I went down to the field and found Rosetta and Anna and Becky doing good work, also old Florinda and Jean. Then I came back and did some necessary mending, and by afternoon quite late I went down to my table by the river with the dogs and got back my serenity and ended the day by working round the tomato plants.
Before he went home at 6 I called up Goliah and gave him a talk, told him how hurt I was that the children whom I was trying so hard to teach the beauty and worth of honesty should behave so. Then most unexpectedly Goliah took all the blame and said:—
"Need not to blame de chillun, Miss Pashuns; not one bin een de gaa'den but me. I gone over en I pick de peech en I give em to de chillun. Dem all stan' outside de fence en I give evry one as mutch peech as him cud tote."
This astonishing truth telling raised my spirits greatly; if Goliah had broken one commandment he was coming out nobly in telling the truth and not bearing "false witness against his neighbor." So I told him how glad I was to hear that he alone had been guilty, but he must never be so liberal with other people's things again.
"Dem all stan' outside de fence."
Altogether I am going to bed in a very happy frame of mind. Chloe came in after tea to talk and I tried to cheer her by telling her of Goliah's confession, but it seemed only to add fuel to fire that he should have the impudence to tell me to my face that he had taken all those peaches, stripped the tree, etc. I am glad I cannot understand her point of view. You cannot blame a person for being color blind or near-sighted; you are just sorry for them and thankful that you have the joy of seeing the distant clouds in all their gorgeous sunset hues.
A week ago I had a letter from Rab, whose four years under the worthy Jenkins have still three months to run, begging me to bring him home. It is a funny little letter. After the usual politeness which a darky letter never leaves out, he says:—
"I t'ank you mutch, Miss Pashuns, fur all you done fur me, but now the time is come fur me to do fur you, en I kin help you if you'll only send fur me to come home. I kin milk, an' I kin plough, an' I kin drive purty well. If you don't send fur me please come to see me right soon."