Datasets:
Tasks:
Text Generation
Sub-tasks:
language-modeling
Languages:
English
Size:
10K<n<100K
ArXiv:
License:
Produced by Al Haines | |
[Illustration: Cover art] | |
[Frontispiece: "_I seen he eye light on her as she came down the steps | |
smilin'._"] | |
UNC' EDINBURG | |
A PLANTATION ECHO | |
BY THOMAS NELSON PAGE | |
ILLUSTRATED BY B. WEST CLINEDINST | |
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS | |
NEW YORK, 1897 | |
Copyright, 1889, 1895, by | |
Charles Scribner's Sons | |
TROW DIRECTORY | |
PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY | |
NEW YORK | |
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS | |
"_I seen he eye light on her as she came down the steps smilin'._" . . | |
. . . . Frontispiece. | |
"_I got de ker'idge heah for you._" | |
"_We come 'way next mornin'._" | |
"_Mars George lead her out on de porch._" | |
"_Hit begin so low evybody had to stop talkin'._" | |
"_Miss Charlotte she 'mos' 'stracted._" | |
"_An' Marse George he ain' answer._" | |
[Illustration: "_I got de ker'idge heah for you._"] | |
"Well, suh, dat's a fac--dat's what Marse George al'ays said. 'Tis | |
hard to spile Christmas anyways." | |
The speaker was "Unc' Edinburg," the driver from Werrowcoke, where I | |
was going to spend Christmas; the time was Christmas Eve, and the place | |
the muddiest road in eastern Virginia--a measure which, I feel sure, | |
will, to those who have any experience, establish its claim to | |
distinction. | |
A half-hour before he had met me at the station, the queerest-looking, | |
raggedest old darkey conceivable, brandishing a cedar-staffed whip of | |
enormous proportions in one hand, and clutching in the other a calico | |
letter-bag with a twisted string; and with the exception of a brief | |
interval of temporary suspicion on his part, due to the unfortunate | |
fact that my luggage consisted of only a hand-satchel instead of a | |
trunk, we had been steadily progressing in mutual esteem. | |
"Dee's a boy standin' by my mules; I got de ker'idge heah for you," had | |
been his first remark on my making myself known to him. "Mistis say as | |
how you might bring a trunk." | |
I at once saw my danger, and muttered something about "a short visit," | |
but this only made matters worse. | |
"Dee don' nobody nuver pay short visits dyah," he said, decisively, and | |
I fell to other tactics. | |
"You couldn' spile Christmas den noways," he repeated, reflectingly, | |
while his little mules trudged knee-deep through the mud. "Twuz | |
Christmas den, sho' 'nough," he added, the fires of memory smouldering, | |
and then, as they blazed into sudden flame, he asserted, positively: | |
"Dese heah free-issue <DW65>s don' know what Christmas is. Hawg meat | |
an' pop crackers don' meck Christmas. Hit tecks ole times to meck a | |
sho'-'nough, tyahin'-down Christmas. Gord! I's seen 'em! But de wuss | |
Christmas I ever seen tunned out de best in de een," he added, with | |
sudden warmth, "an' dat wuz de Christmas me an' Marse George an' | |
Reveller all got drownded down at Braxton's Creek. You's hearn 'bout | |
dat'?" | |
As he was sitting beside me in solid flesh and blood, and looked as | |
little ethereal in his old hat and patched clothes as an old oak stump | |
would have done, and as Colonel Staunton had made a world-wide | |
reputation when he led his regiment through the Chickahominy thickets | |
against McClellan's intrenchments, I was forced to confess that I had | |
never been so favored, but would like to hear about it now; and with a | |
hitch of the lap blanket under his outside knee, and a supererogatory | |
jerk of the reins, he began: | |
"Well, you know, Marse George was jes' eighteen when he went to | |
college. I went wid him, 'cause me an' him wuz de same age; I was born | |
like on a Sat'day in de Christmas, an' he wuz born in de new year on a | |
Chuesday, an' my mammy nussed us bofe at one breast. Dat's de reason | |
maybe huccome we took so to one nurr. He sutney set a heap o' sto' by | |
me; an' I ain' nuver see nobody yit wuz good to me as Marse George." | |
The old fellow, after a short reverie, went on: | |
"Well, we growed up togerr, jes as to say two stalks in one hill. We | |
cotch ole hyahs togerr, an' we hunted 'possums togerr, an' '<DW53>s. | |
Lord! he wuz a climber! I 'member a fight he had one night up in de | |
ve'y top of a big poplar tree wid a <DW53>, whar he done gone up after, | |
an' he flung he hat over he head; an' do' de varmint leetle mo' tyah | |
him all to pieces, he fotch him down dat tree 'live; an' me an' him had | |
him at Christmas. '<DW53> meat mighty good when dee fat, you know?" | |
As this was a direct request for my judgment, I did not have the moral | |
courage to raise an issue, although my views on the subject of '<DW53> | |
meat are well known to my family; so I grunted something which I doubt | |
not he took for assent, and he proceeded: | |
"Dee warn' nuttin he didn' lead de row in; he wuz de bes' swimmer I | |
ever see, an' he handled a skiff same as a fish handle heself. An' I | |
wuz wid him constant; wharever you see Marse George, dyah Edinburg | |
sho', jes' like he shadow. So twuz, when he went to de university; | |
'twarn' nuttin would do but I got to go too. Marster he didn' teck | |
much to de notion, but Marse George wouldn' have it no urrway, an' | |
co'se mistis she teck he side. So I went 'long as he body-servant to | |
teck keer on him an' help meck him a gent'man. An' he wuz, too. From | |
time he got dyah tell he cum 'way he wuz de head man. | |
"Dee warn' but one man dyah didn' compliment him, an' dat wuz Mr. | |
Darker. But he warn' nuttin! not dat he didn' come o' right good | |
fambly--'cep' dee politics; but he wuz sutney pitted, jes' like | |
sometimes you see a weevly runty pig in a right good litter. Well, Mr. | |
Darker he al'ays 'ginst Marse George; he hate me and him bofe, an' he | |
sutney act mischeevous todes us; 'cause he know he warn' as we all. De | |
Stauntons dee wuz de popularitiest folks in Virginia; an' dee wuz | |
high-larnt besides. So when Marse George run for de medal, an' wuz to | |
meck he gret speech, Mr. Darker he speak 'ginst him. Dat's what Marse | |
George whip him 'bout. 'Ain' nobody nuver told you 'bout dat?" | |
I again avowed my misfortune; and although it manifestly aroused new | |
doubts, he worked it off on the mules, and once more took up his story: | |
"Well, you know, dee had been speakin' 'ginst one nurr ev'y Sat'dy | |
night; and ev'ybody knowed Marse George wuz de bes' speaker, but dee | |
give him one mo' sho', an' dee was bofe gwine spread deeselves, an' dee | |
wuz two urr gent'mens also gwine speak. An' dat night when Mr. Darker | |
got up he meck sich a fine speech ev'ybody wuz s'prised; an' some on | |
'em say Mr. Darker done beat Marse George. But, shuh! I know better'n | |
dat; an' Marse George face look so curious; but, suh, when he riz I | |
knowed der wuz somen gwine happen--I wuz leanin' in de winder. He jes | |
step out in front an' throwed up he head like a horse wid a rank kyurb | |
on him, and den he begin; an' twuz jes like de river when hit gits out | |
he bank. He swep' ev'ything. When he fust open he mout I knowed twuz | |
comin'; he face wuz pale, an' he wuds tremble like a fiddle-string, but | |
he eyes wuz blazin', an' in a minute he wuz jes reshin'. He voice | |
soun' like a bell; an' he jes wallered dat turr man, an' wared him out; | |
an' when he set down dee all yelled an' hollered so you couldn' heah | |
you' ears. Gent'-mans, twuz royal! | |
"Den dee tuck de vote, an' Marse George got it munanimous, an' dee all | |
hollered agin, all 'cep' a few o' Mr. Darker's friends. An' Mr. Darker | |
he wuz de second. An' den dee broke up. An' jes den Marse George | |
walked thoo de crowd straight up to him, an' lookin' him right in de | |
eyes, says to him, 'You stole dat speech you made to-night.' Well, | |
suh, you ought to 'a hearn 'em; hit soun' like a mill-dam. You couldn' | |
heah nuttin 'cep' roarin', an' you couldn' see nuttin 'cep' shovin'. | |
But, big as he wuz, Marse George beat him; an' when dee pull him off, | |
do' he face wuz mighty pale, he stan' out befo' 'em all, dem whar wuz | |
'ginst him, an' all, jes as straight as an arrow, an' say: 'Dat speech | |
wuz written an' printed years ago by somebody or nurr in Congress, an' | |
this man stole it; had he beat me only, I should not have said one | |
word; but as he has beaten others, I shall show him up!' Gord, suh, he | |
voice wuz clear as a game rooster. I sutney wuz proud on him. | |
"He did show him up, too, but Mr. Darker ain' wait to see it; he lef' | |
dat night. An' Marse George he wuz de popularitiest gent'man at dat | |
university. He could handle dem students dyah same as a man handle a | |
hoe. | |
"Well, twuz de next Christmas we meet Miss Charlotte an' Nancy. Mr. | |
Braxton invite we all to go down to spen' Christmas wid him at he home. | |
An' sich a time as we had! | |
"We got dyah Christmas Eve night--dis very night--jes befo' supper, an' | |
jes natchelly froze to death," he pursued, dealing in his wonted | |
hyperbole, "an' we jes had time to git a apple toddy or two when supper | |
was ready, an' wud come dat dee wuz waitin' in de hall. I had done fix | |
Marse George up gorgeousome, I tell you; an when he walk down dem | |
stairs in dat swaller-tail coat, an' dem paten'-leather pumps on, dee | |
warn nay one dyah could tetch him; he looked like he own 'em all. I | |
jes rest my mind. I seen him when he shake hands wid 'em all roun', | |
an' I say, 'Um-m-m! he got 'em.' | |
"But he ain' teck noticement o' none much tell Miss Charlotte come. | |
She didn' live dyah, had jes come over de river dat evenin' from her | |
home, 'bout ten miles off, to spen' Christmas like we all, an' she come | |
down de stairs jes as Marse George finish shakin' hands. I seen he eye | |
light on her as she come down de steps smilin', wid her dim blue dress | |
trainin' behind her, an' her little blue foots peepin' out so pretty, | |
an' holdin' a little hankcher, lookin' like a spider-web, in one hand, | |
an' a gret blue fan in turr, spread out like a peacock tail, an' jes | |
her roun' arms an' th'oat white, an' her gret dark eyes lightin' up her | |
face. I say, 'Dyah 'tis!' and when de ole Cun'l stan' aside an' | |
interduce 'em, and Marse George step for'ard an' meck he grand bow, an' | |
she sort o' swing back an' gin her curtchy, wid her dress sort o' | |
dammed up 'ginst her, an' her arms so white, an' her face sort o' | |
sunsetty, I say, 'Yes, Lord! Edinburg, dyah you mistis.' Marse George | |
look like he think she done come down right from de top o' de blue sky | |
an' bring piece on it wid her. He ain' nuver took he eyes from her dat | |
night. Dee glued to her, mun! an' she--well, do' she mighty rosy, an' | |
look mighty unconsarned, she sutney ain' hender him. Hit look like | |
kyarn nobody else tote dat fan an' pick up dat hankcher skusin o' him; | |
an' after supper, when dee all playin' blind-man's-buff in de hall--I | |
don' know how twuz--but do' she jes as nimble as a filly, an' her ankle | |
jes as clean, an' she kin git up her dress an' dodge out o' de way o' | |
ev'ybody else, somehow or nurr she kyarn help him ketchin' her to save | |
her life; he al'ays got her corndered; an' when dee'd git fur apart, | |
dat ain' nuttin, dee jes as sure to come togerr agin as water is whar | |
you done run you hand thoo. An' do' he kiss ev'ybody else under de | |
mistletow, 'cause dee be sort o' cousins, he ain' nuver kiss her, nor | |
nobody else ain't nurr, 'cep' de ole Cun'l. I wuz standin' down at de | |
een de hall wid de black folks, an' I notice it 'tic'lar, 'cause I done | |
meck de 'quaintance o' Nancy; she wuz Miss Charlotte's maid; a mighty | |
likely young gal she wuz den, an' jes as impident as a fly. She see it | |
too, do' she ain' 'low it. | |
"Fust thing I know I seen a mighty likely light-skinned gal standin' | |
dyah by me, wid her hyah mos' straight as white folks, an' a mighty | |
good frock on, an' a clean apron, an' her hand mos' like a lady, only | |
it brown, an' she keep on 'vidin' her eyes twix me an' Miss Charlotte; | |
when I watchin' Miss Charlotte she watchin' me, an' when I steal my eye | |
'roun' on her she noticin' Miss Charlotte; an' presney I sort o' sidle | |
'longside her, an' I say, 'Lady, you mighty sprightly to-night.' An' | |
she say she 'bleeged to be sprightly, her mistis look so good; an' I ax | |
her which one twuz, an' she tell me, 'Dat queen one over dyah,' an' I | |
tell her dee's a king dyah too, she got her eye set for; an' when I say | |
her mistis tryin' to set her cap for Marse George, she fly up, an' say | |
she an' her mistis don' have to set dee cap for nobody; _dee_ got to | |
set dee cap an' all dee clo'es for dem, an' den dee ain' gwine cotch | |
'em cause dee ain' studyin' 'bout no up-country folks whar dee ain' | |
nobody know nuttin 'bout. | |
"Well, dat oudaciousness so aggrivate me, I lite into dat <DW65> right | |
dyah. I tell her she ain' been nowhar 'tall ef she don' know we all; | |
dat we wuz de bes' of quality, de ve'y top de pot; an' den I tell her | |
'bout how gret we wuz; how de ker'idges wuz al'ays hitched up night an' | |
day, an' <DW65>s jes thick as weeds; an' how Unc' Torm he wared he | |
swaller-tail ev'y day when he wait on de table; and Marse George he | |
won' wyah a coat mo'n once or twice anyways, to save you life. Oh! I | |
sutney 'stonish dat <DW65>, 'cause I wuz teckin up for de fambly, an' I | |
meck out like dee use gold up home like urr folks use wood, an' sow | |
silver like urr folks sow wheat; an' when I got thoo dee wuz all on 'em | |
listenin', an' she 'lowed dat Marse George he were ve'y good, sho | |
'nough, 'ef twarn for he <DW65>; but I ain' tarrifyin' myself none | |
'bout dat, 'cause I know she jes projickin, an' she couldn' help bein' | |
impident ef you wuz to whup de frock off her back. | |
"Jes den dee struck up de dance. Dee had wheel de pianer out in de | |
hall, an' somebody say Jack Forester had come cross de river, an' all | |
on 'em say dee mus' git Jack; an' presney he come in wid he fiddle, | |
grinnin' and scrapin', 'cause he wuz a notable fiddler, do' I don' | |
think he wuz equal to we all's Tubal, an' I know he couldn' tech Marse | |
George, 'cause Marse George wuz a natchel fiddler, jes like '<DW53>s is | |
natchel pacers, an' mules an' womens is natchel kickers. Howsomever, | |
he sutney jucked a jig sweet, an' when he shake dat bow you couldn' | |
help you foot switchin' a leetle--not ef you wuz a member of de chutch. | |
He wuz a mighty sinful man, Jack wuz, an' dat fiddle had done drawed | |
many souls to torment. | |
"Well, in a minute dee wuz all flyin', an' Jack he wuz rockin' like | |
boat rockin' on de water, an' he face right shiny, an' he teef look | |
like ear o' corn he got in he mout, an' he big foot set way out keepin' | |
time, an' Marse George he was in de lead row dyah too; ev'y chance he | |
git he tunned Miss Charlotte--'petchel motion, right hand across, an' | |
cauliflower, an' croquette--dee croquette plenty o' urrs, but I notice | |
dee ain' nuver fail to tun one nurr, an' ev'y tun he gin she wrappin' | |
de chain roun'him. Once when dee wuz 'prominadin-all' down we all's | |
een o' de hall, as he tunned her somebody step on her dress an' to' it. | |
I heah de screech o' de silk, an' Nancy say, 'O Lord!' den she say, | |
'Nem mine! now I'll git it!' an' dee stop for a minute for Marse George | |
to pin 't up, while turrers went on, an' Marse George wuz down on he | |
knee, an' she look down on him mighty sweet out her eyes, an' say, 'Hit | |
don' meck no difference,' an' he glance up an' cotch her eye, an', jes | |
'dout a wud, he tyah a gret piece right out de silk an' slipt it in he | |
bosom, an' when he got up, he say, right low, lookin' in her eyes real | |
deep, 'I gwine wyah dis at my weddin',' an' she jes look sweet as | |
candy; an' ef Nancy ever wyah dat frock I ain' see it. | |
"Den presney dee wuz talkin' 'bout stoppin'. De ole Cun'l say hit time | |
to have prars, an' dee wuz beggin' him to wait a leetle while; an' Jack | |
Forester lay he fiddle down nigh Marse George, an' he picked 't up an' | |
drawed de bow 'cross it jes to try it, an' den jes projickin' he struck | |
dat chune 'bout 'You'll ermember me.' He hadn' mo'n tech de string | |
when you couldn' heah a pin drap. Marse George he warn noticin', an' | |
he jes lay he face on de fiddle, wid he eyes sort o' half shet, an' | |
drawed her out like he'd do some nights at home in dee moonlight on de | |
gret porch, tell on a sudden he looked up an' cotch Miss Charlotte eye | |
leanin' for'ards so earnest, an' all on 'em list'nin', an' he stopt, | |
an' dee all clapt dee hands, an' he sudney drapt into a jig. Jack | |
Forester ain' had to play no mo' dat night. Even de ole Cun'l ketched | |
de fever, an' he stept out in de flo' in he long-tail coat an' high | |
collar, an' knocked 'em off de 'Snowbud on de Ash-bank,' an' 'Chicken | |
in de Bread-tray,' right natchel. | |
"Oh, he could jes plank 'em down! | |
"Oh, dat wuz a Christmas like you been read 'bout! An' twuz hard to | |
tell which gittin cotch most, Marse George or me; 'cause dat <DW65> she | |
jes as confusin' as Miss Charlotte. An' she sutney wuz sp'ilt dem | |
days; ev'y <DW65> on dat place got he eye on her, an' she jes az | |
oudacious an' aggravatin as jes womens kin be. | |
"Dees monsus 'ceivin critters, womens is, jes as onreliable as de | |
hind-leg of a mule; a man got to watch 'em all de time; you kyarn break | |
'em like you kin horses. | |
"Now dat off mule dyah" (indicating, by a lazy but not light lash of | |
his whip the one selected for his illustration), "dee ain' no countin' | |
on her at all; she go 'long all day, or maybe a week, jes dat easy an' | |
sociable, an' fust thing you know you ain' know nuttin she done knock | |
you brains out; dee ain' no 'pendence to be placed in 'em 'tall, suh; | |
she jes as sweet as a kiss one minute, an' next time she come out de | |
house she got her head up in de air, an' her ears backed, an' goin' | |
long switchin'herself like I ain' good 'nough for her to walk on. | |
"'Fox-huntin's?' oh, yes, suh, ev'y day mos'; an' when Marse George | |
didn't git de tail, twuz 'cause twuz a bob-tail fox--you heah me! He | |
play de fiddle for he pastime, but he fetched up in de saddle--dat he | |
cradle! | |
"De fust day dee went out I heah Nancy quoilin 'bout de tail layin' on | |
Miss Charlotte dressin'-table gittin' hyahs over ev'ything. | |
"One day de ladies went out too, Miss Charlotte 'mongst 'em, on Miss | |
Lucy' gray myah Switchity, an' Marse George he rid Mr. Braxton's | |
chestnut Willful. | |
"Well, suh, he stick so close to dat gray myah, he leetle mo' los' dat | |
fox; but, Lord! he know what he 'bout--he monsus 'ceivin' 'bout dat--he | |
know de way de fox gwine jes as well as he know heself; an' all de time | |
he leadin' Miss Charlotte whar she kin heah de music, but he watchin' | |
him too, jes as narrow as a ole hound. So, when de fox tun de head o' | |
de creek, Marse George had Miss Charlotte on de aidge o' de flat, an' | |
he de fust man see de fox tun down on turr side wid de hounds right | |
rank after him. Dat sort o' set him back, 'cause by rights de fox | |
ought to a' double an' come back dis side: he kyarn git out dat way; | |
an' two or three gent'mens dee had see it too, an' wuz jes layin de | |
horses to de groun' to git roun' fust, 'cause de creek wuz heap too | |
wide to jump, an' wuz 'way over you head, an hit cold as Christmas, sho | |
'nough; well, suh, when dee tunned, Mr. Clarke he wuz in de lead (he | |
wuz ridin' for Miss Charlotte too), an' hit fyah set Marse George on | |
fire; he ain' said but one wud, 'Wait,' an' jes set de chestnut's head | |
straight for de creek, whar de fox comin' wid he hyah up on he back, | |
an' de dogs ravlin mos' on him. | |
"De ladies screamed, an' some de gent'mens hollered for him to come | |
back, but he ain' mind; he went 'cross dat flat like a wild-duck; an' | |
when he retch de water he horse tried to flinch, but dat hand on de | |
bridle, an' dem rowels in he side, an' he 'bleeged to teck it. | |
"Lord! suh, sich a screech as dee set up! But he wuz swimmin' for | |
life, an' he wuz up de bank an' in de middle o' de dogs time dee | |
tetched ole Gray Jacket; an' when Mr. Clarke got dyah Marse George wuz | |
stan'in' wid ice on him, holdin' up de tail for Miss Charlotte to see, | |
turr side de creek, an' de hounds wuz wallerin' all over de body, an' I | |
don' think Mr. Clarke done got up wid 'em yit. | |
"He cotch de fox, an' he cotch some'n else besides, is my 'pinion, | |
'cause when de ladies went upstairs dat night Miss Charlotte had to | |
wait on de steps for a glass o' water, an' couldn' nobody git it but | |
Marse George; an' den when she tell him good-night over de banisters, | |
he couldn' say it good enough; he got to kiss her hand; an' she ain' do | |
nuttin but jes peep upstairs ef anybody dyah lookin'; an' when I come | |
thoo de do' she juck her hand 'way an' run upstairs jes as farst as she | |
could. Marse George look at me sort o' laughin', an' say: 'Confound | |
you! Nancy couldn' been very good to you.' An' I say, 'She le' me | |
squench my thirst a leetle kissin' her hand;' an' he sort o' laugh an' | |
tell me to keep my mouf shet. | |
"But dat ain' de on'y time I come on 'em. Dee al'ays gittin' | |
corndered; an' de evenin' befo' we come 'way I wuz gwine in thoo de | |
conservity, an' dyah dee wuz sort o' hide 'way. Miss Charlotte she wuz | |
settin' down, an' Marse George he wuz leanin' over her, got her hand to | |
he face, talkin' right low an' lookin' right sweet, an' she ain' say | |
nuttin; an' presney he drapt on one knee by her, an' slip he arm roun' | |
her, an' try to look in her eyes, an' she so 'shamed to look at him she | |
got to hide her face on he shoulder, an' I slipt out. | |
"We come 'way next mornin'. When marster heah 'bout it he didn' teck | |
to de notion at all, 'cause her pa--dat is, he warn' her own pa, 'cause | |
he had married her ma when she wuz a widder after Miss Charlotte pa | |
died--an' he politics warn' same as ourn. 'Why, you kin never stand | |
him, suh,' he said to Marse George. 'We won't mix any mo'n fire and | |
water; you ought to have found that out at college; dat fellow Darker | |
is his son.'" | |
[Illustration: "_We come 'way next mornin'._"] | |
"Marse George he say he know dat; but he on'y de step-brurr of de young | |
lady, an' ain' got a drap o' her blood in he veins, an' he didn' know | |
it when he meet her, an' anyhow hit wouldn' meck any diffence; an, when | |
de mistis see how sot Marse George is on it she teck he side, an' dat | |
fix it; 'cause when ole mistis warn marster to do a thing, hit jes good | |
as done. I don' keer how much he rar roun' an' say he ain' gwine do | |
it, you jes well go 'long an' put on you hat; you gwine see him presney | |
doin' it jes peaceable as a lamb. She tun him jes like she got | |
bline-bridle on him, an' he ain' nuver know it. | |
"So she got him jes straight as a string. An' when de time come for | |
Marse George to go, marster he mo' consarned 'bout it 'n Marse George; | |
he ain' say nuttin 'bout it befo'; but now he walkin' roun' an' roun' | |
axin mistis mo' questions 'bout he cloes an' he horse an' all; an' dat | |
mornin' he gi' him he two Sunday razors, an' gi' me a pyah o' boots an' | |
a beaver hat, 'cause I wuz gwine wid him to kyar he portmanteau, an' | |
git he shavin' water, sence marster say ef he wuz gwine marry a | |
Locofoco, he at least must go like a gent'man; an' me an' Marse George | |
had done settle it 'twixt us, cause we al'ays set bofe we traps on de | |
same hyah parf. | |
"Well, we got 'em. When I ax dat gal out on de wood-pile dat night, | |
she say bein' as her mistis gwine own me, an' we bofe got to be in de | |
same estate, she reckon she ain' nuver gwine to be able to git shet o' | |
me; an' den I clamp her. Oh, she wuz a beauty!" | |
A gesture and guffaw completed the recital of his conquest. | |
"Yes, suh, we got 'em sho!" he said, presently. "Dee couldn' persist | |
us; we crowd 'em into de fence an' run 'em off dee foots. | |
"Den come de 'gagement; an' ev'ything wuz smooth as silk. Marse George | |
an' me wuz ridin' over dyah constant, on'y we nuver did git over bein' | |
skeered when we wuz ridin' up dat turpentine road facin' all dem | |
winders. Hit 'pears like ev'ybody in de wull 'mos' wuz lookin' at us. | |
"One evenin' Marse George say, 'Edinburg, d'you ever see as many | |
winders p'intin' one way in you' life? When I git a house,' he say, 'I | |
gwine have all de winders lookin' turr way.' | |
"But dat evenin' when I see Miss Charlotte come walkin' out de gret | |
parlor wid her hyah sort o' rumpled over her face, an' some yaller | |
roses on her bres, an' her gret eyes so soft an' sweet, an' Marse | |
George walkin' 'long hinst her, so peaceable, like she got chain 'roun' | |
him, I say, 'Or--or, winders ain' nuttin.' | |
"Oh, twuz jes like holiday all de time! An' den Miss Charlotte come | |
over to see mistis, an' of co'se she bring her maid wid her, 'cause she | |
'bleeged to have her maid, you know, an' dat wuz de bes' of all. | |
"Dat evenin', bout sunset, dee come drivin' up in de big ker'idge, wid | |
de gret hyah trunk stropped on de seat behind, an' Nancy she settin' by | |
Billy, an' Marse George settin' inside by he rose-bud, 'cause he had | |
done gone down to bring her up; an' marster he done been drest in he | |
blue coat an' yallow westket ever sence dinner, an' walkin' roun', | |
watchin' up de road all de time, an' tellin' de mistis he reckon dee | |
ain' comin', an ole mistis she try to pacify him, an' she come out | |
presney drest, an' rustlin' in her stiff black silk an' all; an' when | |
de ker'idge come in sight, ev'ybody wuz runnin'; an' when dee draw up | |
to de do', Marse George he help her out an' in'duce her to marster an' | |
ole mistis; an' marster he start to meck her a gret bow, an' she jes | |
put up her mouf like a little gal to be kissed, an' dat got him. An' | |
mistis teck her right in her arms an' kiss her twice, an' de servants | |
dee wuz all peepin' an' grinnin'. | |
"Ev'ywhar you tun you see a <DW65> teef, 'cause dee all warn see de | |
young mistis whar good 'nough for Marse George. | |
"Dee ain' gwine be married tell de next fall, 'count o' Miss Charlotte | |
bein' so young; but she jes good as b'longst to we all now; an' ole | |
marster an' mistis dee jes as much in love wid her as Marse George. | |
Hi! dee warn pull de house down an' buil' it over for her! An' ev'y | |
han' on de place he peepin' to try to git a look at he young mistis | |
whar he gwine b'longst to. One evenin' dee all on 'em come roun' de | |
porch an' send for Marse George, an' when he come out, Charley Brown | |
(he al'ays de speaker, 'cause he got so much mouf, kin' talk pretty as | |
white folks), he say dee warn interduce to de young mistis, an' pay dee | |
bespects to her; an' presney Marse George lead her out on de porch | |
laughin' at her, wid her face jes rosy as a wine-sop apple, an' she | |
meck 'em a beautiful bow' an' speak to 'em ev'y one, Marse George | |
namin' de names; an' Charley Brown he meck her a pretty speech, an' | |
tell her we mighty proud to own her; an' one o' dem impident gals ax | |
her to gin her dat white frock when she git married; an' when she say, | |
'Well, what am I goin' wear?' Sally say, 'Lord, honey, Marse George | |
gwine dress you in pure gol'!' an' she look up at him wid sparks | |
flashin' out her eyes, while he look like dat ain' good 'nough for her. | |
An' so twuz, when she went 'way, Sally Marshall got dat frock, an' | |
proud on it I tell you." | |
[Illustration: "_Marse George lead her out on de porch._"] | |
"Oh, yes; he sutney mindin' her tender. Hi! when she go to ride in | |
evenin' wid him, de ain' no horse-block good 'nough for her! Marse | |
George got to have her step in he hand; an' when dee out walkin' he got | |
de umbrellar holdin' 't over her all de time, he so feared de sun'll | |
kiss her; an' dee walk so slow down dem walks in de shade you got to | |
sight 'em by a tree to tell ef dee movin' 'tall. She use' to look like | |
she used to it too, I tell you, 'cause she wuz quality, one de | |
white-skinned ones; an' she'd set in dem big cheers, wid her little | |
foots on de cricket whar Marse George al'ays set for her, he so feared | |
dee'd tech de groun', jes like she on her throne; an' ole marster he'd | |
watch her 'mos' edmirin as Marse George; an' when she went 'way hit | |
sutney wuz lonesome. Hit look like daylight gone wid her. I don' know | |
which I miss mos', Miss Charlotte or Nancy. | |
"Den Marse George wuz 'lected to de Legislature, an' ole Jedge Darker | |
run for de Senator, an' Marse George vote gin him and beat him. An' | |
dat commence de fuss; an' den dat man gi' me de whuppin, an' dat breck | |
'tup and breck he heart. | |
"You see, after Marse George wuz 'lected ('Lections wuz 'lections dem | |
days; dee warn' no baitgode 'lections, wid e'vy sort o' wurrms | |
squirmin' up 'ginst one nurr, wid piece o' paper d' ain' know what on, | |
drappin' in a chink; didn' nuttin but gent'mens vote den, an' dee took | |
dee dram, an' vote out loud, like gent'mens)--well, arter Marse George | |
was 'lected, de parties wuz jes as even balanced as stilyuds, an' wen | |
dee ax Marse George who wuz to be de Senator, he vote for de Whig, | |
'ginst de old jedge, an' dat beat him, of co'se. An' dee ain' got | |
sense to know he 'bleeged to vote wid he politics. Dat he sprinciple; | |
he kyarn vote for Locofoco, I don' keer ef he is Miss Charlotte pa, | |
much less her step-pa. Of co'se de ole jedge ain' speak to him arter | |
dat, nur is Marse George ax him to. But who dat g'wine s'pose | |
women-folks got to put dee mouf in too? Miss Charlotte she write Marse | |
George a letter dat pester him mightily; he set up all night answerin' | |
dat letter, an' he mighty solemn, I tell you. An' I wuz gettin' right | |
grewjousome myself, 'cause I studyin' 'bout dat gal down dyah whar I | |
done gi' my wud to, an' when dee ain' no letters come torectly hit hard | |
to tell which one de anxiouser, me or Marse George. Den presney I so | |
'straughted 'long o' it I ax Aunt Haly 'bouten it: (She know all sich | |
things, 'cause she 'mos' a hunderd years ole, an' seed evil speerits, | |
an' got skoripins up her chimley, an' knowed conjure); an' she ax me | |
what wuz de signication, an' I tell her I ain' able nuther to eat nor | |
to sleep, an' dat gal come foolin' 'long me when I sleep jes as natchel | |
as ef I see her sho' 'nough. An' she say I done conjured; dat de gal | |
done tricked me. | |
"Oh, Gord! dat skeered me! | |
"You white folks, marster, don' b'lieve nuttin like dat; y' all got too | |
much sense, 'cause y' all kin read; but <DW65>s dee ain' know no | |
better, an' I sutney wuz skeered, 'cause Aunt Haly say my coffin done | |
seasoned, de planks up de chimley. | |
"Well, I got so bad Marse George ax me 'bout it, an' he sort o' laugh | |
an' sort o' cuss, an' he tell Aunt Haly ef she don' stop dat | |
foolishness skeerin' me he'll sell her an' tyah her ole skoripin house | |
down. Well, co'se he jes talkin', an' he ax me next day how'd I like | |
to go an' see my sweetheart. Gord! suh, I got well torectly. So I set | |
off next evenin', feelin' jes big as ole marster, wid my pass in my | |
pocket, which I warn' to show nobody 'douten I 'bleeged to, 'cause | |
Marse George didn't warn nobody to know he le' me go. An' den dat | |
rascallion teck de shut off my back. But ef Marse George didn' pay him | |
de wuth o' it! | |
"I done git 'long so good, too. | |
"When Nancy see me she sutney wuz 'stonished. She come roun' de | |
cornder in de back yard whar I settin' in Nat's do' (he wuz de | |
gardener), wid her hyah all done ontwist, an' breshed out mighty fine, | |
an' a clean ap'on wid fringe on it, meckin' out she so s'prised to see | |
me (whar wuz all a lie, 'cause some on 'em done notify her I dyah), an' | |
she say, 'Hi! what dis black <DW65> doin' heah?' | |
"An' I say, 'Who you callin' <DW65>, you impident, kercumber-faced | |
thing, you?' Den we shake hands, an' I tell her Marse George done set | |
me free--dat I done buy myself; dat's de lie I done lay off to tell her. | |
"An' when I tole her dat, she bust out laughin', an' say, well, I | |
better go 'long 'way, den, dat she don' warn no free <DW65> to be | |
comp'ny for her.' Dat sort o' set me back, an' I tell her she kickin' | |
'fo' she spurred, dat I ain' got her in my mine; I got a nurr gal at | |
home whar grievin' 'bout me dat ve'y minute. An' after I tell her all | |
sich lies as dat presney she ax me ain' I hongry; an' ef dat <DW65> | |
didn' git her mammy to gi' me de bes' supter! Umm-m! I kin mos' tas'e | |
it now. Wheat bread off de table, an' zerves, an' fat bacon, tell I | |
couldn' put a nurr moufful nowhar sep'n I'd teck my hat. Dat night I | |
tote Nancy water for her, an' I tell her all 'bout ev'ything, an' she | |
jes sweet as honey. Next mornin', do', she done sort o' tunned some, | |
an' ain' so sweet. You know how milk gits sort o' bonny-clabberish? | |
An' when she see me she 'gin to 'buse me--say I jes' tryin' to fool | |
her, an' all de time got nurr wife at home, or gittin' ready to git | |
one, for all she know, an' she ain' know wherr Marse George ain' jes | |
'ceivin' as I is; an' nem mine, she got plenty warn marry her; an' as | |
to Miss Charlotte, she got de whole wull; Mr. Darker he ain' got nobody | |
in he way now, dat he deah all de time, an' ain' gwine West no mo'. | |
Well, dat aggrivate me so I tell her ef she say dat 'bout Marse George | |
I gwine knock her; an' wid dat she got so oudacious I meck out I gwine | |
'way, an' lef' her, an' went up todes de barn; an' up dyah, fust thing | |
I know, I come across dat ar man Mr. Darker. Soon as he see me he | |
begin to cuss me, an' he ax me what I doin' on dat land, an' I tell him | |
'Nuttin'.' An' he say, well, he gwine gi' me some'n; he gwine teach me | |
to come prowlin' round gent'men's houses. An' he meck me go in de barn | |
an' teck off my shut, an' he beat me wid he whup tell de blood run out | |
my back. He sutney did beat me scandalous, 'cause he done hate me an' | |
Marse George ever since we wuz at college togurr. An' den he say: 'Now | |
you git right off dis land. Ef either you or you marster ever put you | |
foot on it, you'll git de same thing agin.' An' I tell you, Edinburg | |
he come way, 'cause he sutney had worry me. I ain' stop to see Nancy | |
or nobody; I jes come 'long, shakin' de dust, I tell you. An' as I | |
come 'long de road I pass Miss Charlotte walkin' on de lawn by herself, | |
an' she call me: 'Why, hi! ain' dat Edinburg?' | |
"She look so sweet, an' her voice soun' so cool, I say, 'Yes'm; how you | |
do, missis?' An' she say, she ve'y well, an' how I been, an' whar I | |
gwine? I tell her I ain' feelin' so well, dat I gwine home. 'Hi!' she | |
say, 'is anybody treat you bad?' An' I tell her, 'Yes'm'. An' she | |
say, 'Oh! Nancy don' mean nuttin by dat; dat you mus'n mine what | |
womens say, an' do, 'cause dee feel sorry for it next minute; an' | |
sometimes dee kyarn help it, or maybe hit you fault; an' anyhow, you | |
ought to be willin' to overlook it; an' I better go back an' wait till | |
to-morrow--ef--ef I ain' 'bleeged to git home to-day.' | |
"She got mighty mixed up in de een part o' dat, an' she looked mighty | |
anxious 'bout me an' Nancy; an' I tell her, 'No'm, I 'bleeged to git | |
home.' | |
"Well, when I got home Marse George he warn know all dat gwine on; but | |
I mighty sick--dat man done beat me so; an' he ax me what de marter, | |
an' I upped an' tell him. | |
"Gord! I nuver see a man in sich a rage. He call me in de office an' | |
meck me teck off my shut, an' he fyah bust out cryin'. He walked up | |
an' down dat office like a caged lion. Ef he had got he hand on Mr. | |
Darker den, he'd 'a kilt him, sho! | |
"He wuz most 'stracted. I don't know what he'd been ef I'd tell him | |
what Nancy tell me. He call for Peter to get he horse torectly, an' he | |
tell me to go an' git some'n from mammy to put on my back, an' to go to | |
bed torectly, an' not to say nuttin to nobody, but to tell he pa he'd | |
be away for two days, maybe; an' den he got on Reveller an' galloped | |
'way hard as he could, wid he jaw set farst, an' he heaviest whup | |
clamped in he hand. Gord! I wuz most hopin' he wouldn' meet dat man, | |
'cause I feared ef he did he'd kill him; an' he would, sho, ef he had | |
meet him right den; dee say he leetle mo' did when he fine him next | |
day, an' he had done been ridin' den all night; he cotch him at a sto' | |
on de road, an' dee say he leetle mo' cut him all to pieces; he drawed | |
a weepin on Marse George, but Marse George wrench it out he hand an' | |
flung it over de fence; an' when dee got him 'way he had weared he whup | |
out on him; an' he got dem whelps on him now, ef he ain' dead. Yes, | |
suh, he ain' let nobody else do dat he ain' do heself, sho! | |
"Dat done de business! | |
"He sont Marse George a challenge, but Marse George sont him wud he'll | |
cowhide him agin ef he ever heah any mo' from him, an' he 'ain't. Dat | |
perrify him, so he shet he mouf. Den come he ring an' all he pictures | |
an' things back--a gret box on 'em', and not a wud wid 'em. Marse | |
George, I think he know'd dee wuz comin', but dat ain' keep it from | |
huttin him, 'cause he done been 'gaged to Miss Charlotte, an' got he | |
mine riveted to her; an' do' befo' dat dee had stop writin', an' a riff | |
done git 'twixt 'em, he ain' satisfied in he mine dat she ain't gwine | |
'pologizee--I know by Nancy; but now he got de confirmation dat he done | |
for good, an' dat de gret gulf fixed 'twix him an' Aberham bosom. An', | |
Gord, suh, twuz torment, sho 'nough! He ain' say nuttin 'bout it, but | |
I see de light done pass from him, an' de darkness done wrap him up in | |
it. In a leetle while you wouldn' a knowed him. | |
"Den ole mistis died. | |
"B'lieve me, ole marster he 'most much hut by Miss Charlotte as Marse | |
George. He meck a 'tempt to buy Nancy for me, so I find out arterward, | |
an' write Jedge Darker he'll pay him anything he'll ax for her, but he | |
letter wuz sont back 'dout any answer. He sutney was mad 'bout it--he | |
say he'd horsewhip him as Marse George did dat urr young puppy, but ole | |
mistis wouldn' le' him do nuttin, and den he grieve heself to death. | |
You see he mighty ole, anyways. He nuver got over ole mistis' death. | |
She had been failin' a long time, an' he ain' tarry long 'hinst her; | |
hit sort o' like breckin up a holler--de ole '<DW53> goes 'way soon arter | |
dat; an' marster nuver could pin he own collar or buckle he own | |
stock--mistis she al'ays do dat; an' do' Marse George do de bes' he | |
kin, an' mighty willin', he kyarn handle pin like a woman; he hand | |
tremble like a p'inter dog; an' anyways he ain' ole mistis. So ole | |
marster foller her dat next fall, when dee wuz gittin in de corn, an' | |
Marse George he ain' got nobody in de wull left; he all alone in dat | |
gret house, an' I wonder sometimes he ain' die too, 'cause he sutney | |
wuz fond o' old marster. | |
"When ole mistis wuz dyin', she tell him to be good to ole marster, an' | |
patient wid him, 'cause he ain' got nobody but him now (ole marster he | |
had jes step out de room to cry); an' Marse George he lean over her an' | |
kiss her an' promise her faithful he would. An' he sutney wuz tender | |
wid him as a woman; an' when ole marster die, he set by him an' hol' he | |
hand an' kiss him sort, like he wuz ole mistis. | |
"But, Gord! twuz lonesome arter dat, an' Marse George eyes look | |
wistful, like he al'ays lookin' far 'way. | |
"Aunt Haly say he see harnts whar walk 'bout in de gret house. She say | |
dee walk dyah constant of nights sence ole marster done alterate de | |
rooms from what dee wuz when he gran'pa buil' 'em, an' dat dee huntin' | |
for dee ole chambers an' kyarn git no rest 'cause dee kyarn fine 'em. | |
I don't know how dat wuz. I know Marse George _he_ used to walk about | |
heself mightily of nights. All night long, all night long, I'd heah | |
him tell de chickens crowin' dee second crow, an' some mornin's I'd go | |
dyah an' he ain' even rumple de bed. I thought sho he wuz gwine die, | |
but I suppose he done 'arn he days to be long in de land, an' dat save | |
him. But hit sutney wuz lonesome, an' he nuver went off de plantation, | |
an' he got older an' older, tell we all thought he wuz gwine die. | |
"An' one day come jes befo' Christmas, 'bout nigh two year arfter | |
marster die, Mr. Braxton ride up to de do'. He had done come to teck | |
Marse George home to spen' Christmas wid him. Marse George warn git | |
out it, but Mr. Braxton won' teck no disapp'intment; he say he gwine | |
baptize he boy, an' he done name him after Marse George (he had marry | |
Marse George cousin, Miss Peggy Carter, an' he vite Marse George to de | |
weddin', but he wouldn' go, do' I sutney did want him to go, 'cause I | |
heah Miss Charlotte was nominated to marry Mr. Darker, an' I warn know | |
what done 'come o' dat bright-skinned <DW65> gal whar I used to know | |
down dyah); an' he say Marse George got to come an' stan' for him, an' | |
gi' him a silver cup an' a gol' rattle. So Marse George he finally | |
promise to come an' spend Christmas Day, an' Mr. Braxton went 'way next | |
mornin', an' den hit tun in an' rain so I feared we couldn' go, but hit | |
cler off de day befo' Christmas Eve an' tun cold. Well, suh, we ain' | |
been nowhar for so long I wuz skittish as a young filly; an' den you | |
know twuz de same ole place. | |
"We didn' git dyah till supper-time, an' twuz a good one too, 'cause | |
seventy miles dat cold a weather hit whet a man's honger jes like a | |
whetstone. | |
"Dee sutney wuz glad to see we all. We rid roun' by de back yard to | |
gi' Billy de horses, an' we see dee wuz havin' gret fixin's; an' den we | |
went to de house, jest as some o' de folks run in an' tell 'em we wuz | |
come. When Marse George stept in de hall, dee all clustered roun' him | |
like dee gwine hug him, dee faces fyah dimplin' wid pleasure, an' Miss | |
Peggy she jes reched up an' teck him in her arms an' hug him. | |
"Dee tell me in de kitchen dat dee wuz been 'spectin' of Miss Charlotte | |
over to spend Christmas too, but de river wuz so high dee s'pose dee | |
couldn' git cross. Chile, dat sutney disapp'int me! | |
"Well, after supper de <DW65>s had a dance. Hit wuz down in de | |
wash-house, an' de table wuz set in de carpenter shop jes' by. Oh, hit | |
sutney wuz beautiful! Miss Lucy an' Miss Ailsy dee had superintend | |
ev'ything wid dee own hands. So dee wuz down dyah wid dee ap'ons up to | |
dee chins, an' dee had de big silver strandeliers out de house, two on | |
each table, an' some o' ole mistis's best damas' tablecloths, an' ole | |
marster's gret bowl full o' egg-nog; hit look big as a mill-pond | |
settin' dyah in de cornder; an' dee had flowers out de greenhouse on de | |
table, an' some o' de chany out de gret house, an' de dinin'-room | |
cheers set roun' de room. Oh! oh! nuttin warn too good for <DW65>s dem | |
times; an' de little <DW65>s wuz runnin' roun' right 'stracted, | |
squealin' an' peepin' an' gittin in de way onder you foots; an' de mens | |
dee wuz totin' in de wood--gret hickory logs, look like stock whar you | |
gwine saw--an' de fire so big hit look like you gwine kill hawgs, | |
'cause hit sutney wuz cold dat night. Dis <DW65> ain' nuver gwine | |
forgit it! Jack Forester he had come 'cross de river to lead de | |
fiddlers, an' he say he had to put he fiddle onder he coat an' poke he | |
bow in he breeches leg to keep de strings from poppin', an' dat de | |
river would freeze over sho ef twarn so high; but twuz jes snortin', | |
an' he had hard wuck to git over in he skiff, an' Unc' Jeems say he | |
ain' gwine come out he boat-house no mo' dat night--he done tempt | |
Providence often 'nough for one day. | |
"Den ev'ything wuz ready, an' de fiddlers got dee dram an' chuned up, | |
an' twuz lively, I tell you! Twuz jes as thick in dyah as blackberries | |
on de blackberry bush, 'cause ev'y gal on de plantation wuz dyah | |
shakin' her foot for some young buck, an' back-steppin' for to go | |
'long. Dem ole sleepers wuz jes a-rockin', an' Jack Forester he wuz | |
callin' de figgers for to wake 'em up. I warn' dancin', 'cause I done | |
got 'ligion an 'longst to de chutch sence de trouble done tech us up so | |
rank; but I tell you my foots wuz pintedly eechchin for a leetle sop on | |
it, an' I had to come out to keep from crossin' 'em onst, anyways. | |
Den, too, I had a tetch o' misery in my back, an' I lay off to git a | |
tas'e o' dat egg-nog out dat big bowl, wid snowdrift on it, from Miss | |
Lucy--she al'ays mighty fond o' Marse George; so I slip into de | |
carpenter shop, an' ax her kyarn I do nuttin for her, an' she laugh an' | |
say, yes, I kin drink her health, an' gi' me a gret gobletful, an' jes | |
den de white folks come in to 'spec' de tables, Marse George in de | |
lead, an' dee all fill up dee glasses an' pledge dee health, an' all de | |
servants', an' a merry Christmas; an' den dee went in de wash-house to | |
see de dancin', an' maybe to teck a han deeself, 'cause white folks' | |
'ligion ain' like <DW65>s', you know; dee got so much larnin dee kin | |
dance, an' fool de devil too. An' I stay roun' a little while, an' den | |
went in de kitchen to see how supper gittin' on, 'cause I wuz so hongry | |
when I got dyah I ain' able to eat 'nough at one time to 'commodate it, | |
an' de smell o' de tuckeys an' de gret saddlers o' mutton in de | |
tin-kitchens wuz mos' 'nough by deeself to feed a right hongry man; an' | |
dyah wuz a whole parcel o' <DW65>s cookin' an' tunnin 'bout for life, | |
an' dee faces jes as shiny as ef dee done bas'e 'em wid gravy; an' | |
dyah, settin' back in a cheer out de way, wid her clean frock up off de | |
flo', wuz dat gal! I sutney did feel curiousome. | |
"I say, 'Hi! name o' Gord! whar'd you come from?' She say, 'Oh, | |
Marster! ef heah ain' dat free <DW65> agin!' An' ev'ybody laughed. | |
"Well, presny we come out, cause Nancy warn see de dancin', an' we stop | |
a leetle while 'hind de cornder out de wind while she tell me 'bout | |
ev'ything. An' she say dat's all a lie she tell me dat day 'bout Mr. | |
Darker an' Miss Charlotte; an' he done gone 'way now for good 'cause he | |
so low down an' wuthless dee kyarn nobody stand him; an' all he warn | |
marry Miss Charlotte for is to git her <DW65>s. But Nancy say Miss | |
Charlotte nuver could abide him; he so 'sateful, 'spressly sence she | |
fine out what a lie he told 'bout Marse George. You know, Mr. Darker | |
he done meck 'em think Marse George sont me dyah to fine out ef he done | |
come home, an' den dat he fall on him wid he weepin when he ain' | |
noticin' him, an' sort o' out de way too, an' git two urr mens to hold | |
him while he beat him, all 'cause he in love wid Miss Charlotte. D'you | |
ever, ever heah sich a lie? An' Nancy say, do' Miss Charlotte ain' | |
b'lieve it all togerr, hit look so reasonable she done le' de ole jedge | |
an' her ma, who wuz 'pending on what she heah, 'duce her to send back | |
he things; an' dee ain' know no better not tell after de ole jedge die; | |
den dee fine out 'bout de whuppin me, an' all; an' den Miss Charlotte | |
know huccome I ain' gwine stay dat day; an' she say dee was sutney | |
outdone 'bout it, but it too late den; an' Miss Charlotte kyarn do | |
nuttin but cry 'bout it, an' dat she did, pintedly, 'cause she done | |
lost Marse George, an' done 'stroy he life; an' she nuver keer 'bout | |
nobody else sep Marse George, Nancy say. Mr. Clarke he hangin' on, but | |
Miss Charlotte she done tell him pintedly she ain' nuver gwine marry | |
nobody. An' dee jes done come, she say, 'cause dee had to go 'way roun | |
by de rope ferry 'long o' de river bein' so high, an' dee ain' know | |
tell dee done git out de ker'idge an' in de house dat we all wuz heah; | |
an' Nancy say she glad dee ain', 'cause she 'feared ef dee had, Miss | |
Charlotte wouldn' 'a come. | |
"Den I tell her all 'bout Marse George, 'cause I know she 'bleeged to | |
tell Miss Charlotte. Twuz powerful cold out dyah, but I ain' mine dat, | |
chile. Nancy she done had to wrop her arms up in her ap'on an' she | |
kyarn meck no zistance 'tall, an' dis <DW65> ain' keerin' nuttin 'bout | |
cold den. | |
"An' jes den two ladies come out de carpenter shop an' went 'long to de | |
wash-house, an' Nancy say, 'Dyah Miss Charlotte now;' an' twuz Miss | |
Lucy an' Miss Charlotte; an' we heah Miss Lucy coaxin' Miss Charlotte | |
to go, tellin' her she kin come right out; an' jes den dee wuz a gret | |
shout, an' we went in hinst 'em. Twuz Marse George had done teck de | |
fiddle, an ef he warn' natchelly layin' hit down! he wuz up at de urr | |
een o' de room, 'way from we all, 'cause we wuz at de do', nigh Miss | |
Charlotte whar she wuz standin' 'hind some on 'em, wid her eyes on him | |
mighty timid, like she hidin' from him, an' ev'y <DW65> in de room wuz | |
on dat flo'. Gord! suh, dee wuz grinnin' so dee warn' a toof in dat | |
room you couldn' git you tweezers on; an' you couldn' heah a wud, dee | |
so proud o' Marse George playin' for 'em. | |
"Well, dee danced tell you couldn' tell which wuz de clappers an' which | |
de back-steppers; de whole house look like it wuz rockin'; an' presney | |
somebody say supper, an' dat stop 'em, an' dee wuz a spell for a | |
minute, an' Marse George standin' dyah wid de fiddle in he hand. He | |
face wuz tunned away, an' he wuz studyin'--studyin' 'bout dat urr | |
Christmas so long ago--an' sudney he face drapt down on de fiddle, an' | |
he drawed he bow 'cross de strings, an' dat chune 'bout 'You'll | |
ermember me' begin to whisper right sort. Hit begin so low ev'ybody | |
had to stop talkin' an' hold dee mouf to heah it; an' Marse George he | |
ain' know nuttin 'bout it, he done gone back, an' standin' dyah in de | |
gret hall playin' it for Miss Charlotte, whar done come down de steps | |
wid her little blue foots an' gret fan, an' standin' dyah in her dim | |
blue dress an' her fyah arms, an' her gret eyes lookin' in he face so | |
earnest, whar he ain' gwine nuver speak to no mo'. I see it by de way | |
he look--an' de fiddle wuz jes pleadin'. He drawed it out jes as fine | |
as a stran' o' Miss Charlotte's hyah." | |
[Illustration: "_Hit begin so low ev'ybody had to stop talkin'._"] | |
"Hit so sweet, Miss Charlotte, mun, she couldn' stan' it; she made to | |
de do'; an' jes while she watchin' Marse George to keep him from seein' | |
her he look dat way, an' he eyes tall right into hern. | |
"Well, suh, de fiddle drapt down on de flo'--perlang!--an' he face wuz | |
white as a sycamore limb. | |
"Dee say twuz a swimmin' in de head he had; an' Jack say de whole | |
fiddle warn wuff de five dollars. | |
"Me an' Nancy followed 'em tell dee went in de house, an' den we come | |
back to de shop whar de supper wuz gwine on, an' got we all supper an' | |
a leetle sop o' dat yaller gravy out dat big bowl, an' den we all | |
rejourned to de wash-house agin, an' got onder de big bush o' misseltow | |
whar hangin' from de jice, an' ef you ever see scufflin' dat's de time. | |
"Well, me an' she had jes done lay off de whole Christmas, when wud | |
come dat Marse George want he horses. | |
"I went, but it sutney breck me up; an' I wonder whar de name o' Gord | |
Marse George gwine sen' me dat cold night, an' jes as I got to de do' | |
Marse George an' Mr. Braxton come out, an' I know torectly Marse George | |
wuz gwine 'way. I seen he face by de light o' de lantern, an' twuz set | |
jes rigid as a rock. | |
"Mr. Braxton he wuz baiggin him to stay; he tell him he ruinin' he | |
life, dat he sho dee's some mistake, an' twill be all right. An' all | |
de answer Marse George meck wuz to swing heself up in de saddle, an' | |
Reveller he look like he gwine fyah 'stracted. He al'ays mighty fool | |
anyways when he git cold, dat horse wuz. | |
"Well, we come 'long 'way, an' Mr. Braxton an' two mens come down to de | |
river wid lanterns to see us cross, 'cause twuz dark as pitch, sho | |
'nough. | |
"An' jes 'fo' I started I got one o' de mens to hol' my horses, an' I | |
went in de kitchen to git warm, an' dyah Nancy wuz. An' she say Miss | |
Charlotte upsteairs cryin' right now, 'cause she think Marse George | |
gwine cross de river 'count o' her, an' she whimper a little herself | |
when I tell her good-by. But twuz too late den. | |
"Well, de river wuz jes natchelly b'ilin', an' hit soun' like a | |
mill-dam roarin' by; an' when we got dyah Marse George tunned to me an' | |
tell me he reckon I better go back. I ax him whar he gwine, an' he | |
say, 'Home.' 'Den I gwine wid you,' I says. I wuz mighty skeered, but | |
me an' Marse George wuz boys togerr; an' he plunged right in, an' I | |
after him. | |
"Gord! twuz cold as ice; an' we hadn' got in befo' bofe horses wuz | |
swimmin' for life. He holler to me to byah de myall head up de stream; | |
an' I did try, but what's a <DW65> to dat water! Hit jes pick me up | |
an' dash me down like I ain' no mo'n a chip, an' de fust thing I know I | |
gwine down de stream like a piece of bark, an' water washin' all over | |
me. I knowed den I gone, an' I hollered for Marse George for help. I | |
heah him answer me not to git skeered, but to hold on; but de myah wuz | |
lungin' an' de water wuz all over me like ice, an' den I washed off de | |
myah back, an' got drownded. | |
"I 'member comin' up an' hollerin' agin for help, but I know den' | |
'tain' no use, dee ain' no help den, an' I got to pray to Gord, an' den | |
some'n hit me an' I went down agin, an'--de next thing I know I wuz in | |
de bed, an' I heah 'em talkin' 'bout wherr I dead or not, an' I ain' | |
know myself tell I taste de whiskey dee po'rin' down my jugular. | |
"An' den dee tell me 'bout how when I hollered Marse George tun back | |
an' struck out for me for life, an' how jes as I went down de last time | |
he cotch me an' helt on to me tell we wash down to whar de bank curve, | |
an' dyah de current wuz so rapid hit yuck him off Reveller back, but he | |
helt on to de reins tell de horse lunge so he hit him wid he fo' foot | |
an' breck he collar-bone, an' den he had to let him go, an' jes helt on | |
to me; an' den we wash up agin de bank an' cotch in a tree, an' de mens | |
got dyah quick as dee could, an' when dee retched us Marse George wuz | |
holdin' on to me, an' had he arm wrapped roun' a limb, an' we wuz | |
lodged in de crotch, an' bofe jes as dead as a nail; an' de myah she | |
got out, but Reveller he wuz drownded, wid his foot cotch in de rein | |
an' de saddle tunned onder he side; an' dee ain' know wherr Marse | |
George ain' dead too, 'cause he not only drownded, but he lef' arm | |
broke up nigh de shoulder. | |
"An' dee say Miss Charlotte she 'mos' 'stracted; dat de fust thing | |
anybody know 'bout it wuz when some de servants bust in de hall an' | |
holler, an' say Marse George an' me bofe done washed 'way an' drownded, | |
an' dat she drapt down dead on de flo', an' when dee bring her to she | |
'low to Miss Lucy dat she de 'casion on he death; an' dee say dat when | |
de mens wuz totin' him in de house, an' wuz shufflin' de feets not to | |
meck no noige, an' a little piece o' wet blue silk drapt out he breast | |
whar somebody picked up an' gin Miss Lucy, Miss Charlotte breck right | |
down agin; an' some on 'em say she sutney did keer for him; an' now | |
when he layin' upstairs dyah dead, hit too late for him ever to know | |
it." | |
[Illustration: "_Miss Charlotte she 'mos 'stracted._"] | |
"Well, suh, I couldn' teck it in dat Marse George and Reveller wuz | |
dead, an' jes den somebody say Marse George done comin' to an' dee gi' | |
me so much whiskey I went to sleep. | |
"An' next mornin' I got up an' went to Marse George room, an' see him | |
layin' dyah in de bed, wid he face so white an' he eyes so | |
tired-lookin', an' he ain' know me no mo' 'n ef he nuver see me, an' I | |
couldn' stan' it; I jes drap down on de flo' an' bust out cryin'. | |
Gord! suh, I couldn' help it, 'cause Reveller wuz drownded, an' Marse | |
George he wuz mos' gone. | |
"An' he came nigher goin' yit, 'cause he had sich a strain, an' been so | |
long in de water, he heart done got numbed, an' he got 'lirium, an' all | |
de time he thought he tryin' to git 'cross de river to see Miss | |
Charlotte, an' hit so high he kyarn git dyah. | |
"Hit sutney wuz pitiful to see him layin' dyah tossin' an' pitchin', | |
not knowin' whar he wuz, tell it teck all Mr. Braxton an' me could do | |
to keep him in de bed, an' de doctors say he kyarn hol' out much longer. | |
"An' all dis time Miss Charlotte she wuz gwine 'bout de house wid her | |
face right white, an' Nancy say she don' do nuttin all day long in her | |
room but cry an' say her pra'rs, prayin' for Marse George, whar dyin' | |
upsteairs by 'count' o' not knowin' she love him, an' I tell Nancy how | |
he honin' all de time to see her, an' how he constant cravin' her name. | |
"Well, so twuz, tell he mos' done wyah heself out; an' jes lay dyah wid | |
his face white as de pillow, an' he gret pitiful eyes rollin' 'bout so | |
restless, like he still lookin' for her whar he all de time callin' her | |
name, an' kyarn git 'cross dat river to see. | |
"An' one evenin' 'bout sunset he 'peared to be gwine; he weaker'n he | |
been at all, he ain' able to scuffle no mo', an' jes layin' dyah so | |
quiet, an' presney he say, lookin' mighty wistful: | |
"'Edinburg, I'm goin' to-night; ef I don't git 'cross dis time, I'll | |
gin't up.' | |
"Mr. Braxton wuz standin' nigh de head o' de bed, an' he say, 'Well, by | |
Gord! he shell see her!'--jes so. An' he went out de room, an' to Miss | |
Charlotte do', an' call her, an' tell her she got to come, ef she | |
don't, he'll die dat night; an' fust thing I know, Miss Lucy bring Miss | |
Charlotte in, wid her face right white, but jes as tender as a angel's, | |
an' she come an' stan' by de side de bed, an' lean down over him, an' | |
call he name, 'George!'--jes so. | |
"An' Marse George he ain' answer; he jes look at her study for a | |
minute, an' den he forehead got smooth, an' he tun he eyes to me, an' | |
say, 'Edinburg, I'm 'cross.'" | |
[Illustration: "_An' Marse George he ain' answer._"] | |
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Unc' Edinburg, by Thomas Nelson Page | |
*** |