The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-05-06
BROTHER GARDNER.
heath Comes Again to the Lime-Kiln
Club.

| CAhO.
A, At the last regular meeting of the
| Llme-kiln club. after the routine
business had been disposed of, Broth
er Gardner arose and said:
1T am known to most of us we're
tonight dat Brudden Shutdown Jack
son am wild us no mo-. He passed
| from a1rth away fo' days ago and
many of us war at de funeral.
1t am de usual thing in a case O.
/ uls KIND to lnterduces "a resolushun set
| TN 10th de many varchews of de de-
| ceased and expressin' our sorrer. We
| shaH do SO on dis occashun but 1
wish to say few words aside from
dat.
| Our resolushun says dat Brudden
jackson was an honest man. De idea
or co.se, is to praise him, but 1 am
thlnkln 1t would have been Just as
Wen iur de world, and a heap better
| iur Brudden jackson if he hadn't
| been quite so honest
| re known to de fack dat he lived
| alongside white mans watermillyon
| patch and saw de millyons rottin' on
| de ground and was too honest TO
| touch one. Oar was folks who won
| dered whether he was an honest man
| or fule.
Oar was at least 10 chicken coops
| IN dc alley whar Brudder jackson
| resided, but nebber once in de long
years did white man come to him
an ak him what had becum of dose
tat pullets. Oh, yes, de white man
| salu ne was an honest man, but I'm
| AKIN you If dat offsets chicken pie?
| Couldn't dar hav been a compromise?
| Couldnt Brudder Jackson have select
eo a tough old hen now and den and
| still retained his reputashun for hon
! esty?
"Brudder Jackson begun life wild a
me meWl and a beautiful wagon. In
year he was down to an ole wheel
barrer wild a wobbly wheel He had
been tradin'. He had been honest,
ana all de praise he got fur it was
| TO be called an idiot.
| Il was comm home one night wild
| 9 bag Of green con on my back when
| l encountered Brudder Jackson. He
| oldnt have muffin on his back 1
of1ered to divide de con wild him, but
when he found dat I had taken it
| from field widout AKIN de owners
| consent he refused to share. De con-
| sequence was dat L had con fur three
| days and he had none, and it turned
| out dat de white man was in Europe
| and expected de hull con field to be
| stolen, and didn't keer a hang If if
| was.
| On one occashun Brudder Jackson
! borrowed a dollar of me- He felt bad
| bekase L wouldn't take mortgage on
ms cook stove He wanted to glib me
| his note of hand. He sent me word
4
| shorely pay, and at length he cum to
| my CABIN one night after midnight and
| routed me outer bed to make good |
| patted him on de back and called him
an honest man, but at de same time 1
| took 1t dat he was soft in de head
If Brudder Jackson went to do stoh
and bought a two-shillin pair O. sus-
! penders, and de pink sweat out de first
| Gay he wore em, he didn't go back and
caI dat merchant a scoundre1 and liar.
NO. He jest said dat mistakes was
| liable to happen, and let it go at dat.
He'd chen go back to de same place
| and buy wooden socks dat was half
| cotton.
IF Brudder Jackson traded jack
knives he begun feelin' sorry fur de
odder Teller. By de time he was ready
| to trade he had tears in his ewes. and
wouldn't cut a turnip. De odder man
| said he was an honest man. but he
| also wondered when he would bring
up in de pore-nouse'
De resolushun to be introduced says
| that Brudder Jackson was a Christian
man. I'm shore he was-as he under
| stood it. I nebber quite agreed wild
| him. He thought it his Christian duty
to clean de snow off anoder's mans
walk. 1 didn't. 1 jest shoveled clus to
| de line and let it go at dat
"Brudder Jackson thought it his
Christian duty to help de heather of
Africa. I've knowed him to chip in
quarter when his children hadn't
tasted meat fur a week. I have aIlus
let de heather strike a job and airn
his own 1ibin, and 1 can't say dat my
conscience has cher trubbled me ober
| it.
Brudder Jackson felt it his Chris
tian duty to act as ianitor of de church
year after year widout a cent of pay
He'd sweep and dust and clean, and if
dar was shortage of wood he'd take
some from his own pile He was a1lus
prompt wild his pew rent, though he
knowed dat some of de rest of us was
! behind from seben to ten years. Meb-
| be de angels glib him a mighty big
credit mark for dis. but 1 dunno-I
dunno. De odder 800 members of de
church took things easy, and dey am
all spectin to slip into Heben when
| de time comes.
"Brudder Jackson thought it his
Christian duty to chip in for Sunday
school excursions, ana to buy new
shingles for de meetin' house. He was
praised for dis, but at de same time his
children was too ragged to go on ex-
cursions, ard dar was mo- holes in de
roof of his cabin dan in de roof of de
meetin house.
"Brudder Jackson thought it was his
Christian duty to advise a white man
| to sell his auto and divide de price up
among pore widows, and de bootin' he
| got kept him around home for four
days.
"Dis reso1ushun says dat Brudder
Jackson was good naybur. So he was,
| but don't reckon we'd better say too
much about it. He lent his AK. his
hoe, his shovel, his rake and his
| wheelbarrer and nebber dun got 'em
back agin. He'd bring home a pound
| o. coffee and lend all but a pinch If
! he brung home roast o. mutton his
| family nebber got half of it. For de
| last five years of his life Re was widout
| a clock or a teapot in de house, be-
kase he had lent 'em out.
1T try to be navbuly wild my nay
| burs, but Ize tellin' you dat when L
| lend a cup o. coffee or flatiron and
| dey don't cum back / hajnt at home
| to dat pusSon when he calls agin. A
oood paxyhur m a puSc0u who IA LeS a