and fixin' of 'serves and soap. She was sho' good to
you iffen you work and do like she tell you. Many a night she go round
to see dat all was right. She a powerful good nuss, too, and so was
mammy.

"De white folks had good times. Dey'd go hossback ridin' and on picnics,
and fishin' and have big dinners and balls. Come Christmas, dey have us
slaves cut a big lot of wood and keep fires all night for a week or two.
De house be lit with candles from top to toe, and lots of company come.
For dinner us have turkey and beef roast and a big 'ginny ham and big
bowls of eggnog and a pitcher of apple cider and apple toddy. All us git
somethin' on Christmas and plenty eggnog, but no gittin' drunk.

"I can jes' see Marse Dick, tall and kinder stooped like, with de big
flop hat and longtail coat and allus carryin' a big, old walkin' stick.
He was sho' a brave man and de big men say dey likes dat flop hat,
'cause dey done follow it on de battlefield. He had a big voice and dey
do tell how, in de war, he'd holler, 'Come on, boys,' and de bullets be
like hail and men fallin' all round, but dat don't stop Marse Dick. He'd
take off dat flop hat and plunge right on and dey'd foller he bald head
where de fight was hottes'. He was sho' a man!

"When I gits married it was eight folkses dere, I jus' walks off and
goes to housekeepin'. I had a calico dress and a Baptist preacher
marries us.

"Dere been some queer things white folks can't understand. Dere am
folkses can see de spirits, but I can't. My mammy larned me a lots of
doctorin', what she larnt from old folkses from Africy, and some de
Indians larnt her. If you has rheumatism, jes' take white sassafras root
and bile it and drink de tea. You makes lin'ment by bilin' mullein
flowers and poke roots and alum and salt. Put red pepper in you shoes
and keep de chills off, or string briars round de neck. Make red or
black snakeroot tea to cure fever and malaria, but git de roots in de
spring when de sap am high.

"When chillen teethin' put rattlesnake rattles round de neck, and
alligator teeth am good, too. Show de new moon money and you'll have
money all month. Throw her five kisses and show her money and make five
wishes and you'll git dem. Eat black-eyed peas on New Year and have luck
all dat year:

"'Dose black-eyed peas is lucky,
When et on New Year's Day;
You'll allus have sweet 'taters
And possum come you way.'

"When anybody git cut I allus burns woolen rags and smokes de wo