“Thankee, mistis! thankee, honey; an’ God bless yer!”

And then Chris, who had been looking anxiously every moment or two towards the quarters, cried out,

“Yon’ dey is!  I see um!  Yon’ dey come!”

And down the long avenue appeared the funniest sort of a procession.  First came Aunt Nancy, the “tender,” with her head handkerchief tied in a sharp point that stuck straight up from her head; and behind her, two and two, came the little quarter negroes, dressed in their brightest and newest clothes, All were there—­ from the boys and girls of fourteen down to the little wee toddlers of two or three, and some even younger than that; for in the arms of several of the larger girls were little bits of black babies, looking all around in their queer kind of way, and wondering what all this was about.

The procession drew up in front of the house, and Diddie, Dumps and Tot went from one end of it to the other distributing candies and apples, and oranges and toys; and how the bright faces did light up with joy as the little darkies laughed and chuckled, and I dare say would have jumped up and clapped their hands but for Aunt Nancy, who was keeping a sharp eye upon them, and who would say, as every present was delivered,

“Min’ yer manners, now!”

At which the little nigs would make a comical little “bob-down” courtesy and say, “Thankee, marm.”

When the presents were all delivered, Major Waldron told the negroes that their mistress and himself were going to the quarters to take presents to the old negroes and the sick, who could not walk to the house, and after that he would have service in the chapel, and that he hoped as many as could would attend.

Then the crowd dispersed, and the children’s mamma filled a basket with “good things,” and presents for old Aunt Sally, who was almost blind; and poor Jane, who had been sick a long time; and Daddy Jake, the oldest negro on the place, who never ventured out in bad weather for fear of the “rheumatiz;” and then, accompanied by her husband and children, she carried it to the quarters to wish the old negroes a happy Christmas.

The quarters presented a scene of the greatest excitement.  Men and women were bustling about, in and out of the cabins, and the young folks were busily engaged cleaning up the big barn and dressing it with boughs of holly and cedar; for you see Aunt Sukey’s Jim was going to be married that very night, and the event had been talked of for weeks, for he was a great favorite on the place.

He was a tall, handsome black fellow, with white teeth and bright eyes, and he could play the fiddle and pick the banjo, and knock the bones and cut the pigeon-wing, and, besides all that, he was the best hoe-hand, and could pick more cotton than any other negro on the plantation.  He had amused himself by courting and flirting with all of the negro girls; but at last he had been caught himself by pretty Candace, one of the housemaids, and a merry dance she had led him.