ut. Why, 'Fambly' got so prosperous
that one day, whenst a' ole, drunken, cripple, ragged man war passin',
they enj'yed themselves mightily, laffin' at somebody po'rer than
themselves. An' ole Pa'son Tyson war goin' by in his gig, an' _he_ tuk
note o' the finger o' scorn, an' he stopped. He said mighty leetle,
but he tuk the trouble ter cut a stout hickory sprout, an' he gin
'Fambly' a good thrashin' all roun'. It lasted 'Fambly' well. They
ain't laffed at 'God's pore' sence! Waal, 'Fambly' 's takin' up too
much o' this enlightened assembly's attention. Enough to tell what's
kem o' 'Fambly.' The oldes' gal went ter free school, l'arned ter
read, write, an' cipher, an' married Pa'son Tyson's son, ez air a
minister o' the gospel a-ridin' a Methodis' circuit in north Georgy
now. An' the second gal"--his voice faltered--"_she_ went ter free
school, l'arned mo' still o' readin' an' writin' an' cipherin', an'
taught school two year down on Bird Creek, an' war goin' ter be
married ter a good man, well-ter-do, who had built her a house, not
knowin' ez God hed prepared her a mansion in the skies. She is livin'
_thar_ now! An' las', the Benjamin o' all the tribe, kems my brother
Walter. _He_ went ter school; kin read, write, an' cipher; he's been
taught ez much ez any man ez ever held the office he axes ter be
'lected ter, an' air thoroughly competent. Fac' is, gentlemen, thar's
nothin' lef' ter show fur the humble 'Fambly' Mr. Markham's be'n
tellin' 'bout, but me. I never went ter school, 'ceptin' in yer
fields. I l'arned ter cure hides, an' temper steel, an' shoe
horse-critters, so that pot mought be kep' a-b'ilin', an' 'Fambly'
mought dine accordin' to thar humble way in them very humble days that
somehow, gentlemen, I ain't got an' can't git the grace ter be 'shamed
of yit."

He paused abruptly as he concluded the recital of his speech, and
wiped his face with the back of his hand. "I wisht ye could hev hearn
them men cheer. They jes' hollered tharse'fs hoarse. They shuck hands
till they mighty nigh yanked my arm out'n its socket." With the
recollection, he rubbed his right arm with a gesture of pain.

Something there was in the account of this ovation that smote upon the
younger brother's sense of values, and he hastened to take possession
of it.

"Oh, I knowed I war powerful pop'lar in the Sycamore Gap deestric',"
he said, dropping his lowering manner, that had somehow been
perceptible in the darkness, and wagging his h