The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1902-02-22
NANNY RITA.
r,.r.cter Sketch Of the Negro of
Today.
nru. rRENAEus TROUT.

REV. rRENAEUs TROUT.
few years ago, when ] was
..o,or of the beautiful village of
= 1sO IN North Mississippi, had for
u ,ho Rectory servant, NANNY
t p;tta.' Nanny was n brownish
Hack in color, and, as the local
JSrkies termed it, "stlingy neck
d. oJ" but despite her defects
NANNY Rita was a very accep-
& table 1 servant and extremely neat
about her personal appearance.
She was never seen without a
brilliant red bandanna handker-
chief tied neatly over her head,
snd one of similar hue neatly
mined about her neck and shoul-
n dcrs except on Sundays. Then
A the "wooi twists" ON her head
we're unwound and combed out
with great care, and wreath Of
anffy sufahair material was gath
cred into great soft mounds on
each side of her rather severe
forehead. For this, and for this
only, was the handkerchief dis
n cardcd.
Though her color would have in
negro social ethics classed her
below the mulatto, yet her tidi-
\ ness and general neatness, which
the negro breast holds ever in
H awe, and which, by the way, was
the chief reason for her being re-
tanned as "house niger" in
slave days, ,---and, be it known,
that "house niger" bad no deal
ings with "fiel hans" so far
we're they removed from each
other. so her tidiness and neat
ness, coupled with the fact that
she had been in tho past "house
nigger," and hence of "de quail
ty,' and the fact that she was at
present connected with the Rec
tory" had much to do with Nam
my Ritta's social position. Then,
too, Nanny Rita was feared.
She was an Episcopalian, which
was thing but vaguely under
stood among the town darkics,
but so far as understood was re-
garded us sort of religious ma
sonry that could exist only among
certain minds capable of reading
those strange mysteries, and be-
longing peculiarly to "de quality
WIFI fokes," who were deemed but
as so many Dives here, and who
should plead to Lazarus later.
Yet, notwithstanding the aloof-
ness of Nanny Rita, the negroes
were proud of her acquaintance
and hung with great earnestness
upon her words when she deigned
to play oracle.
And Nanny Rita was a great
stickler for the old school etiauet-
to andsa proud defender of "de
viii foxes " rights in the matter
of pollteness. Did an unfortu-
nate maiden venture upon th 20
front porch and ring the bell to
ask "ef dey waiter buy emmy
aigS "-as only the unsuspecting
from the rural districts ever dared
do Nanny Rita would burst
forth into an indignant torrent of
words as soon as she flung open
the door. "Welll Well!i Welllll
isl done lib ter see dis? Niggahs
lister walkin' up er-ringin' de
viii foxes bell same ez de quail
ty. HUH III teach you your
manners, head me? You jist put
you foot in dat paff en- tax you
sef eroun dat house LAX you had
sum razin, you heah? En- den
when yah gifts dar, doan, stan er
squallin' erbout lax er guinea hen
er put-rackin en- put-rackin put
rackin bout dem aigs. Yuh
heah? Jes curtsy en- max yuh
mammals lik' dis Ga curtesy) when
you see Missis en- say, 'Scuzen
me, young Mistuss, en- duz you all
want emmy aigs, ma'am?' "
And so Nanny Rita was quite
aparagon of wisdom, both ethi-
cal and theological, to her kind.
We had adopted the custom in
theparish of tolling the church
bell upon Good Friday at noon,
and this great fast day coming al
ways during the garden planting
season,th surrounding patches"
were always full of hands planting
and breaking ground. Upon the
ilrst OF these Good Friday SER
wees, Y an old darkey called Unc'l
Robert was in neighboring gard
en- fronting the Rectory back
porch, busy at work, when sshong"
went the bell in the tower. Uno'l
robert slowly raised himself
and looked toward the tower and
waited. 'Bong" again came the
single note Of the mellow bell.
,n1raclous, y here was a mystery.
! Inc bell was in the Episcopal bel
Try; he looked across the fsncs
toward the Rectory, and lol there
was NANNY Rita, busted with
washing some table napkins right
pefore him on the Rectory pooh.
q ne would call her; he would find
1he meaning for this strange thing;
surely she would know--it did not
seem TO disturb her, so she must
Know. Why, of course, wasn't
she a "Piscopul?" Did she not