The Grinder Papers — page 101: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

96. THE GRINDER PAPERS. stayin’ tu Mirandy’s now, and she’s got lots of ’em), say I was the oldest-fashionedest critter she ever did see. That riled me, Mrs. Lemon, and when I came to consider on’t I made up my mind that, come what would, I’d show ’em I could be in fashion ae That day I looked at Mirandy’s eldest gal, and took perticke- ler notice what she stuck on. Fust, she had a tight jacket, with a short tail, and then her dress was festooned up, and under she had a striped petticoat, and a pair o’ boy’s boots, and a boy’s hat, with a vail tu one side, and her hair was fixed roundety, towndety, as slick as you please. I thought I would ask one question. : ‘‘Em'ly,” says I, ‘‘what do you call that way o’ doin’ hair?” ‘“‘A coil,” says she. “Lor!” says I, ‘‘what alot o’ hair you must hev ‘‘Oh,” says she, ‘‘it’s around suthin’, you know. No mortal RS hair could make one as big as this without.” Well, I’d got what I wanted -to about the hair, and I could see the rest, and next Sunday I made up my mind to be in the fashion, and do it cheap, tu. I ain’t goin’ to spend all creation —leave that for Mirandy. If underskirts with stripes in ‘em was stylish, I could cut off a striped one I had, and I could pin up my frock, tu. | That arternoon I went out to make the other purchases. I got the boy’s hat in the Bowery, and the boots at a little cob- blers up town aways, and the bologny at a butcher's shop, of course. What isa bologny? Why, one o’ them bologny saus-