"An' dar's good ole Aun' Patty, who knows more Scripter dan ennybuddy h'yar, havin' been teached by de little gals from Kunnel Jasper's an' by dere mudders afore 'em. I reckin she know' de hull Bible straight froo, from de Garden of Eden to de New Jerus'lum. An' dar are udders h'yar who knows de Scripters, some one part an' some anudder. Now I axes ebery one ob you all wot know de Scripters ef he don' 'member how de Bible tells how our Lor' when he was on dis yearth cas' seben debbils out o' Mary Magdalum?"
A murmur of assent came from the congregation, Most of them remembered that.
"But did enny ob you ebber read, or hab read to you, dat he ebber cas' 'em out o' enny udder woman?"
Negative grunts and shakes of the head signified that nobody had ever heard of this.
"Well, den," said the preacher, gazing blandly around, "all de udder women got 'em yit."
A deep silence fell upon the assembly, and in a few moments an elderly member arose. "Brudder Pete," he said, "I reckin you mought as well gib out de hyme."
A DOG'S TALE[1]
[Footnote 1: 1903]
Mark Twain (1835)