Wichita eagle., 1888-02-01
MY OLD NANNY.

mods above her work and with a kindly
weather beaten face that would show a 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 certain
county in Tennessee, where the dark leafed
tobacco grows heaviest and the wheat fields
at harvest are vision of gold, two genera
tons 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-
tisrn, and through it all nanny as tile
and steadfast to her white folks" as the
rocks that underlay the broad acres or the
old oaks that stood Ike sentinels 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 the babies that
came to ole miss were laid with the tender
certainty that nothing anss could befall
them there and she and ole miss had wept
together over the still, little coffined forms
that were taken out from the big parlor to
the quiet little graveyard in the corner Of
tho garden. She had wondered and sorrowed
and 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
en- de chllen."
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 and turn about nursed him through
those awful weeks when he trembled on the
brink of the grave with fever. 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 grave! But
above it ole miss and NANNY used to lnger
in the quiet dusk of suIAmer evenings, and
nanny never spoke of little Nan without
break in her honest voice.
"You knows, honey she would say hal.
apologeticauy, "you knows little Nan wuz
my baby. Cose nanny love all her chillen
dat she done holp ole miss raise, but day
warn none of 'em lax her. You don't recon-
member 20 Aun Mamie, 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 de
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 aud sperrits hit was jokin en-
latin en- singing en- dancing all day en- half
de night, but Miss Mamie, she was DEE ez
quiet en- gentle, Ell she would crope up right
clost TO ole marstar en- set ez still ez a mouse.
Lady Bird, he call her. Well, do times went
on, en- 10y en- by Miss Mamie git grown en-
she fall in love wild man what her pa des
fairly despised-some no count, po white
trash she meet somewhat, 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 wis Miss Mamie gwine long wild
her head a hangin down, en- dat white she
look q SHOW drap, en- dere wuz ole marster a
frettin hisse'f il 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 bitters
lhoney, eff vous ever cas- down in yo mind en-
a leetle poly dey am nothing for hit lax
wild cherry bark in whisky. Bat Lawd, dey
wasn't no use in doctoring Miss Mamie
when de trouble w-uz in her mind, Ell 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 WIZ de mos sol
eInnest we6din | ever seq Peard lax a
funeral would a been lively 10 hit, en- wen
the bridal couple drove away we could'n see
EN- for de way we wuz cryin. After awhile
de letters come but ole miss say she's feared
Miss Nan aint 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
deere 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 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 one 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 motherlesSneSs
set the child apart as something almost
holy. Under this fostering care little Nan
grew apaCe, and her childish hands were
fast etfacing the scars OF the wounds her
mother had dealt, when one dav-rammy
never remembered it without a shudder-
little Nannie's father came and demanded 1
her
He was going to be married again, and he 1
wanted her. II was all legally and technically 4
just Little Nannies mother had no right in /
the eyes OF the law 10 give Der away; it was I
horrible TO think of the delicate chYd 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 mother breast Who could love her
like NANNY and ole miss who loved .
her in the living and the dead! Ole /
marster swore by the God he worshiped no
man should rob him twice OF his darlings.
but he was PowerleSs to stay the day when
little IN would be taken away, for her
father WAS inexorable and tore away with
smile the clinging baby fingers that NANNY
covered with passionate kisses.
The three who had loved her TO stood on
the doorstep until the carriage had dissp-
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 hor,sa hant as be had not been by ali bis l