Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1892-08-04
NOSE AND THE EGGS.
She Was Sure He Counted Right Because
She Heard Him.

Oh0 :" A5 CuEo Nb NOuhteu ItlKhB because
She Heard Him.
Old Nose, who sells eggs and chickens
on the streets of Austin for living, is
as honest an old negro as ever lived, but
he has got the habit of chatting familiar
ly with his customers, hence he fire.
quently makes mistakes in counting out
the eggs they buy. He carries his wares
around in a small cart drawn by a di-
minutive donkey. He stopped in front
of the residence of Mr.. Samuel Burton.
The old lady herself came out to the
gate to make the purchases.
Have you got any eggs this morning,
Uncle Mose?" she asked.
"Yes, indeed l has. Jess got in ten
dozen from de kentry."
"Are they fresh?"
II guantees 'em. 1 knows dey am
fresh"
"I'll take nine dozen. You can just
count them into this basket"
"All right, num-" he counts: "One,
two, free, foah, five, six, seben, eight,
nine, ten. You kin rely on dem bein
fresh. How's your son coming on al
school? He mus be mos grown"
"Yes, 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-tree, twenty.
foah, twenty-five, and how's your gal
comm on? She was mos growed up de
las time seed her."
"She is married and living in Dallas. u
"Wall, l declar. How the times scoots
away! An you says she has childruns!
Why, how ole am de gal? She must be
jess about
"Thirty-three."
Gam dat SO (counting), firty-free, firty-
foah, firty-fve, firty-six, firty-seben,
firty-eight, firty-nine, forty, forty-one,
forty-two, forty-free. Hit am singler
dat you has sich old childruns. l can't
bleeve you has gran childruns. You
don't look morte den forty yeahs old,
yerseff."
Nonsense, old man; 1 see you want
to f1atter me. When person gets to be
fifty-three years old"-
"Fifty-free? l jess dun gwinter
bleeve hit, fifty-free, fifty-foah, fifty
five, fifty-six-I want you to pay ten
shun when l counts de eggs, so dar'll be
no mistake-ffty-n nine, sixty, sixty-one.
sixty-two, sixty-free, sixty-foah. Whew!
Dat am warm day. Dis am de time
OBJ yeah when l feels Use gettin ole my
se'f. l amt long fer dis world. Yo,,
comes from an ole family. When yore
fodder died he was sebenty years ole."
"Seventy-two.'
"Dat's Old suah. Sebenty-two, seben-
ty-free, sebenty-foah- sebenty-ive, seb-
enty-six, sebenty-seben, sebenty-eight,
sebenty-nine-and your mudder? She
was one oh de noblest looking ladies !
ebber see. You reminds me OBJ her so
much. She libbed to mos a hundred.
l bleeves she was done pass a centurion
when she died"
''No, Uncle Nose, she was only ninety
six when she died"
"Den she warn't no chicken when she
died. know dat-ninety-six, ninety
seben, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one
hundred, one, two, free, foah, five, six,
seben, eight-dar 10S nice fresh eggs
jess nine dozen, and here am one noah
egg in case l has discounted myself"
Old Nose went on his way rejoicing.
A few days afterward Mrs. Burton said
to her husband:
81 am afraid we will have to dis
charge Matilda. am satisfied she steals
the milk and eggs. 1 am positive about
the eggs, for I bought them day before
yesterday, and now about half of them
are gone. stood right there and heard
Old Nose count them myself, and there
were nine dozen. "A. E. Sweet in
Texas Siftings.