The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1882-09-29
HOWJUNE FOUND MASSA LINKLLN.

June laid down h4r knives upon the
scrubbing board, and stole softly out in
to the yard. Madame Joliet was takinl
a nap up stairs, and, for few minutes
at least, the coast seemed to be quite
clear.
Who was June? and who Madame
Joliet?
June was little girl who had lived in
| Richmond ever since she could remem.
| ber, who had never been outside the
city boundaries, and who had vague
idea that the North lay just above the
Chlckahominy, and the Gulf of Mexico
about mile below the James. She
could not tell A from nor the figure
from 40 and whenever Madame Joile
made those funny little curves and dots
and blots with pen and ink, in drawing
stairs, June considered that she was
moved thereto by witches. Her author
ity for this theory lay in charming old
woman across the way, who had one
tooth, and wore yellow cap, and used
to tell her ghost stories sometimes in
the evening.
Somebody asked June once how old
she was.
aspect rs a hundred,-dunno," she
said gravely. Exactly how old she was
nobody knew. She was not tall enough
to be more than seven, but her face was
like the face of a little old woman. 1t
was a queer face, with thick lips and low
forehead, and great mournful eyes.
Whenever they looked at one, they
seemed to cry right out, as if they had a
voice. But no ONE III zGSichmond cared
about that. Nobody cared about June
at all. When she was unhappy, no one
asked her what W the matter; when
she was hungry, or cold or frightened,
Madame Joliet laughed at her, and when
she was sick she beat her. If she broke
a teacup, or spilled mug of coffee, she
had her ears boxed, or she was shut up
in terrible dark cellar, where the rats
were as large as kittens. If she tried to
sing ltttle in her sorrowful, smothered
way, over her work, Madame Joliet
shook her for making so much noise.
When she stopped she scolded her for
being sulky, Nothing that she could do
ever happened to be right everything
was sure to be wrong. She had not half
enough to eat, nor half enough to wear.
What was worse than that, she had no.
body to kiss, and nobody to kiss her no.
body to love her and pet her; nobody
she lived or died, except half starved
kitten that lived in the wood-shed.
For June was black, and a slave; and
this Frenchwoman, Madame joliet, was
her mistress.
Exactly what was the use of living
under such circumstances June never
could clearly see. She cherished a Sc
cret notion that, if she could find lit
tie grave all dug out somewhere in
clover field, she would creep in and
hide there. Madame Joliet could not
find her then. People who lived in
graves were not supposed to be hungry;
and, if it were ever so cold, they never
That they could not be bea-
ten was natural consequence, because
there was so much earth between, that
you wouldn't feel the stick. The only
objection would be leaving Hungry.
was the kitten: June had
named it so because it was black. She |
had an idea that everything black was
hungry, in the nature of things.
That there had been a war, June had |
from old Creline, who told her
the ghost stories. What it was all
about she did not know. Madame Joil- |
ct said some terrible giants, called Yam
KEGS, were coming down to eat up all |
the little black girls in Richmond. Gre
line said that the Yankees were the
Messiah's people, and were coming to
set the negroes free. Who the Messiah
was June did not know; but she had
heard vague legends from Creline of old
time African princes, who lived in great |
free forests, and sailed on sparkling riv-
ers in boats of painted bark and she
thought that he must be one of them.
Now, this morning, Creline had whis-
pered mysteriously to June, as she went
I'D the street to sell some eggs for Mad
,me Joliet, that Massa Linkum was COM
ng that very day. June knew nothing
,bout Massa Linkum, and nothing about
hose grand, immortal words of his
which had made every slave in Rich
nond free; it had never entered Mad
,me Joilet's plan that she should know.
No one can tell, reasoned Madame, what
notions the little Niger will get if she
inds it out. She might even ask for
wages, or take a notion TO learn TO read.
,r run away, or something. June saw
no one she kept her prudently in the
louse. Tell her? N0a, noa, impossible
But June had heard the beautiful news
his morning, like all the rest and June
was glad, though she had not the slight
,st idea why. So, while her mistress
vas safely asleep UP stairs, she had sto-
en- out TO watch for the wonderful
,ight-the mysterious sight that every
me was waiting TO see.
She was standing there on tiptoe on
he fence, in her little ragged dress, with
he black kitten in her arms, when a
,reat crowd turned corner, and tossed
10 a cloud of dust, and swept up the
treet. There were armed soldiers with
differing uniforms, and there were flags
living, and merry voices shouting. and
,uzzas and blessings distinct upon the
Iir. There were long lines of dusky
aces upturned, and wet with happy
ears. There were angry faces, too,
cowling from windows, aud lurking in
lark corners.
Ii swept on, and il swept up, and June
TODD still, and held her breath 10 look,
nd saw. in the midst of it all, tall man i
Iressed in black. ue had thIn. white ,
ace, sad-eyed and kindly a4d quiet, and
le was bCNinE and smiling TO the peo- :
lie on either side. =
God bress yer, Massa Linkum, God !
,ress verF shouted the happy voices I
nd then there was a chorus Of wild hur. I
abs. and jane laughed outright for glee.
nd lifted up her little thin voice and 8