Uncle Tom's Cabin

in Uncle

d a variety of fruits and vegetables, flourished under careful tending. The whole front of it was covered by a large scarlet bignonia and a native multiflora rose, which, entwisting and interlacing, left scarce a vestige of the ro

he fire, presiding with anxious interest over certain frizzling items in a stew-pan, and anon with grave consideration lifting the cover of a bake-kettle, from whence steam forth indubitable intimations of "something good." A round, black, shining face is hers, so glossy as to suggest the idea that she might have been washed over with white of eg

she was always meditating on trussing, stuffing and roasting, to a degree that was calculated to inspire terror in any reflecting fowl living. Her corn-cake, in all its varieties of hoe-cake, dodgers, muffins, and other species too numerous to m

e all the energies of her soul; and no sight was more welcome to her than a pile of travel

the bake-pan; in which congenial operation we shall

the whole corner, in fact, were treated with distinguished consideration, and made, so far as possible, sacred from the marauding inroads and desecrations of little folks. In fact, that corner was the drawing-room of the establishment. In the other corner was a bed of much humbler pre

in superintending the first walking operations of the baby, which, as is usually the case, consisted in getting up on its fee

Uncle Tom, Mr. Shelby's best hand, who, as he is to be the hero of our story, we must daguerreotype for our readers. He was a large, broad-chested, powerfully-made man, of a full glossy black, and a face whose truly African features

endeavoring to accomplish a copy of some letters, in which operation he was overlooked by young Mas'r Georg

skly, as Uncle Tom laboriously brought up the tail of

s his young teacher flourishingly scrawled q's and g's innumerable for his edificati

a scrap of bacon on her fork, and regarding young Master George with pride. "The way he can write, now!

ty hungry," said George. "Isn't th

e for dat. Missis let Sally try to make some cake, t' other day, jes to larn her, she said. 'O, go way, Missis,' said I; 'it really

d disclosed to view a neatly-baked pound-cake, of which no city confectioner need to have been ashamed. This being evi

ome fin, by and by. Now, Mas'r George, you jest take off dem books, and set down now with my old man, a

e house," said George; "but I knew what

ur old aunty'd keep the best for you. O, let you alone for dat! Go way!" And, with that, aunty gave George a n

griddle department had somewhat subsided; and, with that, the

id dat ar great heavy knife! Smash all down-spile all de pretty rise of it. Here, I've got a thin old knife, I keeps

aking with his mouth full, "that th

n' up anything in style, they don't begin to have a notion on 't. Set Mas'r Lincon, now, alongside Mas'r Shelby! Good Lor! and Missis Lincon,-can she kinder sweep it into a room

u say," said George, "that J

igher branches, and what can she do? Why, she makes pies-sartin she does; but what kinder crust? Can she make your real flecky paste, as melts in your mouth, and lies all up like a puff? Now, I went over thar when Miss Mary was gwine to be married

ught they were ever

e family an't nothing! She can't be spected to know! 'Ta'nt no fault o' hem. Ah, Mas'r George, you doesn't know

udding privileges," said George. "Ask Tom Lincon

slapping and poking Mas'r Georgey, and telling him to go way, and that he was a case-that he was fit to kill her, and that he sartin would kill her, one of these days; and, between each of these sanguinary predictions,

uns will be up ter! Ye crowed over Tom? O, Lor!

m, you ought to see some of Aunt Chloe'

r just ask him here to dinner, some o' these times, Mas'r George," she added; "it would look quite pretty of ye. Ye know, Mas'r George, ye oughtenter feel

"and you do your prettiest, Aunt Chloe, and we'll make him star

ody has de heaviest kind o' 'sponsibility on 'em, as ye may say, and is all kinder "seris' and taken up, dey takes dat ar time to be hangin' round and kinder interferin'! Now, Missis, she wanted me to do dis way, and she wanted me to do dat way; and, finally, I got kinder sarcy, and, says I, 'Now, Missis, do jist look

mother say?"

e, I think you are about in the right on 't,' says she; and she went off in de parlor. She oughter cracke

h that dinner,-I remember ev

e de General pass his plate three times for some more dat bery pie?-and, says h

bery fustest families in Old Virginny! He knows what's what, now, as well as I do-de Gineral. Ye see, there's pints in all pies, Mas'r George;

ances, when he really could not eat another morsel), and, therefore, he was at leisure to notice the pile

ral bits, and throwing it at them; "you want some,

her baby on her lap, and began alternately filling its mouth and her own, and distributing to Mose and Pete, who seemed rather to p

, when the movement became too obstreperous. "Can't ye be decent when white folks comes to see ye? Stop dat a

ult to say; but certain it is that its awful indistinctness seeme

are so full of tickle all the whi

nd, with hands and faces well plastered with

to de spring and wash yerselves!" she said, seconding her exhortations by a slap, which resounded very formidably, but which seemed only to knock

ot on it, and began rubbing off the molasses from the baby's face and hands; and, having polished her till she shone, she set her down in Tom's lap, while she busied herself in clearing awa

her with his pocket-handkerchief, and Mose and Pete, now returned again, roared after her like bears, till Aunt Chloe declared that they "fairly took her head off" with their noise. As, according to her own stat

usy in pulling out a rude box of a trundle-bed; "and now, you Mos

wants to sit up to meetin',-mee

t 'em sit up," said Mas'r George, decis

ighly delighted to push the thing under, saying, as

ittee of the whole, to consider the accom

had been held at Uncle Tom's weekly, for an indefinite length of time, without any more "c

legs out of dat oldest cheer

u pulled 'em out; some o' y

it only keeps jam up ag

s hitches when he gets a singing. He hitched prett

inners, hear me tell,' and den down he'd go,"-and Mose imitated precisely the nasal

can't ye?" said Aunt C

, and declared decidedly that Mose was a "buster." So t

nt Chloe, "you'll have t

'r George was reading 'bout, in de good book,

id Pete, "and let 'em all down in de middle

om rolling, by stones on each side, boards were laid across them, which arrangement, together with the turnin

know he'll stay to read for us," said Aunt Chloe;

your boy is always ready for anyt

ssis was a going to give Lizzy that spotted muslin gown, when she'd got her new berage made up;" and how Mas'r Shelby was thinking of buying a new sorrel colt, that was going to prove an addition to the glories of the place. A few of the worshippers belong

ould prevent the effect of the naturally fine voices, in airs at once wild and spirited. The words were sometimes the well-know

ich ran as follows, was sung

he field

e field o

in my

avorite had oft r

glory,-won't you

ngels beck'ning, an

golden city and th

assioned and imaginative, always attaches itself to hymns and expressions of a vivid and pictorial nature; and, as they sung, some laughed,

se I don't know when I'll be gone to glory; but I've done got ready, chil'en; 'pears like I'd got my little bundle all tied up, and my bonnet on, jest a waitin' for the stage to come along and take me home; sometimes, in the night, I think I hear the wheels a rattlin', and I'm lookin' out all the time; now, yo

n, brigh

or the land

ften interrupted by such exclamations as "The sakes now!" "Only h

w in expositions of his own, from time to time, with a commendable seriousness and gravity, for which he was admired by the young and b

ty, sincere style of his exhortations might have edified even better educated persons. But it was in prayer that he especially excelled. Nothing could exceed the touching simplicity, the childlike earnestness, of his prayer, enriched with the language of Scripture, which seemed so entirely to have wrought itself into his being, as to have bec

cabin of the man, one quite otherwis

her in the dining room afore-named, at a ta

f bills, which, as they were counted, he pushe

trader; "and now fo

eable business, and then pushed them over with the money. Haley produced, from a well-worn valise, a parchment, w

g's done!" said the

musing tone; and, fetching a long

uch pleased with it, 'pea

t you promised, on your honor, you wouldn't sell Tom,

t done it sir,"

ll know, obliged me,"

est I can in gettin' Tom a good berth; as to my treatin' on him bad, you needn't be a grai

id not feel particularly reassured by these declarations; but, as they were the best comfort the c