Carlisle Patriot 23 April 1880 23 April 1880 Brother Gardner

23 April 1880 Brother Gardner

BROTHER GARDNER ____ Remarked Brother Gardner of the Limekiln Club, “I fur one, hev been pained   to observe a growin’ desire on de part o’ cull’d folkes to knock deir chill’ en  down wid silver-plated front names. Up in my block ebery cabin hez a Hortense,  or a Maud, or a Genevieve, who will grow up to go barefoot in summer an’ bend  over de washtub in winter. I believe dat half what ails de (N-word) nowadays am deir fancy names. I   tell you dey am a powerful burden for a chile to carry. No young gal wid a big   foot an’ a mouf like a sassar am gwine to look any opurtier fur bein’ called   Cleopatra Viva Clarabell. No, sah. Ize a believer in de good old fashun names,  sich as Polly, Dinah, Sam, Tom and Jim. Dar’s sunthin’ squar’ an’ honest in ‘em,  an’ dey weigh sixteen ounces to de pound. Dis kentry am tryin’ to get rid of  ‘em, an’ banks are bustin’ men stealin,’ towns burnin’ up, and tornadies  sweepin’ o’er de land. I tell ye, an honest straight forward name is half to’rds keeping’ a chile   honest, an’ if I kept a grocery store I’d trust Moses all day long, an keep boaf  eyes on Adolphus!”

 

< Prev		Next >