The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-09-30
A NEW HIT.


her mother. 1T had two big roses in
'front.', one red and one yaller, and
hong wreath of flowers that went all
around the crown and hung down be-
hind. IL was SIGH tasty thing and only
two dollars and half. Dirt cheap, and
Just my colors, too. 1t would be so be-
coming to ne; and / tell you. ma, it
would take the shine outer every hat in
Sunday-school." Now as Delilah, or
Lilah Winters, as she was usually called,
was girl with a skin so black that char
coal wouldn't show a mark on it, il
might reasonably be inferred that any
color would harmonic with her COM
plexiOn. But she had her own tastes,
and wouldn't have been seen with blue
OF green ribbon for anything in the
world. Her mother, frugal Aunt Re
hecca, shook her head as she answered.:
Cant you fix up your ole hat, chile?
Times is 'stonishin' hard dis summer.
FL you got a new ribbon and freshened
up de flowers you mought make it look
spectacle"
For answer Lilah jerked down an old
bandbox from the top of an armoire,
and taking out a disreputable-looking
straw bonnet, very much battered in
the. crown and torn in the brim, she
held it up with disguised look.
"Whar is the iixin' to come in, ma,
when there amt anything to fix?" she
said. Look here, how it's broke up
and iammed I've had it now goin' on
three wear and the soakin' it got last
Sunday clean mashed it. Now Just look
ri it's
She clapped it on her head, and what
with the Tapping brim and generally
dilapidated crown, Aunt Rebecca, look
ing at the forlorn headgear, was forced
20 acknowledge there was no renovation
for it. 'sIts in an awful muss sure,
she said: "but whar in dis arth you Sc
sywine to git two dollars and half fur
5noder. beats me. kin tell you, Lilah.
your daddy"
"Lor. ma, why don't you say pa or
father" Lilah interrupted, impatiently.
She had been to school now for two
wears and had exchanged the quaint ex-
pressive African phraseology for Ian
syuage not a bit more grammatical, but
which she fancied gave her superiority
over her more ignorant parents. Aunt
Rebecca, however, stood up sturdily for
her own freedom of speech.
.'Well, 1 reckon, chile, daddy and
fader is much of a muchness, seem dey
slong to de same man. Seems to me
daddy is comfortabler, and you used
to say it sweeter dan you Sc cher sed pa
or fader. But dat amt gwine to help
YOU to two dollars and half l amt
got ten cents to my NAME"
" Well, I'm not goin' to wear that
contraption any more, not if | never
goes back to Sunday-school. Last SUD
day it went flippety-1op over my eyes,
and that impident Sarah Grant she snig-
giles and calls out. Put up the top of
your old barouche, Lilah, or it Ii punch
out your eyes
"She's a sassy, no-count limbr' Aunt
Rebecca cried out. touched to the quick
bv the insult Her NANNY was a
rapped field hand wen | was lady 5 maid
IN the biz house. | was brunged up
wid oen.le.OlkS and she wild scrubs, and
Sally Grant are her nanny over agln.
ri hal twenty dollar, Lilah, I'd gin il
90 YOU RAIDER dan hab Grant a-crowin'
ober nv darter But Amt got no money
and noting TO sell"
ssBut Ihasr cried Lilah, triumphant
". aftera minute thought. I've got
eight of the finest young chickens. Ev-
erybody's chickens died this year with
cholera and youcan't get one in Swamp
town Tor love or money. The folks
there tell me they'd give twenty-five or
Ghirty cents fur brilin' size chickens.
reckon | can get my price.
''You don't nebber mean to sell de
specify hens chickens?" Aunt Re-
becca cried out aghast. "Dem pullets
dat you've bin a-nussin' and a cOddlin'
eber since dey broke de shells? "
Now these chickens were the delight
of Lilah's soul. She had named them
ssll. and the idea of ever parting with
them had never before crossed he1
mind. A hat, though, she must have,
and how else was the money to be
raised? The cheap, gaudy, dreadful
Swamptown hat struck her fancy as the
most elegant she had seen, but it was
Sally Grants insults that ranked, and
drove he to sacrifice her pretty pets.
"My chicks will have to 90, ma,
she said with heavy sigh. 81 reckon
Mrs. Burton (she's the shop-keeper,
YOU know will take the chickens her
self and trade me the ha0 for 'em. I'll
take 'em to Swamptown tomorrow"
Aunt Rebecca said no more, but In
her secret soul she did not believe that
Lilah would ever bring herself to part
with her beloved puliets. Even when
she saw her that night take them
from the roost and secure them in 8
wicker basket, she muttered to herself,
''Wen mornin' comes she Il let them
loose again. knows her"
But Aunt Rebecca was mistaken this
time. The morning found Lilah gulp.
mo down her tears over the sacrifice,
but determined to make it. As she tieC
on her sunbonnet, she said to hel
mother:
Il amt caught but six OF the pullets
The other two look sick and droopy,
and | reckon I'd better let 'em alone
for a while"
Her mother nodded her head. 1T
don't pay to sell sick chickens, honey
DE folks links you do il a-purpose
You'll be passin' Granny HynsOn'
house, and | want you to stop and a.
how she is. l hearn tell she was nifty
had wild misry in her back and legs
Pore ole critter, she amt got no XII
here, and de Lord above knows how
she Ibis! l reckon she's one oh d,
Lords poor, and wot you does fur her
YOU does fur him.
Walking along to Swamptown. whicl
was about mile from her home. Lilal
found that the picture of poor old gran
nv. sick, helpless and alone, woul'
keep thrusting itself before the beatiti'
vision of the red and yellow hat.
Granny had come to that part of thu