The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-04-24

fItD BY A MAN"
| can't git used to desc newfangled
noshuns. Seems like de world had
gone on and left me behind. Seems
like had been laid up on de shelf wild
old fashioned things to dry out and
become dust.
at makes me powerful sorry to note
dat de cull'd people am cuttin' away
from de simple life far mo- dan de
white folks. Fo'ty years ago arter my
days work was dun sot down by
my cabin ,doah and played de banjo
and was mighty glad to know dat dere
was taters and con meal In de house
fur breakfast. Nine o'clock was my
bedtime, and was up at 9 in de
mawnln' If white man come along
while / was workln' in, de garden It
wasn't any strain on me to talk wild
him. / didn't have to rack my brain
fur big words. Sometimes had hard
cider TO drink but most of de time 1t
was only water. If fried oysters and
lobster salad had been invented in
dose days | had not heard Of 'em. II
| had gone to de barber shop fur
hair cut Mrs. Gardner would have
thought de Jedgment had come. II
had come in and found her manicurin
her nails my knees would have wab-
bled.
"ln dose good old days we ate Off OF
tin plates. If company drapped in
an evenin' buttermilk was thought
good nun to pass around fur refresh
ments. We all talked, but nobody
lugged in Shakespeare and de dlction-
ary. Nobody axed hisself to git up
and sing or recite. De women talked
about callker dresses instead Of edo
| opera, and de men didn't have any
| patent leather shoes to shove into
view. And when de company had dc
parted Mrs. Gardner and me didn't
sit up de rest of de night pltchin' into
'em and tryin' to make out dat dey
was on de way to de poo'house.
A Good Life.
''It was a simple life, but good life.
You could leave your spade and hoe
in de garden obernight and dey were
right dar in de mawnin'. You could
leave de doah OF your hencoop un.
locked and de hens would be dar next
day. If we traded nevis we p'inted
out de spavins, and we neber come
home at night and found dat de ole
woman had skipped out wild some cd
der man. We didn't know muffin about
politics and we keered less. When we
met up wild strange man We didn't
wonder how much Doodle he had got
away wild. but took him as an homes
pusson and gin him a show.
"In dose ole days when Sunday com,
took Mrs Gardner on my arm and
walked a mile or mo- to de meetin
house. We all sot down on hard
benches. We all fined in de singin'
De preacher didn't squint and peel
around befo beginnin' his sermon I,
see how many rich sinners was pres
ent, but he Jest went right at it slam
bang and hit right and left. He didn'
say dat de sinner wuth millyon dol
lars stood a purity good show Of goln
to heaven, while de sinner wild only I
dollar in his pocket was gwine straigh
TO de roastin' place, but he put us al
in de same pen. 1t was 'jine de churcl
or sulphur and brimstun fur rich ant
poo alike.
Oar was newspapers In dose days
and once in awhile | got hold OF on'
and spelled de words out. Dey spokt
respectfully OF de- government; de.
wasn't full OF pictures for de babies
you might read dozen and not fin,
a society scandal Husbands and wive
'peared to be satisfied wild each other
and dere wasn't any talk bout mem
bers OF de Legislature sellin' DER votes
If de papers differed wid mans poll
ties dey didn't call him a liar and
hoss thief 70 show dat dey were right
MY frens. when you realize WIN
was and what Is KIN you blame an oil
man fur lameutin' dat de day ha