation is less and less energetic,

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The lu iisfa Semmary Annual. 17 Mars Phil. SO LONG, honey, yo ' ole mammy ' s got to work. Don ' t yer see how busy I is ? What ' s dat you say ? You want me to tell you a tale ' bout yo ' ma an ' yo ' Unc ' Phil when dey was li ' l i Law honey, when yer stuck yo ' haid in dat do ' I mos ' thought I wuz back on de ole plantation way yonder fo ' de war, an ' you wuz yo ' ma. I recollec ' how she use ' ter run in wid her curls flyin ' roun ' her face an ' her eyes a-shinin ' , a-hollerin hello ter me an ' axin ' me how I is. She an ' Mars Phil wuz de smartis ' children dat ever lived. When de war broke out, yo ' ma wan ' t no bigger ' n you an ' Mars Phil he was jes ' two years older. When ole Massa went off to de war he Icf me an ' ole Unc Tom to tek keer uv ole Missus an ' de chilluns an ' de plantation. Mars Phil he wanted a uniform an ' brass buttons like his pa ' s an ' wanted ter go to de war. But ole Massa he tell Mars Phil to be his brave li ' l soldier an ' stay- home an ' teek ' keer uv his ma an ' his li ' l sister. So arter ole Massa wuz gone Mars Phil felt like he wuz ' sponsible for de whole plantation. Bymeby arter ole Massa been gone two or three weeks, we hear de Yankees is comin ' . Me and Uuc Tom gits all de silver and de jewels an ' teks ' em out in de woods an ' buries ' em in d5 grown ' . Unc Tom he teks de kerridge horses an ' turns ' em out in de wood-lot so de Yankees wont know whar to find ' em. All dat day Missus ' face looks mighty still and white but she don ' t say nothin ' an ' don ' t cry none so ' s de chillun wont get skeerd. Mars Phil gits his pa ' s ole sword an ' puts it on. Next mornin ' ' long bout ten o ' clock we hears a mighty gal- lopin ' down de big road, an ' sees de Yankees comin ' . De sol- diers come up to de house a-laffin ' . One ' lows as how dey wont have no trouble gittin ' what dey want kaze dere ain ' t nobody ' ceptin ' women an ' chillun on de place. One asks Unc Tom where de horses is and de res ' all start in de house. Den Mars Phil he sees ' em an ' he steps up wid his haid helt up high, an ' his eyes a-shinin ' , an ' his han ' on de big sword an ' sez dat his Pa hez done gone to de war but dat he lef him home to tek keer uv his ma and his li ' l sister an ' dat all de Yankees in de worl ' shan ' t hurt

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The Augusta Seminary Annual. 19 and I believe in a short time your voice will be a mere whisper. Each word had grown louder and more severe, and I put my hands over my ears, secretly determining to practice the Oro- tund every day. Hearing a slight rustling on the bed, I looked down and was amazed to .see a poor little shivering dog climbing up on the bed- It was Beauty, hardly recognizable now that he was shorn of his once beautiful hair. Oh me! he whined, I ' m so cold, and I fear that I cannot survive the winter. Curses be upon you wick- ed girls who have stolen y curls for your ' memoir books ! ' and an ominous growl followed. I shuddered and tried to think when I had succeeded in obtaining a lock of Beauty ' s coveted hair, for Ivallie and I had cha.sed him over the back gallery and even into the office, but in vain. Not the smallest piece could we get. Next came a low, heavy-set man, dressed in the tunic worn by the farmer in the early ages. When I saw the broad open countenance, the Roman nose, and the beautiful curly hair, I thought of Cincinnatus. His words verified my suspicion, for he began in an enraged tone : ' ' ' My name is Lucius Quintius Cin- cinnatus, and I am known to history as one averse to using polit- ical power in order to gain wealth. Did I save my country, re- fuse a golden crown and return to my plough just to have a little ignoramus say : ' He was the Roman whose character was most like that of Pausanias. ' You shall pay dearly for this my lady. I turned awaj ' , hoping to shut out these visions, but on that side stood Miss D. with an empty ink bottle and a half corrected composition. Now Kittie, .she sighed, ' ' I did not think that you would hand in such work. I have used all my red ink and have burnt my midnight oil, but here is the composition still un- finished. You may take it and come to my room Saturday. I opened my lips to lemonstrate, but ere a word escaped I was transfixed with horror. Over the bed came a dreadful mouse which paused and said in low, sad tones : ' Would you, could you be so cruel as to set a trap for a poor little innocent mouse, just because you want to dissect one in ' our Physiology class? He came nearer and nearer, almost to my pillow. This was be- yond human endurance, and I gave one awful shriek and bound- ed out of bed.