!'

'Yas, massa; wid de bery fuss.'

'Ally, give me your hand,' I exclaimed, with unaffected pleasure;
'you're a man! You're worthy of such a mother!'

'Yas, he am dat, massa! He'm wordy ob anyting, an' he'm gwine to hab a
wife ter day, massa. Boss Joe am gwine ter marry 'em, an' ter gib 'em
him own cabin fur dar Chrismus giff.'

'Well, Joe _is_ a trump. I'll remember him in my will for that, aunty,
sure.'

'Dat'm bery good ob 'ou, massa; but I reckon 'ou can't tink who Ally'm
gwine ter hab, massa,' said the old woman, her face beaming all over.

'No, I can't, Dinah. Who is she?'

'It'm little Rosey, dat 'ou buy ob de trader, massa; an' she'm de
pootiest little gal all roun' yere; ebery one say dat, massa.'

'Indeed! And they are to be married to-day?'

'Yas, massa, ter day--dis evenin'. 'Ou'll be dar, woan't 'ou, massa?'

'Yes, certainly I will.'

The old woman and Ally then mingled with the crowd of negroes, and I
turned my attention once more to Joe's operations. The men had been
supplied with head gear, and the women were receiving their
turbans--gaudy pieces of red and yellow muslin.

'Now, all you boys an' gals,' shouted Joe, as he dealt out a
handkerchief to the last of the dusky demoiselles, 'you all squat on de
groun', an' shovel off you' shoes.'

Down they went in every conceivable attitude, and, uncovering their
feet, commenced pelting each other with the cast-off leathers. When the
sport had lasted a few minutes, Joe sang out:

'Come! 'nuff ob dat; now ter bisness. Yere, you yaller monkeys (to
several small specimens of copper and chrome yellow), tote dese 'mong
'em.'

The young chattels did as they were bidden, and, as each heavy brogan
was fitted to the pedal extremity of some one of the darkies, the
newly-shod individual sprang to his feet, and commenced dancing about as
if he were the happiest mortal in existence.

'Dat'm it,' shouted Joe; 'frow up you' heels; an' some ob you gwo
an' fotch de big fiddle. We'll hab a dance, an' show dese Nordern
gemmen de raal poker.'

'But we hain't hed de dresses--nor de soogar--nor de 'backer--nor none
ob de whiskey,' cried a dozen voices.

'Shet up, you brack crows! You can't hab anudder ting till ye'se hed a
high ole heel-scrapin'. Yere, massa Joe; you come up yere, an' holp me
wid de 'strumentals,' said Boss Joe, grinning widely, and getting up on
the carpenter's bench.

In a few moments, the 'big fiddle,' one or two smaller fiddles, and
th