Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1885-11-20
EXTRAORDINARY MEMORY.

An Old Negroes Method of Counting
Eggs Not to ,e Commended.
Old Nose, who sells eggs and chick.
ems on the streets Of Austin for q iv.
ing. is as honest an old negro as ever
lived. but he has got the habit of chat
ting familiarly with his customers.
hence he frequently makes mistakes in
counting out the eggs they buy. He
carries his wares around in small
cart drawn by diminutiye donkey.
He stopped in front of the residence Of
Mrs. Samuel Burton. The old lady
herself came out to the gate to make
the purchases.
b""Have you got any eggs this morn
ing. Uncle MoseP" she asked. atsa
"Yes, indeed | has. jess got In ten
dozen from de kentry."d0i,I altut
"Are they freshrI .amaI fa .j.sss
''I guantees 'em. / knows dey am
fresh jess de same as eff had lad 'em
myself he73i bnonlgiH qfp
"I'll take nine dozen, Yol can jus,
count them into this basket " ( We 10
"All right. num-" he counts, d"onc,
two. free, foah, five, six, seben,
eight, nine, ten You kin rely on dem
bein' fresh. How's your son coming
on at de school. He mus be mos
grown"
"Yes, Uncle Nose, he Is a clerk in q
bank at Galveston" BE-. ayus1a bot
"Why how ole am de boyp"
He is eighteen III
lyon don't tole mo so. Eighteen
and getting a salary already, eighteen
(counting), nineteen, twenty, twenty
one, twenty-five, twenty-free, twenty
foah, twenty-five. and how's yore gal
comm on. She was mos growed up
de las time | seed her. p" a.'' ii',l'i I
''She is married and living in Dali
las"
Q''Wall,i I declar'. How de time
scoots awayl, An you says she has
childrunsP Why how ole am de galP
She must be jess about"
rThirty-three." 8,nYoB 8l
"Am dat so, (counting). firty-free,
flrty-foah. firty-five, firty-six, firty,
seben, firty-eight, firty-nine. forty
forty.one, forty-two. forty-free. Hit
ara. so singler, dat YOU has sich old
childruns. i can't bleeye you has gran
childruns. You don't look morte den
forty yeahs old. yerseff.'
AN onsense, old man. sec you want
to flatter me. When a person gets to
be fifty-three years olu--''
"Fifty-freeP jess dun gwinter
'bleeve hit iifty-free. fifty foah, fifty
tive, fifty-six-I want you to pay ten
shun when counts de eggs, SO dar'll
be no mistake -iifty-nine. sixty. sixty
one. sixty-two sixty-free, sixty-foah-
Whew. Dat AMI a warm day. Dis am
de time OBJ yeah, when / feels Use get
tin ole myself. l amt long fer dis
world. You comes from an ole family.
When yore fodder died he was sebenty
| years OLE"
/ "Sevehty-two." !"
rDat's DID, suah. Sebenty-two,
sebenty-free, sebcnty-foah, sebenty.
five. sebenty-six, sebenty-seben, seben.
ty-eight, sebenty-nne-and your mud
der? She was one OBJ de noblest look.
ing ladies l ebber see. You reminds
me OBJ her so much. She libbed to
mos hundred. l bleeves shc wat
done pass a centurion when she died.. v
a"No, Uncle Nose, she was only
ninety-six when she died. aA.Ylta
''Den she warn't no chicken wher
she died. know dat-ninety-six
ninety-seben, ninety-eight ninety-nine
one hundred, one, two, free, foah. five
six. seben, eight-dar 1O8 nice fresh
eggs jess nine DOZEN and here an
one noah egg in case / has discounted
myself" rs Il
Old Nose went on his way rejoicing
"A few days afterward Mrs Burton sait
to her husbands: hsi gigah ssiW
81 am afraid we will have TO DIS
charge Matilda. / am satisfied sh,
steals the milk and eggs. l am posi-
tive about the eggs, forI bought then
day before yesterday, and now 3bou
half of them are gone. | stood righ
there and heard Old Nose count then
myself and there were nine dozen." =.
-. Texas SifIin0a