The Grinder Papers — page 252: what you’re looking at

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

THE GRINDER PAPERS. 247 — One day I met Miss Peter Squash goin’ hum in arain under it; knowed it by its pecooliarities. ‘‘How air you, Miss Squash?” sez I. ‘«So’s tu be crawlin’,”’ sez she. ‘‘La,” sez I, ‘‘how laden up ye be with a market basket and a tin pail, and a bundle, and that numberill.” Sez she, ‘‘ Well, I am purty fore-handed for lugs, that’s a fact.” Sez I, ‘‘Vll carry your numberill, Miss Squash.” Sez she, ‘‘ Thank ye.” So I tuk a hold, and we continued on a spell. Arter awhile, sez I: ‘‘He! he! he! for marsy sakes, this looks like a numberill I lost.” | Sez she, ‘‘ Mebbe ’tis, Miss Grinder; never knowed how I come by it. ‘The help found it behind the kitching door one day.” . Sez I, ‘‘Jonathan left it som’eres'’ ; probably ‘twas there.” “Well,” sez she, ‘‘guess it was.” I larfed, but I knowed she knowed it.” Thinks me, ‘‘I’ll fix her.” "Twas a-pourin’ hard, and we’d just come to the fork 0 the road, quarter o’ a mile from her ‘us and quarter o’ a mile from our ‘us. Sez I, ‘‘ Well, here we part.” ‘¢So we do,” sez she. | Sez I, ‘‘Good-by, Miss Squash. I'll take the numberill my- self, and not have you troubled in sendin’ it; ’bleeged tu ye,” and off I marched, takin’ it. After she got hum, her best bun- Gomicboo cS (cle)