And there ensued an hour of the greatest interest to me as the very
good old slave woman led me from one of the rooms in the large house
to another, with many stories of great interest. At last we came to
that room in which had been deposited my bags and my other equipment
for my journey and there we made a very long pause.
"This is your Grandma Carruthers' room, the General's grandma, and she
was the high-headedest lady of the whole family. That am her portrait
over the mantelshelf. You is jest like her as two peas in the pod and
I reckin I'll have to take a stick to you like I did to yo' father
when he was most growed up and stole all the fruitcake I had done
baked in July fer Christmas," she said with a wide smile of great
affection upon her very large mouth.
"I beg that you put under a key that cake, beloved Madam Kizzie," I
made answer to her with also a laugh.
"Never was no key to nothing in this house, chile," she answered to
me. "I 'lowed to the Gener'l that he had oughter git a lock and key
fer this here flowered silk dress in the glass case on the wall dat de
ole Mis' wore at the ball where she met up with Mas' Carruthers, but
they do say that she comes back and walks as a ha'nt all dressed in it
and these here slippers and stockings and folderols in the carved box
on the table here under her picture. Is you 'fraid of ha'nts, honey?"
"I will not be afraid of this beautiful Grandmamma in this dress of so
great magnificence, my good Kizzie," I made answer to her with more of
courage than I at that moment felt.
"Well, it's only in case of a death in the house that she--Lands
alive, am that my cake burning?" With which exclamation the good
Kizzie left me to the company of the beautiful Grandmamma.
After having unpacked and nicely put away all of the apparel from my
two large bags, the fine Bonbon retired below to answer a summons from
good Kizzie, and left me alone for the first time since I had opened
my eyes that morning while being whirled in the railway train down
into the State of Harpeth. I looked at the hunting watch strapped to
my wrist, which I had worn while traveling, and saw that it was after
five o'clock, and I felt that I must sleep before dining, if for only
a moment.
Thereupon I immediately climbed slowly and awkwardly out of that gray
tweed suit of clothes. I did so wonder what could be the best method
of releasing one's self from trousers. It is a feat of balance to
stand on one foot and remove one portion of the two sides of the
trousers, and yet it is an entanglement to drop the two portions upon
the floor and attempt to step out of them with the shoes upon your
feet. Having succeeded in getting out of them the last night when
prone upon the sleeping shelf of the railroad train, without injury to
them, I again prostrated myself upon the huge bed in my room and
disentangled myself from them while in that position.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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