ishes and he told me: 'Take 'em to de kitchen and tell 'Liza to cook
'em for me.' I sho ain't never gwine to forgit dat.

"One day dey sont me wid a bucket of water to de field, and I had to go
through de peach orchard. I et so many peaches, I was 'most daid when I
got back to de house. Dey had to drench me down wid sweet milk, and from
dat day to dis I ain't never laked peaches. From den on Marse Alec
called me de 'peach gal.'

"Marse Alec warn't home much of de time, but when he was dar he used to
walk down to de cabins and laugh and talk to his Niggers. He used to
sing a song for de slave chillun dat run somepin lak dis:

'Walk light ladies
De cake's all dough,
You needn't mind de weather,
If de wind don't blow.'"

Georgia giggled when she came to the end of the stanza. "Us didn't know
when he was a-singin' dat tune to us chillun dat when us growed up us
would be cake walkin' to de same song.

"On Sundays, whenever Marse Alec was home, he done lots of readin' out
of a great big old book. I didn't know what it was, but he was pow'ful
busy wid it. He never had no parties or dancin' dat I knows 'bout, but
he was all time havin' dem big 'portant mens at his house talkin' 'bout
de business what tuk him off from home so much. I used to see Lawyer
Coombs dere heaps of times. He was a big, fine lookin' man. Another big
lawyer was all time comin' dar too, but I done lost his name. Marse Alec
had so awful much sense in his haid dat folkses said it stunted his
growin'. Anyhow, long as he lived he warn't no bigger dan a boy.

"When Uncle Harry's and Aunt 'Liza's daughter what was named 'Liza, got
married he was in Washin'ton or some place lak dat. He writ word to
Marse Linton, his half-brother, to pervide a weddin' for her. I knows
'bout dat 'cause I et some of dat barbecue. Dat's all I 'members 'bout
her weddin'. I done forgot de name of de bridegroom. He lived on some
other plantation. Aunt 'Liza had two gals and one boy. He was named
Allen.

"Whilst Marse Alec was President or somepin, he got sick and had to come
back home, and it wern't long atter dat 'fore de surrender. Allen was
'pinted to watch for de blue coats. When dey come to take Marse Alec
off, dey was all over the place wid deir guns. Us Niggers hollered and
cried and tuk on pow'ful 'cause us sho thought dey was gwine to kill him
on account of his bein' such a high up man on de side what dey was
fightin'. All de Niggers followed 'em to de depot