Rose soon got to like Melanctha Herbert and Melanctha now always
wanted to be with Rose, whenever she could do it. Melanctha Herbert
always was doing everything for Rose that she could think of that Rose
ever wanted. Rose always liked to be with nice people who would do
things for her. Rose had strong common sense and she was lazy. Rose
liked Melanctha Herbert, she had such kind of fine ways in her. Then,
too, Rose had it in her to be sorry for the subtle, sweet-natured,
docile, intelligent Melanctha Herbert who always was so blue
sometimes, and always had had so much trouble. Then, too, Rose could
scold Melanctha, for Melanctha Herbert never could know how to keep
herself from trouble, and Rose was always strong to keep straight,
with her simple selfish wisdom.

But why did the subtle, intelligent, attractive, half white girl
Melanctha Herbert, with her sweetness and her power and her wisdom,
demean herself to do for and to flatter and to be scolded, by this
lazy, stupid, ordinary, selfish black girl. This was a queer thing in
Melanctha Herbert.

And so now in these new spring days, it was with Rose that Melanctha
began again to wander. Rose always knew very well in herself what was
the right way to do when you wandered. Rose knew very well, she was
not just any common kind of black girl, for she had been raised by
white folks, and Rose always saw to it that she was engaged to him
when she had any one man with whom she ever always wandered. Rose
always had strong in her the sense for proper conduct. Rose always was
telling the complex and less sure Melanctha, what was the right way
she should do when she wandered.

Rose never knew much about Jeff Campbell with Melanctha Herbert. Rose
had not known about Melanctha Herbert when she had been almost all her
time with Dr. Campbell.

Jeff Campbell did not like Rose when he saw her with Melanctha. Jeff
would never, when he could help it, meet her. Rose did not think much
about Dr. Campbell. Melanctha never talked much about him to her. He
was not important now to be with her.

Rose did not like Melanctha's old friend Jane Harden when she saw her.
Jane despised Rose for an ordinary, stupid, sullen black girl. Jane
could not see what Melanctha could find in that black girl, to endure
her. It made Jane sick to see her. But then Melanctha had a good mind,
but she certainly never did care much to really use it. Jane Harden
now really never cared any more to see Melanctha, t