The times., 1901-03-10
OLD SOUTHERN SERVANTS
Stupid and Slipshod. But Generally
Good NatUred.
The style i'm which an Old Nurse
Fixed Up the Haby 10 Keep 1t
NVarm-PostnI Carrier Boston's
Easy-Going Nnys-'Hoppin' John"

Darkeys are perfectly delightful people
/ to deal with, not the New York importa-
! tions who are well dressed and self-cou-
scious but the good, simple, siip-shod,
| Southern darkeys; though no doubt it
| REQUIRES a strong of humor and a liking
for elemental things in one if he would
| appreciate this. And certainly it requires
that one should not be responsible for
them, to be harassed by their strange stu
pidities; no doubt the mistress of a South
/ ern household finds them far from de-
! lghtfu sometimes, but to visit in such d
! household and view their odd methods
| and simplicity with an irresponsible eye is
an experience which makes you say that
darkeys are delightful. l suppose South
ern people are too well accustomed to
them to worry constantly over the un-
changeabIe: but 1 had a friend who was
married and went to live in the South,
| and in a short time she could find very
| little humor in the peculiar arrangements
! and customs of her black servants. When
/ l went to visit her she said:
You see. | have three servants to do
! the work in this little house and yet | am
worried out of my life half the time, and
/ never feel that l can really wash my
/ hands of any responsibility"
! They were like so many children; she
never knew what was going on behind her
/ back and they told her fragrant false
! hoods with most serene simplicity. One
/ night when her nurse, a nimbe kind,
/ old woman, was going home, she peeped
/ her good-natured face into the parlor to
/ say joyously
| DE chile fix up fine; she tucked up
/ warm and she fast asleep" y few min
/ utes later my friend called me into the
nursery with a look of evaporation:
Now this is what she honestly be-
lieves is leaving baby fixed up fine "
she said In the childs crib were soiled
towel, a brush, comb. the chld's bot
tie, her wooden dog. and all the clothes
she had worn that day; soiled dress,
apron, petticoats, and shoes and stock
ings. In the middle Of this mess she lay,
fast asleep. We slipped out all the hard
articles, so that she would not roll on
them and hurt herself The next morn
| ing my friend tried to speak severely to
the nurse, and tried to point out to her
that this way of putting the baby to bed
was neither cleanly nor comfortable. but
the old soul was perfectly self-satisfed
and urbane.
''Yes'm, but dat keep her warm, all
dose clothes round her. If she git uncov-
cred in de night, den all dose clothes
heaped up round her keep her warm
We'll, how about her shoes. and her
bottle. and her hairbrush and her toy
dog-do they help to keep her warm,
too2"
What, Did she have all dem things in
de bed with herr" exclaimed the nurse in
hand-raised astonishments wei. l never
seed de like o dat chile, She must be
reach out after ! leave ans pun dem t'ing5
Oft de chair" OF course. this was plainly
untrue, but my friend had to content
herself with saying:
''N ell, put such things UP on the bu-
reau, where they belong, At night"
I Just guess / viii, ma'am,' was pro-
tested vehemently Who would have
ed, you naughty girl?f Whereat the child
rushed al her laughing and began rolling
her head about in her nurses apron.
The child is perfectly devoted to her"
said my friend afterward. 4 never had
a nurse who could entertain her by the
hour as this one does. but you see l can't
go out in the evening and leave her to
put the baby to bed"
She had much trouble with the table
servant; he was very obligng young
man, who. ! am sure, did the best he
could, and always did Us the honor to
appear much Interested in our conVersa-
tions laughing out loud when anything
struck him as funny; in this way he tre-
quently forgot 10 wait upon the table
Ny friend wanted him to serve the vege-
tables from the sideboard; bat he nearly
always forgot and put them on the table
until the reminder:
Peter the sideboard,' would cause
him 10 strike his head violently with his
silver waiter and eNclaim with grin:
" Pears like / just can't recollect.'
Once when she was having company to
dinner she arranged a dish Of asparagus
very prettily, told Peter to pour the butter
sauce over II and TO bring II to the table
covered with napkin. Peter covered 1t
with the napkin. then poured the butter
sauce over the whole dish napkin, and all,
and put it upon the table with look at
the company which said
What do you think Of that?"
To fish out the draggled napkin which
stuck to the asparagus, was impossible.
Take 1t away" said his mistress, Il
can't serve It." She said this in whis-
per. Peter, who was surveying the dish
with an expression Of candid interest, ex-
claimed aloud
What tain't right" and regretfulIy
took the dish out. He was a very dudish
young darkey, and when spring came and
he had his head shaved he presented at
once so barbarOusly ornate and so cOmical
an appearance that ii was with difficulty /
accepted his services at table seriously
For all his thick kink had been shaven
away save for three round and fussy tufts
Of wool, and these stood up on his head
precisely like the pOnpons on lady's hat.
a more fantastic or absurd head dress can
not be imagined But he was very proud
of these ponpons, and he kept feeling
them TO assure himself that they were ar
tistically round. He always wore a
bouquet I'm his buttonhOle when he an
Swered the bell and this little bouquet
formed of a rose geranum leaf lasted him
over & week, and ] have seen him out at
the ash barrel picking over castOut flow
ers when he was hard pressed TO find one
lie was firm in the conviction that none
but white person should ring the front
door bell; and / think one reason was that
1t made him indignant to waste his ap-
peaTance in bouquet and clipped head
upon 'niggers.' | have often heard him
berate those of his own color.
What, dis you? How dare you come
ringing this bel2 comm here wild your
black face! Cit round to de back gate as
fast as your legs kin cay YOU amt yo
know dat de back gate is provided 70
niger an dog"
But one 'nigger'' whom he regarded
with respect and with whom he was
proud to show himself upon friendly
terms was the postman This was a
Squatty, black man. very stout and very
conscious of wearing Government blue. !
His name was Boston, and Peter out Of J
respect to the uniform, called him Mr."
Boston. tie always went the rounds of |
ms delivery attended by two followers. |
one q small yellow cur which promptly !
sat down when Boston rang our belt |
knowing that his master would indulge in |
4 pretty lengthy chat with Peter and the !
other baret0oted little darkey, who did !
all the running up and down the steps. |
Whlle Boston stood on the pavement and |
bowed. Such deliberate lazness surely |
no other poStman ever exhibited. Behind |
my friend house there was number Of |
darkey huts, in which some Of Boston's |
frcndS resided, and We would often see |
him on the piazza of one Of these, his boy
in the yard chasing chickens, his dog
blinking in the sun he himself comfort |
ably swinging his legs on the rail, chat
ting away to an admiring circle with our
letters in the mailbag over
his shoulder one day my friend became
eXasperated.