The times., 1898-07-10
A Book of Sketches.

Ruth McEnery Stuart Is one or the
most sympathetic and truthful delinea-
tors of negro character in America. 1t
goes without saying that to be absolutely
accurate in writing fiction one must be
10 a certain extent in sympathy with
the character one wishes TO portray, and
this is especially true in regard to a
character so full OF idiosyncrasies of a
whimsical pathetic. humorous and alto
gether curious kind as that of the plan
tation negro. 1t is also true of all peo-
pie who speak in dialect and inhabit the
out-of-the-way hooks of the earth. for
without sympathetic insight. the oddi-
ties OF these people seem merely gro
tesque, and one misses the poetry and
tenderness of their feeling for each other
Mrs. Stuarts work is distinguished by
certain quickness of intuition and fine
ness of sympathy which, if it is not ge-
MUS. is akin TO that quality.
"Moriah's Mourning is another col
lection Of tales from the same sources
as "A Golden Wedding dis
covered the plantation and in the
farmhouses and villages of Louisiana
and Arkansas. Seven of these are stud
les of negro character with more or less
plot; five are Smpkinsville annals. The
hest of the latter is perhaps Christmas
a the Trimbles'," a humorous yet touch
ing little story. in three chapters. of
doting old husband and a gay but affec-
tionate young wife; Of the swinging ice
pitchers. which they bought for each
others Christmas gifts, and of the sweet
er treasure which they gained from the
mistake. THE Deacons Medicine" which
describes the woes OF a patient little hus-
band whose wife dosed him whenever she
had a grievance, is almost pure fun, but
it has nevertheless the subtly pathetic
undertone which is to be found In nearly
all of Mrs. Stuart's work.
The best of ALL however. is the one
which gives the book its title, "Moriahs
Mourning" 1t is a story which possibly
no one but Mrs. Stuart could have writ
ten. In almost any other hands ii would
have been grotesque or merely comic; il
needed her intuition and kindliness TO
bring out the real truth of the situation.
Her skill in the telling of the tale is
something TO admire, aside from the
story itself. Moriah, a widow of j
month, tall. comely and black as the ace
of spades has announced her intention of
marrying again. This intention on her
part is rendered the more surprising be-
cause of the intensity of her mourning
garb. which is black from de skin out
wards. She explains however, that she
intends 10 be married in mourning and
to have the organist play her former
husband ( funeral march at the wedding.
She will, moreover, proceed at once to
put the children OF her new husband into
mourning for their mother. This is ap-
parently state of things so mixed as TO
be fit only for comic opera, and the au-
thor places ii before the reader al once,
in all its queerness. Then, without sngnt-
ing any of the fun of the situation. she
brings out its real pathos and the quaint
and lovable character of the heroine,
until the reader is undecided whether TO
laugh or cry and-if a woman-probably
compromises by doing both. Moriahs
defense is a masterpiece in its way. She
says
"Dey amt no onrespec' ter de dead, Miss
GLADYS in marvin De onrespec' is in de car
ryin's on folks does when dey marry. Pete an
me, low to have ev ything quiet an solemn
choly, an pay all due respec's-right an lef'. De
origin PLAYER he gwlne march us in chu'ch by de
same march he played fur Numas fun al, an look
like dat in iTse'f is enough ter show de worP dat
amt forgot Nurna. An, tell de truie, Mis-
Gladys. ef Numa was to rise up fom his grave
I'd SEN Pete a-fyin' so fas' you could sen eggs
to market his coat-tail.
"You see, de trouble is, done had my eye on
Pete's chillun ever since dey NANNY died. an
ef dey ever was a set of onery. low-down. sassy,
count little nggers dat need takin' in han
by a abe-bodied step-mammy, dey a-waitin' fur
right Wonder in Petes cabin. My hand has
des nachelly itched ter take a-holt O. dat crowd
many day-an' ever since buried Numa of CO..
see dat de way open. An des as soon
felt like ! could bring myse'f to it I-well-
dey warn't use losin' time, an so toll you
missy, dat de kitchen need whitewashin'."
CThe Pete" in question was a white
washer by trade)
'.And so you sent for him and proposed to him.
did you?''
''Popose to who, Miss Gladys? I'd see Pete
in de sinkin' swamp TO I'd p'opose to him!'
Then how did you manage it, pray?'
"Gway, Miss GLADYS! Any wide-awake widder
VIII hp amt
hep but her move roun at her work fur two
days han runnin, an can't meSmerize him so't
he'll AK her 10 marry him-um-hm I'd onder-
take ter do dat, even eff warnt cook but
wid seasonin's an faYorin's to hep me-Law
chile! dey warn't yearthly 'scape fur dem
chllen
81 would "a waited.'' she added. pres ntly. az
would "a waited a reasnable time, 'cep'n' dat
Pete started gwine ter chu'oh an yo' know yo'-
se'f. missy, dat when well-faVored wilder man
90 ter seek consolation fom de pulpit, he's
might apt ter fin 1t in de congregation"
AS the talk goes on the quaint phiioso-
ply and pure kindness of this untutored
nature is brought out, and when. finally.
Moriah says half-pleadingly: Missy l
don't believe / gwine to make no mis-
take. You know. ] allus did love chillen.
an / amt nuver is had none of my own;
and dis heah seemed like my chance An
/ been surveyin' de lan'scape Ger. irwin
ter think bout eve thing | can do ter
start right" And the strictest of NOR
alists must feel. after perusing this bit
of literature, that there are ways in
which human nature moves quite out of
the line of ordinary conven tionality.
which are yet pure and generous and
right. 1t is scarcely fair to quote from
the story without quoting the whole, it
must all be read to be appreciat led.
"Apollo Belvedere" is simply comedy
of the richest and most rollicking kind
"a plantation courtship with a dusky
belle for heroine, and a lively competi-
ton between several ardent youths for
the honor of her hand. Nearest of
Kin" is another story of mourning
customs on the plantation, and reveals
some peculiar intricacies in the line of
marriage and divorce laws. There are
other stories, shorter and less finished
than these, some of which have appear
ed in current magazines, while some see
the light for the first time in book FORM
But the collection as 1t stands will be