soil is
mainly a question of pruning and selection, and clothes grow upon the
commonest bush.

As she turned to go, I even offered her my best wishes, and when I
laughingly asked her if I might help her with her wedding-dress, she
turned and looked at me.

"Bless yo' heart, Mis' Gladys," she exclaimed, "_I ain't gwine out o'
mo'nin'_! I gwine marry Pete in des what I got on my back. I'll _marry_
him, an' I'll take dem little no-'counts o' his'n, an' I'll make
_folks_ out'n 'em 'fo' I gits th'ough wid 'em, ef Gord spares me; but
he nee'n't ter lay out ter come in 'twix' me an' my full year o'
mo'nin' fur Numa. When I walks inter dat chu'ch, 'cep'n' fur de owange
wreaf, which of co'se in a Christian ma'iage I'm boun' ter wear, folks
'll be a heap mo' 'minded o' Numa 'n dey will o' de bridegroom. An' dem
chillen o' his'n, which ain't nuver is had no proper mo'nin' fur dey
mammy--no mo' 'n what color Gord give 'em in dey skins--I gwine put 'em
in special secon' mo'nin', 'cordin' to de time dey ought ter been
wearin' it; an' when we walks up de island o' de chu'ch, dey got ter
foller, two by two, keepin' time ter de fun'al march. You come ter de
weddin', Mis' Gladys, an' I lay you'll 'low dat I done fixed it so dat,
while I'm a-lookin' out fur de livin', de dead ain't gwine feel
slighted, right nur left."

She was starting away again, and once more, while I wished her joy, I
bade her be careful to make no mistake. A note of sympathy in my voice
must have touched the woman, for she turned, and coming quite up to me,
laid her hand upon my lap.

"Missy," she said, "I don't believe I gwine make no mistake. You know I
allus did love chillen, an' I ain't nuver is had none o' my own, an'
dis heah seemed like my chance. An' I been surveyin' de lan'scape o'er
tryin' ter think about eve'ything I can do _ter start right_. I'm
a-startin' wid dem chillen, puttin' 'em in mo'nin' fur Ca'line. Den,
fur Pete, I gwine ring de changes on Ca'line's goodness tell he ax me,
_for Gord sake, ter stop_, so, in years ter come, he won't have nothin'
ter th'ow up ter me. An' you know de reason I done tooken fo' days off,
missy? I gwine on a weddin'-trip down ter Pine Bluff, an' I wants time
ter pick out a few little weddin'-presents to fetch home ter Pete."

"Pete!" I cried. "Pete is going with you, of course?"

"Pete gwine wid me? Who sesso? No, ma'am! Why, missy, how would it look
fur me ter go a-skylarkin' roun' de country wid Pete--_an' me