Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-05-21
VICTRY'S ENFORCEMENT

VICI RlS UlNURCEM ENI.
The Temples cook was from the coun
! try, and it was the surprise of Mrs. Tenn
pies southern life that she was such good
! cook
She explained it very lucidly, Laws,
know heap only | done furgot it!''
! Evidently at some period in her life she
had cooked for a table of some pretensions
! Every now and then a most unexpected &C
complishment would sail into our admira-
ton. Thus, once she broke out: "My mars
teri Mis- Temple, fo' de Lawd, dat al
! cream sass er yourn, dat amt noways diff
frunt to my ole missus' white sass 'cept
like you all dom put no cream in yourn
But We cripses de butter jes de same"
Another time, 'Scallop listers? | pinted
ly kin, Mis- Temple Alters done scallor
de listers fo' old miss"
Indeed she suggested a number of new
viands to Mrs Temp e-generally from the
| frying pan, but toothsome and delicate.
She brought her only child with her, a
/ slim, brown lad of fourteen, who waited on
table better than we feared from his first
appearance, at which he brushed the
crumbs off with the hearth broom into the
! 0uSDEJ'tH I1C was HIS llOGLGE > DGU anu,
considering that fact, marvelously good
darby, almost Industrious, and the best
tempered boy in the world
! We were not long in discovering Aunt
Victory's history. One evening we found
her at the smallest kitchen table, with
Rene and the slate, plainly getting lesson.
"Why Aunt Victory. can you read?''
said Mrs. Temple
"YaS' m - with a Cnoiplz of booact r1rida
while Rene added: "Maw, she kin read a
| right smart learned her"
Glow NIGEL Then you can read the
Bible?"
| Up went Aunt Victory's braids in a toss:
Laws, Mis- Temple, rs outer de Bible an
! inter de newspapers"
"And | writes fo' the newspapers, y saws
Rene with an indescribable air of haughti-
ness.
He does So" said his mother Amt
| you never seen de Mosaic Temple?" We
admitted our ignorance "Well, he does
write regular TO- dat"
"And you like it?"
eyes, ma'am, | like living in the city.
But nav likes the country better"
"Yes'm, yes'm. You all got mighty gran
house yere, but gimme de kentryp'
She was one of those nut-brown Africans
that have hair long enough to braid To
night her head was covered with red
bandanna, drawn out square cornered
back of her ears, giving her queer resem-
blance to the sphinx. Flinging herself for
ward on the table with a supple, sinuous
motion that few negroes get too old to use,
she let her head fall into the open palm of
one hand, above the bent elbow, and as she
talked this sphinxlike head rolled in her
hand like ball in cup. ooh, de kentry
wild de wavin' fel's an de red birds dat
comes peck-peckin' at de winder an de
! darkies a-snatchin' cotton, an sech a heap
er room! Oh, de kentry am so pleasureful!
Ise timersome in de city, got t. cyar'
Rene longer me if goes out in de night.
! But in de kentry rents my little fyarm
an rs got my two mules Mis- Carol give
| me. Las year we uns did make five hun
! dred dollars. Done so! When | paid out
t. de sto' dar ben hunderd an fifty-fve dol
lars comm t me-"
AN it all ben stolef' interrupted Rene
| in a lugubrious tone.
''Nev' you mine bout dat, Rene San
dersl Dat come longer havin' no purtecter,
! dat huccome dat"
A more sullen look than l had ever seen
on Reme's handsome brown face answered
! this speech. He pushed back his chair,
muttering something about going to the
Office, quite with the white mans air, and
so struggled himself out of the lesson OF
further conversation. Rather to our sur
! prise his mother made no effort to detain
him.
MY, myp' she gurgled in tb negro fash
! ion, swaying herself to and fro, dat boy
! cayn't bar word bout me needin' a man
| II look fn Now ba off
rarin no me, an won't have word t say
TO- whole day. He's tempered jes' like
he paw; sulls twel he gifts ober it"
| | asked Aunt Victory if Reme's father
was dead. Laws, no." said she. Has
he left your" said Mrs. Temple.
He has dat
And doesn't Rene want you to let hin
come back?"
Aunt Victory rubbed her right cal
against her right shoulder with a coquet
fish gesture, and for the first time | real
lied that, according to African notions, sht
was pleasing woman. We'll, slrl Why
Miss Freddy, faint my ole man RENE
'jects to, cose notl Hit am de torrer gen
tleman"
We were too used to negro morality tt
either feel or show any particular surprise
But it seemed tlre<nt to inquire whether
the departed husband was divorced from
her. No, of course he was not. That was
why she had come to the Rock, as the Ar
kansans call Little Rock.
81 gwine get enforcement TO- fo'ty dol
d lar de lawyer man say" she explained,
done guy i'm t'irty dollar already. Den
l go back t. de kentry | pintedly does
rave t be in de kentry agin."
But it's such hard work, VictoryI''
suggested. loath to see promising cook
depart.
Hard wukI faint muffin t de stove
wuk- Gimme my hoe an my row an Ise
happy. An laws, Missy, it do pear like
caynt breve in dis yere shut up town.
Amt no sunshine yere l does love de
sunshine. All culled folks jes' natchelly