UNCLE TOM'S CABIN

" she
" silksand
so
never!
06 UNCLE TOM S CABIN : OR,
"
Has n't she .sat up -with you a good many
said Eva.
"How should you know that?" said Marie,
nights,lately, mamma?"
"
And I, too," said St. Clare,takingup the
" How can you propose it?" said Marie. "
St. morning paper.
Clare, you really are inconsiderate. So nervous Eva, the beautiful Eva, had
as I am, the least breath disturbs me; and a her mother, with that expressionof deep
strange
hand about an*
me would drive me absolutely mystic earnestness which was peculiar to her
frantic. If Mammy felt the interest in me she She walked softly
ought to, she'd wake "
easier, of course, she
would. I 've heard of peoplewho had such devoted
servants,but it never was ray luck;" and
Marie
sighed.
Miss Opheliahad listened to this conversation
with an air of shrewd,observant gravity ; and
she still kept her lipstightly compressed,as
determined fully to ascertain her longitudeand
position, before she committed
herself.
"Now Mammy has a. sort of goodness," said
Marie, " she 's smooth and respectful, but she 's
selfish at heart. Now, she never will be done
fidgeting and worrying about that husband of hers.
You see,
when I was married and came to live
here,of course, I had to bring her with me, and
her husband my father couldn't spare. He was
if
a blacksmith,and, of course, very necessary ;
and I thought and said,at the time,that Mammy
and he had better giv each other up, as it was n't
likely to be convenient for them ever to live to-
again.I wish, now, I 'd insisted on it,and
married Mammy to somebody else ; but I was foolish
gether
and indulgent, and did n't want to insist. I
told Mammy, at the time țhat she mustn't ever expect
to see him more than once or twice in her life
again, for the air of father's place does n't agree
with my health,and I can't go
there ; and I advised
her to take up with somebodyelse ; but no
as
would n't. Mammy
has a kind of obstinacy
about her,in spots țha t everybodydon't see
I do."
"
Has she children?" said Miss Ophelia. Of course, there was rather a foolish silence.
"
Yes ; she has two."
Finally, got up, looked at his watch,
" I suppose she feelsthe separation from them?" and said he had an engagement down street.
"
Well,of course, I could n't bring them. They
were little dirtythings" I couldn't have them
about ; and,besides,theytook up too much of "Now, that's justlike St. Clare!" said the
her time ; but I believe that Mammy has always latter, withdrawingher handkerchief with s iinewhat
of a spirited flourish, when the criminal to
keptup a sort of sulkiness about this. She won't
man
y anybody else ; and I do believe, now, be affected by it was ho longer in sight. " He
though she knows how necessary she is to me, never realizes, never can, never will,what I suffer,
and how feeble my
health is,she would go back and have, for years. If I was one of the
to her husband to-morrow, if she onlycould. I complainingsort,or ever made any fuss about
"
do,indeed,"said Marie ; they are justso selfish,
now,
"It's
the best of them."
distressing to Eeflectupon," said St.
Clare,dryly.
Miss Ophelialooked keenly at him, and saw
the flush of mortificationand repressedvexation,
and the sarcastic curl of the lip, as liespoke.
"
Now, Mammy has always been a pet with
me," said Marie. "
I wish some of your
northern
servants could look at her closets of dresses,
muslins,and one real linen cambric,
she has hangingthere. I 've worked sometimes
whole afternoons,trimmingher caps, and getting
her ready to go to a party. As to abuse, she
don't know what it is. She never was whipped
more than once or twice in her whole life. She the
has her strong; or her tea
.rii.i/v
ougM
every day,witb
in u. 11 i-
.iijuiiiiiiuijie, lci ue sure,
sharply; " she \s been
but St.Clare will have high lifebelow-stairs, and
complaining, I suppose."
of them they every
one live justas theyplease.
"
She did n't complain; she onlytold me what The fact is,our servants are over-indulged.1
suppose it is partlyour faultthat theyare "selfish,
and act like spoiledchildren ; but 1 've talked tt
"
bad nights you 'd had, many in succession."
"
Why don't you let Jane or Rosa take her
a nightor two," said St. Clare,
Elace,
and let
jr rest ?"
St. Clare tillI am
tired."
stood 'listening
round to her mother's chait.
and put her arms round her neck.
"
Well,Eva,wfc"tiVpw7" said Marie.
"Mamma, couldn't f take care of you one
night" justone? I know I shouldn't make you
nervous, and I shouldn'tsleep. I often lie awake
-"
"
nights,thinking
"0, nonsense, chi'd" nonsense!" said Marie ;
"
you are such a strangechild !"
"But
may I, mamma? I think," she said,
timidly,
" that Mammy is n't well. She told me
her head ached all the time, lately."
"0, that's just one of Mammy's fidgets!
Mammy is justlike all the rest of them
"
makes
such a fuss about every littlehead-ache or fingerache
; it'11 never do to encourage it " I
am principled about this matter,"said she,turning
of it.
to Miss Ophelia; " you '11find the necessity
1f you encourage servants in givingway to every
littledisagreeable feeling, and complaining of
every little ailment, you '11have your nanus full.
I never complainmyself" nobodyknows what I
endure. I feel it a dutyto bear itquietly, and I do."
Miss Ophelia'sround eyes expressed an undisguised
amazement at this peroration, which
struck St. Clare as so supremely ludicrous that
he burst into a loud laugh.
"
St. Clare alwayslaughswhen I make the
illhealth,"said Marie,with
least allusion to my
the voice of a suffering martyr. " I onlyhope
the day won't come when he'll remember it!"
and Marie put her handkerchief to her eyes. *
Eva trippedaway after him, and Miss Ophelia
and Marie remained at the table alone.
my ailmentsțhere would be some reason for it.
Men do get tired,naturally,of a complaining
wife. But I 've keptthingsto myself,and borne,
and borne,till St. Clare has got in the way of
thinking I can bear anything."
Miss Ophelia did not exactly know what slue
was expected to answer to this..
While she was thinking say, Marie
graduallywiped away her tears, and smoothed
her plumage in a general way, as a dove mightbe
supposed to make toilet after a shower, and .
began a housewifely chat with Miss Ophelia, cupboards,closets,linen-presses, storerooms,
and other matters, of which the latter
"
was, by common understandingțo as.mme
direction, giving her so many cauiiom*