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There it sat, drenched wi' the rain, an' Twitt came out in that slow, silly way 'e 'as, an' 'e sez 'Poor bird! 'Ungry, are ye? an' throws it a reg'lar full meal, which, if you believe me, it ate all up as cool as a cowcumber. An' then " "And then?" queried Mary, with a mirthful quiver in her voice. "Then, oh, well, then it flew away," and Mrs.
Well, when the news got out that I wuz goin' to visit Washington, D.C., all the neighbors wanted to send errents by me. Betsy Bobbet Slimpsey wanted a dozen Patent Office books for scrap books for her poetry. Uncle Nate Gowdey wanted me to go to the Agricultural Buro and git him a paper of lettuce seed. And Solomon Sypher wanted me to git him a new kind of string beans and some cowcumber seeds.
I takes new bread, my dear, with just a little pat of fresh butter, and a mossel of cheese. In case there should be such a thing as a cowcumber in the 'ouse, will you be so kind as bring it, for I'm rather partial to 'em, and they does a world of good in a sick room. If they draws the Brighton Old Tipper here, I takes THAT ale at night, my love, it bein' considered wakeful by the doctors.
Leas'ways, Miss Meadows en de gals got win' un' it, en de nex' time Brer Rabbit paid um a visit Miss Meadows tackled 'im 'bout it, en de gals sot up a monstus gigglement. Brer Rabbit, he sot up des ez cool ez a cowcumber, he did, en let em run on. "Who was Miss Meadows, Uncle Remus?" inquired the little boy. "Don't ax me, honey.
We would always lay our plans in the mornin', and that mornin' I said, "I would love to tackle the Agricultural Buildin'." And Josiah gin his willin' consent. He said, "After so much gildin' and orniments, he would love to look at a potato, or a rutabagy, or a cowcumber." And I sez, "If you lay out to git rid of seein' orniments, you had better not stir out of your tracks."
In the "seventies" some of the curious tricks of pronunciation of the eighteenth century still survived. My aunts, who had been born with, or before the nineteenth century, invariably pronounced "yellow" as "yaller." "Lilac" and "cucumber" became "laylock" and "cowcumber," and a gold bracelet was referred to as a "goold brasslet."
These two words when united soon became corrupted, and the magnificent sheet of water was designated 'the Cucumber Lake, while its splendid cataract, known in ancient days by the Indians as the 'Pan-ook, or 'the River's Leap, is perversely called by way of variation 'the Cowcumber Falls; can anything be conceived more vulgar or more vexatious, unless it be their awkward attempt at pronunciation, which converts Epaigwit into 'a pig's wit, and Pan-ook into 'Pond-hook?
"We gave you up for lost," said Captain Benson, as Tom returned to the line. "We are safe, thank God!" replied Tom, "though three of our number fell in the woods, or on the field where we were chased by the rebels." "Sergeant Somers saved us," added uncle Hapgood. "If he hadn't been as cool as cowcumber, and as stiff as the mainmast of a frigate, we should have been taken, every one of us."
And Solomon Cypher wanted me to get him a new kind of string-beans, if I could, and some cowcumber seeds. Uncle Nate Gowdey, who talked of paintin' his house over, wanted me to ask the President what kind of paint he used on the White House, and if he put in any sperits of turpentime.
I told her that was all right so far as it went, but I'd like somethin' a little solider to begin with: so she found me a few slices of cold pork and one of her cowcumber pickles, and I eat a right good supper. She picked at a piece of pie, by way of keepin' me company, but she didn't eat much.
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