weth ever'body snickerin'. I guess he felt purty cheap.

"Turn over."

[Illustration]

"That's my cousin, Edna Sparks. She ain't very smart and she's got a
voice that's a terror to snakes, but her ma thinks she kin sing and's
allus sickin' her on t' do it. Pa says onct th' silly thing says when her
ma was urgin' her before comp'ny, 'Aw, ma, I can't sing, my hands is
chapped.' I don't believe she ever done it, though. Jist another of pa's
jokes, I bet.

"Turn over."

[Illustration]

"That's ma's brother, Uncle Billy Sparks. Ain't he handsome? Jist take a
look at them eyes. And he's smart, too--smart as Uncle Charlie, purty
nigh. Onct his mother-in-law come t' see 'em and staid a long time and was
awful cross and Uncle Billy got tired of it and took and put a wad of
cotton in her ear trumpet so she couldn't hear a thing, and she thought
she was goin' plumb deef and left that day fer home to see her doctor.
Wasn't that cute of him?"

[Illustration]

"That there's ma's greatuncle Peter. He was awful well off, and proud of
it. Onct when th' minister was raisin' money t' pay fer th' new church he
preached and he preached, right at Uncle Pete, purty nigh, and bimeby