flour sack which she always wore tied round her
waist just for this purpose. I myself have seen this sack so full that
it would bump against her knee. She did not confine her thefts to food
only. She would also take personal belongings. Another servant in the
household once found one of Aunt Charlotte's granddaughters using a
compact that she had stolen from her young mistress. The servant took
the trinket away from the girl and returned it to the owner but nothing
was ever said to Aunt Charlotte although every one knew she had stolen
it.

One year when the cherry crop was exceptionally heavy, grandmother had
Charlotte make up a huge batch of cherry preserves in an iron pot. While
Charlotte was out of the kitchen for a moment she went in to have a look
at the preserves and found that about half of them had been taken out. A
careful but hurried search located the missing portion hidden in another
container behind the stove. Grandmother never said a word but simply put
the amount that had been taken out back in the pot.

Charlotte never permitted anyone to take liberties with her except Uncle
Daniel, the "man of all work" and another ex-slave. Daniel would josh
her about some "beau" or about her over-fondness for her grandchildren.
She would take just so much of this and then with a quiet "g'long with
you", she would send him on about his business. Once when he pressed her
a bit too far she hurled a butcher knife at him.

Charlotte was not a superstitious soul. She did not even believe that
the near-by screech of an owl was an omen of death. However, she did
have some fearful and wonderful folk remedies.

When you got a bee sting Charlotte made Daniel spit tobacco juice on it.
She always gave a piece of fat meat to babies because this would make
them healthy all their lives. Her favorite remedy was to put a pan of
cold water under the bed to stop "night sweats."

In her last years failing eye-sight and general ill health forced her to
give up her active life. Almost a complete shut-in, she had a window cut
on the north side of her room so she could "set and see whut went on up
at Mis' Molly's" (her name for my grandmother).

She was the perfect hostess and whenever any member of our family went
to see how she did during those latter days she always served locust
beer and cookies. Once when I took her a bunch of violets she gave me an
old coin that she had carried on her person for years. Mother didn't
want me to ta