“Miles G. Cottingham! Miles G. Cottingham! Miles G. Cottingham! Come into court.” Mr. Cottingham was fat, rosy, and cheerful. He came into court with such a dubious smile on his face that his friends in the room were disposed to laugh, but they remembered that Lawyer Terrell was somewhat intolerant of these manifestations of good-humor. As for Mr. Cottingham himself, he was greatly puzzled. When the voice of the court crier reached his ears he was in the act of taking a dram, and, as he said afterward, he “come mighty nigh drappin’ the tumbeler.” But he was not subjected to any such mortification. He tossed off his dram in fine style, and went to the court-house, where, as soon as he had pushed his way to the front, he was met by Lawyer Terrell, who shook him heartily by the hand, and told him his testimony was needed in order that justice might be done. Then Mr. Cottingham was put on the stand as a witness for the defense. “How old are you, Mr. Cottingham?” said Lawyer Terrell. “Ef I make no mistakes, I’m a-gwine on sixty-nine,” replied the witness. “Are your eyes good?” “Well, sir, they er about ez good ez the common run; not so good ez they mought be, en yit good enough fer me.” “Did you ever see that negro before?” The lawyer pointed to Ananias. “Which nigger? That un over there? Why, that’s thish yer God-forsakin’ Ananias. Ef it had a-bin any yuther nigger but Ananias I wouldn’t ’a’ bin so certain and shore; bekaze sence the war they er all so mighty nigh alike I can’t tell one from t’other sca’cely. All eckceppin’ of Ananias; I’d know Ananias ef I met ’im in kingdom come wi’ his hair all swinjed off.” The jury betrayed symptoms of enjoying this testimony; seeing which, the State’s attorney rose to his feet to protest. “May it please the court”— “One moment, your honor!” exclaimed Lawyer Terrell. Then, turning to the witness: “Mr. Cottingham, were you with Mr. Jones when he was watching to catch a thief who had been stealing from him?” “Well, sir,” replied Mr. Cottingham, “I sot up wi’ him one night, but I disremember in pertickler what night it wuz.” “Did you see the thief?” “Well, sir,” said Mr. Cottingham, in his deliberate way, looking around over the court-room with a more judicial air than the judge on the bench, “ef you push me close I’ll tell you. Ther wuz a consid’able flutterment in the neighborhoods er whar we sot, an’ me an’ Wash done some mighty sly slippin’ up en surrounderin’; but ez ter seein’ anybody, we didn’t see ’im. We heerd ’m a-scufflin’ an’ a-runnin’, but we didn’t ketch a glimpse un ’im, nuther har ner hide.” “Did Mr. Jones see him?” “No more’n I did. I wuz right at Wash’s elbow. We heerd the villyun a-runnin’, but we never seed ’im. Atterwards, when we got back ter the house, Wash he ’lowed it must’a bin that nigger Ananias thar, an’ I ’lowed it jess mought ez well be Ananias ez any yuther nigger, bekaze you know yourself—”