told me to take 'em up to de big house to Marse Alec. I was skeered when
I went in de big house yard and axed, what looked lak a little boy, whar
Marse Alec was, and I was wuss skeered when he said: 'Dis is Marse Alec
you is talkin' to. What you want?' I tole him Uncle Stafford sont him de
fishes and he told me: 'Take 'em to de kitchen and tell 'Liza to cook
'em for me.' I sho ain't never gwine to forgit dat.

"One day dey sont me wid a bucket of water to de field, and I had to go
through de peach orchard. I et so many peaches, I was 'most daid when I
got back to de house. Dey had to drench me down wid sweet milk, and from
dat day to dis I ain't never laked peaches. From den on Marse Alec
called me de 'peach gal.'

"Marse Alec warn't home much of de time, but when he was dar he used to
walk down to de cabins and laugh and talk to his Niggers. He used to
sing a song for de slave chillun dat run somepin lak dis:

'Walk light ladies
De cake's all dough,
You needn't mind de weather,
If de wind don't blow.'"

Georgia giggled when she came to the end of the stanza. "Us didn't know
when he was a-singin' dat tune to us chillun dat when us growed up us
would be cake walkin' to de same song.

"On Sundays, whenever Marse Alec was home, he done lots of readin' out
of a great big old book. I didn't know what it was, but he was pow'ful
busy wid it. He never had no parties or dancin' dat I knows 'bout, but
he was all time havin' dem big 'portant mens at his house talkin' 'bout