Uncle Joe and Uncle Jack and one or two of the elder men had been led to the cellar several times during the evening, for a more pleasant purpose than Alfred generally went there for. The hard cider was kept in the cellar, the sweet cider upstairs. Uncle Joe was as mellow as a pippin. At the end of Lin's first chorus he threw her a handful of change. The other men threw coppers or small silver pieces. Lin, like a true artist, stood unmoved and continued her song. Alfred picked up the money and handed it to her. She disdained to receive it. How the fires of jealousy burned within Alfred's breast as he noted the triumph of Lin. How the men could become so affected as to throw her money he could not comprehend.
Before the next song, Lin lectured Alfred before the entire company, saying: "The fellur with the head drum (tambourine) in the circus minstrels never beat it in the sad tunes, only in the comic ones. Es long as ye've bin showin', a body'd think ye knowed thet much."
This calling down further humiliated Alfred.
Bill Storey followed in a tuneful baritone, singing:
"Oh, the old home ain't what it used to be, de banjo and de fiddel am gone,
An' no more you'll hear the darkies singing among de sugar cane an' corn.
Great changes hab come to de poor colored man, but dis change makes him sad an' forlorn,
For no more we hear de darkies singing among de sugar cane an' corn."
Then all sang the chorus:
"No, the old home ain't what it used to be, (etc.)"