Here her story took a rambling turn.

"You see I didn't have to save up for nuffin'. Ole Marster and Ole Miss,
dey took keer of us. Dey sho' wuz good white folkses, but den dey had to
be good white folkses, kaze Ole Marster, he wuz Jedge Lumpkin, and de
Jedge wuz bound to make evvybody do right, and he gwine do right his own
self 'fore he try to make udder folkses behave deyselvs. Ain't nobody,
nowhar, as good to dey Negroes as my white folkses wuz."

"Who taught you to say 'Negroes' so distinctly?" she was asked.

"Ole Marster," she promptly answered, "He 'splained dat us wuz not to be
'shamed of our race. He said us warn't no 'niggers'; he said us wuz
'Negroes', and he 'spected his Negroes to be de best Negroes in de whole
land.

"Old Marster had a big fine gyarden. His Negroes wukked it good, and us
wuz sho' proud of it. Us lived close in town, and all de Negroes on de
place wuz yard and house servants. Us didn't have no gyardens 'round our
cabins, kaze all of us et at de big house kitchen. Ole Miss had flowers
evvywhar 'round de big house, and she wuz all time givin' us some to
plant 'round de cabins.

"All de cookin' wuz done at de big house kitchen, and hit wuz a sho'
'nough big kitchen. Us had two boss cooks, and lots of helpers, and us
sho' had plenny of good sompin' teat. Dat's de Gawd's trufe, and I means
it. Heap of folkses been tryin' to git me to say us didn't have 'nough
teat and dat us never had nuffin' fittin' teat. But ole as I is, I cyan'
start tellin' no lies now. I gotter die fo' long, and I sho' wants to be
clean in de mouf and no stains or lies on my lips when I dies. Our