Evening star., 1900-04-21

thirteen years of age, I tried to give her
my hand. but was too weak to raise it;
then | asked for the mirror: she held
small hand mirror before my fSce. One
eager glance-I turned away with sigh of
satisfaction; the ordeal was passed; L was
unscathed
Are you alone?' I inquired. She an
swered, Yes, sir Have any of Mr.. Cow
arly's family been here?' No, sir. Miss
Elsie sent their man Bill over. but she told
him not to come near enough to catch the
disease. 1 could not make him hear scream
loudly / could and so he only came
twice; and the second time he had a bag
over his head SO the disease wouldn't hit
him.
Il lay there six weeks. 1t was nearly
four more before l was able to venture out.
Meanwhile, my mother returned; however,
! was weak in body and perhaps mind, and
would have no other help but Lucys.
Then. determined to repay her, If 1 could,
/ taught her to read tshe already knew her
lettersj, and in a few weeks she could read
understandingly any simple book.
And now Charlie comes the strangest
part of this story. / believe that girl is a
white girl. You know such things have
happened in Louisiana. 1t was long time
before she told me what she remembers
about herself. and she did not say then that
she thought she was white. Poor child 1
don't suppose she did think so: 1t was too
Incredible to a girl that had spent her life
as a slave. But she said there was some
thing very strange in her first recollec
tions- That she used to be petted and loved
by lady who must have been a white lady.
and that the lady did not talk English to
her. she was sure. She says she knows she
thought that lady was her mother Now
here IS a queer thing, Charlie. When 1 was
getting well Lucy was taking a nap one
day tshe had enough sleep to make up.
can tell you), lying on pallet in my room.
She had a bad dream. and cried out in her
sleep, and what she said was, "Oh. non.
non, allezr' Now she can't speak French
when She iY awake and almost M
In her sleep she uses the purest accent.
| I've been teaching her Acadien by the way
because a language other people don't know
might come in handy. but her tendency to
| make good French of 1t, the way French
| comes back to her. shows 1t was her first
| tongue; that's as sure as we are alive here
and now. Well to go back: She remembers
| scene of lights moving in the darkness
and water stretching around her and a
| house moving on It, Now. that must have
/ been journey on the river. Then came a
great sickness. she was sick, other people
| were sick: she never saw the lady again.
| and ali she knows is that. but for this dim
| dream. that is not a dream. she has al
ways been a slave. Charlie, she would
| have been about three years old the year
| the yellow fever swept New Orleans out
/ with the worst plague she has ever seen. i
| tell you have OWNED what happened. This
| childs family We're strangers they were all
4 down with the fever. Lucy was left among
! the negroes to be taken care of She got
| sick, the negroes sickened and died prob
dDIy, anu tnlS Odrk-nalred baby was sold
| with the remains of the family property by
| some one who did no& guess or did not want
| TO consider the chances for horrible blum
| der L know the marks of negro blood
| pretty well; I've recognized it in blue-eyed
| blond-haired negro in a minute. but will
| tell you. finger nails. palms of her hands
| wherever you look. there is not a sign of Ii
| in Lucy | can do nothing for her here
| Perhaps her case never could be proven be.
| fore the law, and If made move to inves
| tigate old Coverly he would sell her or dc
| something worse right off. But can stea
| her. and that I'm going to do.
| But L have not told you the end of the
| story of my illness.
While lying sick and helpless and follow
! Ing with my eyes her patient. untiring form
as she glided in and out of my chamber
"reminiscences of my past kept a continha
procession through my weak and cloudeG
mind. As / grew stronger determination
came and my old self returned. I do MOI
know that l loved Lucy then, but l coul6
see nothing but misery in my approachins
marriage with Elsie Coverly.
The shadow of the plantation, the slays
from the cotton field stood between us;
wrote note asking that the engagement b,