The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-22

whip into the socket and
 tucked the laprobe about his knees and feet, "most folks heV reasons for their opinions about things, and I hev mine. A mules about the only critter that walks or sw1ms or mes thae can't figure out the why's and wnereiores of his opinions and moodus upperanoy.
 "well. I ain't a mule-not quite-and l bev a few reasons pasted onto the tail end of the six or eight ideas I can hitch up in the dark and drive through the gate 'thout ripping a. wheel on. 50 "heh Hank Bowser hollered 'cross rom the big road today and asked me If IS goin to the cantater down to the Zion cnureh a-Christmas, I says, Not by 1ugIui.
 CT got my reasons when was good many years younger. Yes, l am not so blamed purty as was then, but l nev a heap more sense! My first cantater cost me three thousand good hard dollars, to say nuthin' of sundry items or mortinca- ton of the flesh and anguish Of spirit.
 "Tildy Morgan was in them days, apont the likeliest bunch of young womannooa i'm this part of the country. That's what she was considered by the most compe- tent jedges and my opinion was pasterln in the same meadow. The fact is got to lilxin' her when we was little shavers goin' to school When we got older Ia beau her round some to the Grangers picnics, and buy tickets for her and me to ride in the Flyin' Jimmy Half dozen tin,es I guess. I took her to festivals over to Muttontown, and bought her ice cream. She'd always say thank you so sugaiy and tell me I was so kind and now she wished she had a brother like me. Hon- estly. she could feel grateful easier and tell 1t smoother than anybody else ever laid eyes on.
 Then we used to go to singin' school in my sleigh She was a purity fair 10 middlin' singer and knew lot aeout music, and fell into the business jest !, keep on the good side of her. h fact, I used to whistle all the way home after such trips and you'd a-thought, jest as I did, that I was forty rods ahead of anything a-coming down the pike-as re- yards Tildy
 "That was the standin' of matters when tba new railroad came up the creek, and Pan Morgan sold the coal under his farm. paid off his mortgages, painted the house, harm and fences, and lowed that his daughter could learn enough to teacn school if she went to the town academy. Tildy went. She was away about year, but 1t was a mighty long year when It unfolded itself and got stretched out.
 "She came home on a Friday--l remcm- Der 1t like it was yesterday. The next night a blind man could hev found me. [ was dressed up, purity as soap prize n;cture, sayin' my 'howdy' to Miss Tidy.
 "She was changed considerable in some ways. but we soon got acquainted. As l hev said, I'm not a full harvest hand at talkin'. and never was, and that night l didn't earn a boys keep. There wasn't half as much to the acre of my conversa- tion as there was before she went away. She talked about this and that school friend of hers, and made speeches about things I knew nuthin' about and never will see. She talked like a lawyer 'lec- tioneerin', and all said was yes and no. After I conversed in this comprehensive manner for an hour or so and said yes where no oughter been, jest said nuthin'. 'cept when she'd block her wheels md stop for wind. Then I'd chase up rmiIe-one of those you-know-I-think- vou're smart kind, cause I'd found out that was safer.
 "She wasn't stuck-up-ish or nuthin like that. hut jest seemed to hey lot of stun ,n her mind she had to now off before Eoit' ahead.
 "Tildy jest had to talk about town folks and town doin's to satisfy the family. but phe didn't try to act as If she had never picked blackberries or baked a stack of buckwheat cakes. She had too good sense