Melanctha did everything that any woman could, and at last her mother died, and Melanctha had her buried.  Melanctha’s father was not heard from, and Melanctha in all her life after, never saw or heard or knew of anything that her father did.

It was the young doctor, Jefferson Campbell, who helped Melanctha toward the end, to take care of her sick mother.  Jefferson Campbell had often before seen Melanctha Herbert, but he had never liked her very well, and he had never believed that she was any good.  He had heard something about how she wandered.  He knew a little too of Jane Harden, and he was sure that this Melanctha Herbert, who was her friend and who wandered, would never come to any good.

Dr. Jefferson Campbell was a serious, earnest, good young joyous doctor.  He liked to take care of everybody and he loved his own colored people.  He always found life very easy did Jeff Campbell, and everybody liked to have him with them.  He was so good and sympathetic, and he was so earnest and so joyous.  He sang when he was happy, and he laughed, and his was the free abandoned laughter that gives the warm broad glow to negro sunshine.

Jeff Campbell had never yet in his life had real trouble.  Jefferson’s father was a good, kind, serious, religious man.  He was a very steady, very intelligent, and very dignified, light brown, grey haired negro.  He was a butler and he had worked for the Campbell family many years, and his father and his mother before him had been in the service of this family as free people.

Jefferson Campbell’s father and his mother had of course been regularly married.  Jefferson’s mother was a sweet, little, pale brown, gentle woman who reverenced and obeyed her good husband, and who worshipped and admired and loved hard her-good, earnest, cheery, hard working doctor boy who was her only child.

Jeff Campbell had been raised religious by his people but religion had never interested Jeff very much.  Jefferson was very good.  He loved his people and he never hurt them, and he always did everything they wanted and that he could to please them, but he really loved best science and experimenting and to learn things, and he early wanted to be a doctor, and he was always very interested in the life of the colored people.

The Campbell family had been very good to him and had helped him on with his ambition.  Jefferson studied hard, he went to a colored college, and then he learnt to be a doctor.

It was now two or three years, that he had started in to practice.  Everybody liked Jeff Campbell, he was so strong and kindly and cheerful and understanding, and he laughed so with pure joy, and he always liked to help all his own colored people.

Dr. Jeff knew all about Jane Harden.  He had taken care of her in some of her bad trouble.  He knew about Melanctha too, though until her mother was taken sick he had never met her.  Then he was called in to help Melanctha to take care of her sick mother.  Dr. Campbell did not like Melanctha’s ways and he did not think that she would ever come to any good.