enough to keep out of devilment
and ah knowed how to cook. Now these fools aroun here don' know nothin.
They never did see Linktum or Horace Greeley. Ah wishes it wuz work time
agin but ah caint hold out now."

"Ah never gits hot nor cold lak yo does. Ah takes mah cold bath ever
mornin and ah feels good."

Thus old aunt Pinkey rambled on and on talking of this and that and
especially the good days--slavery days. She evidently thought that some
of the army officers were Lincoln and Greeley. She probably heard her
master or mistress talk about these men and got them confused with the
army officers who visited in the home.

_Old Marion Johnson_ was seven years old when the war closed. Is 79 now.
"Chillun let me tell you ah don want to go over what I done been over.
Not agin. In slavery days we had plenty to eat and plenty to wear but
since then Oh, Lordy. My old Mawster's name was Alex Anderson and he
lived in Jackson Parrish, Louisiana. Yuh say youh wants me to tell you
some tales about ole times, ghostes and the like. Well ah sure can if ah
gits started but somehow I jest don' seem wound up this mawnin.

"One time there was a man what had a house full of daughters and his
girl Janie wanted to git married. Her lover asked her father's
permission to wed. He said: 'Well Mr. have you got any objection to me
and your daughter Janie maryin'?' The old man didn't want the young one
to see how anxious he was to get rid of his daughter so he said: 'You
wantin to marry my daughter, Janie? Janie don't want ter git married.'
The girl was behind the door listening and when her father said that she
spoke up and said: 'Yes I do pappa, bad.' The young man said: 'See there
now we both wants to git married.' The ole man spoke then and said:
'Well, damn you, dash you take her.'

"You know what the clocks says? The big old mantle clocks we used to
have ticked along real slow and they said: 'Take your time. Take your
time. Take your time.' The little alarm clocks of today say: 'Get
together. Get together. Get together.' And that is jes like the young
folks. When I was young the young folks them days young folks took their
time and went together a long time and they married they stayed married.
The young folks today rush around and get married in a week and fust
thing you knows they is done duvoced and married agin. They is jest as
diffunt as the clocks is diffunt.

"You knows if you makes up yo mind to do somethin and asks the Lord to