Melanctha Herbert with her white blood and attraction and her desire for a right position was perhaps never to be really regularly married.  Sometimes the thought of how all her world was made filled the complex, desiring Melanctha with despair.  She wondered often how she could go on living when she was so blue.  Sometimes Melanctha thought she would just kill herself, for sometimes she thought this would be really the best thing for her to do.

Rose was now to be married to a decent good man of the negroes.  His name was Sam Johnson, and he worked as a deck-hand on a coasting steamer, and he was very steady, and he got good wages.

Rose first met Sam Johnson at church, the same place where she had met Melanctha Herbert.  Rose liked Sam when she saw him, she knew he was a good man and worked hard and got good wages, and Rose thought it would be very nice and very good now in her position to get really, regularly married.

Sam Johnson liked Rose very well and he always was ready to do anything she wanted.  Sam was a tall, square shouldered, decent, a serious, straightforward, simple, kindly, colored workman.  They got on very well together, Sam and Rose, when they were married.  Rose was lazy, but not dirty, and Sam was careful but not fussy.  Sam was a kindly, simple, earnest, steady workman, and Rose had good common decent sense in her, of how to live regular, and not to have excitements, and to be saving so you could be always sure to have money, so as to have everything you wanted.

It was not very long that Rose knew Sam Johnson, before they were regularly married.  Sometimes Sam went into the country with all the other young church people, and then he would be a great deal with Rose and with her Melanctha Herbert.  Sam did not care much about Melanctha Herbert.  He liked Rose’s ways of doing, always better.  Melanctha’s mystery had no charm for Sam ever.  Sam wanted a nice little house to come to when he was tired from his working, and a little baby all his own he could be good to.  Sam Johnson was ready to marry as soon as ever Rose wanted he should do it.  And so Sam Johnson and Rose one day had a grand real wedding and were married.  Then they furnished completely, a little red brick house and then Sam went back to his work as deck hand on a coasting steamer.

Rose had often talked to Sam about how good Melanctha was and how much she always suffered.  Sam Johnson never really cared about Melanctha Herbert, but he always did almost everything Rose ever wanted, and he was a gentle, kindly creature, and so he was very good to Rose’s friend Melanctha.  Melanctha Herbert knew very well Sam did not like her, and so she was very quiet, and always let Rose do the talking for her.  She only was very good to always help Rose, and to do anything she ever wanted from her, and to be very good and listen and be quiet whenever Sam had anything to say to her.  Melanctha liked Sam Johnson, and all her life Melanctha loved and