HEAH BE VOICES CALLIN MARY LOUISE GAINES THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES V. H. SKAGGS, r KO..&.AJ& I Heah de Voices CallirT MARY LOUISE GAINES 1916 BYRD PRINTING Co. ATLANTA Copyright 1916 By MARY LOUISE GAINES 35V <5 G&7 DEDICATION as 00 TO THE YOUNG WOMEN OP THE SOUTH WHO HOLD WITH IMPERISHABLE DEVOTION TO * THE IDEALS OF THEIR GRANDFATHERS AND in W GRANDMOTHERS, WHO WERE THE UNEXCELLED EXPONENTS OF ALL THAT WAS HIGH AND NOBLE AND GOOD IN THE OLD SOUTH 8 i -M X 461138 CONTEXTS. Foreword 7 Introduction by Mr. Knight 9 A Vista 15 I Heah de Voices Call in 19 De Battle uv de Crater 23 Dem Swadin Ways 29 An He Mended de Gyarden Wall 33 Then Mammy Holds My I land 37 How Une Caesar Got Drunk Onbeknownst to Hisse f 41 De Ole Black Mammy 53 De Comin Thoo uv Peter Crump 59 "Queen Huldy" 67 Holding the Vision 91 ILLUSTRATIONS. A Vista 14 "Unc Nat" 18 "Sam" 22 Then Mammy Holds My Hand 36 "Aunt Mary" 38 "Unc Caesar" 40, 45 De Ole Black Mammy 52 Yo Aiir No Qual ty Nigger 55 G way from Heah 64 The Forest . . 90 FOREWORD IN presenting these scenes and portraits of a far and beautiful time I wish to say that each one is from life. These faithful old servants were from Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi. A few are still living. Some have recently passed away, and the feet of those who remain are even now in the edge of the stream. They were the product of the example and teach ing of the gentle, brave, true men and women whose characters have never been excelled, and whose graces have never been equalled. And while we enshrine them in our hearts and embalm them in our memories, let us tread the same pathway, whether it be flower-strewn or set with thorns. MARY LOUISE GAINES. Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Ga., December 1, 1916. INTRODUCTION BY AIR. KNIGHT Lucian Lamar Knight, Georgia s State historian, has written the introduction. His appreciation of the author s work is couched in the following strong par agraphs : This little volume of verse is sure of a warm wel come from a discriminating public. One needs only to glance hurriedly through its charming pages to find that, while diminutive in size, it contains the vital elements of a real literature. Wit, humor, pathos, imagination, wisdom, melody, all are packed into a space of dainty proportions. In an age. the chief characteristic of whose literary product is mere bulk, it is refreshing to encounter this little vol ume, which contains in essence so much distilled beauty, which reflects in miniature so much of a van ished world. It is something more than a mere cluster of songs in dialect. Both the historian s pen and the artist s brush have been employed by the author. She visu- 10 I HE AH DE VOICES CALLIN ali/es the past with true fidelity to life. Once more we find ourselves in the old South of romance and of song. We hear again the plantation melodies. Be fore us looms the stately old Southern mansion, back of which, as in the dead days, are grouped, in a pic turesque fashion, the slave quarters. Reaching away to the horizon, extend the white fields of fleecy cotton, all a-teem with industrious labor, all vibrant with the airs of a simple but song-loving people. Her charac ters are not mechanical. She endows each with an in dividuality, separate and distinct. Her work is con vincing because artistic. In the molds of dialect, she preserves the quaint humor, the droll philosophy, and tlic unfailing wit of the old-time Southern darkies. The relationship, tender and beautiful, existing be tween white and black, under the old feudal regime, is sketched with a loving hand. The old black mam my lives again in these pages, her laughter as con tagious and her heart as loyal as ever. One almost forgets, in reading this little book, that the days so charmingly recalled by the author belong to a past whose memories are fast fading, and that over the death-strewn field of Appomattox the gentle rains of more than half a century have fallen. INTRODUCTION BY MR. KNIGHT 11 There is not a single note of bitterness to be de tected in the author s work, not a trace of sinister sectionalism. It is all sweet and wholesome like moun tain air. Only the beautiful things are recalled. It is also free from local obscurities and limitations. It is marred by no provincialism. The author is both in and of the South. Born in the Old Dominion, a daughter of one of its patrician families, much of her life has been spent in Georgia. Her range of observation has, therefore, been wide. The life which she portrays is not peculiar to any one isolated section, but is typical of the South as a whole. The ante-bellum regime is reflected as in a mir ror. Yet all within the limits of a single little duo decimo. How much of the soul of Dixie is packed into this volume how much of its treasured lore even as a drop of dew contains in its chemistry the ingredients of an ocean. Such a volume will lend itself readily to programs for Southern evenings in schools and col leges, in women s clubs, and in literary societies. Our Northern friends who desire a genuine bit of the old South will here find it ; while those of our own number, 12 I HEAH DE VOICES CALLIN who wish to keep in vital touch with the past and to hear its living voices, will find in this little book a faithful guide into the land of Southern yesterdays, a truthful interpreter of its ideals, and a sweet minstrel of its memories. LUCIAN LAMAR KNIGHT. Atlanta, Georgia, December 1, 1916. A VISTA A VISTA. A VISTA Far thro the fields of bending grass, Sweet odors, lingering, pass From out the spicy pines of night And splintered aisles of light, er bands of sun and further shades Of ever deepening glades Hence, to resplendent wide-spread domes, Light s unencumbered homes. Spirit of a radiant Past ! Thy fragrant garments cast O er suns and chequered glooms of space With tender, quiet grace, And faithful dusky forms enfold, With souls of larger mold. I HEAH DE VOICES CALLIN UNO NAT." I HEAR DE VOICES CALLIN Dese eyes dey gittin dimmer, I ain see fur away; Ole Marster des a-callin, it mus be break o day; I see des like de pic shur, how clear de ole Ian lay. De stars is des a-winkin an de dew a-shinin bright, I heah de hosses stompin in de meadow on de right, An de cows fum out de low-groun , whar I pen um fer de night. An dar s ole Mistis chillun, a-playin in de sun, Dere little snow-w ite footses a-shinin es dey run: An w en de shadders f allin , I sho ter tote em home. Dem chillun callin sof ly, dey 11 ketch me roun de knees ; I spea it des de river a-rollin* wid de breeze, An de win fum out de valley a-creepin thoo de trees. I heah de many voices of de fo kes I useter kno ; Tt seem like dey mus want me; dey did so long ago; Ef I hoi my href an lissen. dey je.s inside de do . 20 I HKAII DE VOICED CALLIN" Dis worl is done got lonesome, I ain keer much Id- stay; I gwine ter fin ole Mistis, she say she lead de way. Ter whar dar s no mo trouble, an de light is always day. I heah de angels callin , I heah dem thoo de stars ; I wunner is dey ready ter let me thoo de bars ; Dese clo es do , dey ain fatten, dey ain like what dey wears. I prays an I m a-singin dis song heah all alone, In dis ole cheer a-settin , an my work is mos ly done, Dat de good Lawd up in Heaben ud come an tek me home. Ole Mistis, she up yonder, all dressed in pearly white, Her gyarments es a-floatin acrost my failin sight; She ll watch ter see me comin , an she sho ter hoi de light. An de Lawd (hit cum fum glory. Tie kno I s ole an po\ An de ones dat useter teach me es jes gone on befo . But de Hook say cf I trus Him. He ll nuver slid <ledo\ The author has written beautiful and most appealing music, with chorus, to this song. Contralto solo and arranged also for male quartet. White-Smith Music Publishing Co., Boston, Mass. DE BATTLE UV DE CRATER SAM." DE BATTLE UV DE CRATER When the Southern Confederacy was in its last throes the government considered the question of put ting into the army a large number of negroes, prom ising them freedom after the war. Some said they would not fight, others said they would desert to the enemy. "But," said John B. Gordon, "as a matter of fact, so great was the loyalty of those old-time body-servants, in thousands of cases they risked their lives and brought their young masters off the field of battle wounded or dead." Old Sam belonged to a South Carolina gentleman. He went into the army as the body-servant of his two young masters, and was an eye-witness of the Battle of the Crater," Petersburg, Virginia. Twuz down in Souf Ca lina, By de ole plantation well r Dat ole Marster stood dat mawnin Wen he spoke dat las farewell. 24 I HE AH DE VOICES CALL1N His eyes wuz dim an misty, An he nuver made no noise, Des raise his han to Heaben, Say, "Sam, tek keer o de boys!" Dat s de onliest wu d he tole me, Ease he knode I d do my part, But to see dem boys a-leavin Des broke ole Marster s heart. His head wuz white es cotton, An his step, it monstus slow, I feared he cud n stan it But he tole dem boys to go. Dey set up proud an han som On dem bosses, whut I broke, Dey game right den fer battle, An dey nuver min de smoke. Twuz de battle uv de Crater, An I staid back, me an Ben. An I belt eight head o bosses, Fer de Gunnel, an de men. DE BATTLE UV DE CRATER 25- We heah d de cannon boomin , An see de shot an shell. I prayed de Lawd to lissen, An keep em live and well. Den de earf tor up so sudden An I ain kno nuffin mo , But de hosses des a-trompin , Whar dar ain no stable flo . De smoke wuz liftm"* slowly, An de sun a-settin red. An all acrost de meaders, Wuz de dyin an de dead. I searched acrost dat meader, An whar twuz steep an hilly, An down amongst de shadders, An dar I foun Marse Billy. His head wuz on his elbow, An he look so still an sweet, I say, Good Lawd in Heaben ! De chile is fas asleep. I HEAH DE VOICES CALL1N He done wo out vvid fightiii , An he des want Sam to come An fetch a cup o watah, An talk bout goin home." An den I draw d up nearder. His han s an head wuz col ? . An his pretty curls all bloody, Whut Mistis said wuz gol . I hid him neaf de pine tree, Whar de win wuz sighin low, An I clipped a curl fer Mistis Des befo I let him go. De years is passin slowly, An I sometimes pine an fret. I done got ole an lonesome, Hut I see Marse Billy yet. I wakes up in de moonlight. An I heahs de win an noise, An I heah ole Marster callin S;iy. "Sam. tek keer o de boys." DEM SWADIN WAYS DEM SWADIN WAYS Yas, suh, Marse Johnny, he wuz tooken pris ner, but I say to ole Mistis, "Don you grieve bout dat boy, he heap better off dar in de prison den ef he out in de fiel wid de bullets poppin at ira, an he ain gwine stay dar long, kase he got de swadin est ways eveh I see, he fool de v ey heart outen dem Yankees." An so twuz. Suh? Yo ax me bout Marse Johnny, Whut dey shet up in de fote? Dey lowed he daid, er drownded, Kase dat wuz de repote. I knode dat boy all oveh, I knode him thoo an thoo, Kase we wuz raise togedder, An played an hunted, too. We rastled in de sunshine, An dance de jig at night, An sot de traps fer rabbits, An cotch em, fo t\vuz light. 30 I HE AH DE VOICES CALLIN We rid de bosses double. An fished wid crooked pins. An fool ole Marster scan Ions, An got wholloped fer our sins. Dat s so, dey tuk him pris ner. But dey did n keep him long. His ways wuz des dat swadin , Fo dey knode it, he wuz gone. AN HE MENDED DE GYARDEN WALL AN HE MENDED DE GYARDEN WALL When Lee surrendered at Appomattox the war was over. Business was paralyzed. The social fabric was in ruins. A prominent firm in the North offered General Lee a large remuneration if he would allow his name to be used in their business. England pre sented her country as an asylum for his bleeding heart, and broken fortunes but he refused them* all. and without animosity and without bitterness he sat down with the pitiful sum of fifteen hundred dollars a year as president of Washington and Lee University to lead the remnant of the splendid young men of the South in building their garden wall. Wen dat awful wah wuz oveh, An Marse Jeems an me got back, Dey sho wuz glad to see us. Kase things wuz gwine to rack. He hung his ole gray cap, An his sode up, plain to view, An ole Mistis set dar weepin Fer joy, an sorrer, too. 34 I HE AH DE VOICES CALLIX We tole about de marchin , An de beatiii uv de drum, An de boys dat went in wiv us An 11 nuver mo cum home. Den young Marster, he got res less, Kase he ain kno whut to do, He miss de smell uv battle, An de camp-fire shinin thoo. I foun im des at daylight, An he look so slim an tall. Say, "Tom, des gimme de hammah, I m mendin de gyarden wall." "Yes, Mother," he say to Mistis, "I ll do whuteveh I see, Like de bigges man in dis country An dat Marse Robbut Lee. "We see im in de battle, We follow his leadin blin ; An whareveh he giv de signal, We kep up wid de line." I sets heah in dis cabin, Twel I heahs de bugle call, But Marse Jeems he still a-wukkin , A-mendin de gyarden wall. "Marse Jeems," Lt. James N. McFarland of Staunton, Va. Stonewall Brigade. THEN MAMMY HOLDS MY HAND THEN MAMMY HOLDS MY HAND When lovers throng, insistent near, And fate uncertain stands, With balanced scales and silken thread. Then Mammy holds my hand. When Mother s guiding voice no more I hear across the strand, And life seems but a tangled web, Then Mammy holds my hand. And should, perchance, my tender feet Approach the river sands, And voices call beyond the flood, Then Mammy 11 hold my hand. 461138 AUNT MARY." How Unc Caesar Got Drunk Onbeknownst to Hisse f "UNC CAESAR." Long cum ole Satan a-carryin dat good smell. HOW UNC CAESAR GOT DRUNK ONBEKNOWNST TO HISSE F "Yes m, ain I nuver done tole yo bout de time dat ole Unc Caesar got drunk onbeknownst to his- se f ? Dat wuz de owdashusest thing evah I see an^ we mos put im outen de chu ch fer it, too. Well, way long in de yearly part uv de summer ole Mistis had done made a hole heap o blackbe y wine, an one day she cum out ter de kitchen an say, Ce ly, hit s bout time we wuz rack in off dat wine an puttin it in sum bottles. So I went on down to de cella an brung up de jimmy-jon, a gret big un, des full o good smellin wine. We rack hit off in a heap o bottles, an sum in de big glass decanters whut sets. all de time on de side-bode in de dinin -room. W en we wuz done uv co se dey wuz a hole passel o drugs in de bottom uv de jimmy-jon. Bout dat time ole Unc Caesar, whut wuz choppin wood at de wood pile, cum long ter git a drink o watah, leas ways, dat whut he say he cum fuh. Sune s he cum in de 42 I IIEAII DE VOICES CALL IN" kitchen he say, Mistis, please give dis po ole black niggah sum o clem good drugs, jes a haffen a cup ful, dey do smell so oncomrnon good, an I don feel so pow full well nohow dis inawnin . An Mistis, she says, Sut ney, Caesar, yo kin hev sum, jes set down by de table an Ce ly will give it to yo . 1 gin im a "hole lot in de tin cup, an Mistis she went on in de house, an she ain spishum nuttin , kase she mighty good chu ch ? oornan. " Twuz a wa m, lazy kin uv a day, an Unc Caesar he set dar a long time enjoyin uv hisse f an a-drinkin uv his drugs. Presn y he git up an he says, Hit s gittin too warm in heah fer me, an I b lieve I 11 go outen de back do an set under de wal nut trees whar de win blows. "I went on renchin out de jimmy-jon an de udder things an po ed the res uv de drugs all into de troff des outside de back kitchen do . I heah d de little pigs an de tukkeys cum a-runnin , an 1 say ter m s f, Dey likes hit. too. I kep on stirrin romf dar, gittin busy, an torreckly I heah sumpin an look out de doah an dar wuz de beatenest sight dat eveh I see, fo de Lawd ! Unc Caesar wu/ tryin ter HOW UNO CAESAR GOT DRUNK 43 cum up de hill, but dem drugs had done flew d ter his haid, an he des a-fallin all roun . De tukkeys an de little pigs wuz doin de ve y same way. De tukkeys ud drag dey wings an spin roun an roun . De little pigs had oncurled dey tails an wuz tryin ter set up on dey hine laigs, but dey cud n do nuttin an so dey wuz all des a-fallin roun an oveh one nudder. I see sumpin hatter be did, so I up an call big Jim fum crost de meader. Jim, he des loded Unc Caesar on de wheel-barra an den tuk an emp y im onto de straw pile in de barn flo . He lay dar de hole endurin night. Dat wuz sho ly bad an I knode de chu ch hatter do sumpin bout hit sune s de wud got roun ." The whole plantation, and in fact the dusky pop ulation of the entire countryside was thoroughly stirred when it became known that "Unc Caesar," who had always been held up to young and old as a paragon of orthodox belief, as they viewed it, and of consistent living, had actually and undeniably been hopelessly drunk. They could hardly believe their ears. True, for the honor of "de chu ch," and in justice to the old man, an effort had been made to 44 I HE AH DE VOICES CALLIN circulate the extenuating circumstances. Still the offence was too open and of far too grave a nature to be ignored or even lightly passed over. This la mentable fall from grace must be discussed in open "meetin , " and at least a severe reproof and warning administered. In fact, he must "be tried befo de chu ch" its dignity and discipline must be main tained. It must be done without delay. So the fol lowing Sunday was set for this serious and solemn ordeal. The little church under the trees by the creek \v;is packed to suffocation. The window sashes were re moved as the only means of admitting a little light and air above the ebony heads and faces which filled the lower part of the opening, and as to the atmos phere within, nothing short of formaldehyde (for-mal- de-hide), could have restored it to its pristine purity. The trial was to follow public worship, so after a rousing sermon on "De Devil is a Roarin Lion," and closing with the hymns, "Hark from the Tombs," and "Don t Tromp on de Cross," they proceeded to arraign the trembling offender. Brer Jenkins, who loved to preach in thunderous "UNC 1 CAESAR." His eves were "walled" out of the door. 46 I HE AH DE VOICES CALL IX tones the terrors of the law, rather than the softer side of religion, now stood up as the prosecuting officer. He was tall, lank, bony and of powerful frame. His coat, which was his chief pride, being a long-tailed frock, bestowed upon him in a moment of generosity by "Ole Marster," hung loosely about him, while his rusty beaver sat on the bench behind him holding his red bandanna. On either side of him, in solemn array, were the most respectable of the old "brederen and sisteren. " On a chair near the door sat "Unc Caesar." His snowy, well-patched shirt, which had evidently been hastily put on, was all awry at the neck, while he was clearly "oneasy in his min , " for his eyes wiv "walled" out of the door on the left side, or back among the moving dusky shadows of the right. His fringe of grey hair stood on end, while his whole face wore an expression of troubled anxiety. Hrer Jenkins stood up, and shaking his long bony finger, said "Brer Caesar, yo is drawed up befo dis ersembly uv spectable membus tcr answer fer yo 7 sins whut yo done a-puppus, an fer yo sha\vt- comin s. Dp fust an wuss sin is dat vo HOW UXC CAESAR GOT DRUNK 47 is bin drunk, not des er spinnin romi on one foot an singin Chicken in de Bread Tray/ an all dat trash, but yo is bin drunk down wid de beastes uv de fiel an de fowles uv de air. Den yo r tnk an fell right in wid dat tem tashun widout a- fightin uv hit none. Ef yo hadder bin choppin r wood studdy yo would n er knode nuttin bout hit. But I kin see yo right now er restin on yo ax, wid yo nose in de air, an right den long cum ole Satan a-carryin dat good smell, an yo tuk right out artar it. an de fust yo kno yo ain kno ivhar yo is. Yo eyes an yo yeahs an yo nose an yo feets is giv* ter yo ter keep yo outen trouble, an not ter tek yo in. Mens is bin gittin drunk eveh sence ole Brer* Noah s time." "But, Brer Jenkins." interrupted "Unc Caesar," "I ain kno nuffin bout dem dar drugs, dey smell sweet es de flowers offen ole Mistis rose bed, an I des lowed ter in self all dat ar cl ar stuff whut dey calls wine is done drawed off an tuk in de house an set on de side-bode fer de quality, an dese heah brown drugs ain nuttin , dey ain gwine hu t dis ole niggah, ole Satan done gone in de house an got in de dc- 48 I HE AH DE VOICES CALLIN canter, settin dar waitin fer de w ite fo kes. Ef hit hadder bin hard cider, I d er knode bettah, kase I is erquainted wid dat. I feels tumble bad an broke up bout dis heah, but hit happen so onbe- knownst ter m se f an so confusin like, I des ain sponsible. " "Well, Brer Caesar, dat mout be, but yo is done bro t turrible trouble on dis heah chu ch uv which I is de on able Shep ud, an how is I gwine raise all dese heah chilluns wid sich er zample set ura? Den dar is annudder sin er restin on yo soul. Way in de daid er night, yo bin drawin po souls on todes de Debbil wid dat ar ongodly fiddle o yourn, hit des crawls outen de cracks an sets de young fo kes pran- cin an dancin right straight on ter de bad place. Don t yo kno yo mus n put de fiddle ter yo na- ber s yeahs anymo dan yo do de bottle ter his mouf ? Dat kin er music, hit gits onter yo bans, an gits ou ter yo feet an onter yo haid, an den inter yo h art. Fiddle music puts onto yo whut de preachers can t put onto yo , an ef hit gits into yo , de preach ers can t git hit outen yo . Dat sut ney is de trufe, I done seed it." HOW UNC CAESAR GOT DRUNK 49 At this juncture "Brer Jenkins" called for opin ions, which were given with great solemnity and vary ing degrees of severity as to the offences and the de grees of punishment. Some holding that the fiddle was at the bottom of all the trouble and should either be smashed or buried. The case looked so dark that "Unc Caesar" was evidently "feelin pow ful bad." He feared total excommunication, which would have broken his heart, for to be put "outen de chu ch" was a life-long stig ma, casting the offender outside of all social and re ligious standing. The tension was great as "Brer Jenkins" stood up "Brer Caesar, as de Shep ud uv de Lawd s er- ligioii en dese parts, I is now ter giv jedgement. We is not ter spend yo by de nake twel yo is daid. but we is ter spend yo twix heaben, an earf, an de bad place. We is ter han yo oveh ter ole Satan twel he done sif yo out. De chu ch en dat time 11 be a- ras lin an a-prayin . Yo is not ter pray none en de chu ch, ner zort none. An dat ar onri chus fiddle es ter be wrop up en sack-clof an ashes an laid on de high shelf. Dar is one thing ergin yo whut yo 50 I HEAH DE VOICES CALLIN cyar n he p, an dat is yo name. Hit es er heathen name, ole Marster say, an hit hev drug yo down. Ef yo hadder bin name Isaier, er Jerrymier now, er eben Lamantashuns, yo mout er tu ned out bettah. An may de Lawd hab mussy on yo soul." Poor "Unc Caesar" evidently felt that considering his long, consistent life, his sentence was far too se vere, and, amidst a silence which could be felt, he crept away muttering to himself, "I jined de chu ch forty-two yeahs ago, an I ain said Confound it sence. DE OLE BLACK MAMMY DE OLE BLACK MAMMY. DE OLE BLACK MAMMY Dey say that I is eb ny An my teef is iv ry w ite ; Dat de Lawd kno whut He doin , An He made me zactly right. Bars one thing I kno, sho ly, I says it, an I smile; Dar ain no yaller niggah, Kin miss my white fo kes chile. Dey ain kno how to tech em, Kase, dey ain de sho nuff thing. Hit teks de rale black mammy To kno des how to sing. I sings bout "Kingdom Comin ," An "Sweet Chariot Swingin Low" An de good ole "Lan uv Promis AVhar no win s uv trouble blow. 54 I HEAH DE VOICES CALLIX Den de baby drap off easy, Des a-restin on my arm ; An de angels talkin to im, An keepin im fum harm. Dese times is pow ful triflin , An fo long I gwine home. But de w ite fo kes can t raise chilluns, Wen de ole black mammy gone. Yo ain no qual ty nigger. An yo need t cum co tin me. Yo wa nt no qual ty den, An yo ain none sence yo free. DE COMIN THOO UV PETER CRUMP DE COMIN THOO U V PETER CRUMP One of the great events of the year in old planta tion life was the camp-meeting, which was arranged for in August or September, after the crops were all stored and the heavy work of the summer over. On one of the great plantations in eastern V irginia there was an old stump out in the edge of the woods, which the negroes looked upon as sacred to the proc ess and ordeal of "gittin religun." They had their meetings in this skirt of woods. There they would sing and shout and the mourners would lie across this stump and pray and groan and " rastle wid de devil till they ud cum thoo. Peter Crump was a very black, ugly, repulsive, de formed creature, whose back had been broken one night on a "possum" hunt. He had gone with his young masters, the "possum" had been treed and there was nothing left but to cut the tree clown. As it fell, Peter somehow failed to get altogether out of the way, and a large limb, striking him, broke his 60 I HE AH DE VOICES CALLIN back. Though so hideous in face and form, lie was perfectly harmless, sensible, kind and good. There was a great revival in operation on the plan tation. The preachers were kept busy doing their day s work and "carrying on" the revival at night. The stump was kept warm with the converts, numbers of whom would "cum thoo every night. Peter was devoted to "Mistis an ole Mistis, " but he had not been up from his cabin for sometime to pay his "be- specks" to them. It was known, however, that he was "gittin religun an gittin it hard." When he did finally "cum thoo" he came up to tell "ole Mis- tis bout it." "I is sut ney had a hard time, Mistis. I bin a-lay- in on de stump, an prayin an groanin , an callin on de Lawd, an sum nights I bin dar by de stump, er crost it, all night. I knows I des a po ole sinful niggah. but I lowed I ain so pow ful bad, I wux a straight sinner. I spec , dough, I wux swole up wid pride an dat in reason de Lawd hatter pass me oveh to ole Satan twel he done sif me out. "One night dar, w en meh streuk wux bout gone, an I done wo out rastlin wid de devil. I los m se f DE COMIN THOO UV PETER CRUMP 61 fer de longes time. An endurin uv dat time I seed a vishuh. I see m se f sprawled out on a fiatform, an dat flatform, \vid me on hit, wuz des balance oveh hell fire. Yo ain nuver see no fire nuttin like dat. it wusser n de cross-rodes blacksmif shop whar dey blow de bellus twel dey wore deyse fs out mekin de i on red hot. I helt on hard as I cud to de flatform, an look down oveh de aige. I see de big ole Devil settin dar wid de pitch-fo k red hot, an a hole pas- sel o little devils a-prancin roun wid dey fo ks het up, too. All un um wuz a-watchin me, an a- shakin dey hawns, much es ter say, He ain gwine hoi out much longer, an den he drap in. De flatform wuz gittin hotter an hotter, an crumlin off all roun de aiges. Den torreckly I riz up on meh foots wid de las plank under me, an hit a-splinterin an a- crmnlin . I cudn t do nuttin , but T des kep on callin on de Lawd, do de sulfer wuz mos chokin uv me. All to wunst I look pas de stump, an down de paf to de shadders uv de woods, an dar, cumin todes me, wuz a little gray man. His clo es fell oveh im des like de Piscopal preacher s do w en he git up to preach. He had de kindes look outen his eyes eveh yo see, an 62 I HE AH DE VOICES CALLIN his face wuz shinin . He look strong, too, like he ain feared o nuttin . Den he helt out his han to me r an I tried to git to im. Den he lif me bod ly offen dat erumlin plank onto de cool sof groun an pas r de stump. I say ter m se f, I is light es air now, an r I shet up meh eyes an gunter shout, Glory, halle- luyah, de Lawd done cum ter dis po ole sinful, ugly, black niggah, an I see de mark uv de cross on de stump. I open meh eyes ter see de gray man ergin, but he done gone. But I so happy I ain kno whar I is. I look roun fer dat hole in de groun , but it done close up, an I ain see it no mo . "It seem like to me I smell de flowers back in de tall grass, an tudder side o de woods I heah de creek singin , an de birds in de tree-tops, an de light spread sof all oveh de sky, an Mistus, I cum thoo. " "Mistis ," and "ole Mistis ," eyes were wet and shining, while down Peter s black cheeks rolled two great tears and dropped on his dusky hands, which shook with the emotion of his realistic vision. He was never known to "backslide." and seemed to be always earnestly happy. Any time of the day. whether he was minding the cows in the woodland pastures, or digging for roots in the low-grounds, he might be heard singing, in wailing, but melodious tones, "0, sister Marthy, don t tromp on de cross, Yo foot mout slip, an yo soul git los . Don t tromp on de cross. "Ole Satan, he like a snake in de grass, Always in some Christun s paf. Don t tromp on de cross. "Ef religun wuz a thing dat money c ud buy, Den de rich w ud live an de po w ud die. Don t tromp on de cross. "Hypocrits, hypocrits, God despise, Tongue so keen dat dey will tell lies. Don t tromp on de cross." Peter Crump belonged to Judge Watkins of Farmville, Va. G way from lieah! Yo see disher hawg? She so spil t she won t leiiime set in ile do , hardly. QUEEN HULDY QUEEN HULDY A Tale of the Mississippi. The time when this story opens was away back in the early forties of the last century. Longwood was one of the many stately homes of the Old South, and like all plantation homes where refinement and cul ture reigned, had its hundreds of happy, devoted slaves. It was perfectly kept and always beautiful. Whether amid the gray-greens and pinks of early spring and the grace of tasselled buds along the streams ; or under the full tide and glory of a prodi gal midsummer; or in autumn when King Cotton rolled his miles of billowy waves ; or even in winter when the days were "shot to the core with sunshine," which at sunset made the grand old avenue a ca thedral aisle with the rose window of its transept far to the west ; whatever the time or season, old Longwood sat a queen. The interior of Longwood fully justified the state- liness and beauty of the exterior. To the right of the 68 I HE AH DE VOICES CALLIN imposing hall were the large parlors and dining-room. To the left the library and music rooms. Opening in to the library was a large bed-room. This was richly adorned and decorated. It was in pale blue and gold, with the high ceiling frescoed in little Cupids bearing festoons of delicate wild flowers. The furniture, heavy old mahogany which had been in the family for generations, was covered with a French brocade in floral design of soft tints to harmonize with the decor ation of the ceiling, while upon the rich, dark waxed floors were handsome oriental rugs. The windows, draped with soft lace, ran from ceiling to floor. Two of these windows opened upon a veranda towards the West, about ten feet back from the front portico ; one of them has a tragic significance appearing later on in this story. The figure of a manly man can give expression to and stamp character upon a landscape ; and therefore the impression any visitor might have of beautiful, stately old Longwood would be greatly added to as Colonel Edward Gray swung wide the great front doors of his mansion, walked briskly across the pil lared portico, and down to the drive below. 69 Here was a man who was the consummate flower of the chivalric age of the old South. Brave, ready to fight for a principle, yet reserved, self-contained, for bearing. The fine cut of his features showed blue blood, intellect, strength and generations of culture, combining the indomitable will and healthy activity of his English ancestors with the warm-blooded intensity of the Hugenot strain from the best of sunny France. When college days arrived, he was sent to his father s Virginia alma mater. Colonel Gray was well read in the best literature which the ages had accounted as worthy to live, and as to severer studies, the exigen cies of the time had concentrated his attention upon law, government and finance. The administration of his vast estate, together with the social, financial, and political questions of the day, made of him, as it did of most of the able young men of his class, incipient governors, statesmen, and commanders-m-chief. Hos pitality reigned, and many of the best-known men of the time were guests at his board, brilliant talkers and notable tellers of tales. Conversations were enriched with the classics and alive with old-world history, as well as quotations from "what T have heard my 70 I HE AH DE VOICES CALLIN father say." Those were the days when conversation was not only a fine art. hut so spontaneous one could not detect where nature and art fused into one. Could it only have been written, future ages would have had no better model. Ten years before, Edward Gray had brought to Longwood his beautiful bride, who was also his cousin, from her home in upper Mississippi. Some idea of this famous beauty will be found in the following de scription of her portrait, which her devoted young husband had ordered painted by one of the masters of the day. Just inside the library, in a long panel by the bedroom door, hung this full-length portrait. A being fair and winsome, clad in the diaphanous folds of some filmy robe; across the forehead and down the neck strayed wind-blown escaping tresses of golden bail . Hut the charm and power of the face lay in the wondrous violet eyes they followed one to every part of the room and out into the great hall. Tpon the-e the artist had done his best and crowned himself ;i master. With this beautiful bride came "Iluldy." who had always been her maid and loved her young Mistis" QUEEX HULDY 71 with a passionate devotion that she never gave to any body else. Indeed, she apparently bestowed affection upon no one else, unless it might be her ill-shapen, uncanny boy, Tom. Her mother had come direct from Africa. She was the daughter of a chief in the inter ior, and was taken prisoner by a tribe at war with her father and sold by them to a trader from the coast, who included her in a shipload of negroes leaving for America. Huldy s father was an Indian, so in in heriting from both parents, she was in stature, physi ognomy, disposition and character essentially unlike any of the other servants in that part of the country. In appearance, she was tall, very dark, muscular, and with an evident trace of her African mother and her Indian father in the cast of her countenance. Having unusual natural ability, she had also been trained very carefully by "ole Mistis" into a very capable servant, superior as a maid, and also a very excellent cook. She was faithfulness itself to her young "Mistis" and "Marse Ed ard. " But from the first, all the servants of Longwood alike feared and hated her. AVhen roused, her temper was violent and vindictive, and they fled in terror at the strange words she uttered in 72 I HEAR DE VOICES CALLIN a tongue they had never heard. They were sure she had constant communication "wid de Debbil," and could "cunjer" them at will. They knew she kept on hand "yarbs," "lizuds," and "toad-legs;" that she walked in the "ma shes" at night, regardless of the mists and miasma of the river. Yet so subtle and dominant was her personality that in carrying out her "Mistis " commands, they obeyed her unquestion ably, and mockingly called her "Queen Huldy." Young Mistus, whom she idolized, and who was the only one who could absolutely control her, only lived about two years and a half ; dying of that deadly fever, typhus malaria, from which the whole region sometimes suffered, when the mighty river rose in his strength, burst all bounds and flooded vast sections of the rich lowlands. To say that she was universally la mented would be but the simple truth. From her young husband lover, and his wide circle of friends, down to the humblest servant on the estate she w;is loved and trusted. Longwood for some years was largely a closed place. The master administered his vast plantation with conspicuous ability, finding his principal pleasure in QUEEN HULDY this, his books, and a few close friends, with now and then a family gathering, or a few weeks spent in one of the large cities, where he could hear good music or see a fine play. As to the domestic arrangements, while he planned everything, Huldy was in charge. Her faithfulness, honesty and ability, having been tested, were to be relied upon. Nevertheless, young Colonel Gray was a lonely man. His father and mo ther had died some years before ; his sisters had mar ried and lived in distant homes of their own. At the end of seven years, Edward Gray decided to spend a summer in Virginia among his mother s people. Here he won for himself "Miss Margaret," a daughter of the Cavaliers : one whose name was linked with the men who had planted the tree of liberty and made possible a great republic ; " a name whose bear ers had grown gentler, truer arid more self-respecting because of the virtues of a long line of ancestors who had lifted a family name to deserved eminence." "Miss Margaret," she of the fine grain, the silken hair, the musical speech, the graceful mien, who had been brought up by two of God s chief ministers : na ture and a gracious, gentle, pure mother; she whose I HE AH DE VOICES CALLLV bed-rock foundation was innate virtue, piety and wom anliness. These, with a habit of self-control, prepared her for her duties, whether great or small. This was the girl Edward Gray had won. Noble in character himself, he sought only that which was fine and true in Southern womanhood. Directions had gone down to Longwood as to the preparation for the homecoming of the lovely bride. and these were being carried out by Huldy. assisted by the full corps of house servants and the best hands on the place. Whatever Huldy might have thought when told of the coming of the new "Mistis. " she gave no sign and worked hard to have everything "jes like Marse Ed ard wanted it." Every curtain hung snowy and crisp in its place, while the silver and rich old floors were polished to perfection. Universal holiday was declared that bright Oc tober morning when "Marse Ed ard" was expected, and the undercurrent of excitement was intense as the carriage rolled up the avenue from the landing. Hap piness was contagious the Master, the spirit and cen tre of everything, had come home. Every face \va^ a shining welcome as they declared to each other that QUEEN HULDY 75 de nth warn good nuff fer em to walk on. Huldy, standing a little in advance of the other servants, smiled her welcome also. But a close observer would have noticed the narrowing of the eyelids and the strange gleam which shot beneath them. The weeks and months which followed were largely given up to social gaieties, as the whole country-side welcomed the beautiful bride and rejoiced that old Longwood was again filled with light and laughter. "Miss Margaret" guided the affairs of her household with unquestioned ability. She soon became the idol of the house servants, and was admired and trusted by the whole plantation. True to her native instincts, home training, and the traditions of every true South ern mistress, she looked closely after the physical and religious interests of her servants, taught them the truth and pointed them to Heaven when they died. Amid all this harmony, Huldy was the only being out of tune. Faultless in her obedience and re spect, she was yet taciturn of speech and singular of manner. "Miss Margaret," knowing her silent nature, strange disposition and devotion to her former "Mistis, " did not expect too much of her. Surrounded 76 I HE AH DE VOICES CALLIN by affection and absorbed in her busy life, suspicion formed no part of the thinking of the young mistress of Longwood. Spring comes early in that part of the South, and with it some malaria, against which the inhabitants are constantly guarding. So when "Miss Margaret" began to have a series of light chills and to lose some of the roses from her cheeks, her husband gave her the usual remedies. But her system did not respond as readily as might have been expected from one nat urally so vigorous. A strange languor would overtake her and at times a sense of numbness. It was spring early in May. One morning Colo nel Gray, as he stepped upon the gravelled drive, found his favorite horse, "Lady Maud," waiting for him, held by one of the young negroes. He swung himself into the saddle and moved rapidly off down the avenue and into the road beyond. This was a spring morning of surpassing loveliness. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the tender foliage of the giant trees and the flower-crowned hedges where hon eysuckle and yellow jasmine intertwined and ran riot. The mists rolling from the river carried their perfume everywhere. QUEEN HULDY 77 Suddenly the Colonel s horse shied. Out from the tangle of briars and hedge scrambled a negro boy of about fifteen or sixteen. His shirt was ragged and his trousers were held in place by one gallus. His face was a good one, showing honesty and loyal af fection. Sam, you black rascal, what do you mean by scar ing my horse in this fashion ? exclaimed the Colonel. "Marse Ed ard, I sho did n mean ter skeer dat hoss, but I bin er-waitin heah a hour des ter see you, kase I got sump n ter tell you dat yo is des bledged ter kno ." With that he drew from each pocket the head of a large rattlesnake. "I say ter m sef, Marse Ed ard sut ney will wun- ner whar I got dese heah snake-haids, an he sho will ax me what I gwine do wid em." The Colonel knew that he could trust Sam to tell the truth and that the cause of his agitation must be something out of the ordinary, so he replied : "Well, Sam, tell me the whole thing." "Yas, suh, I gwine tell all I kno . Yistiddy w en me an Queen HuldyV Tom wuz rastlin , I got mad 78 I HE AH DE VOICES CALLIN and frowed him down hard, and sot on him an den I lowed I gwine emp y out his pockets, kase I see dey look mighty full o sump n. T say, Tom, whut in de Debbil you doin wid dem dar pizen snake haids? An r Tom, he say, " I des got em fer Mammy; she sont me down in de aige uv de swamp an I didn t had no trouble git- tin em. "An den T tole him 1 gwine keep dexe an he kin git sum mo . Wid dat he ain t say nuthiir, des got up and went on. Marse Ed ard. it certainly is de trufe dat de Debbil is in Queen Huldy wusser en eveh. She got er ground puppy, too. and she fixin* right now to cunjer sumbody wid im. Wen eveh she gits ter wukkin wid things like dat, sumbody is boun ter die on dis plantation. She gits er spite at sum uv us po niggers, and sum she pizens an sum she cunjers. She goes out heah in de dark timber of the low ground an ketches one er dese heah ground puppies an draps im in a ole rusty tin cup an puts im up de chimbly whar lie kin res on de ledge. ;m hit warm and dark. She don kill de creetur, des lets im dry clean up. wid his sperit in im, den she pow- QUEEN HULDY ders im an cunjers de wuss kine \vid dat. I keep a good jack-bag roun my nake so I ain nuver got cunjered. But, Marse Ed ard, I s had a awful sign. Las night de ole squinch owl come in de bushes, hin st my cabin an done his hollerin . I didn t spute none wid im, I des jammed de shovel in de fier. Den I tu ned meh shoes bottoms upwards. But wid all dat he would n leave, an I kno fer sho dat sum uv de fambly gwine sune. Dat s de wuss sign dey is, an I jes feared sump n mout happen to Miss Mar garet." It was true that during the past year several deaths had occurred on the plantation which could not be accounted for. The doctor had said it was "marsh fever." One case was attended with a strange de lirium. Another seemed to gradually waste away. This was "Sookie," who, it was known, had in some way incurred "Queen Huldy s" mortal displeasure. The superstitious fear of the negroes was therefore greatly aroused, but as nothing had happened for some months, suspicion had, in a measure, passed away. As the Colonel rode off after Sam s long story, he had to admit to some feeling of uneasiness, knowing the 80 I HEAH DB VOICES CALLIN fear and hatred of the servants towards Queen Hul- dy, " who was no ordinary negro. As Colonel Gray rode back to the house about noon on the morning of Sam s interview he felt perplexed as to how he would ever deal with so strange a being as Huldy. It was true that the negroes feared and hated her, but they were so superstitious that it was difficult to put one s finger on any truth pointing to wrong-doing. She was a valuable servant and almost indispensable to Margaret. He felt instinctively dis turbed, however, and resolved to give the matter ser ious and cautious attention within the next few days. It was the Colonel s regular habit to make an im portant business trip to New Orleans every spring, consuming two or three days. This was Tuesday, and he was to leave on the boat that night, returning early Friday morning. His only anxiety was leaving Mar garet alone, but he had made every arrangement for her, safety and comfort. The overseer and his family were near and two of the house servants were to oc cupy a small room at the back of the house. Huldy was to sleep on a couch in her "Mistis " own room, having received many charges to take good care of her. QUEEN HULDY 81 As the Colonel s carriage sped swiftly to the landing along the avenues and through the star-crowned night, was there no voice out of the darkness? Nothing. No sound broke the stillness, but the whir of the quivering bat- wings sweeping through the tree-tops, then down to the earth, or perhaps a mother bird stirred in her nest in the outer shrubbery as the horses hoofs pounded on the hard sand approaching the boat landing, or the swish of the mighty river might be heard lapping under the pier. How dull are our senses, even in the presence of impending doom ! The skirts of destiny brush against us and we feel them not. How great are the limitations of human life ! This is well, for, as Dickens has said, "If we could hear the grass grow, and the squirrel s heart beat, we would die of the roar on the other side of silence." Huldy curtsied low as her master said "Good bye, and, as on the day of Margaret s arrival, there was the suppressed excitement in her manner and the unnatural brightness of her eye. This was the time she had waited for ! Known only to her was the fact that malaria was playing no part in the im paired health of the fair mistress of Longwood. For 82 I HBAH DB VOICES CALLIN weeks as she brought to "Miss Margaret" her ten o clock glass of fragrant "sangaree" and thin wa fers, or served a tiny cup of French coffee in the par lor after dinner, she never failed to mix a few drops from a small flat phial she carried in her bosom. This bottle never left her person. It was attached to a strong twine string which hung around her neck un der her clothing. The fluid was greenish in color, clouded in appearance, but tasteless, unless it might be a slightly sweetish quality. Huldy was a descendant, at short range, of a tribe in the interior of Africa, a tribe of the hills and great streams, of the governing class, which by virtue of mind and greater strength of body, were a superior people. This singular being had virtues and certainly native ability, but, though she could read the Bible, she never became a subject of Christianity. Capable of intense devotion to one object, love had harked back to the only being who had ever stirred her heart or commanded her allegiance her own "young Mis- tis. " Deadly jealousy arose at seeing any one else enthroned in her own sacred place ; anger at the re- linquishment to Miss Margaret of the power she her- QUEEN HULDY 83 self had held on the plantation for seven long years these were the conflicting passions ; these were the bas al causes swaying her to action and forcing her with ceaseless power to the accomplishment of a fiend-like purpose. Why did not Huldy simply leave Longwood, run away as negroes sometimes did? This was no part of her blood. There was no spot on this earth where she could be happy. High tragedy was the only thing of which she could now form a part. No " Borgia" of old Rome ever awaited with calmer cer tainty the completion of his plans than did this dark silent woman await the moment of hers. The portrait of her own young "Mistis," as it hung on the library wall, was Huldy s shrine, and often, when she thought herself alone, would she stand for long periods before it muttering strange words in mysterious tones. So jealous was she of any one using anything that had belonged to her " young Mistis" that she would convey it to some other part of the house, or hide it altogether. There was never a time since her "young Mistis " death that fresh flowers were not found in a beautiful vase, on a carved bracket, which hung on the wall beside the picture. 84 I IIEAH DE VOICES CALLIN The two days following the Colonel s departure were marked by no change, except that Margaret felt increasingly languid and disposed to sleep. But think ing that it was only malaria, and that the time for their departure for a cooler climate was comparative ly near, no thought of impending ill suggested itself. Thursday night had come, and with shining starry eyes she thought of Edward s return in the early light of a spring morning. She had been served a cup of tea with her light supper, and later on Iluldy had brought her a glass of iced wine. Retiring early she slept immediately, dimly con scious once that Huldy was bending over her saying. "Dis heah s de las dose. Miss Margaret." This she took, hardly knowing it. The whole plantation slept under the beauty of the Southern night. The half-grown moon had set. No sound broke the stillness of the mansion but tin- ticking of the clock on the stairs. Iluldy had not lain down nor removed her dress, which was a dull red, with red head-handkerchief tied firmly on, the ends standing up on top. as was her custom. She brought in from the parlor the heavy QUEEN HULDY 85 double-branched silver candlesticks, lighted the wax candles and put on the red shades. She moved rest lessly among the dark unlighted rooms and returned to gaze fixedly into the face of the sleeper. The clock chimed midnight, and then, as the last echoes died away, she went swiftly to a closet and drew out a large box from which she took Miss Margaret s bri dal dress and began dextrously to robe her in it. She drew to the centre of the room the low couch and threw over it a red satin slumber robe which lay on the foot of the bed. Then taking Longwood s fair mistress in her arms she placed her on it. There she lay in her marvellous beauty, the silken folds and filmy lace all about her. How 7 regal she looked ! Still breathing softly and regularly, but with strange, pro found depths. Not more certainly were the deepest currents of the mighty river flowing steadily to the sea, than were the life-tides slowly but surely moving toward the ocean of the great unknown. It was a far call to Virginia, but spirit wings annihilate space, and who shall say that this gentle soul in passing would not manifest her presence in some subtle manner in the old home and that the; 86 I HE AH DE VOICES CALLIN loved ones waking in the early light of the Virginia morning would not ask each other, Was it a dream ? 1 thought Margaret spoke." Huldy, in the passing moments, sometimes seated herself on a low stool at the foot of the couch, and sometimes moved restlessly round and round it, hut always she rocked herself and chanted a strange, dirge-like song. The master was to arrive at four o clock, but there was a smaller boat at three. Huldy was listening in tensely. Suddenly she heard the click of his key in the side door down the hall. With the quickness of a wild deer she sprang through the long open window on the west veranda and took the path to the river. The sky was whitening to the East. As she ran, reaches of marsh grass rippled in the moaning night wind, seeming to run along the shore and then recede. The estate stretched for miles up the river. Here and there might be found old canoes, moored to gnarled roots and half hidden among the reeds. They were used only by the negroes as they passed from point to point in their work. QUEEN HULDY 87 The river was up, brimming his banks, and the ever-present shadow of devastating floods hung over the protecting dykes. It was foolhardy to launch a frail skiff on those boiling waters. But "Queen Hul- dy" knew no fear, had never known it. She stepped into one of them, cut the rope and pushed off into the current. The spirits of the wild hills and tumultuous streams of her ancestral Africa possessed her. They, whose occult secrets she had used, might now reclaim her and she would return to primal elements. The rushing of the great Mississippi in its yellow rage seemed a fit accompaniment to the going out of such an untamed and untamable spirit. As the damming of waters is but the gathering of force, so this wild spirit of the forest and the jungle pent behind the slender barrier of only one generation of a partial civilization burst its bounds with the added fury of accumulated power. Standing erect in her boat, which rocked with the swirling of the currents, her tall dark form swayed from side to side as she balanced herself with the oar she was gripping. The stoic of the Indian strain within her rose to its full height as the boat shot out where the channel 88 I HE AH DE VOICES CALLIX flowed deep and strong. Laying down her oar. she folded her arms and broke forth into a monotonous, wailing, ha If- forgotten song, learned long ago in child hood from her African mother. A few streaks of the daybreak shot across the sky, as some of the men, going early to work, recognized this vanishing spectre on the river, a streak of flame, as though a part of the advancing dawn. They watched the onward progress of the frail craft and its lonely occupant with wonder and superstitious awe, till it rounded a deep bend in the rushing torrent and was lost to view. The top of the red turban on the erect head was the last visible object in the passing of this unconquered product of two continents. For long years to come in the falling dusk of sum mer evenings, little negroes tumbling on the sain I piles down among the quarters would be startled into sil ence by the scream of some lone bird amid the marsh es far up the river. Running to their mother, with fearsome faces, they would whisper, "Dat Queen Hul- dy! Dat Queen Huldy!" HOLDING THE VISION THE FOREST. HOLDING THE VISION I dinna forget Lang Syne Calls thro the vanished years, Golden her smile, and bright, Touched with the mist of tears. Trailing forget-me-nots Down by the meadow streams, Far thro the twilight hush, Bearing my cherished dreams. Bravely defying Time, Fronting the sword that gleams, Holding the jewels high, Saving my priceless dreams. Dreams with the diamond point Chiselling a-down the slow years, These make me the soul I am, Composite, aloof from fears. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 9 15m-10, 48 (B1039 ) 444 -ES- Gai 3513 frl27i I heah de voice s PS 3513 G1271 000925318