The Conjure Woman Charles W. Chesnutt (best fiction novels .TXT) đ
- Author: Charles W. Chesnutt
Book online «The Conjure Woman Charles W. Chesnutt (best fiction novels .TXT) đ». Author Charles W. Chesnutt
âHe looks as though he were ashamed of himself,â I observed.
âIâm sure he ought to be,â exclaimed my wife indignantly. âI think there is no worse sin and no more disgraceful thing than cruelty.â
âI quite agree with you,â I assented.
âA man wâat âbuses his hoss is gwine ter be haâd on de folks wâat wuks fer âim,â remarked Julius. âEf young Mistah McLean doan minâ, heâll hab a bad dream one er dese days, des lack âis grandaddy had way back yander, long yeahs befoâ de wah.â
âWhat was it about Mr. McLeanâs dream, Julius?â I asked. The man had not yet finished cleaning the spring, and we might as well put in time listening to Julius as in any other way. We had found some of his plantation tales quite interesting.
âMars Jeems McLean,â said Julius, âwuz de grandaddy er dis yer gentâeman wâat is des gone by us beatinâ his hoss. He had a big plantation en a heap er niggers. Mars Jeems wuz a haâd man, en monstâus stricâ wid his hanâs. Eber sence he growed up he nebber âpeared ter hab no feelinâ fer nobody. Wâen his daddy, ole Mars John McLean, died, de plantation en all de niggers fell ter young Mars Jeems. He had beân bad ânuff befoâ, but it waânât long atterwaâds âtel he got so dey wuz no use in libbinâ at all ef you haâ ter lib rounâ Mars Jeems. His niggers wuz bleedzd ter slabe fum daylight ter daâk, wâiles yuther folksâs didnâ hafter wuk âcepânâ fum sun ter sun; en dey didnâ git no moâ ter eat dan dey oughter, en dat de coaâsesâ kinâ. Dey waânât âlowed ter sing, ner dance, ner play de banjo wâen Mars Jeems wuz rounâ de place; fer Mars Jeems say he wouldnâ hab no sech gwines-onâ âsaid he bought his hanâs ter wuk, en not ter play, en wâen night come dey musâ sleep en resâ, so deyâd be ready ter git up soon in de mawninâ en go ter dey wuk fresh en strong.
âMars Jeems didnâ âlow no coâtinâ er juneseyinâ rounâ his plantationâ âsaid he wanted his niggers ter put dey minâs on dey wuk, en not be wastinâ dey time wid no sech foolisâness. En he wouldnâ let his hanâs git marriedâ âsaid he wuznâ raisinâ niggers, but wuz raisinâ cotton. En wâeneber any er de boys en gals âud âmence ter git sweet on one ernudder, heâd sell one er de yuther un âem, er senâ âem way down in Robeson County ter his yuther plantation, whar dey couldnâ nebber see one ernudder.
âEf any er de niggers eber complained, dey got foâty; so coâse dey didnâ many un âem complain. But dey didnâ lack it, des de same, en nobody couldnâ blame âem, fer dey had a haâd time. Mars Jeems didnâ make no âlowance fer nachul bawn lazâness, ner sickness, ner trouble in de minâ, ner nuffin; he wuz des gwine ter git so much wuk outer eveây hanâ, er know de reason wây.
âDey wuz one time de niggers âlowed, fer a spell, dat Mars Jeems mought git bettah. He tuk a lackinâ ter Mars Marrabo McSwayneâs oldesâ gal, Miss Libbie, en useter go ober dere eveây day er eveây ebeninâ, en folks said dey wuz gwine ter git married shoâ. But it âpears dat Miss Libbie heared âbout de gwines-on on Mars Jeemsâs plantation, en she des âlowed she couldnâ trusâ herseâf wid no sech a man; dat he mought git so useter âbusinâ his niggers dat heâd âmence ter âbuse his wife atter he got useter habbinâ her rounâ de house. So she âclared she wuznâ gwine ter hab nuffin moâ ter do wid young Mars Jeems.
âDe niggers wuz all monstâus sorry wâen de match wuz bustâ up, fer now Mars Jeems got wusser ân he wuz befoâ he staâted sweetheaâtinâ. De time he useter spenâ coâtinâ Miss Libbie he put in findinâ fault wid de niggers, en all his bad feelinâs âcaâse Miss Libbie thâowed âim ober he âpeared ter try ter wuk off on de poâ niggers.
âWâiles Mars Jeems wuz coâtinâ Miss Libbie, two er de hanâs on de plantation had got ter settinâ a heap er stoâ by one ernudder. One un âem wuz nameâ Solomon, en de yuther wuz a âoman wâat wukked in de fielâ âlong er âimâ âI feâgit dat âomanâs name, but it doan âmount ter much in de tale nohow. Now, whuther âcaâse Mars Jeems wuz so tuk up wid his own junesey dat he didnâ paid no âtention fer a wâile ter wâat wuz gwine on âtwixâ Solomon en his junesey, er whuther his own coâtinâ made âim kinâ er easy on de coâtinâ in de quaâters, dey ainâ no tellinâ. But deyâs one thing shoâ, dat wâen Miss Libbie thâowed âim ober, he founâ out âbout Solomon en de gal monstâus quick, en gun Solomon foâty, en sont de gal down ter de Robeson County plantation, en tolâ all de niggers ef he ketch âem at any moâ sech foolishness, he wuz gwine ter skin âem alibe en tan dey hides befoâ dey veây eyes. Coâse he wouldnâ âaâ done it, but he mought âaâ made things wusser ân dey wuz. So you kin âmagine dey waânât much lub-makinâ in de quaâters fer a long time.
âMars Jeems useter go down ter de yuther plantation sometimes fer a week er moâ, en so he had ter hab a oberseah ter look atter his wuk wâiles he âuz gone. Mars Jeemsâs oberseah wuz a poâ wâite man nameâ Nick Johnsonâ âde niggers called âim Mars Johnson ter his face, but behinâ his back dey useter call âim Ole Nick, en de name suited âim ter a T. He wuz wusser ân Mars Jeems ever daâed ter be. Coâse de darkies didnâ
Comments (0)