Category: Charles W. Chesnutt
A Matter of Principle
by Charles W. Chesnutt
“What our country needs most in its treatment of the race problem,” observed Mr. Cicero Clayton at one of the monthly meetings of the Blue Vein Society, of which he was a prominent member, “is a … Read the rest
Cicely’s Dream
by Charles W. Chesnutt
The old woman stood at the back door of the cabin, shading her eyes with her hand, and looking across the vegetable garden that ran up to the very door. Beyond the garden she saw, bathed … Read the rest
Her Virginia Mammy
by Charles W. Chesnutt
The pianist had struck up a lively two-step, and soon the floor was covered with couples, each turning on its own axis, and all revolving around a common centre, in obedience perhaps to the same law … Read the rest
The Bouquet
by Charles W. Chesnutt
Mary Myrover’s friends were somewhat surprised when she began to teach a colored school. Miss Myrover’s friends are mentioned here, because nowhere more than in a Southern town is public opinion a force which cannot be … Read the rest
The Passing of Grandison
by Charles W. Chesnutt
When it is said that it was done to please a woman, there ought perhaps to be enough said to explain anything; for what a man will not do to please a woman is yet to … Read the rest
The Sheriffs’ Children
by Charles W. Chesnutt
Branson County, North Carolina, is in a sequestered district of one of the staidest and most conservative States of the Union. Society in Branson County is almost primitive in its simplicity. Most of the white people … Read the rest
The Web of Circumstance
by Charles W. Chesnutt
Within a low clapboarded hut, with an open front, a forge was glowing. In front a blacksmith was shoeing a horse, a sleek, well-kept animal with the signs of good blood and breeding. A young mulatto … Read the rest
The Wife of His Youth
by Charles W. Chesnutt
Mr. Ryder was going to give a ball. There were several reasons why this was an opportune time for such an event.
Mr. Ryder might aptly be called the dean of the Blue Veins. The original … Read the rest
Uncle Wellington’s Wives
by Charles W. Chesnutt
Uncle Wellington Braboy was so deeply absorbed in thought as he walked slowly homeward from the weekly meeting of the Union League, that he let his pipe go out, a fact of which he remained oblivious … Read the rest