2419 to 2 3 A DUSKY IDYL LAISDEU LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS /NIRAM On the wide veranda. Page II. \ t , :, J"^ DUSKY IDYL LAISDELL MITCHELL AUTHOR OF TONY. PHILADELPHIA CHARLES H. BANES 1420 Chestnut Street i89 5 LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Copyright 1895 by the AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY CO/NTE/NTS i ?tus ; for there, when the anqel lamps V I twinkling into sight, and the the nightingale lent its charm to 22 NIRAM the half silence, Isrima, With her little lad in her capacious arms, Would sit and sing, With all the ferVor of her great mother-loVe, and the abandon of the true J\|egro to the seductiveness of sound. Tier song could easily be heard on the Veranda, and the Voices of the other singers made a pleas ant accompaniment. <7\boVe all things else she loVed the Weird, minor strains, and often Would she be joined in her singing by J\|iram, whose Voice Was a sWeet, clear contralto. Seldom could he be persuaded to sing alone, but nevertheless, he possessed, locked safely in its ebony casket, that rare treasure the poWer of intelligent, sympathetic singing. |n him Was combined in a truly Wonderful manner the crooning, rhythmic poWer of his people, and the pure, accurate, pleasure-giving tones of the whites. II A Melodious Might " Sweetest melodies Are those tJiat are by distance made more sweet" Wordsworth. _ ^ 2 ^ Or had just come to the Veranda after supper, and could distinctly hear the clear Voice of Isrima as she sang to her loVed one. [n the feW days already passed | had become strange ly interested in her boy, and / had made quite an effort to learn concerning him and his injury that possioie. I instinctively felt, Without any ground for belief that in some Way 1 should be permitted to relieve him. JV|y life for many years had been spent among children, in the en- deaVor to alleviate their sufferings, and I desired 25 Was possible. 26 NIRAM to test my alleged skill on J\|iram. JV]y oWn boy I ony, who had whistled himself into my heart, Was then at school, and | Was With the general in response to a most urgent invitation to come doWn for a fortnight's shooting, in which the Island abounded. I he air, | remember, Was Very still that evening, sWeet and fragrantly transparent, and the general, With the p a| "ty of merry young people, had gathered on the other side of the house, and comparatively speaking, I Was alone, With my pipe and thoughts of the little black, the protege of JVjiss l)orothy than whom a sWeeter girl neVer lived. While thus musinq [ Was suddenly recalled QJ e/ to my immediate surroundings by hearing, rising round and full, in strong, rich cadenzas, aboVe NT RAM 27 the low monotone of the blacks' singing, in a Voice of rare sweetness and poWer, but untrained, the Words : ''Way doWn upon de e)uWannee Ribber, par, fa r, ' Way, l$)ere's whar my heart am turnin' eber, Dene's whar de ole folks stay. "'All up an' doWn de whole creation. @)adly I roam, e)till longin' fur de old plantation, ?tus laughed. Tie could not help it, and his mirth Was contagious. poWe^er, he once more began on the interrupted sentence: NIRAM 35 1 YOU had jes' better go ter sleep, fur "My lub's brack ez she kin be, An' she t'inks a heap ob me. ll)ancin' eyes an' corkscrew curls, JV|ake her jes' de bes' ob gurls! Oh, [jizbeth Ann, | lubsyou! h, Lfizbeth Ann, | (ubsyou! (f)et de day an' I'll be dar, pup, [j-izbeth Ann, | lubsyou!" JVlany of eNiram's ditties, of which he pos sessed a Well-nigh inexhaustible supply, Were, as I afterward learned, peculiar to the J\|ecjroes of the Island. J\owhere else through the Southland haVe | eVer heard them sung. estrange Q s they Were at first, frequent repetition soon familiarized me With them. And, eVen now, by closing eyes 36 NIRAM and ears to the surrounding influences, I can easily imagine myself back among the melodies and aromas of the Island. The old man Was almost Worsted, but per tinaciously determined to complete his sentence, like the famous perr JMeyer. The intervals of song had no apparent effect upon its original structure, for he proceeded, unmoVed: " - 1 don't Wants you ter sing any mo' ter-night." Softly, sWeetly, like a passing breath, came the Words, qaininq Gradually in Volume as the ' d) o) <) eJ melody rolled on : " I'm trabelin' bac' ter Di*ie, JV|y step am slow an' feeble; I prays de |_for ter help me, ?tus Was no more proof against the Wiles of the one he lo\?ed than are others, and With a half-grunt, as much as to say, "Well, ef you Will hex? your Way, heV it! " he returned to the solace of his corn-cob and patiently Waited the boy's Will. I hen rose the minor tones, full of sweetness and With the echo of tears in them : NIRAM 39 "h, de days am long an' dreary, JViy life am sad an' Weary, I'm Waitin' fur de JMassa 1 er cum fur me. pe'll tak' me home ter glory, f ah, de JMassa Will ! jle'll tak' me home ter glory, cip de golden hill ! " Jesus, please help J\|iram ter be braVe. | Wants so much ter be strong an' Well. IDat's all. ?tus' time Was NIRAM 65 about evenly divided between a loVe of everting authority, and the laborious spelling out of the Words of his 1 estament. jsrima Was an e)?cel- lent example of what Wives should be in submit ting to their husbands' authority, and never pre sumed to differ from the expressed sentiments of her other half except in the culinary realm, and there she brooked neither suggestion nor rival. eNiram, older grown, Was now, as eVer, the joy and pride of these old people, who conversed ' eloquently and untiringly of him. [n their eyes his observations Were doubly refined Wisdom, his Wishes laWs. Tie held the position once occu pied by his father, and filled it most satisfactorily. JV|oreoVer, he Was a natural leader, although in no Wise a dictator, and possessed a peculiar, beneficial influence oVer his people, but retained Withal, a 66 NIRAM remarkably pure and guileless (Christian character; sWeet, yet strong; noble, yet humble; Willing to be less than the least, but unswerving in his prin ciples, and firm in his advocacy of the truth. In the softness of the fading light as We Were enjoying the Veranda, the Words floated toward us, and although years had elapsed I recognized the Voice of J\iram, as he sang one of his boyish favorites : "I'se'd happy, happy, niggah boy! 1 plays all de day; I sleeps all de night