“So would anybody but me; but I kept up my courage, for my temper ris; I thought Nanny was at the bottom of it all along, though I know’d it was a sperit—for I’ve see’d enough on ’em,” she continued, her imagination kindling with the subject; “and it rolled its eyes, and—and—” “But, Aunt Vi’let,” observed Dinah, submissively, “I thought you said it hadn’t n’ary head.” “Hold your tongue, you fool! what do you keep ’terrupting me for? Where was I? Well, then, it fetched a sithe—sich a sithe!—I couldn’t stand it no longer; so I called master out. ‘There, sir,’ says I, ‘now I hope you’ll believe your own eyes’—for he always laughs and ri-dicules at witches and ghosts, and all them sort o’ things. So I tell’d him—and out he goes. I see all the time he was skeared enough, only he was ’shamed to show it afore me; but when he got to the barn-door, he set up sich a laugh—you might a hearn him into your house. I ’clare it made my hair stand on eend to hear him. ‘Here,’ says he, ‘Vi’let, your woman without a head is changed into a cow’s hind legs and tail!’ and sure enough, it was the beast then, but I know’d well enough what it was afore. Howsomenever, it wan’t no use a telling him; so I takes a skillet of biling water, that was on the fire, to bile some eggs—for our folks must always have some mess o’nother hot for supper, to keep me at it slaving from morning to night; not but I likes a little bit o’ suthen comfortable myself afore I goes to bed, and the most part on it comes into the kitchen. So I was going to fling it on to her, to see what she’d turn into next; but master tell’d me to let her alone, for the barn wouldn’t miss a little hay. Did you ever hear any thing so ’diclous! I tell’d him—” “Aunt Vi’let! Aunt Vi’let!” was now heard from the kitchen-door; “the cakes is burning, and mistress wants to know if breakfast wont be ready soon.” “And why don’t Flora take the cakes out of the oven, then! Can’t nothing be done without me?” cried Vi’let. “For the laud’s sake, give me my frying-pan, and let me go, or I shall have the whole house arter me.” She went into the kitchen in a hurry, took up her cakes, and fried her flap-jacks. After their morning devotions, the Fayerweather family, in high spirits, gathered round the breakfast-table. This was laid in the western room, before an open glass-door, which looked into the garden. The cool morning breeze, after frolicking among the flowers, found its way in at the door, and mingling its stolen perfumes with those of the coffee and chocolate, played antics with the table-cloth.