hampeen mutten hed. i ges i
am a quadrune now. it taiks me a hoal day to get
over being skun so they can skin me again. i asted
father why he coodent put me in a tirning laith and
tirn me down jest like they maik wheal hubs down to
old Gus Browns hub shop. father he sed it looked
as if he wood have to and he wood see Gus about it
today. ennyway i dont beleeve it wood hirt as mutch
as seesand.

September 30, 186---Beany come in to see me today.
he laffed so that i told him if he dident stop
i wood give him a bang in the snoot so he stoped.
we plade checkers and dominose. he can beet me
evry time. Beany says i cant go in swiming enny
more for 4 years becaus if i get wet the black comes
back. gosh i wunder if that is so. i have been
reeding Uncle Toms Cabbin and i dont like it enny
moar. i asted mother if what Beany sed was trew
and she laffed and sed of coarse it aint in your
blud and i sed it wood get in if they wasent prety
cairful not to scrub me two hard.

i asted father about it when he come home and
he sed he wasent sure. he sed it depended sum on
how i behaved. that sumtimes a feller wood tirn
black with raige, and if he had been blacked up it mite
come back. i told him i wood do the best i cood if
i ever got white again. i asted how he suposed i
ever was fool enuf to do what i had did and he sed
it seamed to be eesier for me to be a fool than for
most folks. then he sed i was too anchious for
money. he sed it reminded him of a line in a poim
whitch was rote by a lattin gentleman naimed Publius
virgin. i asted him if he was enny relasion of
old John Virgin whitch oaned the trotting horses
and he sed no he dident think he cood be. if he
was it must be straned prety fine. the line went like
this

a cused thirst for gold to what dust
thou compel the human mind

i rote it down jest as father sed it. i dont know
what it means but i dident dass to tel him that and
so i sed yes sir i woodent be surprised if it done jest
that.

I wish i cood go to school again. i wood be willing
to have old Francis lam me.

i suppose the fellers will all laff and call me
munkey face and wild man of Bornio but i woodent
cair for that. tomorrow i shall be well enuf to be
scrubed again. tonite i am greeced and almost too
slipery to lay in bed. i am glad i am not a eal or
a hornpout. i feel jest like them only i aint got
enny horns.

September 31. brite and fair. i have been
scrubed again. i bet they was sum fishooks