The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-26

AH0-ttleullate. Is your work on
earln done, 1 wonder, or is this only a
breathing space?
lou are not an old woman yet, but
lhere does not seem to be any one to-
uay VINO really needs you; any one to
s s1lasIlh The Lord that you are alive 1t
-oeNs as though he had finished with
sou mere At any rate, it would be
Gel Tor You to have your house in or
pef ana be ready for any summons that
may come
ANY one who did not know that it
was Miss Wainwright herself who
spoke might have wondered to whom
ne matronly woman in gray, sitting in
me taH, high-back rocking chair, was
speahlng, for there was no sign of any
Othet nNlng being and no sound but
the loud ticking of the tall clock in the
nan, The same clock that had noted the
passage of time for a long line of Puri-
tan ancestors.
A loud ring of the front doorbell made
MISS Priscilla stare; not that she was
nervous, but she had sent her faithful
maid OF all work home for a week S
holiday and had so fully expected to
spend this day, at least, alone, that she
was startled
Package, ma'am; please sign said
the eXpresSman, when she opened the
door.
Miss Priscilla adjusted her spectacles
as he spoke, remembering a telegram
received a few days beroe telling her
that legacy left her by her brother
who had just died would be sent to her
by express.
Heigh-or' she said, looking up.
Where did you come from?" The in
dividUal addressed was a half grown
colored girl standing close to the eX-
pressn2an.
.sSsbs'e tl,e o~~,,,,oee cold +loa MON
Shel The eXpressl What kind of a.
joke do YOU can THAI, Peter Snow?" and
Miss Priscilla locked at him severely
over the top of her spectacles.
It's no joke, Miss Wainwright"
was the reply. The girl has come to
us duly consigned to you. There is a
letter that goes with her that viii prob
ably explain
Miss Priscilla had only to glance at
the outside of the letter to understand
What it all meant This child, a slave,
2fWas the legacy. Years before, when she
y and her brother had parted in anger
he going south to become a slave-own-
er, she had told him she would rather
die than own slave. This was his
revenge.
See, here, Peter Snow, this is an ex-
press package that refuse to receive, -
she said taking off her glasses and
turning to go into the house. Take it
Dack where II came from.
One moment, Miss Wainwright,
please, said the man, Just give me
your signature to show that the goods
were delivered all right, and then you
can do what you choose with them.
You can't return the child today, for
this is the only delivery, and the office
is closed now. 1t is a holiday, you
know"
Cant help it, Peter Snow. won't
receive q slave. So. therer'
We'll, there amt no one else to take
her, and 1 know, Miss Wainwright, you
are too good a woman to let a human
being stay out in the cold and starve,
slave or no slave
The word "starve" caused the girl
to say quickly: I'm hongry, I'm hon
cry"
A curious tumult of feelings surged
within Miss Priscillas breast before a
way out of the difficulty seemed to
dawn upon her, when she hastily wrote
her name upon the express book and
turned away--now a slave-owner.
Now. Miss Priscilla had been born in
Boston, one of a large family. and had
inherited many fine old Puritan traits
and ideas, and with them she had very
decided opinions of her own. When she
was quite young an uncle had left her
his large fortune, and later, when her
father died, it was found that his for
tune had disappeared she constituted
herself the head of the family, and de-
voted her money and her life to the
care and education of her brothers and
sisters. They We're all married and set
tied now.
The last one had left her at Christ
mas, when she had had a large gather
ing in the Old Maryland home that had
belonged to one branch of her mothers
family. She had moved here some
<JN1s
health of one of her brothers, and now
she had decided to spend the rest of her
days here.
Though she mourned and grieved over
the brother who had so departed from
the traditions of his forefathers as to
become 2 slave-owner. she had felt
more charitable toward him this year
than before, and had invited him to
complete the family party during the
holidays He had pleaded illness as an
excuse, and now death had come be-
ween them and separated them for all
time.
They had both been unforgiving, but
if this was his revenge he had at least
put il within her power to free the poor
slave
Hurrying into the house and into the
room where she had been meditating,
she determined to free herself from her
own uncomfortable position as soon as
possible.
Child said she. putting a hand on
the girls shoulder, and emphasizing
her remarks with the forefinger of the
other hand, I wish you to understand
that you are free now, as free as air.
: You are no longer slave 1 won't
\ own one"
\ With a spring like that of a young
tigress the girl released herself, and
standing defantly before her compan-
ion. cried with flashing eyes and gen.
erous display of ivory teeth:
Il won't l won't, / won't be free,
none'' Then becoming more excited,
and stamping her foot on the ground,
she continued: 'Ain't never ben no free
niggers in de family, and l won't be
one, none. I'm hongry."
With q gasp Miss Wainwright sank
into her chair, and after drawing one
hand across her eyes and pinching her
self to see if she were awake, she let
both hands fall helplessly into her lap
as she sat motionless and stared at the
girl before her
II.
Miss Wainwright was well known as
a woman in whose house man or beast
might be sure of a welcome and good
cheer. but today the idea of hunger,
for the first time in her life, did not
seem to appeal to her.
Child" she said. at last take off
that hat and les me look at YOU
r,ha child oheved and an exnreSSion