After all the other
passengers had been shown rooms and were getting ready for
supper, I shyly presented myself before the man at the desk. It
is true I had practically no money in my pocket with which to pay
for bed or food, but I had hoped in some way to beg my way into
the good graces of the landlord, for at that season in the
mountains of Virginia the weather was cold, and I wanted to get
indoors for the night. Without asking as to whether I had any
money, the man at the desk firmly refused to even consider the
matter of providing me with food or lodging. This was my first
experience in finding out what the colour of my skin meant. In
some way I managed to keep warm by walking about, and so got
through the night. My whole soul was so bent upon reaching
Hampton that I did not have time to cherish any bitterness toward
the hotel-keeper.
By walking, begging rides both in wagons and in the cars, in some
way, after a number of days, I reached the city of Richmond,
Virginia, about eighty-two miles from Hampton. When I reached
there, tired, hungry, and dirty, it was late in the night. I had
never been in a large city, and this rather added to my misery.
When I reached Richmond, I was completely out of money. I had not
a single acquaintance in the place, and, being unused to city
ways, I did not know where to go.
Pages:
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77