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seldom known to walk and talk without their heads, 

 indeed, if ever, except by the assistance of Obeah. 

 'Bad child!' cried the old woman ; 'bad child! 

 and bad will come to you!' Matters were no 

 better managed near the cocoa-tree ; and even 

 when she reached the mahogany, although she saw 

 that the old woman had not only got her head on, 

 but had a red docker besides, she could not prevail 

 on herself to say more than a short ' How day?' 

 without calling her ' grannie.' [Among negroes 

 it is almost tantamount to an affront to address by 

 the name, without affixing some term of relationship, 

 such as ' grannie,' or 6 uncle,' or 6 cousin.' My 

 Cornwall boy, George, told me one day, that 

 ' Uncle Sully wanted to speak to massa.' * Why, is 

 Sully your uncle, George ?' 6 No, massa ; me only 

 call him so for honour.'] However, she received 

 the permission to eat rice at the cottage, coupled 

 with the injunction of giving a share to the black 

 puss; an injunction, however, which she totally 

 disregarded, although she scrupled not to assure 

 her hostess that she had suffered puss to eat till she 

 could eat no more. The old lady in the red petti- 

 coat seemed to swallow the lie very glibly, and 

 despatched the girl to the fowl-house for three 

 eggs, as she had before done her cousin ; but hav- 

 ing been cautioned against taking the talking eggs, 

 she conceived that these must needs be the most 

 valuable ; and, therefore, made a point of selecting 

 those three which seemed to be the greatest gossips 



