Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-08-29
HEARD IN SOUTHERN MARY
LAND.


set III pale face Her hair, like frosted
strings of rusty wire. stack close to her
Wrlnkled forehead, and her lips-just yell
low lines over a toothless 1mouth-shut and
opened automatically. Her voice was slow
and drawing, with the st9g-song tone Of
southern Maryland. ~4
Mornin to We, ma'am,@ mornin',' she
ducked her head shortly,ka pausing be-
neath the spreading tree gaZed curiously at
number OF oranges We had placed beside
the basket of sandwiches. Her eyes wan
dered TO our old sorrel feeding on the banks
Of the near stream. so we brought your
crltter along, an we bein' to go all the way
to Charlotte Hall? Been a-ridin' ever sence
early mornin'? Well, now, l do declare!
Is them your chilluns, ma am? Well, now,
your gal looks merry a bit younger nor you,
an my! but amt she light Completed! An
20 boy, ma am; Well, he is tine one! His
eyes ar like my boys eyes, ma am; mebDe
We dldn know as he'd boy, too, ma am F;
grea', big, strappin' lad, ez hanson ez ye
please, ma am. though ye mightn' think on
II TO look at me. My boys someWers, he
is, but l amt heerd on him fer goin' on
nigh twenty years.
HE got kind O. tired O. stayin' on the
fam, an his father-oh, well, we knows
,em any-so my boy he up an went. an
! amt heerd on him fra that day to this.
Be we fra Washin ton, ma am?" The
drawing voice became painfully eager.
boy, he war down thar a bit; did we catch
sight O. him, ma'am? Mebbe he done
chores fer some O. your neighbors; mebbe
ne ne passed ASS; right in front O. your house!
seemed dazed with disappointment. Il
amt never been thar, ez my boy has,
ma l amt never been out Of Charles.
ma am, an yonder a bit in Saint Mary's.
a m "a had hon
aroun' right smart. What is it? Travel
we call it? That's it, travel Well, now.
it does seem ez though some folks is born
to travel an some folks is born to trouble.
Here we hev seed towns like Washin'ton
an others mos like, wkiles / hev been all
my life down here in Charles; born here.
ma am, went to school here, worked here
an married here an KEEP on workin' here
all tie time, ma'am, all the time"
she paused, but frightened al question.
"Hev l he'd much schoolin', miss? Well,
no, merry eZ much as you hev he'd miss.
went ez fer ez the sccon' grade an then
my father. he took me away an put me
out to Service in a farm in Saint Mary's.
My father he sent my sisters to the SEM
irary. boarded 'em, ma'am, at whole
Sl2 month, whites he made me work
he do 1t fer, miss? Wei, now I'll tell We. l
was bad One day was my teachers birth
day, an all the scholars war fer givn'
her presents. all exceptin' me, an it made
me feel jest terrible, miss They was a
gardins- belonging to a lady near the school
house, an they was beautiful flowers in
1t, al sorts on 'em, miss. I sneaked in
an stole a lily. l warn more nor eight
years old; stll. 1 reckon-yes, 1 knowed-
as l knowed better.
Il gived the lily to my teacher, an she
smiled right sweet at ME, and thanked me
pretty, but jest then in come the lady I
he'd stole it from an Logan 10 scold my
teacher right away My teacher gived the
lily back to her an said es she was sorry.
Then she locked right sad at me an wrote
q letter to my father, looki1r at me so till
eyes. l tcoked the letter home, an my
father he was madder than ever he'd seen
lin afnre. He was fer seisd!n' me right off
to tie house of correction, but mother she
cried so hard eZ he didn send me thar, but
said ez / should work OUT an never come
home no more He wouldn't be fer feedin'
an fer lovin' thieves an liars. That very
night l was sent off fer to work on
reighbor's farm.
My teacher she herd en- it afterwards.
an she was awful sorry ez she wrote that
letter, but she couldn' do nothing with my
ather, he was too set in his ways. She
said ez l was bright an ought fer 10 hev
more schoolin', but it dim ,.Help any. Yes,
miss, the farm folks was kihe to me: they
felt kinder bada fer me, &sin I WASH
allowed to go home. Some TIMES they'd lie:
my mother I would tie the horse in the
woods ar wait my char ce; then I'd run
up WHEN my father was. gone out to aeld.
Oh, my mother Was god to ,nel But We
see, mothers amt sno rights to nothin', not
even their own chHluns; so she couldn' help
me much. When she diedI hed'n any more
a friend.
Il never went home, exceptin' to her
funeral, an. oh, miss, ye never see such
funereal! All the Guild folks fer miles an
miles aroun' brought flowers. Lilies,
ma am, an old, old roses, ye hev seen
'em, ma'am? And, why. those niggers cried
ND S,,nd loved n
mother, too, an he'd good cause, fer my
mother he'd took care O them an their
chilluns in winter, an he'd KEEP EN- fra
starvn' many an IN, many 20, a time me; Ihe ey
ether kind friend. 1t vas sad, miss, oh,
it was sad! My father he mcrried again.
of course, an the twelve chilIuns all scat
tered, all exceptin' my little baby brother.
"Ie growed up an wrote to me once, an
7 got young girl fer to answer an tell
him all about his own real mother an how
she died, an how the peoples loved her. l
told him eZ I would send wreath fer him
to put on her grave from me. 1t was a
sweet. pretty letter, cryin' sort Of, too but
my stepmother, she answered 1t herself,
tellin' me to min my own business an not
to be putin of idees into my little broth
er's head. Dead people couldn' help him
any, she says, an the less said about 'em
the better. That letter cut me bad, an
never again hev heard fra home, though
l lives Jest five miles across the river.
well. miss l merried. myself three
years after that, though the Lord only
knows what fer. My husband, he was
head dairyman over to Calverts. an he's
dead now. an my boy, my only boy, is
gone somewers, don't know where. Please,
maam, won't we look fer him when We goes
back to Washn' ton? Jest We tell him ez
his ma is waitn', ready an glad to see him
if he'll only come back to her. These here
fer me. ma'am? Oh, thank ye. Ye calls
'em oranges. I never he'd any before"
With knotted. shaky hands, she tendery
placed the fruit in her apron. who would
ha' thought that when 1 started out this
mornin ez 1 was goin' to get some
thin to eat all the way fra Wash
in'ton! Who would ha' thought it!
Strange things happen in the world,
strange things, ma'am! All is as is ordered
by God Almighty, an we never dreams
when we gets up In the mornin as when
we should be goin over to Shoots fer the
washin' ez such things would happen!
Well, now, I'm keepin' We, an We ar goin'
to Charlotte Hall today. My boy-ye won't
forget my boy, ma'am? Good day, good
day." The thin. hollow face. with it's life
story SO plainly written there, turned from
us: the tall, gaunt figure strobe away
through the woods and disappeared in a
bend Of the road.
Why She wous Not.
From the Detroit Free Press. -,
He-"When you see my faults fear you