The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1884-08-06
A SKETCH OF LIFE IN the
eACk-W GODS.
BETSY Says Everybody and Every
thing was Plentiful at Camp
mecting;F Fred Chicken and
Preachers Especiaiiy--Oid
Brother Cole Gets After
the Sinners, Etc

mules; thar was a plenty fuss a gwine on
IN line in with the preachin' aud Singh
and shou,in'. The gangs o ffolks a NOV
in around here and yam all time preach
in was enough to give a DO ~ a ht to
watch EN- and try to listen at preachin
too. was plum sorry for the babies. |
know in reason if they had ther d~ruthers,
| hey wouldn't never ten no campmeet-
ms DO little thugs lugged about IN the
HOT brilin' sun ~frettin' all the time, and
fed and stuffed on ginger cakes and green
| anrles and peaches, and set on a Old
! luilt on the ground whar the hounds and
the fee dogs could snatch the chicken
legs out q Their mouths, and mebbe so
Their mammies right then a shoutln and
don't know whose a watchln OF the Pc
little critters. Old Miss Cass tuck my
time; she alters set up nigh the pulpit,
and list as shore a. Brother Cole breaches
she lets in to shoutin.
She sot her little gal Mandy Ann in a
little cheer at her feet, and when she got
| 10 shoutin' and fallin' all over everybody,
somebody grabbed up Mandy Ann TO
keen her from gittin' hurt. Glory,
%plory," shouted old Miss Cass. "Whar
IS my little gal? Glory, glory; whar's
nv little cheer? Glory, gloryi' Some
bod find my little gal glory, glory.
Whose tuck my little cheer; glory, glo
ree-ee-ee whar's my little Mandy Ann
glory. Clio rec ~ee-ee,' and fell back in a
trance. They tuck her to the teat, and
Mandy Ann follered a squealin' at the
top of her voice. ;,
Campmeetin' is a great place for good
eatin' and for couples to court; and TOR
~ I'll A-a old
times. Miss Patience Potter was thar
riggcd out in her Sundlest best, and
| Caledony lowed the rainbow wasn't no
whar to the colors she was dlked out 10,
and her Sunday frock, they say she hadn't
wore it afore sense 4th OF July ten year
ago. 1t had been crammed ava In her
chist, and from the wrinkles 'peared like
| it had been drawed out n a gOurd.
Brother Cole is a old widower with
gran -chillun, but he flies around With
the l6-year-old gals and the po' ole man
never had no suspicious that pone OF them
widders and ole maids was a settin' Of
ther caps for him. Miss Patience had a
way u gwinc to him ever mornin' at
campmeetin' to talk about her srcrrit-
nal w"l far he was her parson, she lowed.
aud she had a right to talk TO him and it
wcru't nobody > business but her'n. She
abused herself turrible. and told him
thL.i she was a inner. add a bouighted
sin,er al that
Oh! II he coull have seed 70 the bot
/ tom Of her heart, how she loved to have
| i,iu. tel hc. that she was good. She ex-
pc,ed hin 10 praise her and he did. He
would tel. her that She WASH no wusser'n
thousands that walked to ald fro upon
the yetb but She KEEP on Il teliin him
that he was Il sinner oh sich a turrible
berieh'ei sinner. And | needs some
bod. " say She, TO lead me down the
lauk thorn besot path OF life in this be
nightel sin struck, on timely world"
He had disputed her beln' a sinner.
Ut his mind he wouldn't do it no more.
Mex. time he'd agree with her.
You thinks ! haint no sinner says
She, hut If you calls settin' up a Idle on
the yuth like the golden calf and a fallin'
d,vn and Il worsLipin' of it a sinner, thcr
[ krnw ! am a sinner, and a b%enIghtcd
-i.nrr at thai least-wayS the idle | wor-
shirs amt a calf, nor is he is it | NEAR
ny ways likcn unto a ca'f, but | wor.
shil> 1t all the same a, if it was a calf
ani she tuck a biz dip Of snuff.
Then old brother Cole put il IA big
chax Of terback.r and lowed . You
think, you air a sinner, and in cose you
knows the in ardness OF your own near
better'n me, and it haint for me to sputt
vour word: it looks reasonable to S pose
as how you knows, SO eff you maintain.
tina, YOU all a sinner | rcckin as how you
air."
She spit out the snuff and the tear,
come in her eyes. Miss Patience wa.
mad. She never looked for him to agre,
with her, and she was disappointed anC
was maxim mp her mind to tell him tina
she was as good and a sight better thai
some that sot THEMSELVES up for Chris
tians-some gals that he was a t1yin
around. too, but the tears Of disapp'int
ment was q chokin' other so she couldn'r
speak. He went gu:
"a Christian air a hard thing to find
| tell yOu, Mother Potter, a Christian all
A hard thing to find, and all that's lef
tor me to do now ,lother Potter, i
to"
lie aimed to say was to pray for her
but the old maid riz in her wrath. Sh,
could have stood his calm of her a sin
ner, and a benighted sinner at that. bur
when he come to call her Mother Pot
ter it made her mad, hoppin mad-i1
fairly riZ the dandcr o. her head.
III have you to understand" say.
she, THAT I'm no mother. You needn',
I'm not the mother of nobody, nor like.
wise the %stepmother of nobody there she
broke down cryiu' when she thought how
- lf-o - H.
mother Of his children), aud if you means
| haipt SO powerful young, but | let you
know if hits the cldness that you air a
hintin' at hat you haint no spring chick
en- your own self" and with that she ri7
and flirted up off'n the bench, aud left
him a ~wonderin' what he had done.
1t do look like a pity after a good sar
mont has been preached for SIGH a man as
old brother Cole to git up and Spite it
all. The fust night MIR. Morris preached
a good sarmont. He said enough but he
called on brother Cole, and lie rz and
ranted for about a rour.
"Brethering and s~istering,' says Re,
Il tell You 8 Christian. u rail sho' nuff
Christian, air a mOnstrous hard thing to
find ar. a counterfeit dollar or a spile't
aig looks as good as any tell you comes to
examine it ar. and bust it ar, then You'll
find. my bre'hering, that thar's a mighty
sight of difference ar, and so It's with q
Christian or ruther folks what calls Their
selves Christians ar. My bretherinc and
sistering, eff | was called upon to shoot a
Christian | would take aim and pint nv
gun all around at fust one and then
tother Everybody dodged) TO see who I'd
shoot and who | wouldn't ar, The stretch