That Old-Time Child, Roberta | Page 8

and sat there watching Mam' Sarah. She
was a nice person to watch. She had such kind eyes and such a pleasant
mouth. Roberta thought Mam' Sarah's mouth was just made to say
"honey." Just like a "prune" and "prism" mouth I've read of somewhere.
Her skin was the color of coffee, with a little cream in it. She always
wore a head-handkerchief, generally white, and one similar, folded
over the bosom of her dress. Mam' Sarah was very tall, and she had the
best lap in the world to coddle down in, Roberta thought.
[Illustration: MAM' SARAH. "Sumfin' in my elbers en knees keeps on
goen. I never gits tired--I likes it."]
Presently Mam' Sarah took her foot off the treadle, went to the
fire-place, lit her pipe, returned to her seat and puffed away in peaceful
silence. Roberta waited for her to get through, for she knew how dearly
she loved her pipe. After a little Mam' Sarah laid her pipe aside and
looked at the child.
"What's de matter, honey?" she asked. "Your putty eyes full of tears.
Ennybody hurt your feelens?"
The touch of sympathy coming at that tender moment, like a rose-leaf
upon a full vessel of water, caused the pent-up emotion to overflow.
Roberta climbed in Mam' Sarah's lap, put her head down on her
shoulder and sobbed like her heart would burst. The old woman
caressed the golden head, and droned out a quaint lullaby,
accompanying it with a kind of swaying motion of her body as though
soothing an infant to slumber:
"Who's dis, who's dis, er coddlen down here? I spec dis iz black
mammy's gyurl; Her skin so white iz mammy's delite. And her long
golden ha'r in kyurl. Shoo-oo-oo, shoo-oo-oo-- Rest, white chile, rest,
on black mammy's breast.
"Who's dis, who 's dis, er coddlen down here, Wid her eyes full of

greeven' tears? Fru de chink of the do', let de lite po', De shadders, my
little gyurl skeers. Shoo-oo-oo, shoo-oo-oo-- Rest, white chile, rest, on
black mammy's breast.
"This iz the way I useter nuss you when you wuz er baby. You wuz
warken' about fo' you know'd who your mammy wuz. You see, your
mar wuz so troubled after your par went erway, she diden' take no
entres' in enny thing much; po' thing! po' thing! You'd axel cum enter
this wurl' with out a rag ter your back, if I haden' hunted up sum baby
cloze your mar wo', en git em ready."
"What made my papa go away, Mam' Sarah?" asked the child, quickly.
"I dunno fur sarten, honey, wot did make him go erway. You see, he
wuzen' lak our fo'ks. Cum frum the Norf. Pear-lak he cuden' take ter
our ways, sumhow. Mars Robert was razed in town, en he diden' lak it
out here in the country. I heered him say he wuz so tired of the country,
hee'd be glad never ter see another blade of grass grow. Mis Betsy tho't
that was orful. He wuz allers arfter your mar ter sell all of us, en sell the
place en go Norf with him ter live. Sumhow he diden' lak culured
peepel ter wate on him. Jes lak hees sister, who cum down here to visit
Mis July, en bro't her little gal with her. When enny of us wud go ni the
child, shee'd draw bak en say, 'och-y,' jes lak our black skins wuz nasty.
She seed Judy with her hans en the biskit do', and she wuden' eat the
biskits. She said the blak rubbed orf in 'em. Shee'd never heered of
worfles 'til she cum out here, en she wuden' tech 'em, cors she tho't we
made the holes in em with our fingers. Yer mar felt mity bad cors de
chile wuden' eat nuffin', for she wuz a po' little wite-face thing
ennyhow.
"Well, you wanter know erbout your par en your mar. It ain' nuffin' but
natchel, en I'll tell you the best I know how. One day I wuz cleneen'
your mar's room. Your par en your mar wuz en de setten' room, en I
heered him say:
"'It's unly a queshun of er little time, en they'll all be free. Sell 'em now
wile you kin en put the money en your pocket. Ef you wate, they'll be
er dead loss ter you. You made one fulis mistake en not selling Squire;

don't make another.'
"Lemme tell you wot he mean by that, honey. Squire's mammy, Free
Fanny, cum down here fum the city, en tried ter buy Squire fum yer
mar. She orfered her er big price fur Squire; she wuz rich, en mity keen
ter git her unly son. But Squire, he jes' went on so, got down on his
knees ter