"Wha' fo' you go wi' dem Armistead chillun, Mi' Sylvia?" would cry
Aunt Mandy, the cook. "Doan' you know they granddaddy done pick
cottin in de fiel' 'long o' me?" But while her father was picking
cotton, Sallie Ann had looked after her complexion and her figure,
and had married a rising young merchant. Now he was the wealthy
proprietor of a chain of "nigger stores," and his wife was the
possessor of the most dreaded tongue in Castleman County.
She was a person who, if she had been born a duchess, would have
made a reputation in history; the one woman in the county who had a
mind and was not afraid to have it known. She used all the tricks of
a duchess--lorgnettes, for example, with which she stared people
into a state of fright. She did not dare try anything like that on
the Castlemans, of course, but woe to the little people who crossed
her path! She had an eye that sought out every human weakness, and
such a wit that even her victims were fascinated. One of the legends
about her told how her dearest foe, a dashing young matron, had
died, and all the friends had gathered with their floral tributes.
Sallie Ann went in to review the remains, and when she came out a
sentimental voice inquired: "And how does our poor Ruth look?"
"Oh," was the answer, "as old and grey as ever!"
Now Mrs.
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