The Grinder Papers — page 44: what you’re looking at

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

THE GRINDER PAPERS. 39 _ **Minty, come over here,” he said. ‘‘Gals, get your bon- nets—Mat, you come along. I ain’t a man to hinder my neigh- bors from ’sociating with who they wish; but this here I say, I aint no advocate of mixin’ up. Like with like, says I, and no malgamating. Cullud pussons ain’t for me, and if ’d knowd they was axed, I wouldn’t hev come. I don’t consider it no compliment from Mrs. Perkins to give us an invite along with such, though knowin’ what I knows of Miss Grinder, I reckon her too much of a lady to be a party to it.” And away he marched, driving the children, with their hands full of pastry, before him, and collaring the boy who was going round and round with his arms, and dancing betore that unfor- tunate hair-dresser. Florabella was in a swoon on the sofa, and Cornelia was weep- ing in the extension-room, and people were getting their things and going off as if they enjoyed the fun amazingly, and all the servants were grinning, and my last remembrance of the even- ing wasa kind of pandemonium full of laughing faces, and sneering voices, and tears, and broken glass, and bits of pastry, and oysters all over the cloth, and charlotte russe that had been fought for by the shoemaker’s boys on the floor, and that big- gest boy sparring at the dark-complexioned hair-dresser, and the girl and their mother scolding together. The morning after I came down stairs determined to rid the house of Charity Grinder, and I did it. She went off in a huff, and when I locked the door after her I vowed she should never re-enter it. comicbooks (ele)