a' been, he nuver would 'a' got me into all dat trouble. Dat wuz
de mortification o' my life, suh. He got all dat meanness fom his mammy.
Dat ooman dyah is his mammy." He indicated the plump Lucindy with his
long stick, which he poked at her contemptuously. "Dat's what I git for
mar'yin' one o' dese heah up-kentry niggers!" The "up-kentry" spouse
was apparently quite accustomed to this characterization, for she simply
looked away, rather in embarrassment at my gaze being directed to her
than under any stronger emotion. Her liege continued: "Lucindy warn'
quality like me an' Marth' Ann, an' her son tooken after her. What's in
de myah will come out in de colt; an' he is de meanes' chile I uver had.
I name de urrs fom de Scriptur', but he come o' a diff'-ent stock, an'
I name him arter Mr. P'laski Greener, whar Lucindy use' to b'longst
to, an' I reckon maybe dat's de reason he so natchally evil. I had mo'
trouble by recount o' dat boy 'n I hed when I los' Marth' Ann."

The old fellow threw back his head and gave a loud "Whew!" actually
removing his large spectacles in his desperation at Pulaski's
wickedness. Again there was a suppressed chuckle from his friends; so,
seeing that some mystery attached to the matter, I put a question which
started him.

"Well, I'll tell you, suh," he began. "Hit all growed out of a tunament,
suh. You an' I knows all discerning tunaments, 'cuz we come f'om de ole
county o' Hanover, whar de _raise_ tunaments"--(he referred to them as
if they had been a species of vegetables)--"but we 'ain' nuver hearn de
modification of a _nigger_ ridin' in a tunament?"

I admitted this, and, after first laying his hat carefully on the
ground, he proceeded:

"Well, you know, suh, dat P'laski got de notionment in he haid dat he
wuz to ride in a tunament. He got dat f'om dat ooman." He turned and
pointed a trembling finger at his uncomplaining spouse; and then slowly
declared, "Lord! I wuz outdone dat day."

I suggested that possibly he had not followed Solomon's injunction as
rigidly as Pulaski's peculiar traits of character had demanded; but he
said promptly:

"Yes, suh, I did. I whupped him faithful; but he took whuppin' like a
ole steer. Hickory didn' 'pear to have no 'feck on him. He didn' had no
memory; he like a ole steer: got a thick skin an' a short memory; he wuz
what I call one o' dese disorde'ly boys."

He paused long enough to permit this term, taken from the police court
reports, to make a l