This venture brought him six dollars in debt at the expiration of a
fortnight, and after that, by my advice, he abandoned peddling,
condemning it as a "low-life trade," and agreeing to stick to legitimate
business for the future.

One of his famous expressions, the most formidable rival of _sine die_
(which, as the reader has doubtless discovered, he intended as an
elegant synonym for _without fail_), was entirely original--this was
"Granny to Mash" (I spell phonetically), used as an exclamation, and
only employed when laboring under great mental excitement.

As I was proceeding homeward one evening, I spied him standing on a
street corner, holding forth to a select assemblage of his own color,
who were listening to him with an appearance of the profoundest respect.
His back was toward me, and I stopped and caught his words without
attracting observation. He had assumed a very pompous, hortatory manner,
and I could well believe he held a prominent position in Asbury class.
"Yes, gentlemun; yes," he was saying, "ez Brotheh Jones 'mahks, I _do_
live in a ve'y _su_-peeiaw at-mos-pheeh--suh-roundid by people of
leahnin', with books, pens, blottehs, letteh-pess, _en_ what not, ez
common ez these yeah bricks which I see befo' me. But thaih hain't no
trueh wued then ev'y station has its hawdships, gentlemun, en mine ah
not exemp', mine ah _not_ exemp'.

"Fus'ly, thaih's the 'sponsebility. W'y, this yeah ve'y mawnin' I banked
nigh on to a thousan' dollehs fu' de young boss. En w'en I tell you
mo'n two hundred stamps is passed my mouth this yeah blessid evenin', 't
will give you some slight idee of the magnitude of the duties I has to
puffawn. W'y, gentlemun, I is drank wateh, an' I is drank beeh, but my