AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PENNSYLVANIAN
end of the strip above the slab was fastened the heavy end of a log and the lower end below the slab could be controlled with the foot.
“I pought dat sing at de Markley sale. It vas a kind of a wice. A long dime ago, ven de olt fellers vanted to make an axe handle, dey sat on dat slab and holt de biece of vood dight wiss de end of de log and den dey cuts it into shape wiss a knife.”
“What shall I pay for it, John?”
“Ach, nossing. It only cost a few bennies.” And then he added with charming naïveté: “I vould haf kept it myself only I had no room for it. Ven you gets so much such stuff, den you don't know vot to do wiss it. So I gifes it to you.”
He ambled along: “Ven I vas a poy dey didn't sow any wheat arount here. It vas all rye. My mudder, she say to me, I should chust come ofer here vonce. She vas making rye pread. Dat vas de only pread ve had and it vas goot, too. She raise de dough in vone of dem straw paskets. Den it vas turned upside down on a paddle and put into de ofen. Dere it vas paked on de ofen floor.”
May 5, 1912.
I showed John an old Dutch brass snuff-box with a representation on it of Christ drinking at a well.
"My grandfadder, Chon Pannebecker, had a rount black snuff-box. He dakes de vhite snuff and de black snuff and mixes 'em togedder. I often vishes I had dat snuff-box. Dere vas red flowers on de lid. I don't know vere it vas any more. I don't know vat you sink, but I am not vor Teddy Roosevelt. I sink dat man had better not come out for President any more. He has had enough and dat is vat ve haf had, too."
