The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-24
playhouse. Pears like you don't get your statements fastened together like.''

statements fastened together like.'
 Does sound kind O queer, don't it?" said old man Greenhut placdly. There was a man in Greenvlle, where l come from" he went on, "'t was recloned the best eddicated man in Mississippi name O Buck Siffers. Feared like there wan | nothin whatever t couldn't do with d deck O cards
 Reason was, he begin young. Old man SifferS d ben conSidera blee of a player in his day, but he'd fell off in his declinin' years, bein' as his fingers got too stiff fir to be real skilful. There was some laid it to gout, but he said twan't nothin' but lack O trainn' when he was young, n he swore t the boy shouldn't never have no reason fir to re- proach him along O not bein brung up proper, so he used to make Buck practice four hours day religious, i'm the time he was old enough to shuffle a deck. Tn old man knowed we'll enough how things had ought for to be did but as his fingers want supple no more, an he reckoned on trainin' Buck sos t hisn d stay sup pie.
 He teached the boy all he knowed, an then used to watch him shuffle an deal, lambastin' him good and proper when he done anythin clumsy enough fir to be catched a-doiu of it.
 Just natur'ly, with that kind of a prac- tical eddication Buck Siffers growed up to be holy terror at the card table. Played consid'able among the youngsters and 'cumulated quite some propty, sich as niggers an mules, afore he was old enuogh fir to take title in his own name, n by the time his mustache sprouted he'd set into a full grown mans game whenever he'd get a chanst
 'F'm the way he swatted em right an left when his friends an neighbors d set in with him peared like tn want no question O him bein one O the Lords anointed, an twa'nt long afore there want none O the Greenvillians d play with him.
 Them sure was happy days fir old man Siffers, bein' as he seen his old age D p'vided for. Buck wouldn't low tn old man for to play no more, tellin him 'twa'nt seemly fir a man O his years to be workin fir a Twin when he had son as was able an willin fir to look after him, so tn old man got religion an joined the Methodist church n set tied down fr life with nothin' on airth to do but keep track O the way Buck Siffers was buildin up the family for tunes, the same havn' suffered consid- 'eble losses while tn old man was failin in his stren'th n skill.
 
 neighbors come to see twa'nt no use tryin' to play poker with him he done got back alft tn old man d lost an consid'able more, sos t the Siffers plan tation was better stocked n it ever had been afore, an there was some t reck- oned. Buck was nigh about the richest man in the hull county But there want nobody them days t had a word to say gin Buck n'r az in tn way he played.
 "Buck -Siffers want nothin but young man, though, afore there come q sort O Hull into his good fortune, bein' as he couldn't pear to get into no con- sid able game no more 'thouten some stranger, come along t thought he cd play, an strangers want none plentiful in Greenville them days, so there'd be days n weeks when there want nothin' fir him to do except keep up his four hours practice, which same he arays did, religious, to the day of his death. He sure were a man diligent into his business what the scripter says c'n alays stand pat agin kings.
 "Bein as he couldn't get no play