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
âEz fer poâ Tobe, he had hopâ off down ter dat maâsh en had jumpâ in de water, en had waited fer hisseâf ter tuân back. But wâen he didnâ tuân back de fusâ day, he âlowed Aunâ Peggy had put in too much er de mixtry, en bein âez de maâsh wuz full er minners en snails en crawfish en yuther things wâat bull-frogs laks ter eat, he âlowed he mought âs well be comfâtable en enjoy hisseâf âtel his bull-frog time wuz up.
âBut bimeby, wen a montâ rollâ by, en two montâs, en thâee montâs, en a yeah, Tobe kinder âlowed dey wuz sumpân wrong âbout dat goopher, en so he âmenceâ ter go up on de dry lanâ en look fer Aunâ Peggy. En one day wâen she came âlong by de maâsh, he got in front er her, en croakâ en croakâ; but Aunâ Peggy wuz studyinâ âbout sumpân eâse; en âsides, she âlowed Tobe wuz done gone âway en got free long, long befoâ, so she didnâ pay no âtention ter de big bull-frog she met in de path, âcepân ter push him outân de road wid her stick.
âSo Tobe went back ter his maâsh, en dere heâs beân eber sence. Itâs beân fifty yeahs er moâ, en Tobe musâ be âbout ten yeahs older ân I is. But he ainâ nebber got tiâed er wantinâ ter be tuânt back ter hisseâf, er ter sumpân wâat could run erway ter de Norf. Coâse ef he had waited lak de resâ un us heâd a beân free long ago; but he didnâ know dat, en he doan know it yet. En eveây night, wâen de frogs staâts up, dem wâat knows âbout Tobe kin recoânize his voice en heah âim callinâ, callinâ, callinâ ole Aunâ Peggy fer ter come en tuân âim back, des ez ef Aunâ Peggy hadnâ beân restinâ in Aberhamâs bosom fer foâty yeahs er moâ. Oncet in a wâile I notices dat Tobe doan say nuffin fer a night er so, en so I âlows heâs gittinâ ole en poâly, en troubleâ wid hoaâseness er rheumatiz er sumpân er ânuther, fum beinâ in de water so long. I doan âspecâ heâs gwine to be dere many moâ yeahs; but wâiles he is dere, it âpears ter me he oughter be âlowed ter lib out de resâ er his days in peace.
âDatâs de reason wây,â the old man concluded, âI doan lak ter see nobody eatân frogsâ laigs outân dat maâsh. Ouch!â he added suddenly, putting his hand to the pit of his stomach, âOuch!â
âWhatâs the matter, Uncle Julius?â my wife inquired with solicitude.
âOh, nuffin, maâm, nuffin wuf noticinââ âdes a little tech er misâry in my innards. I sâpose talkinâ âbout poâ old Tobe, in dat colâ, wet maâsh, wid nobody ter âsociate wid but frogs en crawfish en water-moccasins en sich, en wid nuffin fittinâ ter eat, is des sorter upsot me moâ er less. If you is anyways intârusted in a ole niggerâs feelinâs, I ruther âspecâ a drap er dem bitters outân dat little flat jimmyjohn er yoân git me shet er dis misâry quickerân anything eâse I knows.â
EndnotesA small card, resembling a currycomb in construction, and used by negroes in the rural districts instead of a comb. â©
Sweetheart. â©
ColophonThe Conjure Woman
was published in 1899 by
Charles W. Chesnutt.
This ebook was produced for
Standard Ebooks
by
Mitchell Jacobs,
and is based on a transcription produced in 2004 by
Suzanne Shell, Sjaani, and The Online Distributed Proofreading Team
for
Project Gutenberg,
transcriptions produced between 1999 and 2007 by
John M. Freiermuth and Stephanie P. Browner
for
The Charles Chesnutt Digital Archive,
and on digital scans available at the
Internet Archive
and at the
HathiTrust Digital Library.
The cover page is adapted from
Woman and Child (Silence),
a painting completed in 1855 by
Jean-François Millet.
The cover and title pages feature the
League Spartan and Sorts Mill Goudy
typefaces created in 2014 and 2009 by
The League of Moveable Type.
The first edition of this ebook was released on
February 28, 2019, 8:33 p.m.
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