The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1892-04-07


kitchen dOtr.
had grown welded in sixty years Of oc-
cupancy. and had procrastinated. always
willing but never ready. until they found
themselves. as the old man expressed it
with tears streaming down his cheeks.
literally tuned out in de road to die.
Mary found the old negro sitting in
the kitchen door. in q state of tremulous
excitement and indignation, with fringe
of sympathetic darkies around him. He
had no realapprehension of the poorhouse
Suggestions ever being carried into
] effect, for he knew very well that Miss
Mary" would always stand between
him and such an awful calamity as that.
What hurt him Was that the suggestion
should have been made. That he.
Patrick Beverley (for so he styled him
self. who had lived right here pom de
home plantashun long wild de family
for eighty years, should have had such
an insult put upon him--"jes Ike he
were one common niggar. whar didn't
have no fambly"-this was where the
iron entered, and Mary had much ado
to persuade him TO desist from turning
and twisting it in the ranking wound it
had made long enough to arrive at any
!. clear understanding Of what she wished
him to do
I'm sorry you have to leave your old
home you've lived in so many years. she
said gently. when she had made all the
arrangements TO have them moved over
at once Its hard for such old people
to have TO make any change. You'll be.
comfortable here with me, and you must
try and grow used to your new quarters
rs soon as you can"
..ies, honey. Lord bless yo' sweet facel
tits hard fur to tu'n out'n de room you
been shuttin 20 eyes pom every night
an openin EN- pom every mornin fur
gwine on sixty yer. But dar's things
whar's harder to bar en- dat. Use bin
Twin pom de Beve'ley state, man an boy,
close on err hund'ed ye'rs, kase Use gwine
ter be eighty seven yer ole eff live twell
de second day in harvest. An amt
never had nothin tail said to me like
what dat strange white man-whar
never had no gent'man fur his daddy,
knows-took n said to me dis mornin.
You'll be mighty comf'table at de po'-
house, ole man, SEE he; dey has er good
room, an close, an fire an yittles plenti-
gful, an nary lick O. work to do. You'll
think yerse'f in clover, SEE he. An
sex, SEE |, No, sar. Use er Beveaey man,
an longs to de quality, does. De
Beveleys amt got nothin tall to do wild
no po'house, nor no pohouse doins, nor
no po'house talk, nuther. An befo' I'll
go to dat place I'll die right pom de road
6ide-me an de ole CONAN too.'n
There was something almost Judi
EroHs, If it had not been So infinitely pa
ethetic, in the old servants pride and as
sertion Of dignity and position, and in
his readiness to die of want In a ditch,
or ON roadside, rather than suffer what
he considered social degradation.
There were tears in Mary's eyes, which
made the smile on her lips trife tremu-
Ions, as she patted the old mans feeble
arm and assured him that such igno-
miny should never be his portion while
there was Beverley above ground to
protect him.
She watched, still with an April coun-
tenance, the little group-the old negro
walking slowly, leaning on his hickory
staff. and her two bold boys dancing
around him, full Of eagerness about the
move and Of desire to help in it.
She thought the whole matter settled
and done with when she had got the old
people established in their new quarters
with their household gods around them;
but It was not Mr.. Anthony at their
very next meeting chose to introduce
the subject. and to express himself with
some force upon it.