UNCLE TOM'S CABIN

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at
and
LIFE AMONG THE LOWLY. 81
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But you should wash your dishes,and clear
j the illusion that she,herself,was the soul of
them away."
I order, and it was only the young uns, and the
"Wash my dishes!" said Dinah, in a high everybody house,that were the cause
key, as he r wrath beganto rise over her habitual of anything that fell short of perfection in this
respect of manner ; " what does ladies know 'bout respect. When all the tins were scoured,and
work, I want to know? When 'd Mas'r ever
get the tables scrubbed snowy white,and everything
his dinner,if I was to spend all my
time a washin'
that could offend tucked out of sightin holes and
and a puttin' up dishes 1 Miss Marie never corners, Dinah would dress herself up in a smart
telledme so, nohow."
dress,clean apron, and high, brilliantMadras
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Well,here are these onions."
turban,and tell all marauding " young uns "
to
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Laws, yes!" said Dinah; thar is whar I keep out of the kitchen,for she was gwine to
put 'em now. I couldn't 'member. Them's have
particular seasons were often
yer very
an inconvenience to the whole
stew. I 'd forgottheywas in dat ar old flannel."
household ; for Dinah would contract such an
thingskept nice. Indeed,.these periodic
immoderate attachment to her scoured tin,as to
Miss Ophelia lifted out the sifting papers of insist upon it that it shouldn't be used againfor
sweet
any possible purpose, leastțillthe order of
the " clarin' up
"
herbs.
"I wish Missis wouldn't touch dem ar. I
likes to keep my thingswhere I knows whar to
'em," said Dinah, rather decidedly.
go to
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But you don't want these holes in the papers."
systematicpattern; but her labors in all departments
that depended on the cooperationof
"Them's handy for siftin'on 't out," said servants were like those of Sisyphusor the
Dinah.
Danaides. In despair, she one dayappealedto
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But you
see it spills all over the drawer." St. Clare.
"Laws, yes! if Missis will go a tumblin' "There is no such thing as gettinganything
things all up so, it will. Missis has spiltlots like.systemin this family !"
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dat ar way," said Dinah,cominguneasily to the To be sure, there isn't,"said St. Clare.
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drawers. If Missis onlywill go up stars till Such shiftlessmanagement, such waste, such
my clarin' up time comes. I "11 have everything confusion, I never saw !"
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right; but I can't do nothin when ladiesisround, I dare say you
did n't."
a henderin'. You, Sam, d.m't
"
you gibthe baby You would not take it so coolly, if
dat ar sugar-bowl ! I '11crack ye over, if ye don't
you were
house-keeper."
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mind!"
My dear cousin, you may as well understand,
" I 'm goingthrough the kitchen,and goingto once for all țhat we masters are divided into two
fut everything
order,once, Dinah ; and then classes, oppressors and oppressed Ẉe who are
'11 expectyou to keepit so."
good-natured and hate severity make up our
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Lor,now ! Miss Phelia ; dat ar an't no way minds to a good deal of inconvenience. If we
for ladiesto do. I never did see ladies doin' no will keepa shambling, loose,untaughtset in the
sich ; my old Missis nor Miss Marie never did, community,for our convenience,why, we must
and I don't see no kinder need on 't;" and Dinah take the consequence. Some rare cases I have
etalked indignantly about, while Miss Opheliaseen, of persons, who, by a peculiartact,can
"
order,"
piled and sorted dishes,emptieddozens of scattering
produceorder and system without severity ; but
bowls of sugar into one receptacle, sorted I'm not one of them, so I made up my
napkins țable-cloths and towels,for washing; mind,longago, to let thingsgo just as theydi.
washing,wiping, and arrangingwith her own I will not have the poor devils thrashed and cu
hands,and with a speed and alacrity which perfectly
to pieces, they know it," and, of course,
amazed Dinah.
theyknow the stall'is in their own hands."
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But have no time,no place,no
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Lor, now ! if dat ar de way
dem northern
to
ladies do,dey ant ladies,nohow," she said to all going on in this shiftless way !"
some of her satellites, when at a safe hearing distance.
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My dear Vermont, natives the
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I has things as straight anybody, North Pole set an
you
extravagant value
up
on
by
time !
when my clarin' up time comes ; but I don't want
period abated.
Miss Ophelia, in a few days,thoroughly
reformed every departmentof the house to a
What on earth is the use of time to a fellow who
ladiesround, a henderin',and getting my thingshas twice as much of it as he knows what to do
allwhere I can't find 'em."
with? As to order and system, where there is
To do Dinah justiceșhe had, at irregular nothingto be done but to loungeon the sofa and
periods, paroxysms of reformation and arrangement,
read,an hour sooner or later in breakfast or dinner
which she called " clarin' up times," isn't of much account. Now, there 's Dinah
when she would begin with great zeal,and turn getsyou a capitaldinner," soup, ragout,roast
every drawer and closet wrong side outward,on fowl, dessert,ice-creams and and all," she
to the flooror tables,and make the ordinary confusion
creates it all out of chaos and old nightdown
seven-fold more confounded. Then she there,in that kitchen. I think it reallysublime,
would lighther pipe, and leisurely over
go her the way she
arrangements,lookingthingsover, and discoursing
manages. But,Heaven bless us !
if we are to go down there,and view all the
upon them ; making all the young fry scour smoking and squatting about,and hurryscurrya-
of the
most vigorously on the tin things, and keepingtion
up for saveral preparatoryprocess,
we never should
hours a most energetic state of eat more ! My goodcousin,absolve yourselfrom
confusion,which she would explainto the satisfactionthat
! It 's more than a Catholic penance, and
of all inquirers, by the remark that she does no more good. You '11only lose your
was
"
a clarin'up." " She couldn't rev thingsI
own
temper, and utterly confound Dinah. Let her go
a
gwine on so as they had been,and she was her own way."
gwine to make these yer young ones "
keepbetter But,Augustine, you don't know now I found
order " for Dinah herself,somehow, indulged| things.
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