The Grinder Papers — page 280: what you’re looking at

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

THE GRINDER PAPERS. “396 she knowed enough, and now they fetched her hum. When I called on ‘em I[ couldn't think o’ nothin’ but the way she was rigged out. Never seen so much handsome clothes on one gal at a time in my life. Miss Wickum was dressed, tu—yaller and blue head-dress, and red striped cashmere dress, and purpled-stoned breastpin, and a green belt, and bracelets, and ear-rings, and there warnt no color o’ the rainbow she hadn’t intu: her parlor. About as genteel a house as ever I had the pleasure o’ visitin’ tu. Miss Wickum was pleased tu see me, and made me stay a week. And the cappen he was sociable, tu; but Neptuny she took airs. She thought herself tu grand tu talk tu anybody but some hity-tity, highflyin’ gals that had been tu school with her, and made herself perfectly ridiculous. Not keerin’ for her airs, I called whenever I felt like it, and me and Miss Wickum en- joyed ourselves amazin’. One day she come over tu where I was stayin’, airly in the mornin’, and sez she: 1a “Charity, I’ve come tu ask a favor.” ‘Go ahead,” sez I. Sez she, ‘‘Me and the cappen is a-goin’ tu see his relatives, and we ain’t a-goin’ tu take Neptuny. One o’ the reasons isshe won't go, and the other she sassed her Aunt Dolphin so last time she was on that she wouldn’t have her come ef she would. We're goin’ tu leave her hum, and I want you tu stay there and keep an eye onto her.” Eomiecboo “cS