In Beaver Cove and ElsewhereCrim, Matt (Martha Jane)
General
In Beaver Cove and Elsewhere
Crim, Matt (Martha Jane)
Georgia -- Fiction; Short stories, American
They laid him down within the shadow of Ebenezer Church, along with the
other quiet sleepers who rested there, and no one ever again breathed
aught against the luckless vagabond; while in one household his memory
was gratefully and tenderly cherished. Never did a stormy night come,
but they would draw up around the flaming pine-knot fire thinking of
him, and Mrs. Upchurch would take one of Tempy’s children on her knee,
to shield her tearful eyes from observation.
Then again she would sit in the entry on calm, clear summer days, with
her knitting and her snuff, just as she sat that day he came up the
road, footsore, and weary with his tramp, and, recalling all the trials
and failures of his life, she would far away toward those misty blue
mountains, softly murmuring:
"Poor Ab! He always was an onfortunit creetur."
*BET CROW.*
*A DIALECT STORY OF GEORGIA LIFE.*
Mr. Jesse Crow sat on the front fence with his feet comfortably resting
on the lower rail, whittling a stick. Crops had been "laid by," and he
felt that he could afford to sit on the fence and engage in the pleasing
recreation of whittling. But it was not, on this particular occasion,
enjoyed as heartily as usual. It seemed to be a mere mechanical
occupation to aid him in solving a knotty problem. He was a small,
wiry, mild-eyed man, with a deeply tanned complexion and a good-humored
expression. He was a prosperous farmer, and highly respected in the
settlement, where he had a good reputation for fair, honest dealing and
clear judgment, though often permitting his love of mercy to overrule
the rigid laws of justice.
"It ain’t no use in bein’ hard on enny creetur," he would say mildly.
"We ain’t all been tried erlike, an’ thar mought be extinguishin’
sarcums-tances ter jedge by if we could see ’em."
But this morning his brows were drawn together in a perplexed frown, and
he stared at the slowly sharpening splinter with abstracted eyes. The
steady, even fall of hoofs upon the hard, dry road roused him from his
reflections, and glancing up he saw Jim Edwards, his neighbor and crony,
approaching on his old gray mare. Mr. Jesse Crow hailed him with hearty
delight.
"Won’t you ’light an’ come in?" he asked hospitably.
"No, reckon not this mornin’. Nancy’s in er pow’ful hurry fer some
truck, but I don’t know as I min’ a-jinin’ you thar a little while."
He dismounted, threw the bridle over a low projecting limb of the great
chestnut-tree standing near the gate, and in a few minutes sat on the
fence by the side of his friend.
"You have heard erbout Tom Fannin a-takin’ that money from Bill Sanders,
down whar they air a-workin’ on the new railroad?" he said, fumbling for
his knife from mere force of habit, and settling himself for a little
gossip.
"Yes," said Mr. Crow, seriously, "an’ I don’t min’ sayin’ that I never
was more tuk down."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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