That Old-Time Child, Roberta | Page 8

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 your mar en begged her not to sell him ter his mammy. Axel cried, en got your mar ter cryen', en Mis Betsy en Mars Charley. You never seed enny thin' lak et. En your mar tole Free Fanny she wud leave it with Squire, en do jes' ez he sed. Yer par wuz jes' out-dun. Pear-lak he cuden' git over your mar payen' mo' tenshun ter Squire then ter him.
"I nerver know'd why Squire diden' want your mar ter sell him ter hees own mammy. It looked unnatchel. Free Fanny, that's hees mammy, wuz mity rich, en owned six colored peeple hersef. Shee's liven' yet en the city, en when she dies Squire will get her money.
"Well, when yer par sed that, your mar sed:
"'I cuden' sell them ef I