"I larned 'em myseff, sar!"
"You couldn't have learned that yourself; didn't your 'massa' teach you?"
"No, sar."
"Oh! your 'missus' did."
"No, sar."
"No, sar!" I repeated; then suspecting the real state of the case, I looked him sternly in the eye, and said: "My little man, it's wrong to tell lies—you must always speak the truth; now, tell me truly, did not your 'missus' teach you these things?"
"No, sar, I larned 'em myseff."
"Ye can't cum it, Stranger; ye moight roast him over a slow fire, an' not git nary a thing eout on him but thet," said the corn-cracker, leaning forward, and breaking into a boisterous fit of laughter. "It's agin th' law, an' I'm d——d ef I teached him. Reckon he did larn himself!"
"I must know your wife, my friend. She's a good woman."
"Good! ye kin bet high on thet; she's uv th' stuff th' Lord makes angels eout on."