Mingo and Other Sketches in Black and White


Book Description

IN 1876, circumstances, partly accidental and partly sentimental, led me to revisit Crooked Creek Church, near the little village of Rockville, in Middle Georgia. I was amazed at the changes which a few brief years had wrought. The ancient oaks ranged roundabout remained the same, but upon everything else time had laid its hand right heavily. Even the building seemed to have shrunk: the pulpit was less massive and imposing, the darkness beyond the rafters less mysterious. The preacher had grown grey, and feebleness had taken the place of that physical vigour which was the distinguishing feature of his interpretations of the larger problems of theology. People I had never seen sat in the places of those I had known so well. There were only traces here and there of the old congregation, whose austere simplicity had made so deep an impression upon my youthful mind The blooming girls of 1860 had grown into careworn matrons, and the young men had developed in their features the strenuous uncertainty and misery of the period of desolation and disaster through which they had passed. Anxiety had so ground itself into their lives that a stranger to the manner might well have been pardoned for giving a sinister interpretation to these pitiable manifestations of hopelessness and unsuccess. I had known the venerable preacher intimately in the past; but his eyes, wandering vaguely over the congregation, and resting curiously upon me, betrayed no recognition. Age, which had whitened his hair and enfeebled his voice, seemed also to have given him the privilege of ignoring everything but the grave and the mysteries beyond. These swift processes of change and decay were calculated to make a profound impression, but my attention was called away from all such reflections. Upon a bench near the pulpit, in the section reserved for the coloured members, sat an old negro man whose face was perfectly familiar. I had known him in my boyhood as Mingo, the carriage-driver and body-servant of Judge Junius Wornum. He had changed but little. His head was whiter than when I saw him last, but his attitude was as firm and as erect, and the evidences of his wonderful physical strength as apparent, as ever. He sat with his right hand to his chin, his strong serious face turned contemplatively toward the rafters. When his eye chanced to meet mine, a smile of recognition lit up his features, his head and body drooped forward, and his hand fell away from his face, completing a salutation at once graceful, picturesque, and imposing. I have said that few evidences of change manifested themselves in Mingo; and so it seemed at first, but a closer inspection showed one remarkable change. I had known him when his chief purpose in life seemed to be to enjoy himself. He was a slave, to be sure, but his condition was no restraint upon his spirits. He was known far and wide as "Laughing Mingo," and upon hundreds of occasions he was the boon companion of the young men about Rockville in their wild escapades. Many who read this will remember the "'possum suppers" which it was Mingo's delight to prepare for these young men, and he counted among his friends and patrons many who afterward became distinguished both in war and in the civil professions. At these gatherings, Mingo, bustling around and serving his guests, would keep the table in a roar with his quaint sayings, and his local satires in the shape of impromptu doggerel; and he would also repeat snatches of orations which he had heard in Washington when Judge Wornum was a member of Congress. But his chief accomplishments lay in the wonderful ease and fluency with which he imitated the eloquent appeals of certain ambitious members of the Kockville bar, and in his travesties of the bombastic flights of the stump-speakers of that day.




Mingo, and Other Sketches in Black and White


Book Description

Mingo, and Other Sketches in Black and White by Joel Chandler Harris has been regarded as significant work throughout human history, and in order to ensure that this work is never lost, we have taken steps to ensure its preservation by republishing this book in a contemporary format for both current and future generations. This entire book has been retyped, redesigned, and reformatted. Since these books are not made from scanned copies, the text is readable and clear.










Delphi Complete Works of Joel Chandler Harris (Illustrated)


Book Description

The American author and creator of the folk character Uncle Remus, Joel Chandler Harris produced a wide body of works, reflecting his life and interests in the Deep South. As a young journalist, he established a reputation as a brilliant humorist and writer of dialect. His Uncle Remus stories secured for Harris a place in American literature. The format was an instant success — a wise and genial old black man, Uncle Remus narrates tales of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and other animals to the son of a plantation owner, while interweaving his philosophy of the world about him. Harris’ later novels reveal his ability as a writer of ‘local color’, exploring important issues facing the South after its Reconstruction. For the first time in publishing history, this eBook presents Harris’ complete works, with numerous illustrations, many rare texts, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Harris’ life and works * Concise introductions to the novels and other texts * The Complete Uncle Remus books, for the first time in digital publishing * Includes all of the original Uncle Remus illustrations * The Complete Thimblefinger series * All 7 novels, with individual contents tables * Even includes Harris’ first novel, ‘The Romance of Rockville’, lost for many years and appearing here for the first time in digital publishing * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * All works are fully illustrated with their original artwork * Rare story collections available in no other eBook * Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the short stories * Easily locate the stories you want to read * Includes Harris’ biography on his inspirational friend Henry W. Grady, first time in digital print * Features Wiggins’ seminal biography – discover Harris’ incredible life * Ordering of texts into chronological order and genres Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles CONTENTS: The Uncle Remus Books Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings (1881) Nights with Uncle Remus (1883) Uncle Remus and His Friends (1892) The Tar-Baby and Other Rhymes of Uncle Remus (1904) Told by Uncle Remus (1905) Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit (1907) Uncle Remus and the Little Boy (1910) Uncle Remus Returns (1918) Seven Tales of Uncle Remus (1948) Mr. Thimblefinger Series Little Mr. Thimblefinger and His Queer Country (1894) Mr. Rabbit at Home (1895) The Story of Aaron (So Named), the Son of Ben Ali (1896) Aaron in the Wildwoods (1897) The Novels The Romance of Rockville On the Plantation (1892) Sister Jane (1896) Gabriel Tolliver (1902) A Little Union Scout (1904) Shadow between His Shoulder Blades (1909) The Bishop and the Boogerman (1909) The Shorter Fiction Mingo and Other Sketches in Black and White (1884) Free Joe and Other Georgian Sketches (1887) Daddy Jake, The Runaway: And Short Stories Told After Dark (1889) Balaam and His Master and Other Sketches and Stories (1891) Evening Tales (1893) Stories of Georgia (1896) Tales of the Home Folks in Peace and War (1898) The Chronicles of Aunt Minervy Ann (1899) Plantation Pageants (1899) On the Wing of Occasions (1900) The Making of a Statesman and Other Stories (1902) Wally Wanderoon and His Story-Telling Machine (1903) The Short Stories List of Short Stories in Chronological Order List of Short Stories in Alphabetical Order The Non-Fiction Introduction to ‘The Young Marooners on the Florida Coast’ by F. R. Goulding (1887) Life of Henry W. Grady (1890) The Biography The Life of Joel Chandler Harris (1918) by Robert Lemuel Wiggins Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles or to purchase this eBook as a Parts Edition of individual eBooks




The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature


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More than ten years in the making, this comprehensive single-volume literary survey is for the student, scholar, and general reader. The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature represents a collaborative effort, involving 300 contributors from across the US and Canada. Composed of more than 1,100 signed biographical-critical entries, this Encyclopedia serves as both guide and companion to the study and appreciation of American literature. A special feature is the topical article, of which there are 70.




The Cambridge Handbook of American Literature


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The Cambridge Handbook of American Literature offers a compact and accessible guide to the major landmarks of American literature.




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