as good white
people. Dey warnt brutish; never whupped us or nothin' lak dat. I don'
know nothin' 'bout no meanness.

"Mr. Higgins he died pretty soon an' Miss Lizzie went to teachin'
school. Her chillun--Miss Annie an' dem--would try to teach us. Den us
carried Blue Back Spellers to Sund'y school an' a old Baptist cullud
preacher would teach us out o' it. He say, 'de same words is in dis book
what's in de Bible. You chillun learn 'em de way dey is fixed for you to
learn 'em in dis here Blue Back Speller, den de firs' thing you know you
can read de Bible.' Use went to de white folk's church endurin' o' de
War an' right after. Any o' de white folks can tell you 'bout Mr.
Preacher Hamlin. He was a preacher an' a school teacher mixed. He had de
firs' boardin' school for young white ladies. It's standin' right dare
on Eighth [HW: No 7] Street right now. I 'members de firs' one to
gragurate[FN: graduate] frum it. Well, Mr. Hamlin 'nitiated my pappy
right dare in de white folks's church, de Firs' Baptis' Church; it burnt
up long time ago. My pappy was Isam Allbrook. He was de firs' cullud
deacon ordained in Mer-ree-dian.

"I was ten years old at de Surrender, but I took notice. Dem was scarey
times an' when you is scared you takes trigger-notice. It was nex' to de
las' year o' de War 'fore Sherman got to Mer-ree-dian--not Sherman
hisse'f but his sojers. Dey burnt up dat big house on Eighth Street hill
an' built camps for de sojers in de flower garden. De cap'ns went an'
live at Marse Greer's house. Marse Greer had done sunk all de silver in
de duck pond an' hid out de horses an' cows in de big cane-brake what
used to be on dis side o' Sowashee Creek. But, Lor!, it didn' do no
good. Sherman done caught on by dat time 'bout how to fin' things. Dey
got ever'thing an' burned Marse Greer's barn. Day lef' de house an'
didn' bother de fam'ly 'cause dey called deyse'fs company. De good Lord
knows Marse Greer didn' 'vite 'em! But de Cap'ns bein' dere kep' de
rip-rap[FN: riff-raff] sojers frum tearin' up ever'thing.

"When word come dat dey was comin', it soun' lak a moanin' win' in de
quarter. Ever'body was a-sayin', 'De Yankees is comin'! De Yankees is
comin'!' Us chullun was scared, but it was lak Sund'y, too,--nobody
doin' nothin'. Us march' 'roun' de room an' sorter sing-lak, 'De Yankees
is comin'! De Yankees is comin'!' Dey wouldn' let us out in de big road.
Well, dey come. Dey burn up seventy houses an' all de stores. Dey tore