“Well, hunny, I cum outin’ uh fambly dat lib wha you see dem tall elm, hoss chestnut an’ big oak trees. De place name Otwell. I wuz bo’n da—and so wuz meh fava an’ his fava. Meh fava’s name wuz Phil Demby, an’ Pawson Demby, de ’stinguis’ Babtis preecher, is meh brudder, an’ name arfter meh fava. None of my fambly wuz free niggahs, er ’longed ter po’ white trash. My muvva she named Phillis. Dey called huh Arnt Phillis; an’ she libbed at Otwell, an’ wuz Mars Nickey’s favorite cook. All de niggahs on dat plantation slep’ wid sheets on deah beds. Mars Nickey didn’ hab, an’ he wouldn’ hab no common niggahs. When de oberseers cum ter de po’ch ter git deah orders, dey al’ays stood wid deah haids unkivvered, rain er no rain; dey know’d deah place. An’ Chrismus Ole Mars gib all de serbents toddy, but ef’n dey get tipsy, he whup ’em sho’! Meh muvva, Phillis, wuz de fus’ cook at Otwell. Chile, she wuz uh cook! but one ub de slow-paced sort. Nowdays dey cook uh ham in fo’ hours; dem days it tuck meh muvva two days, an’ dem wuz Mars Nickey’s orders. “How-some-eber ev’yt’ing wuz slow in dem days. Dey use ter teck uh gre’t big silver tank dat hilt boutin uh gallon, er mebby two gallons, an’ fill it wid mint julip, an’ it had two gre’t big han’les jes’ like ram’s hohns on de sides. An’ Saul an’ Damon—dey wuz de house serbents—dey meck de julips (I use ter holp when dey ve’y busy, an’ tase de julip an’ see ef’n it sweet nuff), an’ when de gemmen cum in fum fox hun’in’, Saul an’ Damon wud pars ’roun’ de tank; an’ _you kyant tell how slow dey wud drink fum dat tank_. An’ when dinner time cum it tuck ’em boutin fo’ hours, sometimes mo’n fo’, an’ sometimes all nite futto eat dinner. Dey riz bees, an’ dey meck peach brandy, an’ dey drink what you call peach an’ honey. How cum dey don’ drink peach an’ honey dese days? Why, de ve’y bref ub it mecks you feel nice. “Fo’ de wah all de hom’ny wuz bet in uh gre’t big morter; de hom’ny dey mecks nowdays is nuffin ter hit. All de wheat wuz cut wid uh cradle, an’ when dey all in uh row swingin’ deah cradles, sayin’ nuffin an’ lookin’ so full ub condidence, it remin’ you ub de fus’ ub de flood tide in de creek—mus’ go on. Uncle Reuben al’ays tuck de haid row. Swing he cradle same ez Sampson. Steambo’ts cum once uh week dem days, an’ dey tuck all day ter cum, an’ dey stay all nite, an’ go ’way nex’ mawnin’. Now dey cum in fo’ hours, an’ fo’ er five uh day.