Smyrna times., 1885-08-26
How Old Nose Counted Eggs.

Old Nose, who sells eggs and chick
ems on the streets of Austin for living,
is as honest an old negro as ever lived,
but he has got the habit of chatting
Familiarity with his customers, hence
he frequently makes mistakes in count
ing out the eggs they buy. He carries
his wares around in a small cart drawn
by a diminutive donkey. He stopped
in front of the residence of Mrs. Sam
uel Burton. The old lady herself came
out to the gate to make the purchases.
" Have you any eggs this morning,
Uncle Mose?" she asked.
eyes, indeed has Jest got in ten
dozen from the kentry."
care they fresh?"
"I gua'ntee 'em. l know dey am
fresh jess the same as eff had laid 'em
myself"
"I'll take nine dozen. You can just
count them into this basket"
"All right, num-" He counts, cone,
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"
eyes, Uncle Nose, he is a clerk in a
bank at Galveston"
"Why, how ole am de bOy?"
"He is eighteen"
"YOu don't tOle me so. Eighteen
and getting a salary already, eighteen
(cOunting), nineteen, twenty, twenty
one, twenty-five, twenty-free, twenty
foah, twenty y-five, and hOw's yOre gal
comm on? She was mos grOwed up
de las time | seed her"
"She is married and living in Dallas. "
"Wall, / declar'. How the times
scoots away! An yo' say she has chill
drums? Why, how ole am de gal
She mus be jess about
''Thirty-three"
Gam dat SOP (counting), iirty-free,
frty-foah, frty-fve, firty-six, frty-seb-
en-, frty-eight, firty-nine, forty, forty
one, forty-two, forty-free. Hit am SO
singular dat you has sich old childruns
I can't b'leeve you has granchildruns
You don't look more den forty yeahs
ole yerseff."
Nonsense, old man, see you want
to fatter me. When a person gets tC
be fifty-three, years old"
"Fifty-free? I jess dun gwintel
b'leeve hit, fifty-free, fifty-foah, fifty
five, fffty-six,-I want you to pay ten
shun when counts de eggs, so darl
be no mistake-ifty-nine, sixty, sixty
one, sixty-two, sixtv-free, sixty-foah-
Whew. Dat am warm day. Dis an
the time OBJ yeah feels Use gettin' oil
myself. l amt long fer dis world
You come from an old family. Whel
your fodder died he was sebenty year
OLE"
"Seventy-twO."
'Dat's old, suah. Sebenty-twO, sch
enty-twO, sebenty-free, sebenty-foah
sebenty-fve, sebenty-six, sebenty-set
en-, sebenty-eight, sebenty-nine-an
, your mudder? She was one OBJ de nc
, blest looking.ladies eber see. YO
reminds me of her so much. She lit
bed to mos a hundred. I bleeve sh
t was done pass a centurion when sh
: died"
mo, uncle Nose, she was only ninety
: six when she died"
| "Den she warn't no chicken whe
she died. l know that-ninety-sil
5 ninety-seben, ninety eight, ninety-nin
| one hundred, one, two, free, fOah, fiv
e six, seben, eight-dar 108 nice fres
f eggs-jest nine dozen, and here am or
l moan egg in case 1 has discounted N.
self.
r Old Nose went on his way rejoicing
n A few days afterward Mrs. Burton sal
5 to her husband:
C 81 am afraid we will have to di
e charge Miltilda. l am satisfied ST
c steals the milk and eggs. l am pos
a tive about the eggs, for l bought the
day before yesterday, and now abo
half of them are gone. l stood rig
o there and heard Old Nose count the
y myself and there were nine dozen." "
IS TerGs Siftings.