The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-11

UT course she ndun'I any Idea that Sne was going to be put in the paper-had Aunt Dinah when Bettina and I strolled leisurely Into her kitchen, through which the sun was shining as bright as day, making pans and kettles look like new silver and the clean well-scrubbed table like new piece of bird d's-eye maple. And Aunt Dinah. her big, fat, black self dressed In the cleanest of blue calico frocks just from the washtub, a great big old-fashioned gingham apron cover- ing her from head to toe, and her head tied up in the spinkest, spankest. brand newest of bandanas,
 In short, Aunt Dnah is a real. rightly Thomas Nelson Page character with no use whatever for mo count, stuck-up niggers." and I only wish I could put down every word of what she said, and just the way she said it, too-for it was interesting, on that you may depend.
 You understand Aunt Dinah raised" Bettina, as she says, "by hand" and so, of course, it was permissible to talk to her. still newspaper ethics demand that hospitality shall never be abused and here was this unsuspecting soul with never an idea that she was going to be inter- viewed. But alasl. Even she could not escape.
 Aunt Dinah, did you ever hear of the servant question: was the first idea that popped into my head, so out it came.
 NO, man." answered Aunt Dinah, "specs dat wuz afore my time, Miss Dolly. What 'tis bout dat you wants to know?"
 Your views on the subject" I said aloud, while I thought to myself that is the beginning of all good interviews.
 "I aint got no views on de subjec.' What fur Is dey any question bout ser vants?" said she seriously. "Dey knows dere place and dey ain't no question bout dat"
 Bettina laughed aloud at this piece of innocence on Aunt Dianahs part and promptly said:
 ''well, tell us what you think of the mistress of today"
 'Now, look here, Miss Tina, you know what I thinks of you and your ma, but scusin' de fac dat likes you all pow erful lot, dey ain't no mistusses like my Ole Miss-you mas ma honeyi She wuz de best of all," said Aunt Dinah feelingly.
 Continuing she said: T lived a long time outen dis particular family, and hits only recent you know dat Tse come back to de fold, and law chile, Miss Mollie was de fines and de bes' mistuss dat anybody eber had When I married dof h1oo ,,{0 i'm hot Iaf, T ried him from her house, and she sho' give me one putty weddin dress, if I ever seen one."
 Did she keep house like the other ladies you lived with before you came back to the fold, as you say?" I in- quired.
 "She sho didn't" said Aunt Dinah, shaking her bandana-ed head. ''Mlss Mollie she locked up things and dere want no way of gitten' in dat pantry until Miss Mollie she wanted you to-. After she'd give out de meals, she used to come and set in de kitchen and talk to me by de hour bout her sweetheart and mine-I was keepin' company with Jim demand law chile de way we would talk. Um-ph! it was somethin terribler'
 well, don't the mistresses you have lived with since lock up their store rooms?" Bettina said, winlSing at me.
 'No, mann, dey is too busy going to dem bridge parties dey talks about to stay home and tend to anything" said she, disparagingly. ''I looks at de vim men desc days and jes wonders what dey is coming to-dey don't seem to be satisfied to stay home a tall"
 "So you see there is another side of the question, after all," I said to Bettina.
 To Aunt Dinah, I said: Do you like the housekeepers to lock up things2"
 q neber did mine'' she said. "And dey couldn't do muffin else dere wuz so many theivin' niggers round all de time. We sho did get more to eat in dem days, wid things locked up den, we does now wib ebery thing wide open. Folks in dem days lived fine. 'Twant nothin' fur Ole Miss to have fur her Sunday din- ner roast pig, a baked turkey, and a leg ob mutton, and all de vegetables and condimens to go wid 'em dat you could think ob. Nowadays dey strings things out on what dey calls courses and it sho is poor white folks way ob doing, 'cordin' to my way ob think in'."