Daph had tried to banish3 from her mind all thoughts of her master and mistress, for the bare imagination of what they might have suffered made her wild with distress4. She said to herself, “What for Daph go to tink about tings, jus as likely nebber was at all! Daph makes out de great Lord could n’t save massa and Miss Elize all hisself, widout Daph to help him! Foolish darky! She better cheer up, and take care ob de[Pg 83] childen, ’stead o’ jus whimper, whimper, like a sick monkey.”
Daph had to go through a course of consolation5, similar to the above, very frequently, to enable her to maintain her cheerfulness; but the piteous questionings of the little Louise well-nigh overcame all the poor negro’s philosophy.
“I’se tell you what it is, Miss Lou,” poor Daph said, desperately6, at last, “I’se jus tell you what it is; de great Lord is a-takin care ob your mamma, and if you’s a good girl, you’ll jus see her some day, and if you is not, de great Lord will nebber, nebber bring you together!”
Daph’s manner, as well as her words,[Pg 84] had some effect upon Louise, and she tried to content herself with watching the rain streaming down the window-panes, and was soon in a sufficiently7 cheerful mood to march up and down the room, to the sound of Charlie’s music, greatly to his satisfaction.
The dreary8 weather without was not all that Daph had to contend with; she found she had an enemy within the house, whose attacks it was far more difficult to meet.
The little woman, whose angry voice had attracted Daph’s attention at first, kept her humble9 lodger10 familiar with its harsh tones. Daph’s appearance was the signal for a volley of complaints, as to the noise made by the[Pg 85] children, the marks left on the floor by Daph’s feet, as she returned from the well, the unpleasantness of “seeing other folks so much at home in one’s own house,” etc., etc.
Daph never had a chance to get any further than, “deed, Miss Ray!” in her attempts at self-justification, for the opening of her mouth was sure to produce another tirade11 on the “impudence of certain people, that nobody knew anything about.”
The demure-looking little girl was generally a silent spectator of these attacks, but now and then she was forced to cry out, “O, mother! don’t!” which protest was generally met by a sharp box of the ear, and a “take[Pg 86] that, Mary, and learn to be quiet!” If Mary Ray had learned any lesson, it certainly was to be quiet. She rarely spoke12, and her footsteps were almost as noiseless as the fall of the winter snow.
Daph soon found out that Mrs. Ray considered Mary especially guilty, in having presumed to live, when her brother, a fine healthy boy, had been snatched away by sudden disease.
The loss of her husband, and consequent poverty, had somewhat soured Mrs. Ray’s temper, but her last bereavement13 seemed to have made her all acidity14. She constantly reproached Mary for being a useless girl, always in her mother’s sight, when the dear boy, on[Pg 87] whom she had hoped to lean, had been taken from her.
Daph’s keen sympathies were soon warmly enlisted15 for little Mary, who had really begun to believe she was quite in fault for continuing to cumber16 the earth, when nobody wanted her here.
Daph never passed Mary without a cheerful word, and she contrived17 to show the child many trifling18 acts of kindness, which went directly to her heart.
At one time Daph, with her strong arm, lifted Mary’s heavy pail of water, at another, she took her pitcher19 to the milkman in a pouring rain; and one day, when she could think of no other[Pg 88] way of showing her interest, she secretly bestowed20 on the little girl one of the few oranges which still remained of the store brought from the ship.
Mary’s sorrowful face, Mrs. Ray’s harsh voice, the penetrating21 chill in the air, and the monotonous22 life she led in the single room, made it hard for Daph to bear up cheerfully, and, but for the children, she would have withdrawn23 to a corner, and moped all the time. She managed to keep up her spirits during the day, but when the little ones were asleep, she had her own sad, wakeful hours. More than a week had passed in this dreary way. Daph saw her treasured store of money fast diminishing, under the necessary[Pg 89] expenditure24 for supplying the simple wants of her little establishment, and she already saw, too plainly, that the whole party must soon have a new outfit25 of clothing, or they would be disgraced by their rags and uncleanliness.
The children were quietly slumbering26 near her; she had extinguished the candle, that it might not waste its feeble light, and, with her head on her hand, she began to consider seriously the situation in which she found herself. The present was dark enough, but what was she to think of the gloomy future!
Where should she look for the work she would so willingly do? How could[Pg 90] she leave her little charge, even if that work were found?
A sense of utter helplessness came over the poor negro, and hot tears poured down her cheeks.
A sudden thought struck her; there was One all-powerful, and to Him she would go. She fell on her knees, and uttered her first simple prayer: “Will de great Lord gib poor Daph something for do?”
Overpowered by the effort she had made, and fearful there was something presuming in a poor creature like herself daring to speak to the being she so reverenced27, Daph sank down on the floor, in a position of silent humility28. A conviction that she had been heard[Pg 91] and forgiven for the boldness of her prayer stole over her, and she stretched herself as usual on the bare floor, and was soon in a sound sleep.
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1
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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2
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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3
banish
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| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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6
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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7
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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8
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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lodger
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| n.寄宿人，房客 | |
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tirade
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| n.冗长的攻击性演说 | |
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12
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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13
bereavement
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| n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛 | |
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acidity
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| n.酸度，酸性 | |
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enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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cumber
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| v.拖累，妨碍；n.妨害；拖累 | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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19
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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20
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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26
slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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27
reverenced
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| v.尊敬，崇敬( reverence的过去式和过去分词 )；敬礼 | |
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28
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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