The Conjure Woman Charles W. Chesnutt (best fiction novels .TXT) đ
- Author: Charles W. Chesnutt
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âYasâm I does; datâs jesâ wâat I meansâ âgwineter eat eveây bit un it, anâ den come back bimeby fer moâ.â
âI should think it would make them sick,â she said.
âDey gits useâ ter it,â said Julius. âHowsomeber, ef dey eats too much it does make âem sick; anâ I knows wâat Iâm er-talkinâ erbout. I doan minâ wâat dem kinder folks does,â he added, looking contemptuously after the retreating figure of the poor-white woman, âbut wâeneber I sees black folks eatânâ clay ofân dat particâlar clay-bank, it alluz sets me ter studyinâ âbout poâ lonesome Ben.â
âWhat was the matter with Ben?â asked my wife. âYou can tell us while weâre waiting for Mabel.â
Old Julius often beguiled our leisure with stories of plantation life, some of them folklore stories, which we found to be in general circulation among the colored people; some of them tales of real life as Julius had seen it in the old slave days; but the most striking were, we suspected, purely imaginary, or so colored by old Juliusâs fancy as to make us speculate at times upon how many original minds, which might have added to the worldâs wealth of literature and art, had been buried in the ocean of slavery.
âWâen ole Mars Marrabo McSwayne owned dat place ober de branch dere, wâat Kunnel Pembeâton owns now,â the old man began, âhe useter hab a nigger man nameâ Ben. Ben wuz one er dese yer big black niggersâ âhe was moâdân six foot high anâ black ez coal. He wuz a fielâ-hanâ anâ a good wukker, but he had one little failinââ âhe would take a drap er so oncet in a wâile. Coâse eveâybody laks a drap now anâ den, but it âpeared ter âfecâ Ben moâdân it did yuther folks. He didnâ hab much chance dat-a-way, but eveây now anâ den heâd git holt er sumpânâ somewahr, anâ shoâs he did, heâd git outân de narrer road. Mars Marrabo kepâ on waâninâ âm âbout it, anâ finâlly he tolâ âim ef he eber ketch âim in dat shape agâin he âuz gwineter gib âim foâty. Ben knowed ole Mars Marrabo had a good âmembâance anâ alluz done wâat he said, so he wuz monstâus keerful not ter gib âm no âcasion fer ter use his âmembâance on him. Anâ so fer mosâ a whole yeah Ben ânied hisseâf anâ nebber teched a drap er nuffinâ.
âBut itâs hâad wuk ter larn a ole dog new tricks, er ter make him fergit de ole uns, anâ poâ Benâs time come bimeby, jesâ lak evâybody eâseâs does. Mars Marrabo sent âim ober ter dis yer plantation one day wid a bundle er cotton-sacks fer Mars Dugalâ, anâ wiles he wuz ober yere, de ole Debbil sent aâ âoman wâat had casâ her eyes on âim anâ knowed his weakness, fer ter tempâ poâ Ben wid some licker. Mars Whiskey wuz right dere anâ Mars Marrabo wuz a mile erway, anâ so Ben minded Mars Whiskey anâ fergot âbout Mars Marrabo. Wâen he got back home he couldnâ skasely tell Mars Marrabo de message wâat Mars Dugalâ had sent back ter âim.
âMars Marrabo listenâ at âim âtempâ ter tell it; and den he says, kinder colâ and cuttinâ-likeâ âhe didnâ âpear ter get mad ner nuffinâ:
âââYouer drunk, Ben.â
âDe way his marster spoke sorter sobered Ben, anâ he ânied it of coâse.
âââWho? Me, Mars Marrabo? I ainâ drunk; no, marster, I ainâ drunk. I ainâ teched a drap er nuffinâ sence lasâ Chrisâmas, suh.â
âââYouer drunk, Ben, anâ donât you dare ter âspute my woâd, er Iâll kill you in yoâ tracks! Iâll talk ter you Sadâday night, suh, wâen youâll be sober, anâ wâen youâll hab Sunday ter âflect over ouâ conveâsation, anâ ânuss yoâ wounâs.â
âWâen Mars Marrabo got thâoo talkinâ Ben wuz moâ sober dan he wuz befoâ he got drunk. It wuz Wednesday wâen Benâs marster tol âim dis, anâ âtwixâ den and Friday night Ben done a heap er studyinâ. Anâ de moâ he studied de moâ he didnâ lak de way Mars Marrabo talked. He hadnâ much trouble wid Mars Marrabo befo,â but he knowed his ways, anâ he knowed dat de longer Mars Marrabo waited to do a thing de wusser he got âstid er gittinâ better lak mosâ folks. Anâ Ben finâlly made up his minâ he waânât gwineter take dat cowhidin.â He âlowed dat ef he wuz little, like some er de dahkies on de plantation, he wouldnâ minâ it so much; but he wuz so big deyâd be moâ grounâ fer Mars Marrabo ter cover, anâ it would hurt dat much moâ. So Ben âcided ter run erway.
âHe had a wife anâ two chilâen, anâ dey had a little cabin ter deyseâves down in de quahters. His wife Dasdy wuz a good-lookin,â good-natuâd âoman, anâ âpeared ter set a heap er stoâ by Ben. De little boy wuz nameâ Pete; he wuz âbout eight er nine years ole, anâ had already âmenced ter go out in de fielâ anâ heâp his mammy pick cotton, fer Mars Marrabo wuz one er dese yer folks wâat wants ter make eveây aidge cut. Dis yer little Pete wuz a mighty soople dancer, anâ wâen his daddy would set out in de yahd anâ pick de banjo fer âim, Pete could teach de ole folks noo stepsâ âdancinâ jes seemed to come nachul ter âim. Dey wuz a little gal too; Ben didnâ pay much âtention ter de gal, but he wuz monstâus fond er Dasdy anâ de boy. He wuz sorry ter leab âem, anâ he didnâ tell âem nuffinâ âbout it fer fear deyâd make a fuss. But on Friday night Ben tuk all de bread anâ meat dey wuz in de cabin anâ made fer de woods.
âWâen Sadâday come anâ Ben didnâ âpear, anâ nobody didnâ know nuffinâ âbout âim, Mars Marrabo âlowed of coâse dat Ben had runned erway. He got up a pahty anâ tuk de dawgs out anâ follered
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