“Make hay while the sun shines,” she spelled around the sunny picture of hay-makers in the centre of the plate; and before her seemed to arise the placid face of her poor mother; and again she heard her say,—“Dat’s ’de way ’dey do at ‘de North, chile’. ’Taint ’de colored folks as does all ’de work dar’. Oh Lord! oh Lord!” I was ’mos’ free——thought I _was_ free shor’ ’dat time Missus tuck me ’not’h wid’ her. Mighty nice gem’men tole’ me I war free;—I needn’t go back South no ’mo’. So I jes walks off: but, oh laws! He didn’t know ’nuffin ’bout ’dem United States Marshal ’dey call ’em, I ’reckon; but may be ’dey didn’t ’blong to no United States, nohow. Spex’ ’dey come from South Caroline. ’Dey tole’ I ’jes got go ’long back wid Missus, or ’de whole ’dem United States ’sogers’d he afe’r me, shor; Wal, Wal, ’pears like ’day didn’t none of ’em know nohow; fo’ nother gem’men said ’dem United States Marshals hadn’t got ’nuffin to do wid me, nohow, ’cause Missus’ brung me ’long herself. I didn’t run away ’nohow, ’cause I neber was so low as a runaway nigger. ’Pears like I didn’t know who ’t believe, an so I came back ’long wid’ Missus to make shor’. “Po’re ole’ Lize, she lived nex’ do’ to Missus’ hotel. She used to set by ’de pump in ’de back yard, evenings, and smoke and smoke. “Dar was a young miss ’dar, used to come too, ’an talk ’wid us, ’an she tole’ Lize war free, and I war’ free, ’cause we didn’t _runned away_ from ’de South. ’Reckon she war right, now; but I didn’t know, an’ she war’ young.” Lize was ole an’ been sick aheap, an’ wan’t ’woth much. She was ’gwoine to be sold in St. Loo, an’ all her chillun,—five chillun. ’_Dey_ sold right smart, but no body didn’t want Lize; but a bad man said he’d give twenty dollah.” “Lize seen a mighty nice gem’man from de No’th da, an’ she got hold his feet, an’ roared an’ cried till he bought her. “Wal, ’pears like he didn’t know what t’do wid her af’r all; hadn’t got no wife, no nothin’ but lots o’ money. Well, shoo’ ’nuff’ dat bery night he tuck mighty sick. Ole Lize nussed ’im night and day, six, eight weeks or mo’, till he got well, Doctah said ’Dar’s de ole creatur dat save yo’ life. It wa’nt me, nohow.’ Wal, Mars’ Sam war mighty good den to ole Lize. He tuck ’er off No’th, and spex cause he hadn’t got nothin’ nor no place, he coaxed ’er to stay wid ’is sistah. But, laws! she wa’n’t like he. She’s cross, an’ scold ole Lize a heap, when she’s crying ’bout her boys jes’ been sole ’way down t’ New Orleans, ’cause dey war so high spirited like, an’ Lize wa’n’t dar to keep ’im quiet like. Lize wanted t’ go back to St. Loo, an’ see ’er girls. Cross woman! She tole ole Lize all dat to make ’er fret; an’ Mars Sam ’ad writ dat, dat war why he didn’t wan’r Lize to come back, cause he didn’t want ’er to fret. Poor soul! couldn’t write to Mars’ Sam.