Short stories, American; United States -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
"Well, you nuvver see a chile grow so. Pres'n'y he growed up right
big, an' ole marster sez he must have some edication. So he sont 'im
to school to ole Miss Lawry down dyar, dis side o' Cun'l Chahmb'lin's,
an' I use' to go 'long wid 'im an' tote he books an' we all's snacks;
an' when he larnt to read an' spell right good, an' got 'bout so-o
big, old Miss Lawry she died, an' ole marster said he mus' have a man
to teach 'im an' trounce 'im. So we all went to Mr. Hall, whar kep' de
school-house beyant de creek, an' dyar we went ev'y day, 'cep'
Sat'd'ys of co'se, an' sich days ez Marse Chan din' warn' go, an' ole
missis begged 'im off.
"Hit wuz down dyar Marse Chan fust took notice o' Miss Anne. Mr. Hall,
he taught gals ez well ez boys, an' Cun'l Chahmb'lin he sont his
daughter (dat's Miss Anne I'm talkin' about). She wuz a leetle bit o'
gal when she fust come. Yo' see, her ma wuz dead, an' ole Miss Lucy
Chahmb'lin, she lived wid her brudder an' kep' house for 'im; an' he
wuz so busy wid politics, he didn' have much time to spyar, so he sont
Miss Anne to Mr. Hall's by a 'ooman wid a note. When she come dat day
in de school-house, an' all de chil'en looked at her so hard, she tu'n
right red, an' tried to pull her long curls over her eyes, an' den put
bofe de backs of her little han's in her two eyes, an' begin to cry to
herse'f. Marse Chan he was settin' on de een' o' de bench nigh de do',
an' he jes' reached out an' put he arm roun' her an' drawed her up to
'im. An' he kep' whisperin' to her, an' callin' her name, an' coddlin'
her; an' pres'n'y she took her han's down an' begin to laugh.
"Well, dey 'peared to tek' a gre't fancy to each udder from dat time.
Miss Anne she warn' nuthin' but a baby hardly, an' Marse Chan he wuz a
good big boy 'bout mos' thirteen years ole, I reckon. Hows'ever, dey
sut'n'y wuz sot on each udder an' (yo' heah me!) ole marster an' Cun'l
Chahmb'lin dey 'peared to like it 'bout well ez de chil'en. Yo' see
Cun'l Chahmb'lin's place j'ined ourn, an' it looked jes' ez natural
fur dem two chil'en to marry an' mek it one plantation, ez it did fur
de creek to run down de bottom from our place into Cun'l Chahmb'lin's.
I don' rightly think de chil'en thought 'bout gittin' _married_, not
den, no mo'n I thought 'bout marryin' Judy when she wuz a little gal
at Cun'l Chahmb'lin's, runnin' 'bout de house, huntin' fur Miss Lucy's
spectacles; but dey wuz good frien's from de start. Marse Chan he use'
to kyar Miss Anne's books fur her ev'y day, an' ef de road wuz muddy
or she wuz tired, he use' to tote her; an' 'twarn' hardly a day passed
dat he didn' kyar her some'n' to school--apples or hick'y nuts, or
some'n'. He wouldn' let none o' de chil'en tease her, nudder. Heh! One
day, one o' de boys poked he finger at Miss Anne, an' arfter school
Marse Chan he axed 'im 'roun' hine de school-house out o' sight, an'
ef he didn' whop 'im!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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