“A LITTLE TUMBLE-DOWN COTTAGE.”
CHAPTER VI.
ABOUT half a mile from Belle Fanchon, on the road that led to Eden Centre, stood a little tumble-down cottage where an old colored woman lived with her granddaughter and grandson.
Cleopatra, shortened into Aunt Clo’, wuz picturesque-lookin’ even in her rags. She wuz taller by far than common wimmen, with a portly figure, that did not show any marks of privation, although it wuz difficult to tell what the family lived on, for it wuz the exception instead of the rule to see any one of ’em employed in any useful labor.
Once in a great while Aunt Clo’ would go out for a day’s work washin’ or cleanin’ house, or any other work she could perform.
At such times, although she professed to have great “misery” in her back, her arms, her legs, and, in fact, “all her bones,” yet she did a good day’s work, but with groanings scarcely to be uttered.
She always seemed serenely gracious in receivin’ anything that Maggie gave her, evidently considerin’ it wuz only her due.
But although her day’s works wuz exceedingly unfrequent, and her granddaughter Rosy and the boy Abe wuz hardly ever seen to perform any labor, yet they showed no signs of starvation, certainly.
As a reason for this state of things the neighbors’ hen-roosts and corn-fields might have given evidence.
