idn't cost very
much. Livin' was cheap, but folks lived mighty well in dem days.

"Us has been married more dan 50 years and dey has all been happy years.
Us has had our troubles and hard luck, but dey come to evvybody. De Lord
has been mighty good to us, 'specially in lettin' us be together so
long. It was what you might call a case of love at fust sight wid us. I
was visitin' down at Camak, Georgia at Christmastime. She lived at
Sparta, and was spendin' Christmas at Camak too, but I didn't see her
'til I was 'bout to leave for Athens. I jus' thought I never could go
'way atter I fust seed her, but I did, and I didn't git to see her again
for 12 long months. Us writ to one another all dat year and got married
at Christmastime, one year from de time us fust met.

"Us has still got dat old pen I used when I writ and axed her to marry
me; I'd lak to show it to you. 'Scuse me please whilst I goes in de
house to git it." Soon Ike returned. "Ain't it a sight?" he proudly
exclaimed as he displayed the relic. "I made it up myself in December
1886 and it got her consent to marry me, so I'se kept it ever since. My
wife and me wouldn't part wid it for nothin'." The wooden pen staff is
very smooth as though from long usage except at the tip end, where it
appears to have been gnawed. It looks very much as though Ike may have
chewed on it as he wrote that all important letter. The iron pen point,
much too large to fit the standard grooves of the ordinary pen staff,
was placed on the staff and tightly wrapped. After 52 years of service
the pen point and its staff are still in good condition. Ike has the
Prince Albert coat that he wore on his wedding day and he insists that
it looks and fits as well now as it did on the occasion of his marriage.
"I'm keepin' de coat and pen for our chillun," he declared.

Before resuming the conversation, Ike went back in the house to put the
treasured pen away. In a few moments he returned. "God has been good to
us," he said, "for He let us have all nine of our chillun 'til dey was
grown up. Us wuked mighty hard to raise 'em and give all of 'em a good
education. Dat was somepin us couldn't have when us was growin' up and
I'm thankful to be able to say dat us was able to send 'em all to
college. Four of our chillun has gone on ahead to de next world, and de
five dat's left is scattered from place to place; none of 'em is wid us
now, but dey don't forgit us. Dey writes to us and visits us often and
u