“S’pose de gentlemens an’ ladies look jes’ like one nerr an’ dress up de same, Lawdy, by an’ by heah wud cum judgment day sho’ nuff, an’ we wud soon burhol dis worl’ on fire an’ uh cislin’. So hit won’ do fuh dem ter look de same, an’ we don’ wan’ no changin’, deed we don’; we wants de males ter look proud an’ prancin’ all de time, an’ de females ter burhol ’em an’ not look sassy. I mos’ fogot one ub de lubliest ub de fowls, dat will meck meh sponsibility stronger—dat’s de peacock. When de peacock spreads his tail in de spring an’ looks his peartest, dey tells me sometimes de hens git too po’ ter lay; dey so in lub dey jes’ eat nuffin; jes’ meddowtate an’ look at deah mates struttin’ erbout. Da ain’ nuffin like uh peacock’s tail ’ceppin sometimes in de fall when de dew is ve’y heavy an’ sorter fog-like an’ fros’-like, jes’ uh little missy, an’ heah cum de sun risin’; an’ when hit strikes de trees, bushes an’ wines full ub dat fog, fros’ an’ mis’, da ain’ no rainbow er peacock’s tail kin hole uh can’le ter it, I don’ keah who raises de peacock. Well, boss, I am sho’ you see de application, but strange futto say, Mars Pinckney, wid all his wissum an’ pursidderin’, is, ’pears ter me, on de fence. Natchelly, ub cose, he is s’pose ter change kase he got so many sweethyarts. He is ve’y fon’ ub fishin’ wid me. One day we wuz fishin’ fuh rock an’ tailor an’ waitin’ fuh de tide ter tu’n. I rents meh house fum him. I don’ al’ays pay at de lars’ ub de monf, er de lars’ ub nex’ monf, an’ I owed him so much rent I wuz mos’ ’fear’d ter argue wid him an’ talk ter him wid all meh soul erboutin dis changin’ business ’roun’ heah, an’ ub de lubliness ub de male in contras’ ter de female; but I did it. Well, den he say, sorter snuffin’ meh composation orf, ‘Ezra, you no mo’ erbout sorf crabs, fish an’ watahmillions dan you do erbout things changin’.’ Den he say, ‘Don’ people all erroun’ heah change money, change deah names when dey git merried? Don’ de watah we fish in change fum ebb tide ter flood? Eggs ter chickens, sinnahs ter moaners, sun, moon, win’ an’ seasons change. De acorn changes ter de oak, peach stone ter de peach tree. Wumms ter butterflies.” “Ezra, your Mars Pinckney is right. That’s the long and short of it. Your Parson changed baptizing in salt water for fresh water. You have confessed it, and you are changing all the time. Your hair was once black, now it is white. To-day is bright, cold, windy and sunny. To-morrow will be changed; it can’t be just like to-day. Even your oxen, Lawyer and Farmer, like a change. Grass is good enough when there is no wheat field to jump into, but when the wheat is green, sweet and rich, they leave the grass.” “Jes’ so, boss, jes’ so.” “Why, you would get tired of bacon and cabbage if you had it all the time.” “Who, me? I nebba got tired ub it yit.”