blurt out one of those over-confident speeches of his, but checked

himself in time, and said humbly, 'I will, anyway.' It was years and

years and years ago. Well, you see those old wrecks are here yet."

But don't they do your housework?"

Laws! The idea. They would if they could, poor old things, and perhaps

they think they do do some of it. But it's a superstition. Dan'l waits

on the front door, and sometimes goes on an errand; and sometimes you'll

see one or both of them letting on to dust around in here--but that's

because there's something they want to hear about and mix their gabble

into. And they're always around at meals, for the same reason. But the

fact is, we have to keep a young negro girl just to take care of them,

and a negro woman to do the housework and help take care of them."

Well, they ought to be tolerably happy, I should think."

It's no name for it. They quarrel together pretty much all the time

-most always about religion, because Dan'l's a Dunker Baptist and Jinny's

a shouting Methodist, and Jinny believes in special Providences and Dan'l

don't, because he thinks he's a kind of a free-thinker--and they play and

sing plantation hymns together, and talk and chatter just eternally and

forever, and are sincerely fond of each other and think the world of

Mulberry, and he puts up patiently with all their spoiled ways and

foolishness, and so--ah, well, they're happy enough if it comes to that.

And I don't mind--I've got used to it. I can get used to anything, with

The American Claimant