Donde Haley
propone al pequeño para completar la transacción económica y para subrayar:
¿Qué es Jim Crow? De la novela clásica de Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom´s Cabin
"Well, I've got just as
much conscience as any man in business can afford to keep,—just a little, you
know, to swear by, as 't were," said the trader, jocularly; "and,
then, I'm ready to do anything in reason to 'blige friends; but this yer, you
see, is a leetle too hard on a fellow—a leetle too hard." The trader
sighed contemplatively, and poured out some more brandy.
"Well, then, Haley, how
will you trade?" said Mr. Shelby, after an uneasy interval of silence.
"Well, haven't you a boy
or gal that you could throw in with Tom?"
"Hum!—none that I could
well spare; to tell the truth, it's o,nly hard necessity makes me willing to
sell at all. I don't like parting with any of my hands, that's a fact."
Here the door opened, and a
small quadroon boy, between four and five years of age, entered the room. There
was something in his appearance remarkably beautiful and engaging. His black
hair, fine as floss silk, hung in glossy curls about his round, dimpled face,
while a pair of large dark eyes, full of fire and softness, looked out from
beneath the rich, long lashes, as he peered curiously into the apartment. A gay
robe of scarlet and yellow fabric, carefully made and neatly fitted, set off to
advantage the dark and rich style of his beauty; and a certain comic air of
assurance, blended with shyness, showed that he had been not unused to being
petted and noticed by his master.
"Hulloa, Jim Crow!" said Mr. Shelby,
whistling, and snapping a bunch of raisins towards him, "pick that up,
now!"
The child jumped, with all his
little strength, after the prize, while his master laughed.
"Come here, Jim
Crow," said he. The child came up, and the master patted the curly head,
and chucked him under the chin.
"Now, Jim, show this gentleman
how you can dance and sing." The boy commenced one of those wild,
grotesque songs common among the negroes, in a rich, clear voice, accompanying
his singing with many comic evolutions of the hands, feet, and whole body, all
in perfect time to the music.
"Bravo!" said Haley,
throwing him a quarter of an orange. "Now, Jim," said his master,
"show us how old Elder Robbins leads the psalm." The boy drew his
chubby face down to a formidable length, and commenced toning a psalm tune
through his nose, with imperturbable gravity.
"Hurrah! Bravo! What a
child!" said Haley; "that chap's a case, I'll promise. Tell you
what," said he, suddenly clapping his hand on Mr. Shelby's shoulder,
"fling in that chap, and I'll settle the business—I will. Come, now, if that
ain't doing the thing up about the rightest!"
At this moment, the door was
pushed gently open, and a young quadroon woman, apparently about twenty-five,
entered the room.
There needed only a glance
from the child to her, to identify her as its mother. There was the same rich,
full, dark eye, with its long lashes; the same undulations of silky black hair.
The brown of her complexion gave way on the cheek to a perceptible flush, which
deepened as she saw the gaze of the strange man fixed upon her in bold and
undisguised admiration. Her dress was of the neatest possible fit, and set off
to advantage her finely moulded shape;—a delicately formed hand and a trim foot
and ankle were items of appearance that did not escape the quick eye of the
trader, well used to run up at a glance the points of a fine female article…
(Excerpts from Uncle Tom´s Cabin, by
H.B. Stowe, in easier English)
Vocabulario
quadroon: the
offspring of a mulatto and a white.
dimple:
indentation in the cheek or chin.
chuck: pat or
tap lightly.
Para saber
Jim Crow:
(slang) negro. Llegó a significar cualquier ley en EEUU
que establecía diferencias entre negros y blancos, como la prohibición de usar
el mismo transporte público o tener diferentes escuelas.
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