tried it! I'd
'a' been standin' befo' de pulpit a-waitin' for 'em--an' I'd 'a' quoted
some Scripture at 'em, too. But dey acted accordin' to law. Dey married
quiet, wid a broomstick, an' de nex' Sunday walked in chu'ch together,
took de same pew, an' he turned her pages mannerly for her--an' dat's de
ladylikest behavior Silvy ever been guilty of in her life, I reckon. She
an' him can't nair one of 'em read, but dey sets still an' holds de book
an' turns de pages--an' Gord Hisself couldn't ax no mo' for chu'ch
behavior. But lemme go on wid my washin', missy--for Gord's sake."

Laughing again now, she drew a match from the ledge of one of the
rafters, struck it across the sole of her bare foot, and began to light
the fire under her furnace. And as she flattened herself against the
ground to blow the kindling pine, she added, between puffs, and without
so much as a change of tone:

"Don't go, please, ma'am, tell I git dis charcoal lit to start dese
shirts to bile. I been tryin' to fix my mouf to ax you is you got air
ole crepe veil you could gimme to wear to chu'ch nex' Sunday--please,
ma'am? I 'clare, I wonder what's de sign when you blowin' one way an' a
live coal come right back at yer 'gins' de wind?" And sitting upon the
ground, she added, as she touched her finger to her tongue and rubbed a
burnt spot upon her chin: "Pompey 'd be mighty proud ef I could walk in
chu'ch by his side in full sisterly mo'nin' nex' Sunday for po' Sister
Sophy-Sophia--yas, 'm. I hope you kin fin' me a ole crepe veil, please,
ma'am."

Unfortunately for the full blossoming of this mourning flower of
Afro-American civilization, as it is sometimes seen to bloom along the
by-ways of plantation life, there was not a second-hand veil of crepe
forth-coming on this occasion. There were small compensations, however,
in sundry effective accessories, such as a crepe collar and bonnet, not
to mention a funereal fan of waving black plumes, which Pompey
flourished for his wife's benefit during the entire service. Certainly
the "speritu'l foster-sister" of the mourning bride, if she witnessed
the tribute paid her that Sunday morning in full view of the entire
congregation--for the bridal pair occupied the front pew under the
pulpit--would have been obdurate indeed if she had not been somewhat
mollified.

Tamar consistently wore her mourning garb for some months, and, so far
as is known, it made no further impression upon her companions than to
cause