The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1894-04-21
THE LIN EkIlN CLUB.
Brother Gardner Diseourses Upon
Hygiene.

IaSt meeting OF the Llinekiln tiuu
had been finished Brother Gardner
arose and said:
II hev letter from de Stait Bod
OF Health OF Arkansaw inquarin' IL ii
am my opinyun, based on obserya-
shun, dat de cull'd d man has made any
progress in de matter Of hygiene
doorin' do las five vars. shall in
struct de secretary to reply to de ef-
feet dat he has made heap Of prog
ress an am gittin dar wild boat feet.
Time was when de Guild man did mt
know dat he had any constitushun,
system or health, but yo' can't fool
him no mo-.
Ten vars ago If Samuel Shin had
bin told dat it was unhealthy TO sleep
in close room, with three dawgs
under de bed an barl o soap
grease in co'ner, he would hev
smiled wild contempt. 1t was only
arter he had lost his left lung an had
his right knee sprung out OF shape
dat he began TO study de laws OF
health an drive de dawgs out doahs.
| kin remember callin' at de cabin OF
Shindig Watkins few vars ago.
Oar was nine pussons, TO dawgs.
guinea hen an two cats in de family,
an dey was all asleep in one room.
Brudder Watkins got up wild a head
ache. an when | limited ut
de laws Of health he looked
at me in de greatest astonishment.
Ten vars ago, if Giveadam Jones
had found 81 bill in de road, he
would hey bought watermi!lyon an
swalerd half de seeds an gnawed
clean down TO de bark. Den he would
hev heaved in dozen harvest apples,
six plums, II quart Of cherries, three
bananas an few pears. Oar would
still hev existed n vacuum, an he
would hev filled it wild II cocoanut, a
dish OF ice cream an about quart
Of lemonade.
He would hev gone to bed
as peart as yo' please, an had he
woke up at midnight wild de feelin'
dat wolves was bitin' him an ele-
plants walkin' on him, he would hev
claimed dat it was all on account
OF his wife wantin' new par o
shoes.
II kin remember goin' by de cabi
Of Waydr%n Bebee and seem his
picaninnies a-playin' in de yard
among slops, bones, cabbage stalks,
dishcloths, fish heads, chicken feath-
ers. old boots, bottles, cans an sich.
When | leaned ober de gate an spoke
OF hygiene, Brudder Bebee got mad
an wouldn't pay me de borrowed
/ l,nI Artn
shouldn't hev got it to dis day had l
not threatened him wild n lickin'.
He thoughtnit hardened de chile,
an he looked upon me as an old
crank.
"Up to five or six years ago no
Guild pussen suspected he had a
stomach. He sorter imagined his
food dropped down somewhar, but he
neither knew nor cared whar. De
idea was to keep de cavity full, an
it didn't make much difference wild
what. One day / found Brudder
Artichoke Johnson lyin' out back of
my cabin. He was jest de sickest
man | eber saw, an he claimed he
had been bit by a rattlesnake. 1t
didn't take me long to find out what
was de matter. He had eaten tur-
nips, onions, tomatoes, cabbages an
cowcumbers from my garden till dc
billyous collie was pullin' him apart.
| lifted him up an hooted him out
into de road, an explained de laws OF
| health to him, but it was hull
var befo' he would accept my state
ments.
Yes, | am glad to say, de Gull G
people of dis kentry hev made rapic
progress doorin' de las few yars IL
de matter of hygiene, an from di'
on dey will go ahead jest as fas
as white folks. Take de tlattest
headed niggar in de kentry, an if h'
finds bottle of medicine in de roaC
does he pull out de cork an imbib'
de contents ? Not much he used t.
do so, but he's heard about hygiene
He Jest puts dat bottle in his pocke
till he meets up wild n doctor an
finds out whether its port wine o
boss medicine. We doan' sleep wiz
our feet out Of de winder no mo-. w
doan' soak our heads in ice water t
cure chilblains. We doan' sleep i
feather bed with two blankets ODE
us in summer to keep consumptio
away, an we has diskivered seven o
eight ears of green con at a meal al
plenty 'nufr to keep de liver in goo
order. We am gettin along an tiv
vars hence we will be able to TAX
kcer of ourselves, an perhaps Civ d
white man some p'inters to boot
ISt. Louis Republic.