d up in a ragged old handkerchief
under his arm, and a knotted stick in his hand.

Old Richard was the property of one of the Hendersons, a member of the
family that gave its name to this Kentucky county and village. His
master had a liking for him, owing to his obedient and original
character, and the slave, instead of tilling the soil, was at liberty
to do whatever he thought proper. No one raised any objection to this
tolerance, for Richard, whom his master was used to call a necessary
evil, had before all the talent of keeping the negroes of the
plantation in good humor by means of his fiddle.

Richard, who understood all the importance of his exalted functions,
knew nothing but his duty, and was remarkably punctual whenever those
who honored him with their confidence let him know that his services
were required. In this respect the merest trifle irritated him, and
any vexation or disturbance rendered him ferocious.

Despite the proverbial timidity attributed to geniuses, old Dick
displayed a touch of the hyena whenever, at any of the negro festivals
presided over by him, anything or anybody offended etiquette or the
proprieties. As for Dick, he never forgot himself in the slightest
degree, and whenever he was called upon to undertake the duties he
performed so well, he had never once kept the company waiting. And yet
one day--poor Dick! The following narrative will show that it was not
by his own fault that he arrived too late at his appointment.

A wedding of colored people was about to come off on a plantation
about six miles from the one where the fiddler lived. In order that
the feast might be perfect, old Dick had been invited, and he was
unanimously appointed master of the ceremonies. It was during the
winter; the cold was excessive, and the snow, which had fallen
incessantly for three days, covered the ground to a depth of several
feet.

While all Mr. Henderson's negroes, with their master's previous
permission, hastened to the spot where pleasure called them, the ebony
Apollo was arranging his toilet with peculiar delight. A white shirt,
a collar as immoderately long in front as it was high in the neck,--so
that Dick's head resembled a block of coal in a sheet of white
paper,--a blue coat with gilt buttons, and long tails that reached to
his heels,--a present from his master,--a red silk cravat fringed at
the ends, a green waistcoat ornamented with an orange patch at the
spot where the watch-pocket fo