The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-27
LETTERS TO EDITOR
Meet as Strangers; Part as Friends


To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
| Today while enjoying a lunch with a
| friend stranger coming In took q
| seat at our table. He was manly
| looking fellow. and in the very prime
of life, and bearing the appearance of
| being well bred, and intelligent. After
ordering his meal he politely remarked
this is my first visit to the south''-we
exchanged civilities and wished him a
pleasant sojourn among us. Continuing
the conversation, he said: when | was
boy, and after growing to manhood l
heard ard read so much about the slave
owners of the south being cruel to their
negroes, that l became deeply interested
to know If it was the truth. Seeking in
formation here and there. l became sat
isfied that conditions were not as 1 had
been informed, and read in books and
newspapers. As strange as it may ap-
pear, and yet 1t is true. that it was only
| accidental that I learned that 1t was the
northern people who brought the Africans
to this country, and sold them into
slavery, and upon the northern people
finding out that they could not be used
profitably, they then sold them to the
southern people.
II cannot account for this information
being withheld from the offspring of our
ancestors unless 1t be that they were
ashamed of what they had done, and
didn't want their posterity to know it."
l said to this man, would you like to
know the truth of this whole matter?"
would and so | told it to him. Rosa Bon
heur, the noted artist, painted picture
of a pigsty with the pigs eating out
of trough The stranger said we have
that picture and others from the brush
of this giften woman. VIII you let me
paint one more interesting, | said to our
rev acquaintance There are the old
mammies going to the grove with their
gang, 80 or 40 of them. they are as
Slick as moles. 1t is the time of their
evening meal They eat to their heart 5
content and fall over on the grass, and
drop off to sleep. 1t is the hour OF early
twilight. and the mothers are returning
from the field. These happy little crea-
tlres are gently taken up, and carried to
their cabin, laid upon their pallets, or
in their little trunnel beds. That morn
ing Barley the gardener gathered vege-
tables for all as he did every other
morning. The dew is dripping from them,
they are crisp and tender, and faithful
out the noon and evening meals for all.
Plenty is left for morning. Saturday
morning the women are turned loose to
do their washing and patching and the
men at noon ARE free to go wherever
they please. Gentleman, please accept
my card I live in the beautiful and
fertile Cumberland valley; we travelled
on foot one time over this lovely coun-
try and your folks give us everything
that was nice to eat. Yes, he whispered
most of them have gone but their chill
dren have plenty, and should you come
that way again you shall have the best
of the flock and the pick of the orchard,
and instead of the rumbling of army
trains 1t will be the honS of the auto
mobiles. and in place of the drum and
fife 1t will be the melody and sweetness
of the fiddle and flute.
We met as strangers. we part as friends.
]. LAWLER DARBY.
Birmingham, July 26, 1913