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bowing as I go by; and nothing was wanting but my wife to talk with to make all complete. ... I have had some rare talks with old uncle “Jaw”
Bacon, and other old characters, which you ought to have heard.
The
Curtises have been flooding
Uncle “Jaw's” meadows, and he is in a great stew about it. He says: “I took and tell'd your Uncle Izic to tell them 'ere Curtises that if the Devil did n't git 'em far flowing my medder arter that sort, I did n't see no use oa havina any Devil.”
“Have you talked with the Curtises yourself?”
“Yes, hang the sarcy dogs!
and they took and tell'd me that they'd take and flow clean up to my front door, and make me go out and in in a boat.”
“Why don't you go to law?”
“Oh, they keep alterina and er tinkerina — up the laws so here in
Massachusetts that a body can't git no damage fur flowing; they think cold water can't hurt nobody.”
Mother and Aunt Nabby each keep separate establishments.
First Aunt Nabby gets up in the morning and examines the sink, to see whether it leaks and rots the beam.
She then makes a little fire, gets her little teapot of bright shining tin, and puts into it a teaspoonful of black tea, and so prepares her breakfast.
By this time mother comes creeping down-stairs, like an old tabby-cat out of the ash-hole; and she kind oa doubts and reckons whether or no she had better try to git any breakfast, beina as she's not much appetite this mornina; but she goes to the leg of bacon and cuts off a little slice, reckons sh'll broil it; then goes and looks at the coffee-pot and reckons sh'll have a little coffee; don't exactly know whether it's good for her, but she don't drink much.
So while Aunt Nabby is sitting
