FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151  
152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   >>   >|  
'll prove a good boy, and worthy of such a mother.' 'Oh, he will dat, massa; he'm a good chile; but heah'm ten dollar more massa, it'm de good gemman's, an' he say I kin gib it ter 'on fur Ally.' Preston laughed: 'I heard what he said. I can't take it, Dinah. You need it to buy some winter clothes. I'll take the risk of what you owe me.' The shopkeeper then said: 'Take it, Mr. Preston; I'll let Dinah have what she needs out of the store; she knows her credit is good with me.' 'Well,' said Preston, taking the money, 'this makes one hundred and thirty-seven dollars and thirty cents. You need not pay any more--Ally is yours _now_.' 'Oh! am Ally _free_, massa? Am de chile FREE? she exclaimed, taking him in her arms, and bursting into a hysterical fit of weeping. Every eye was wet, but no one spoke. At last Dinah said: 'But, massa Preston, I wants 'ou ter take de chile. I wants 'ou ter fetch him up. I karn't larn him nuffin. I doan't know nuffin massa. He kin git larnin' wid 'ou.' 'But he's all you have. He'll be a help and a comfort, to you at home.' 'I doan't want no help, massa. He'm FREE now--I doan't want no help no more.' 'Well, aunty, I'll take him, and pay you twenty dollars a year, till he's fifteen. He's ten now, isn't he?' 'A'most ten, massa, a'most; but 'ou needn't pay me nuffin; jess gib de chile what you likes. And massa, 'ou'll speak ter Boss Joe 'bout him, woan't 'ou? 'Ou'll ax him ter see Ally gwoe ter de meetin's an' larn out ob de books, woan't 'ou, massa? I wants him ter know suffin, massa.' 'Yes, I will, Dinah, and I'll keep an eye on him myself.' 'Tank 'ou, massa; an' p'raps' ou'll leff de chile come ter see him ole mammy once'n a while?' 'Yes, he may--once a month. Come now, Dinah, get into the wagon; we go right by your house.' We entered the vehicle, and drove off. When we reached the shanty, the negress got out, and, amid a shower of blessings from her, we rode on to the plantation. For four long years she had worked fifteen hours a day, and denied herself every comfort to buy her child; and when at last she had secured his freedom, she was willing to part with him that he might 'larn suffin out ob de books.' Who that reads this truthful record of a slave mother's love, will deny to her wretched race the instincts and feelings that make _us_ human? It was a clear, cold, sunshiny day--one of those days so peculiar to the Southern climate, when the blood hounds th
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151  
152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Preston
 

nuffin

 

thirty

 

suffin

 

dollars

 
comfort
 
fifteen
 

taking

 
mother

reached

 

shanty

 

sunshiny

 
vehicle
 

entered

 
hounds
 

climate

 
Southern
 
negress

peculiar

 

denied

 

worked

 

secured

 

truthful

 

record

 

freedom

 

shower

 

blessings


feelings

 

wretched

 

instincts

 

plantation

 
hundred
 

credit

 

exclaimed

 

worthy

 
dollar

laughed

 
gemman
 

winter

 
shopkeeper
 
clothes
 

twenty

 
meetin
 
weeping
 

bursting


hysterical

 
larnin