Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-03-31

"She wants 10 see dat t'otber chile o.
hern, she chin 10 she ever see little
sunshine"
Susan arays called him sunshine, an
il fit him like glove. cept one time he
look mo- like moonlight so white an
stillan' cold" But, marster. ought not to
tell yoa dis yet, for bad i'll al'ays come
soon enough. | kept a studyin' whar Mars
AL. were, but never hear, tell onct bout
two years arter he lef', he writ TO me 10
/ git he pa 20 sen him some money. He
say de larst he sont him war les a drap
I in de bucket. ! feared to tell Marster,
so sont him nigh on fifty dollar whar
4 done save fur me an Ellen. as lowed 10
git married 70 long | know he mon
strous sot in he min an ef he don't git
de money one way he'ud some other. he
40 bad don't know but what he sign he
pas name an git all he want an lef' do
family wild out nothin'. Imost 'scouraged
bout gittin' all sot right when one day |
90 in de Office an dar sot Marster writin'.
Dat want nothin, Gaze he al'ays dom
dat, but fast thiDgI notice when go
in was, as how Mars AIS pictur', IS had
been tuck down so long was in its place
lookin' as nat'ral as pumpkin In de corn
field. Says |. "Dar now ef dar amt Mars
AIS pictur' bless de lamb" Ole Marster
he look up an AK me what dat say. He
face look mighty serious. an de line
'twix he eyes look almost black. | say
/ never say nothin' but war stuydin' ober
dem lines bout Mary had little lamb.
whar / been tryin' TO larn Ray. see
kind o. smile kver he face, but he hush
it up quick as wink, an tell me TO come
back ia hour fur de mail. | member
how close / watch de clock, fur | want
to see de backin' O. dat envelope. Mars
AL. done teach me to read an write when
we war chill'in, When de time come
l fling de ole calico mailbag over my
make an 60 up to git de letters.
Marster was hexcited, too, fur he han
rumble when he gibe me dat letter AS
| come on down de walk read de dress.
Ii we're to somewhar in London-l fur
gifts whar. 1t we're to Mars Al do. As
/ pars by Mistis window she call to me
to wait. | recelect jes' how it all look,
's'if it been yistidday how de ole dorg
as was too ole TO hunt no mo was alayin'
on de mat in de shade asnappin' aide tiiess
an de chickens as was arollln' deyselves
in de dust holes under de hollyhawks an
ascatterin' dey feathers fur me to pick up
when git back.
When she finish her note whar she
want me to leave at Miss AIMS as L
parse by she brung il out. AS she han
1t to me she say | mought as well let
Ray ride down to de white gate. So |
walk by de side of dat mule and helt
Ray by one he little foots, and he belt
de lines, but helt 'em, too, under
de mules make whar hay could n see
my han. He thought he was guidin'
dat mule. knowed how ticklish mules
do, SO | feared to trust en-. AFTER l
take him down / tell him to run to de
house while stop dar to water de mule.
] could watch him till he got in de yard
While | set dar, an de mule was drink
in from de branch whar runs through
de stable yard little lower down, a
flock O. ducks come a.sailin' down on
'tother side de water gate. Dey certain
is graceful in de water, but when dey on
de Ian dey is as DIRK ard loOkin as folks
is when dey gifts too fat. | could n help
a-thinkin' how much mo- 'fectusl way
dey took to cool dey selves an bins
does. Wonder why bins don't do SO.
too 1 know dey kin swim, Gaze done
see Mars Al. when he put a ole rooster in
de ice-pon' when he we're chilean,
gent'men how he could swim. All de
time me an Mars Al. was runnin' roun'
de bank to keep him from glttin'
out. He did drown arter all,
20 ole soul. 'Spect we KEEP him
iii dar too long Then we GIT him out
wild de ice hook, an Mars AL. he took an
tied a rock to he make an sunk him, an
Mistis, she thought de niggers or de
foxes done cotch him.
Now, while | shut up here got bun
dance O. time to think ober all de ole
times, an most O my time lis right back
dar, an all is jes as it war.
One day. pears bout mont or SO ar
ter dat letter, one come ON Mars Al. |
hearn Susan say as how old Mars tell
Mistis, it nd take mint o money, but
OF course it we're right to give him one
mo chance.
Mex day he went off to Richmon' to
git de money 'speck, fur when he come
back two days AFTER he say it's all right
hear il say how all long bofe on 'em
done GREETED old Mars runnin' him OFF,
an done sont him money often an over
agin. 'speck he done nigh finish hisn
an gwine into Rays.
'Twasn tho great while AFTER dis deytell
us fur to git things sIsuce up, Gaze Mars
AL. were a comm home. Ole marster ac-
tually went to de fiel's heseh and count
up de stock. spec he was lookin' fur
one carlf as nd do to kill. l see what
he doin-how he irwin to cyar out de BIZ
bic teachin by he Prodigal Son. So | tell
him very specful dat dis wasn't de time
fur veal, but we had q mighty nice shoat
in de pen, an he could kill de fatted pig
fur de young marster. know Mars AL.
amt nuver stay he stomick on no SIGH
victuals as corn-husses an bean-shells
like dey say t'other prodigal done he
even Turn up he nose at ash-cake an but
termilk, but he sot IA heap o sto' by Mann
my Judy's plum puddin' and sweet-tat
pies.
We kilt dat hog. too, an better shoat
| nuver see, and mistis she kilt one O
her spcckle tuckey hens, an me an Ray
spint our time in de haylof an de sta
bic, an all de out-de-way places huntin'
fur aigs. Ray nd tost 'em 10 de house
in he hat, an Nanny Judy was
so glad to git 'em. she pick
de chile up an fling him NOSE up to de
jice playln' wild him, an den sont him
off to hunt fur some mo-
We was cookin' an afixin' fur a week
or mo. | never see so many cakes.
Nanny and Nanny Judy had dey
sleeves rolled up to dey elbow an de
-four look like fine dus' on dey black
arms as dee brock de aigs an drap de
shells on de table by de tray.
Ray, he a-cookin' too, jest as busy as
dem every eye O do stove had arg
shell settin' on it full O. cake batter, an
him an me was tryin' constant if dey
war done by runnin' straws through EN-.
In 'tother rooms de cellar de pots
was hangin on de hooks ober de big
wood fire bilin' de ham an de speckle
turkey, an sll de colored chilluns was
kept busy toatin' chips and beatin' up de
IA Ia