The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-07-24

one was very particular ABOUT III, INA
was sure. She generally timed hal
calls on my grandmother when tina
lady was away from home. Not thai
she would have failed of her peculiar
and cherished entertainment had my
generous and kindly Grandmother beer
at home. But she doubtless felt more al
liberty when the girls were the only
dispensers of hospitality.
Now, honey" she would say, wher
she had laid her green sun bonnet or
the floor beside her chair and had filled
her corn-cob pipe from my grandmoth.
er's tobacco box, lighting it by means
of coal held in her horny and calIus
fingers Now, honey, can't you give
me a cup of your mothers good strong
yaller coffee? I hain't had none like
that sence 1 was heah last. Yer mother
allus has SIGH nice yaller Coffee"
This of course meant q raid on the
thick cream set for making butter.
Granny Roberts scorned ANYTHING th,n-
ner than the creme de la creme.
My mother, besides being generous
and hospitable by nature, was also
young and inexperienced. Consequent
ly sho suffered good deal at the hands
of this old neighbor and frequent
visitor. Her older and more worldly
wise sister and the very touchy black
cook were not thus imposed upon.
Granny Roberts "sensed" this attitude
of mind toward herself on the part of
these two members of the family, and
she took good care not to provoke hos
tilities by any act of her own. But my
mother, sensitive and fine fbered, could
not bring herself to snub this old wo-
man, whose feelings she ignorantly i'm
agined to be as sensitive as her own.
Cunning old granny She imposed on
this high-minaed yourg soul as syste-
nnaticslly as any professional humbug
the world has ever known.
She never came at meal-time. The
most ample of coffee-urn would not
have stood the demands of Granny's
capacious appetite. She usually came
in the middle of the afternoon, when
the kitchen fire was ont, save the few
embers in the middle of the huge fire.
place, covered up in order to keep fire
till time for supper. So my mother
would kindle a fiTe-as much a martyr
to blazing logs as anyone would suf-
fered at Smiths6eld Gmagine this on a
sultry July afternoop), and, grinding a
large millful of coffee, would proceed to
make an amount of the liquid ordinarily
sufficient for large family.
CHOW, honey" Granny would say,
following her young hostess to the
kitchen, "make it go d and strong.
You know I'm kind o. ailin'. I'm trem-
bly, like, an I've got 'fictioni in my
head, and sight O. misery in my side,
and I know a cup O. your mothers
good, strong, yaller coffee would kinder
O. set me up. 1 only want a cup, child.
Never take more'n q cup. That's my
rule"
This single cup was filed and pre-
pared according to minute instructions
from Granny. When more than half
drained she would pass the cup, saying:
"Too sweet, honey, lots too sweet.
Jest fill it up, won't ve?"
This time perhaps two thirds was
swallowed and the cup passed with the
request for a little more cream. Re-
plenished in this direction, it seemed to
be entirely satisfactory except the last
"Jest leetle mite O.
sugar, honey: You put in mos too
much cream that time"
Sugared, e seemed the nectar of the
gods for a little while, and my mother
would take up her netting in the vain
hope that granny was at last satiefied.
Not by any means. 80
Snow, honey, this is heap too cold.
[ wish you'd jest fill it up with hot cof-
iee." And SO proceeded the futile at
;empt to satisfy tho very critical taste
If this old woman until the last drop of
he strong brown liquid was exhausted,
md then Granny Roberts praised her
cup of coffee highly. This cup Of cot
lee required pint of thick cream and
caused perceptible lowering of the
ample sugar-bowl, but 1t was only one
,up.
81 nsver drink but one cup, honey,
out like that good and strong and
TALLER.