6 - In the Dining-Room - Page 2

"You're nothing but a very
good-looking little nigger. You can't make me believe that you are
another Galatea."

"Doan' no nuffin' 'bout no gal's tears," he returned instantly. "But I
done tole yo' de truf. Me an' him was chiselled out o' brack marble by
pap. Ef we'd been borned we'd been niggahs sho' nuff, but bein'
carvin's, like I tole yuh, we's statulary."

"But how does it come that if you are only statuary, you can move
about, and talk, and breathe?" I demanded.

"Yo'll have to ask mistah Joop'ter 'bout dat," the boy answered. "He
done gave us dese gif's, an' we's a-usin' ob 'em. De way it happened
was like o' dis. Me an' him was a standin' upon a petterstal down in
one o' dem mahble yards what dey calls gall'ries in Paris. We'd been
sent dah by de man what done chiselled us, an' Joop'ter he came 'long
wid Miss' Juno an' when he seed us he said: 'Dare you is, Juno! Dem
boys'll make mighty good buttonses foh de hotel.' Juno she laffed, an'
said dat was so, on'y she couldn't see as we had many buttons. 'Would
you like to have 'em?' Joop'ter ast, and she said 'suttinly.' So he
tu'ned hisself into a 'Merican millionaire an' bought me an' him off
'n de manager, an' he had us sent here. All dat time we was nuffin'
but mahble figgers, but soon's we arrived here, Joop'ter sent us
up-stairs to de lab'ratory, an' fust ting me an' him knowed we was
livin' bein's."

I admired Jupiter's taste, not failing either to marvel at the
wonderful power which only once before, as far as I knew, he had
exerted to give to a bit of sculpture all the flush and glory of life,
as in the case set forth in the pathetic tale of Pygmalion and
Galatea.

"And does he do this sort of thing often?" I inquired.

"Yass indeedy," said Sambo. "He's doin' it all de time. Mos' ob de
help in dis hotel is statulary, an' ef yo' wants to see a reel lively
time 'foh yo' goes back home, go to de Zoo an' see 'em feed de Trojan
Hoss, an' de Cardiff Giant. He brang bofe dem freaks to life, an' now
he can't get rid ob 'em. Dat Trojan Hoss suttinly am a berry debbil.
He stans up gentle as a lamb tell he gets about a hundred an' fifty
people inside o' him, an' den he p'tends like he's gwine to run away,
an' he cyanters, an' cyanters aroun', tell ebberybody's dat seasick
dey can't res'."

I resolved then and there to see the Trojan Horse, but not to get
inside of him. I never before had suspected that the famous beast had
a sense of humor in his makeup. I was about to make some further
inquiry when a bell above us began to sound forth sonorously.

"Massy me!" cried little Sambo, springing to his place in front of the