“Oh, yes, I can stop fast enough. I have just got through nussin Mrs. Porter with her fifth. And Liza Jane, she’s out of service now and stopping home with me to mend up her clothes; so she can take care of the house and chillun.”
“How is sister Liza Jane and the rest?”
“Oh, they’s well enough. All had the fever ’n agur in the airly part of the season, but when the frost came it killed it. But where’s the young madam?”
“Sleeping now, mammy. I had to give her a great big dose of walerian.”
“You—you dare to dose a lady? Look here, gal, don’t you set yourself up for a doctoress because your mammy’s one.”
“Lor’, mammy, what’s walerian? I’ve seen you give it to ladies for the hysterics by tea spoonfuls.”
“Seen me? Yes, but I tell you what, gal, you’ve got to p’izen a great many patients before you can be trusted to give physic like an ole ’oman. But don’t you try that on again, gal, I tell you.”
“Lor’, mammy, what on the yeth was I to do with her, when she was raving distracted mad a-most? a pacing up and down the room a tearing of her beautiful hair out by the roots, and wringing and a twisting of her fingers often her hands all but! I ’clare to the Lord and man I was ’fraid of my soul as she’d dash herself against a wall, or fling herself out’n the window. And nothing on yeth but walerian would quell her. That’s the reason I sent for you. I didn’t like to take the ’sponsability to keep on a knocking of her over with that there weepon; but I couldn’t let her ’stroy herself neither, so I had to give it to her, whether or no, till you came.”
“But what on the yeth did the creetur take on so about? Not his being away.”
“Yes, it was, mammy. His being away and his disappointing of her by not coming back when he promised. Men is such wilyuns!”