The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-07-23
How Granny Roberts Took Her Coffee.

How Granny Roberts Took Her Coffee
She was very particular about it, thai
was sure. She generally timed hel
calls on my grandmother when tha
| lady was away from home. Not thai
| she wouid 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, when
she had laid her green sun bonnet on
the floor beside her chair and had filled
her corn-cob pipe from my grandmoth.
er's tobacco box, lighting 1t by means
of coal held in her horny and callus
fingers Now, honey, can't you give
me a cup of your mothers good strong
yaller coffee? I hain't had none like
that seuce L was heah last. Yer mother
allus has SIGH nice yaller coffee.
This of course meant raid on the
thick cream set for making butter.
Granny Roberts scorned ANYTHING thin
ner than the creme de la creme,
My mother, besides being generous
and hospitable by nature, was also
JSuhS dlI1'A ApCllCICCus
ly she suffered a 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 owe. But my
mother, sensitive and fine fbered, could
not bring herself to snub this old wo-
man, whose feelings she ignorantly i'm
sgined to be as sensitive as her own.
Cunning old granny She imposed on
this high-minded young soul as syste-
matically as any professional humbug
the world has ever known.
She never came at meal-time. The
most ample of coffee-urns 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 out, 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 fre-as much a martyr
to blazing logs as anyone would suf-
fered at Snithsfeld Gmagine this on a
sultry July afternooD), and, grinding a
large millful of coffee, would proceed to
make an amount of the liquid ordinarily
sufficient for a large family.
"Now, honey" Granny would say,
following her young hostess to the
kitchen, "make it god and strong.
You know I'm kind O. ailin'. I'm trem-
bly, like, an I've got fictioni in my
head, and a sight o misery in my side,
and [ know a cup o your mothers
good, strong, yaller coffee would kinder
O. set me up. / only want cup, child.
Never take more'n a cup. That's my
rule"
This single cup was filled and pre-
pared according to minute instructions
from Granny. When more than half
drained she would pass the cup, saying:
"TOO sweet, honey, lois too sweet.
Jest fill it up, won't We ?"
This time perhaps two thirds was
swall lowed and the cup passed with the
request for a little more cream. Re
plenisbed in this direction, it seemed to
be entirely satisfactory except the last
"Jest a leetIe mite O.
sugar, honey. You put in mos too
much cream that time"
Sugared, it seemed the nectar of the
gods for little while, and my mother
would take up her netting IN the vain
hope that granny was at last satisfied.
Not by any means.
"Now, honey, this is heap too cold.
[ wish you'd jest fill it up with hot cof-
fee." And so proceeded the futile at
tempt to satisfy the very critical taste
of this old woman until the last drop OF |
the strong brown liquid was exhausted,
and then Granny Roberts praised her
cup of coffee highly. This cup of cof
lee required a pint of thick cream and |
caused a perceptible lowering of the |
ample sugar bowl, but 1t was only one
cup.
81 never drink but one cup, honey,
but I like that good and strong and |