051 PS 2514 15 1893 MAIN GIFT F A. P. Morrison /__; l IN OLE VIRGINIA CAMEO EDITION. & REVERIES OF A BACHELOR; or, a Book of the Heart. By Donald G. Mitchell. With an Etching by Percy Moran. DREAM LIFE. A Fable of the Seasons. With an Etching by Percy Moran. OLD CREOLE DAYS. By George W. Cable. With an Etching by Percy Moran. IN OLE VIRGINIA. By Thomas Nelson Page. With an Etch ing by W. L. Sheppard. BITTER-SWEET. A Poem. By J. G. Holland. With an Etch ing by Otto Bacher. KATHRINA. A Poem. By J. G. Holland. With an Etching by Otto Bacher. Each, one volume, 16mo. Half calf, g. t., $2.75; half levant, $3.50; cloth, $1.25. IN OLE VIRGINIA OK MARSE CHAN AND OTHER STORIES BY- THOMAS NELSON PAGE WITH AN ETCHING BY W. L. SHEPPARD NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER S SONS 1893. GIFT OF TROW DIRECTORY AND BOOKBINOINQ COMPA TO MY PEOPLE THIS FRAGMENTARY RECORD OF THEIR LIFE IS DEDICATED M98925 CONTENTS MARSE CHAN : A TALE OF OLD VIRGINIA . . i "UNC" EDINBURG S DROWNDIN " : A PLANTATION ECHO 41 MEH LADY: A STORY OF THE WAR ... 83 OLE STRACTED 145 "No HAID PAWN" 169 POLLY : A CHRISTMAS RECOLLECTION . . . 197 MARSE CHAN MARSE CHAN A Tale of Old Virginia NE afternoon, in the autumn of 1872, I was riding leisurely down the sandy road that winds along the top of the water-shed between two of the smaller rivers of eastern Virginia. The road I was trav elling, following " the ridge " for mijes, had just struck me as most significant of the character of the race whose only avenue of communication with the outside world it had formerly been. Their once splendid mansions, now fast falling to decay, appeared to view from time to time, set back far from the road, in proud seclusion, among groves of oak and hickory, now scarlet and gold with the early frost. Distance was nothing to this people ; time was of no consequence to them. They desired but a level path in life, and that they had, though the way was longer, and the outer world strode by them as they dreamed. I was aroused from my reflections by hearing 2 IN OLE VIRGINIA some one ahead of me calling, " Heah ! heah whbo-otip, heah ! v Turning the cuive in the road, I saw just before me a negro standing, with a hoe and a watering- pet in ,lus; hai.d< , He had evidently just gotten over the "iworcn-fence " into the road, out of the path which led zigzag across the " old field " and was lost to sight in the dense growth of sassafras. When I rode up, he was looking anxiously back down this path for his dog. So engrossed was he that he did not even hear my horse, and I reined in to wait until he should turn around and satisfy my curiosity as to the handsome old place half a mile off from the road. The numerous out-buildings and the large barns and stables told that it had once been the seat of wealth, and the wild waste of sassafras that cov ered the broad fields gave it an air of desolation that greatly excited my interest. Entirely oblivious of my proximity, the negro went on calling " Whoo-oop, heah ! " until along the path, walking very slowly and with great dig nity, appeared a noble-looking old orange and white setter, gray with age, and corpulent with excessive feeding. As soon as he came in sight, his master began: " Yes, dat you ! You gittin deaf as well as bline, I s pose ! Kyarnt heah me callin , I reckon ? Whyn t yo come on, dawg ? " The setter sauntered slowly up to the fence and stopped, without even deigning a look at the MARSE CHAN 3 speaker, who immediately proceeded to take the rails down, talking meanwhile : "Now, I got to pull down de gap, I s pose ! Yo so sp ilt yo kyahn hardly walk. Jes ez able to git over it as I is ! Jes like white folks think cuz you s white and I s black, I got to wait on yo all de time. Ne m mine, I am gwi do it ! " The fence having been pulled down sufficiently low to suit his dogship, he marched sedately through, and, with a hardly perceptible lateral movement of his tail, walked on down the road. Putting up the rails carefully, the negro turned and saw me. " Sarvent, marster," he said, taking his hat off. Then, as if apologetically for having permitted a stranger to witness what was merely a family af fair, he added : " He know I don mean nothin by what I sez. He s Marse Chan s dawg, an he s so ole he kyahn git long no pearter. He know I se jes prodjickin wid im." " Who is Marse Chan? " I asked ; " and whose place is that over there, and the one a mile or two back the place with the big gate and the carved stone pillars ? " " Marse Chan," said the darky, " he s Marse Channin my young marster ; an dem places dis one s Weall s, an de one back dyar wid de rock gate-pos s is ole Cun l Chahmb lin s. Dey don nobody live dyar now, cep niggers. Arfter de war some one or nurr bought our place, but his name done kind o slipped me. I nuver hearn 4 IN OLE VIRGINIA on im befo ; I think dey s half-strainers. I don ax none on em no odds. I lives down de road heah, a little piece, an I jes steps down of a even- in and looks arfter de graves." " Well, where is Marse Chan ? " I asked. " Hi ! don you know ? Marse Chan, he went in de army. I was wid im. Yo know he warn gwine an lef Sam." " Will you tell me all about it ? " I said, dis mounting. Instantly, and as if by instinct, the darky stepped forward and took my bridle. I demurred a little ; but with a bow that would have honored old Sir Roger, he shortened the reins, and taking my horse from me, led him along. " Now tell me about Marse Chan," I said. " Lawd, marster, hit s so long ago, I d a most forgit all about it, ef I hedn been wid him ever sence he wuz born. Ez tis, I remembers it jes like twuz yistiddy. Yo know Marse Chan an me we wuz boys togerr. I wuz older n he wuz, jes de same ez he wuz whiter n me. I wuz born plantin corn time, de spring arfter big Jim an de six steers got washed away at de upper ford right down dyar b low de quarters ez he wuz a bringin de Chris mas things home; an Marse Chan, he warn born tell mos to de harves arfter my sister Nancy married Cun l Chahmb lin s Torm, bout eight years arfter woods. " Well, when Marse Chan wuz born, dey wuz de grettes doin s at home you ever did see. De MA USE CHAN 5 folks all bed holiday, jes like in de Chris mas. Ole marster (we didn call im ole marster tell arfter Marse Chan wuz born befo dat he wuz jes de marster, so) well, de marster, his face fyar shine wid pleasure, an all de folks wuz mighty glad, too, cause dey all loved ole marster, and aldo dey did step aroun right peart when ole marster was lookin at em, dyar warn nyar ban on de place but what, ef he wanted anythin , would walk up to de back poach, an say he warn to see de marster. An ev ybody wuz talkin bout de young marster, an de maids an de wimmens bout de kitchen wuz sayin how twuz de purties chile dey ever see ; an at dinner-time de mens (all on em bed holiday) come roun de poach an ax how de missis an de young marster wuz, an ole marster come out on de poach an smile wus n a possum, an sez, Thankee ! Bofe doin fust rate, boys ; an* den he stepped back in de house, sort o laughin to hisse f, an in a minute he come out ag in wid de baby in he arms, all wrapped up in flannens an things, an sez, Heah he is, boys. All de folks den, dey went up on de poach to look at im, drappin dey hats on de steps an scrapin dey feets ez dey went up. An pres n y ole marster, lookin down at we all chil en all packed togerr down dyah like a parecel o sheep- burrs, cotch sight o me (he knowed my name, cause I use to hole he boss fur im sometimes ; but he didn know all de chil en by name, dey wuz so many on em), an he sez, Come up heah. 6 IN OLE VIRGINIA So up I goes tippin , skeered like, an de marster sez, Ain you Mymie s son ? Yass, sell, sez I. Well, sez he, I m gwine to give you to yo young Marse Channin to be his body-servant, an he put de baby right in my arms (it s de truth I m tellin yo !), an yo jes ought to a-heard de folks sayin , Lawd ! marster, dat boy ll drap dat chile ! Naw, he won t, sez marster ; I kin trust im. And den he sez: Now, Sam, from dis time you belong to yo young Marse Channin ; I wan you to tek keer on im ez long ez he lives. You are to be his boy from dis time. An now, he sez, carry im in de house. An he walks arfter me an opens de do s fur me, an I kyars im in in my arms, an lays im down on de bed. An from dat time I was tooken in de house to be Marse Channin s body-servant. " Well, you nuver see a chile grow so ! " Pres n y he growed up right big, an ole marster sez he must have some edication. So he sont im to school to ole Miss Lawry down dyar, dis side o Cun l Chahmb lin s, an I use to go long wid im an tote he books an we all s snacks ; an when he larnt to read an spell right good, an got bout so-o big (measuring with his hand a height of some three feet), ole Miss Lawry she died, an ole marster said he mus have a man to teach im an trounce im. So we all went to Mr. Hall, whar kep de school-house beyant de creek, an dyar we went ev y day, cep Sat d ys of co se, an sich days MARSE CHAN 7 ez Marse Chan din warn go, an ole missis begged im off. " Hit wuz down dyar Marse Chan fust took no- ticement o Miss Anne. " Mr. Hall, he teach gals ez well ez boys, an Cun l Chahmb lin he sont his daughter (dat s Miss Anne I m talkin about). She wuz a leetle bit o gal when she fust come. Yo see, her ma wuz dead, an ole Miss Lucy Chahmb lin, she lived wid her brurr an kep house for im ; an he wuz so busy wid politics, he didn have much time to spyar, so he sont Miss Anne to Mr. Hall s by a ooman wid a note. " When she come dat day in de school-house, an all de chil en looked at her so hard, she tu n right red, an tried to pull her long curls over her eyes, an den put bofe de backs of her little han s in her two eyes, an begin to cry to herse f. Marse Chan he was settin on de een o de bench nigh de do , an he jes retched out an put he arm roun her an drawed her up to im. An he kep whisperin to her, an callin her name, an coddlin her ; an pres n y she took her han s down an begin to laugh. " Well, dey peared to tek a gre t fancy to each urr from dat time. Miss Anne she warn nuttin but a baby hardly, an Marse Chan he wuz a good big boy bout mos thirteen year ole, I reckon. Hows ever, dey sut n y wuz sot on each urr an (yo heah me !) ole marster an Cun l Chahmb lin S IN OLE VIRGINIA dey peared to like it bout well ez de chil en. Yo see, Cun l Chahmb lin s place j ined ourn, an it looked jes ez nat chal fur dem two chil en to marry an mek it one plantation, ez it did fur de creek to run down de bottom from our place into Cun l Chahmb lin s. I don rightly think de chil en thought bout gittin married, not den, no mo n I thought bout mar yin Judy when she wuz a little gal at Cun l Chahmb lin s, runnin bout de house, huntin fur Miss Lucy s spectacles ; but dey wuz good frien s from de start. Marse Chan he use to kyar Miss Anne s books fur her ev y day, an ef de road wuz muddy or she was tired, he use to tote her; an twarn hardly a day passed dat he didn kyar her some n . to school apples or hick y nuts, or some n . He wouldn let none o de chil en tease her, nurr. Heh ! One day, one o de boys poke he finger at Miss Anne, and arfter school Marse Chan he axed im roun nine de school-house out o sight, an ef he didn whup im! "(Marse Chan, he wuz de peartes scholar ole Mr. Hall hed, an Mr. Hall he wuz mighty proud on im. I don think he use to beat im ez much ez he did de urrs, aldo he wuz de head in all debilment dat went on, jes ez he wuz in sayin he lessons.) " Heh ! one day in summer, jes fo de school broke up, dyah come up a storm right sudden, an riz de creek (dat one yo cross back yonder), an Marse Chan he toted Miss Anne home on he MARSE CHAN 9 back. He ve y off n did dat when de parf wuz muddy. But dis day when dey come to de creek, it had done washed all de lawgs way. Twuz still mighty high, so Marse Chan he put Miss Anne down, an he took a pole an waded right in. Hit took im long up to de shoulders. Den he waded back, an took Miss Anne up on his head an kyared her right over. At fust she was skeered ; but he tol her he could swim an wouldn let her git hu t, an den she let im kyar her cross, she hol in his han s. I warn long dat day, but he sut n y did dat thing ! " Ole marster he wuz so pleased bout it, he giv Marse Chan a pony; an Marse Chan rode im to school de day arfter he come, so proud, an sayin how he wuz gwine to let Anne ride behine im. When he come home dat evenin he wuz walkin . * Hi ! where s yo pony ? said ole marster. I give im to Anne, says Marse Chan. She liked im, an I kin walk. Yes, sez ole marster, laughin , I s pose you s already done giv her yo se f, an nex thing I know you ll be givin her this plantation and all my niggers. " Well, about a fortnight or sich a matter arfter dat, Cun l Chahmb lin sont over an invited all o we all over to dinner, an Marse Chan wuz spressaly named in de note whar Ned brought; an arfter dinner he made ole Phil, whar wuz his ker ige- driver, bring roun Marse Chan s pony wid a little side-saddle on im, an a beautiful little hoss wid a bran -new saddle an bridle on him; an he gits up io IN OLE VIRGINIA an meks Marse Chan a gre t speech, an presents im de little hoss ; an den he calls Miss Anne, an she comes out on de poach in a little ridin frock { an dey puts her on her pony, an Marse Chan mounts his hoss, an dey goes to ride, while de grown folks is a-settin on de poach an a-laughin an chattin an smokin dey cigars. "Dem wuz good ole times, marster de bes Sam uver see ! Dey wuz, in fac ! Niggers didn hed nothin V all to do jes hed to ten to de feedin an cleanin de hosses, an doin what de marster tell em to do; an when dey wuz sick, dey had things sont em out de house, an de same doctor come to see em whar ten to de white folks when dey wuz po ly, an all. Dyar warn no trouble nor nuttin . " Well, things tuk a change arfter dat. Marse Chan he went to de bo din school, whar he use to write to me constant. Ole missis use to read me de letters, an den I d git Miss Anne to read em ag in to me when I d see her. He use to write to her too, an she use to write to him too ! Den Miss Anne she wuz sont off to school too. An in de summer time dey d bofe come home, an yo hardly know wherr Marse Chan lived at home or over at Cun l Chahmb lin s. He wuz over dyah constant ! Twuz al ays ridin or fishin down dyah in de river ; or sometimes he d go over dyah, an im an she d go out an set in de yard onder de trees ; she settin up mekin out she wuz knittin some sort o bright-cullored some n , wid MARSE CHAN zi de grarss growin all up g inst her, an her hat th owed back on her neck, an he readin to her out books ; an sometimes dey d bofe read out de same book, fust one an den turr. I use to see em ! Dat wuz when dey wuz growin up like. " Den ole marster he run for Congress, an ole Cun l Chahmb lin he wuz put up to run g inst ole marster by de Dimicrats ; but ole marster he beac im. Yo know he wuz gwine do dat ! Co se he wuz ! Dat made ole Cun l Chahmblin mighty mad, and dey stopt visitin each urr reg lar, like dey had been doin all long. Den Cun l Chahm b lin he sort o got in debt, an sell some o he nig gers, an dat s de way de fuss begun. Dat s whar de lawsuit come from. Ole marster he didn like nobody to sell niggers, an knowin dat Cun l Chahmb lin wuz sellin o his, he writ an offered to buy his M ria an all her chil en, cause she hed mar ied our Zeek yel. An don yo think, Cun l Chahmb lin axed ole marster mo n th ee niggers wuz wuth fur M ria ! Befo old marster buy her, dough, de sheriff come an levelled on M ria an a whole parecel o urr niggers. Ole marster he went to de sale, an bid for em ; but Cun l Chahmb lin he got some one to bid g inst ole marster. Dey wuz knocked out to ole marster dough, an den dey hed a big lawsuit, an ole marster was agwine to co t, off an on, fur some years, till at lars de co t decided dat M ria be- jongst to ole marster. Ole Cun l Chahmb lin den wuz so mad he sued ole marster for a little strip 12 IN OLE VIRGINIA o Ian down dyah on de line fence, whar he said belongst to him. Evy body knowed hit belongst to ole marster. Ef yo go down dyah now, I kin show it to yo , inside de line fence, whar it hed done been uver sence long befo Cun l Chahmb lin wuz born. But Cun l Chahmb lin was a mons us perseverin man, an ole marster he wouldn let nobody run over im. No, dat he wouldn ! So dey wuz agwine down to co t about dat, fur I don know how long, till ole marster beat im agin. " All dis time, yo know, Marse Chan wuz agoin back ads and for ads to college, an wuz growed up a ve y fine young man. He wuz a ve y likely gent man ! Miss Anne she hed done mos growed up too wuz puttin her hyar up like ole missis use to put hers up, an twuz jes ez bright ez de sorrel s mane when de sun cotch on it, an her eyes wuz gre t big dark eyes, like her pa s, on y bigger an not so fierce, an twarn none o de young ladies ez purty ez she wuz. She an Marse Chan still set a heap o sto by one nurr, but I don t think dey wuz easy wid each urr ez when he used to tote her home from school on he back. Marse Chan he use to love de ve y groun she walked on, dough, is my pinion. Heh ! His face twould light up whenever she come into chu ch, or anywhere, jes like de sun hed come th oo a chink on it sudden y. " Den ole marster los he eyes. D yo ever heah bout dat ? Heish ! Didn yo ? " Well, one night de big barn cotch fire. De MARSE CHAN 13 stables, yo know, wuz onder de big barn, an all de bosses wuz in dyah. Hit peared to me like twarn no time befo all de folks an de neighbors dey come, an dey wuz a-totin water, an a-tryin to save de po critters, and dey got a heap on em out; but de ker ige-hosses dey would n come out, an dey wuz a-runnin back ads an for ads inside de stalls, a-nikerin an a-screamin , like dey knowed dey time hed come. Yo could heah em in dyah so pitiful, an pres n y ole marster said to Ham Fisher (he wuz de ker ige-driver), Go in dyah, Ham, an try to save em; don let em bu n to death. " An Ham he went right in. " An jest arfter he got in, de shed whar it hed fus cotch fell in, an de sparks shot way up in de air ; an Ham didn come back ; an de fire begin to lick out onder de eaves over whar de ker ige bosses stalls wuz. An all of a sudden ole marster tu ned an kissed ole missis, who was standin dyah nigh him, wid her face jes ez white ez a sperit s, an , befo anybody knowed what he wuz gwine do, jumped right in de do , an de smoke come po in out behine im. Well, seh ! I nuver spects to heah tell Jedgment sich a soun ez de folks set up! Ole missis she jes drapt down on her knees in de mud an prayed out loud. " Hit peared like her pra r wuz heard ; for in a minit, right out de same do , kyain Ham Fisher in his arms, come ole marster, wid his clo s all blazin . Dey fling water on im, an put im out ; i 4 IN OLE VIRGINIA an , ef you b lieve me, yo wouldn a-knowed twuz ole marster. " Yo see, he hed done find Ham Fisher done fall down in de smoke right by the ker ige-hoss stalls, whar he sont him, an he hed to tote im back in his arms th oo de fire what hed done cotch de front part o de stable, and to keep de flame from gittin down Ham Fisher th ote he hed teck off his own hat and mashed it all over Ham Fish er face, an he hed kep Ham Fisher from bein so much bu nt ; but he wuz bu nt dreadful ! He beard an hyar wuz all nyawed off, an he face an han s an neck wuz scorified turrible. Well, he jes laid Ham Fisher down, an then he kind o staggered for ad, an ole missis ketch im in her arms. " Ham Fisher, he warn bu nt so bad, an he got out in a month or two ; an arfter a long time, ole marster he got well, too ; but he wuz always stone blind arfter that. He nuver could see none from dat night. " Marse Chan he corned home from college to- reckly, an he sut n y did nuss ole marster faithful jes like a ooman. " Den he teck charge of de plantation arfter dat ; an I use to wait on im jes like when we wuz boys togerr ; an sometimes we d slip off an have a fox-hunt, an he d be jes like he wuz in ole times, befo ole marster got bline, an Miss Anne Chahmb lin stopt comin over to our house, an settin onder de trees, readin out de same book. MARSE CHAN 15 " He sut n y vvuz good to me. Nuttin nuver made no diffunce bout dat ! He nuver hit me a lick in his life an nuver let nobody else do it, nurr. " I members one day, when he vvuz a lee tie bit o boy, ole marster hed done tole we all chil en not to slide on de straw-stacks ; an one day me an* Marse Chan thought ole marster hed done gone way from home. We watched him git on he hoss an ride up de road out o sight, an we wuz out in de field a-slidin an a-slidin , when up comes ole marster. We start to run ; but he hed done see us, an he called us to come back ; an sich a whuppin ez he did gi us ! " Fust he took Marse Chan, an den he teched me up. He nuver hu t me, but in co se I wuz a- hollerin ez hard ez I could stave it, cause I knowed dat wuz gwine mek him stop. Marse Chan he hed n open he mouf long ez ole marster was tunin im ; but soon ez he commence warmin me an I begin to holler, Marse Chan he bu st out cryin , an stept right in befo ole marster, an ketchin de whup, said : " Stop, seh ! Yo sha n t whup im ; he b longs to me, an ef you hit im another lick I ll set im free ! " I wish yo hed see ole marster ! Marse Chan he warn mo n eight years ole, an dyah dey wuz old marster stan in wid he whup raised up, an Marse Chan red an cryin , hol in on to it, an sayin I b longst to im. 16 IN OLE VIRGINIA " Ole marster, he raise de whup, an den he drapt it, an broke out in a smile over he face, an he chuck Marse Chan onder de chin, an tu n right roun an went away, laughin to hisse f, an I heah im tellin ole missis bout it dat evenin , an laughin bout it. " Twan so mighty long arfter dat when dey fust got to talkin bout de war. Dey wuz a-dic- tatin back ads an for ds bout it fur two or th ee years fo it come sho nuff, you know. Ole mars ter, he was a Whig, an of co se Marse Chan he teck after he pa. Cun l Chahmb lin, he wuz a Dimicrat. He wuz in favor of de war, an ole marster and Marse Chan dey wuz agin it. Dey wuz a-talkin bout it all de time, an purty soon Cun l Chahmb lin he went about ev vywhar speakin an noratin bout Ferginia ought to se cede ; an Marse Chan he wuz picked up to talk agin im. Dat wuz de way dey come to fight de duil. I sut n y wuz skeered fur Marse Chan dat mawnin , an he was jes ez cool ! " Yo see, it happen so : Marse Chan he wuz a- speakin down at de Deep Creek Tavern, an he kind o got de bes of ole Cun l Chahmb lin. All de white folks laughed an hoorawed, an ole Cun l Chahmb lin my Lawd! I t ought he d a bu st, he was so mad. Well, when it come to his tu n to speak, he jes light into Marse Chan. He call im a traitor, an a ab litionis , an I don know what all. Marse Chan, he jes kep cool till de ole Cun l light into he pa, Ez soon ez he name AfARSE CHAN 17 ole marster, I seen Marse Chan sort o lif up he head. D yo ever see a hoss rar he head up right sudden at night when he see somethin comin to ds im from de side an he don know what tis ? Ole Cun l Chahmb lin he went right on. He say ole marster hed teach Marse Chan ; dat ole mars ter wuz a wuss ab litionis dan he son. I looked at Marse Chan, an sez to myse f : Fo Gord ! old Cun l Chahmb lin better min ! an I hedn got de wuds out, when ole Cun l Chahmb lin scuse ole marster o cheatin im out o he niggers, an stealin piece o he Ian* dat s de Ian I tole you bout. Well, seh, nex thing I knowed, I heahed Marse Chan hit all happen right long togerr, like light- nin and thunder when they hit right at you ! I heah im say : " Cun l Chahmb lin, what you say is false, an yo know it to be so. You have wilfully slandered one of de pures an nobles men Gord ever made, an nothin but yo gray hyars protects you. " Well, ole Cun l Chahmb lin, he ra ed an he pitch d ! He said he wan too ole, an he d show im so. " Ve y well, says Marse Chan. " De meetin breke up den. I wuz hol in de hosses out dyar in de road by de een o de poach, an I see Marse Chan talkin an talkin to Mr. Gordon an anurr gent man, and den he come out an got on de sorrel an galloped off. Soon ez he got out o sight he pulled up, an we walked along tell we come to de road whav leads off to ds Mr. i8 IN OLE VIRGINIA Barbour s. He wuz de big lawyer o de country. Dar he tu ned off. All dis time he hedn sed a wud, cep to kind o mumble to hisse f now and den. When we got to Mr. Barbour s, he got down an went in. (Dat wuz in de late winter ; de folks wuz jes beginnin to plough fur corn.) He stayed dyar bout two hours, an when he come out Mr. Barbour come out to de gate wid im an shake han s arfter he got up in de saddle. Den we all rode off. " Twuz late den good dark; an we rid ez hard ez we could, tell we come to de ole school-house at ole Cun l Chahmb lin s gate. When we got clean, Marse Chan got down an walked right slow roun de house. Arfter lookin roun a little while an tryin de do to see ef t wuz shet, he walked down de road tell he got to de creek. He stop dyar a little while an picked up two or three little rocks an frowed em in, an pres n y he got up an we come on home. Ez he got down, he tu ned to me, an , rubbin de sorrel s nose, said: Have em well fed, Sam ; I ll want em early in de mawnin . " Dat night at supper he laugh an talk, an he set at de table a long time. Arfter ole marster went to bed, he went in de charmber an set on de bed by im talkin to im an tellin im bout de meetin an e vything; but he nuver mention ole Cun l Chahmb lin s name. When he got up to come out to de office in de yard, whar he slept, he stooped down an kissed im jes like he wuz a MAKSE CHAN j 9 baby layin dyar in de bed, an he d hardly let ole missis go at all. " I knowed some n wuz up, an nex mawnin I called im early befo light, like he tole me, an he dressed an come out pres n y jes like he wuz gwine to church. I had de hosses ready, an we went out de back way to ds de river. " Ez we rid along, he said : " Sam, you an I wuz boys togerr, wa n t we? " Yes, sez I, Marse Chan, dat we wuz. " You have been ve y faithful to me, sez he, an I have seen to it that you are well provided fur. You want to marry Judy, I know, an you ll be able to buy her ef you want to. " Den he tole me he wuz gwoine to fight a duil, an in case he should git shot, he had set me free an giv me nuff to tek keer o me an my wife ez long ez we lived. He said he d like me to stay an tek keer o ole marster an ole missis ez long ez dey lived, an he said it wouldn be ve y long, he reckoned. Dat wuz de on y time he voice broke when he said dat ; an I couldn speak a wud, my th oat choked me so. " When we come to de river, we tu ned right up de bank, an arfter ridin bout a mile or sich a motter, we stopped whar dey wuz a little clearin wid elder bushes on one side an two big gum- trees on de urr, an de sky wuz all red, an de water down tow ds whar the sun wuz comin wuz jes like de sky. 20 IN OLE VIRGINIA " Pres n y Mr. Gordon he come, wid a hogany box bout so big fore im, an he got down, an Marse Chan tole me to tek all de hosses an go roun behine de bushes whar I tell you bout off to one side ; an fore I got roun deah, ole Cun l Chahmb lin an Mr. Hennin an Dr. Call come ridin from t urr way, to ds ole Cun l Chahm- b lin s. When dey hed tied dey hosses, de urr gent mens went up to whar Mr. Gordon wuz, an arfter some chattin Mr. Hennin step off bout fur ez cross dis road, or mebbe it mout be a little fur er ; an den I see em th oo de bushes loadin de pistils, an talk a little while; an den Marse Chan an ole Cun l Chahmb lin walked up an dey gin em de pistils in dey han s, an Marse Chan he stand wid his face right tow ds de sun. I seen it shine on him jes ez it come up over de low groun s, an he look like he did sometimes when he come out of church. " I wuz so skeered I couldn say nuttin . Ole Cun l Chahmb lin could shoot fust rate, an Marse Chan he nuver missed. " Den I heahed Mr. Gordon say, Gent mens, is yo ready ? and bofe of em sez, Ready, jes so. "An he sez, Fire, one, two an ez he said one, ole Cun l Chahmb lin raised he pistil an shot nght at Marse Chan. De ball went th oo his hat : I seen he hat sort o settle on he head ez de bullit hit it ! an he jes tilted his pistil up in de a r an shot bang ; an ez de pistil went bang] MARSE CHAN 21 he sez to Cun l Chahmb lin, I mek you a present to yo fam ly, seh ! " Well, dey had some talkin arfter dat. I didn t git rightly what t wuz ; but it peared like Cun l Chahmb lin he warn t satisfied, an wanted to have anurr shot. De seconds dey wuz talkin , an pres n y dey put de pistils up, an Marse Chan an Mr. Gordon shook han s wid Mr. Hennin an Dr. Call, an come an got on dey hosses. An Cun l Chahmb lin he got on his horse an rode away wid de urr gent mens, lookin like he did de day befo when all de people laughed at im. " I b lieve ole Cun l Chahmb lin wan to shoot Marse Chan, anyways ! " We come on home to breakfast, I totin de box wid de pistils befo me on de roan. Would you b lieve me, seh, Marse Chan he nuver said a wud bout it to ole marster or nobody! Ole missis didn fin out bout it for mo n a month, an den, Lawd ! how she did cry and kiss Marse Chan ; an ole marster, aldo he nuver say much, he wuz jes ez please ez ole missis : he call me in de room an made me tole im all bout it, an when I got th oo he gi me five dollars an a pyar of breeches. " But ole Cun l Chahmb lin he nuver did furgive Marse Chan, an Miss Anne she got mad too. Wimmens is mons us onreasonable nohow. Dey s jes like a catfish : you can n tek hole on em like urr folks, an when you gits m yo can n always hole em ! 22 IN OLE VIRGINIA " What meks me think so ? Heaps o things dis : Marse Chan he done gi Miss Anne her pa jes ez good ez I gi Marse Chan s dawg sweet taters, an she git mad wid im ez if he hed kill im stid o sen in im back to her dat mawnin whole an soun . B lieve me ! she wouldn even speak to him arfter dat ! " Don I member dat mawnin ! " We wuz gwine fox-huntin , bout six weeks or sich a matter arfter de duil, an we meet Miss Anne ridin long wid anurr lady an two gent mens whar wuz stayin at her house. Dyah wuz always some one or nurr dyah co tin her. Well, dat mawnin " we meet em right in de road. Twuz de fust time Marse Chan had see her sence de duil, an he raises he hat ez he pahss, an she looks right at im wid her head up in de yair like she nuver see im befo in her born days ; an when she comes by me, she sez, Good-mawnin , Sam ! Gord ! I nuver see nuttin like de look dat come on Marse Chan s face when she pahss im like dat. He gi de sorrel a pull dat fotch im back settin down in de san on he hanches. He ve y lips wuz white. I tried to keep up wid im, but twarn no use. He sont me back home pres n y, an he rid on. I sez to my self, Cun l Chahmb lin, don yo meet Marse Chan dis mawnin . He ain bin lookin roun de ole school-house, whar he an Miss Anne use to go to school to ole Mr. Hall togerr, to-day. He won stan no prodjickin to-day. " He nuver come home dat night tell way late, MARSE CHAN 23 an ef he d been fox-huntin it mus ha been de o!e red whar lives down in de greenscum mashes he d been chasin . De way de sorrel wuz gormed up wid sweat an* mire sut n y did hu t me. He walked up to de stable wid he head down all de way, an I se seen im go eighty miles of a winter day, an prance into de stable at night ez fresh ez cf he hed jes cantered over to ole Cun l Chahmb lin s to supper. I nuver see a hoss beat so sence 1 knowed de fetlock from de fo lock, an bad ez he wuz he want ez bad ez Marse Chan. "Whew ! he didn git over dat thing, seh he nuver did git over it ! " De war come on jes den, an Marse Chan wuz elected cap n ; but he wouldn tek it. He said Firginia hadn seceded, an he wuz gwine stan by her. Den dey lected Mr. Gordon cap n. " I sut n y did wan Marse Chan to tek de place, cuz I knowed he wuz gwine tek me wid im. He wan gwine widout Sam. An beside, he look so po an thin, I thought he wuz gwine die. " Of co se, ole missis she heared bout it, an she met Miss Anne in de road, an cut her jes like Miss Anne cut Marse Chan. Ole missis, she wuz proud ez anybody ! " So we wuz mo strangers dan ef we hadn live in a hunderd miles of each urr. An Marse Chan he wuz gittin thinner an thinner, an Firginia she come out, an den Marse Chan he went to Rich mond an listed, an come back an sey he wuz a private, an he didn know whe r he could tek me 24 IN OLE VIRGINIA or not. He writ to Mr. Gordon, hows ever, an 1 twuz tided dat when he went I wuz to go long an wait on him an de cap n too. I didn min dat, yo know, long ez I could go wid Marse Chan, an I like Mr. Gordon, anyways. " Well, one night Marse Chan come back from de offis wid a telegram dat say, Come at once, so he wuz to start next mawnin . He uniform wuz all ready, gray wid yaller trimmin s, an mine wuz ready too, an he had ole marster s sword, whar de State gi im in de Mexikin war ; an he trunks wuz all packed wid ev rything in em, an my chist was packed too, an Jim Rasher he druv em over to de depo in de waggin, an we wuz to start nex mawnin bout light. Dis wuz bout de las o spring, you know. " Dat night ole missis made Marse Chan dress up in he uniform, an he sut n y did look splendid, wid he long mustache an he wavin hyah an he tall figger. " Arfter supper he come down an sez : Sam, I wan you to tek dis note an kyar it over to Cun l Chahmb lin s, an gi it to Miss Anne wid yo own han s, an bring me wud what she sez. Don let any one know bout it, or know why you ve gone. Yes, seh, sez I. " Yo see, I knowed Miss Anne s maid over at ole Cun l Chahmb lin s dat wuz Judy, an I knowed I could wuk it. So I tuk de roan an* rid over, an tied im down de hill in de cedars, an I wen roun to de back yard. Twuz a right CHAN 25 blowy sort o night; de moon wuz jes risin , but de clouds wuz so big it didn shine cep th oo a crack now an den. I soon foun my gal, an arfter tellin her two or three lies bout herse f, I got her to go in an ax Miss Anne to come to de do . When she come, I gi her de note, an arfter a little while she bro t me anurr, an I tole her good-by, an she gi me a dollar, an I come home an gi de letter to Marse Chan. He read it, an tole me to have de bosses ready at twenty minits to twelve at de corner of de garden. An jes befo dat he come out ez he wuz gwine to bed, but instid he come, an we all struck out to ds Cun l Chahm- blin s. When we got mos to de gate, de hosses got sort o skeered, an I see dey wuz some n or somebody standin jes inside ; an Marse Chan he jumpt off de sorrel an flung me de bridle and he walked up. " She spoke fust. Twuz Miss Anne had done come out dyar to meet Marse Chan, an she sez, jes ez cold ez a chill, Well, seh, I granted your favor. I wished to reliebe myse f of de obligations you placed me under a few months ago, when you made me a present of my father, whom you fust insulted an then prevented from gittin satisfac tion. " Marse Chan he didn speak fur a minit, an den he said : Who is with you ? (Dat wuz ev y wud. ) " No one, sez she ; I came alone. " My God ! sez he, you didn come all through those woods by yourse f at this time o night? 26 IN OLE VIRGINIA " Yes, I m not afraid, sez she. (An heah dis nigger! I don b lieve she wuz.) " De moon come out, an I cotch sight o her stan in dyah in her white dress, wid de cloak she had wrapped herse f up in drapped off on de groun , an she didn look like she wuz feared o nuthin . She wuz mons us purty ez she stood dyah wid de green bushes behine her, an she hed jes* a few flowers in her breas right heah and some leaves in her sorrel hyah ; an de moon come out an shined clown on her hyah an her frock, an peared like de light wuz jes stan in off it ez she stood dyah lookin at Marse Chan wid her hed tho d back, jes like dat mawnin when she pahss Marse Chan in de road widout speakin to im, an sez to me, * Good-mawnin , Sam. " Marse Chan, he den tole her he hed come to say good-by to her, ez he wuz gwine way to de war nex mawnin . I wuz watchin on her, an I tho t, when Marse Chan tole her dat, she sort o started an looked up at im like she wuz mighty sorry, an peared like she didn stan quite so straight arfter dat. Den Marse Chan he went on talkin right fars to her ; an* he tole her how he had loved her ever sence she wuz a little bit o baby mos , an how he nuver membered de time when he hedn hope to marry her. He tole her it wuz his love for her dat hed made im stan fust at school an collige, an hed kep im good an pure ; an now he wuz gwine way, wouldn she let it be like twuz in ole times, an ef he come MARSE CHAN 27 back from de war wouldn she try to think on him ez she use to when she wuz a little guirl ? " Marse Chan he had done been talkin so seri ous, he hed done tek Miss Anne han , an wuz lookin down in her face like he wuz list nin wid his eyes. " Arfter a minit Miss Anne she said somethin , an Marse Chan he cotch her urr han an sez : " But if you love me, Anne ? " When he said dat, she tu ned her head way from im, an wait a minit, an den she said right clear: " * But I don love yo . (Jes dem th ee wuds ! ) De wuds fall right slow like dirt falls out a spade on a coffin when yo s buryin anybody, an seys, Uth to uth. Marse Chan he jes let her hand drap, an he stiddy hisse f g inst de gate- pos an he didn speak torekly. When he did speak, all he sez wuz : " I mus see you home safe. " I clar, marster, I didn know twuz Marse Chan s voice tell I look at im right good. Well, she wouldn let im go wid her. She jes wrap her cloak roun her shoulders, an wen long back by herse f, widout doin more n jes look up once at Marse Chan leanin dyah g inst de gate-pos in he sodger clo s, wid he eyes on de groun . She said Good-by sort o sorf, an Marse Chan, wid out lookin up, shake han s wid her, an she wuz done gone down de road. Soon ez she got mos roun de curve, Marse Chan he followed her, 2 8 IN OLE VIRGINIA keepin under de trees so ez not to be seen, an I led de bosses on down de road behine im. He kep long behine her tell she wuz safe in de house, an den he come an got on he hoss, an we all come home. " Nex mawnin we all come off to j ine de army. An dey wuz a-drillin an a-drillin all bout for a while an we went long wid all de res o de army, an I went wid Marse Chan an clean he boots an look arfter de tent, an tek keer o him an de hosses. An Marse Chan, he wan a bit like he use to be. He wuz so solum an moanful all de time, at leas cep when dyah wuz gwine to be a fight. Den he d peartin up, an he alwuz ride at de head o de company, cause he wuz tall ; an hit wan on y in battles whar all his company wuz dat he went, but he use to volunteer whenever de cun l wanted anybody to fine out anythin , an twuz so dangersome he didn like to mek one man go no sooner n anurr, yo know, an ax d who d volunteer. He peared to like to go prowlin aroun mong dem Yankees, an he use to tek me wid im whenever he could. Yes, seh, he sut n y wuz a good sowger ! He didn mine bullets no more n he did so many draps o rain. But I use to be pow ful skeered sometimes. It jes use to pear like fun to him. In camp he use to be so sorrerful he d hardly open he mouf. You d a tho t he wuz seekin , he used to look so moanful ; but jes le im git into danger, an he use to be like old times jolly an laughin like when he wuz a boy. MARSE CHAN 29 " When Cap n Gordon got he leg shoot off, dey mek Marse Chan cap n on de spot, cause one o de lieutenants got kilt de same day, an turr one (named Mr. Ronny) wan no count, an all de company said Marse Chan wuz de man. "An Marse Chan he wuz jes de same. He didn nuver mention Miss Anne s name, but I knowed he wuz thinkin on her constant. One night he wuz settin by de fire in camp, an Mr. Ronny he was de secon lieutenant got to talkin bout ladies, an he say all sorts o things bout em, an I see Marse Chan kinder lookin mad; an de lieutenant mention Miss Anne s name. He hed been courtin Miss Anne bout de time Marse Chan fit de duil vvid her pa, an Miss Anne hed kicked im, dough he wuz mighty rich, cause he warn nuthin but a half-strainer, an cause she like Marse Chan, I believe, dough she didn speak to im ; an Mr. Ronny he got drunk, an cause Cun l Chahmb lin tole im not to come dyah no more, he got mighty mad. An dat even- in I se tellin yo bout, he wuz talkin , an he mention Miss Anne s name. I see Marse Chan tu n he eye roun on im an keep it on he face, and pres n y Mr. Ronny said he wuz gwine hev some fun dyah yit. He didn mention her name dat time ; but he said dey wuz all on em a parecel of stuck-up risticrats, an her pa wan no gent - man anyway, an 1 don know what he wuz gwine say (he nuver said it), fur ez he got dat far Marse Chan riz up an hit im a crack, an he fall like he hed been hit \vid a fence-rail. He chal- 30 IN OLE VIRGINIA lenged Marse Chan to fight a dull, an Marse Chan he excepted de challenge, an dey wuz gwine fight; but some on em tole im Marse Chan wan gwine mek a present o him to his fam ly, an he got somebody to bre k up de duil; twan* nuthin dough, but he wuz fred to fight Marse Chan. An purty soon he lef de comp ny. " Well, I got one o de gent mens to write Judy a letter for me, an I tole her all bout de fight, an how Marse Chan knock Mr. Ronny over fur speakin discontemptuous o Cun l Chahmb lin, an I tole her how Marse Chan wuz a-dyin fur love o Miss Anne. An Judy she gits Miss Anne to read de letter fur her. Den Miss Anne she tells her pa, an you mind, Judy tells me all dis arfterwards, an she say when Cun l Chahmb lin hear bout it, he wuz settin on de poach, an he set still a good while, an den he sey to hisse f : " Well, he earn he p bein a Whig. " An den he gits up an walks up to Miss Anne an looks at her right hard; an Miss Anne she hed done tu n away her haid an wuz makin out she wuz fixin a rose-bush g inst de poach; an when her pa kep lookin at her, her face got jes de color o de roses on de bush, and pres n y her pa sez : " Anne ! " An she tu ned roun , an he sez : " Do yo want im ? " An she sez, Yes, an put her head on he shoulder an begin to cry; an he sez: MARSE CHAN 31 " Well, I won t stan between yo no longer. Write to im an say so. "We didn know nuthin bout dis den. We wuz a-fightin an a-fightin all dat time ; an come one day a letter to Marse Chan, an I see im start to read it in his tent, an he face hit look so cu ious, an he ban s trembled so I couldn mek out what wuz de matter wid im. An he fol de letter up an wen out an wen way down hine de camp, an stayed dyah bout nigh a hour. Well, seh, I wuz on de lookout for im when he come back, an , fo Gord ! ef he face didn shine like a angel s 1 I say to myse f, Um m ! ef de glory o Gord ain done shine on im ! An what yo spose twuz ? " He tuk me wid im dat evenin , an he tell me he hed done git a letter from Miss Anne, an Marse Chan he eyes look like gre t big stars, an he face wuz jes like twuz dat mawnin when de sun riz up over de low groun , an I see im stan in dyah wid de pistil in he han , lookin* at it, an not knowin but what it mout be de lars time, an he done mek up he mine not to shoot ole Cun l Chahmb lin fur Miss Anne s sake, what writ im de letter. " He fol de letter wha was in his han up, an put it in he inside pocket right dyah on de lef side ; an den he tole me he tho t mebbe we wuz gwine hev some warm wuk in de nex two or th ee days, an arfter dat ef Gord speared im he d git a leave o absence fur a few days, an we d go home. 32 IN OLE VIRGINIA " Well, dat night de orders come, an we all hed to git over to ds Romney ; an we rid all night till bout light ; an we halted right on a little creek, an we stayed dyah till mos breakfas time, an I see Marse Chan set down on de groun hine a bush an read dat letter over an over. I watch im, an de battle wuz a-goin on, but we had or ders to stay hine de hill, an ev y now an den de bullets would cut de limbs o de trees right over us, an one o dem big shells what goes Awhar awhar awhar! would fall right mong us ; but Marse Chan he didn mine it no mo n nuttin ! Den it peared to git closer an thicker, and Marse Chan he calls me, an I crep up, an he sez : " Sam, we se goin to win in dis battle, an den we ll go home an git married ; an I se goin home wid a star on my collar. An den he sez, Ef I m wounded, kyah me home, yo hear ? An I sez, Yes, Marse Chan. " Well, jes den dey blowed boots an saddles, an we mounted; an de orders come to ride roun de slope, an Marse Chan s comp ny wuz de secon , an when we got roun dyah, we wuz right in it. Hit wuz de wust place uver dis nigger got in ! An dey said, Charge em ! an my king ! ef uver you see bullets fly, dey did dat day. Hit wuz jes like hail; an we wen down de slope (I long wid de res ) an up de hill right to ds de cannons, an de fire wuz so strong dyah (dey hed a whole rigiment o infintrys layin down dyah onder de cannons) our lines sort o broke an stop ; MARSE CHAN 33 de cun l was kilt, an I b lieve dey wuz jes bout to bre k all to pieces, when Marse Chan rid up an cotch hoi de fleg and hollers, Foller me ! an rid strainin up de hill mong de cannons. I seen im when he went, de sorrel four good lengths ahead o ev y urr hoss, jes like he use to be in a fox-hunt, an de whole rigiment right arfter im. Yo ain nuver hear thunder ! Fust thing I knowed, de roan roll head over heels an flung me up g inst de bank like yo chuck a nubbin over g inst de foot o de corn pile. An dat s what kep me from bein kilt, I spects. Judy she say she think twuz Providence, but I think twuz de bank. O co se, Providence put de bank dyah, but how come Providence nuver saved Marse Chan ? When I look roun , de roan wuz layin dyah by me, stone dead, wid a cannon-ball gone mos th oo him, an our men hed done swep dem on t urr side from de top o de hill. Twan mo n a minit, de sorrel come gallupin back wid his mane flyin , an de rein hangin down on one side to his knee. Dyah ! says I, fo Gord ! I specks dey done kill Marse Chan, an I promised to tek care on him. " I jumped up an run over de bank, an dyah, wid a whole lot o dead mens, an some not dead yit, onder one o de guns wid de fleg still in he han , an a bullet right th oo he body, lay Marse Chan. I tu n im over an call im, Marse Chan ! but twan no use, he was done gone home, sho nuff. 34 IN OLE VIRGINIA " I pick im up in my arms wid de fleg still in he ban s, an toted im back jes like I did dat day when he wuz a baby, an ole marster gin im to me in my arms, an sey he could trus me, an tell me to tek keer on im long ez he lived. I kyah d im way oft" de battlefiel out de way o de balls, an I laid im down onder a big tree till I could git somebody to ketch de sorrel for me. He was cotched arfter a while, an I lied some money, so I got some pine plank an made a coffin dat evenin , an wrapt Marse Chan s body up in de fleg, an put im in de coffin ; but I didn nail de top on strong, cause I knowed ole missis wan see im ; an I got a am bulance an set out for home dat night. We reached dyah de nex evein , arfter travellin all dat night an all nex day. " Hit peared like somethin hed tole ole missis we wuz comin so ; for when we got home she wuz waitin for us done drest up in her best Sunday- clo es, an stan n at de head o de big steps, an ole marster settin dyah bline in his big cheer ez we druv up de hill to ds de house, I drivin de ambulance an de sorrel leadin long behine wid de stirrups crost over de saddle. " She come down to de gate to meet us. We took de coffin out de ambulance an kyah d it right into de big parlor wid de pictures in it, whar dey use to dance in ole times when Marse Chan wuz a schoolboy, an Miss Anne Chahmb lin use to come over, an* go wid ole missis into her cham ber an tek her things off. In dyah we laid de MARSE CHAN 35 coffin on two o de cheers, an ole missis nuver said a wud ; she jes looked so ole an white. " When I had tell em all bout it, I tu ned right roun an rid over to Cun l Chahmb lin s, cause I knowed dat wuz what Marse Chan he d a wanted me to do. I didn tell nobody whar I was gwine, cause yo know, none on em hadn nuver speak to Miss Anne, not sence de duil, an dey didn know bout de letter. "When I rid up in de yard, dyah wuz Miss Anne a-stan in on de poach watchin me ez I rid up. I tied my hoss to de fence, an walked up de parf. She knowed by de way I walked dyah wuz som thin de motter, an she wuz mighty pale. I drapt my cap down on de een o de steps an went up. She nuver opened her mouf ; jes stan right still an keep her eyes on my face. Fust, I couldn speak ; den I cotch my voice, an I say, Marse Chan, he done got he furlough. " Her face was mighty ashy, an she sort o shook, but she didn fall. She tu ned roun an said, Git me de ker ige ! Dat wuz all. " When de ker ige come roun she hed put on her bonnet, an wuz ready. Ez she got in, she sey to me, Hev yo brought him home ? an we drove long, I ridin behine. " When we got home, she got out, an walked up de big walk up to de poach by herse f. " Ole missis hed done fin de letter in Marse Chan s pocket, wid de love in it, while I wuz way, an she wuz a-waitin on de poach. Dey sey dat 36 IN OLE VIRGINIA wuz de fust time ole missis cry when she find de letter, an dat she sut n y did cry over hit, pint- edly. " Well, seh, Miss Anne she walks right up de steps, mos up to ole missis stan in dyah on de poach, an jes falls right down mos to her, on her knees fust, an den flat on her face right on de flo , ketchin at ole missis dress wid her two han s so. " Ole missis stood for bout a minit lookin down at her, an den she drapt down on de flo by her, an took her in bofe her arms. " I couldn see, I wuz cryin so myse f, an ev y- body wuz cryin . But dey went in arfter a while in de parlor, an shet de do ; an I heahd em say, Miss Anne she tuk de coffin in her arms an kissed it, an kissed Marse Chan, an call im by his name, an her darlin , an ole missis lef her cryin in dyah tell some on em went in, an found her done faint on de flo . " Judy she tell me she heah Miss Anne when she axed ole missis mout she wear mo nin fur im. I don know how dat is ; but when we buried im nex day, she wuz de one whar walked arfter de coffin, holdin ole marster, an ole missis she walked next to em. " Well, we buried Marse Chan dyah in de ole grabeyard, wid de fleg wrapped roun im, an he face lookin like it did dat mawnin* down in de low groun s, wid de new sun shinin on it so peaceful. " Miss Anne she nuver went home to stay arf ter dat; she stay wid ole marster an ole missis ez MARSE CHAN 37 long ez dey lived. Dat warn so mighty long, cause ole marster he died dat Fall, when dey wuz fallerin fur wheat I had jes married Judy den an ole missis she warn long behine him. We buried her by him next summer. Miss Anne she went in de hospitals toreckly after ole missis died ; an jes b fo Richmond fell she come home sick wid de fever. Yo nuver wud a knowed her fur de same ole Miss Anne. She wuz light ez a piece o peth, an so white, cep her eyes an her sorrel hyah, an she kep on gittin whiter an weaker. Judy she sut n y did nuss her faithful. But she nuver got no betterment ! De fever an Marse Chan s bein kilt hed done strain her, an she died jes fo de folks wuz sot free. " So we buried Miss Anne right by Marse Chan, in a place whar ole missis hed tole us to leave, an dey s bofe on em sleep side by side over in de ole grabeyard at home. " An will yo please tell me, marster ? Dey tells me dat de Bible sey dyah won be marryin nor givin in marriage in heaven, but I don b lieve it signifies dat does you?" I gave him the comfort of my earnest belief in some other interpretation, together with several spare " eighteen-pences," as he called them, for which he seemed humbly grateful. And as I rode away I heard him calling across the fence to his wife, who was standing in the door of a small whitewashed cabin, near which we had been stand ing for some time : " Judy, have Marse Chan s dawg got home ? " "UNC EDINBURG S DROWNDIN UNC EDINBURGH DROWNDIN " A Plantation Echo 1ELL, 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 Vir ginia 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 darky con ceivable, brandishing a cedar-staffed whip of enor mous 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 tem porary suspicion on his part, due to the unfort unate fact that my luggage consisted of only a 42 IN OLE VIRGINIA 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 some thing 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 niggers don know what Christmas is. Hawg meat an pop crackers don meek Christmas. Hit tecks ole times to meek 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 Rev eller 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 "UNC EDINBURG S DROWNDIN " 43 through the Chickahominy thickets against Mc- Clellan s intrenchments, 1 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 supereroga tory jerk of the reins, he began : " Well, you know, Marse George was jes eigh teen 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 am 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 coons. 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 coon, 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. Coon 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 coon meat 44 W OLE VIRGINIA are well known to my family ; so I grunted some thing 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; tvvarn nuttin would do but I got to go too. Marster he didn teck much to de notion, but Marse George wouldn have it no urr way, an co se mistis she teck he side. So I went long as he body-servant to teck keer on him an help meek 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 compli ment him, an dat wuz Mr. Darker. But he warn nuttin ! not dat he didn come o right good fam- bly 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 an 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 meek he gret speech, Mr. Darker he speak ginst him. Dat s what Marse George whip him bout. Ain nobody nuver told you bout dat ? " "UNC* EDI N BURG S DROWNDIN" 4 5 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 vvuz 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 meek 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 mouf 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 46 IN OLE VIRGINIA 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 hyper bole, " an we jes had time to git a apple toddy or "L NC EDINBURGH DROWND1N " 47 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 s waller- 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 pea cock 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, an Marse George step for ard an meek 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 48 IN OLE VIRGINIA 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 meek 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 "UNC EDINBURGH DROWNDIN " 49 Miss Charlotte ; an presney I sort o sidle long- side 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 nigger 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 niggers 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 nigger, cause I wuz teckin up for de fambly, an I meek 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 nigger; but I ain tarrifyin my self none bout dat, cause I know she jes projickin, 50 IN OLE VIRGINIA 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 natch el fiddler, jes like coons is natchel pacers, an mules an womens is natchel kickers. How- somever, 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 mouf, 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 "UNC EDIXBURG S DROWNDIN " 51 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 meek 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, 1 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 sud den 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 53 IN OLE VIRGINIA long-tail coat an high collar, an knocked em off de Snow-bud 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 nigger she jes as confusin as Miss Charlotte. An she sut- ney wuz sp ilt dem days ; ev y nigger on dat place got he eye on her, an she jes az oudacious an ag- gravatin as jes women s 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 "UNC E DIN BURG S DROWNDIN " 53 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 Char lotte whar she kin heah de music, but he watchin* him loo, 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 54 IN OLE VIRGINIA 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 try 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 be sides, 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 "UNC EDINBURG S DROWNDIN " 55 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. " 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 meek 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 jcs 5 6 IN OLE VIRGINIA 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, mars- ter 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 does 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, pres ently. " 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 "UNC EDINBURG S DROWN DIN " 57 over dyah constant, on y we nuver did git over bein skeered when we wuz ridin up dat turpen tine 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 peace able, 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 5 8 IN OLE VIRGINIA when de ker idge come in sight, ev ybody wuz runnin j 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 meek 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 nigger 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 inter- duce 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 meek em a beautiful bow an speak to em ev y one, Marse George namin de names; an Charley Brown he meek her a pretty speech, an tell her we mighty proud to own her ; an one o dem impident gals ax her "UNC EDINBURG S DROWNDIN " 59 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. " 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, jeslike she on her throne; an ole marster he d watch her mos edmirin as Marse George ; an when she went way hit sutney was lonesome. Hit look like daylight gone wid her. I don know which I miss mos , Miss Charlotte or Nancy. " Den Marse George was lected to de Legisla ture, 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. 60 IN OLE VIRGINIA " You see, after Marse George wuz lected ( Lections wuz lections dem days; dee warn no baitgode lections, wid ev y sort o wurrms squirm- in 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 pes ter him mightily; he set up all night answerin dat letter, an he mighty solemn, I tell you. An* I wuz gittin 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 to- rectly 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 "UNC EDJNJiURG S DROWNDIN" 61 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 con jured; 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 niggers 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 was ston- ished. She come roun de cornder in de back yard whar I settin in Nat s do (he wuz de gar dener), 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 62 IN OLE VIRGINIA dyah), an* she say, Hi ! what dis black nigger doin heah ? " An I say, Who you callin nigger, you impi- dent, 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 nigger to be comp ny for her. Uat 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 nigger didn git her mammy to gi me de bes sup- ter ! 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 "IWC" EDIX BURG S DROWNDIN " 63 now, dat he deah all de time, an ain gwine West no ino . 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 meek 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 meek me go in de barn an teck ofifmy 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 offdis 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 her self, an she call me : Why, hi ! ain dat Edin burg? " 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 6 4 IN &LE VIRGINIA 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 any how, 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 1 mighty sick dat man done beat me so ; an he ax me what de mar- ter, an I upped an tell him. " Gord ! I nuver see a man in sich a rage. He call me in de office an meek 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 git 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 nut- tin to nobody, but to tell.he pa he d be away for two days, maybe ; an den he got on Reveller an gal loped 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 " UNC EDINBURG S DROWNDIN " 65 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 tv/ixt em, he ain satis fied in he mine dat she ain t gwine pologizee I know by Nancy ; but now he got de confirma tion 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. 66 IN OLE VIRGINIA " Den ole mistis died. " B lieve me, ole marster he most much hut by Miss Charlotte as Marse George. He meek a tempt to buy Nancy for me, so I find out arter- ward, an write Jedge Darker he ll pay him any thing 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 coon 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 v\ r uz 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 "UNC EDINBURG S DROWNDIN " 67 wid him as a woman ; an when ole marster die, he set by him an hoi he hand an kiss him sorf, 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 con stant 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 morn- in 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 68 IN OLE VIRGINIA weddin , but he wouldn go, do I sutney did want him to go, cause I heah Miss Charlotte was nom inated to marry Mr. Darker, an I warn know what done come o dat bright-skinned nigger 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 no- whar 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 whet stone. " 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 Christ mas too, but de river wuz so high dee s pose dee couldn git cross. Chile, dat sutney disapp int me ! "UNC EDINBURGH DROIVNDJN " 69 * 4 Well, after supper de niggers 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 mis- tis 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 niggers dem times ; an de little niggers 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 nigger am 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. V 70 IN OLE VIRGINIA " 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 plan tation 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 snow drift 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 hand deeself, cause white folks ligion ain like niggers , 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, " UNC EDIXBURG S DROll NDIN " 71 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 niggers 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 nigger 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 y- thing. 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 niggers. 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 meek 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 Char lotte. 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 72 IN OLE VIRGINIA 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 no- body else sep Marse George, Nancy say. Mr. Clarke he hangin on, but Miss Charlotte she done tell him pintedly she ain nuver gwine marry no body. 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 meek no zistance tall, an dis nigger 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 "UNC EDINBURGH DROWN DIN" 73 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 nigger in de room wuz on dat flo . Gord ! suh, dee wuz grin- nin 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 stand- in 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 sorf. 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 74 IN OLE VIRGINIA 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 Char lotte s hyah. " 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 fall 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 dol lars. " 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 offde whole Christmas, when wud come dat Marse George want he horses. " I went, but it sutney breck me up ; an I won der 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 "UNO EDIN BURG S DROWNDIN " 75 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 meek 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 hoi 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 myah head up de stream ; 76 IN OLE VIRGINIA an I did try, but what s a nigger 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 jug ular. "An den dee tell me bout how when I hol lered 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 lie arm wropped roun a limb, " UNC EDINBURG S DROWNDIN " 77 an we wuz lodged in de crotch, an bofe jes as dead as a nail; an de myah she got out, but Rev eller 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 shuf- flin de feets not to meek 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. "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 78 IN OLE VIRGINIA 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 hoi 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 pil low, an he gret pitiful eyes rollin bout so rest less, 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: EDINBURGH DROU NDIN " 79 " 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 Char lotte 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, Edin burg, I m cross. * MEH LADY MEH LADY A Story of the War ]ON dat Phil go stracted when he gits a pike on de een o* dis feller ! " The speaker was standing in the dogwood bushes just below me, for I was on the embankment, where the little foot-path through the straggling pines and underbrush ran over it. He was holding in his hand a newly- peeled cedar fishing- pole, while a number more lay in the path at the foot of the old redoubt. I watched for a moment in silence, and then said: " Hello ! Uncle, what are you doing ? " " Gittin fishin -poles for de boys, suh," he an swered promptly and definitely. " We s spectin em soon." Then he added confidentially : " Dee won have none from nowhar else, suh ; dee done heah dee ma tell how Marse Phil used to git poles right heah on dis ridge, an dee oon fling a line wid nay urr sort o poles at all. Dat Phil 83 84 IN OLE VIRGINIA he mo like Marse Phil n he like he pa; some times I think he Marse Phil done come back he s he ve y spit an image." " Who are the boys ? " I asked, taking a seat on the moss-covered breastwork. "Hi! we all s boys Meh Lady s. De fish runnin good now, an dee ll be heah toreckly. Dee up in New York now, but me an Hannah got a letter from em yistidy. You cyarn keep em dyah long after de fish gins to run ; no suh, dat you cyarn . Dat Phil, I boun , studyin bout dis pole right now." A short laugh of delight fol lowed the reflection. " How many are there ? " " Fo on em, suh, wid de little gal, an she jes like Meh Lady wuz at her age, tryin to keep up wid her brurrs, an do ev ything dee do. Lord ! suh, hit cyars me back so sometimes, I mos furgit de ain nuver been no war nor nuttin . Yes, suh, dee tu ns de house upside down when dee comes, jes like Marse Phil an Meh Lady. Um m ! [making that peculiar sound so indescribably sug gestive], dee used to jes teoh de wull to pieces. You see, after Marse Jeems die an lef Mistis heah wid jes dem two, she used to gi em dee head, an dee all over de plantation. Meh Lady (de little white Mistis), in her little white apron wid her curls all down in her eyes, used to look white mong dem urr chil ns as a clump o black berry blossoms mong de blackberries. I don keer what Hannah do wid dat hyah it wouldn lay MEH LADY 85 smoove. An her eyes ! I do b lieve she laugh mo wid em n wid her inouf. She wuz de light o dis plantation ! When she d come in you house twuz like you d shove back de winder an let piece o de sun in on de flo you could almos see by her ! An Marse Phil, he used to wyah her ! I don keer whar you see one, dyah turr, she lookin up at him, pushin her hyah back out her big brown eyes, an tryin to do jes what he do. When Marse Phil went byah -footed, she had to go byah-footed too, an she d foller him down to de mill-pond th oo briers an ev ywhar, wid her little white foots scratchin an gittin briers in em ; but she ain mine dat so he ain leP her. Dat s de way twuz, spang tell Marse Phil went to college, or you jes as well say, tell he went in de army, cause he home ev y Christmas an holi day all de time he at de univusity, an al ays got somebody or nurr wid him. You cyarn keep bees way after dee fine he honeysuckle bush, an dem young bucks dee used to be roun her con stant. Hit look like ef she drap her hankcher hit teck all on em to pick t up. Dee so perseverin (Mr. Watkins spressly), I tell Hannah I specks one on em gwine be Mistis son-in-law; but Hannah say de chile jes joyin herself an pro- jeckin wid em, an ain love none on em hard as Marse Phil. An so twuz ! Hannah know. Her cap n ain come yit ! \Vhen dee cap n come dee know it, an ef dee don know it when he come, dee know it p intedly when he go way. 86 IN OLE VIRGINIA " We vvuz rich den, quarters on ev y hill, an* niggers mo n you could tell dee names ; dee used to be thirty cradlers in de harves -fiel an binders mo n you kin count. "Den Marse Phil went in de war. You wuz too young to know bout dat, marster ? Say you wuz ? Dat s so ! " (This in ready acquiescence to my reply that every Southerner knew of the war.) "Well, hit peared like when it start de ladies wuz ambitiouser for it mos n de mens. Um ! dee wuz rank, sho nough. At fust dee didn know what twuz, hit come so sudden. " One mornin I was standin right by de po ch, an Marse Phil ride up in de yard. I see him time he tunned de curve o de avenue; I knew he seat, cause I larn him to ride; dese hands set him up on de horse fust time he ever tetch de saddle, when he little fat legs couldn retch to de little skeurts. Well, I call Mistis an Meh Lady, an dee come out jes as he gallop up in de yard. He speak to me, an run up de gre t steps, an Mistis teck him right in her arms, an helt him farst, an when she le him go her face look mighty cu yus ; an when dee went into de house I notice Marse Phil right smart taller n he wuz at Christmas, an he han em in stately like he pa. " Twuz he done come home to go in de army, an he done stop in Richmon to git he permission, cause he feared he ma oon let him go bedout it; an he say, Mr. Watkins an heap o de boys done MEH LADY 87 lef an gone home to raise companies. Mistis Hannah say grieve might ly when tain nobody see her, an she got her do locked heap, sayin her prars for him ; but she ain say a wud bout he goin , she nor Meh I^ady nurr dee jes dat ambitious bout it. De thorybreds goes wid dee heads up till dee drap, you know. " After dat you ain see nuttin but gittin ready ; cuttin an sewin , an meckin tents, an bandages, an uniforms, an lint twuz wuss n when dee meckin up de folks winter clo es ! an when Marse Phil fetch he s o de home an put on he boots an spurs whar I done black, an git he seat on Paladin, twarn nay han on de place but what say Marse Phil bleeged to whup em if dee come close enough. Well, so he went off to de war, an Left-hand Torm went wid him to wait on him an ten to de horses. Mistis an Meh Lady ain had time to cry tell dee rid roun de curve, an Marse Phil tu n an wave he hat to em stan in dyah on de po ch ; an den Mistis tu n roun an walk in de house right quick wid her mouf wuckin , an lock herse f in her chamber, an Meh Lady set down on the steps an cry by herse f. " Dat wuz de een o de ole times, an dem whar ain nuver had dee foots to git quainted wid de ground wuz stomped down in de dut. "Oh! yes, suh, he come back," said he pres ently, in answer to a question from me, "but de war had been gwine on for mo n a year befo he did. Heaps o urr soldiers used to come ; dee d 88 IN OLE VIRGINIA kiver up de gre t road an de plantation sometimes, an eat up ev ything on de place. But Marse Phil he ain nuver git home ; he bleeged to stay to keep de Yankeys back; he wid Gener l Jack son, an he fightin all de time ; he git two or th ee balls th oo he clo es an he cap he write we all bout it ; two bring de blood, but not much, he say, dee jes sort o bark him. Oh ! dee wuz jes p intedly notifyin him ; ev y chance dee d git dee d plump at him cuz he de main man same as when you d plump at de middle man. But dat ain pester him, chile ! " But one mornin when we ain heah from him in long time an think he up in de valley, Marse Phil ride right up in de yard, an Mistis face light up to see him tell she look mos like a young ooman. He say he ain got long to stay, dat de army gwine down de big road, an he bleeged to git right back to he bat ry he jes ride cross to see he ma an Meh Lady an all on us, he say, an he mighty hongry, cause he ain had nuttin to eat sense early de day befo , an he want me to feed Paladin at de rack. An Meh Lady, chile ! she lef him walkin bout in de house wid he ma, wid he arm roun her, an twis in he mustache, whar showin leetle sense he sich a man, an axin he ma don t she think it a fine mustache, dat all de girls say tis, an axin bout ev ybody ; an she come out an tend to gittin him some n to eat wid her own hands, an he sut n y did eat hearty ; an den he come way, an he stoop down an kiss MEH LADY 89 he ma an Meh Lady, an tell em he gwine to be a cun l one dese days ; an Mistis she ain able to say nuttin , but jes look at him wistful as he went down de steps, den she ran down after him an ketch him after he git on de groun , an kiss him an breck out cryin . She say she ain begrudge him, but she love him so much. He kiss her mighty sorf two or th ee times, an den she let him go, an he come an git on he horse an rid way at a gallop out de back gate wid he cap on de side he head, an dee went in de house, an dat horse warn go up de stable right den. " De nex day we hear de cannons way down de country jes like thunder right study, an Mis tis and Meh Lady dee set on de po ch an listen to em wid dee face mighty solemn all day long. An dat night bout de fust rooster-crow, Left-hand Torm come home on de gray, an knock at Mistis winder, an say Marse Phil clone shoot in de breast, an he don t know wherr he dead or not ; he say he warn dead when he come way, but de doctor wuz wid him, an he had sont him after he ma to come to him at once, an he had been ridin hard all night long ever sence jes befo sunset; an Torm say he bat ry wuz de fust on de groun , an he post it on de aidge o de woods in a oat-fieP, like cradlers, you know, an he drive de enemy out dee breas wucks, an he see him when he lead he bat ry cross de oat-fiel , he guns all six in a strainin gallop, an he and Paladin in de lead cheerin , wid bullits an shells hailin all roun 9 o IN OLE VIRGINIA him; an he wuz de fust man in de redoubt, he say, an he fall, he say, jes as he jump he horse over, an den he lay dyah, he say, an fight he guns tell he faint. An Torm say de gener l say he d ruther been Marse Phil fightin he bat ry dat day den a been President de Confederate States. " Well, suh, Mistis she had jump out o bed de fust step o Torm in de yard ; she hadn even teck off her clo es, an she jes stand still like she ain heah good, wid her face lookin like she done dead. Meh Lady she tell Torm to tell me to git de kerridge as soon as I kin, an to tell her mammy please to come hyah quick. " An when day broke I wuz standin at de gate wid de kerridge ; done feed my horses an a good bag o clean oats in de boot. Mistis she come out wid Meh Lady an Hannah, an her face sut n y wuz grievious. I ain know tell I see de way she look how it hu t her, but I been see dead folks look better n she look den. All she say wuz: " Try an git me dyah, Billy; an I say, Yes m, I m gwine to ef Gord ll le me. I did git her dyah, too; ef I didn meek dem horses flinder ! " But dead mens ! I niver see as many in my life as I see dat evenin . Amb lances an waggins full on em, an dem whar jes good as dead; de road wuz chocked up wid em ! Dee all know Marse Phil bat ry ; dee say hit de fust in de fight yistidy an it cut all to pieces; an pres n y a gent man whar I ax as he gallop past me rein up AfEff LADY 91 he horse an say he know him well, an he wuz shot yistidy an left on de fiel ; he done teck off he cap when he see Mistis an Meh Lady in de ker- ridge, an he voice drapt mighty low, an he say Marse Phil wuz shot bout fo o clock leadin he bat ry, an he did splendid wuck. " He voice sort o passionate, an he face so pitiful when he say dat, I know tain no hope to save him, an ef I git Mistis dyah in time, dat s all. " Drive on quick, says Mistis, an I druv on: I done meek up my mine to git she an Meh Lady to Marse Phil, whar I sponsible for dat night, ef Gord ll le me. An I did, too, mon ! I see de sol diers all long de road look at me, an some on em holler to me dat I cyarn go dat way; but I ain pay no tendon to em, I jes push on ; an pres - n y risin a little ridge I see de house de gent man done tell me bout, settin in deoat-fiel bout a half a mile ahead, an I jes pushin for it, when th ee or fo mens standin dyah in de road yant de ridge, a little piece befo me, say, * Halt ! I ain pay no tention to em, jes drive on so, an dee holler, Halt ag in ; an when I ain stop den nuther, jes drive on right study, a speckle-face feller run up an ketch Remus head, an anurr one done p int he gun right at me. I say, Whynt you le go de horse, mon ! ain you got no better sense n to ketch holt Mistis horses ? juckin dat horse mouf dat way ! Le go de horse head, don you heahme? "I clar ! ef I warn dat outdone, I wuz jes 92 IN OLE VIRGINIA bout to wrop my whip roun him, when Mistis open de do an step out. She say she wan go on ; dee say she cyarn do it ; den she say she gwine, dat her son dyin dyah in de house an she gwine to him. She talk mighty sorf but mighty termined like. Dee sort o reason wid her, but she jes walk on by wid her head up, an tell me to foller her, an dat I did, mon ! an leP em dyah in de road holdin dee gun. De whole army couldn a keep her fum Marse Phil den. "I got to de house toreckly an drive up nigh as I could fur de gre t trenches cross de yard, whar look like folks been ditchin . A gent man come to de do , an Mistis ax, Is he live yet ? Me say, * Yes, still alive ; an she say, Where ? an went right in an Meh Lady wid her ; an I heali say he open he eyes as she went in, an sort o smile, an when she kneel down an kiss him he whisper he ready to go den, an he wuz, too. " He went dat night in he mother arms, an Meh Lady an Hannah at he side, like I tole em I was gwine do when I start fum home dat morn- in , an he wuz jes as peaceful as a baby. He tole he ma when he wuz dyin dat he had try to do he duty, an that twuz jes like ole times, when he used to go to sleep in her lap in he own room, wid her arms roun him. Mistis sen me fur a amb lance dat night, an we put him in de coffin next mornin an start, cause Mistis she gwine cyar Marse Phil home an lay him in de gyardin, whar she kin watch him. MEH LADY 93 " We travel all day an all night, an retch home bout sunrise, and den we had to dig de grave. " An when we got home Mistis she had de coffin brought in, and cyared him in he own room while we waitin , and she set in dyah all day long wid him, and he look like a boy sleepin dyah so young in he little gray jacket wid he s o de cross he breas . We bury him in de gyardin dat evenin, and dyah warn nough gent mens in de county to be he pall-bearers, so de hands on de place toted him. And it ease me might ly to git meh arm onder him right good, like when he wuz a little chap runnin roun callin me Unc* Billy, and pesterin me to go fishin . And de gener l write Mistis a letter and say de Confede cy moan he loss, and he meek him a cun l in de oat-fiel de day he wuz shot, and hit s dat on he tombstone now ; you kin go dyah in de gyardin an read it. "And we hang he s o de on de wall in he own room over de fireplace, and dyah it hang now for to show to de boys what a soldier he wuz. " Well, after dat, things sut n y went bad. De house looked dat lonesome I couldn byah to look at it ; ev ything I see look like Marse Phil jes* done put it down, or jes comin after it. Mistis and Meh Lady dee wuz in deep mo nin , of co se, and it look like de house in mo nin , too. And Mistis her hyah got whiter and whiter. De on y thing peared to gi her any peace o mine wuz settin in Marse Phil room. She used to set dyah all dav, sewin for de soldiers. She ain nuver let 94 IN OLE VIRGINIA nobody tetch dat room ; hit al ays sort o secret to her after dat. And Meh Lady she took holt de plantation, an ole Billy wuz her head man. " Dat s de way twuz for two years tell mos in de summer. Den " Hit happen one Sunday : I wuz jes come out meh house after dinner, gwine to de stable. I warn studyin bout Yankeys, I wuz jes studyin bout how peaceable ev ything wuz, when I heah somebody hollerin , and heah come two womens cross de hill from de quarters, hard as dee could tyah, wid dee frocks jes flying. One o de maids in de yard de first to ketch de wud, an she say, De Yankeys ! And fo Gord ! de wuds warn out her mouf befo de whole top o de hill wuz black wid em. Yo could see em gallopin and heah de s o des rattlin* spang at de house. Meh heart jump right up in meh mouf. But I step back in meh house and got meh axe. And when I come out, de black folks wuz all run out dee houses in de back yard, talkin and predictifyin ; and some say dee gwine in de house and stan behin Meh Lady; and some dee gwine git onder de beds ; and some wuz pacifyin em, and sayin , dee ain gwi do nuttin . I jes parse long by em right quick, and went cross de yard to de house, and I put meh head in Marse Phil room whar dee settin , and say : " De Yankeys yander comin down de hill. "You ought to a seen dee face. Meh Lady hands drapt in her lap, an she looked at Mistis so MEH LADY 95 anxious, she skeer me. But do Mistis face tu n mighty white, t warn mo n a minute. She riz right quiet, and her head wuz jes as straight as Meh Lady. She says to her: " * Hadn you better stay here ? " No/ says she, I will go with you. " Come on, says she, and dee walked out de do , and locked it behine her, and Mistis put de key in her pocket. " Jes as she got clyah, dee rid into de yard, an in a minute it wuz jes as full of em as a bait-go d is o wurrms, ridin ginst one anurr, an hollerin an laughin an cussin ; an outside de yard, an todes de stables, dee wuz jes swarmin . Dee ain ax nobody no odds bout nuttin , an as to key, dee ain got no use fur dat; jes bu st a do down quicker n you kin onlock it. Dee wuz in dee smoke-house an de store-room quicker n I been tellin you bout it. But dat ain sturb Mistis, nor Meh Lady nurr. Dee wuz standin in de front do jes as study as ef dee wuz waitin fur somebody whar come to dinner. Dee come pourin* up de steps an say dee gwine th oo de house. " There is no one in there, said Mistis. " What are you doin on de po ch ? says one, sort o impident like, wid a thing on he shoul der. " I always receive my visitors at my front do , says Mistis. " Don t you invite em in ? says he, sort o 96 IN OLE VIRGINIA laughin an pushin by her. Jes den I heah a noige, an we tu n roun , an de hall wuz right full on em had come in de back do . Mistis tunned right roun an walk into de house right quick, puttin Meh Lady long befo her. Right straight th oo em all she walk, an up to Marse Phil room do , whar she stan wid her back g inst it, holdin de side. Dee wuz squandered all over de house by dis time an teckin ev ything dee want an didn want, an what dee didn teck dee wuz cuttin up. But soon as dee see Mistis at Marse Phil do , dee come right up to her. " I want to go in dyah, says one de same one whar had spoke so discontemptious to de Mistis on de po ch. " You cyarn do it, says Mistis. " Well, I m goin to, says he. " You are not, says Mistis, lookin at him right study, wid her head up an her eyes blazin . I had my axe in my han , an I wuz mighty skeered, but I know ef he had lay his han on de Mistis I was gwine split him wide open. He know better n to tetch her, do . He sort o parly, like he warn 1 swade her, an all de urrs stop an listen. " Who s in dyah ? says he. " No one, says Mistis. " Well, what s in dyah ? says he. " The memory of my blessed dead, says Mistis. She speak so solemn, hit peared to kind o stall him, an he give back an mumble some n . Pres * MEH LADY 9 7 n y do anurr one come up fum nigh de do an say to Mistis : " Where is you son ? We want him. " Beyond your reach, says Mistis, her voice kine o breakin , an Meh Lady bu st out cryin . " His grave is in de gyardin , she says, wid her hankcher to her eyes. " Gord ! suh! I couldn stan no mo . I jes cotch a grip on my axe, an I ain know what mout a happen , but he took off he hat an tu n way. An jes den sich a racket riz nigh de do , I thought must be some on em got to killin one nurr. I heah somebody s voice rahin an pitchin and callin em thieves an hounds, an in a minute, whack, whack, thump, thump, I heah de licks soun like he hittin on barrel-head, an I see a s o de flyin like buggy-wheel spokes, an de men in de hall dee jes squander ; an as de larst one jump off de po ch, a young gent man tunned an walked in de do , puttin he s o de back in he scabbard. When he got t in, he teck off he cap, an walkin bout half-way up to we all, he say : " I kinnot pologize nough, madam, for dese out ages ; dee officers ought to be shot for tole- ratin it. it is against all orders. " I don t know ; it is our first speeyence, says Mistis. We are much ondebted to you, though, suh. " Mayn t I interduce myself? says he, comin* up a little closer to we all, an meckin anurr bow very grand. I think I may claim to be a kins- 98 IN OLE VIRGINIA man at least of my young Southern cousin here (meckin a bow to Meh Lady whar wuz standin lookin at him) ; I m half Virginian myself: I am Captain Wilton, the son of Colonel Churchill Wilton, of de ole army, says he. " It is impossible, says Mistis, bowin low n him. Churchill Wilton was a Virginian, do he lived at de Norf ; he wuz my husband s cousin an my dear friend. (He come from New York or somewhar, an he had been co tin Mistis same time Marster co t her. I know him well : he gi me a yaller satin weskit ; a likely gent man too, but Marster beat him. You know he gwine do dat.) But you cannot be his son, nor a Vir ginian; Virginians never invade Virginia. " But I am, neverdeless, says he, sort o smilin ; an I have, as a boy, often hear 1 him speak of you. " We claim no kinsmen among Virginia s en emies, says Meh Lady, speakin fur de fust time, wid her eyes flashin , an teckin holt of Mistis han , an raisin herse f up mighty straight. She wuz standin by her ma, I tell you ; dee bofe had de same sperit de chip don fly fur fum de stump. But he wuz so likely-lookin , standin dyah in de gre t hall meckin he bow, an sayin he Cap n Wilton, I mos think she d a gi n in ef it hadn been fur dat blue uniform an dat s o de by he side. De wud seemed to hut him mons ous do , an he raise he head up mighty like we all folks when dee gittin outdone. Mistis, she add MEH LADY 99 on to Meh Lady, an answer he quest bout din ner. Ez he had come to teck possession, says she, de whole place wuz his, an he could give what orders he please, on y she an Meh Lady would quest to be excused ; an wid dat she took Meh Lady han , an wid a gre t bow start to sweep by him. But dee ain git ahead o him ; befo dee git de wuds out dee mouf, he meek a low bow hisse f an say he beg dee pardin, he cyarn intrude on ladies, an wid dat he sort o back right stately to de front do , an wid anurr bow done gone, he saber clam rin down de steps. I clar , I wuz right sorry fur him, an I b lieve Mistis an Meh Lady dee wuz too, cause he sut n y did favor Marse Phil when he r ar he head up so tall, an back out dat do so gran . Meh Lady mine smite her good, cause she tu n to me an tell me to go an tell Lijah to see ef he couldn get him some n , an 1 call him, an pres n y she come in de dinin -room lookin herse f. After Lijah set de place do , an went out to look fur him, dyah wuz a soldier standin at ev y po ch right solum, an anurr one at de kitchin ; an when we come to fine out, dee wuz guards Cap n Wilton done pos dyah to p teck de house, but he done gone long, so I give he snack to de guards. " Well, dee took mos all de corn, dat our folks done lef, out de corn-house, an after a while mos on em bridle up an went long, an den at larst de guards dee went long hind de turrs ; an de larst one hadn hardly got to de een de avenue ioo IN OLE VIRGINIA when heah come over de hill some o our men ridin long de road fum turr way. Meh Lady wuz standin in de yard looking mighty strustid at de way dee done do de place, cause dee had done teoh it all to pieces ; an her eyes light up at de sight o our men, an she sort o wave her hank- cher at em, an dee wuz comin down de hill turr side de creek right study, when, as Cord would have it, we heah a horse foot flyin , an right fum turr way right down de avenue, he horse in a lather, come dat same young gent man, Cap n Wilton. Our mens see him at de same time, an start to gallopin down de hill to git him. He ain mine em do ; he gallop up to de gate an pull a letter out he pocket. Meh Lady she was so con- sarned bout him, she sort o went todes him, callin to him to do pray go way. He ain mine dat ; he jes set still on he nick-tail bay, an hole he paper todes her right patient, tell she run down de walk close up to him, beggin him to go way. Den he teck off he cap an ben over, an present her de paper he got, an tell her hit a letter he got fum Gen l McClenan, he come back to gi her. Meh Lady, chile ! she so busy beggin him to go way an save hisse f, she forgit to thank him. She jes pleadin fur him to go, an hit pear like de mo she beg, de mo partic ler he settin clyah at de gate lookin at her, not noticin our mens, wid a sort o cu yus smile on he face, tell jes as our mens gallop up in one side de yard, an call to him to s render, he say Good-by, an tu nned an lay MEH LADY he gre t big bay horse focy. to tie groun , De^ shoot at him an ride after h:rp>*Aw -,Meh Ludysljc holler to em not to shoot him ; but she needn t fluster herse f, dee jes as well try to shoot de win , or ride to ketch a bud, de way dat horse run. He wuz a flyer ! He run like he jes start, an de Cap n done ride him thirty miles sence dinner to git dat paper from Gen l McClenan fur Meh Lady. " Well, suh, dat night de plantation wuz fyah live wid soldiers our mens ; dee wuz movin all night long, jes like ants, an all over todes de gre t road de camp-fires look like stars ; an nex morn- in dee wuz movin fo daylight, gwine long down de road, an bout dinner-time hit begin, an from dat time tell in de night, right down yander way, de whole uth wuz rockin . You d a-thought de wull wuz splittin open, an sometimes ef you d listen right good you could heah em yellin , like folks in de harves -nel hollerin after a ole hyah. " De nex day we know we all done scotch em, an dee begin to bring de wounded an put em in folks houses. Dee bring em in amb - lances an stretchers, tell ev y room in de house wuz full up, sep on y Mistis chahmber an Meh Lady room an Marse Phil room. An dyah wuz de grettest cuttin up o sheets an linen an things fur bandages an lint you ever see. Mistis an Meh Lady even cut up dee under-clo es fur lint, cause you know dee wuz bleeged to have linen, an Mistis an Meh Lady teoh up dee under- clo es tell dee got smack out. Hannah had to go rN OLE VIRGINIA sfftt*r wards -an gi em some dee done gi her. l, so fcv"iz, tie -bouse wuz full like a hospittle, an doctors gvvine in and out, an ridin back ards an for ards, an cuttin off legs an arms, an hardly got time to tu n roun. Twuz mighty hard on Meh Lady, but she had grit to stan it. Hi ! de ve y mornin after de battle a doctor come out de room whar a wounded gent man wuz, an ketch sight o Meh Lady parsin th oo de hall, an say, I want you to help me, an she say, What you want me to do? an he say, You ve got to hold a man s arm, an she say, To bandage it? an he say, " No, to cut it off; an she say she cyarn do it, an he say she kin an she must. Den she say she ll faint, an he say ef she do he ll die, an he am got a minute to spyah now. Den ef she am walk right in an hole he arm, tell de doctor cut t off an dress it, an den widout a wud she say, Is you done ? an he say, Yes ; r an she walk out an cross de yard to her mammy house right quick, an fall right dead down on de flo . I wan dyah, but Hannah sut n y wuz outdone bout dat thing, an , you know, she ain nuver let Mistis know a wud bout it, not nuver she so feared she d sturb her ! Dat s de blood she wuz ; an dem wuz times folks wa n t clem kind ! Well, dat same evenin de day after de battle Meh Lady she ax one de doctors ef many o de cav lry wuz into de fight, an he say she d think so ef she d been dyah ; dat de cav lry had meek some splendid charges bofe sides ; dat de Yankee cav lry had MEN LADY 103 charge th oo a bresh o pines on de streme left spang up g inst our breas wucks, an a young Yankee cap n in de front o all, wid he cap on he s o de, on a nick-tail bay, had led em, an had spur he horse jam up to our line, an bofe had fall up g inst de breas wucks. I tell you he sut n y wuz pleased wid him ; he say he nuver see a braver feller ; he had made a p int to try an save him (an he d like to a had dat horse too), but he was shot so bad he fear d tain much show fur him, as he sort o knocked out he senses when he fall as well as shot. An he say, He sich a likely young feller, an meek sich a splendid charge, I teck a letter out he pocket to dentify him, an heah tis now, he says ; Cap n Shelly Wilton, he says, handin it to Meh Lady. " When he say dat, Meh Lady ain say nuttin , an Mistis she tu n roun an walk in Marse Phil room right quick an shet de do easy. Den pres n y she come out an ax Meh Lady to have de kerridge gitten, an den she walk up to de doc tor, an ax him won he go down wid her to de place whar he leP dat young Yankee cap n an bring him dyah to her house. An she say, he her husband cousin, an* she onder obligations to him. So dee went, honey, down to de battle-fiel all roun de road, an twuz mos wuss n when we all went down to de Peninsular after Marse Phil, de road wuz so full of wounded mens ; an when we fine him twuz right dyah at dat gap he fall right dyah whar you settin , an dee had cyar ed X04 IN OLE VIRGINIA him over de hill ; an do all say he bleeged to die, Mistis she had him tecken up an brung right to her house. An when we got home she lead de way an went straight long th oo de hall ; an , befo Gord ! she opened de do herse f an cyar him right in an lay him right down into Marse Phil baid. Some say hit cause he marster kin- folk; but Hannah, she know, an she say hit cause Mistis grievin bout Marse Phil. I ain know huccome tis ; but dyah into Marse Phil baid dee put him, an dyah he stay good, an Mistis an Meh Lady to nuss him same like he wuz Marse Phil hisse f. Twuz a spell do , I tell you ! Dyah wuz all de turrs well an gone befo he know wherr he dead or live. Mistis, after de battle, an all de citement sort o let down ag in, an had to keep her room right constant, and all de nussin an waitin fall on Meh Lady an Hannah, an dee sut n y did do dee part faithful by all on em, till fust one an den anurr went away ; cause, you know, we couldn tell when de Yankees wuz gwine to come an drive our mens back, an our soldiers didn want to be tecken pris ners, an dee moved way. An pres n y dyah warn none lef but jes Cap n Wilton, an he still layin dyah in de baid, tossin an talkin , wid he eyes wide open an ain know nuttin . De doctor say he wound better, but he got fever, an he cyarn hole out much longer ; say he d been dead long ago but he so strong. An one night he went to sleep, an de doctor come over fum camp an say he wan nuver MEH LADY 105 gwine wake no mo he reckon, jes a byah chance ef he ain sturbed. An he ax Meh Lady kin she keep him sleep she reckon, an she say she ll try, an she did, mon. Mistis she wuz sick in baid an* dyah ain nobody to nuss him, skusin Meh Lady, an she set by dat baid all dat night an fan him right easy all night long; all night long, all night long she fan him, an jes befo sun-up he open he eyes an look at her. Hannah she jes gone in dyah, thinkin de chile tire to death, an she say jes as she tip in he open he eyes an lu look at Meh Lady so cu yus, settin dyah by him watchin ; den he shet he eyes a little while an sleep a little mo ; den he open em an look ag in an sort o smile like he know her ; an den he went to sleep good, an Hannah she tuck de fan an sont de chile to her own room to baid. Yes, suh, she did dat thing, she did ! An I heah him say afterwards, when he wake up, all he could think bout wuz he done git to heaven. "Well, after dat, Meh Lady she lef him to Mistis an Hannah, an pres n y he git able to be helped out on de big po ch an kivered up wid a shawl an things in a big arm-cheer. An cause Mistis she mos took to her baid, an keep her room right constant, Meh Lady she got to enter tain him. Oh ! she sut n y did pomper him, readin to him out o books, an settin by him on de po ch. You see, he done git he pay-role, an she bleeged to teck keer on him den, cause she kind o sponsible for him, an he sut n y wuz sat- 106 IN OLE VIRGINIA isfied, layin dyah wid he gray eyes follorin her study ev ywhar she tu n, jes like some dem pic tures hangin up in de parlor. " I members de fust day he walked. He done notify her, and she try to swade him, but he mon- sus sot in he mind when he done meek t up, and she got to gi in, like women-folks after dee done spressify some ; and he git up and walk down de steps, an cross de yard to a rose-bush nigh de gate wid red roses on it, she walkin by he side lookin sort o anxious. When he git dyah, dee talk a little while ; den he breck one an gi t to her, and dee come back. Well, he hadn git back to he cheer befo heah come two or th ee gent mens ridin th oo de place, one on em a gcner l, and turrs, dem whar ride wid em, our mens, and dee stop at de gate to quire de way to de hewn-tree ford down on de river, and Meh Lady she went down to de gate to ax em to light, and to tell em de way down by de pond ; and when she standin dyah shadin de sun from her eyes wid a fan, and de rose in her hand ( cause she ain got on no hat), de gener l say : " You have a wounded soldier dyah ? " Yes, he s a wounded Federal officer on pa role, she says; and he say, teckin oft" he hat: " Dee ain many soldiers dat woulcln envy him he prison. And den she bows to him sort o fusin like, and her face mos blushin as de rose de Cap n done gi her what she holdin ; and when dee done rid long, an ain stop, she ain gone MEH LADY 107 back to de po ch toreckly ; she come out, and gi me a whole parecel o directions bout spadin de border whar I standin heahin t all, wid de rose done stickin in her bosom. " You d think de way Meh Lady read to him dyah on de big po ch, she done forgit he her pris- ner and Virginia enemy. She ain do ; shejes as rapid to teck up for de rebels as befo he come ; I b lieve she rapider ; she call herse f rebel, but she ain le him name it. I member one mornin she come in out de fiel an jump off her horse, an set down by him in her ridin -frock, and she call her se f a rebel, an pres n y he name us so too, an she say he sha n t call em so, an he laugh an call em so ag in, jes dyahsen, an she git up an walk right straight in de house, head up in de air. He tell her de rebels wuz treatin ,but she ain dignify to notice dat. He teck up a book an pose hese f, but he ain read much ; den he try to sleep, but de flies pear to pester him might ly; den Hannah come out, an he ax her is she see Meh Lady in dyah. Hannah say, Nor, an den he ax her won she please go an ax her to step dyah a min ute ; an Hannah ain spicion nuttin and went, an Meh Lady say, * No, she won , cause he done aggrivate her ; an den he write her a little note an ax Hannah to gi t to her, an she look at it an* send t back to him wiclout any answer. Den he git mad: he twis roun in he cheer might ly; but tain do him no good, she ain come back all day, not tell he had to teck he pencil an write her io8 IN OLE VIRGINIA a sho nough letter ; den pres n y she come out on de po ch right slow, dressed all in white, and tell him sort o forgivin dat he ought to be shamed o hisse f, an he sort o laugh , an look like he ain shamed o nuttin . " Dee sut n y wuz gittin good-neighborly long den. And he watch over her jes like she got her pay-role stid o him. One day a party o Yankees, jes prowlin roun after devilment, come gallopin in th oo de place, an down to de stable, and had meh kerridge-horses out befo I know dee dyah. I run in de house and tell Meh Lady. De Cap n he wuz in he room and he heah me, and he come out wid he cap on, bucklin on Marse Phil s o de whar he done teck down off de wall, and he order me to come long, and tell Meh Lady not to come out ; and down de steps he stride and cross de yard out th oo de gate in de road to whar de mens wuz wid meh horses at de fence, wid he face right set. He ax em one or two questions bout whar dee from dat mornin ; den he tell em who he is and dat dee cyarn trouble nuffin heah. De man wid meh horses see de Cap n mighty pale an weak-lookin , and he jes laugh, an gether up de halters gittin ready to go, an call de urrs to come long. Well, suh, de Cap n eye flash ; he ain say a wud ; he jes rip out Marse Phil s o de an clap it up ginst dat man side, an cuss him once ! You ought to a seen him le dem halters go ! Now, says de Cap n, you men go on whar you gwine ; MEH LADY 109 dyah de road ; I know you, an 1 ef I heah of you stealin anything I ll have you ev y one hung as soon as I get back. Now go. An I tell you, mon ! dee gone quick enough. " Oh! I tell you he sut n y had de favor o our folks ; he ain waste no wuds when he ready ; he quick to r ar, an rank when he git up, jes like all we fam bly; Norf or Souf, dee ain gwine stand no projeckin ; dee s Jack Robinson. " So twuz, Meh Lady sort o got used to pend- in on him, an dout axin her he sort o sensed when to vise her. " Sometimes dee d git in de boat on de pond, an she d row him while he d steer, cause he shoulder ain le him row. I see em of a evelin jes sort o floatin down deah onder de trees, nigh de bank, or mong dem cow-collards, pullin dem water- flowers, she ain got no hat on, or maybe jes a soldier s cap on her head, an hear em talkin cross de water so sleepy, an sometimes he d meek her laugh jes as clear as a bud. Dee war n no pay -role den ! " All dis time, do , she jes as good a rebel as befo he come. De wagons would come an haul corn, an she d tend to cookin for de soldiers all night long, jes same, on y she ain talk to him bout it, an he sort o shet he eye and read he book like he ain see it. She ain le Cap n Wilton nor Cap n nuttin else meek no diffunce bout dat; she jes partic lar to him cause he her cousin, dat s no IN OLE VIRGINIA all, an got he pay-role ; we all white folks al ays set heap o sto by one nurr, dat s all she got in her mind. " I almos begin to spicionate some n myse f, but Hannah she say I ain nuttin but a ole nigger- fool, I ain know nuttin bout white folks ways ; an sho" nough, she done prove herse f. Hit come long todes de larst o Fall, bout seedin -wheat time; de weather been mighty warm, mos like summer, an ev ything sort o smoky-hazy, like folks bunnin bresh ; an one day d come fum de post-office a letter for de Cap n, an he face look sort o comical when he open it, an he put it in he pocket ; an pres n y he say he got to go home, he got he exchangement. Meh Lady ain say nuttin ; but after while she ax, kind o perlite, is he well enough yet to go. He ain meek no answer, an she ain say no mo , den bofe stop talkin right good. " Well, dat evenin dee come out, and set on de po ch awhile, she wid her hyah done smoove ; den he say some n to her, an dee git up an went to walk ; an fust he walk to dat red rose-bush an pull two or th ee roses, den dee went saunterin right long down dis way, he wid de roses in he han , lookin mighty handsome. Pres n y I hed to come down in de fiel , an when I was gwine back to de house to feed, I strike for dis parf, an I wuz walkin long right slow ( cause I had a misery in dis hip heah), an as I come th oo de bushes I heah somebody talkin , an 1 dyah dee wuz right at de gap, an he wuz holdin her hand, talkin right MEH LADY in study, lookin down at her, an she lookin way fum him, ain sayin nuttin , jes lookin so mis- er ble wid de roses done shatter all over in her lap an on de groun . I ain know which way to tu n, an I heah him say he want her to wait an le him come back ag in, an he call her by her name, an say, Won t you ! an she wait a little while an den pull her hand away right slow ; den she say, sort o whisperin , she cyarn . He say some n den so hoarse I ain meck t out, an she say, still lookin way fum him on de groun , dat she cyarn marry a Union soldier. Den he le go her hand an rar hese f up sort o straight, an say some n I ain meek out sep hit would a been kinder ef she had let him die when he wuz wounded, stid o wound- in him all he life. When he say dat, she sort o squinch way from him like he nios done hit her, an say wid her back todes him he ought not to talk dat way, dat she know she been mighty wicked, but she ain know bout it, an maybe . I ain know what she say, cause she start to cryin right easy, an he teck her han ag in an kiss it, an I slip roun an come home, an lef em dyah at de gap, she cryin an he kissin her han . " I drive him over to de depot dat night, an he gi me a five dollars in gold, an say I must teck keer o de ladies, I se dee main pendence; an I tell him, Yes, I know I is, an he sut ny wuz sorry to tell me good -by. " An Hannah say she done tell me all long de chile ain gwine mortify herself bout no Yankee na IN OLE VIRGINIA soldier, don keer how pretty an tall he is, an how straight he hole he head, an dat she jes sorry he gone cause he her cousin. I ain know so much bout dat do. Dat what Hannah al ays say she tell me. " Well, suh, ef twarn lonesome after dat ! Hit peared like whip o will sing all over de place ; ev ywhar I tu n I ain see him. I didn know till he gone how sot we all dun git on him ; cause I ain de on y one done miss him ; Hannah she worryin bout him, Mistis she miss him, an Meh Lady she gwine right study wid her mouf shet close, but she cyarn shet her eye on me : she miss him, an she signify it too. She tell Mistis bout he done ax her to marry him some day an to le him come back, an Mistis ax what she say, an she tell her, an Mistis git up out her cheer an went over to her, an kiss her right sorf ; and Hannah say (she wuz in de chahmber, an she heah em), she say she broke out cryin , an say she know she ought to hate him, but she don t, an she cyarn , she jes hate an spise herself; an Mistis she try to comfort her ; an she teck up de plantation ag in, but she ain never look jes like she look befo he come dyah an walk in de hall, so straight, puttin up he s o de, an when she ain claim kin wid him back out an say he cyarn in trude on her, an den ride thirty mile to git dat paper an come an set on he horse at de gate so study and our mens gallopin up in de yard to get him. She wuck mighty study, and ride Dixie MEH LADY 113 over de plantation mighty reg lar, cause de war done git us so low, wid all dem niggers to feed, she hed to tu n roun right swift to git em victuals an clo es ; but she ain look jes like she lookbefo dat, an she sut n y do nuss dat rose-bush nigh de gate induschus. " But dem wuz de een o de good times. " Hit peared like dat winter all de good luck done gone way fum de place ; de weather wuz so severe, an we done gi de ahmy ev ything, de feed done gi out, an twuz rank, I tell you ! Mistis an Meh Lady sent to Richmon an sell dee bonds, an some dee buy things wid to eat, an de rest dee gin de Gov ment, an teck Confed ate money for em. She say she ain think hit right to widhold nuttin , an she teck Marster bonds an sell em fur Confed ate Gunboat stock or some n . I use to heah em talkin bout it. " Den de Yankees come an got my kerridge- horses ! Oh! ef dat clidn hu t me ! I ain git over it yit. When we heah dee comin Meh Lady tell me to hide de horses ; hit jes as well, she reckon. De fust time dee come, dee wuz all down in de river pahsture, an dee ain see em, but now dee wuz up at de house. An so many been stealed I used to sleep in de stalls at night to watch em ; so I teck em all down in de pines on de river, an I down dyah jes as s cure as a coon in de holler, when heah dee come tromplin and gallinupin , an teck em ev y one, an twuz dat weevly black nigger Ananias done show em vvhar de horses is, 1 1 4 IN OLE VIRGINIA an lead em dyah. He always wuz a mean po white folks nigger anyways, an twuz a pity Mistis ain sell him long ago. Ef I couldn a teoh him all to pieces dat day ! I b lieve Meh Lady mo sturb bout Nias showin de Yankees whar de horses is den she is bout dee teckin em. Nias he ain nuver dyah show he face no mo , he went off wid em, an so did two or th ee mo o de boys. De folks see em when dee parse th oo Quail Quarter, an dee shamed to say dee gone off, so dee tell em de Yankees cyar em off, but twarn nothin but a lie ; I know dee ain cyar me off; dee ax me ef I don wan go, but I tell em Nor. " Things wuz mons ous scant after dat, an me an Meh Lady had hard wuck to meek buckle and tongue meet, I tell you. We had to scuffle might ly dat winter. " Well, one night a cu yus thing happen. We had done got mighty lean, what wid our mens an Yankees an all ; an de craps ain come in, an de team done gone, an de fences done bu nt up, an things gettin mighty down, I tell you. And dat night I wuz settin out in de yard, jes done finish smokin , and studyin bout gwine to bed. De sky wuz sort o thick, an meh mine wuz runnin on my horses, an pres n y, suh, I heah one on em gallopin tobucket, tobucket, tobucket, right swiP long de parf cross de fieP, an I thought to my self, I know Romilus gallop ; I set right still, an he come cross de branch and stop to drink jes a MEH LADY 115 moufful, an den he come up de hill. I say, Dat horse got heap o sense ; he know he hot, an he ain gwine hu t hese f drinkin , don keer how thusty he is. He gwine up to de stable now, I say, an I got to go up dyah an le him in ; but stid o dat, he tu n roun by de laundry, an come close roun de house to whar I settin , an stop, an I wuz jes sayin , Well, ef dat don beat any horse ever wuz in de wull ; how he know I heah ? when somebody say, Good-eveninV I sut n y wuz disapp inted ; dyah wuz a man settin dyah in de dark on a gre t black horse, an say he wan 1 me to show him de way th oo de place. He ax me ef I warn sleep, an I tell him, Nor, I jes studyin ; den he ax me a whole parecel o questions bout Mistis and Marse Phil an all, an say he kin to em an he used to know Mistis a long time ago. Den I ax him to light, an tell him we d all be mighty glad to see him ; but he say he bleeged to git right on ; an he keep on axin how dee wuz an how dee been, an ef dee sick an all, an so quisitive ; pres n y I ain tell him no mo sep dat dee all well skusin Mistis ; an den he ax me to show him de way th oo, an when I start, he ax me cyarn he go th oo de yard, dat de rection he warn go, an I tell him Yes, an le him th oo de back gate, an he ride cross de yard on de grahss. As he ride by de rose-bush nigh de gate, he lean over, an I thought he breck a switch off, an I tell him not to breck dat ; dat Meh Lady rose-bush, whar she set mo sto by den all de res ; an he say, n6 IN OLE VIRGINIA 1 Tis a rose-bush, sbo nough, an he come long to de gate, holdin a rose in he hand. Dyah he ax me which is Mistis room, and I tell him, De one by de po ch, an he say he s pose dee don use upstyars much now de fam bly so small ; an* I tell him, Nor, dat Meh Lady room right next to Mistis dis side, an he stop an look good ; den he come long to de gate, an when I ax him which way he gwine, he say, By de hewn-tree ford. An blessed Gord ! ef de wud ain bring up things I done mos forgit dat gener l ridin up to de gate, an Meh Lady standin dyah, shadin her eyes, wid de rose de Cap n done gi her off dat same bush, an de gener l say he envy him he prison. I see him jes plain as ef he standin dyah befo me, an heah him axin de way to de hewn- tree ford; but jes den I heah some n jingle, an he jes lean over an poke some n heavy in my hand, an befo I ken say a wud he gone gallopin in de dark. And when I git back to de light, I find six gre t big yaller gold pieces in meh hand, look like gre t pats o butter, an ef t hadn been for dat I d mos a believe twuz a dream ; but dyah de money an dyah de horse-track, an de limb done pull off Meh Lady rose-bush. " I hide de money in a ole sock onder de j ice, and I p int to tell Meh Lady bout it ; but Han nah, she say I ain know who tis (and so I ain den); and I jes gwine sturb Mistis wid folks ridin bout th oo de yard at night, and so I ain say nuttin ; but when I heah Meh Lady grievin MEH LADY 117 bout somebody done breck her rose-bush an steal one of her roses, I mighty nigh tell her who I b lieve twuz, an I would, on y I don t orn aggri- vate Hannah. You know twon t do to aggrivate women-folks. " Well, twarn no gre t while after dat de war broke; twuz de nex spring bout plantin -corn time, on y we ain plant much cause de team so weak; stealin an Yankee teckin together done clean us up, an Mistis an Meh Lady had to gi a deed o struss on de Ian to buy a new team dat spring, befo we could breck up de corn-land, an we hadn git mo n half done fo Richmon fall an de folks wuz all free ; den de army parse th oo an some on em come by home, an teck ev y blessed Cord s horse an mule on de place, sep one mule George, whar wuz bline, an dee won have him. Dem wuz turrible times, an ef Meh Lady an Mistis didn cry ! not cause dee teck de horses an mules we done get use to dat, an dat jes meek em mad and high-spirited but cause Richmon done fall an Gener l Lee surrendered. Ef dee didn cry ! When Richmon fall dee wuz stonished, but dee say dat ain meek no diffunce, Gener l Lee gwine whip em yit ; but when dee heah Gener l Lee done surrender dee gin up; fust dee wouldn b lieve it, but dee sut n y wuz strusted. Dee grieve bout dat mos much as when Marse Phil die. Mistis she ain nuver re- kiver. She wuz al ays sickly and in bed after dat, and Meh Lady and Hannah dee use to nuss her. n8 IN OLE VIRGINIA "After de fust year or so mos o de folks went away. Meh Lady she tell em dee better go, dat dee l fine dem kin do mo for em en she kin now; heap on em say dee ain gwine way, but after we so po dee went way, dthough Meh Lady sell some Mistis diamonds to buy em some n to eat while dee dyah. " Well, twan so ve y long after dis, or maybe twuz befo , twuz jes after Richmon fall, Mistis get a letter fum de Cun l dat s Cap n Wilton ; he done Cun l den tellin her he want her to le him come down an see her an Meh Lady, an he been love Meh Lady all de time sence he wounded heah in de war, an al ays will love her, an won she le him help her any way; dat he owe Mistis an Meh Lady he life. Hannah heah em read it. De letter sturb Mistis might ly, an she jes put it in Meh Lady han s an tu n way widout a wud. " Meh Lady, Hannah say, set right still a minute an look mighty solemn ; den she look at Mistis sort o sideways, an den she say, Tell him, No. An Mistis went over an kiss her right sorf. " An dat evenin I cyar de letter whar Mistis write to de office. " Well, twarn so much time after dat dee begin to sue Mistis on Marster s debts. We heah dee sum her in de co t, an Mistis she teck to her bed reg lar wid so much trouble, an say she hope she won nuver live to see de place sold, an Meh Lady she got to byah ev ything. She used to sing to Mistis an read to her an try to hearten her up, MEH LADY 119 meckin out dat tain meek no diffunce. Hit did do , an she know it, cause we po now, sho nough ; an dee wuz po er n Hannah an me, cause de Ian ain got nobody to wuck it an no team to wuck it wid, an we ain know who it b longst to, an hit done all grow up in bushes an blackberry briers ; ev y year hit grow up mo an mo , an we gittin po er an po er. Mistis she boun to have flour, ain been use to nuttin but de fines bread, jes as white as you shu t, an she so sickly now she got to have heap o things, tell Meh, Lady fyar at her wits een to git em. Dat s all I ever see her cry bout, when she ain got nuttin to buy what Mistis want. She use to cry bout dat dthough. But Mistis ain know nottin bout dat : she think Meh Lady got heap mo n she is, bein shet up in her room now all de time. De doctor say she got sumption, an Meh Lady doin all she kin to keep t fum her how po we is, smilin an singin fur her. She jes whah herse f out wid it, nussin her, wuckin fur her, singin to her. Hit used to hu t me sometimes to heah de chile singin of a evenin things she use to sing in ole times, like she got ev ything on uth same as befo de war, an I know she jes singin to ease Mistis mine, an maybe she hongry right now. " Twuz den I went an git de rest o de money de Cap n gi me dat night fum onder de j ice (I had done spend right smart chance on it gittin things, meckin b lieve I meek it on de farm), an* I put it in meh ole hat an cyar it to Meh Lady, iao IN OLE VIRGINIA cause it sort o hers anyways, an her face sort o light up when she see de gold shinin , cause she sut n y had use for it, an she ax me whar I git so much money, an I tell her somebody gi t to me, an she say what I gwine do wid it. An I tell her it hern, an she say how, an I tell her I owe it to her for rent, an she bu st out cryin so she skeer me. She say she owe us ev y thing in. de wull, an she know we jes stayin wid em cause dee helpless, an sich things, an she cry so I upped an tole her how I come by de money, an she stop an listen good. Den she say she cyarn tech a cent o dat money, an she oodn , mon, tell I tell her I wan buy de mule ; an she say she consider him mine now, an ef he ain she gi him to me, an I say, nor, I wan buy him. Den she say how much he wuth, an I say, he wuth a hun- derd dollars, but I ain got dat much right now, I kin owe her de res ; an she breck out laughin , like when she wuz a little girl an would begin to laugh ef you please her, wid de tears on her face an dress, sort o April-like. Hit gratify me so, I keep on at it, but she say she ll teck twenty dol lars for de mule an no mo , an I say I ain gwine disqualify dat mule wid no sich price ; den pres n y we gree on forty dollars, an I pay it to her, an she sont me up to Richmon next day to git things for Mistis, an she al ays meek it a p int after dat to feed George a little some n ev y day. " Den she teck de school ; did you know bout dat ? Dat de school-house right down de road a MEN LADY tax little piece. I reckon you see it as you come long. I ain b lieve it when I heah em say Meh Lady gwine teach it. I say, She teach niggers ! dat she ain ! not my young mistis. But she laugh at me an Hannah, an say she been teachin de colored chil n all her life, ain she ? an* she wan Hannah an me to ease Mistis min bout it ef she say anything. I sut n y was posed to it, do ; an* de colored chil n she been teachin wuz diffunt dee b longst to her. But she al ays so sot on doin what she gwine do, she meek you b lieve she right don keer what tis ; an I tell her pres n y, all right, but ef dem niggers impident to her, jes le me know an I ll come down dyah an wyah em out. So she went reg lar, walk right long dis ve y parf wid her books an her little basket. An sometimes I d bring de mule for her to ride home ef she been up de night befo wid Mistis ; but she wouldn ride much, cause she think George got to wuck. " Tell long in de spring Meh Lady she done breck down, what wid teachin school, an settin up, an bein so po , stintin for Mistis, an her face gittin real white stid o pink like peach-blossom, as it used to be, on y her eyes dee bigger an pret- tier n ever, sep dee look tired when she come out o Mistis chahmber an lean g inst de do , lookin out down de lonesome road ; an de doctor whar come from Richmon to see Mistis, cause de ain no doctor in de neighborhood sence de war, tell Hannah when he went way de larst time tain* 122 IN OLE VIRGINIA no hope for Mistis, she mos gone, an he teck her aside, an tell her she better look mighty good after Meh Lady too; he say she mos sick as Mistis, an fust thing she know she ll be gone too. Dat sturb Hannah might ly. Well, so tvvuz tell in de spring. I had done plant meh corn, an it hed done come up right good; bout mos eight acres, right below the barn vvhar de Ian strong (I couldn put in no mo cause de mule he wuz mighty ole); an come a man down heah one mornin , ridin a sway-back sorrel horse, an say dee gwine sell de place in bout a mon . Meh Lady hed gone to school, an I am le him see Mistis, nor tell him whar Meh Lady is nuther ; I jes teck de message an* call Hannah so as she kin git it straight ; an when Meh Lady come home dat evenin I tell her. She sut n y did tu n white, an dat night she ain sleep a wink. After she put her ma to sleep, she come out to her mammy house, an fling herself on Hannah bed an cry an cry. Twuz jes as ef her heart gwine breck ; she say twould kill her ma, an hit did. " Mistis she boun to heah bout it, cause Meh Lady bleeged to breck it to her now ; and at fust it peared like she got better on it, she teck mo noticement o ev ything, an her eyes look bright and shiny. She ain know not yit bout how hard Meh Lady been had to scuffle ; she say she keep on after her to git herse f some new clo es, a dress an things, an she oont ; an Meh Lady would jes smile, tired like, an say she teachin now, and MEH LADY 123 don want no mo n she got, an her smile meek me mos sorry like she cryin . " So hit went on tell jes befo de sale. An one day Meh Lady she done lef her ma settin in her cheer by de winder, whar she done fix her good wid pillows, an she done gone to school, an Han nah come out whar I grazin de mule on de ditch- bank^ an say Mistis wan see me toreckly. I gi* Hannah de lines, an I went in an knock at de do , an when Mistis ain heah, I went an knock at de chahmber do an she tell me to come in ; an I ax her how she is, an she say she ain got long to stay wid us, an she wan ax me some n, and she wan me tell her de truth, an she say I al ays been mighty faithful an kind to her an* hern, an she hope Gord will erward me an Han nah for it, an she wan me now to tell her de truth. When she talk dat way, hit sut n y hut me, an I tole her I sut n y would tell her faithful. Den she went on an ax me how we wuz gettin on an ef we ain been mighty po , an ef Meh Lady ain done stint herse f more n she ever know; an I tell her all bout it, ev ything jes like it wuz de fatal truth, cause I done promised her; an she sut n y was grieved, I tell you, an the tears roll down an drap off her face on de pillow ; an pres n y she say she hope Gord would forgive her, an she teck out her breast dem little rocks Marster gi her when she married, whar hed been ole Mistis , an she say she gin up all the urrs, but dese she keep to gi Meh Lady when she married, i2 4 IN OLE VIRGINIA an now she feared twuz pride, an Gord done punish her, lettin her chile starve, but she am know hit zactly, an ign ance he forgive ; an she went on an talk bout Marster an ole times when she fust come home a bride, an bout Marse Phil an Meh Lady, tell she leetle mo breck my heart, an de tears rain down my face on de flo . She sut n y talk beautiful. Den she gi me de diamonds, an dee shine like a handful of lightning-bugs ! an she tell me to teck em an teck keer on em, an gi em to Meh Lady some time after she gone, an not le nobody else have em ; an would n me an Hannah teck good keer o her, an stay wid her, and not le her wuck so hard, an I tell her we sut n y -would do dat. Den her voice mos gin out an she peared mighty tired, but hit look like she got some n still on her min , an pres n y she say I mus come close, she mighty tired ; an* I sort o ben todes her, an she say she wan me after she gone, as soon as I kin, to get the wud to Meh Lady s cousin whar wuz heah wounded in- durin o de war dat she dead, an dat ef he kin help her chile, an be her pertector, she know he ll do it; an I ain to le Meh Lady know nuttin bout it, not nuttin t all, an to tell him he been mighty good to her, an she lef him her blessin . Den she git so faint, I run an call Hannah, an she come runnin an gi her some sperrits, an tell me to teck de mule an go after Meh Lady toreckly, an so I did. When she got dyah, do , Mistis done mos speechless ; Hannah hed done git her MEH LADY 125 in de bed, which wan t no trouble, she so light. She know Meh Lady, do , an try to speak to her two or th ee times, but dee ain meek out much mo n Gord would bless her and teck keer on her ; an she die right easy jes befo mornin . An Meh Lady ax me to pray, an I did. She sut n y die peaceful, an she look jes like she smilin after she dead ; she sut n y wuz ready to go. " Well, Hannah and Meh Lady lay her out in her bes frock, an she sho ly look younger n I ever see her look sence Richmon fell, ef she ain look younger n she look sence befo de war ; an de neighbors, de few dat s left, an de black folks roun come, an we bury her de evenin after in the gyardin right side Marse Phil, her fust-born, whar we know she wan be ; an her mammy she went in de house after dat to stay at night in the room wid Meh Lady, an I sleep on the front po ch to teck keer de house. Cause we sut n y wuz sturbed bout de chile ; she ain sleep an she ain eat an she ain cry none, an Hannah say dat ain reasonable, which taint, cause womens dee cry sort o natchel. " But so twuz ; de larst time she cry wuz dat evenin she come in Hannah s house, an fling her- se f on de bed, an cry so grievous cause dee gwine sell de place, an twould kill her ma. She ain cry no mo ! " Well, after we done bury Mistis, as I wuz sayin , we sut n y wuz natchelly tossified bout Meh Lady. Hit look like what de doctor say 126 IN OLE VIRGINIA wuz sut n y so, an she gwine right after her ma. " I try to meek her ride de mule to school, an tell her I ain got no use for him, I got to thin de corn ; but she oodn t ; she say he so po she don like to gi him no mo wuck n necessary ; an dat s de fact, he wuz mighty po bout den, cause de feed done gi out an de grass ain come good yit, an when mule bline an ole he mighty hard to git up ; but he been a good mule in he time, an he a good mule yit. " So she d go to school of a mornin , an me or Hannah one d go to meet her of a evenin to tote her books, cause she hardly able to tote herse f den ; an she do right well at school (de chil un ail love her) ; twuz when she got home she so sufferin ; den her mind sort o wrastlin wid itself, an she jes set down an think an study an look so grieved. Hit sut n y did hut me an Hannah to see her settin dyah at de winder o Mistis chahmber, leanin her head on her han an jes lookin out all de evenin so lonesome, and she look beautiful too. Hannah say she grievin her self to death. " Well, dat went on for mo n six weeks, and de chile jes settin dyah ev y night all by herse f wid de moonlight shinin all over her, meckin her look so pale. Hannah she tell me one night I got to do some n, an I say, What tis ? An she say I got to git de wud dat Mistis say to de Cap n, dat de chile need a pertector, an I say, How ? MEH LADY 127 And she say I got to write a letter. Den I say, I cyarn neither read nor write, but I can get Meh Lady to write it ; an she say, nor I cyarn , cause ain Mistis done spressify partic lar Meh Lady ain to know nuttin bout it ? Den I say, I kin git somebody at de post-office to write it, an I kin pay em in eggs ; an she say she ain gwine have no po white folks writin an spearin bout Mistis business. Den I say, How I gwine do den ? An she study a little while, an den she say I got to teck de mule an go fine him. I say, Hi! Good Gord ! Hannah, how I gwine fine him? De Cap n live way up yander in New York, or somewhar or nuther, an dat s furrer n Lynchbu g, an I ll ride de mule to death befo I git dyah; besides I ain got nuttin to feed him. " But Hannah got argiment to all dem wuds ; she say I got tongue in meh head, an I kin fine de way; an as to ridin de mule to death, I kin git down an le him res , or I kin lead him, an I kin graze him side de road ef folks so stingy nobody oon le me graze him in dee pahsture. Den she study little while, an den say she got it now I must go to Richmon an sell de mule, an teck de money an git on de cyars an fine him. Hannah, I know, she gwine wuck it, cause she al ays a powerful han to ravel anything. But it sut n y did hu t me to part wid dat mule, he sich a am bitious mule, an I tell Hannah I ain done sidin meh corn ; an she say dat ain meek no diff unce ; she gwine hoe de corn after I gone, an de chile xz8 IN OLE VIRGINIA grievin so she feared she ll die, an what good sidin corn gwine do den ? she grievin mo n she quainted wid, Hannah say. So I wuz to go to Richmon nex mornin but one, befo light, an Hannah she wash meh shu t nex day, an cook meh rations while Meh Lady at school. Well, I knock offwuck right early nex evenin bout two hours be sun, cause I wan rest de mule, an after grazin him for a while in de yard, I put him in he stall, an gi him a half-peck o meal, cause dat de lahst night I gwine feed him ; and soon as I went in wid de meal he swi ch his tail an hump hese f jes like he gwine kick me ; dat s de way he al ays do when he got anything g inst you, cause you sich a fool or anything, cause mule got a heap o sense when you know em. Well, I think he jes aggrivated cause I gwine sell him, an I holler at him right ambitious like I gwine cut him in two, to fool him ef I kin, an meek him b lieve tain nottin de matter. An jes den I heah a horse steppin long right brisk, an I stop an listen, an de horse come long de pahf right study an up todes de stable. I say, Hi ! who dat ? an when I went to de stall do , dyah wuz a gent man settin on a strange horse wid two white foots, an a beard on he face, an he hat pulled over he eyes to keep de sun out n em ; an when he see me, he ride on up to de stable, an* ax me is Meh Lady at de house, an how she is, an a whole parecel o questions ; an he so p inted in he quiration I ain had time to study ef I ever MEH LADY 129 see him befo , but I don think I is. He a mighty straight, fine-lookin* gent man do , wid he face right brown like he been wuckin , an I ain able to fix him no ways. Den he tell me he heah o* Mtstis death, an he jes come cross de ocean, an he wan see Meh Lady partic lar ; an I tell him she at school, but it mos time for her come back ; an he ax whichaways, an I show him de pahf, an he git down an ax me ef I cyarn feed he horse, an I tell him of co se, do Gord knows I ain got nuttin to feed him wid sep grahss ; but I ain gwine le him know dat, so I ax him to walk to de house an teck a seat on de po ch tell Meh Lady come, an I teck de horse an cyar him in de stable like I got de corn-house full o corn. An when I come out I look, an dyah he gwine stridin way cross de fieP long de pahf whar Meh Lady comin . " Well, I say, * Hi ! now he gwine to meet Meh Lady, an I ain know he name nur what he want, an I study a little while wherr I should go an fine Hannah or hurry myse f an meet Meh Lady. Not dat I b lieve he gwine speak out de way to Meh Lady, cause he sut n y wuz quality, I see dat ; I know hit time I look at him settin dyah so straight on he horse, mindin me of Marse Phil, an he voice hit sholy wuz easy when he name Meh Lady name and Mistis ; but I ain know but what he somebody wan to buy de place, an I know Meh Lady ain wan talk bout dat, an ain wan see strangers no way j so I jes lip out cross 130 IN OLE VIRGINIA de fiel th oo a nigher way to hit de pahf at dis ve y place whar de gap wuz, an whar I thought Meh Lady mighty apt to res ef she tired or grievin . " An I hurry long right swift to git heah befo de white gent man kin git heah, an all de time I tu nnin in meh mine whar I heah anybody got voice sound deep an cler like dat, an ax questions ef Meh Lady well, dat anxious, an I cyarn git it. An by dat time I wuz done got right to de tu n in de pahf dyah, mos out o breaf, an jes as I tu nned round dat clump o bushes I see Meh Lady settin right dyah on de bankment whar de gap use to be, wid her books by her side on de groun , her hat off at her feet, an her head leanin for ard in her han s, an her hyah mos tumble down, an de sun jes techin it th oo de bushes ; an hit all come to me in a minute, jes as cler as ef she jes settin on de gap dyah yistidy wid de rose-leaves done shatter all on de groun by her, an Cap n Wilton kissin her han to comfort her, an axin her oon she le him come back some time to love her. An I say, Dyah ! fo Gord ! ef I ain know him soon as I lay meh eyes on him ! De pertector done come ! Den I know huccome dat mule act so sponsible. " An jes den he come walkin long down de pahf, wid he hat on de back o he head an he eyes on her right farst, an he face look so tender hit look right sweet. She think hit me, an she ain move nor look up tell he call her name ; den she MEH LADY 131 mos jump out her seat, and look up right swift, an give a sort o cry, an her face light up like she tu n t to de sun, an he retch out bofe he han s to her; an I slip back so he couldn see me, an come long home right quick to tell Hannah. " I tell her I know him soon as I see him, but she tell me I lie, cause ef 1 had I d a come an tell her bout hit, an not gone down dyah inter- ferin wid white folks ; an she say I am nuver gwine have no sense bout not knowin folks, dat he couldn fool her ; an I don b lieve he could, a tho I ain low dat to Hannah, cause hit don do to gree wid wimens too much ; dee git mighty sot up by it, an den dee ain al ays want it, nuther. Well, she went in de house, an dus ev ything, an fix all de furniture straight, an set de table for two, a thing ain been done not sence Mistis tooken sick; an* den I see her gwine roun Meh Lady rose-bush mighty busy, an when she sont me in de dinin -room, dyah a whole parecel o flowers she done put in a blue dish in de middle o de table. An she jes as sumptions bout dat thing as ef twuz a fifty-cents somebody done gi her. Well, den she come out, an sich a cookin as she hed ; ef she ain got more skillets an spi ders on dat fire den I been see dyah for I don know how long. It fyah do me good ! " Well, pres n y heah dee come walkin mighty aged-like, an I think it all right, an dee went up on de po ch an shake hands a long time, an den, meh Gord ! you know he tu n roun an come i 3 2 IN OLE VIRGINIA down de steps, an she gone in de house wid her handcher to her eyes, cryin . I call Hannah right quick an say, Hi, Hannah, good Gord A mighty ! what de motter now ? an Hannah she look ; den widout a wu d she tu n roun an walk right straight long de pahf to de house, an went in th oo de dinin -room an into de hall, an dyah she fine de chile done fling herself down on her face on de sofa, cryin like her heart broke ; an she ax her what de matter, an she say nuttin , an Hannali say, What he been sayin to you ? an she say, * Nuttin ; an Hannah say, You done sen him way? an she say, Yes. Den Hannah she tell her what Mistis tell me de day she die, an she say she stop cryin sort o , but she cotch hold de pillar right tight like she in agony, an she say pres n y, Please go way, an Hannah come way an come outdo s. " An de Cap n, when he come down de steps, he went to Meh Lady rose-bush an pull a rose off it, an put t in a little book in he pocket ; an den he come down todes we house, an he face mighty pale an strusted lookin , an he sut n y wuz glad to see me, an he laugh a little bit at me for lettin him fool me ; but I tell him he done got so likely an agreeable lookin , dat de reason I ain know him. An he ax me to git he horse, an jes den Hannah come out de house, an she ax him whar he gwine; an he spon he gwine home, an he don reckon he ll ever see us no mo ; an he say he thought when he come maybe MEH LADY 133 twould be diffunt, an he had hoped maybe he d a been able to prove to Meh Lady some n he wan prove, an get her to le him teck keer o her an 1 we all ; dat s what he come ten thousand miles fur, he say ; but she got some n in her mine, he say, she cyarn git over, an now he got to go way, an he say he want us to teck keer on her, an stay wid her al ays, and he gwine meek it right, an he gwine lef he name in Richmon wid a gent man, an gi me he dress, an I mus come up dyah ev y month an git what he gwine lef dyah, an report how we all is ; an he say he ain got nuttin to do now but to try an reward us all fur all our kind ness to him, an keep us easy, but he wa n nuver comin back, he guess, cause he got no mo hope now he know Meh Lady got dat on her mine he cyarn git over. An he look down in de gyardin todes the graveyard when he say dat, an he voice sort o broke. Hannah she heah him th oo right study, an he face look mighty sorrowful, an he voice done mos gin out when he say Meh Lady got that on her mine he cyarn git over. " Den Hannah she upped an tole him he sut n y ain got much sense ef he come all dat way he say, an gwine way widout Meh Lady ; dat de chile been dat pesterin herse f sence her ma die she ain know what she wan mos , an got in her mine ; an ef he ain got de dictation to meek her know, he better go long back whar he came fum, an he better ain never set he foot heah ; an she say he sut n y done gone back sence he driv dem Yankees i 34 IN OLE VIRGINIA out de do wid he s o de, an settin dyah on he horse at de gate so study, an she say ef twuz dat man he d be married dis evenin . Oh ! she was real savigrous to him, cause she sut n y wuz out done ; an she tell him what Mistis tell me de day she ceasted, ev y wud jes like I tell you settin heah, an she say now he can go long, cause ef he ain gwine be pertector to de chile de plenty mo sufferin to be, dat dee pesterin her all de time, an she jes oon have nuttin t all to do wid em, dat s all. Wid dat she tu n roun an gone in her house like she ain noticin him, an he, suh ! he look like day done broke on im. I see dark ness roll off him, an he tu n roun an stride long back to de house, an went up de steps th ee at a time. " An dee say when he went in, de chile was dyah on de sofa still wid her head in de pillow cryin , cause she sut n y did care for him all de time, an ever sence he open he eyes an look at her so cu yus, settin dyah by him fannin him all night to keep him fum dyin , when he layin dyah wounded in de war. An de on y thing is she ain been able to get her premission to marry him cause he wuz fightin g inst we all, an cause she got t in her mine dat Mistis don wan her to marry him for dat account. An now he gone she layin dyah in de gre t hall cryin on de sofa to herse f, so she ain heah him come up de steps, tell he went up to her, and kneel down by her, an put he arm roun her and talk to her lovin . MEH LADY 135 " Hannah she went in th oo de chahmber pres n y to peep an see ef he got any sense yit, an when she come back she ain say much, but she sont me to de spring, an set to cookin ag in mighty indus- chus, an she say he tryin to swade de chile to marry him to-morrow. She oon tell me nuttin mo cep dat de chile seem mighty peaceable, an* she don know wherr she marry him toreckly cr not, cause she heah her say she ain gwine marry him at all, an she cyarn marry him to-morrow cause she got her school, an she ain got no dress ; but she place heap o pendence in him, Hannah say, an he gone on talkin mighty sensi ble, like he gwine marry her wherr or no, an he dat protectin he done got her head on he shoulder an talk to her jes as fectionate as ef she b longst to him, an she ain say he kiss her, but I done notice partic lar she ain say he ain ; an she say de chile sut n y is might satisfied, an dat all she gwine recite, an I better go long an feed white folk s horse stido interferin long dee business ; an so I did, an I gi him de larst half-peck o meal Hannah got in de barrel. " An when I come back to de house, Hannah done cyar in de supper an waitin on de table, an dee settin* opposite one nurr talkin , an she po in out he tea, an he tellin her things to make her laugh an look pretty, cross Hannah flowers in de blue bowl twix em. Hit meek me feel right young. " Well, after supper dee come out an went to i 3 6 IN OLE VIRGINIA walk bout de yard, an pres n y dee stop at dat red rose-bush, and I see him teck out he pocket-book an teck some n out it, and she say some n, an he put he arm ne m mine, ef Hannah ain say he kiss her, I know cause de moon come out a lit tle piece right den an res on em, an she sut n y look beautiful wid her face sort o tu nned up to him, smilin . " You mine, do , she keep on tellin him she ain promise to marry him, an of co se she cyarn marry him to-morrow like he say ; she ain nuver move fum dat. But dat ain sturb he mine now; he keep on laughin study. Tell, bout right smart while after supper, he come out an ax me cyarn I git he horse. I say, Hi ! what de matter ? Whar you gwine ? I done feed yo horse. " He laugh real hearty, an say he gwine to de Co te House, an* he wan me to go wid him ; don I think de mule kin stan it ? an* her mammy will teck keer Meh Lady. " So in bout a hour we wuz on de road, an de last thing Meh Lady say wuz she cyarn marry him ; but he come out de house laughin , an he sut n y wuz happy, an he ax me all sort o ques tions bout Meh Lady, an Marse Phil, an de ole times. " We went by de preacher s an wake him up befo day, an he say he ll drive up dyah after breakfast; an den we went on cross to de Co te House, an altogether twuz about twenty-five miles, an hit sut n y did push ole George good, MEH LADY 137 cause de Cun l wuz a hard rider like all we all white folks; he come mighty nigh givin out, I tell you. " We got dyah befo breakfast, an wash up, an pres n y de cluck, Mr. Taylor, come, an de Cun l went over to de office. In a minute he call me, an I went over, an soon as I git in de do I see he mighty pestered. He say, Heah, Billy, you know you young mistis age, don t you ? I want you to prove it. " Hi ! yes, suh, co se I knows it, I says. Mis tis got her an Marse Phil bofe set down in de book at home. " Well, jes meek oath to it, says he, easy like, She s near twenty-three, ain t she ? " Well, fo Gord ! Marster, I don know bout dat, says I. You know mo bout dat n I does, cause you can read. I know her age, cause I right dyah when she born ; but how ole she is, I don know, I says. " Cyarn you swear she s twenty-one ? says he, right impatient. " * Well, nor, suh, dat I cyarn , says I. " Well, he sut n y looked aggrivated, but he ain say nuttin , he jes tu n to Mr. Taylor an say: " Kin I get a fresh horse heah, suh ? I kin ride home an get de proof an be back heah in five hours, ef I can get a fresh horse ; I ll buy him and pay well for him, too. " It s forty miles dyah and back," says Mr. Taylor. x 3 8 AV OLE VIRGINIA " < I kin do it ; I ll be back heah at half-past twelve o clock sharp, says de Cun l, puttin up he watch an pullin on he gloves an tu nnin to de do . " Well, he look so sure o what he kin do, I feel like I bleeged to help him, an I say : " I ain t know wherr Meh Lady twenty-th ee or twenty-one, cause I ain got no learnin , but I know she born on Sunday de thrashin -wheat time two years after Marse Phil wuz born, whar I cyar in dese ahms on de horse when he wuz a baby, an whar went in de ahmy, an got kilt leadin he bat ry in de battle cross de oat-fiel down todes Williams- bu g, an de gener l say he ruther been him den President de Confederate States, an he s sleep by he ma in de ole gyardin at home now ; I bury him dyah, an hit s "Cun l" on he tombstone dyah now. " De Cun l tu n roun an look at Mr. Taylor, an Mr. Taylor look out de winder ( cause he know twuz so, cause he wuz in Marse Phil bat ry). " You needn teck you ride, says he, sort o whisperin . An de Cun l pick up a pen an write a little while, an den he read it, an he had done write jes what I say, wud for wud; an Mr. Taylor meek me kiss de book, cause twuz true, an he say he gwine spread it in de Reecord jes so, for all de wull to see. " Den we come on home, I ridin a horse de Cun l done hire to rest de mule, an I mos tired as he, but de Cun l he ridin jes as fresh as ef he MEH LADY 139 jes start; an he bring me a nigh way vvhar he learnt in de war, he say, when he used to slip th oo de lines an come at night forty miles jes to look at de house an see de light shine in Meh Lady winder. " De preacher an he wife wuz dyah when we git home ; but you know Meh Lady ain satisfied in her mine yit. She say she do love him, but she don know wherr she ought to marry him, cause she ain got nobody to vise her. But he say he g\vine be her viser from dis time, an he lead her to de do an kiss her ; an she went to git ready, an de turr lady wid her, an her mammy wait on her, while I wait on de Cun l, an be he body-servant, an git he warm water to shave, an he cut off all he beard sep he mustache, cause Meh Lady jes say de man she knew didn hed no beard on he face. An Hannah she sut n y wuz comical, she ironin an sewin dyah so induschus she oon le me come in meh own house. " Well, pres n y we wuz ready, an we come out in de hall, an de Cun l went in de parlor whar dee wuz gwine be married, an de preacher he wuz in dyah, an dee chattin while we waitin fur Meh Lady ; an I jes slip out an got up in de j ice an git out dem little rocks whar Mistis gin me an blow de dust off em good, and good Gord ! ef dee didn shine ! I put em in meh pocket an put on meh clean shu t an come long back to de house. Hit right late now, todes evenin , an de sun wuz shinin all cross de yard an th oo de i 4 o IN OLE VIRGINIA house, an de Cun l he so impatient he cyarn set still, he jes champin he bit; so he git up an walk bout in de hall, an he sut n y look handsome an young, jes like he did dat day he stand dyah \vid he cap in he hand, an Meh Lady say she ain claim no kin wid him, an he say he cyarn intrude on ladies, an back out de front do , wid he head straight up, an ride to git her de letter, an now he walkin in de hall waitin to marry her. An all on a sudden Hannah fling de do wide open, an Meh Lady walk out ! " Gord ! ef I didn think twuz a angel. " She stan dyah jes white as snow fum her head to way back down on de flo behine her, an her veil done fall roun her like white mist, an some roses in her han . Ef it didn look like de sun done come th oo de chahmber do wid her, an blaze all over de styars, an de Cun l he look like she bline him. An twuz Hannah an she, while we wuz way dat day, done fine Mistis weddin dress an veil an all, down to de fan an little slippers bout big as two little white ears o pop-corn ; an de dress had sort o cobwebs all over it, whar Hannah say was lace, an hit jes fit Meh Lady like Gord put it dyah in de trunk for her. " Well, when de Cun l done tell her how beau tiful she is, an done meek her walk bout de hall showin her train, an she lookin over her shoulder at it an den at de Cun l to see ef he proud o her, he gin her he arm ; an jes den I walk up befo her an teck dem things out meh MEH LADY 141 pocket, an de Cun l clrap her arm an stan back, an I put em roun her thote an on her arms, an gin her de res , an Hannah put em on her ears, an dee shine like stars, but her face shine wus n dem, an she leetle mo put bofe arms roun meh neck, wid her eyes jes runnin over. An den de Cun l gi her he arm, an dee went in de parlor, an Hannah an me behine em. An dyah, facin Mistis picture an Marse Phil s (tooken when he wuz a little boy), lookin down at em bofe, dee wuz married. " An when de preacher git to dat part whar ax who give dis woman to de man to be he wife, he sort o wait an he eye sort o rove to me discon- fused like he ax me ef I know ; an I don know huccome twuz,but I think bout Marse Jeems an Mistis when he ax me dat, an Marse Phil, whar all dead, an all de scufflin we done been th oo, an how de chile ain got nobody to teck her part now sep jes me ; an now, when he wait an look at me dat way, an ax me dat, I bleeged to speak up : I jes step for ard an say : "<Ole Billy. " An jes den de sun crawl roun de winder shelter an res on her like it pourin light all over her. " An dat night when de preacher was gone wid he wife, an Hannah done drapt off to sleep, I wuz seltin in de do wid meh pipe, an I heah em set- tin dyah on de front steps, dee voices soun in low like bees, an de moon sort o meltin over de yard, 142 IN OLE VIRGINIA an I sort o got to studyin , an hit pear like de plantation live once mo , an de ain no mo scuf- flin , an de ole times done come back ag in, an I heah me kerridge -horses stompin in de stalls, an de place all cleared up ag in, an fence all roun de pahsture, an I smell de wet clover-blossoms right good, an Marse Phil an Meh Lady done come back, an runnin all roun me, climbin up on meh knees, callin me * Unc Billy, an pesterin me to go fishin , while somehow Meh Lady an de Cun l, settin dyah on de steps wid dee voice hummin low like water runnin in de dark ******* " An dat Phil, suh," he broke off, rising from the ground on which we had been seated for some time, " dat Phil, suh, he mo like Marse Phil n he like he pa ; an little Billy he ain so ole, but he ain fur behines him." " Billy," I said; " he s named after ?" " Go way, Marster," he said deprecatingly, " who gwine name gent man after a ole nigger ? " OLE STRACTED OLE STRACTED J WE, little Ephum! awe, little ^-phum ! ef you don come long heah, boy, an rock dis chile I ll buss you haid open ! " screamed the high-pitched voice of a woman, breaking the stillness of the summer even ing. She had just come to the door of the little cabin, where she was now standing, anxiously scanning the space before her, while a baby s plaintive wail rose and fell within with wearying monotony. The log cabin, set in a gall in the middle of an old field all grown up in sassafras, was not a very inviting-looking place ; a few hens loitering about the new hen-house, a brood of half-grown chickens picking in the grass and watching the door, and a runty pig tied to a " stob," were the only signs of thrift ; yet the face of the woman cleared up as she gazed about her and afar off, where the gleam of green made a pleasant spot, where the corn grew in the river- 146 IN OLE VIRGINIA bottom ; for it was her home, and the best of all was she thought it belonged to them. A rumble of distant thunder caught her ear, and she stepped down and took a well-worn garment from the clothes-line, stretched between two dog wood forks, and having, after a keen glance down the path through the bushes, satisfied herself that no one was in sight, she returned to the house, and the baby s voice rose louder than before. The mother, as she set out her ironing table, raised a dirge -like hymn, which she chanted, partly from habit and partly in self-defence. She ironed care fully the ragged shirt she had just taken from the line, and then, after some search, finding a needle and cotton, she drew a rickety chair to the door and proceeded to mend the garment. " Dis de on ies shut Ole Stracted got," she said, as if in apology to herself for being so careful. The cloud slowly gathered over the pines in the direction of the path ; the fowls carefully tripped up the notched pole, and after a prudent pause at the hole, disappeared one by one within ; the chickens picked in a gradually contracting circuit, and finally one or two stole furtively to the cabin door, and after a brief reconnoissance came in, and fluttered up the ladder to the loft, where they had been born, and yet roosted. Once more the baby s voice prevailed, and once more the woman went to the door, and, looking down the path, screamed, " Awe, little Ephum ! awe, little Ephum ! " OLE STRACTED 147 " Ma m," came the not very distant answer from the bushes. " Why n t you come long heah, boy, an rock dis chile ? " " Yes m, I comin ," came the answer. She waited, watching, until there emerged from the bushes a queer little caravan, headed by a small brat, who staggered under the weight of another apparently nearly as large and quite as black as himself, while several more of various degrees of diminutiveness straggled along behind. " Ain t you heah me callin you, boy ? You better come when I call you. I ll tyah you all to pieces ! " pursued the woman, in the angriest of keys, her countenance, however, appearing un ruffled. The head of the caravan stooped and de posited his burden carefully on the ground ; then, with a comical look of mingled alarm and peni tence, he slowly approached the door, keeping his eye watchfully on his mother, and, picking his op portunity, slipped in past her, dodging skilfully just enough to escape a blow which she aimed at him, and which would have " slapped him flat " had it struck him, but which, in truth, was in tended merely to warn and keep him in whole some fear, and was purposely aimed high enough to miss him, allowing for the certain dodge. The culprit, having stifled the whimper with which he was prepared, flung himself into the foot of the rough plank box-cradle, and began to rock it violently and noisily, using one leg as a 148 IN OLE VIRGINIA lever, and singing an accompaniment, of which the only words that rose above the loud noise of the rockers were, " By-a-by, don t you cry ; go to sleep, little ba-by; " and sure enough the baby stopped crying and went to sleep. Eph watched his mammy furtively as she scraped away the ashes and laid the thick pone of dough on the hearth, and shovelled the hot ashes upon it. Supper would be ready directly, and it was time to propitiate her. He bethought himself of a message. " Mammy, Ole Stracted say you must bring he shut; he say he marster comin to-night." " How he say he is ? " inquired the woman, with some interest. " He ain say jes say he want he shut. He sutny is comical he layin down in de baid." Then, having relieved his mind, Eph went to sleep in the cradle. " Layin down in de baid ? " quoted the woman to herself as she moved about the room. " I ain nuver hearn bout dat befo . Dat sutny is a com ical ole man anyways. He say he used to live on dis plantation, an yit he al ays talkin bout de gret house an de fine kerridges dee used to have, an bout he marster comin to buy him back. De ain nuver been no gret house on dis place, not sence I know nuttin bout it, sep de overseer house whar dat man live. I heah Ephum say Aunt Dinah tell him de ole house whar used to be on de hill whar dat gret oak-tree is in de pines OLE STRACTED 149 bu nt down de year he wuz born, an he ole mars- ter had to live in de overseer house, an hit break he heart, an dee teck all he niggers, an dat s de way he come to blongst to we all ; but dat ole man ain know nuttin bout dat house, cause hit bu nt down. I wonder whar he did come from ? " she pursued, " an what he sho nough name ? He sholy couldn been named Ole Stracted, jes so ; dat ain no name tall. Yit ef he ain stract- ed, tain nobody is. He ain even know he own name," she continued, presently. " Say he mars- ter 11 know him when he come ain know de folks is free ; say he marster gwi buy him back in de summer an kyar him home, an bout de money he gwine gi him. Ef he got any money, I wonder he live down dyah in dat evil-sperit hole." And the woman glanced around with great complacency on the picture-pasted walls of her own by no means sumptuously furnished house. " Money ! " she repeated aloud, as she began to rake in the ashes, " he ain got nuttin. I got to kyar him piece o dis bread now," and she went off into a dream of what they would do when the big crop on their land should be all in, and the last payment made on the house; of what she would wear, and how she would dress the chil dren, and the appearance she would make at meeting, not reflecting that the sum they had paid on the property had never, even with all their stinting, amounted in any one year to more than a few dollars over the rent charged for the place, ISO IN OLE VIRGINIA and that the eight hundred dollars yet due on it was more than they could make at the present rate in a lifetime. " Ef Ephum jes had a mule, or even somebody to help him," she thought, " but he ain got nuttin. De chil n ain big nough to do nuttin but eat ; he ain got no brurrs, an he deddy took way an sold down Souf de same time my ole marster whar dead buy him ; dat s what I al ays heah em say, an I know he s dead long befo dis, cause I heah em say dese Virginia niggers earn stan hit long deah, hit so hot, hit frizzle em up, an I reckon he die befo he ole marster, whar I heah say die of a broked heart torectly after dee teck he niggers an sell em befo he face. I heah Aunt Dinah say dat, an dat he might ly sot on he ole servants, spressaly on Ephum deddy, whar named Little Ephum, an whar used to wait on him. Dis mus a been a gret place dem days, cordin to what dee say." She went on: "Dee say he sutny live strong, wuz jes rich as cream, an weahed he blue coat an brass buttons, an lived in dat ole house whar wuz up whar de pines is now, an whar bu nt down, like he owned de wull. An now look at it ; dat man own it all, an cuttin all de woods off it. He don know nuttin bout black folks, ain nuver been fotch up wid em. Who ever heah he name fo he come heah an buy de place, an move in de overseer house, an charge we all eight hundred dollars for dis land, jes cause it got little piece o bottom on it, an OLE STRACTED I5 i forty-eight dollars rent besides, wid he ole stingy wife whar oon even gi way buttermilk ! " An expression of mingled disgust and contempt con cluded the reflection. She took the ash-cake out of the ashes, slapped it first on one side, then on the other, with her hand, dusted it with her apron, and walked to the door and poured over it a gourd of water from the piggin. Then she divided it in half; one half she set up against the side of the chimney, the other she broke up into smaller pieces and dis tributed among the children, dragging the sleep ing Eph, limp and soaked with sleep, from the cradle to receive his share. Her manner was not rough was perhaps even tender but she used no caresses, as a white woman would have done under the circumstances. It was only toward the baby at the breast that she exhibited any endear ments. Her nearest approach to it with the oth ers was when she told them, as she portioned out the ash-cake, " Mammy ain t got nuttin else ; but nem min , she gwine have plenty o good meat next year, when deddy done pay for he land." " Hi ! who dat out dyah ? " she said, suddenly. " Run to de do , son, an see who dat comin ," and the whole tribe rushed to inspect the new comer. It was, as she suspected, her husband, and as soon as he entered she saw that something was wrong. He dropped into a chair, and sat in moody silence the picture of fatigue, physical and 152 IN OLE VIRGINIA mental. After waiting for some time, she asked, indifferently, " What de matter ? " "Datman ." " What he done do now ? " The query was sharp with suspicion. " He say he am gwine let me have my land." "He s a half-strainer," said the woman, with sudden anger. " How he gwine help it ? Ain you got crap on it ? " She felt that there must be a defence against such an outrage. " He say he ain gwine wait no longer ; dat I wuz to have tell Christmas to finish payin for it, an I ain do it, an now he done change he min ." " Tell dis Christmas comin ," said his wife, with the positiveness of one accustomed to expound contracts. " Yes ; but I tell you he say he done change he min ." The man had evidently given up all hope ; he was dead beat. " De crap s yourn," said she, affected by his surrender, but prepared only to compromise. " He say he gwine teck all dat for de rent, and dat he gwine drive Ole Stracted way too." " He ain nuttin but po white trash ! " It ex pressed her supreme contempt. " He say he ll gi me jes one week mo to pay him all he ax for it," continued he, forced to a correction by her intense feeling, and the instinct of a man to defend the absent from a woman s attack, and perhaps also in the hope that she might suggest some escape. OLE STRACTED 153 " He ain nuttin sep po white trash ! " she re peated. " How you gwine raise eight hundred dollars at once ? Dee kyarn nobody do dat. Gord mout ! He ain got good sense." " You ain see meh corn lately, is you ? " he asked. " Hit jes as rank ! You can almos see it growin ef you look at it good. Dat s strong land. I know dat when I buy it." He knew it was gone now, but he had been in the habit of calling it his in the past three years, and it did him good to claim the ownership a little longer. " I wonder whar Marse Johnny is ? " said the woman. He was the son of her former owner ; and now, finding her proper support failing her, she instinctively turned to him. " He wouldn let him turn we all out." " He ain got nuttin, an ef he is, he kyarn get it in a week," said Ephraim. " Kyarn you teck it in de co t? " " Dat s whar he say he gwine have it ef I don git out," said her husband, despairingly. Her last defence was gone. " Ain you hongry ? " she inquired. " What you got ? " " I jes gwine kill a chicken for you." It was her nearest approach to tenderness, and he knew it was a mark of special attention, for all the chickens and eggs had for the past three years gone to swell the fund which was to buy the home, and it was only on special occasions that one was spared for food. i 5 4 IN OLE VIRGINIA The news that he was to be turned out of his home had fallen on him like a blow, and had stunned him; he could make no resistance, he could form no plans. He went into a rough estimate as he waited. " Le me see : I done wuck for it three years dis Christmas done gone; how much does dat meek ? " " An fo dollars, an* five dollars, an two dollars an a half last Christmas from de chickens, an all dem ducks I done sell he wife, an de washin I been doin for em ; how much is dat ? " sup plemented his wife. " Dat s what I say ! " His wife endeavored vainly to remember the amount she had been told it was ; but the unac counted-for washing changed the sum and de stroyed her reliance on the result. And as the chicken was now approaching perfection, and re quired her undivided attention, she gave up the arithmetic and applied herself to her culinary duties. Ephraim also abandoned the attempt, and waited in a reverie, in which he saw corn stand so high and rank over his land that he could scarcely dis tinguish the balk, and a stable and barn and a mule, or maybe two it was a possibility and two cows which his wife would milk, and a green wagon driven by his boys, while he took it easy and gave orders like a master, and a clover patch, and wheat, and he saw the yellow grain waving, OLE STRACTED 155 and heard his sons sing the old harvest song of " Cool Water " while they swung their cradles, and " You say he gwine turn Ole Stracted out, too ? " inquired his wife, breaking the spell. The chicken was done now, and her mind reverted to the all-engrossing subject. " Yes ; say he tired o ole stracted nigger livin on he place an payin no rent." " Good Gord A mighty ! Pay rent for dat ole pile o logs ! Ain t he been mendin he shoes an* harness for rent all dese years ? " " Twill kill dat ole man to tu n him out dat house," said Ephraim ; " he ain nuver stay away from dyah a hour sence he come heah." "Sutny twill," assented his wife; then she added, in reply to the rest of the remark, " Nuver min ; den we ll see what he got in dyah." To a woman, that was at least some compensation. Ephraim s thoughts had taken a new direction. " He al ays feared he marster d come for him while he way," he said, in mere continuance of his last remark. " He sen me wud he marster comin to-night, an he want he shut," said his wife, as she handed him his supper. Ephraim s face expressed more than interest ; it was tenderness which softened the rugged lines as he sat looking into the fire. Perhaps he thought of the old man s loneliness, and of his own father torn away and sold so long ago, before he could even remember, and perhaps 156 IN OLE VIRGINIA very dimly of the beauty of the sublime devotion of this poor old creature to his love and his trust, holding steadfast beyond memory, beyond reason, after the knowledge even of his own identity and of his very name was lost. The woman caught the contagion of his sym pathy. " De chil n say he mighty comical, an he layin down in de baid," she said. Ephraim rose from his seat. " VVhar you gwine ? " " I must go to see bout him," he said, simply. " Ain you gwine finish eatin ? " " I gwine kyar dis to him." " Well, I kin cook you anurr when we come back," said his wife, with ready acquiescence. In a few minutes they were on the way, going single file down the path through the sassafras, along which little Eph and his followers had come an hour before, the man in the lead and his wife following, and, according to the custom of their race, carrying the bundles, one the surrendered supper and the other the neatly folded and well- patched shirt in which Ole Stracted hoped to meet his long-expected loved ones. As they came in sight of the ruinous little hut which had been the old man s abode since his sudden appearance in the neighborhood a few years after the war, they observed that the bench beside the door was deserted, and that the door stood ajar two circumstances which neither of OLE STRACTED 157 them remembered ever to have seen before ; for in all the years in which he had been their neigh bor Ole Stracted had never admitted any one within his door, and had never been known to leave it open. In mild weather he occupied a bench outside, where he either cobbled shoes for his neighbors, accepting without question any thing they paid him, or else sat perfectly quiet, with the air of a person waiting for some one. He held only the briefest communication with any body, and was believed by some to have intimate relations with the Evil One, and his tumble-down hut, which he was particular to keep closely daubed, was thought by such as took this view of the matter to be the temple where he practised his unholy rites. For this reason, and because the little cabin, surrounded by dense pines and cov ered with vines which the popular belief held " pizonous," was the most desolate abode a hu man being could have selected, most of the dwell ers in that section gave the place a wide berth, especially toward nightfall, and Ole Stracted would probably have suffered but for the charity of Ephraim and his wife, who, although often wanting the necessaries of life themselves, had long divided with their strange neighbor. Yet even they had never been admitted inside his door, and knew no more of him than the other people about the settlement knew. His advent in the neighborhood had been mys terious. The first that was known of him was 158 IN OLE VIRGINIA one summer morning, when he was found sitting on the bench beside the door of this cabin, which had long been unoccupied and left to decay. He was unable to give any account of himself, except that he always declared that he had been sold by some one other than his master from that planta tion, that his wife and boy had been sold to some other person at the same time for twelve hundred dollars (he was particular as to the amount), and that his master was coming in the summer to buy him back and take him home, and would bring him his wife and child when he came. Everything since that day was a blank to him, and as he could not tell the name of his master or wife, or even his own name, and as no one was left old enough to remember him, the neighborhood having been en tirely deserted after the war, he simply passed as a harmless old lunatic laboring under a delusion. He was devoted to children, and Ephraim s small brood were his chief delight. They were not at all afraid of him, and whenever they got a chance they would slip off and steal down to his house, where they might be found any time squatting about his feet, listening to his accounts of his ex pected visit from his master, and what he was go ing to do afterward. It was all of a great planta tion, and fine carriages and horses, and a house with his wife and the boy. This was all that was known of him, except that once a stranger, passing through the country, and hearing the name Ole Stracted, said that he heard OLE STRACTED 159 a similar one once, long before the war, in one of the Louisiana parishes, where the man roamed at will, having been bought of the trader by the gentleman who owned him, for a small price, on account of his infirmity. " Is you gwine in dyah ? " asked the woman, as they approached the hut. " Hi ! yes ; tain nuttin gwine hu t you ; an you say Ephum say he layin in de baid ? " he re plied, his mind having evidently been busy on the subject. " An mighty comical," she corrected him, with exactness born of apprehension. "Well? I feared he sick." " I ain nuver been in dyah," she persisted. k " Ain de chil n been in dyah ? " " Dee say stracted folks oon hu t chil n." " Dat ole man oon hu t nobody ; he jes tame as a ole tomcat." " I wonder he ain feared to live in dat lonesome ole house by hisself. I jes lieve stay in a grave yard at once. I ain wonder folks say he sees sperrits in dat hanty-lookin place." She came up by her husband s side at the suggestion. " I wonder he don go home ? " " Whar he got any home to go to sep heaven ? " said Ephraim. " What was you mammy name, Ephum ? " " Mymy," said he, simply. They were at the cabin now, and a brief pause of doubt ensued. It was perfectly dark inside the i6o IN OLE VIRGINIA door, and there was not a sound. The bench where they had heretofore held their only commu nication with their strange neighbor was lying on its side in the weeds which grew up to the very walls of the ruinous cabin, and a lizard suddenly ran over it, and with a little rustle disappeared under the rotting ground-sill. To the woman it was an ill omen. She glanced furtively behind her, and moved nearer her husband s side. She noticed that the cloud above the pines was getting a faint yellow tinge on its lower border, while it was very black above them. It filled her with dread, and she was about to call her husband s notice to it, when a voice within arrested their at tention. It was very low, and they both listened in awed silence, watching the door meanwhile as if they expected to see something supernatural spring from it. " Nem min jes wait tain so long now he ll be heah torectly," said the voice. " Dat s what he say gwine come an buy me back den we gwine home." In their endeavor to catch the words they moved nearer, and made a slight noise. Suddenly the low, earnest tone changed to one full of eager ness. " Who dat? " was called in sharp inquiry. " Tain nobody but me an Polly, Ole Stracted," said Ephraim, pushing the door slightly wider open and stepping in. They had an indistinct idea that the poor deluded creature had fancied them his OLE STRACTED 161 longed-for loved ones, yet it was a relief to see him bodily. " Who you say you is ? " inquired the old man, feebly. "Mean Polly." " I done bring you shut home," said the woman, as if supplementing her husband s reply. " Hit all bran clean, an I done patch it." " Oh, I thought" said the voice, sadly. They knew what he thought. Their eyes were now accustomed to the darkness, and they saw that the only article of furniture which the room contained was the wretched bed or bench on which the old man was stretched. The light sift ing through the chinks in the roof enabled them to see his face, and that it had changed much in the last twenty-four hours, and an instinct told them that he was near the end of his long waiting. " How is you, Ole Stracted ? " asked the woman. " Dat ain my name," answered the old man, promptly. It was the first time he had ever dis owned the name. " Well, how is you, Ole What I gwine to call you ? " asked she, with feeble finesse. " I don know he kin tell you." "Who?" " Who ? Marster. He know it. Ole Stracted ain know it; but dat ain nuttin. He know it got it set down in de book. I jes waitin for em now." A hush fell on the little audience they were 162 IN OLE VIRGINIA in full sympathy with him, and knowing no way of expressing it, kept silence. Only the breath ing of the old man was audible in the room. He was evidently nearing the end. " I mighty tired of waitin ," he said, pathetically. " Look out dyah and see ef you see anybody," he added, sud denly. Both of them obeyed, and then returned and stood silent; they could not tell him no. Presently the woman said, " Don you warn put you* shut on ? " " What did you say my name was ? " he said. " Ole Str " She paused at the look of pain on his face, shifted uneasily from one foot to the other, and relapsed into embarrassed silence. " Nem min ! dee ll know it dee ll know me dout any name, oon dee ? " He appealed wist fully to them both. The woman for answer unfolded the shirt. He moved feebly, as if in assent. " I so tired waitin ," he whispered ; " done mos gin out, an he oon come ; but I thought I heah little Eph to-day ? " There was a faint inquiry in his voice. "Yes, he wuz heah." " Wuz he ? " The languid form became in stantly alert, the tired face took on a look of eager expectancy. " Heah, gi m y shut quick. I knowed it. Wait; go over dyah, son, and git me dat money. He ll be heah torectly." They thought his mind wandered, and merely followed the di- OLE STRACTED x6 3 rection of his eyes with theirs. " Go over dyah quick don t you heah me?" And to humor him Ephraim went over to the corner indicated. " Retch up dyah, an run you hand in onder de second jice. It s all in dyah," he said to the woman "twelve hundred dollars dat s what dee went for. I wucked night an day forty year to save dat money for marster ; you know dee teck all he land an all he niggers an tu n him out in de old fiel ? I put tin dyah ginst he come. You ain know he comin dis evenin , is you ? Heah, help me on wid dat shut, gal I stan in heah talkin an maybe ole marster waitin . Push de do open so you kin see. Forty year ago," he murmured, as Polly jambed the door back and returned to his side " forty year ago dee come an levelled on me : marster sutny did cry. Nem min , he said, * I comin right down in de sum mer to buy you back an bring you home. He s comin , too nuver tol me a lie in he life comin dis evenin . Make aste." This in trem ulous eagerness to the woman, who had involun tarily caught the feeling, and was now with eager and ineffectual haste trying to button his shirt. An exclamation from her husband caused her to turn around, as he stepped into the light and held up an old sock filled with something. " Heah, hoi you apron," said the old man to Polly, who gathered up the lower corners of her apron and stood nearer the bed. 164 IN OLE VIRGINIA " Po it in dyah." This to Ephraim, who me chanically obeyed. He pulled off the string, and poured into his wife s lap the heap of glittering coin gold and silver more than their eyes had ever seen before. " Hit s all dyah," said the old man, confiden tially, as if he were rendering an account. " I been savin it ever sence dee took me way. I so busy savin it I ain had time to eat, but I ain hongry now ; have plenty when I git home." He sank back exhausted. " Oon marster be glad to see me ? " he asked, presently, in pathetic sim plicity. " You know we growed up togerr ? I been waitin so long I feared dee mos done for- git me. You reckon dee is ? " he asked the woman, appealingly. " No, suh, dee ain forgit you," she said, com fortingly. " I know dee ain ," he said, reassured. " Dat s what he tell me he ain nuver gwine forgit me." The reaction had set in, and his voice was so feeble now it was scarcely audible. He was talking rather to himself than to them, and finally he sank into a doze. A painful silence reigned in the little hut, in which the only sign was the breath ing of the dying man. A single shaft of light stole down under the edge of the slowly passing cloud and slipped up to the door. Suddenly the sleeper waked with a start, and gazed around. " Hit gittin mighty dark," he whispered, faintly. " You reckon dee ll git heah fo dark ? " OLE STRACTED 165 The light was dying from his eyes. " Ephum," said the woman, softly, to her hus band. The effect was electrical. " Heish ! you lieah dat ! " exclaimed the dying man, eagerly. " Ephum " she repeated. The rest was drowned by Ole Stracted s joyous exclamation. " Gord ! I knowed it ! " he cried, suddenly ris ing upright, and, with beaming face, stretching both arms toward the door. " Dyah dee come ! Now watch em smile. All y all jes stand back. Heah de one you lookin for. Marster Mymy heah s Little Ephum ! " And with a smile on his face he sank back into his son s arms. The evening sun, dropping on the instant to his setting, flooded the room with light; but as Ephraim gently eased him down and drew his arm from around him, it was the light of the unending morning that was on his face. His Master had at last come for him, and after his long waiting, Ole Stracted had indeed gone home. "NO HAID PAWN" "NO HAID PAWN" T was a ghostly place in broad daylight, if the glimmer that stole in through the dense forest that surrounded it e^j^^^] when the sun was directly overhead deserved this delusive name. At any other time it was , why, we were afraid even to talk about it ! and as to venturing within its gloomy borders, it was currently believed among us that to do so was to bring upon the intruder certain death. I knew every foot of ground, wet and dry, within five miles of my father s house, except this planta tion, for I had hunted by day and night every field, forest, and marsh within that radius ; but the swamp and the " ma shes " that surrounded this place I had never invaded. The boldest hunter on the plantation would call off his dogs and go home if they struck a trail that crossed the sobby boundary-line of" No Haid Pawn." * No-head-pond. 1 70 IN OLE VIRGINIA " Jack- my-lanterns" and "evil sperits " only infested those woods, and the earnest advice of those whom we children acknowledged to know most about them was, " Don t you never go nigh dyah, honey; hit s de evil-spiritest place in dis wull." Had not Big William and Cephas and Poliam followed their dogs in there one night, and cut down a tree in which they had with their own eyes seen the coon, and lo ! when it fell " de warn no mo coon dyah n a dog ! " and the next tree they had " treed in " not only had no coon in it, but when it was cut down it had fallen on Poliam and broken his leg. So the very woods were haunted. From this time they were abandoned to the " jack- my-lanterns " and ghosts, and an other shadow was added to No Haid Pawn. The place was as much cut off from the rest of the country as if a sea had divided it. The river, with marshy banks, swept around it in a wide horseshoe on three sides, and when the hum mocks dammed it up it washed its way straight across and scoured out a new bed for itself, com pletely isolating the whole plantation. The owners of it, if there were any, which was doubtful, were aliens, and in my time it had not been occupied for forty years. The negroes de clared that it was " gin up" to the " ha nts an evil sperits," and that no living being could live there. It had grown up in forest and had wholly reverted to original marsh. The road that once ran through NO HA ID PAWN 171 the swamp had long since been choked up, and the trees were as thick and the jungle as dense now, in its track, as in the adjacent "ma sh." Only one path remained. This, it was currently believed by the entire portion of the population who speculated on the subject, was kept open by the evil spirits. Certain it was that no human foot ever trod the narrow, tortuous line that ran through the brakes as deviously as the noiseless, stagnant ditches that curved through the jungle, where the musk-rats played and the moccasin slept unmolested. Yet there it lay, plain and well-defined, month after month and year after year, as No Haid Pawn itself stood, amid its sur rounding swamps, all undisturbed and unchang ing. Even the runaway slaves who occasionally left their homes and took to the swamps and woods, impelled by the cruelty of their overseers, or by a desire for a vain counterfeit of freedom, never tried this swamp, but preferred to be caught and returned home to invading its awful shades. We were brought up to believe in ghosts. Our fathers and mothers laughed at us, and endeavored to reason us out of such a superstition the fathers with much of ridicule and satire, the mothers giv ing sweet religious reasons for their argument; but what could they avail against the actual testi mony and the blood-curdling experiences of a score of witnesses, who recounted their personal observations with a degree of thrilling realism 1 7 2 IN OLE VIRGINIA and a vividness that overbore any arguments our childish reason could grasp ! The old mammies and uncles who were our companions and com rades believed in the existence of evil spirits as truly as in the existence of hell or heaven, as to which at that time no question had ever been raised, so far as was known, in that slumberous world. [The Bible was the standard, and all dis putes were resolved into an appeal to that au thority, the single question as to any point being simply, " Is it in the Bible ? "] Had not Lazarus, and Mam Celia, and William, and Twis -foot-Bob, and Aunt Sukie Brown, and others seen with their own eyes the evil spirits, again and again, in the bodily shape of cats, headless dogs, white cows, and other less palpable forms ! And was not their experience, who lived in remote cabins, or wandered night after night through the loneliest woods, stronger evidence than the cold reasoning of those who hardly ever stirred abroad except in daylight ? It certainly was more conclusive to us ; for no one could have listened to those nar rators without being impressed with the fact that they were recounting what they had actually seen with their bodily eyes. The result of it all was, so far as we were concerned, the triumph of faith over reason, and the fixed belief, on our part, in the actual visible existence of the departed, in the sinister forms of apparition known as " evil sper- its." Every graveyard was tenanted by them; every old house and every peculiarly desolate spot "NO HA ID PAWN" 173 were known to be their rendezvous ; but all spots and places sank into insignificance compared with No Haid Pawn. The very name was uncanny. Originally it had designated a long, stagnant pool of water lying in the centre of the tract, which marked the spot from which the soil had been dug to raise the ele vation on which to set the house. More modernly the place, by reason of the filling up of ditches and the sinking of dikes, had become again simple swamp and jungle, or, to use the local expression, " had turned to ma sh," and the name applied to the whole plantation. The origin of the name? the pond had no source or head ; but we children knew that there was a better explanation than that. Anyhow, the very name inspired dread, and the place was our terror. The house had been built many generations be fore by one who was a stranger in this section, and the owners had never made it their permanent home. Thus, no ties either of blood or friendship were formed with their neighbors, who were cer tainly open-hearted and open-doored enough to overcome anything but the most persistent un- neighborliness. Why this spot was selected for a mansion was always a mystery, unless it was that the new comer desired to isolate himself completely. In stead of following the custom of those who were native and to the manner born, who always chose i 74 IN OLE VIRGINIA some eminence for their seats, he had selected for his a spot in the middle of the wide flat which lay in the horseshoe of the river. The low ground, probably owing to the abundance of land in that country, had never been " taken up," and until the time of his occupation was in a condition of primeval swamp. He had to begin by making an artificial mound for his mansion. Even then, it Avas said, he dug so deep that he laid the corner stone in water. The foundation was of stone, which was brought from a distance. Fabulous stories were told of it. The negroes declared that under the old house were solid rock chambers, which had been built for dungeons, and had served for purposes which were none the less awful be cause they were vague and indefinite. The huge structure itself was of wood, and was alleged to contain many mysterious rooms and underground passages. One of the latter was said to connect with the No Haid Pawn itself, whose dark waters, according to the negroes tradition, were some day, by some process not wholly consistent with the laws of physics, to overwhelm the fated pile. An evil destiny had seemed to overshadow the place from the very beginning. One of the negro builders had been accidentally caught and decapi tated between two of the immense foundation stones. The tradition was handed down that he was sacrificed in some awful and occult rite con nected with the laying of the corner-stone. Later on the scaffolding had given way and had precipi- "NO HA ID PAWN" 175 tated several men to the ground, most of whom had been fatally hurt. This also was alleged among the slaves in the neighborhood to have been by hideous design. Then the plantation, in the process of being reclaimed, had proved un healthy beyond all experience, and the negroes employed in the work of dyking and reclaiming the great swamp had sickened and died by dozens. The extension of the dangerous fever to the ad joining plantations had left a reputation for typhus malaria from which the whole section suffered for a time. But this did not prevent the colored pop ulation from recounting year after year the horrors of the pestilence of No Haid Pawn as a peculiar visitation, nor from relating with blood-curdling details the burial by scores, in a thicket just be side the pond, of the stricken " befo dee daid, honey, befo dee da id/ " The bodies, it was af firmed, used to float about in the guts of the swamp and on the haunted pond ; and at night they might be seen, if any one were so hardy as to venture there, rowing about in their coffins as if they were boats. Thus No Haid Pawn from the beginning had an evil name, and when, year after year, the river rose and washed the levees away, or the musk- rats burrowed through and let the water in, and the strange masters cursed not only the elements but Heaven itself, the continued mortality of their negroes was not wholly unexpected nor unac counted for by certain classes of their neighbors. 176 IN OLE VIRGINIA At length the property had fallen to one more gloomy, more strange, and more sinister than any who had gone before him a man whose personal characteristics and habits were unique in that country. He was of gigantic stature and super human strength, and possessed appetites and vices in proportion to his size. He could fell an ox with a blow of his fist, or in a fit of anger could tear down the branch of a tree, or bend a bar of iron like a reed. He, either from caprice or ig norance, spoke only a patois not unlike the Creole French of the Louisiana parishes. But he was a West Indian. His brutal temper and habits cut him off from even the small measure of inter course which had existed between his prede cessors and their neighbors, and he lived at No Haid Pawn completely isolated. All the stories and traditions of the place at once centred on him, and fabulous and awful tales were told of his prowess and of his life. It was said, among other things, that he preserved his wonderful strength by drinking human blood, a tale which in a certain sense I have never seen reason to question. Mak ing all allowances, his life was a blot upon civiliza tion. At length it culminated. A brutal temper, inflamed by unbridled passions, after a long period of license and debauchery came to a climax in a final orgy of ferocity and fury, in which he was guilty of an act whose fiendishness surpassed be lief, and he was brought to judgment. In modern times the very inhumanity of the "NO HA ID PAWN" 177 crime would probably have proved his security, and as he had destroyed his own property while he was perpetrating a crime of appalling and unpar alleled horror, he might have found a defence in that standing refuge of extraordinary scoundrelism insanity. This defence, indeed, was put in, and was pressed with much ability by his counsel, one of whom was my father, who had just then been admitted to the bar ; but, fortunately for the cause of justice, neither courts nor juries were then so sentimental as they have become of late years, and the last occupant of No Haid Pawn paid under the law the full penalty of his hideous crime. It was one of the curious incidents of the trial that his negroes all lamented his death, and declared that he was a good master when he was not drunk. He was hanged just at the rear of his own house, within sight of the spot where his awful crime was committed. At his execution, which, according to the cus tom of the country, was public, a horrible coinci dence occurred which furnished the text of many a sermon on retributive justice among the ne groes. The body was interred near the pond, close by the thicket where the slaves were buried ; but the negroes declared that it preferred one of the stone chambers under the mansion, where it made its home, and that it might be seen at any time of the day or night stalking headless about the place. They used to dwell with peculiar zest on the most i 7 8 IN OLE VIRGINIA agonizing details of this wretch s dreadful crime, the whole culminating in the final act of maniacal fury, when the gigantic monster dragged the hacked and headless corpse of his victim up the staircase and stood it up before the open window in his hall, in the full view of the terrified slaves. After these narrations, the continued reappear ance of the murderer and his headless victim was as natural to us as it was to the negroes them selves ; and, as night after night we would hurry up to the great house through the darkness, we were ever on the watch lest he should appear to our frighted vision from the shades of the shrub bery-filled yard. Thus it was that of all ghostly places No Haid Pawn had the distinction of being invested, to us, with unparalleled horror ; and thus to us, no less than because the dykes had given way and the overflowed flats had turned again to swamp and jungle, it was explicable that No Haid Pawn was abandoned, and was now untrodden by any foot but that of its ghostly tenants. The time of my story was 185-. The spring previous continuous rains had kept the river full, and had flooded the low grounds, and this had been followed by an exceptionally dense growth in the summer. Then, public feeling was greatly excited at the time of which I write, over the dis covery in the neighborhood of several emissaries of the underground railway, or as they were universally considered in that country of the "NO HAID PAWN" 179 devil. They had been run off or had disappeared suddenly, but had left behind them some little ex citement on the part of the slaves, and a great deal on the part of their masters, and more than the usual number of negroes had run away. All, how ever, had been caught, or had returned home after a sufficient interval of freedom, except one who had escaped permanently, and who was sup posed to have accompanied his instigators on their flight. This man was a well-known character. He be longed to one of our neighbors, and had been bought and brought there from an estate on the Lower Mississippi. He was the most brutal negro I ever knew. He was of a type rarely found among our negroes, who, judging from their physiognomy and general characteristics, came principally from the coast of Africa. They are of moderate stature, with dull but amiable faces. This man, however, was of immense size, and he pos sessed the features and expression of a Congo des perado. In character also he differed essentially from all the other slaves in our country. He was alike without their amiability and their docility, and was as fearless as he was brutal. He was the only negro I ever knew who was without either superstition or reverence. Indeed, he dif fered so widely from the rest of the slaves in that section that there existed some feeling against him almost akin to a race feeling. At the same time, however, that he exercised considerable influence i8o IN OLE VIRGINIA over them they were dreadfully afraid of him, and were always in terror that he would trick them, to which awful power he laid well-known claim. His curses in his strange dialect used to terrify them beyond measure, and they would do any thing to conciliate him. He had been a continual source of trouble and an object of suspicion in the neighborhood from the time of his first appear ance ; and more than one hog that the negroes declared had wandered into the marshes of No Haid Pawn, and had " cut his thote jes swimin aroun* an aroun in de ma sh," had been sus pected of finding its way to this man s cabin. His master had often been urged to get rid of him, but he was kept, I think, probably because he was valuable on the plantation. He was a fine butcher, a good work-hand, and a first-class boatman. Moreover, ours was a conservative population, in which every man minded his own business and let his neighbor s alone. At the time of the visits of those secret agents to which I have referred, this negro was discov ered to be the leader in the secret meetings held under their auspices, and he would doubtless have been taken up and shipped off at once ; but when the intruders fled, as I have related, their convert disappeared also. It was a subject of general felicitation in the neighborhood that he was got rid of, and his master, instead of being commiser ated on the loss of his slave, was congratulated that he had not cut his throat. "NO HAID PAWN" 181 No idea can be given at this date of the excite ment occasioned in a quiet neighborhood in old times by the discovery of the mere presence of such characters as Abolitionists. It was as if the foundations of the whole social fabric were under mined. It was the sudden darkening of a shadow that always hung in the horizon. The slaves were in a large majority, and had they risen, though the final issue could not be doubted, the lives of every white on the plantations must have paid the forfeit. Whatever the right and wrong of slavery might have been, its existence de manded that no outside interference with it should be tolerated. So much was certain ; self- preservation required this. I was, at the time of which I speak, a well- grown lad, and had been for two sessions to a boarding-school, where I had got rid of some portion I will not say of all of the superstition of my boyhood. The spirit of adventure was be ginning to assert itself in me, and I had begun to feel a sense of enjoyment in overcoming the fears which had once mastered me, though, I must confess, I had not entirely shaken off my belief in the existence of ghosts that is, I did not believe in them at all in the day-time, but when night came I was not so certain about it. Duck-hunting was my favorite sport, and the marshes on the river were fine ground for them usually, but this season the weather had been so singularly warm that the sport had been poor, i8a IN OLE VIRGINIA and though I had scoured every canal in the marsh and every bend in the river as far as " No Haid Pawn Hummock," as the stretch of drifted timber and treacherous marsh was called that marked the boundary-line of that plantation, I had had bad luck. Beyond that point I had never penetrated, partly, no doubt, because of the train ing of my earlier years, and partly because the marsh on either side of the hummock would have mired a cat. Often, as I watched with envious eyes the wild duck rise up over the dense trees that surrounded the place and cut straight for the deserted marshes in the horseshoe, I had had a longing to invade the mysterious domain, and crawl to the edge of No Haid Pawn and get a shot at the game that floated on its black surface; but something had always deterred me, and the long reaches of No Haid Pawn were left to the wild-fowl and the ghostly rowers. Finally, how ever, after a spell whose high temperature was rather suited to August than April, in desperation at my ill-luck I determined to gratify my curiosity and try No Haid Pawn. So one afternoon, with out telling any one of my intention, I crossed the mysterious boundary and struck through the swamp for the unknown land. The marsh was far worse than I had anticipated, and no one but a duck-hunter as experienced and zealous as myself, and as indifferent to ditches, briers, mire, and all that makes a swamp, could have penetrated it at all. Even I could never "NO HAID PAWN" 183 have gotten on if I had not followed the one trail that led into the marsh, the reputed " parf " of the evil spirits, and, as it was, my progress was both tedious and dangerous. The track was a mysterious one, for though I knew it had not been trodden by a human foot in many years, yet there, a veritable "parf," it lay. In some places it was almost completely lost, and I would fear I should have to turn back, but an overhanging branch or a vine swinging from one tree to another would furnish a way to some spot where the narrow trail began again. In other spots old logs thrown across the miry canals gave me an uncomfortable feeling as I reflected what feet had last crossed on them. On both sides of this shadowy line the marsh was either an impen etrable jungle or a mire apparently bottomless. I shall never forget my sensations as I finally emerged from the woods into the clearing, if that desolate waste of willows, cane, and swamp growth could be so termed. About me stretched the jungle, over which a greenish lurid atmosphere brooded, and straight ahead towered the gaunt mansion, a rambling pile of sombre white, with numberless vacant windows staring at me like eyeless sockets from the leafless trees about it. Only one other clump of trees appeared above the canes and brush, and that I knew by intuition was the graveyard. I think I should have turned back had not shame impelled me forward. i8 4 IN OLE VIRGINIA My progress from this point was even more dif ficult than it had been hitherto, for the trail at the end of the wood terminated abruptly in a gut of the swamp; however, I managed to keep on by walking on hummocks, pushing through clumps of bushes, and wading as best I could. It was slow and hot work, though. It never once struck me that it must be getting late. I had become so accustomed to the gloom of the woods that the more open ground appeared quite light to me, and I had not paid any atten tion to the black cloud that had been for some time gathering overhead, or to the darkening at mosphere. I suddenly became sensible that it was going to rain. However, I was so much engrossed in the endeavor to get on that even then I took little note of it. The nearer I came to the house the more it arrested my attention, and the more weird and uncanny it looked. Canes and bushes grew up to the very door; the window-shutters hung from the hinges ; the broken windows glared ; the portico had fallen away from the wall, while the wide door stood slightly ajar, giving to the place a singularly ghastly appearance, somewhat akin to the color which sometimes lingers on the face of a corpse. In my progress wading through the swamp I had gone around rather to the side of the house toward where I supposed the "pawn " itself to lie. I was now quite near to it, and striking a little "NO HA ID PAWN" 185 less miry ground, as I pushed my way through the bushes and canes, which were higher than my head, I became aware that I was very near the thicket that marked the graveyard, just beyond which I knew the pond itself lay. I was some what startled, for the cloud made it quite dusky, and, stepping on a long piece of rotten timber ly ing on the ground, I parted the bushes to look down the pond. As I did so the rattle of a chain grated on me, and, glancing up through the cane, above me appeared a heavy upright timber with an arm or cross-beam stretching from it, from which dangled a long chain, almost rusted away. I knew by instinct that I stood under the gallows where the murderer of No Haid Pawn had expi ated his dreadful crime. His corpse must have fallen just where I stood. I started back appalled. Just then the black cloud above me was parted by a vivid flame, and a peal of thunder seemed to rive the earth. I turned in terror, but before I had gone fifty yards the storm was upon me, and instinctively I made for the only refuge that was at hand. It was a dreadful alternative, but I did not hesitate. Outside I was not even sure that my life was safe. And with extraordinary swiftness I had made my way through the broken iron fence that lay rust ing in the swamp, had traversed the yard, all grown up as it was to the very threshold, had as cended the sunken steps, crossed the rotted por tico, and entered the open door. 1 86 IN OLE VIRGINIA A long dark hall stretched before me, extend- ing, as well as I could judge in the gloom, en tirely across the house. A number of doors, some shut, some ajar, opened on the hall on one side; and a broad, dark stairway ascended on the other to the upper story. The walls were black with mould. At the far end a large bow-window, with all the glass gone, looked out on the waste of swamp, unbroken save by the clump of trees in the graveyard, and just beside this window was a break where the dark staircase descended to the apartments below. The whole place was in a state of advanced decay; almost the entire plastering had fallen with the damp, and the hall presented a scene of desolation that beggars description. I was at last in the haunted house ! The rain, driven by the wind, poured in at the broken windows in such a deluge that I was forced in self-defence to seek shelter in one of the rooms. I tried several, but the doors were swollen or fast ened ; I found one, however, on the leeward side of the house, and, pushing the door, which opened easily, I entered. Inside I found something like an old bed, and the great open fireplace had evi dently been used at some earlier time, for the ashes were still banked up in the cavernous hearth, and the charred ends of the logs of wood were yet lying in the chimney corners. To see, still as fresh and natural as though the fire had but just died out, these remnants of domestic life that had sur vived all else of a similar period struck me as un- "NO HAW PAWN" 187 speakably ghastly. The bedstead, however, though rude, was convenient as a seat, and I utilized it accordingly, propping myself up against one of the rough posts. From my position I commanded through the open door the entire length of the va cant hall, and could look straight out of the great bow-window at the head of the stairs, through which appeared, against the dull sky, the black mass of the graveyard trees, and a stretch of one of the canals or guts of the swamp curving around it, which gleamed white in the glare of the light ning. I had expected that the storm would, like most thunder-storms in the latitude, shortly exhaust itself, or, as we say, " blow over " ; but I was mis taken, and as the time passed, its violence, instead of diminishing, increased. It grew darker and darker, and presently the startling truth dawned upon me that the gloom which I had supposed simply the effect of the overshadowing cloud had been really nightfall. I was shut up alone in No Haid Pawn for the night ! I hastened to the door with the intention of braving the storm and getting away ; but I was almost blown off my feet. A glance without showed me that the guts with which the swamp was traversed in every direction were now full to the brim, and to attempt to find my way home in the darkness would be sheer madness ; so, after a wistful survey, I returned to my wretched perch. I thought I would try and light i88 ,IN OLE VIRGINIA a fire, but to my consternation I had not a match, and I finally abandoned myself to my fate. It was a desolate, if not despairing, feeling that I expe rienced. My mind was filled, not only with my own unhappiness, but with the thought of the distress my absence would occasion them at home; and for a little while I had a fleeting hope that a party would be sent out to search for me. This, however, was untenable, for they would not know where I was. The last place in which they would ever think of looking for me was No Haid Pawn, and even if they knew I was there they could no more get to me in the darkness and storm than I could escape from it. I accordingly propped myself up on my bed and gave myself up to my reflections. I said my pray ers very fervently. I thought I would try and get to sleep, but sleep was far from my eyes. My surroundings were too vivid to my appre hension. The awful traditions of the place, do what I might to banish them, would come to mind. The original building of the house, and its blood stained foundation stones ; the dead who had died of the pestilence that had raged afterward ; the bodies carted by scores and buried in the sobby earth of the graveyard, whose trees loomed up through the broken window ; the dreadful story of the dead paddling about the swamp in their coffins ; and, above all, the gigantic maniac whose ferocity even murder could not satiate, and who had added to murder awful mutilation : he had "NO HA ID PAWN" 189 dragged the mangled corpse of his victim up those very steps and flung it out of the very window which gaped just beyond me in the glare of the lightning. It all passed through my mind as I sat there in the darkness, and no effort of my will could keep my thoughts from dwelling on it. The terrific thunder, outcrashing a thousand batteries, at times engrossed my attention ; but it always reverted to that scene of horror ; and if I dozed the slamming of the loose blinds, or the terrific fury of the storm, would suddenly startle me. Once, as the sounds subsided for a moment, or else as I, having become familiar with them, was sinking into a sleepy state, a door at the other end of the hall creaked and then slammed with vio lence, bringing me bolt upright on the bed, clutching my gun. I could have sworn that I heard footsteps ; but the wind was blowing a hurricane, and, after another period of wakeful- ness and dreadful recollection, nature succumbed, and I fell asleep. I do not know that I can be said to have lost consciousness even then, for my mind was still en chained by the horrors of my situation, and went on clinging to them and dwelling upon them even in my slumber. I was, however, certainly asleep ; for the storm must have died temporarily away about this hour without my knowing it, and I subsequently heard that it did. I must have slept several hours, for I was quite i 9 o IN OLE VIRGINIA stiff from my constrained posture when I became fully aroused. I was awakened by a very peculiar sound ; it was like a distant call or halloo. Although I had been fast asleep a moment before, it startled me into a state of the highest attention. In a second I was wide awake. There was not a sound ex cept the rumble and roll of the thunder, as the storm once more began to renew itself, and in the segment of the circle that I could see along the hall through my door, and, indeed, out through the yawning window at the end, as far as the black clump of trees in the graveyard just at the bend of the canal, which I commanded from my seat when ever there was a flash of lightning, there was only the swaying of the bushes in the swamp and of the trees in the graveyard. Yet, there I sat bolt upright on my bed, in the darkness, with every nerve strained to its utmost tension, and that un earthly cry still sounding in my ears. I was en deavoring to reason myself into the belief that I had dreamed it, when a flash of lightning lit up the whole field of my vision as if it had been in the focus of a sun-glass, and out on the canal, where it curved around the graveyard, was a boat a something small, black, with square ends, and with a man in it, standing upright, and some thing lying in a lump or mass at the bow. I knew I could not be mistaken, for the light ning, by a process of its own, photographs every thing on the retina in minutest detail, and I had a "NO HAID PAU N" 191 vivid impression of everything from the foot of the bed, on which I crouched, to the gaunt arms of those black trees in the graveyard just over that ghostly boatman and his dreadful freight. I was wide awake. The story of the dead rowing in their coffins was verified. I am unable to state what passed in the next few minutes. The storm had burst again with renewed vio lence and was once more expending itself on the house ; the thunder was again rolling overhead ; the broken blinds were swinging and slamming madly ; and the dreadful memories of the place were once more besetting me. I shifted my position to relieve the cramp it had occasioned, still keeping my face toward that fatal window. As I did so, I heard above, or perhaps I should say under, the storm a sound more ter rible to me the repetition of that weird halloo, this time almost under the great window. Imme diately succeeding this was the sound of some thing scraping under the wall, and I was sensible when a door on the ground- floor was struck with a heavy thud. It was pitch-dark, but I heard the door pushed wide open, and as a string of fierce oaths, part English and part Creole French, floated up the dark stairway, muffled as if sworn through clinched teeth, I held my breath. I re called the unknown tongue the murderer em ployed ; and I knew that the murderer of No 193 IN OLE VIRGINIA Haid Pawn had left his grave, and that his ghost was coming up that stair. I heard his step as it fell on the first stair heavily yet almost noise lessly. It was an unearthly sound dull, like the tread of a bared foot, accompanied by the scraping sound of a body dragging. Step by step he came up the black stairway in the pitch dark ness as steadily as if it were daytime and he knew every step, accompanied by that sickening sound of dragging. There was a final pull up the last step, and a dull, heavy thud which jarred the house, as with a strange, wild laugh, he flung his burden on the floor. For a moment there was not a sound, and then the awful silence and blackness were broken by a crash of thunder that seemed to tear the founda tions asunder like a mighty earthquake, and the whole house, and the great swamp outside were filled with a glare of vivid, blinding light. Directly in front of me, clutching in his upraised hand a long, keen, glittering knife, on whose blade a ball of fire seemed to play, stood a gigantic figure in the very flame of the lightning, and stretched at his feet lay, ghastly and bloody, a black and head less trunk. I staggered to the door and, tripping over the sill, fell prostrate outside. ******* I have never been able to bring myself to give a description of the manner in which I escaped from the fearful spot. "NO HA ID PAWN 193 When we could get there, nothing was left but the foundation. The haunted house, when struck, had literally burned to the water s edge. The changed current had washed its way close to the place, and in strange verification of the negroes traditions, No Haid Pawn had reclaimed its own, and the spot with all its awful secrets lay buried under its dark waters. POLLY POLLY A Christmas Recollection T was Christmas Eve. I remember it just as if it was yesterday. The Colonel had been pretending not to notice it, but when Drinkwater Torm* knocked over both the great candlesticks, and in his attempt to pick them up lurched over himself and fell sprawling on the floor, he yelled at him. Torm pulled himself together, and began an explanation, in which the point was that he had not " teched a drap in Gord knows how long," but the Colonel cut him short. " Get out of the room, you drunken vagabond! " he roared. Torm was deeply offended. He made a low, grand bow, and with as much dignity as his un steady condition would admit, marched very state- * This spelling is used because he was called "Torm" until it became his name. 197 j 9 8 IN OLE VIRGINIA lily from the room, and passing out through the dining-room, where he stopped to abstract only one more drink from the long, heavy, cut-glass decanter on the sideboard, meandered to his house in the back-yard, where he proceeded to talk religion to Charity, his wife, as he always did when he was particularly drunk. He was ex pounding the vision of the golden candlestick, and the bowl and seven lamps and two olive-trees, when he fell asleep. The roarer, as has been said, was the Colonel ; the meanderer was Drinkwater Torm. The Colo nel gave him the name, " because," he said, " if he were to drink water once he would die." As Drinkwater closed the door, the Colonel continued, fiercely : " Damme, Polly, I will ! I ll sell him to-mor row morning; and if I can t sell him I ll give him away." Polly, with troubled great dark eyes, was wheed ling him vigorously. " No ; I tell you, I ll sell him. Misery in his back ! the mischief ! he s a drunken, trifling, good-for-nothing nigger ! and I have sworn to sell him a thousand yes, ten thousand times; and now I ll have to do it to keep my word." This was true. The Colonel swore this a dozen times a day every time Torm got drunk, and as that had occurred very frequently for many years before Polly was born, he was not outside of the limit. Polly, however, was the only one this POLL Y 199 threat ever troubled. The Colonel knew he could no more have gotten on without Torm than his old open-faced watch, which looked for all the world like a model of himself, could have run without the mainspring. From tying his shoes and getting his shaving-water to making his juleps and lighting his candles, which was all he had to do, Drinkwater Torm was necessary to him. (I think he used to make the threat just to prove to himself that Torm did not own him ; if so, he failed in his purpose Torm did own him. ) Torm knew it as well as he, or better ; and while Char ity, for private and wifely reasons, occasionally held the threat over him when his expoundings passed even her endurance, she knew it also. Thus, Polly was the only one it deceived or frightened. It always deceived her, and she never rested until she had obtained Term s reprieve " for just one more time." So on this occasion, before she got down from the Colonel s knees, she had given him in bargain "just one more squeeze," and received in return Term s conditional pardon, " only till next time." Everybody in the county knew the Colonel, and everybody knew Drinkwater Torm, and everybody who had been to the Colonel s for several years past (and that was nearly everybody in the county, for the Colonel kept open house) knew Polly. She had been placed in her chair by the Colonel s side at the club dinner on her first birthday after her arrival, and had been afterward placed on the 200 IN OLE VIRGINIA table and allowed to crawl around among and in the dishes to entertain the gentlemen, which she did to the applause of every one, and of herself most of all ; and from that time she had exercised in her kingdom the functions of both Vashti and Esther, and whatever Polly ordered was done. If the old inlaid piano in the parlor had been robbed of strings, it was all right, for Polly had taken them. Bob had cut them out for her, with out a word of protest from any one but Charity. The Colonel would have given her his heart strings if Polly had required them. She had owned him body and soul from the second he first laid eyes on her, when, on the in- stant he entered the room, she had stretched out her little chubby hands to him, and on his taking her had, after a few infantile caresses, curled up and, with her finger in her mouth, gone to sleep in his arms like a little white kitten. Bob used to wonder in a vague, boyish way where the child got her beauty, for the Colonel weighed two hundred and fifty pounds, and was as ugly as a red head and thirty or forty years of . Torm s mint-juleps piled on a somewhat reckless college career could make him ; but one day, when the Colonel was away from home, Charity showed him a daguerreotype of a lady, which she got out of the top drawer of the Colonel s big secretary with the brass lions on it, and it looked exactly like Polly. It had the same great big dark eyes and the same soft white look, though Polly was POLL Y 201 stouter ; for she was a great tomboy, and used to run wild over the place with Bob, climbing cherry- trees, fishing in the creek, and looking as bloom ing as a rose, with her hair all tangled over her pretty head, until she grew quite large, and the Colonel got her a tutor. He thought of sending her to a boarding-school, but the night he broached the subject he raised such a storm, and Polly was in such a tempest of tears, that he gave up the matter at once. It was well he did so, for Polly and Charity cried all night and Torm was so over come that even next morning he could not bring the Colonel his shaving-water, and he had to shave with cold water for the first time in twenty years. He therefore employed a tutor. Most people said the child ought to have had a governess, and one or two single ladies of forgotten age in the neigh borhood delicately hinted that they would gladly teach her ; but the Colonel swore that he would have no women around him, and he would be eternally condemned if any should interfere with Polly ; so he engaged Mr. Cranmer, and invited Bob to come over and go to school to him also, which he did ; for his mother, who had up to that time taught him herself, was very poor, and was unable to send him to school, her husband, who was the Colonel s fourth cousin, having died largely indebted, and all of his property, except a small farm adjoining the Colonel s, and a few negroes, having gone into the General Court. Bob had always been a great favorite with the 202 IN OLE VIRGINIA Colonel, and ever since he was a small boy he had been used to coming over and staying with him. He could gaff a chicken as well as Drinkwater Torm, which was a great accomplishment in the Colonel s eyes ; for he had the best game-chickens in the county, and used to fight them, too, match ing them against those of one or two of his neigh bors who were similarly inclined, until Polly grew up and made him stop. He could tame a colt quicker than anybody on the plantation. Moreover he could shoot more partridges in a day than the Colonel, and could beat him shooting with a pistol as well, though the Colonel laid the fault of the former on his being so fat, and that of the latter on his spectacles. They used to practice with the Colonel s old pistols that hung in their holsters over the tester of his bed, and about which Drink- water used to tell so many lies ; for although they were kept loaded, and their brass-mounted butts peeping out of their leathern covers used to look ferocious enough to give some apparent ground for Torm s story of how "he and the Colonel had shot Judge Cabell spang through the heart," the Colonel always said that Cabell behaved very handsomely, and that the matter was arranged on the field without a shot. Even at that time some people said that Bob s mother was trying to catch the Colonel, and that if the Colonel did not look out she would yet be the mistress of his big plan tation. And all agreed that the boy would come in for something handsome at the Colonel s death ; POLL Y 203 for Bob was his cousin and his nearest male rela tive, if Polly was his niece, and he would hardly leave her all his property, especially as she was so much like her mother, with whom, as every body knew, the Colonel had been desperately in love, but who had treated him badly, and, not withstanding his big plantation and many negroes, had run away with his younger brother, and both of them had died in the South of yellow fever, leav ing of all their children only this little Polly; and the Colonel had taken Drinkwater and Charity, and had travelled in his carriage all the way to Mississippi, to get and bring Polly back. It was Christmas Eve when they reached home, and the Colonel had sent Drinkwater on a day ahead to have the fires made and the house aired for the baby ; and when the carriage drove up that night you would have thought a queen was coming, sure enough. Every hand on the plantation was up at the great house waiting for them, and every room in the house had a fire in it. (Torm had told the over seer so many lies that he had had the men cutting wood all day, although the regular supply was already cut. ) And when Charity stepped out of the carriage, with the baby all bundled up in her arms, making a great show about keeping it wrapped up, and walked up the steps as slowly as if it were made of gold, you could have heard a pin drop ; even the Colonel fell back, and spoke in a whisper. The great chamber was given up 204 W OLE VIRGINIA to the baby, the Colonel going to the wing room, where he always stayed after that. He spoke of sitting up all night to watch the child, but Charity assured him that she was not going to take her eyes off of her during the night, and with a promise to come in every hour and look after them, the Colonel went to his room, where he snored until nine o clock the next morning. But I was telling what people said about Bob s mother. When the report reached the Colonel about the widow s designs, he took Polly on his knees and told her all about it, and then both laughed until the tears ran down the Colonel s face and dropped on his big flowered vest and on Polly s little blue frock; and he sent the widow next day a fine short-horned heifer to show his contempt of the gossip. And now Bob was the better shot of the two ; and they taught Polly to shoot also, and to load and unload the pistols, at which the Colonel was as proud as if one of his young stags had whipped an old rooster. But they never could induce her to shoot at anything except a mark. She was the tenderest- hearted little thing in the world. If her taste had been consulted she would have selected a crossbow, for it did not make such a noise, and she could shoot it without shutting her eyes ; besides that, she could shoot it in the house, which, indeed, she did, until she had shot the eyes POLLY 205 out of nearly all the bewigged gentlemen and bare necked, long-fingered ladies on the walls. Once she came very near shooting Term s eye out also ; but this was an accident, though Drinkwater de clared it was not, and tried to make out that Bob had put her up to it. " Dat s de mischievouses boy Gord uver made," he said, complainingly, to Charity. Fortunately, his eye got well, and it gave him an excuse for staying half drunk for nearly a week ; and afterward, like a dog that has once been lame in his hind-leg, whenever he saw Polly, and did not forget it, he squinted up that eye and tried to look miserable. Polly was quite a large girl then, and was carrying the keys (ex cept when she lost them), though she could not have been more than twelve years old ; for it was just after this that the birthday came when the Colonel gave her her first real silk dress. It was blue silk, and came from Richmond, and it was hard to tell which was the proudest, Polly, or Charity, or Drinkwater, or the Colonel. Torm got drunk before the dinner was over, "drinking de healthsh to de young mistis in de sky-blue robes what stands befo de throne, you know," he ex plained to Charity, after the Colonel had ordered him from the dining-room, with promises of prompt sale on the morrow. Bob was there, and it was the last time Polly ever sucked her thumb. She had almost gotten out of the habit anyhow, and it was in a moment of forgetfulness that she let Bob see her do it. He 206 IN OLE VIRGINIA was a great tease, and when she was smaller had often worried her about it until she would fly at him and try to bite him with her little white teeth. On this occasion, however, she stood everything until he said that about a girl who wore a blue silk dress sucking her thumb ; then she boxed his jaws. The fire flew from his eyes, but hers were even more sparkling. He paused for a minute, and then caught her in his arms and kissed her violently. She never sucked her thumb after that. This happened out in front of her mammy s house, within which Torm was delivering a pow erful exhortation on temperance; and, strange to say, Charity took Bob s side, while Torm espoused Polly s, and afterward said she ought to have " tooken a stick and knocked Marse Bob s head spang off. " This, fortunately, Polly did not do (and when Bob went to the university afterward he was said to have the best head in his class). She just turned around and ran into the house, with her face very red. But she never slapped Bob after that. Not long after this he went off to college ; for Mr. Cran- mer, the tutor, said he already knew more than most college graduates did, and that it would be a shame for him not to have a university education. When the question of ways and means was mooted, the Colonel, who was always ready to lend money if he had it, and to borrow it if he did not, swore he would give him all the money he wanted ; but, to his astonishment, Bob refused to accept it, and although the Colonel abused him for it, and asked POLL Y 207 Polly if she did not think he was a fool (which Polly did, for she was always ready to take and spend all the money he or any one else gave her), yet he did not like him the less for it, and he fin ally persuaded Bob to take it as a loan, and Bob gave him his bond. The day before he left home he was over at the Colonel s, where they had a great dinner for him, and Polly presided in her newest silk dress (she had three then) ; and when Bob said good-by she slipped something into his hand, and ran away to her room, and when he looked at it, it was her ten-dollar gold piece, and he took it. He was at college not quite three years, for his mother was taken sick, and he had to come home and nurse her ; but he had stood first in most of his classes, and not lower than third in any; and he had thrashed the carpenter on Vinegar Hill, who was the bully of the town. So that although he did not take his degree, he had gotten the start which enabled him to complete his studies during the time he was taking care of his mother, which he did until her death, so that as soon as he was admitted to the bar he made his mark. It was his splendid defence of the man who shot the deputy- sheriff at the court-house on election day that brought him out as the Democratic candidate for the Constitutional Convention, where he made such a reputation as a speaker that the Enquirer declared him the rising man of the State; and even the Whig admitted that perhaps the Loco- aoS AV OLE VIRGINIA foco party might find a leader to redeem it. Polly was just fifteen when she began to take an interest in politics ; and although she read the papers dili gently, especially the Enquirer, which her uncle never failed to abuse, yet she never could exactly satisfy herself which side was right ; for the Colo nel was a stanch Whig, while most people must have been Democrats, as Bob was elected by a big majority. She wanted to be on the Colonel s side, and made him explain everything to her, which he did to his own entire satisfaction, and to hers too, she tried to think ; but when Bob came over to tea, which he very frequently did, and the Colo nel and he got into a discussion, her uncle always seemed to her to get the worst of the argument ; at any rate, he generally got very hot. This, how ever, might have been because Bob was so cool, while the Colonel was so hot-tempered. Bob had grown up very handsome. His mouth was strong and firm, and his eyes were splendid. He was about six feet, and his shoulders were as broad as the Colonel s. She did not see him nov as often as she did when he was a boy, but it was because he was kept so busy by his practice. (He used to get cases in three or four counties now, and big ones at that.) She knew, however, that she was just as good a friend of his as ever; in deed, she took the trouble to tell herself so. A compliment to him used to give her the greatest happiness, and would bring deeper roses into her cheeks. He was the greatest favorite with every- POLLY 209 body. Torm thought that there was no one in the world like him. He had long ago forgiven him his many pranks, and said * he was the grettest gent man in the county skusin him [Torm] and the Colonel," and that "he al ays handled heself to he raisin ," by which Torm made indirect ref erence to regular donations made to him by the aforesaid " gent man," and particularly to an especially large benefaction then lately conferred. It happened one evening at the Colonel s, after dinner, when several guests, including Bob, were commenting on the perfections of various ladies who were visiting in the neighborhood that sum mer. The praises were, to Term s mind, some what too liberally bestowed, and he had attempted to console himself by several visits to the pantry ; but when all the list was disposed of, and Polly s name had not been mentioned, endurance could stand it no longer, and he suddenly broke in with his judgment that they "didn t none on em hoi a candle to his young mistis, whar wuz de ve y pink an flow r on em all." The Colonel, immensely pleased, ordered him out, with a promise of immediate sale on the mor row. But that evening, as he got on his horse, Bob slipped into his hand a five-dollar gold piece, and he told Polly that if the Colonel really in tended to sell Torm, just to send him over to his house; he wanted the benefit of his judgment. Polly, of course, did not understand his allu sion, though the Colonel had told her of Torm s 210 IN OLE VIRGINIA speech ; but Bob had a rose on his coat when he came out of the window, and the long pin in Polly s bodice was not fastened very securely, for it slipped, and she lost all her other roses, and he had to stoop and pick them up for her. Perhaps, though, Bob was simply referring to his having saved some money, for shortly afterward he came over one morning, and, to the Colonel s disgust, paid him down in full the amount of his bond. He attempted a somewhat formal speech of thanks, but broke down in it so lamentably that two juleps were ordered out by the Colonel to reinstate easy relations between them an effect which appar ently was not immediately produced and the Colonel confided to Polly next day that since the fellow had been taken up so by those Loco-focos he was not altogether as he used to be. " Why, he don t even drink his juleps clear," the old man asserted, as if he were charging him with, at the least, misprision of treason. " How ever," he added, softening as the excuse presented itself to his mind, " that may be because his mother was always so opposed to it. You know mint never would grow there," he pursued to Polly, who had heard him make the same observa tion, with the same astonishment, a hundred times. " Strangest thing I ever knew. But he s a con foundedly clever fellow, though, Polly," he con tinued, with a sudden reviving of the old-time affection. " Damme ! I like him." And, as Polly s face turned a sweet carmine, added : " Oh, POLLY 211 I forgot, Polly ; didn t mean to swear ; damme ! if I did. It just slipped out. Now I haven t sworn before for a week ; you know I haven t ; yes, of course, I mean except then" For Polly, with softly fading color, was reading him the se verest of lectures on his besetting sin, and citing an ebullition over Term s failing of the day be fore. " Come and sit down on your uncle s knee and kiss him once as a token of forgiveness. Just one more squeeze," as the fair girlish arms were twined about his neck, and the sweetest of faces was pressed against his own rough cheek. " Polly, do you remember," asked the old man, holding her off from him and gazing at the girlish face fondly " do you remember how, when you were a little scrap, you used to climb up on my knee and squeeze me, just once more, to save that rascal Drinkwater, and how you used to say you were going to marry Bob and me when you were grown up?" Polly s memory, apparently, was not very good. That evening, however, it seemed much better, when, dressed all in soft white, and with cheeks reflecting the faint tints of the sunset clouds, she was strolling through the old flower-garden with a tall young fellow whose hat sat on his head with a jaunty air, and who was so very careful to hold aside the long branches of the rose-bushes. They had somehow gotten to recalling each in turn some incident of the old boy-and-girl days. Bob knew the main facts as well as she, but Polly re- 2i2 IN OLE VIRGINIA membered the little details and circumstances of each incident best, except those about the time they were playing " knucks " together. Then, singularly, Bob recollected most. He was posi tive that when she cried because he shot so hard, he had kissed her to make it well. Curiously, Polly s recollection failed again, and was only dis tinct about very modern matters. She remem bered with remarkable suddenness that it was tea-time. They were away down at the end of the garden, and her lapse of memory had a singular effect on Bob ; for he turned quite pale, and insisted that she did remember it; and then said something about having wanted to see the Colonel, and hav ing waited, and did so strangely that if that rose bush had not caught her dress, he might have done something else. But the rose-bush caught her dress, and Polly, who looked really scared at it or at something, ran away just as the Colonel s voice was heard calling them to tea. Bob was very silent at the table, and when he left, the Colonel was quite anxious about him. He asked Polly if she had not noticed his depression. Polly had not. "That s just the way with you women," said the Colonel, testily. "A man might die under your very eyes, and you would not notice it. / noticed it, and I tell you the fellow s sick. I say he s sick ! " he reiterated, with a little habit he had acquired since he had begun to grow slightly deaf. POLLY 213 " I shall advise him to go away and have a little fling somewhere. He works too hard, sticks too close at home. He never goes anywhere except here, and he don t come here as he used to do. He ought to get married. Advise him to get married. Why don t he set up to Sally Brent or Malviny Pegram ? He s a likely fellow, and they d both take him fools if they didn t; I say they are fools if they didn t. What say ? " "I didn t say anything," said Polly, quietly going to the piano. Her music often soothed the Colonel to sleep. The next morning but one Bob rode over, and instead of hooking his horse to the fence as he usually did, he rode on around toward the stables. He greeted Torm, who was in the backyard, and after extracting some preliminary observations from him respecting the " misery in his back," he elicited the further facts that Miss Polly was going down the road to dine at the Pegrams , of which he had some intimation before, and that the Colonel was down on the river farm, but would be back about two o clock. He rode on. At two o clock promptly Bob returned. The Colonel had not yet gotten home. He, however, dismounted, and, tying his horse, went in. He must have been tired of sitting down, for he now walked up and down the portico without once tak ing a seat. " Marse Bob 11 walk heself to death," observed Charity to Torm, from her door. 214 IN OLE VIRGINIA Presently the Colonel came in, bluff, warm, and hearty. He ordered dinner from the front gate as he dismounted, and juleps from the middle of the walk, greeted Bob with a cheeriness which that gentleman in vain tried to imitate, and was plumped down in his great split-bottomed chair, wiping his red head with his still redder bandana handkerchief, and abusing the weather, the crops, the newspapers, and his overseer before Bob could get breath to make a single remark. When he did, he pitched in on the weather. That is a safe topic at all times. It was aston ishing how much comfort Bob got out of- it this afternoon. He talked about it until dinner began to come in across the yard, the blue china dishes gleaming in the hands of Phoebe and her numerous corps of ebon and mahogany assistants, and Torm brought out the juleps, with the mint looking as if it were growing in the great silver cans, with frosted work all over the sides. Dinner was rather a failure, so far as Bob was concerned. Perhaps he missed something that usually graced the table ; perhaps only his body was there, while he himself was down at Miss Malviny Pegram s ; perhaps he had gone back and was unfastening an impertinent rose-bush from a filmy white dress in the summer twilight ; per haps ; but anyhow he was so silent and ab stracted that the Colonel rallied him good-hu- moredly, which did not help matters. POLLY 215 They had adjourned to the porch, and had been there for some time, when Bob broached the sub ject of his visit. " Colonel," he said, suddenly, and wholly irrele vant to everything that had gone before, " there is a matter I want to speak to you about a ah we a little matter of great importance to ah myself." He was getting very red and confused, and the Colonel instantly divining the matter, and secretly flattering himself, and determining to crow over Polly, said, to help him out : " Aha, you rogue, I knew it. Come up to the scratch, sir. So you are caught at last. Ah, you sly fox ! It s the very thing you ought to do. Why, I know half a dozen girls who d jump at you. I knew it. I said so the other night. Polly" Bob was utterly off his feet by this time. " I want to ask your consent to marry Polly," he blurted out desperately; "I love her." " The devil you do ! " exclaimed the Colonel. He could say no more; he simply sat still, in speechless, helpless, blank amazement. To him Polly was still a little girl climbing his knees, and an emperor might not aspire to her. " Yes, sir, I do," said Bob, calm enough now growing cool as the Colonel became excited. " I love her, and I want her." " Well, sir, you can t have her ! " roared the Colonel, pulling himself up from his seat in the 216 IN OLE VIRGINIA violence of his refusal. He looked like a tawny lion whose lair had been invaded. Bob s face paled, and a look came on it that the Colonel recalled afterward, and which he did not remember ever to have seen on it before, except once, when, years ago, some one shot one of his dogs a look made up of anger and of dogged resolution. " I will ! " he said, throwing up his head and looking the Colonel straight in the eyes, his voice perfectly calm, but his eyes blazing, the mouth drawn close, and the lines of his face as if they had been carved in granite. I ll be if you shall ! " stormed the Colo nel : " the King of England should not have her ! " and, turning, he stamped into the house and slammed the door behind him. Bob walked slowly down the steps and around to the stables, where he ordered his horse. He rode home across the fields without a word, ex cept, as he jumped his horse over the line fence, " I will have her," he repeated, between his fast- set teeth. That evening Polly came home all unsuspecting anything of the kind; the Colonel waited until she had taken off her things and come down in her fresh muslin dress. She surpassed in loveliness the rose-buds that lay on her bosom, and the im pertinence that could dare aspire to her broke over the old man in a fresh wave. He had nursed his wrath all the evening. ." Polly ! " he blurted out, suddenly rising with POLLY 217 a jerk from his arm-chair, and unconsciously strik ing an attitude before the astonished girl, " do you want to marry Bob? " " Why, no," cried Polly, utterly shaken out of her composure by the suddenness and vehemence of the attack. " I knew it!" declared the Colonel, triumph antly. " It was a piece of cursed impertinence ! " and he worked himself up to such a pitch of fury, and grew so red in the face, that poor Polly, who had to steer between two dangers, was compelled to employ all her arts to soothe the old man and keep him out of a fit of apoplexy. She learned the truth, however, and she learned something which, until that time, she had never known ; and though, as she kissed her uncle " good-night," she made no answer to his final shot of, "Well, I m glad we are not going to have any nonsense about the fellow ; I have made up my mind, and we ll treat his impudence as it deserves," she locked her door carefully when she was within her own room, and the next morning she said she had a headache. Bob did not come that day. If the Colonel had not been so hot-headed that is, if he had not been a man things would doubt less have straightened themselves out in some of those mysterious ways in which the hardest knots into which two young peoples affairs contrive to get untangle themselves ; but being a man, he must needs, man-like, undertake to manage accord- 2i 8 IN OLE VIRGINIA ing to his own plan, which is always the wrong one. When, therefore, he announced to Polly at the breakfast-table that morning that she would have no further annoyance from that fellow s imperti nence; for he had written him a note apologizing for leaving him abruptly in his own house the day before, but forbidding him, in both their names, to continue his addresses, or, indeed, to put his foot on the place again; he fully expected to see Polly s face brighten, and to receive her approbation and thanks. What, then, was his disappointment to see her face grow distinctly white. All she said was, " Oh, uncle ! " It was unfortunate that the day was Sunday, and that the Colonel went with her to church (which she insisted on attending, notwithstanding her headache), and was by when she met Bob. They came on each other suddenly. Bob took off his hat and stood like a soldier on review, erect, expectant, and a little pale. The Colonel, who had almost forgotten his " impertinence," and was about to shake hands with him as usual, suddenly remembered it, and drawing himself up, stepped to the other side of Polly, and handed her by the younger gentleman as if he were protecting her from a mob. Polly, who had been looking anx iously everywhere but in the right place, meaning to give Bob a smile which would set things straight, caught his eye only at that second, and felt rather than saw the change in his attitude and manner. POLLY 219 She tried to throw him the smile, but it died in her eyes, and even after her back was turned she was sensible of his defiance. She went into church, and dropped down on her knees in the far end of her pew, with her little heart needing all the con solations of her religion. The man she prayed hardest for did not come into church that day. Things went very badly after that, and the knots got tighter and tighter. An attempt which Bob made to loosen them failed disastrously, and the Colonel, who was the best-hearted man in the world, but whose prejudices were made of wrought iron, took it into his head that Bob had insulted him, and Polly s indirect efforts at pacification aroused him to such an extent that for the first time in his life he was almost hard with her. He conceived the absurd idea that she was sacrificing herself for Bob on account of her friendship for him, and that it was his duty to protect her against herself, which, man-like, he proceeded to do in his own fashion, to poor Polly s great distress. She was devoted to her uncle, and knew the strength of his affection for her. On the other hand, Bob and she had been friends so long. She never could remember the time when she did not have Bob. But he had never said a word of love to her in his life. To be sure, on that evening in the garden she had known it just as well as if he had fallen on his knees at her feet. She knew his si lence was just because he had owed her uncle the 220 IN OLE VIRGINIA money ; and oh ! if she just hadn t gotten fright ened; and oh! if her uncle just hadn t done it; and oh ! she was so unhappy ! The poor little thing, in her own dainty, white-curtained room, where were the books and things he had given her, and the letters he had written her, used to but that is a secret. Anyhow, it was not because he was gone. She knew that was not the reason in deed, she very often said so to herself; it was be cause he had been treated so unjustly, and suffered so, and she had done it all. And she used to in troduce many new petitions into her prayers, in which, if there was not any name expressed, she felt that it would be understood, and the blessings would reach him just the same. The summer had gone, and the Indian sum mer had come in its place, hazy, dreamy, and sad. It always made Polly melancholy, and this year, although the weather was perfect, she was af fected, she said, by the heat, and did not go out of doors much. So presently her cheeks were not as blooming as they had been, and even her great dark eyes lost some of their lustre ; at least, Char ity thought so, and said so too, not only to Polly, but to her master, whom she scared half to death ; and who, notwithstanding that Dr. Stopper was coming over every other day to see a patient on the plantation, and that the next day was the time for his regular visit, put a boy on a horse that night and sent him with a note urging him to come the next morning to breakfast. POLLY 221 The doctor came, and spent the day : examined Polly s lungs and heart, prescribed out-door exer cise, and left something less than a bushel-basket ful of medicines for her to take. Polly was, at the time of his visit, in a very ex cited state, for the Colonel had, with a view of soothing her, the night before delivered a violent philippic against marriage in general, and in par ticular against marriage with " impudent young puppies who did not know their places ; " and he had proposed an extensive tour, embracing all the United States and Canada, and intended to cover the entire winter and spring following. Polly, who had stood as much as she could stand, finally rebelled, and had with flashing eyes and mantling cheeks espoused Bob s cause with a courage and dash which had almost routed the old Colonel. " Not that he was anything to her except a friend," she was most careful to explain; but she was tired of hearing her "friend" assailed, and she thought that it was the highest compliment a man could pay a woman, etc., etc., for all of which she did a great deal of blushing in her own room afterwards. Thus it happened, that she was both excited and penitent the next day, and thinking to make some atonement, and at the same time to take the pre scribed exercise, which would excuse her from taking the medicines, she filled a little basket with goodies to take old Aunt Betty at the Far Quarters ; and thus it happened, that, as she was coming back 222 IN OLE VIRGINIA along the path which ran down the meadow on the other side of the creek which was the dividing line between the two plantations, and was almost at the foot-bridge that Somebody had made for her so carefully with logs cut out of his own woods, and the long shadows of the willows made it gloomy, and everything was so still that she had grown very lonely and unhappy thus it hap pened, that just as she was thinking how kind he had been about making the bridge and hand-rail so strong, and about everything, and how cruel he must think her, and how she would never see him any more as she used to do, she turned the clump of willows to step up on the log, and there he w r as standing on the bridge just before her, looking down into her eyes ! She tried to get by him she remembered that afterwards ; but he was so mean. It was always a little confused in her memory, and she could never recall exactly how it was. She was sure, however, that it was be cause he was so pale that she said it, and that she did not begin to cry until afterwards, and that it was because he would not listen to her explana tion ; and that she didn t let him do it, she could not help it, and she did not know her head was on his shoulder. Anyhow, when she got home that evening her improvement was so apparent that the colonel called Charity in to note it, and declared that Vir ginia country doctors were the finest in the world, POLLY 223 and that Stopper was the greatest doctor in the State. The change was wonderful, indeed ; and the old gilt mirror, with its gauze-covered frame would never have known for the sad-eyed Polly of the day before the bright, happy maiden that stood before it now and smiled at the beaming face which dimpled at its own content. Old Betty s was a protracted pleurisy, and the good things Polly carried her daily did not tend to shorten the sickness. Ever afterwards she " blessed the Lord for dat chile " whenever Polly s name was mentioned. She would doubtless have included Bob in her benison had she known how sympathetic he was during this period. But although he was inspecting that bridge every afternoon regularly, notwithstanding Polly s oft-reiterated wish and express orders as regularly declared, no one knew a word of all this. And it was a bow drawn at a venture when, on the even ing that Polly had tried to carry out her engage ment to bring her uncle around, the old man had said, " Why, hoity-toity ! the young rascal s cause seems to be thriving." She had been so confident of her success that she was not prepared for fail ure, and it struck her like a fresh blow; and though she did not cry until she got into her own room, when she got there she threw herself on the bed and cried herself to sleep. " It was so cruel in him," she said to herself, " to desire me never to speak to him again ! And, oh ! if he should 224 AV OLE VIRGINIA really catch him on the place and shoot him ! " The pronouns in our language were probably in vented by young women. The headache Polly had the next morning was not invented. Poor little thing ! her last hope was gone. She determined to bid Bob good-by, and never see him again. She had made up her mind to this on her knees, so she knew she was right. The pain it cost her satisfied her that she was. She was firmly resolved when she set out that afternoon to see old Betty, who was in everybody s judgment except her own quite convalescent, and whom Dr. Stopper pronounced entirely well. She wavered a little in her resolution when, descend ing the path along the willows, which were leaf less now, she caught sight of a tall figure loitering easily up the meadow, and she abandoned that is, she forgot it altogether when, having doubt fully suggested it, she was suddenly enfolded in a pair of strong arms, and two gray eyes, lighting a handsome face strong with the self-confidence which women love, looked down into hers. Then he proposed it ! Her heart almost stood still at his boldness. But he was so strong, so firm, so reasonable, so self-reliant, and yet so gentle, she could not but listen to him. Still she refused and she never did consent ; she forbade him ever to think of it again. Then she begged him never to come there again, and told him of her uncle s threats, and of her POLL Y 225 fears for him; and then, when he laughed at them, she begged him never, never, under any circum stances, to take any notice of what her uncle might do or say, but rather to stand still and be shot dead ; and then, when Bob promised this, she burst into tears, and he had to hold her and com fort her like a little girl. It was pretty bad after that, and but for Polly s out-door exercise she would undoubtedly have suc cumbed. It seemed as if something had come be tween her and her uncle. She no longer went about singing like a bird. She suffered under the sense of being misunderstood, and it was so lonely ! He too was oppressed by it. Even Torm shared in it, and his expositions assumed a cast terrific in the lasl degree. It was now December. One evening it culminated. The weather had been too bad for Polly to go out, and she was sick. Finally Stopper was sent for. Polly, who, to use Charity s expression, was " pestered till she was fractious," rebelled flatly, and refused to keep her bed or to take the medicines prescribed. Charity backed her. Torm got drunk. The Colonel was in a fume, and declared his intention to sell Torm next morning, as usual, and to take Charity and Polly and go to Europe. This was well enough ; but to Polly s consternation, when she came to breakfast next morning, she found that the old man s plans had ripened into a scheme to set out on the very next day for Louisiana and New Or- 22 6 IN OLE VIRGINIA leans, where he proposed to spend the winter looking after some plantations she had, and show ing her something of the world. Polly remon strated, rebelled, cajoled. It was all in vain. Stopper had seriously frightened the old man about her health, and he was adamant. Prepara tions were set on foot ; the brown hair trunks, with their lines of staring brass tacks, were raked out and dusted; the Colonel got into a fever, or- clered up all the negroes in the yard, and gave instructions from the front door, like a major-gen eral reviewing his troops; got Torni, Charity, and all the others into a wild flutter ; attempted to su perintend Polly s matters; made her promises of fabulous gifts; became reminiscent, and told marvelous stories of his old days, which Torm corroborated ; and so excited Polly and the plan tation generally, that from old Betty, who came from the Far Quarters for the purpose of taking it in, down to the blackest little dot on the place, there was not one who did not get into a wild whirl, and talk as if they were all going to New Orleans the next morning, with Joe Rattler on the boot. Polly had, after a stout resistance, surrendered to her fate, and packed her modest trunk with very mingled feelings. Under other circum stances she would have enjoyed the trip im mensely ; but she felt now as if it were parting from Bob forever. Her heart was in her throat all day, and even the excitement of packing could not drive away the feeling. She knew she would POLL Y 227 never see him again. She tried to work out what the end would be. Would he die, or would he marry Malviny Pegram ? Every one said she would just suit him, and she d certainly marry him if he asked her. The sun was shining over the western woods. Bob rode down that way in the afternoon, even when it was raining; he had told her so. He would think it cruel of her to go away thus, and never even let him know. She would at least go and tell him good-by. So she did. Bob s face paled suddenly when she told him all, and that look which she had not seen often before settled on it. Then he took her hand and began to explain everything to her. He told her that he had loved her all her life ; showed her how she had inspired him to work for and win every success that he had achieved ; how it had been her work even more than his. Then he laid before her the life plans he had formed, and proved how they were all for her, and for her only. He made it all so clear, and his voice was so confident, and his face so earnest, as he pleaded and proved it step by step, that she felt, as she leaned against him and he clasped her closely, that he was right, and that she could not part from him. That evening Polly was unusually silent; but the Colonel thought she had never been so sweet. She petted him until he swore that no man on earth was worthy of her, and that none should ever have her. 228 IN OLE VIRGINIA After tea she went to his room to look over his clothes (her especial work), and would let no one, not even her mammy, help her; and when the Colonel insisted on coming in to tell her some more concerning the glories of New Orleans in his day, she finally put him out and locked the door on him. She was very strange all the evening. As they were to start the next morning, the Colonel was for retiring early ; but Polly would not go she loitered around, hung about the old fellow, petted him, sat on his knee and kissed him, until he was forced to insist on her going to bed. Then she said good-night, and astonished the Colonel by throwing herself into his arms and bursting out crying. The old man soothed her with caresses and baby talk, such as he used to comfort her with when she was a little girl, and when she became calm he handed her to her door as if she had been a duchess. The house was soon quiet, except that once the Colonel heard Polly walking in her room, and mentally determined to chide her for sitting up so late. lie, however, drifted off from the subject when he heard some of his young mules galloping around the yard, and he made a sleepy resolve to sell them all, or to dismiss his overseer next day for letting them out of the lot. Before he had quite determined which he should do, he dropped off to sleep again. POLL Y 22y It was possibly about this time that a young man lifted into her saddle a dark-habited little figure, whose face shone very white in the star light, and whose tremulous voice would have sug gested a refusal had it not been drowned in the deep, earnest tone of her lover. Although she declared that she could not think of doing it, she had on her hat and furs and riding-habit when Bob came. She did, indeed, really beg him to go away ; but a few minutes later a pair of horses cantered down the avenue toward the lawn gate, which shut with a bang that so frightened the little lady on the bay mare that the young man found it necessary to lean over and throw a steady ing arm around her. For the first time in her life Polly saw the sun rise in North Carolina, and a few hours later a gentle-voiced young clergyman, whose sweet- faced wife was wholly carried away by Polly s beauty, received under protest Bob s only gold piece, a coin which he twisted from his watch- chain with the promise to quadruple it if he would preserve it until he could redeem it. When Charity told the Colonel next morning that Polly was gone, the old man for the first time in fifty years turned perfectly white. Then he fell into a consuming rage, and swore until Charity would not have been much surprised to see the devil appear in visible shape and claim him on the spot. He cursed Bob, cursed himself, cursed Torm, Charity, and the entire female sex Individ- 23 o IN OLE VIRGINIA ually and collectively, and then, seized by a new idea, he ordered his horse, that he might pursue the runaways, threatened an immediate sale of his whole plantation, and the instantaneous death of Bob, and did in fact get down his great brass- mounted pistols, and lay them by him as he made Torm, Charity, and a half-dozen younger house- servants dress him. Dressing and shaving occupied him about an hour he always averred that a gentleman could not dress like a gentleman in less time and, still breathing out threatenings and slaughter, he marched out of his room, making Torm and Charity follow him, each with a pistol. Some thing prompted him to stop and inspect them in the hall. Taking first one and then the other, he examined them curiously. " Well, I ll be ! " he said, dryly, and flung both of them crashing through the window. Turn ing, he ordered waffles and hoe-cakes for break fast, and called for the books to have prayers. Polly had utilized the knowledge she had gained as a girl, and had unloaded both pistols the night before, and rammed the balls down again without powder, so as to render them harmless. By breakfast time Torm was in a state of such advanced intoxication that he was unable to walk through the back yard gate, and the Colonel was forced to content himself with sending by Charity a message that he would get rid of him early the next morning. He straitly enjoined Charity to tell him, and she as solemnly promised to do so. POLLY aji " Yes, suh, / gwi tell him," she replied, with a faint tone of being wounded at his distrust ; and she did. She needed an outlet. Things got worse. The Colonel called up the overseer and gave new orders, as if he proposed to change everything. He forbade any mention of Polly s name, and vowed that he would send for Mr. Steep, his lawyer, and change his will to spite all creation. This humor, instead of wear ing off, seemed to grow worse as the time stretched on, and Torm actually grew sober in the shadow that had fallen on the plantation. The Colonel had Polly s room nailed up and shut himself up in the house. The negroes discussed the condition of affairs in awed undertones, and watched him furtively whenever he passed. Various opinions by turns prevailed. Aunt Betty, who was regarded with veneration, owing partly to the interest the lost Polly had taken in her illness, and partly to her great age (to which she annually added three years) prophesied that he was going to die " in torments," just like some old uncle of his whom no one else had ever heard of until now, but who was raked up by her to serve as a special example. The chief resemblance seemed to be a certain " rankness in cussin ." Things were certainly going badly, and day by day they grew worse. The Colonel became more and more morose. " He don even quoil no mo ," Torm complained 23 2 IN OLE VIRGINIA \ pathetically to Charity. " He jes set still and study. I feard he gvvine stracted." It was, indeed, lamentable. It was accepted on the plantation that Miss Polly had gone for good some said down to Louisiana and would never come back any more. The prevailing im pression was that, if she did, the Colonel would certainly kill Bob. Torm had not a doubt of it. Thus matters stood three days before Christmas. The whole plantation was plunged in gloom. It would be the first time since Miss Polly was a baby that they had not had "a big Christmas." Term s lugubrious countenance one morning seemed to shock the Colonel out of his lethargy. He asked how many days there would be before Christmas, and learning that there were but three, he ordered preparations to be made for a great feast and a big time generally. He had the wood pile replenished as usual, got up his presents, and superintended the Christmas operations himself, as Polly used to do. But it was sad work, and when Torm and Charity retired Christmas Eve night, although Torm had imbibed plentifully, and the tables were all spread for the great dinner for the servants next day, there was no peace in Torm s discourse ; it was all of wrath and judg ment to come. He had just gone to sleep when there was a knock at the door. " Who dat out dyah ? " called Charity. You niggers better go long to bed." POLL Y 233 The knock was repeated. "Who dat out dyah, I say? " queried Charity, testily. " Whyn t you go long way from dat do ? Torm,Torm, dee s somebody at de do ," she said, as the knocking was renewed. Torm was hard to wake, but at length he got up and moved slowly to the door, grumbling to himself all the time. When finally he undid the latch, Charity, who was in bed, heard him exclaim, " Well, name o Gord! good Gord A mighty!" and burst into a wild explosion of laughter. In a second she too was outside of the door, and had Polly in her arms, laughing, jumping, hugging, and kissing her while Torm executed a series of caracoles around them. "Whar Marse Bob?" asked both negroes, finally, in a breath. " Hello, Torm ! How arc you, Mam Charity ? " called that gentleman, cheerily, coming up from where he had been fastening the horses; and Charity, suddenly mindful of her peculiar appear ance and of the frosty air, " scuttled " into the house, conveying her young mistress with her. Presently she came out dressed, and invited Bob in too. She insisted on giving them something to eat ; but they had been to supper, and Polly was much too excited hearing about her uncle to eat anything. She cried a little at Charity s descrip tion of him, which she tried to keep Bob from seeing, but he saw it, and had to however, when 234 IN OLE VIRGINIA they got ready to go home, Polly insisted on going to the yard and up on the porch, and when there, she actually kissed the window-blind of the room whence issued a muffled snore suggestive at least of some degree of forgetfulness. She wanted Bob to kiss it too, but that gentleman apparently found something else more to his taste, and her entreaty was drowned in another sound. Before they remounted their horses Polly carried Bob to the greenhouse, where she groped around in the darkness for something, to Bob s complete mystification. " Doesn t it smell sweet in here ? " she asked. " I don t smell anything but that mint bed you ve been walking on," he laughed. As they rode off, leaving Torm and Charity standing in the road, the last thing Polly said was, " Now be sure you tell him nine o clock." " Umm ! I know he gwi sell me den sho nough," said Torm, in a tone of conviction, as the horses cantered away in the frosty night. Once or twice, as they galloped along, Bob made some allusion to the mint bed on which Polly had stepped, to which she made no reply. But as he helped her down at her own door, he asked, "What in the world have you got there?" " Mint," said she, with a little low, pleased laugh. By light next morning it was known all over the plantation that Miss Polly had returned. The re joicing, however, was clouded by the fear that nothing would come of it. POLLY 235 In Charity s house it was decided that Torm should break the news. Torm was doubtful on the point as the time drew near, but Charity s mind never wavered. Finally he went in with his master s shaving- water, having first tried to estab lish his courage by sundry pulls at a black bottle. He essayed three times to deliver the message, but each time his courage failed, and he hastened out under pretence of the water having gotten cold. The last time he attracted Charity s at tention. " Name o Gord, Torm, you gwine to scawl hawgs ? " she asked, sarcastically. The next time he entered the Colonel was in a fume of impatience, so he had to fix the water. He set down the can, and bustled about with hypo critical industry. The Colonel, at last, was almost through; Torm retreated to the door. As his master finished, he put his hand on the knob, and turning it, said, " Miss Polly come home larse night; sh say she breakfast at nine o clock." Slapbang ! came the shaving-can, smashing against the door, just as he dodged out, and the roar of the Colonel followed him across the hall. When finally their master appeared on the por tico, Torm and Charity were watching in some doubt whether he would not carry out on the spot his long-threatened purpose. He strode up and down the long porch, evidently in great excitement. " He s tumble dis mornin ," said Torm ; " he th owed de whole kittle o b ilin water at me." 236 IN OLE VIRGINIA " Pity he didn scawl you to death," said his wife, sympathizingly. She thought Torm s awk wardness had destroyed Polly s last chance. Torm resorted to his black bottle, and proceeded to talk about the lake of brimstone and fire. Up and down the portico strode the old Colonel. His horse was at the rack, where he was always brought before breakfast. (For twenty years he had probably never missed a morning.) Finally he walked down, and looked at the saddle; of course, it was all wrong. He fixed it, and, mounting, rode off in the opposite direction to that whence his invitation had come. Charity, looking out of her door, inserted into her diatribe against " all wuthless, drunken, fool niggers " a pathetic parenthesis to the effect that " Ef Marster meet Marse Bob dis mornih , de don be a hide nor hyah left o nyah one on em ; an dat lamb over dyah maybe got oystchers waitin for him too." Torm was so much impressed that he left Char ity and went out of doors. The Colonel rode down the plantation, his great gray horse quivering with life in the bright winter sunlight. He gave him the rein, and he turned down a cross-road which led out of the plantation into the main highway. Mechanically he opened the gate and rode out. Before he knew where he was he was through the wood, and his horse had stopped at the next gate. It was the gate of Bob s place. The house stood out bright and FOLLY 237 plain among the yard trees ; lines of blue smoke curled up almost straight from the chimneys ; and he could see two or three negroes running back ward and forward between the kitchen and the house. The sunlight glistened on something in the hand of one of them, and sent a ray of dazzling light all the way to the old man. He knew it was a plate or a dish. He took out his watch and glanced at it; it was five minutes to nine o clock. He started to turn around to go home. As he did so, the memory of all the past swept over him, and of the wrong that had been done him. He would go in and show them his contempt for them by riding in and straight out again ; and he ac tually unlatched the gate and went in. As he rode across the field he recalled all that Polly had been to him from the time when she had first stretched out her arms to him ; all the little ways by which she had brought back his youth, and had made his house home, and his heart soft again. Every scene came before him as if to mock him. He felt once more the touch of her little hand; heard again the sound of her voice as it used to ring through the old house and about the grounds ; saw her and Bob as children romping about his feet, and he gave a great gulp as he thought how desolate the house was now. He sat up in his saddle stiffer than ever. D him ! he would enter his very house, and there to his face and hers denounce him for his baseness ; he pushed his horse to a trot. Up to the yard gate he rode, 238 IN OLE VIRGINIA and, dismounting, hitched his horse to the fence, and slamming the gate fiercely behind him, stalked up the walk with his heavy whip clutched fast in his hand. Up the walk and up the steps, without a pause, his face set as grim as rock, and purple with suppressed emotion ; for a deluge of memo ries was overwhelming him. The door was shut ; they had locked it on him ; but he would burst it in, and Ah! what was that? The door flew suddenly open ; there was a cry, a spring, a vision of something swam before his eyes, and two arms were clasped about his neck, while he was being smothered with kisses from the sweetest mouth in the world, and a face made up of light and laughter, yet tearful, too, like a dew-bathed flower, was pressed to his, and before the Colonel knew it he had, amid laughter and sobs and caresses, been borne into the house, and pressed down at the daintiest little breakfast-table eyes ever saw, set for three persons, and loaded with steaming dishes, and with a great fresh julep by the side of his plate, and Torm standing be hind his chair, whilst Bob was helping him to " oystchers," and Polly, with dimpling face, was attempting the exploit of pouring out his coffee without moving her arm from around his neck. The first thing he said after he recovered his breath was, " Where did you get this mint ? " Polly broke into a peal of rippling, delicious laughter, and tightened the arm about his neck. POLL Y 239 " Just one more squeeze," said the Colonel ; and as she gave it he said, with the light of it all break ing on him, " Damme if I don t sell you ! or, if I can t sell you, I ll give you away that is, if he ll come over and live with us." That evening, after the great dinner, at which Polly had sat in her old place at the head of the table, and Bob at the foot, because the Colonel insisted on sitting where Polly could give him one more squeeze, the whole plantation was ablaze with "Christmas," and Drinkwater Torm, steady ing himself against the sideboard, delivered a dis course on peace on earth and good-will to men so powerful and so eloquent that the Colonel, de lighted, rose and drank his health, and said, " Damme if I ever sell him again ! " THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY OVERDUE. APR 22 1b42 4 1944 6Dec 57GS| REC D LD DEC 1195 mv *5M$ 48 IN STACKS 1-1965 M98925 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY DOXEY IMPOR TER