"Moy Goad! Judge!" (reproachfully): "Yes, sir! Why, I've been charged for a hundred and fifty drinks 'fore breakfast, when I've stood treat, and I never thought 'o disputin' it."
At supper, Mr. S., looking at the daughter of our host, said—
"What a pretty girl that is. My dear, do you find any schools to go to, out here—eh? I reckon not. This isn't the country for schools. There'll not be a school in Mississippi 'fore long, I reckon. Nothing but Institutes, eh? Ha! ha! ha! Institutes, humph! Don't believe there's a school between this and Natchez, is there?"
"No, sir."
"Of course there isn't."[1]
"What sort of a country is it, then, between here and Natchez?" I asked. "I should suppose it would be well settled."
"Big plantations, sir. Nothing else. Aristocrats. Swell-heads, I call them, sir. Nothing but swell-heads, and you can't get a night's lodging, sir. Beyond the ferry, I'll be bound, a man might die on the road 'fore he'd get a lodging with one of them. Eh, Mr. N.? So, isn't it? 'Take a stranger in, and I'll clear you out!' That's the rule. That's
- ↑ "Sectional excitement" had given a great impetus to educational projects in the South, and the Mississippi newspapers about this time contained numerous advertisements of a similar character to the following: "Calhoun Institute—For Young Ladies; Maçon, Noxubee County, Mississippi.—W. R. Poindexter, A.M., Principal and Proprietor.—The above School, formerly known as the 'Maçon Female Institute,' will be reopened on the first of October, 1855, with an entirely new corps of teachers from Principal down. Having purchased the property at public sale, and thus become sole proprietor, the Principal has determined to use all means he can now command, as well as he may realize for several years yet to come, in building, refitting and procuring such appurtenances as shall enable him to contribute his full quota, as a professional man, to the progress of the great cause of 'Southern Education.'"
