Litchfield enquirer., 1879-05-22
MAUMA.

MAUMA. ,a-
 "I wouldn't have fought it eb you, Massa Joel wouldn't have fought it ob you"
 The tone in which the words were spoken was an utterly heart broken one, and Mauma- tall, jetty black negress, bent nearly double over her orange wood cane-hObbled down the garden walk to her favorite seat under the Cherokee roses, where she could weep her little weep in secret. t .f,s fn5rqaff t.- .ss.f 'What is the matter with Mauma ?" ask ed of my host, Colonel Gourdin. fAat
 ''She's so confoundedly sensltlve," replied the colonel. ''You see, she's been in the fam fly great many years. She nursed my moth- CT and her sisters when they were babies, and brought up all my mothers children. l be- lieve I am her favorite out of the batch, prob ably because l am the youngest, and she has brought up all my children until the fact of it is she's too old for service She is getting SC blind that she can't fairly see, and 50 doubled up with the rheumatism that she can't walk as fast as Tot can creep, and Mrs. Gourdin is | afraid to trust the baby with her. I knew there would be row if spoke. to her about | it but did it as kindly as could. l only said that we wefe afraid Tot was giving her | too much trouble, and wanted to get little darky girl to run around after her, so that | Mauma could still sit on the veranda and boss | the job But she smelled powder at once. See here, Massa Joe, she said, you isn't going | back on ole Mauma, IS you? and now there's no telling when she'll come out of her sulks :" '.Oh, she won't mind it," suggested, re-as- suringly, 'when she sees that she has full au- thority over the little girl she will rather like | to have some one to order about.
 1 "Indeed she will mind it," replied the colo ne 'As things are now, she orders us all | about. We'll, Tot will have to run the risk of broken neck, for we can't displease Mau- l ma."
 From all that ]. had seen of Mauma during my visit at the colonePs had become deeply interested in her, and l determined now to have little conversation with her. l found her under the Cherokee roses, somewhat more composed. She had just taken small en- broidered pouch from her pocket, Mrs. Gour- din's own handiwork, and was filling a corn cob pipe with some of the colonels best Lone Jack Lynchburg smoking tobacco. a-
 ''How old are you, ?' l asked, for could think of no better way in which to open the conversation. It proved most unlucky question, for Mauma settled her gorgeous Ma dras turban so as to cover more completely the locks which, frosty and silky as laMo g. wool, curled from beneath It, and With sus. aioious sldelong glance from her flmy eyes, mumbled grossly,
 l s'Don't rightly know how old is didn't take de trouble to result de almanac de day Is born" Then turning slightly from me- with an air of lofty indifference, she fixed her gaze upon magnolia just bursting into bloom. 1 ''Mauma," pleaded, laying in her hand a package of French candies, ''have you got a | sweet tooth ?'' ..t l "Why, lady !" she exclaimed, opening the paper with alacnty, filling her mouth with chocolate creams and continuing the conver- sation in muff1ed but sweeter tones. 'Ihasn't 1 got nary toof whatsumebber, but kin eat candy. l jus wobble it around somehow till i it melts. Speakin' bout my age, now. Specs you done fought hadn't got no manners. But Is young, miss Heap of folks tinks Is ole, but it aint so. Is only little bline of dis were eye, an l has de misery in my bones, but Is right young, 1 is. Dis yere's powerful de chillen. Whar you done got it?"
 ''It is some that brought with me from Boston," replied.
 'Ps been in Boston," said Mauma. 'I was dar befo' de wah wid my young missus, de coloners mudder."
 'If you were there before tho wor,you u1ust have been slave at the time. Didn't you know that you needn't have returned with your mistress if you had chosen to remain You could have been free then if you had only staid."
 '.What ud I want of my freedom up dar i? Misable place anyhow Had to pay two dol lars m for a mean little camelia for nv young missus to wear in her har to de ball on Chris mus night dat we wouldn't a fought good huff to give away down heah. No money wouldn't a hiahd me to stay dar. Specs Ps goin' to stay any whar widout my young missus :? Humph, what's my freedom, I'd like to know, to my young missus?"
 "You must have loved her very much. Tell me about her, Mauma; was she very hand some p
 'Hansome Humph! Han'somest woman you ebber set your eyes on dey don't raise no sech handsome women nowadays. All ob de Telliver girls fuSt an last was beauties. Eight girls, married one after another jus as quick as dey popped de rail ob seventeen year, an ebbery one on em married into de fust fami- lies eb de Souf De twins were de las. Mas sa Tolliver he was Jawja man, an he named de twins after two ub de Jawja ribbers, Sa- vannah an Tombigby Miss Savannah, dat s my young missus, gentle and lubly as lily j; but tell you Miss Tom had de berry spirit ob de Ebil One in her. Well, as was tellin' you, de twins was de las eb de fam'l ly an when dey come out, gears like all de Souf knew dar want no more Tolliver girls left, and nebber
 
 tion of majors an captains an judges an Sen- ators an officers in de navy, an rich widow CTS, an one foreigner, an planters from Cuby, an dishonorable MT. Somebody from Wash ington, you nebber see in all your born days Miss Savannah, my poh, dear, peaceable baby jus married de one her paw picked out for her, 'thout maxim any fuss about it but Miss Tom she clared she was gwine to hab her pick out ob de lot. Her pick! Oh my Lordy pears like dat chile couldn't found de beat ob dat man for meanness eff she'd a gone to Sodom and Tomorrow to take her choose. Yo' know, de Bible says, miss, de mo de eggs, Ge worse de hatch; de mo de lubbers de worse de match Well, I stood by Miss Tom, dough I'd rather have gone wid Miss Savannah, fur she married a minister, an 1 knew she'd need me, fur ministers nose gen'rally has heap ob family. But Madam Tolliver she says to me, I mistrust Toms husband, Mauma, and Is gwine to glib you to Tom, so you can go wid her an take cah ob dat poh chile.' An 1 did take cah ob her. had a baby myself den on- ly nine months old, but Huff It an went out to Texas wid Miss Tom"
 ''What! they tore you away from your ba- by, Mauma? How wickedly cruel!"
 "Dey didn't tore me done luff 1t my own self. Whats my baby to my young missus ? Muffin but little nigger young one, an she one ob de peartest young ladies in de Souf Her husband was mighty proud ob her, too 'cept when he was in liquor; den he'd carry on fit to take de roof of de house. Smashed a whole table serbice ob French china Miss Toms paw gabe her fur weddin' present Now dat was somefn gal ob her sperrit couldn't bar an when Miss Tom saw it, she slashed him cross de face wid her ridin'-whip an he at her wid his bowie-knife. Oh Lordy ! Is stood betwixt 'em many. time when he was in liquor, an stood betwixt 'em den, an dat's why Is bline ob dis yere eye. But tell you what, scolded him we'll when he come out ob his tantrums. 'You's booty fellow, says I, 'an' you call yourself gemman, says l. tell you he was mighty outed, but I want ne ways skeered. Miss Tom she jus went into her room an locked de do on him i; said she hadn't no mol use fur him after dat Sbe let me in, dough; she'd a-hounded up my eye de night befo', an, couldn't rightly see what she was dOin'. Sit down on dis trunk, -f IL sk III