Rose was the only steady thing Melanctha
had to cling to and so Melanctha demeaned herself to be like a
servant, to wait on, and always to be scolded, by this ordinary,
sullen, black, stupid, childish woman.
Rose was always telling Sam he must be good to poor Melanctha. "You
know Sam," Rose said very often to him, "You certainly had ought to be
very good to poor Melanctha, she always do have so much trouble with
her. You know Sam how I told you she had such a bad time always with
that father, and he was awful mean to her always that awful black man,
and he never took no kind of care ever to her, and he never helped her
when her mother died so hard, that poor Melanctha. Melanctha's ma you
know Sam, always was just real religious. One day Melanctha was real
little, and she heard her ma say to her pa, it was awful sad to her,
Melanctha had not been the one the Lord had took from them stead of
the little brother who was dead in the house there from fever. That
hurt Melanctha awful when she heard her ma say it. She never could
feel it right, and I don't no ways blame Melanctha, Sam, for not
feeling better to her ma always after, though Melanctha, just like
always she is, always was real good to her ma after, when she was so
sick, and died so hard, and nobody never to help Melanctha do it, and
she just all alone to do everything without no help come to her no
way, and that ugly awful black man she have for a father never all the
time come near her.
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