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THE ROMISH LADY
Music and text from Walker, William, The Southern Harmony^ E. W. Miller, Philadelphia, 1854, facsimile reprint from Hastings House, New York, 1939. No. 1040. Mrs. Minnie Floyd, Murrells Inlet, S.C., 1937. See Ja.2, p. 27; Ed, p. 2215 Sc.2, p. 1765 Be, p. 450.
"My mother taught me the tune to 'The Romish Lady* long before 1 knew all the words. I caught up the tunes easy when I was a little thing. But I couldn't find anybody could tell me all the words straight through until I was a big girl} about grown.
"Way years ago, a lady got bad burnt. She lived in the woods way uf the road from us. She was burnt awful bady the worst I ever saw. A nd her husbandy he was so old and so bad crippled that he wasn't any good to help her; in facty he was laid up in bed most of the time himself. Mother said one day we ought to go up therey and Pappy said we ought to go up there} too. We didn't have no moneyy nor nothing much to eat} except just enough to keep skin and bones together for all of us children. Welly Mother looked aroundy and she said she guessed anybody that was bad burnt could use some clean rags. So she got a big bundle of clean rags togethery and I took 'em up there.
"Welly when I got therey it was the awfullest pitiful sight I ever saw. I was ashamed I didn't have no money nor even anything to eat with me. But as soon as ever the lady saw mey she saidy 'The Lord sent you.'
" 'No' says I. 'Just my mother and daddy sent you some old clean rags'
" 'If they'd sent a ten-dollar billy it couldn't be better' she said like she meant it.
"Welly I stayed on that day to sorter clean up and cook 'em a little something to eat. Then they seemed to need somebody to nurse 'em so bad that I just stayed on for a spell. I was going to be married the next weeky but I just put that off; and I stayed on there twelve weeks, all time putting off the wedding that much longer. And 1 guess it'd 'a' been just as well if I had put it of for always.
"The lady had a lot of booksy most of 'em religious books and hymn-books. One of 'em was called 'Christian Harmony Note Booky as I recollect the name. It had 'The Romish Lady' in it. And that's where I learned the rest of the words. I had plenty of time to learn 'em and sing in the evenings. I don't know what I would have done without my tune singingy and the burnt lady said she didn't know what they would have done neither without me a-singing. I sure was glad to learn the rest of 'The Romish Lady' " —Mrs. Minnie Floyd, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.
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