142 THE FOGY DAYS AND NOW; 



opinion then turned around and done as I durned pleased. 

 There was a scarcity of cotton-seed in the country, and difficult 

 to secure even at a high price, and it had become to me a 

 question of great perplexity. 



One Sunday, I went with my family to spend the day with 

 Mr. William Wells, and found there quite a number of neigh- 

 boring planters. We were all sitting out on the front veranda, 

 and, as usual, I was spunging out of the party all the informa- 

 tion I could get, when that scamp I referred to before, Lem 

 Jay (and who had seen me the day before setting out cabbage 

 plants) remarked that he thought he could put me on to a 

 plan that would interest me. He said that Mr. Jule Bii-d, a 

 neighbor and very large planter, had a great deal of cotton 

 already up, that it had come up very thick, and he 

 would commence chopping it out to-morrow, and had no doubt 

 that Mr. Bird would take great pleasure in furnishing me all 

 the plants I might want, free of charge. Mr. Bird was present 

 and said it would afford him great pleasure to do so, and that 

 I would be welcome to all I wanted. I expressed unbounded 

 gratitude to the gentlemen for their kindness, and was about to 

 make a little speech of thanks when I caught a glimpse of 

 several roguish looking winks sliding around, and stopped sud- 

 denly short, as I smelt the fumes of a dead rat, when there 

 followed a general explosion of risibles at my expense; but full 

 amends were made by their assistance to procure the necessary 

 cotton-seed. One day I called on my neighbor John W. Jor- 

 dan, Sr., and had plied him with many questions on the cotton" 

 making business, and finally asked him how many bales he 

 thought I ought to make this year. He surveyed me sol- 

 emnly from head fo foot replying that he could not tell 

 me how many I ought to make, but if 1 made airy bale he 



