People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1892-09-09
CHAPTER VI.
so SADLY ALTERED.

Iuc -,-CJS concerning my misfortune.
NJ stepmother, no doubt, informed him
TIT had fallen into the fire by acct
dent, and there was no one to tell him
differently, and if he had been told
the truth he would cctainly have
taken her version in preference.
never thought to say aught to him con-
corning the matter, because l was fully
confident that / should gain nothing if |
did, and feared that might receive
beating for daring to say anything
against my stepmother. 1t is altogether
probable that my father would have
condoned her crime if he had known of
it, and heaped all the blame on me, but
it is possible that l Judge him wrong
fully, and that he was not so lost to all
natural affection for his own flesh and
blood as to show such heartless disre-
gard for my sufferings.
For several days | was confined to
my garnet room, and no one ever came
to see me save Aunt Mary. She, bless
her heart, was as kind and attentive as
any mother could be, and not a wish of
mine was allowed to go ungratifed if
she had the power of administering TO
it. She spared herself no pains, no ex-
ertions, no trouble, in her efforts to add
to my comfort and convenience. When
her duties did not call her elsewhere.
she was with me day and night, and
she was always doing something, or
planning something, for my pleasure.
"Aunt Mary" | said to her once,
when she was pottering about, putting
and sweating at a terrible rate, do sit
down and rest. You're very nearly ex-
hausted, and don't want you to be do
ing things for me. Please sit down"
I'm minute, honey" she replied.
Use got to make sho' you's comftble
fore takes any res. Dat l is. What
yo' reckon yo' po' ma, what is lookin'
down fom Heaben dis minute would
tink OBJ me if sot round yeah restin'
my lazy ole body an lettin' you suffer
for anything? She amt goin' to kotch
me dom oh it, honey, deed she amt,
case l amt done went an forgot all de
kin'nesses she showed me when she was
yere on dis yearth."
81 am comfortable, Aunt Mary" I
protested, land l don't want thing; so
please sit down. I'll be perfectly un-
happy if you don't. won't have any,
thing you fix for me, and if you don't
rest won't lie here"
l finally induced the old woman to sit
in chair by my bed, and with my hand
resting in hers we talked of various
things, chief among which was nv
mother. Then l spoke Of my STEP
mother, and Of the treatment | re-
ceived at her hands, and iamented nv
situation in heartbroken terms. Aunt
Mary listened, while the tears welled
up in her eyes, then, lifting her honest,
kind old black face to mine, said:
Weber yo' min, chile, dar's God in
Heaben who rights eberyt'ins, an dar's
day OBJ reckonin' comm. Dem is Gospel
trufs, honey. Oar is day OBJ reckonin',
sho as yo' is Dawn, an when dat day
come round woe to dem what is wick
ed, an dem what spitefully uses dem
what is weak an helpless. l tells yo',
honey, I'd sholy heap druther be in
70 shoes den than to be in de place OBJ
some folks what l knows, case in dat
terrible day dem what's been prosecuted
an 'spised is goin' to git de top seat.
an de weddin' cake, an all dem tinps
what is gwine to make folks mon
stous happy; while dem what has had
DER own way, an has been
gwine on in all DER wickedness an
hardness OBJ heart, am gwine to be
drub out inter de darkness whar do
debl II git 'em, sho.' Now yo lis,
mark my words, honey, an, see Il de
day don't come when der little pot gifts
on top, an when dem as is swingin'
pow'ful high jis' now will git to swing
In powful low. DE Lawd is mouty
pow'ful, honey, an. when he takes a
notion he jis' shifts folks round wonder.
full. He does, sho'."
How long Aunt Mary talked do not
know, for fell asleep while she was
speaking, and though heard her voice
Tor some time the words quoted were all
| remembered Of her conversation.
Those words, sermon in themselves
made a deep impression on nv mind,
and scarcely day has ever passed that
l have not recalled them. They were a
source OF consolation to me, and often