Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-01-23
MY OLD NANNY.


turbaned head, like an overblOwn hollyhock,
mods above her work, and with kindly,
weather beaten face that would show thou
sand pleased wrinkles If you should draw
near beside her cabin fence and call her
Dinah.
She is my old negro NANNY, as she was
my fathers before me, and in a certain
county in Tennessee, where the dark leafed
tobacco grows heaviest and the wheat fields
at harvest are n vision of gold, two genera
lions of Children--men and women now
have in turn disputed with me the right to
call her nanny. Across that peaceful land
war rolled its dark cloud, but the storm over
the sun shone and the fresh wind blew and
the earth smiled again after its cruel bap-
tism, and through it all nanny was as true
and stcadfast to her "white folks as the
rocks that underlay the broad acres or the
old oaks that stood Ike sentiucls around the
house.
She had been ole miss maid when ole miss
was the belle Of the county; she had been
part of the dowry ole miss had brought to
her husband; into her arms tho babies that
came to ole miss were laid with the tender
certainty that nothing amiss could befall
them there, and she and ole miss had wept
together over the still, little cotIlned forms
that were taken out from the big parlOr to
the garden She had wondered and sorrowed
md wept with her mistress for half a cent
ury, and for her there could be no new order
of things that did not include Miss Ca'line
ell de chillen.n
The beginning of the war with its disturb
ing rumors was at first nothing to her but
fool niger talk" as she contemptuously
called it. 1t was only after they mad laid
Phil to sleep with the tattered flag on his
breast in the little graveyard in the corner of
the garden where his grave looked strangely
long beside the babies nanny and ole miss
had buried so many years before-it was only
then nanny began to feel that she was
growing old, and she and ole miss chung
closer and closer together as the two who had
all memories in common. Did not nanny
teach Phil to walk, had not she and ole miss
turn ana turn about nursed him through
those awful weeks when he trembled on the
brink of the grave with feyeif and then
there was little Man
PILLS grave was made next hers in the
rose scented little graveyard where the grand
myrtle lifted purple stars from its shining
green leaves and the big cedar trees made
perpetual twilight. Such a tiny gravel But
above it ole miss and nanny used to linger
in the quiet dusk of summer evenings, and
inttu.r.As never spoke of little Nan without a
break in her honesU -eine
" Nou knows, honey" she wotnI cay half
npologeticaly, you knows little Nan wuz
my baby. Cose nalumy love all her chillen
dat she done holp ole miss raise, but day
warn none of em LAX her You don't recon-
member yo Aun Nannie chile, case she die
befo' you waz bawn, but does case nussed
her. She wuz ole miss youngest chile en-
from de ve'y day she wuz bawn she wuz dc
apple of ole marster's eye. Dey had plenty of
other chillen, but peared like he wuz SO
wrapped up in her he could'n see EN- scarcely.
En- she warnt lax de others nuther. Day wuz
dat full of life and sperrits hit was jOkin en-
latin en- singing en- dancing all day en- half
de night, but Miss Mamie, she was DEE ez
quiet ell gentle, en- she would crOpc up right
clost to ole marster en- set eZ still cz a mouse.
Lady Bird, he call her. Well, de times went
on, en- by en- by Miss Mamie git grown en-
she fall in love wild man what her pa des
fairly despised-some no count pc white
trash she meet somewhar, en- she want to
marry him, but ole marster say mo- to hit
all en- tell her not to think about hit emmy
mo, let alone doing hit Well, honey, cep'n
de wah, dat wuz de wuss time old Dinah ever
seen Dere wus Miss Mamie gwine long wild
her head a hangin down, en- dat white she
look a snow drap, en- dere wuz ole marster
frettin hsse'f in the grave en- not takin no
comfort in his whites count of havin to cross
MisS Nan, en- dere wuz me en- ole miss doc
toring Miss Nan wild wild cherry btters
(honey, eff you's ever cas- down in yo mind en-
a leetle poly dey am nothing for hit LAX
wild cherry bark in whisky. But Lawd, dey
wasn't no use in doctoring Miss Mamie
when de trouble wuz in her mind, en- OF
las she tuck to her bald en- wuz mos fittin
to die en- den ole marster had to give in.
"De good God knows dat wuz de mos SOL
emnest weddin l ever see. Peard lax
funeral would u been lively to hit, en- wen
the bridal couple drove away we could'n see
em for do way we wuz cryin. After awhile
de letters come, but ole miss say she's feared
Miss Nan amt happy, and den one day word
come dat she sick and warnt her ma. Ole
miss en- me started right off, but wen we git
dere Miss Nan wuz mos gone, but she pint to
de cradle en- say for me to take dat baby to
her pa en- tell him she gin hit to him. Dat
wuz little Mamie, and dats how come l call
her my baby"
1t was an old story that has its counterpart
In many families.
From her dead mothers arms nanny
lifted the baby and bore her back to the
stately old home from which her mother
had gone forth a fearful bride. Around the
little ono the tender family ties that had
been torn asunder by the unfortunate mar
riage knit themselves with renewed strength,
and the sanctity of grief and righteousness
set the child apart as something almost
holy. Under this fostering care little Nan
grew apace, and her childish hands were
fast eifacing the scars of the wounds her
mother had dealt, when one day--mammy
never remembered it without shudder-
little Nannie's father came and demanded
her.
He was going to be married again, and he
wanted her. 1t was all legally and technically
Just Little Nannie's mother had no right in
the eyes of the law, to give her away; it was
horrible to think of the delicate child being
torn from the tender heart that loved her
and given over to this cold repellant man,
sullen and revengeful, who had never seen
her since nanny had taken her from her
dead mothers breast. Who could love her
like nanny and ole miss, who loved |
her in the living and the deadl Ole
marster sworo by the God he worshiped no
man sh,,uld rob him twice of his darlngs, |
but be was powerless to stay the day when |
little Nan would be taken away, for her |
father was memorable and tore away with |
smile the clinging baby fingers that nanny |
covered with passionate kisses.
The three who had loved her so stood on
the doorstep until the carriage had disap-
peared from sight and the last cry of the
child was lost in the singing of the birds, |
and then ole marster turned and went into
the house, bent as he had not been by all his
threescore years. Ole miss bowed her face in
her hands and sobbed aloud, but nanny
cursed him. She had savage blood in her
veins, and the fury of a lioness torn from her
cubs possessed her.
After that the house was lonely as only
house can be when childish voice that has
made music everywhere is suddenly silenced.
Occasionally begrudged message was sent
to those who hungered for news of little Nan,
and finally there was long silence.
Then there came time when for three
nights the owls flew screeching over mammy's