te sa la force

55. dihior pou aien; avan li rive cote bite, li tende
dehors pour rien; avant lui arriver cote but, lui entendre

56. ton monne ape hele: "Houra! houra! pou compair Torti!"
tout monde apres heler: "Hourra! hourra! pour compere Tortue!"

57. Tan li rive, li oua compair Torti on la garlie ape
Temps lui arriver, lui voir compere Tortue en la galerie apres

58. brasse Mamzel Calinda. Ca fe li si tan mal, li
embrasser Mlle. Calinda. Cela faire lui si tant mal, lui

59. sape dan boi. Compair Torti maie ave Mamzel Calinda
s'echapper dans bois. Compere Tortue marier avec Mlle. Calinda

60. samedi ape vini, e tou monne manze, boi, jika
samedi apres venir, et tout monde manger, boire jusqu'a

61. y tchiak.[i_22]
eux griser.

It only remains to be said that none of the stories given in the present
volume are "cooked." They are given in the simple but picturesque
language of the negroes, just as the negroes tell them. The Ghost-story,
in which the dead woman returns in search of the silver that had been
placed upon her eyes, is undoubtedly of white origin; but Mr. Samuel L.
Clemens (Mark Twain) heard it among the negroes of Florida, Missouri,
where it was "The Woman with the Golden Arm." Fortunately, it was placed
in the mouth of 'Tildy, the house-girl, who must be supposed to have
heard her mistress tell it. But it has been negroized to such an extent
that it may be classed as a negro legend; and it is possible that the
white version is itself based upon a negro story. At any rate, it was
told to the writer by different negroes; and he saw no reason to doubt
its authenticity until after a large portion of the book was in type.
His relations to the stories are simply those of editor and compiler. He
has written them as they came to him, and he is responsible only for the
setting. He has endeavored to project them upon the background and to
give them the surroundings which they had in the old days that are no
more; and it has been his purpose to give in their recital a glimpse of
plantation life in the South before the war. If the reader, therefore,
will exercise his imagination to the extent of believing that the
stories are told to a little boy by a group of negroes on a plantation
in Middle Georgia, before the war, he will need neither foot-note nor
explanation to guide him.

In the preparation of this volume the writer h