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STANDING IN THE DOOR.Opie Read Telia a 8tory HeHeard In Texas.Th*. Old N**ro Mother Had No «ftii« i light of Tito* »nlt;t After Half a Onturjr of Waiting Still l/Hikrd for Hff Girl{Written for ThU Paper.)How odd it will sound after awhile to hear some one say: I saw a human being placeo upon a bloek and sold to the highest bidder.” And yet many of us hare seen this. But how dreamy and shadowy it seems, away back yonder in that past that the thrill of child-hood makes hallowed. The world isswift and in the feverish lull that comesat nightfall we can hear a cry of distress—we know that life ia full of greed, and that men trample upon the weak and forget the dying in their ralt; e for the dollar, and yet we must acknowledge that the world is better than it was when a human being was placed upon a block and sold.Some time ago, while in Texas. I heard a story that affected me greatly.SO, DA AIN'T IN BIGUT VET.I was at a farmhouse, sitting on a porch amid an entanglement of morning-glory vines. An old negro woman carne out of the house and stood upon the steps, and. shading her eyes with her hand, looked down the riwul. “No, da ain't in sight yit,” I heard her say.“Who is not in sight?” I asked.“Law me, is you listenin' ter my foolishness? You inus’n’t pay no ’tentionter me, chile. An’ I know you'd laugh at me ef I wm ter tell you who 1 wuzlookin’ fur.“No, I wouldn’t.“Sho nuf?. now? Wall, I ain’t tole it in so long dat I would jess like ter tell it ergin.”1 assured her that I would not laugh; and I urged her until she told me the follo'wing story:“I wuz er livin' erway back yander in Tennessee. Ole mars an’ ole miss wuz po’ folks, an’ I wauter tell you datit wuz alius bad ter b'long ter po’ people, fur you didn’t know how soon da’dhatter sell you. Niggers wuz jes like any uder property, au’ it didn't make no difYunee how much dar owners wuz 'tatched ter ’em, w’y sometimes da had ter gib ’em up jest de same. Ole mars an’ ole miss w uz monstus kine ter me— iloan’ blebe da ever did whup me—but o’ cose I had ter work hard an’ dat wuz ter be 'spected, fur da wuz po’. Da owned one uder nigger, er gre't big bench-laiged feller named Ben. An',| daughter, de puttlest lady you eber seed, named May. I lubbed her an* she lubbed me, an’ she wuz all time tellin’ me dat she didn't blame me, dat she wouldn’t marry Ben nuther ef she wuz in my place. An’ 1 uster tell her dat I neber would marry Ben till sho Pile me ter, but I know'd dat she would neber tell me. Wall, one night Miss May she come out ter my callin'er cryin’ fitten ter kill herae'f, an’she tole me dat I would hatter marry Ben—said dat ef I didn't da would hatter sell me. It wuz er awful blow, I tell you. but I tole her dat 1 would. Wall, da made tne er nice dress—Miss May made it herae'f, an’ I rieolleck dat she cried ober it—an* da put it on me an’da stuck some dogwood blooms in my b ar. an’ *o I wuz married. I neber could Tarn ter like Ben. but I did worship my chile, er little gal. Ter me she wuz de puttiest thing dat eber lilied. Dar wan't no uder chillun round nowhar,an’ after dat chile got big ernuff sho used ter go round de yard, singin’ wid de chickens, an' she got so she went jest like er chicken, too. An’ dem chickens used ter sing back at her— used ter call her, it peered ter me liko —an* yere she'd come an' march round de yard wid ’em.“One day ole marster tuck sick. Da had er doctor frurn w ay ober de creek an’ one fruin de town, but it wan't no use. fur he died; an’den it didn’t 'pear mo' den er month ’fo’ ole miss she died, too. I thought dat de worl' dun come ter er end, sho, but I ricolected dat I still had my young miss an'my little gal. But, bless you. de fust thing I knowed yere come some folks dat dasaid wuz de law, an’ da 'gun ter take everything on de place. But I had thought dat me an’ Miss May an’ de little gal could manage ter lore somehow’—I didn't think erbout Ben—but in de ebenin’ young miss she come out ter my cabin an’ ’gun ter cry, an’ when I tried ter quiet her she cried wuss, an’ she told me dat da had dun tuck me away frum her an’ wuz gwine put mo on de block an’ sell me. Oh, dts new s mighty nigh broke my heart, specially when she told me dat in all reason I wuz gwdne to be tuck off soufan’dat de little gal wuz gwine be kep’ back. I didn’t sleep none dat night, an’ I held dat little angel in my arms, all through de dark hours. De roosters crowed, au’ my heart wuz tore, fur 1 knowed dat daylight wuz er cornin’ an’ dat soon de law would be dar. De little angel wuz ersleep%, wid one han’ on my breast.“Day come, an* I wondered how de sun could shine jest ez bright ez it did vistidy, an’ I wondered how folks could laugh, but I ye red de law laugh ez itStANDKN’ 23de DO*.» w
Newspaper Details
Freeborn County Standard
Albert Lea, Minnesota, US
Wed, Jun 05, 1895
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Elizabeth B.
TX, USA 05 Jan 2022
Other Publications Near Albert Lea, Minnesota
Albert Lea the Evening Tribune Farm Tab
Albert Lea Evening Tribune Farm Tab
Farm and Home Magazine
Albert Lea Sunday Tribune
Standard
