good enough for him, 'cause he didn't mind.'

"Mammy never did give me but one whuppin' neither. Daddy was gwine to de
circus and I jus' cut up 'bout it 'cause I wanted to go so bad. Mist'ess
give me some cake and I hushed long as I was eatin', but soon as de last
cake crumb was swallowed I started bawlin' again. She give me a stick of
candy and soon as I et dat I was squallin' wuss dan ever. Mammy told
Mist'ess den det she knowed how to quiet me and she retch under de bed
for a shoe. When she had done finished layin' dat shoe on me and put it
back whar she got it, I was sho willin' to shet my mouth and let 'em all
go to de circus widout no more racket from me.

"De fust school I went to was in a little one-room 'ouse in our white
folkses' back yard. Us had a white teacher and all he larnt slave
chillun was jus' plain readin' and writin'. I had to pass Dr.
Willingham's office lots and he was all de time pesterin' me 'bout
spellin'. One day he stopped me and axed me if I could spell 'bumble bee
widout its tail,' and he said dat when I larnt to spell it, he would
gimme some candy. Mr. Sanders, at Lexin'ton, gimme a dime onct. It was
de fust money I ever had. I was plumb rich and I never let my Daddy have
no peace 'til he fetched me to town to do my tradin'. I was all sot to
buy myself a hat, a sto-bought suit of clothes, and some shoes what
warn't brogans, but Missy, I wound up wid a gingercake and a nickel's
wuth of candy. I used to cry and holler evvy time Miss Serena went off
and left me. Whenever I seed 'em gittin' out de carriage to hitch it up,
I started beggin' to go. Sometimes she laughed and said; 'All right
Neal.' But when she said, 'No Neal,' I snuck out and hid under de
high-up carrigge seat and went along jus' de same. Mist'ess allus found
me 'fore us got back home, but she jus' laughed and said: 'Well, Neal's
my little nigger anyhow.'

"Dem old cord beds was a sight to look at, but dey slept good. Us
cyarded lint cotton into bats for mattresses and put 'em in a tick what
us tacked so it wouldn't git lumpy. Us never seed no iron springs dem
days. Dem cords, criss-crossed from one side of de bed to de other, was
our springs and us had keys to tighten 'em wid. If us didn't tighten 'em
evvy few days dem beds was apt to fall down wid us. De cheers was
homemade too and de easiest-settin' ones had bottoms made out of rye
splits. Dem oak-split cheers was all right, and sometimes us used cane
to bottom de cheers bu