" "Wull, lad, I've done the bes' I could for ye, I've" "Oh, Uncle Billy!" interrupted the boy, rising and laying his hand on the man's shoulder affectionately, "you know I don't mean that; I don't mean but what you've been awful good to me; jes' as good as any one ever could be; but it's sumpthin' dif'rent from that 'at I mean.

Choose the bes', lad, choose the bes'!"

Choose the bes', lad, choose the bes'!"

Which is the bes' way to go?" The man looked down at him wonderingly for a moment.

Jess stick to de place yo're planted, and do de bes yo knows; Be de sunflower or de daisy, de melon or de rose.

Ef you fellers air gwine ter set down an' let a wuthless nigger kill the bes' white man in Branson, an' not say nuthin' ner do nuthin', I 'll move outen the caounty.

I does my bes' ter keep yo' misdoin's f'm 'im, an' sense I b'en tu'ned out er de chu'chthoo no fault er my own, God knows!I've tol' lies 'nuff 'bout you ter sink a ship.

I know you're gwine ter do de bes' you kin fer me, an' I'm sorry I can't he'p you

"Den we'll be behind brick walls, an' dem other fellows 'll be outside, an' ef dere's any fightin', we'll have de bes' show.

[Illustration: THE WAR SPIRIT AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM ARDENT EGYPTOLOGIST (who has lately joined the Civic Guard): "No, I seem to have lost my enthusiasm for this group since I noticed Bes-Hathor-Horus was out of step with the other two."] April, 1915.

And as long as I work fo' Colonel Harvey, one uv de bes' men whut ever lived, we always had cotton-seed and corn-meal to eat.

All de time I felt we wuz born to win dat wahr, but God knowed bes' an' you know de result.

Down dar in Memphis Addition atah the colored Prof. Dykes place dar use tuh be one uv de bes' springs.

That the bes way to git what they wanted.

I was lucky 'nough to git de nex' bes' woman in de worl'.

(Old Mis' was de bes'.)

I don' lak to feel hard, but I tried to raise my chillun de bes' I could.

De one what us loved bes' never come back no more.

He always had a house full o' folks an' he sho' give 'em de bes' o' food an' likker.

Hogweed an' May apples was de bes' things I knowed of.

Us liked Marse Jeff Davis de bes' on de place.

But I could 'a' beat him at talk the bes' day he ever seed ef he'd on'y 'a' gi'n me time to think.

But Ah reckon hit was fer de bes'.

" "So when dey line up, dis here Haitian come crowdin' in ahead o' de fust man in de line, an' he cut off de bes' lean meat 'fore we gits ours.

"Dat same wind what land us on de rocks done blow me to de bes' woman in de worl'.