Cudjo is surprised. He turns to Albine and asks: “Why, Albine! How is this? Why do you say you are going to get off at Plateau?”
She answers: “I must get off.” The train stops and Albine gets off. Cudjo stays on. He is alone. But old Cudjo has not reached Mount Vernon yet. He is still journeying on.
He made another parable about his wife. He lifted up his head and said:
I will make a parable. “Suppose you come to my house and want to go to Keeby’s. You have an umbrella and you leave it in my care. When you come back you ask for your umbrella. Must I give it to you or keep it?” “No, Cudjo, you cannot keep it. It belongs to me. It is not yours.” Triumphantly Cudjo concludes: “Neither could I keep Albine; she was just left in my care.”
Zora Neale Hurston
Footnotes
[1] This story was secured by Miss Zora Neale Hurston, an investigator of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. She made a special trip to Mobile to interview Cudjo Lewis, the only survivor of this last cargo. She made some use, too, of the Voyage of Clotilde and other records of the Mobile Historical Society.
[2] According to some accounts these slaves were brought from Loanda.
Transcriber’s Notes
New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.