New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-01-04

George twice. account o. me. She thought
was piece O gold. She's dead now all my
folks is dead.
Nom; she WANT no bigger'n me; nor
she want as strong as he was; but she beat
him bad" Nelly laughed as she spoke.
why did she do II" asked.
Well, you see, Miss Jasmin, 'twa'nt long
arter was married; an Pa he KEEP a night
sschool den an dey want no good III dat, you
know dey want; but / didn' know nothin'
ole Miss skirts; our white folks thought
alone dat night, comm back fun
earring clos to town, an it got dark,
an went to de school an waited outside fer
Pa to come hsme wild me didn' know dtr
was a gal dar he was a-nOtlcin' 'rOun'; an
waited, an waited, an set still an let all de
Others go by an by'm bye he come out an
he tole me to go, on home; an dar was
creek to cross, an was skeered, it was so
late-mOs' 'leben O'clock-an' | begun to cry,
an he took hickory stick an begun TO whip
me over de head an hams an face, an Int me
in one o. my eyes, an | cryin' an hOllerin an
beggin lie didn' know any man saw HIM, an
| dldn' know 1t, but dar was man standin
off an he saw it all, an he went of an
tole my Ma An when | got home she let me
| III, an she asst me where George was I an'
| why | was so late an what was de matter
wild my eye ? and / tOle her a story; ycs'm,
did /; l t0le her a bee stung me; and she KIND
O turned off an laughed an dim say nothin'.
An next day my hans was all llz an Scared
up, an my eye, an mamma she never say
nOthin'. An at night Miss Gasmin, she went
off to his school, an she went i'll, an she just
jumped on him like a wild cat, an she beat
him gOod-fashiOn. He never struck her
HEX. ,Yes,m, she beat him before all
S 'hG Se @y sro hs En nS S0m she S %as
gwine to beat HIM, and If he'd tired To
| fight, | spec he'd lit i'll too. La, Miss JAS.
min | reckon If she was livn' now she'd
| killed him an Anna, bot on EN- long ago,
| an been III de chain gang by dis time
The earnest, unmirthful way in which this
last remark was made checked my impulse TO
laugh at 1t. After all, it was poor Neliy's ut
most OF sentiment and her one Imagination OF
| protecting power.
{" But, if / were you, Nelly. would not live
in the house with Anna If had good reason
to dislike her So" | said.
"Well, we aim i'll de same house now, Miss
Jasmin, dough dar amt but a palms oli-
frunce twixt us. Yes'm, next door; q palms
dlffrunce, am she do eat wild us; But she
gives Pa all she make, an he fixed ii so.
g ain seen nOthin to say gin Anna. l
dom say DOthin' o. what she is nor; but she
rdS bad; she has separated two men an der
wives, an de wives Is bOf dead Miss Jasmin.
She lived wild man once dat KEEP her like
she was white! He even put out dat nigger's
washin'! He KEEP 4 store, and gin her a store
to keep; an eve'y Monday mOrnln' she had
five dollars to go to town an trade wild; an
his wife jes Il settn dar an cuTslng' at ner!
Dat mans gone away since his wife
died, an lie sent Anna $50 to come TO
him. an she les took de money an
spreed aroun' an spent it an he sent her SO
to send his daughter by ms first wife TO him.
an she KEEP dat too, an frohcked on II; JO-
anna never seed 1t.
"She set up next door to me not long ago.
an had good stove dat paid 81 Tor, an
Pa, he said, we'd all been wOrlIn' together an
she ought to ha' sOmpln TO slow for IT, an he
tole me to III her dat stove an he'd cit me
another, an gin to her, an gn her half de
dishes, an halt o eveytlln'. Nom, he am
never got me none yet
She's a big sporty woman, bout ginger
cake color leette brighter II me. No. she
amt han some, she am got tooth III her
head She's got one son, mos grown--a white
boy. His gran mother keeps bm up; his
gram mother sens him home from Gaines
Vile four dollars mos evey week, an keeps
him at dis yer college here.
NO IN, Miss Jasmin, ] ain got nothn' to
say gin Pa. No IN, can't leave him he
w0uldn' like it. Lots o white folks would ha'
me, for ] kin work hard. But men folks IS SO
cur'Os. Pa, he thinks ought To live jcs so:
He say he won he watched an followed, an
dough I'm his wife, I'm 10 better n any other
'oman ii | do dat; he say so; an he say |
shall stay home an keep quiet an do as he
say. | tell him sometimes he's mighty hard
"Well, mus 20 home. been away long
time. | sat by dc road awhile. Jos studyn'.
somehow / couldn' fix mp my min ever to 30
home agn But you ain had 10 trouble; you
donno how it Is. You feels turned away ium
tell Susan no'i stays long while at Alcxan-
derses. Nom, / amt afraid o him. lie amt
beat me in two years. He won do nolhln' to
me but he's got such a bad temper he doh
think nothin' % beatin' an bangln aroun
when hes mad, Miss Jasmin. Men folks is
SO cur'Os."
She took up her basket and pulled on her
sunbonnet She had spoken without trace
gentle. and entirely hopeless but she smiled
when / gave her an apple, and went away
down the road singing a hymn III a very
cheerful way ; while siX-year-old Kcmanny III
the kitchen was loudly caroiling:
90, nobody knows the trouble see
Little children,
lnov he