The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-09-14
ADAMS PICkANINNY.

when quite lad and B3a&,use Of his age
and grayness all saw lit to make his hard
life harder than it need have been.
Every one except Mimi. the s-year-old
child of the circus proprietor, and She,
with the unerring instinct of the young,
knew that y most loyal and loving heart
beat beneath that hideous exterior and
that the brown, patient eyes Of the poor
old nan were the &sudcst ever seen. Con-
sequently. and In defiance of all orders, she
would seek out the much abused Adam,
and with her innocent questions and ador
able ways food his barren existence with
such sweetness that be sometimes forgot
the smart of his bruises and, at night, his
extreme WEAKNESS.
"Why are you so black, Adam? Why is
your hair like wool and why have you a
mouth like a frog?" one day asked the lit
tie damsel, pressing, nevertheless, to the
old parched lips her own rosebud mouth.
81 dunno, honey .missey," answered the
old man, looking as though an angel had
refreshed and sanctifed him. aspects
God made ole Adam ugly jes' to show
what sweet wee missey We is! Niggers
doan' have golden hairs and white skins,
deaFie-niggers is made to be kicked and
do all the work that no one else will do
Can't spect niggers to be treated like
white folks, dearie. But ole Adam he do
wish his mouth was like a humulin bird q
instead Of a frogs"
''Birds have beaks, you silly old Adami'
laughed Mimi.
$50 they hev, We blissed, clever lamb
kin. Did ye ever see such a tiny hand
taking the child's fingers and laying them
across his horny palm-"dey jes like lilley
spihes; dey allus makes ole Adam s head
better"
adam got headaohe?" queried Mimi
"Why, what big lump on your eye! How
did it come there?"
'sCarlo he'd an acciden' with his whip,
honey-hit me, instead OBJ 'oss. KisSin it
to make it well, are ye? God bless lilley
honey baby. NoY tell ole Adam how ye
gettin on wild yer ridin. Only ahubber
week, and then we shall see pickaniiny on
a Elley white pony and won't folRs jes
cIap She'll hev bowkets and flowers, and
and sweeties, and when she gets dem
wings on her shoulders Adamll be 'fraid
honey 'ull fly straight away to de blue,
blue sky. What'u Adam do den?"
stCome too"
"Dat he would; couldn't do widGut ILL
ley missey; she just kel., i'm 'live.'
EDO you say prayers every night, Adam,
and do you put clean clothes on every
week."
eyes, Adam says his prayers ebbery
night-prays to the big, kind Jesus what
honey told him about, and when Adams
very sore with kicks he thinks of the dear
Lord on his wooden cross, of his bleedin
sides and ans, and den he feels conforted,
an prays for lilley missey too. AS for dem
clean clos, washes dem myself cos gran
ny won't wash nigger's clos. No, Adam
couldn't be dirty when he has a white
missey wot comes to him. Adam feels
shamed! Pickaninny come and see the
monkeys?"
"Drop that kid, nigger!' broke in a loud
voice upon them. ''I'll tell the boss how
you negleoks yer duties, and he'll fog yer
for slobberin over his child. She amt
brought up like lady to have niger al
ways arter herP'
A brutal, coarse faced man, dressed in a
greasy check suit came forward and flour
ished q whip before the old man, but Mimi,
the color leaping to her soft checks, sprang
of Adams knee, and, fronting the bully,
said: eff you hits Adam, I'll kick you'll
Adams goin to show me the monkey-so,
there, you nasty, ugly, fat mani Come
along, Adaml" turning to her colored
friend. "Givs me your hand, Adam-I'n
take care of you!' and the little creature,
with ridiculous air Of dignity, marched
past the astonished stableman, who could
orgy rub his nose and mutter, swell, Tn
blowedH'
Thus, hand in hand, Mimi and Adam
made the round Of the animals comprising
the bulk of Signor Dingo's-in other
words, plain Jim Brown's-circus. These
were not-alas, for the success Of Signor
ingo!-of particularly uncommon breed,
nor many in number. The lion, their piece
de resistance, was growing almost too old
to roar; the two elephants were also some
what hoary, having passed their prime in
circus very different to the one they now
adorned. A cage of jackals, a chimpanzee
and few wizcned monkeys were the other
features of attraction, and Of course there
were performing horses, bad or Indifferent.
But one beautiful little animal Signor
Dingo did possess, and that was the white
ponv on which Mimi was to make her