Staunton Spectator

The following from the pen of Mrs. F. G. De Fontaine of Charleston, S. C., will touch a tender chord in every Southern heart:

I'se been s'waitin' long for de good ole time
Dat'll nobber come no mo';
When I used to rock an' work an' sing
In de little cabin do'.

My Sam was dar wid his fiddle
Po Sam: he's gone-done dead!
Dead for de want ob food an' clothes
An' de shelter ober head.

An' little Mose-well, he's dead, too;
How he use to dance an' sing,
While Jim an' Polly an' all de res'
Went "roun' an' roun' de ring"

Ole Missis--bless her ole soul--
Would laff till her sides gib way.
An' Massa'd stop at my cabin just
To say "How's Ole Mammy to-day?"

De boys-I mean Ole Massa's boys-
Dey lubbed ole Mammy, too,
Who nussed'em-eb'ry blessed one,
Clean down to little Massa' Loo.

Po' Massa' Loo! He went to de fight
But he nebber come back no more:
We hear dat he fali, wid a bullet in de breast.
In de front ob de battle roar,

He'd put his arms aroun' my neck
An' say, "Mammy, I loye you so!"
He didn't sco no harm in dat,
Do his Mammy was black and po'.

Ole Missis died wid a broken heart
When de las' ob de boys was killed,
An' Massa bowed his head an' cried
Dat his cup of sorrow was filled,

An' yere I've sot, a waitin' an' watchin'
For de good time comin' no mo'.
An' I see ole Missis callin' Mammy
Across from de odder sho'.