e flies and gnats off'en de
Missus' victuals. Dis swing wuz just off'n de end of de long table. Some
of de white fokes had steps a leadin' up to it. Some of 'em jus had de
little boys maws to fech de young'uns up dar till dey got fru; den dey
wuz fetched down again.

"Well, when I got my pants, my maw fetched me in and I clumb up de steps
dat Marse Johnson had, to git up in his swing wid. At fus, dey had to
show me jus how to hole de brush, kaise dem peacock feathers wuz so
long, iffen you didn't mind your bizness, de ends of dem feathers would
splash in de gravy er sumpin nother, and den de Missus table be all
spattered up. Some o' de Marsters would whorp de nigger chilluns fer dat
carelessness, but Marse Johnson, he always good to his niggers. Mos de
white fokes good to de niggers round bout whar I comes from.

"It twad'nt long for I got used to it and I nebber did splash de
feathers in no rations. But iffen I got used to it, I took to agoin to
sleep up thar. Marse Johnson, he would jus git up and wake me up. All de
white fokes at de table joke me so bout bein' so lazy, I soon stop dat
foolishness. My maw, she roll her eyes at me when I come down atter de
marster had to wake me up. Dat change like ever thing else. When I got
bigger, I got to be house boy. Dey took down de swing and got a little
gal to stand jus 'hind de Missus' chair and fan dem flies. De Missus low
to Marse Johnson dat de style done change when he want to know how come
she took de swing down. So dat is de way it is now wid de wimmen, dey
changes de whole house wid de style; but I tells my chilluns, ain't no
days like de ole days when I wuz a shaver.

"Atter de war, I come up to Shelton and got to de 'P' Hamilton place. I
wuz grown den. I seed a young girl dar what dey called 'Evvie'. Her paw,
he had b'longed to de Chicks, so dats who she wuz, Evvie Chick. Dar she
sets in dat room by de fire. Now us got 'leven chilluns. Dey is
scattered all about. Dey is good to us in our ole age. Us riz 'em to
obey de Lawd and mine us. Dats all dey knows, and iffen fokes would do
dat now, dey wouldn't have no sassy chilluns like I sees here in
Carlisle.

"Evvie, what year wuz it we got married? Yes, dat's right. It wuz de
year of de 'shake'. Is you heerd bout de 'shake'? Come out here Evvie
and les tell him dat, kaise dese young fokes doan know nothin'. It wuz
dark, and we wuz eatin' supper, when sumpin started to makin' de dishes
fall out'n de cupboard. At fus w