Trial and Triumph

179

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English

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2010

Écrit par
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

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nevog

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179

pages

English

Documents

2010

Lire

Le téléchargement nécessite un accès à la bibliothèque YouScribe Tout savoir sur nos offres

Publié par

nevog

Publié le

08 décembre 2010

Nombre de lectures

Langue

English

Project Gutenberg's Trial and Triumph, by Frances Ellen Watkins HarperThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it,give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online atwww.gutenberg.netTitle: Trial and TriumphAuthor: Frances Ellen Watkins HarperRelease Date: February 12, 2004 [EBook #11056]Language: English*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRIAL AND TRIUMPH ***Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Andrea Ball and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.Transcriber's Note: This document is the text of Trial and Triumph. Any bracketed notations such as [?], and thoseinserting letters or other comments are from the original text.Transcriber's Note About the Author: Francis Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911) was born to free parents in Baltimore,Maryland. Orphaned at three, she was raised by her uncle, a teacher and radical advocate for civil rights. She attendedthe Academy for Negro Youth and was educated as a teacher. She became a professional lecturer, activist, suffragette,poet, essayist, novelist, and the author of the first published short story written by an African-American. Her work spannedmore than sixty years.TRIAL AND TRIUMPHA Rediscovered Novel byFrances E.W. HarperEdited by Frances Smith FosterChapter I"Oh, that child! She is the very torment of my life. I have been the mother of six children, and all of them ...

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Publié par

nevog

Publié le

08 décembre 2010

Langue

English

comments are from the original text.Transcriber's Note About the Author: Francis EllenWatkins Harper (1825-1911) was born to freeparents in Baltimore, Maryland. Orphaned at three,she was raised by her uncle, a teacher and radicaladvocate for civil rights. She attended theAcademy for Negro Youth and was educated as ateacher. She became a professional lecturer,activist, suffragette, poet, essayist, novelist, andthe author of the first published short story writtenby an African-American. Her work spanned morethan sixty years.

TRIAL AND TRIUMPHA Rediscovered Novel byFrances E.W. HarperEdited by Frances Smith FosterChapter I"Oh, that child! She is the very torment of my life. Ihave been the mother of six children, and all ofthem put together, never gave me as much troubleas that girl. I don't know what will ever become ofher.""What is the matter now, Aunt Susan? What hasAnnette been doing?""Doing! She is always doing something;everlastingly getting herself into trouble with some

of the neighbors. She is the most mischievous andhard-headed child I ever saw.""Well what has she been doing this morning whichhas so upset you?""Why, I sent her to the grocery to have the oil canfilled, and after she came back she had not been inthe house five minutes before there came such anuproar from Mrs. Larkins', my next door neighbor,that I thought her house was on fire, but——""Instead of that her tongue was on fire, and I knowwhat that means.""Yes, that's just it, and I don't wonder. That littleminx sitting up there in the corner looking soinnocent, stopped to pour oil on her clean steps.Now you know yourself what an aggravating thingthat must have been.""Yes, it must have been, especially as Mrs. Larkinsis such a nice housekeeper and takes such pride inhaving everything neat and nice about her. How didyou fix up matters with her.""I have not fixed them up at all. Mrs. Larkins onlyknows one cure for bad children, and that isbeating them, and she always blames me forspoiling Annette, but I hardly know what to do withher. I've scolded and scolded till my tongue is tired,whipping don't seem to do her a bit of good, and Ihate to put her out among strangers for fear thatthey will not treat her right, for after all she is verynear to me. She is my poor, dead Lucy's child.

Sometimes when I get so angry with her that I feelas though I could almost shake the life out of her,the thought of her dying mother comes back to meand it seems to me as if I could see her eyeslooking so wistfully on the child and turning sotrustingly to me and saying, 'Mother, when I amgone won't you take care of Annette, and try tokeep her with you?' And then all the anger dies outof me. Poor child! I don't know what is going tobecome of her when my head is laid low. I'm afraidshe is born for trouble. Nobody will ever put up withher as I do. She has such an unhappy disposition.She is not like any of my children ever were.""Yes. I've often noticed that she does seemdifferent from other children. She never seemslight-hearted and happy.""Yes, that is so. She reminds me so of poor Lucybefore she was born. She even moans in her sleeplike she used to do. It was a dark day when FrankMiller entered my home and Lucy became so takenup with him. It seemed to me as if my poor girl justworshiped him. I did not feel that he was all right,and I tried to warn my dear child of danger, butwhat could an old woman like me do against himwith his handsome looks and oily tongue.""Yes," said her neighbor soothingly, "you have hada sad time, but still we cannot recall the dead past,and it is the living present with which we have todeal. Annette needs wise guidance, a firm handand a loving heart to deal with her. To spoil her athome is only to prepare her for misery abroad."

"I am afraid that I am not equal to the task.""If any man lack wisdom we are taught to ask it ofOne who giveth liberally to all men and upbraidethnone. There would be so much less stumbling if welooked earnestly within for 'the light which lightethevery man that cometh into the world.'""Well," said Mrs. Harcourt, Annette's grandmother,"there is one thing about Annette that I like. She isvery attentive to her books. If you want to keepthat child out of mischief just put a book in herhand; but then she has her living to get and shecan't get it by nursing her hands and readingbooks. She has got to work likethe rest of us" ."But why not give her a good education? Doors areopen to her which were closed against us. This is aday of light and knowledge. I don't know muchmyself, but I mean to give my girls a chance. Idon't believe in saying, let my children do as I havedone, when I think some of us have done poorlyenough digging and delving from morning till night.I don't believe the good Lord ever sent anybodyinto his light and beautiful world to be nothing but adrudge, and I just think it is because some take itso easy that others, who will do, have to take it sohard.""It always makes my blood boil," said a maidenlady who was present, "to see a great hulk of aman shambling around complaining of hard times,and that he can't get work, when his wife is justworking herself down to the grave to keep up the

family." I asked Mrs. Johnson, who just lives in thewash tub and is the main stay of her family, whatwould her husband do if she were to die? and shesaid, 'get another wife.' Now, I just think she hasspoiled that man and if she dies first, I hope thathe will never find another woman to tread in herfootsteps. He ought to have me to deal with. Whenhe got through with me he would never want to"laze around another woman."I don't think he ever would," said Mrs. Harcourt,while a gleam of humor sparkled in her eye. Herneighbor was a maiden lady who always knew howto manage other people's husbands, but had neversucceeded in getting one of her own, and nothaving any children herself understood perfectlywell how to rate other people's.Just then a knock was heard at the door and Mr.Thomas, Annette's former school teacher, enteredthe room. After an exchange of courtesies heasked, "How does Annette come on with her newteacher?""I have not heard any complaint," said Mrs.Harcourt. "At first Mrs. Joseph's girl did not want tosit with Annette, but she soon got over it when shesaw how well the other girls treated Annette andhow pleasant the teacher was to her. Mr. Scott,who has been so friendly to us, told us not to mindher; that her mother had been an ignorant servantgirl, who had married a man with a little money;that she was still ignorant, loud and [dressy?] andliked to put on airs. The nearer the beggar the

greater the prejudice.""I think it is true," said Mr. Thomas. "If you applythose words, not to condition, but human souls, fornone but beggarly souls would despise a manbecause of circumstances over which he had nocontrol; noble, large-hearted men and women arenever scornful. Contempt and ridicule are theweapons of weak souls. I am glad however, thatAnnette is getting on so well. I hope that she willgraduate at the head of her class, with high.honors""What's the use of giving her so much education?there are no openings for her here, and if she getsmarried she won't want it," and Mrs. Harcourtsighed as she finished her sentence.Mr. Thomas looked grave for a moment and thenhis face relaxed into a smile. "Well, really, Mrs.Harcourt, that is not very complimentary to usyoung men; do we have no need of intelligent andwell educated wives? I think our race needseducated mothers for the home more than we dotrained teachers for the school room. Not that Iwould ignore or speak lightly of the value of goodcolored teachers nor suggest as a race, that wecan well afford to do without them; but to-day, if itwere left to my decision, whether the education ofthe race should be placed in the hands of theschool teacher or the mothers and there was noother alternative, I should, by all means, decide forthe education of the race through its motherhoodrather than through its teachers."

"But we poor mothers had no chance. We couldnot teach our children.""I think you could teach some of them more thanthey wish to learn; butI must go now; at some other time we will talk onthis subject."

Chapter II"Oh, Annette!" said Mrs. Harcourt, turning to hergranddaughter after Mr. Thomas had left the door;"What makes you so naughty? Why did you pourthat oil on Mrs. Larkin's steps; didn't you know itwas wrong?"Annette stood silent looking like a guilty culprit."Why don't you answer me; what makes youbehave so bad?""I don't know, grandma, I 'specs I did it for thedevil. The preacher said the devil makes people dobad things.""The preacher didn't say any such thing; he saidthe devil tempts people to be bad, but you are notto mind every thing the devil tells you to do, if youdo, you will get yourself into a lot of trouble.""Well, grandma, Mrs. Larkins is so mean and crossand she is always telling tales on me and I just didit for fun.""Well, that is very poor fun. You deserve a goodwhipping, and I've a great mind to give it to younow.""Why don't she let me alone; she is all the timetrying to get you to beat me. She's a spiteful old

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