Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1884-01-22

company coming d lOuS Way Ou, Keeps Guo
key-basket in place, gets water-me.ons out
3of the ice-house when called for in hurry,
and not infrequently finds pleasant solace
as well as gentle mental stimulus in the
CHATS" and 'c-a-t-s' of the First Reader.
Higher learning than this, mammies did
not aspire to; being satisfied with having
their love-leter written by proxy. when
Miss Mary came home for the holidays, in
stead of, as is the present custom, ''taking
pen in hand at this present opportunity" !"
to let the beloved one know ''that she is
enjoying good health, and hopes these few
lines will find him the same" as ninety
nine hundreths of the colored folks letters
begin.
At the close Of the war, it so happened
that one of these incipient mammies appli-
ed for service to bustling, strong minded
"who riseth while it is yet night and giveth
meat unto Ler household Well pleased
with the girls honest dark face, Mrs.
Allen asked her name.
'tAlcinthy Fitzallen de Montague.
marm."
"Well, Cnthy, suppose you can COOKE"
"Oh, no, marin! Aunt Melindy was de
cook at our house."
y
''Me wash and ron! Law, no. marm
Aunt Big Tidy, she did de washing and
i'ning."
"Can you attend to the table ?'
"He! he! Dat was nobody's business
but Unkle Solomon',. and he dinn't low
no children to fool long o'his dinin' ROOM"
''Can you make Up beds and attend to
the chambers ?''
'1n course not, marm! Little Tidy and
Cousin Pat was de house gals, and dey
didn't want nobody to ten to der business. !"
'Then what under the sun was your oc-
cupation %
81 did keep flies off old Miss"
Only fancy a woman who 'looketh well
to the ways of her household, and eateth
not the bread of idleness," who CONSIDER
eth the field and buyeth it, and turneth off
such lot of spinning; that busy, energetic
housekeeper, who scarcely sits still long
enough for fly to light on her, imagine
such woman hiring half-grown girl to
keep flies off her!
It was matter of course that nanny
should marry the butler, who, dressed in
old marster's cast-off clothes, walked like
him, talked like him, looked after the car
riage horses, and was considered quite the
supper crust" by the field hands of the
plantation. BY dint of catching up the Ia
BILE conversation and parlor manners of the
guests of the house, this functionary was
given to great elegance of language and
long dictionary words, and was very high
toned indeed. He was called, through res
pect, "Uncle'' Peter Or" Uncle'' Solomon,
as the case might be, by all the rising gen.
Grafton, and considered an oracle of wis.,
dom. In those days, though,
"The butcher, the baker,
And candlestick-maker"
all dwelt together in unity, there were
nevertheless many grades Of gentility and
it would have been quite m.essalliance for
nanny to have married any other than
Uncle Solomon. As Uncle Solomon waxed
in years he would become very fervent in
preaching and exhorting, though to his dy-
ing day he acould claim Noah as zone of de
twelve apostles"
Uncle Solomon said things now and then
we'll worth repeating. Being engaged as
head waiter by some ambitious young Off
Ger at banquet far beyond his means,
s'Uncle Sol" was called on, at the close OF
the FEAST for sentiment. Gentlemen, "
he said, sin proposing the health of your
very persequential host, l shall call to my
remem brance and rekoleet what I remem-
ber, and select my text from the midst OF
Revolutions. May the scissors of expert
ence cut the wings of extravaganza.
During the trying period of the war there
were innumerable instances of the fidelity
and affection subsisting between master and
servant. When Sheridan swept through
the South on his celebrated laid, it was
nanny who planted the hamper of sill
yer plate in the old burying-ground, and
made baby-grave mound over it, head
stone and all, while Uncle Solomon lay
groaning, like one possessed, on rickety
bed in the darkest corner of his cabin. Had
the raiders thought ofsearching ader him,
they would have been astonished to find
instead of 'snothing but old clos ;" piles of
tobacco, bags of meal, flour, coffee, sugar
cured hams, and other delicacies, tempting
euough to soldiers on the march.
When young Mars Tom, glowing with
patriotism, volunteered in the army no one
was deemed so trustworthy as Uncle Solo
mon for looking after his welfare. But a
very few days of the shelling around Fred
ericksburg sent the old man hurrying
home.
ssMarster,'' he said solemnly, ''send for
the boy to come home, and quit sech fool
ishness Them balls and shells comes a
fizzin' and Dustin and exploring along, and
pears to me had jest as soon hit Mars Tom
as not. 1t is impossible for me TO be 'spon-
sibility of the chile in such pernickety as
sociation."
But when at last the Northern troopers
swept down upon Stonewall Jackson's S men,
and left young Thomas with his face to
the stars and bullet through his heart,
Uncle Solomon, his gray head bowed in
sorrow, returned alone.
when hame cam the saddle a. bloody to see
Hame cam the guild steed,
But hame never cam he,"
there was not one in that grief-stricker
household who yearned more lovingly than
nanny for her foster-child, and refused
to be comforted, because he was not"
Nanny loved dearly TO sing hymns
She would lay down her corn-cob pipe, the
constant use Of which had worn grove iI
her front teeth, and clasping baby Nan il
her arms rock back and forth, singing in Q
high cracked voice,
Nobody knows the trouble I've had,
Nobody knows but Jesus;
Nobody knows the trouble I've had,
Sing glory hallelujahl
"What makes the debble lows me soq
Oh yes, Lord. ~