The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1880-03-11

Dey say bof your names is on de pa
PERI
A few days elapsed, and Diana was
setting the dinner table when she
casually remarked, Miss Jasmin,
Nancy kin make right far biscuit, her
ma say, but don you trus' her wild no
light bread or cake whilst Use gone.
"Nancy?"
81 done gagged her to cook fer you
whilst Use gone up de country. Her
ma say she kin cook fust-rate wild a
little showin'."
"But, Diana are you going?"
[ asked meekly. | had learned from
my neighbors the custom Of the coun-
try, and knew it vain to protest against
a proceeding | should have considered,
while at the North, a high-handed
outrage. Did not Charlotte, Mrs.
D'Aubigny's cook, take it into her
head to visit an infirm grandmother,
or some such relative, and whisk off,
without ''by your leave" leaving her
afflicted mistress with company in the
house, and a cook selected by Char
lotte's self, who was perfectly fright
full? Did not Charlotte stay one
solid week, and did not Mrs. A'Au-
bigny welcome her back almost with
tears of joy, so unutterable had been
the horrors Of her absence? If Diana
chose to prove to me how i'll | could
live without her, who was |, a mere
worm O. the dust" as it were, to pro-
test against her will and pleasure?
Good servants are rare-fatally rare;
you dare not refuse valuable one
anything, from a weeks holiday to an
afternoon out" from a "street-car
ticket, please 'm." to the dress that
you wear!
Diana went the next morning. She
also returned; not, oh! not by two
days as soon as she promised, but she
returned; she returned, and to her
credit be it recorded, she brought back
to me what was to her considerable
sum, the change of large bill which
I entrusted to her to get out of it her
wages; it being the only money had
about me when she knocked at my
door in the gray morning and remind
ed me that She wanted S. to travel
with. [ staked that bill on her fidelity,
and was not disappointed.
What [ suffered at the hands OF
Nancy is not to the purpose; scarcely
more SO the truly neighborly loving
kindness Of Mrs. D'Aubigney, who
sent me her own cook to dress my
Sunday dinner; but at last Diana re-
turned; before breakfast [ heard her
usual grumbling tones-never so well
come as now-in the back porch.
Gordon had left the room, and | called
her She came in, still wearing her
best head-gear-a white hat-and her
gay, thin shawl.
"Did you get your children, Di-
ana?" [ asked.
Eyes, ma'mr' emphatically. But
Mars Gordon ought to a gin me dat
paper, dough. Ihad to fight for 'em." "
did you fight, Diana?" curiously,
remembering how once she laid Maze
out wild a cane. =.
II did for fac! | fit three on EN-. "
"Why, how was that, Diana?"
"Well, Miss Jasmin, de fust | saw
when [ got off at de Pint wuz Pete
hisse'f, down dar to meet de train wild
a wagon an mule, spectin his Uncle
Jim on de train. He tole me dey
want gwine to lemme ha' Cynthy
whatever dey did. He asst me to ride
in de wagon, but [ wouldn't do it; |
know'd dey didn't want me in none O
deir wagon.
Had they received your letter
about Cynthia?"
"'Course dey had; dats why dey
spected I'd be comm long after her
Well. I walked on to Sist' Callines
an Kernanny she got tired, an | had
to tote her piece O de ways. Sist
Calline live bout two miles from jim
sons, an bout three from de Pint
whar done left de train [ staid all
night at Sist' Calline's."
"You didn't see Cynthia at all the
first day?"
mo, m. Mex day I went fer her
My bre'r, Tom, he went longer me
maxim tense like as he was on my
side. An when / got dar he done
turned agin' me! But fit 'em all.
you did,"
Il JUS up an tole 'em I had law
yer's 'pinions, an de lawyer stood
ready to sin tifikid dat [ could ha
my chillun, an dat Mars Gordon say
[ could JUS call my chillun, an eff dey
didn' follow me [ could ha' de law or
EN-, an | tole 'em Mars Gordon nc
show 'em law ef dey. wanted it; anC
den my own brudder- seetful thing
he say, oh Sis, I'd let 'em lone
we bin all roun' to all de white folks
in de neighbo'hood, an all de white
folks dey say you couldn't take
'em ontwell dey was twenty-one !!
And | say, You is, is you? You bin
to all de white folks is you? You bin
to. all de white folks, is you? Come
right out here, den,' | say, an I'll
drink your bloodT
''Why Diana!"
YES, ma'am, [ was a bilin' den!
Cynthy, she was a cryin' all de time.
she was SO feared dey' git de bes' oh
me. But | say, 'Cynthy, la! chile,
DON you shed one tear; don you shed
one tear | say, cause Use gwine to
ha' you, eff | ha' to take you away en-
piecesr"
"Consoling for Cynthia-but you
made them give her up, did yQu?"
''Yes'm. Dey wanted to make up
after | done cleaned up de crowd, an
asst me to come in, an talk an set a
spell; but no sir! | wouldn' no more
set my foot in DER house! Den dey
promust to lemme ha' Cynthy de mex
day, an when | went after her, she
wan dar Dey'd done hid her out in
de swamp; an l tole Jim Jimson eff
he didn' go an bring me dat chile [
wouldn't leave two logs tOgedder in