though she knew them all so well, she could not stop to spend any time
with them. There were the oaks--the black-oak with its shining
many-pointed leaves, the white-oak with its lighter green though
duller-hued foliage, and the chestnut-oak with its long and thickly
clustered leaves. Then there were the sweet-gums, fragrant and
star-leaved, and the black-gum, tough, dark, and unpretending. No little
girl in the county knew more about the trees of her native place than
Kate; for she had made good use of her long rides through the country
with her father. Here were the chincapin-bushes, like miniature
chestnut-trees, and here were the beautiful poplars. She knew them by
their bright leaves, which looked as though they had been snipped off at
the top with a pair of scissors. And here, right in front of her, was
Uncle Braddock. She knew him by his many-colored dressing-gown, without
which he never appeared in public. It was one of the most curious
dressing-gowns ever seen, as Uncle Braddock was one of the most curious
old colored men ever seen. The gown was not really as old as its wearer,
but it looked older. It was composed of about a hundred pieces of
different colors and patterns--red, green, blue, yellow, and brown;
striped, spotted, plain, and figured with flowers and vines. These
pieces, from year to year, had been put on as patches, and some of them
were quilted on, and some were sewed, and some were pinned. The gown was
very long and came down to Uncle Braddock's heels, which were also very
long and bobbed out under the bottom of the gown as if they were trying
to kick backward. But Uncle Braddock never kicked. He was very old and
he had all the different kinds of rheumatism, and walked bent over
nearly at right-angles, supporting himself by a long cane like a
bean-pole, which he grasped in the middle. There was probably no
particular reason why he should bend over so very much, but he seemed to
like to walk in that way, and nobody objected. He was a good old soul,
and Kate was delighted to see him.