THE colored people of
Patesville had at length gained the object they had for a long time been
seeking--the appointment of a committee of themselves to manage the colored
schools of the town. They had argued, with some show of reason, that they were
most interested in the education of their own children, and in a position to
know, better than any committee of white men could, what was best for their
children's needs. The appointments had been made by the county commissioners
during the latter part of the summer, and a week later a meeting was called for
the purpose of electing a teacher to take charge of the grammar school at the
beginning of the fall term.
The committee consisted
of Frank Gillespie, or "Glaspy," a barber, who took an active part in
local politics; Bob Cotten, a blacksmith, who owned several houses and was
looked upon as a substantial citizen; and Abe Johnson, commonly called
"Ole Abe" or "Uncle Abe," who had a large family, and drove
a dray, and did odd jobs of hauling; he was also a class-leader in the
Methodist church. The committee had been chosen from among a number of
candidates--Gillespie on account of his political standing, Cotten as
representing the solid element of the colored population, and Old Abe, with
democratic impartiality, as likely to satisfy the humbler class of a humble
people. While the choice had not pleased everybody,--for instance, some of the
other applicants,--it was acquiesced in with general satisfaction. The first
meeting of the new committee was of great public interest, partly by reason of
its novelty, but chiefly because there were two candidates for the position of
teacher of the grammar school.
The former teacher,
Miss Henrietta Noble, had applied for the school. She had taught the colored
children of Patesville for fifteen years. When the Freedmen's Bureau, after the
military occupation of North Carolina, had called for volunteers to teach the
children of the freedmen, Henrietta Nobel had offered her services. Brought up
in a New England household by parents who taught her to fear God and love her
fellow-men, she had seen her father's body brought home from a Southern
battle-field and laid to rest in the village cemetery; and a short six months
later she had buried her mother by his side. Henrietta had no brothers or
sisters, and her nearest relatives were cousins living in the far West. The
only human being in whom she felt any special personal interest was a certain
captain in her father's regiment, who had paid her some attention. She had
loved this man deeply, in a maidenly, modest way; but he had gone away without
speaking, and had not since written. He had escaped the fate of many others,
and at the close of the war was alive and well, stationed in some Southern
garrison.
When her mother died,
Henrietta had found herself possessed only of the house where she lived and the
furniture it contained, neither being of much value, and she was thrown upon
her own resources for a livelihood. She had a fair education and had read many
good books. It was not easy to find employment such as she desired. She wrote
to her Western cousins, and they advised her to come to them, as they thought
they could do something for her if she were there. She had almost decided to
accept their offer, when the demand arose for teachers in the South. Whether
impelled by some strain of adventurous blood from a Pilgrim ancestry, or by a
sensitive pride that shrank from dependence, or by some dim and unacknowledged
hope that she might sometime, somewhere, somehow meet Captain Carey--whether
from one of these motives or a combination of them all, joined to something of
the missionary spirit, she decided to go South, and wrote to her cousins
declining their friendly offer.
She had come to
Patesville when the children were mostly a mob of dirty little beggars. She had
distributed among them the cast- off clothing that came from their friends in
the North; she had taught them to wash their faces and to comb their hair; and
patiently, year after year, she had labored to instruct them in the rudiments
of learning and the first principles of religion and morality. And she had not
wrought in vain. Other agencies, it is true, had in time cooperated with her
efforts, but any one who had watched the current of events must have been
compelled to admit that the very fair progress of the colored people of
Patesville in the fifteen years following emancipation had been due chiefly to
the unselfish labors of Henrietta Noble, and that her nature did not belie her
name.
Fifteen years is a long
time. Miss Noble had never met Captain Carey; and when she learned later that
he had married a Southern girl in the neighborhood of his post, she had shed
her tears in secret and banished his image from her heart. She had lived a
lonely life. The white people of the town, though they learned in time to
respect her and to value her work, had never recognized her existence by more
than the mere external courtesy shown by any community to one who lives in the
midst of it. The situation was at first, of course, so strained that she did
not expect sympathy from the white people; and later, when time had smoothed
over some of the asperities of war, her work had so engaged her that she had
not had time to pine over her social exclusion. Once or twice nature had
asserted itself, and she had longed for her own kind, and had visited her New
England home. But her circle of friends was broken up, and she did not find
much pleasure in boarding-house life; and on her last visit to the North but
one, she had felt so lonely that she had longed for the dark faces of her
pupils, and had welcomed with pleasure the hour when her task should be
resumed.
But for several reasons
the school at Patesville was of more importance to Miss Noble at this
particular time than it ever had been before. During the last few years her
health had not been good. An affection of the heart similar to that from which
her mother had died, while not interfering perceptibly with her work, had grown
from bad to worse, aggravated by close application to her duties, until it had
caused her grave alarm. She did not have perfect confidence in the skill of the
Patesville physicians, and to obtain the best medical advice had gone to New
York during the summer, remaining there a month under the treatment of an
eminent specialist. This, of course, had been expensive and had absorbed the
savings of years from a small salary; and when the time came for her to return
to Patesville, she was reduced, after paying her traveling expenses, to her
last ten-dollar note.
"It is very
fortunate," the great man had said at her last visit, "that
circumstances permit you to live in the South, for I am afraid you could not
endure a Northern winter. You are getting along very well now, and if you will
take care of yourself and avoid excitement, you will be better." He said
to himself as she went away: "It's only a matter of time, but that is true
about us all; and a wise physician does as much good by what he withholds as by
what he tells."
Miss Noble had not
anticipated any trouble about the school. When she went away the same committee
of white men was in charge that had controlled the school since it had become
part of the public-school system of the State on the withdrawal of support from
the Freedmen's Bureau. While there had been no formal engagement made for the
next year, when she had last seen the chairman before she went away, he had
remarked that she was looking rather fagged out, had bidden her good-by, and
had hoped to see her much improved when she returned. She had left her house in
the care of the colored woman who lived with her and did her housework,
assuming, of course, that she would take up her work again in the autumn.
She was much surprised
at first, and later alarmed, to find a rival for her position as teacher of the
grammar school. Many of her friends and pupils had called on her since her
return, and she had met a number of the people at the colored Methodist church,
where she taught in the Sunday-school. She had many friends and supporters, but
she soon found out that her opponent had considerable strength. There had been
a time when she would have withdrawn and left him a clear field, but at the
present moment it was almost a matter of life and death to her--certainly the
matter of earning a living--to secure the appointment.
The other candidate was
a young man who in former years had been one of Miss Noble's brightest pupils.
When he had finished his course in the grammar school, his parents, with
considerable sacrifice, had sent him to a college for colored youth. He had
studied diligently, had worked industriously during his vacations, sometimes at
manual labor, sometimes teaching a country school, and in due time had been
graduated from his college with honors. He had come home at the end of his
school life, and was very naturally seeking the employment for which he had
fitted himself. He was a "bright" mulatto, with straight hair, an
intelligent face, and a well-set figure. He had acquired some of the marks of
culture, wore a frock-coat and a high collar, parted his hair in the middle,
and showed by his manner that he thought a good deal of himself. He was the
popular candidate among the progressive element of his people, and rather
confidently expected the appointment.
The meeting of the
committee was held in the Methodist church, where, in fact, the grammar school
was taught, for want of a separate school-house. After the preliminary steps to
effect an organization, Mr. Gillespie, who had been elected chairman, took the
floor.
"The principal
business to be brought befo' the meet'n' this evenin'," he said, "is
the selection of a teacher for our grammar school for the ensuin' year. Two
candidates have filed applications, which, if there is no objection, I will
read to the committee. The first is from Miss Noble, who has been the teacher
ever since the grammar school was started."
He then read Miss
Noble's letter, in which she called attention to her long years of service, to
her need of the position, and to her affection for the pupils, and made formal
application for the school for the next year. She did not, from motives of
self-respect, make known the extremity of her need; nor did she mention the
condition of her health, as it might have been used as an argument against her
retention.
Mr. Gillespie then read
the application of the other candidate, Andrew J. Williams. Mr. Williams set
out in detail his qualifications for the position: his degree from Riddle
University; his familiarity with the dead and living languages and the higher
mathematics; his views of discipline; and a peroration in which he expressed
the desire to devote himself to the elevation of his race and assist the march
of progress through the medium of the Patesville grammar school. The letter was
well written in a bold, round hand, with many flourishes, and looked very
aggressive and overbearing as it lay on the table by the side of the sheet of
small note-paper in Miss Noble's faint and somewhat cramped handwriting.
"You have heard
the readin' of the applications," said the chairman. "Gentlemen, what
is yo' pleasure?"
There being no
immediate response, the chairman continued:
"As this is a
matter of consid'able importance, involvin' not only the welfare of our
schools, but the progress of our race, an' as our action is liable to be
criticized, whatever we decide, perhaps we had better discuss the subjec' befo'
we act. If nobody else has anything to obse've, I will make a few
remarks."
Mr. Gillespie cleared
his throat, and, assuming an oratorical attitude, proceeded:
"The time has come
in the history of our people when we should stand together. In this age of
organization the march of progress requires that we help ourselves, or be
forever left behind. Ever since the war we have been sendin' our child'n to
school an' educatin' 'em; an' now the time has come when they are leavin' the
schools an' colleges, an' are ready to go to work. An' what are they goin' to
do? The white people won't hire 'em as clerks in their sto's an' factories an'
mills, an' we have no sto's or factories or mills of our own. They can't be
lawyers or doctors yet, because we haven't got the money to send 'em to medical
colleges an' law schools. We can't elect many of 'em to office, for various
reasons. There's just two things they can find to do-- to preach in our own
pulpits, an' teach in our own schools. If it wasn't for that, they'd have to go
on forever waitin' on white folks, like their fo'fathers have done, because
they couldn't help it. If we expect our race to progress, we must educate our
young men an' women. If we want to encourage 'em to get education, we must find
'em employment when they are educated. We have now an opportunity to do this in
the case of our young friend an' fellow- citizen, Mr. Williams, whose eloquent
an' fine-lookin' letter ought to make us feel proud of him an' of our race.
"Of co'se there
are two sides to the question. We have got to consider the claims of Miss
Noble. She has been with us a long time an' has done much good work for our
people, an' we'll never forget her work an' frien'ship. But, after all, she has
been paid for it; she has got her salary regularly an' for a long time, an' she
has probably saved somethin', for we all know she hasn't lived high; an', for
all we know, she may have had somethin' left her by her parents. An' then
again, she's white, an' has got her own people to look after her; they've got
all the money an' all the offices an' all the everythin',--all that they've
made an' all that we've made for fo' hundred years,--an' they sho'ly would look
out for her. If she don't get this school, there's probably a dozen others she
can get at the North. An' another thing: she is gettin' rather feeble, an' it
'pears to me she's hardly able to stand teachin' so many child'n, an' a long
rest might be the best thing in the world for her.
"Now, gentlemen,
that's the situation. Shall we keep Miss Noble, or shall we stand by our own
people? It seems to me there can hardly be but one answer. Self-preservation is
the first law of nature. Are there any other remarks?"
Old Abe was moving
restlessly in his seat. He did not say anything, however, and the chairman
turned to the other member.
"Brother Cotten,
what is yo' opinion of the question befo' the board?"
Mr. Cotten rose with
the slowness and dignity becoming a substantial citizen, and observed:
"I think the
remarks of the chairman have great weight. We all have nothin' but kind
feelin's fer Miss Noble, an' I came here to-night somewhat undecided how to
vote on this question. But after listenin' to the just an' forcible arguments
of Brother Glaspy, it 'pears to me that, after all, the question befo' us is
not a matter of feelin', but of business. As a business man, I am inclined to
think Brother Glaspy is right. If we don't help ourselves when we get a chance,
who is goin' to help us?"
"That bein' the
case," said the chairman, "shall we proceed to a vote? All who favor
the election of Brother Williams--"
At this point Old Abe,
with much preliminary shuffling, stood up in his place and interrupted the
speaker.
"Mr.
Chuhman," he said, "I s'pose I has a right ter speak in dis meet'n? I
s'pose I is a member er dis committee?"
"Certainly,
Brother Johnson, certainly; we shall be glad to hear from you."
"I s'pose I's got
a right ter speak my min', ef I is po' an' black, an' don' weah as good clo's
as some other members er de committee?"
"Most assuredly,
Brother Johnson," answered the chairman, with a barber's suavity,
"you have as much right to be heard as any one else. There was no
intention of cuttin' you off."
"I s'pose,"
continued Abe, "dat a man wid fo'teen child'n kin be 'lowed ter hab
somethin' ter say 'bout de schools er dis town?"
"I am sorry,
Brother Johnson, that you should feel slighted, but there was no intention to
igno' yo' rights. The committee will be please' to have you ventilate yo'
views."
"Ef it's all be'n
an' done reco'nized an' 'cided dat I's got de right ter be heared in dis
meet'n', I'll say w'at I has ter say, an' it won't take me long ter say it. Ef
I should try ter tell all de things dat Miss Noble has done fer de niggers er
dis town, it'd take me till ter-morrer mawnin'. Fer fifteen long yeahs I has
watched her incomin's an' her outgoin's. Her daddy was a Yankee kunnel, who
died fighting fer ou' freedom. She come heah when we-- yas, Mr. Chuhman, when
you an' Br'er Cotten--was jes sot free, an' when none er us didn' have a rag
ter ou' backs. She come heah, an' she tuk yo' child'n an' my child'n, an' she
teached 'em sense an' manners an' religion an' book-l'arnin'. When she come heah
we didn' hab no chu'ch. Who writ up No'th an' got a preacher sent to us, an' de
fun's ter buil' dis same chu'ch-house we're settin' in ter-night? Who got de
money f'm de Bureau to s'port de school? An' when dat was stop', who got de
money f'm de Peabody Fun'? Talk about Miss Noble gittin' a sal'ry! Who paid dat
sal'ry up ter five years ago? Not one dollah of it come outer ou' pockets!
"An' den, w'at did
she git fer de yuther things she done? Who paid her fer de gals she kep' f'm
throwin' deyse'ves away? Who paid fer de boys she kep' outer jail? I had a son
dat seemed to hab made up his min' ter go straight ter hell. I made him go ter
Sunday-school, an' somethin' dat woman said teched his heart, an' he behaved
hisse'f, an' I ain' got no reason fer ter be 'shame' er 'im. An' I can 'member,
Br'er Cotten, when you didn' own fo' houses an' a fahm. An' when yo' fus wife
was sick, who sot by her bedside an' read de Good Book ter 'er, w'en dey wuzn'
nobody else knowed how ter read it, an' comforted her on her way across de
col', dahk ribber? An' dat ain' all I kin 'member, Mr. Chuhman! When yo' gal
Fanny was a baby, an' sick, an' nobody knowed what was de matter wid 'er, who
sent fer a doctor, an' paid 'im fer comin', an' who he'ped nuss dat chile, an'
tol' yo' wife w'at ter do, an' save' dat chile's life, jes as sho' as de Lawd
has save' my soul?
"An' now, aftuh
fifteen yeahs o' slavin' fer us, who ain't got no claim on her, aftuh fifteen
yeahs dat she has libbed 'mongs' us an' made herse'f one of us, an' endyoed havin'
her own people look down on her, aftuh she has growed ole an' gray wukkin' fer
us an' our child'n, we talk erbout turnin' 'er out like a' ole hoss ter die! It
'pears ter me some folks has po' mem'ries! Whar would we 'a' be'n ef her folks
at de No'th hadn' 'membered us no bettuh? An' we hadn' done nothin', neither,
fer dem to 'member us fer. De man dat kin fergit w'at Miss Noble has done fer
dis town is unworthy de name er nigger! He oughter die an' make room fer some
'spectable dog!
"Br'er Glaspy says
we got a' educated young man, an' we mus' gib him sump'n' ter do. Let him wait;
ef I reads de signs right he won't hab ter wait long fer dis job. Let him teach
in de primary schools, er in de country; an' ef he can't do dat, let 'im work
awhile. It don't hahm a' educated man ter work a little; his fo'fathers has
worked fer hund'eds of years, an' we's worked, an' we're heah yet, an' we're
free, an' we's gettin' ou' own houses an' lots an' hosses an' cows--an' ou'
educated young men. But don't let de fus thing we do as a committee be
somethin' we ought ter be 'shamed of as long as we lib. I votes fer Miss Noble,
fus, las', an' all de time!"
When Old Abe sat down
the chairman's face bore a troubled look. He remembered how his baby girl, the
first of his children that he could really call his own, that no master could
hold a prior claim upon, lay dying in the arms of his distracted young wife,
and how the thin, homely, and short-sighted white teacher had come like an
angel into his cabin, and had brought back the little one from the verge of the
grave. The child was a young woman now, and Gillespie had well-founded hopes of
securing the superior young Williams for a son-in-law; and he realized with
something of shame that this later ambition had so dazzled his eyes for a
moment as to obscure the memory of earlier days.
Mr. Cotten, too, had
not been unmoved, and there were tears in his eyes as he recalled how his first
wife, Nancy, who had borne with him the privations of slavery, had passed away,
with the teacher's hand in hers, before she had been able to enjoy the fruits
of liberty. For they had loved one another much, and her death had been to them
both a hard and bitter thing. And, as Old Abe spoke, he could remember, as
distinctly as though they had been spoken but an hour before, the words of
comfort that the teacher had whispered to Nancy in her dying hour and to him in
his bereavement.
"On consideration,
Mr. Chairman," he said, with an effort to hide a suspicious tremor in his
voice and to speak with the dignity consistent with his character as a
substantial citizen, "I wish to record my vote fer Miss Noble."
"The chair,"
said Gillespie, yielding gracefully to the majority, and greatly relieved that
the responsibility of his candidate's defeat lay elsewhere, "will make the
vote unanimous, and will appoint Brother Cotten and Brother Johnson a committee
to step round the corner to Miss Noble's and notify her of her election."
The two committeemen
put on their hats, and, accompanied by several people who had been waiting at
the door to hear the result of the meeting, went around the corner to Miss
Noble's house, a distance of a block or two away. The house was lighted, so
they knew she had not gone to bed. They went in at the gate, and Cotten knocked
at the door.
The colored maid opened
it.
"Is Miss Noble
home?" said Cotten.
'Yes; come in. She's
waitin' ter hear from the committee."
The woman showed them
into the parlor. Miss Noble rose from her seat by the table, where she had been
reading, and came forward to meet them. They did not for a moment observe, as
she took a step toward them, that her footsteps wavered. In her agitation she
was scarcely aware of it herself.
"Miss Noble,"
announced Cotten, "we have come to let you know that you have be'n 'lected
teacher of the grammar school fer the next year."
"Thank you; oh,
thank you so much!" she said. "I am very glad. Mary"--she put
her hand to her side suddenly and tottered-- "Mary, will you--"
A spasm of pain
contracted her face and cut short her speech. She would have fallen had Old Abe
not caught her and, with Mary's help, laid her on a couch.
The remedies applied by
Mary, and by the [illustration omitted] physician who was hastily summoned,
proved unavailing. The teacher did not regain consciousness.
If it be given to those
whose eyes have closed in death to linger regretfully for a while about their
earthly tenement, or from some higher vantage-ground to look down upon it, then
Henrietta Noble's tolerant spirit must have felt, mingling with its regret, a
compensating thrill of pleasure; for not only those for whom she had labored
sorrowed for her, but the people of her own race, many of whom, in the
blindness of their pride, would not admit during her life that she served them
also, saw so much clearer now that they took charge of her poor clay, and did
it gentle reverence, and laid it tenderly away amid the dust of their own loved
and honored dead. TWO weeks after Miss Noble's funeral the other candidate took
charge of the grammar school, which went on without any further obstacles to
the march of progress.