Part 3 (1/2)

However that may have been, our slaves remained on the place, and many of them and their descendants are yet in the employ of the family. It was considered by some persons to be treason to the Confederacy to speak of the freedom of the slaves in their presence, as if refusal to acknowledge the emanc.i.p.ation act would avert its going into effect.

This att.i.tude towards their liberty destroyed all confidence in the master's advice, and so his negroes left him. It was several years before the emanc.i.p.ation of the slave was universally effected, there being secluded places into which the news of freedom percolated slowly, and where slavery existed for some time uninterrupted. In following the army parents often abandoned young children. These were given to anybody who would burden themselves with their care. In many cases the natural guardian never again appeared, and these abandoned ones were practically bond-servants until they learned how to be free of themselves.

Careworn and anxious as we were waiting news of our loved ones in the field and of the cause in which we had risked our all, we were too busy to be sad. Telegraphic communication with the center of war was often cut off for many days. During these agonizing, silent seasons the women drew nearer together, and kept busy sc.r.a.ping lint for the hospitals and converting every woolen dress and every yard of carpet left in the house into s.h.i.+rts and bedding for our boys at the front. We varied the labor of managing plantations with every species of bazaar, supper, candy-pulling and tableaux that would raise a dollar for the army. Then we got all the entertainment we could out of our daily domestic round, as I did out of Becky Coleman, one of my old servants who occasionally relieved the monotony of her ”daily round” by coming ”to 'nquire 'bout de white folks.” It was October when she made one of these visits, but summer reigned in earth and sky. A n.o.ble avenue of black walnuts completely shaded one side of my Myrtle Grove house. The large green nuts were beginning to ripen, for when a branch swayed in the wind one would drop from time to time with such a resounding thump upon the ground that it was a matter for satisfaction when Becky seated herself on the steps of the porch without having encountered a thwack on her head from the missile-dealing trees.

”I hear singing over in the woods,” said I to Becky. ”Why are you not at the meeting this evening?”

”Who? me? eh--eh--but may be yo don' kno' I dun got my satisfacshun down dar a while ago. I'm better off at home. Hester done got me convinced.

Lemme tell you how 'twas. One Sunday ebenin' I heard tell dar wurs gwine to be er sort er 'sperience praar-meeting down to ole Unk Spencer's house, en es 'twan't fer, I jes' tuk my foot in my han'! I did, en I went dar.

”Well, ev'rything was gwine on reg'lar, en peaceable, widout no kin' er animosity, plum till dey riz up to sing de very las' _hime_. De preacher who wus er leadin' got up den en tuk up de _hime_ book en gin out:

”'Ermazin' grace how sweet de soun'

In de beleever's year!'

”Now, yo knows yo'sef dey ain't nothin' tall incitin' 'bout dat ar' chune: you knows it; en as fer me, I was jes' dar er stanin' up wid de res', wid my mouf open, jes' er singin' fer dear life, never dreamin' 'bout nothin'

happ'nin', when heah c.u.m Hester Whitfiel'--coming catter-corner 'cross from de yuther side er de house, wid her han' h'isted up in de aar, en I 'clar fo' de Lawd, she hit me er clip rite in my lef' eye, en mos' busted it clean outen my haid. It c.u.m so onexpectedlike dat leetle mo'en I would er drap in de flo'. I jes' felt like I wus shot! Den she had er pa'cel er big bra.s.s rings on her han', en dey cut rite inter my meat!

”I tell yo', ma'am, I was hurted, I jes' seed stars, I did! so I up en tole her: ”Oman, ef yo got ennything 'g'inst me, why don't you come out in de big road en gimme er fair fight? Fer Gawd-elmighty's sake don' go en make 'ten' like yo happy, en bus' my eye open dis heah way.' Says I, ”Ligion ain't got nuthin' ter do wid no sich 'havoir; I don' see no Holy Sperit 'bout it,' says I. ”Twas jes' de nachul ole saturn what mak' yo'

do dat, en I jes knows it,' says I. ”Ligion don' make n.o.body hurt nothin',' says I. Yo reads de Book, Miss Calline, en yo knows I'm speakin'

de salvashun trufe, now ain't I?

”Den all de folks c.u.m crowdin' 'roun' en gethered a holt uv us, en ef dey hadn't, I lay I woulder stretched her out dar in de flo', fer I'm de bes'

'oman--er long ways--en I would er had _her_ convinced in no time. But dey all tu'ned in en baig me ter look over it, bein' es how it happen in meetin'-time; but I tell yo, ma-am, I never look nowhars wid dat eye fer mor'n free weeks. Why, it wus so swole up en sore, I jes' had ter bandage it wid sa.s.syfras peth and wid slippery ellum poultices day en night, en my eye wus dat red, en bloodshottened, dat I never 'spected to see daylight outen it no mo'; en I clar' fo' de Lawd it ain't, got rite na'chul till yit!

”No longer'n dis very ebenin' my ole man, Tom, says ter me: 'I dun seed nuff trouble wid yo, Beck. You needs dem big pop eyes er yone to patch my close, en wuk wid, en I ain't er gwine to hev no bline 'oman rown' me,'

says he; 'en I let yo know frum dis out yo don't go ter no mo'

praar-meetin's, 'zaminashuns er what-cher-callums; dat's de long en short uv it!' says he. 'Ef you ain' got sense nuff ter stay away frum dar,' says he, 'I'll insense yo wid my fis'.' I knows de weight er dat han' er hisen, en I'm gwine min' him _dis_ time, ennyhow;” and Becky pointed toward the cabin from whence the sound of singing was wafted on the breeze, saying, ”Yes'um, I'm gwine stay away frum dar, fer er fac'!”

”Becky, is such an incident common at your prayer-meetings?” I inquired.

”Why, no, ma'am, nuthin' like dat never happen to me befo'; yit, I 'members mighty well when Betsy Was.h.i.+n'ton c.u.m thoo'--'fo' she jined de chu'ch. 'Twas in de meetin'-house, but yo couldn't onerstan' one single wud de preacher wus er sayin', fer she wus jes' er shoutin' es loud es she could fer who las' de longes'--en I onertuk, fool like, to hole her; fer she wus in sich a swivit, we wus feared she'd brek loose en go inter a reg'lar hard fit, so I jes' grabbed good holt er de 'oman, 'roun' de wais', es she wus er hollerin', en er jumpin'; en when she felt de grip I fotch on her, she tu'n 'roun', she did, en gethered my sleeve in 'tween her fingers (en she is jes' es strong es enny mule), en sh.o.r.e's yore settin' dar in dat air big cheer, en I'm er stannin' heah, talkin' ter yer, she gin me one single jerk, en I 'clar ter Gawd, she tore my whole sleeve outen de arm-hole, en ripped er big slit clean 'cross my coat body!

Why I jes' thought de 'oman wus gwine ter strip me start naiked, rite dar in de meetin'-house! I got dat shame I jes' let er go, I did, en den went perusin' roun' 'mongst de wimmin en borryd er shawl ter kiver me up; en den I moved on todes home.

”But I mus' let yo know de nex' time I met up wid Betsy, I washed her face good wid what she dun. I jes' tole her de nex' time she got ter shoutin'

'roun' me she mout bre'k her neck--I wan't gwine hole her, I wan't gwine tech her; 'fer,' says I, 'yo done gone en 'stroyed de bes' Sunday dress I got, yo is dat,' says I, 'fer er fac'!'

”Den Betsy 'lowed she didn't keer, en dat she didn't know what she wus er doin', but I tuk mighty good notice she never made no motion to grab onter Aunt Sally Brown's co'se homespun gown when _she_ tuk er tu'n er hol'in uv her. But uv co'se, I heap ruther hev my close tore dan to hev my eye busted out. But dey ain't no need er airy one bein' done; en I tole her so, I did dat. 'Sholey Christians,' say I, 'kin 'joy dersef widout hurtin'

n.o.body, neither tarin' der close!' I up en axed her ef she eber knowed de white folks in de big house karyin' on datterway, en ef she eber seed Miss Marthy er Miss Reeny er cuttin' up like dat in de white folks'

meetin'-house? Well, she jes' bust out er laffiin' in my face at dat, en she 'lowed n.i.g.g.ahs wan't like white folks nohow.

”'I knows better'n dat,' says I. 'Fer Gawd made us all outen de dus' er de groun', bofe de white en de black;' en, Miss Calline, yo' ma uster tell me ef I 'haved mysef, en kep' mysef clean, en never tole no lies, ner 'sturb yuther folks' things, I wus good es ennybody, en I b'lieves it till yit; dat's de salvashun trufe, I'm tellin', white 'oman, it sholey is!

”But _den_ Betsy got mad, she did, en gin me er push,--we wus walkin'