" "You couldn' billieve me iv I tell you w'at

"Jes' dat; an' round de lake, ob course; we couldn' come acrost.

You see, I knew Mass Roger'd feel so oncomforble and remorseful to find his ol' uncle's letters done 'stroyed, an 'twas all by axerden, an' couldn' help it noways, massa, an' been done sorry eber since,

for it's th' Las' Day, may be, that's close on us, 'n' I feel as if I couldn' meet th' Lord all alone!" It was curious,but Helen did certainly recognize sounds, during the lull of the storm, which were not of falling rain or running streams, short snapping sounds, as of tense cords breaking,long uneven sounds, as of masses rolling down steep declivities.

I 'sumes cha'ge er yo' house, dere ain' gwine ter be no 'vided 'sponsibility; an' as fer dis Julia, me an' her couldn' git 'long tergether nohow.

"'My dear Polly,' says Mars Sam, quite determine', 'I couldn' possibly sen' Julia 'way.

Fac' is, I couldn' git 'long widout Julia.

Den she tuck up washin', but didn' do no better at dat; an' bimeby she got so discourage' dat she ma'ied a shif'less yaller man, an' died er consumption soon after,an' wuz 'bout ez well off, fer dis man couldn' hardly feed her nohow.

er my own, an' couldn' be roun' ter look after 'im. An' dis chile is a rale quality chile, he is,I never seed a baby wid sech fine hair fer his age, ner sech blue eyes, ner sech a grip, ner sech a heft.

so Elliott and his hoss both saw de haint but ah couldn' see hit.

Cah run ovah mah haid an ah couldn' tawk fuh 30 days.

Dey couldn' visit no slaves an no slaves was 'lowed tuh visit em.

We couldn' make out.

W'en he got back home he couldn' skasely tell Mars Marrabo de message w'at Mars Dugal' had sent back ter 'im. "Mars Marrabo listen' at 'im 'temp' ter tell it; and den he says, kinder col' and cuttin'-likehe didn' 'pear ter get mad ner nuffin': "'Youer drunk, Ben.'

"I don' know where I been, an' if I had to go back, I couldn' do it.

She couldn' learn de Lawd's Prayer, but she used to pray, 'Our Father, which are in Heaven; Hallowed be Thy name.

I know a woman dat couldn' 'member de Lawd's Prayer, an' she got 'ligion out o' prayin', 'January, February, March'.)

I want to bed well an' healthy an' de nex' nornin' I couldn' git up atall.

De truf is you couldn' fin' a scar on nary one o' us.

He whupped me de firs' time, but de nex' time I hid from him an' he couldn' catch me.

"Couldn' none of us read or write, an' us wa'nt neber learned 'til afte' us was set free.

When he quit off, m' pappy couldn' talk no more'n a whisper sca'cely.

"I heerd tell one time, tho', of de hired man (he was a nigger) an' de oberseer whuppin' one of my cousins 'til she bled; she was jes' sebenteen years old an' was in de fambly way fer de fust time, an' couldn' work as hard as de rest.

I made varses in the country talk all the same, and sent 'em to editors, but they couldn' see nothin' in 'em.

All de king' an' queen' in de worl' couldn' board dare!