The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-05-09
TALKING UP THE EGGS.
How old Nose Was Helped Along by H1s
EfOquence.


How Old Nose Was Helped Along by H1s
EfOquence.
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 Familiarity
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 diminutive DON
key. He stopped in front of the residence
of Mrs. Samuel Burton. The old lady her
self came out to the gate to make the pur-
chases.
''Have you got any eggs this morning,
Uncle Mose?' she asked
Eyes, indeed, has. Jess got in ten
dozen from de kentry."
"Are they fresh?''
al gua'ntees 'em- I knows dey am
fresh"
I'm take nine dozen. You can Just
count them into this basket. "
IAN right, mum" He counts: zone,
two, free, foah, five, six, seben, eight, nine,
ten. You kin rely on dem being fresh.
How's your son comm on at &c school. He
mus be mos grown?"
Yes, Uncle Nose, he is clerk in a bank
in Galveston"
"Why how ole am de boy?''
''He is IS. -
You C0n'J UOI6 lie So G1g0D06Q, an
gittin a salary already. Eighteen Count
ing) nineteen, twenty, twenty-twenty-
one, twenty two, twentythree, twenty
foah, twenty five-and how's yore gal
comm on? She was mos growed up de las
time 1 see her"
''She's married and living in Dallas.'
"Waal I declar' How de time scoots
away An you say she has childruns?
Why how ole am de gal? She must be jess
about
Thirty three"
Gam dat SOP (Counting) Firty three,
f1rty-foah, flrty-fve, frty-six, frty- seben,
frty- eight, frty-nine, forty, forty-one,
forty-two, forty-free Hit am SO singler
dat you has SIGH ole childruns. 1 can't
b'leeve you has gran 'childruns. You don't
look more den forty yeahs ole yerself."
Nonsense old man, I see you want to
fattef me. When person gets to be fifty
three years old''-
"Eifty- free? jess don't gwinter b'leeve
hit. Fifty-free, fifty-foah, ffty-fve, fifty
ski want you to pay tenshun when I
counts de eggs, SO dar'u be no mistake
fifty nine, sixty, sixty-one, sixty-two,
| sixty free, sixty -foah-whewl Dat am a
warm dayl Dis am de time OBJ yeah when
| 1 feels I'ze gettin ole myself / amt long
fer dis world. You comes from an ole
family. When yore fodder died, he was
sebenty years ole. -
Seventy two"
''Dat's DID, suah. Sebenty-two, sebenty-
! free, sebenty -foah, sebenty-fve, sebenty-
six, sebenty -seben, sebenty eight, sebenty-
nine-and yore mudder? She was one OBJ
de noblest lOolxin ladies I ebber see. You
reminds me OBJ her so much. She ibbed
to mos a hundred. b'leeves she was done
pass a centurion when she died.
'No, Uncle Nose; she was only 90 when
she died.
''Den she warn't no chicken when she
died. I know dat-ninetysix, ninety
seben, ninety eight, ninety nine, one hum
bred, one two, free, foah, five, six, seben,
eight. Dey is one hundred and eight nice
fresh eggs, jess nine dozen, and here am
one noah egg in case 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 discharge
Matilda. She steals. L am positive about
the eggs, for 1 bought them day before
yesterday, and now about half of them are
gone. I stood right there and heard old
Nose count them myself, and there were
| nine dozen, ''-TeXas Siftings.