“And if Josiah Allen borrys a plough or a fannin’ mill, do you spoze he expects the neighborin’ men he borrys ’em of to harness up and come after ’em? No, he carries ’em back.
“And how much more would he feel obligated if he had stole ’em, and me too; why we should expect to carry ’em back, or else get shot up, and good enough for us.
“Now,” sez I, “you and your people wuz stole from Africa by Uncle Samuel, or, I don’t spoze the old man did the stealin’ with his own hands, but he stood by and see it done and winked at it, and allowed it; and so, he is responsible, bein’ the head of the family.
DEACON HUFFER.
“And if that old man ever calculates to make any appearance at all before the nations of the earth, if he ever calculates to neighbor with ’em to any advantage, he will jest carry them stolen creeters back and put ’em down onharmed on the sile he dragged ’em from.
“Good land! it won’t be no job for him; it won’t be no more for him than it would for my companion to take back a hen he had borryed from Deacon Huffer up to Zoar—or stole from him, I spoze I ort to say, in order to carry out the metafor as metafors ort to be carried.”
I sez this in a real enthusiastic axent, and a very friendly one too towards Uncle Samuel; for I love that noble-minded but sometimes misguided old creeter—I love him dearly.