_"One touch of nature."_--Shakespeare.
As time wore on the family had, in some sort, at least, adjusted itself
to the new order of things. The dialect of the strapping Irish-woman who
presided over the kitchen of the small but comfortable new home, and
the no less unaccustomed speech of the natives, themselves, were a never
failing source of amusement to the children and, indeed, to Griffith
himself. His old spirits seemed to return as he would repeat, with
his hearty laugh, the village gossip, couched in the village forms of
speech.
Each day as he opened his _Cincinnati Gazette_ he would laugh out some
bit of town news which he had overheard at the post-office or on his
way home. The varying forms of penuriousness exhibited in the dealings
between the fanners and the villagers impressed him as most amusing
of all. The haggling over a few cents, or the payment of money between
neighbors for fruit or milk or services of a nature which he had always
looked upon as ordinary neighborly courtesy, filled him with mirth. One
day, shortly after their arrival, Beverly had brought his mother a dozen
peaches from a neighbor's yard. The boy had supposed when asked if his
mother would not like them that they were intended as a present. He
thanked the owner heartily and said that he was sure his mother would
very greatly enjoy.
"After he gave them to me," the boy said, indignantly, "'Six cents wuth,
an' cheap at that!' says he, and held out his hand! Well, I could
have fainted! Selling twelve peaches to a neighbor! Why, a mountaineer
wouldn't do that! And then he had _asked_ me to take them! I had ten
cents in my pocket and I handed it to him and walked off. He yelled
something to me about change, but I never looked back."
His father enjoyed the joke, as he called it, immensely. He chuckled
over it again and again as he sat in the twilight.
One day late in that summer--the summer of '57--the children were
attracted by a great uproar and noise in the street. A group of school
children, some street loafers, and a few mature but curious, grown
citizens were gathered about an object in the middle of the street.
Hoots and shouts of derision went up. A half-witted girl circled slowly
about the outskirts of the crowd making aimless motions and passes with
her hands toward the object of interest. Voices clashed with voices
in an effort to gain coherent sound and sense. Was it a bear or a hand
organ? The children ran to see. Beverly followed more slowly. Beverly
seemed a young man now, so sedate and dignified was this oldest son.
"What is it?"
"Look out there! Look out there! It's going that way!"
"What? What you say? Who?"
"Who is Mosgrif? No man by that name don't live here."
"Nigger, nigger, pull a trigger, never grow an inch a bigger!"
"Get her some soap! Let's take her and give her a wash!"
"What? Who? Shut up your noise there, will you, Dave Benton. She's
askin' fer somebody--some feller she knows. Who?"
There was a pause in the progress of the procession as it reached Mr.
Davenport's side gate. Beverly was craning his neck to see over the
heads of the crowd. His two brothers took a surer method. They dodged
under arms and between legs and were making straight for the center of
the crowd where they had heard an accustomed voice.
"What I axes yo' alls is, whah's my Mos' Grif! Dey done tole me down
yander dat he lib down dis a-way. Whah's my Mos' Grif's house? I got ter
fine my Mos' Grif!"
"Aunt Judy! Aunt Judy!" shrieked the two younger boys, in mad delight.
"It's Aunt Judy! Oh, Beverly, come quick! She's hurt! She's been struck
with a rock! Come quick--quick!"
LeRoy had reached the old woman, who began to tremble and cry as soon
as she felt that friends were indeed near. She threw her arms about his
neck and half-sobbed with joy. Then she tried to pick up the younger boy
in her arms, as of old, but her strength gave way, and she fell on her
knees beside her bundle and stick. A laughing shout went up. Dave Benton
shied a small stone at her.
"How dare you! How dare you! you common loafers!" shrieked LeRoy, white
with rage. He struck out with both fists at those who were nearest. "How
dare you throw at Aunt Judy! How dare you, you low-down--!"
Words failed him, and he was choking with rage, but both fists were
finding a mark on the visage of the prostrate Dave. His fists and the
astonishment felt at the sight of white children caressing and calling
the old black creature "aunty" had served to clear a space about them.
Every one had fallen back. The halfwitted girl alone remained with the
center group, making aimless passes, with ill-regulated hands, at Aunt
Judy. So absorbing was this strange creature to the bewildered senses
that not even the struggling boys on the ground at her feet served to
divert her gaze from the old black face.
"His aunt's a nigger!"
"Kissed her, by gum!"
"They're the Virginia preacher's kids!"
"Never knew before that some of their kin was niggers!"
Dave Benton was now on top, and Howard was pulling at his leg in an
effort to help his brother. Suddenly Roy swirled on top and grasped the
helpless Dave by the throat.
"You let her alone, you dirty little--devil!" he ground out between his
teeth, "or I'll _kill_ you!"
His rage was so intense, his face was so set and livid, that it looked
as if he might execute the threat before the astonished and half-amused
bystanders realized the danger. Beverly sprang to the rescue. He had
hustled Judy through the side gate and into the house with Howard.
"LeRoy! LeRoy! stop--stop! Get up! let go! Get up this instant!" he
commanded, loosening the boy's grasp. "Look at that blood! Father will
be so ashamed of you!"
He pushed the boy ahead of him and the door closed behind them, leaving
a hooting mob outside and Dave Benton with a bleeding nose and a very
sore head.
"Got a nigger fer a ant, by gosh!" exclaimed one, as they turned slowly
away, leaving the weak-minded girl alone circling about the gate, making
inarticulate noises and movements of indirection at the house and its
curious and uncanny new occupant.
But LeRoy's blows and his taunts bore fruit in due season. A week later,
Dave Benton's father, who had nursed his wrath, caused service to be
made upon Mr. Davenport to show cause why he was not infringing the law
and the State constitution by keeping in his service a free negro. Mr.
Davenport explained to the court that he had not brought her into the
State and was in no way responsible for her having come. Indeed, Judy
would not or could not tell exactly how she had managed it herself. That
she had been helped forward by some one seemed evident. But Griffith's
plea would not suffice. She was here. He was avowedly the cause of her
coming. She was a free negro. He was giving her employment. That was
against the State constitution. Clearly, she must be sent away. Griffith
consulted with a lawyer. The lawyer gravely stated, in open court, that
the old negro was a guest, and not an employé, of the Davenport family.
The judge smiled. There was no law, no constitutional provision,
no statute to prevent a family from having negro guests in Indiana;
provided they would give bond for the good behavior during life, and
burial in case of death, of such guest!
"By gum! I reckon she _is_ kin to'em, shore'nuff!" remarked Dave's
father, _sotto voce_. "Wonder which one's sister she is--her'n or
his'n?"
"Do' know, but it's one er t'other; fer all three o' the boys call her
ant, 'n' the little gal, too. She rides on her back. Seen her out in the
yard t'other day."
"'Fore I'd let one o' _mine_ kiss a nigger 'n ride on her back!"
"Well, _I_ should smile!"
"Sh! What's that the jedge said?"
"Goin't' take it under 'dvisement, perviden' Davenport agrees t'
bind hisself--give bon'." And so it came about, as I told you in the
beginning, that this man, who was already a lawbreaker in his native
State, unblushingly became a law-evader in the State of his adoption;
for the papers were duly drawn up and finally signed and executed. Aunt
Judy was officially and legally declared not to be employed by, but
to be a visitor in, the family; "and, furthermore, it is declared and
agreed, that, in case of her becoming indigent, or in case of her death
while within the borders of the State, the aforenamed Rev. Griffith
Davenport binds himself, his heirs and assigns, to support while living,
or bury in case of the death of the aforenamed Judy Davenport (colored);
and, furthermore, agrees that she shall in no manner whatsoever become
a charge upon the State of Indiana. The expenses of this procedure to be
paid, also, by the said Rev. Griffith Davenport."
"I reckon my conscience is getting a little tough, Katherine," said her
husband, smiling, that night as he recited the matter to the family.
"I signed that paper with precious little compunction--and yet it _was_
evading the law, pure and simple--so far as the intent goes! Fancy Aunt
Judy looking upon herself as a guest of the family! Ha! ha! ha! ha!"
The idea so amused him that he laughed uproariously. Five minutes later
there floated out on to the porch, where Judy sat with the children
telling them wonderful tales of Washington, the notes of "Joy to the
world! The Lord has come!" "De _good_ Lawd, bless my soul!" exclaimed
the old woman, listening, "I ain't heerd nothin' so good as dat soun'
ter me, sense yo' alls runned away! Dat sholy do soun' like ole times!
Hit sholy do!"
Rosanna, the Irish cook, sniffed. She was hanging out of the kitchen
window listening to aunt Judy's tales of adventure. "She do talk
the quarest, schure, an' it's barely the rear av her remarks thet a
Christian can understhand;" mumbled Rosanna to herself.
"Well, but how about the twins, Aunt Judy? You said you'd tell us all
about the twins just as soon as supper was over. Now, hurry, or I'll
have to go to bed,".urged Howard.
The old woman shifted around in her chair to make sure the ears of
Rosanna were not too near and lowered her voice to a stage whisper.
"Honey, dem dar twins is des so spilt dat dey is gettin' tainty!"
"Bad, you mean?" asked Roy.
"Dat's wat I said, an' dat's wat I sticks to. Dey's so spilte dey's
tainty. Bad! Why bad ain't no name fo' hit. Dey is mouldy. De onliest
reason why dey ain't in the lock-up is kase dey ain't got ketched up wid
yit. Dey gwine ter git dar, sho' as yoh bawn. Dey is dat!"
"I don't believe it. I don't believe the twins are so bad. You are just
mad at 'em. They--" Roy was always a partisan.
"Look a heah, honey, yoh don't know what yoh's talkin' 'bout. Dem twins
is plum spilte, I tell yoh. Jerry, he's a teamin' an' he can't watch'em,
an' dey maw she's a wuckin' fo' one er dem Congressers, an' dem twins is
des plum run wile."
"Perhaps you expect too much of the morals of Washington," suggested
Beverly, winking at Roy to give the old woman full sway.
"Mo'ls! mo'ls! Why, lawsy, honey, yoh don' know what yoh talkin' 'bout
no mo' dan Mos' Roy do. Dey _ain't_ no mo'ls in Washin-ton--white _ner_
black. Mebby dem dar folks had some 'f o dey cum dar; but dey sholy did
leave de whole lot back in de place whah dey cum fum! Dey sholy did
dat. Mo'ls! In Washin'ton? Dey ain't none dar!" She shook her finger at
Beverly.
Roy saw his opportunity as she started for the door to shut off further
questions. "Oh! go away, Aunt Judy, you don't know what morals are," he
said, "that's all. In Washington they are government property and they
keep'em in tin cans. Of course you didn't _see_ any."
"Dey dun los' de opener t' dat can, too," she remarked, hobbling up
the steps. Many and blood-curdling had been her stories of life at
the capital. In her opinion, the seat of government had no redeeming
qualities. "Stay dar? Why, dis chile wouldn't stay dar fo' no 'mount o'
money, ner fer _nobody_. She's got too much self-'spect fer _dat_, de
good Lawd he do know. Stay dar? No, sah!"
"Well, the others are getting along all right, I'll bet you," piped up
Howard, as her foot struck the top step. She turned.
"I ain't gwine ter tell yoh no mo' to-night. I'se gwine ter bed; but
wat I knows is des dis: De way dey gets 'long, dey goes t' dat dar Mr.
Lawyer an' gits dat money Mos' Grif done lef. De fus' mont' dey sholy
dus lib high; de nex' mont' dey sorter scrabbles erlong, an' de las'
mont' dey sholy is hawd times. Dey ain't no use talking, dey sholy is
dat! Now I'm des' gwine in 'n take a good big jorum of pepsissiway for
my stummick, 'n git erlong ter my bed, fore do rasters'gin ter crow fer
mawnin'." And she disappeared in the darkness, shaking her head and
reiterating the refrain, as to the badness of those twins.
The story of Aunt Judy's travels, in so far as she vouchsafed to tell
them and not to resort to fiction or silence--her adventures by land and
water, by wagon and rail, in search of "Mos' Grif," spread far and wide.
The old woman could not set her foot outside of the door without a
following of boys and girls, and, as a faithful historian, it would
little avail me to omit, also, of men and of women, who hooted, stared
at and otherwise indicated that she was less than human and more than
curious. She was the pariah of the village, albeit LeRoy's fists had
done their perfect work in that she was no more stoned. But she was
content--so, at least, she asserted--and not even the longing for
Jeny and Ellen and those badly-spoiled twins (of whom she never tired
talking) served to convince her that there could be, on all this green
earth, any home for her except, alone, the one that sheltered "Mos' Grif
an' Mis' Kath'rine an' dat blessed baby," now grown too large to be a
baby longer except alone to this loving old soul, to whom, forever, she
was "my baby."