hence the assumed and amusing "derivative," gaumandize, sometimes gormandize, meaning not to eat greedily, or gluttonously, but, like a child, to daub and to spatter one's self with victual. Equivalent to saying Have courage, be a man! is Lay down yo' mammy' haa't (heart), an' tek up yo daddy'! To have no fancy for some certain course is Muh haid don' ache dat way; a maid said, "No, me nebbah wen' tuh New Yo'k. Ebry time me p'int fuh go somebuddy daid. De Lo'd gwine daid me ef me go. No, ma'am; me yent wen' tuh New Yo'k; me yent er-gwine; much haid don' ach dat way!" The broad, flat baskets woven of grass and palmetto fibers, that are used for winnowing rice, are fannas or fannah baskits, i. e., fanners, from their usage, after the rough husk has been crushed in the mortar, to fan out or winnow the chaff from the grain; hence the negro preacher's dramatic appeal to Heaven: "Fan out, O Lo'd! fan out de cloud dat rain down trouble on us! Sen' us peace!" Forth-coming, in the particular sense of personal readiness to be brought forward which results in free-naturedness, has its antonym in shut-mout'; i. e., shut-mouthed, meaning ill-naturedly secretive and reserved: "Buh Wolf too shut-mout." A woman, hasty and sudden in speech and deed, is resentfully styled "dat clap-hat-bitch!", a term pungent and picturesque enough for Middleton, Ford, or Webster. A hound having a short yelp instead of a full, lingering, round and bell-like voice, is known as a chop-tongue dog-a dog with short or chopped bay. To have nightmare is to be hag-ridden;* the trickle of slaver which often runs from the mouth-corners in troubled and uneasy sleep, is a hag-bridle; the poor man's mule is his nag. The description of an humorously wretched object, or person of ill and unprepossessing appearance, as a swinge-cat, i. e., a singed cat, is graphic; so is likewise the description of an ill-stead, ill-fed, thin and ragged negro, outcast, a creature of the streets and byways, as an ash-cat;+ anyone who has ever seen the tattered vagabond, with his lank frame, dull and gray complexion, will appreciate the force of the description. This same brief vigor in character *See previous note of Hag-hollering: Midnight. +Ill-fed, ill-conditioned negroes were so-called in derision of their grayish-hued, gaunt and dingy faces, by the multitude of sleek, black, fat and shining negroes of the old regime. Masters and owners of such "ash-cats" were held in great contempt. Poor, as lean, meagre, emaciated. ization is shown in natural nomenclature; the Great Horned Owl is called, from his cry, by most excellent onomatopoesia, the cuckatoo owl; the lank Blue Heron, from his emaciation, is the Po'jo, i. e., poor Joe ;* the bittern, from his nocturnal flitting, is the Moonshine: him always moonshinin' about; the ignis fatuus is a frog's-lantu'n; and that delicatelyscented fop, the Skunk, is, with a sniff, entitled a mus'cat, i. e., Musk-cat.† In Tide-Water Virginia, in the language of the dialectspeaking negro, Master becomes Mahsteh, which the Virginian, perhaps, writes Marster, though he does not so pronounce it: this pronunciation is almost entirely confined to the Virginian. In Mississippi and Arkansas the pronunciation, Massa, is distinctly heard. But in the coastal plain of Carolina, Georgia and Florida, Maussa obtains, with a notable peculiarity in its use: used disjunctively the form is universally Mossa or Maussa; but in conjunction with Christian or surname, form and pronunciation change to Mass', as Mass' Sam tell we ol' Maussa say 'Sen' Mass' Henry bát-o home. The form Maussa is used almost entirely by the older negroes, when in direct address, often accompanied by the possessive claim, my, my Maussa; the new negro, abandoning everything which in sound seemed savored of servility, prefers Misto.' But the old-time negro refers invariably to his old or his deceased master as Maussa, Ol' Maussa, my ol' Maussa. The street beggar, of whom there were none fifty years ago, now dogs your heels with his snivelling and hypocritical whine of "Do, muh good Mossa!" *This use points back to Elizabethan times, when over-scented darlings were dubbed musk-cats-vide B. Johnson's Cynthia's Revels, iv. 1. In some remote localities where the function of vocal economy is strong, this again is reduced to simply Ma', the ss vanishing in a faint aspiration, hardly a sound. Among themselves Misto, Miss and Missis have crept in: the authentic use was formerly similar to that of New England of the time: old men were daddies, old women marms; that is, maum, or mauma; both terms of affectionate respect; the plantation white child who failed to address an old servant by title as Daddy or Mauma was sharply reproved for disrespect. by parent as well as, with authority, by the old servants themselves. This was distinctly Low-Country usage; in the Up-Country the Virginia Uncle and Aunt prevailed. Toward their equals in age or station the younger negroes addressed Cousin, reduced by elision, as usual, to coz, co'n, co', or simply the surd, c'; disjunct, Coz; adjunct, Co' Ritta, Co'n Abby, C' Oliver; the oldest child of a family, if a boy, was addressed disjunctively as Bubba; if a girl, as Sisto, or Titta; this usage followed their masters'; elisions gave S'Annie and T'a Lucy, T'remma, B'Abbut, and B'Oliver, (not Bolivar). In folk-tales one finds supernatural powers addressed as Mossa Sperrit, Mossa Debble; in "the old-time religion" Christ was usually entitled Maussa Jesus. Veneration, respect, affection, or dread and fawning are attributes of Maussa; direct personal relations, affection, and courtesy are expressed by Mass'; politesse by Misto'; mere authority by Cap'n or Boss;* though the gentle-spirited and trustful negro, here and there found, does not seek to prevent a simple affection creeping even into Boss. An expressive "My Boss" has taken the place of the old My Maussa where a protective and devoted relation exists between white and black. The sustantive is used verbally: "My Brederin'," said the preacher, "w'en yo' is come intuh de choche yo' mus' 'bey hiť gubberners; yo' kyan' maussa de chocke!" "Hump! say de June-bug, w'en 'e meet up wid de flea, An odd usage is that of say auxiliary to all verbs of speech or thought, seemingly the remnant of a participial construction, such as, Jesus, answering, spake unto the lawyers and pharisees, saying, etc.; And He spake this parable unto them, saying. In Gullah the use is: 'De angel tell John say 'No man can't count 'em!' De angel fly cros' de yut, cry say 'Woe! woe!' I suspicion say eh gwine toľ’im farruh. Buh Rabbut t'ink say 'Oho! huccum?' This usage has maintained, unaltered, at least, for seventy-five years; a record of 1835, made by a South Carolinian, shows it identically: "Me heart t'ink say 'He gwine soon.' "Tell all men say 'He mus' make road."" So far as gender is concerned, Gullah is innocent of distinction of pronouns with regard to sex,* especially the gentler; the feminine form is practically unused; where used, much less than masculine or neuter; a child, a girl, is almost invariably referred to as he, his, him: "Me tell Jane 'e mus'n't do so; but him will do." "Write me a lettah to muh wife; tell 'im say him gotter sen' me dem shut 'e promuss." *Says an observer among the Sea Islands: "There is probably no speech which has less inflection, or, indeed, less power of expressing grammatical relation in any way. It is perhaps not too strong to say that the field-hands make no distinction of gender, case, number, tense, or voice. The pronouns are, to be sure, more or less distinguished by the most intelligent. I do not know that I ever heard a real possessive case, but they have begun to develop one of their own. "Nathan daughteh 'e wuk fuh Mis' Roddy, but Mis' Roddy 'im say 'e gone." A visitor to a (masculine) attorney's office was informed by a Georgetown darkey office-boy that "She is out; 'e yent come back, not yit; him soon will." Questioned upon this subject, of masculine and feminine, grammatically considered, one old negro defined the terms as follows: "O, yes; me yiz know dat; w'en 'omans ent mahry 'e a male; w'en 'e maḥry 'im bun er female." This is the extent of appreciation of grammatical sex in Gullah. Recognition of a regular possessive is as dim:* it is commonly indicated by juxtaposition, and implication; as Billy gun; Tom book; we hat; dem ahx; tarruh niggah bat-o; Chloey gownd; de dog baid; Mistress Daphne Williams's place was expressed as 'A lady place name' Mistis Daphne Williams.' Possession is also expressed by the addition of own; i. e., she own, he own, Billy own, dem own, instead of his, hers, theirs, Billy's. So little is the apostrophic form used that a nurse, hearing the infant's small possessions referred to as "Jane's," thereafter addressed and referred to her charge as Janes. Adjectives are turned to verbs with entire nonchalance: "W'en me idle," said a hearty buck to his comrade, "me duh happy muhsef een de sun senka coota pon topper log; w'en me hongry, me yiz des' foolish roun' some yalluh gal een buckra yad; wuffuh wuk, eh?” The cook will hot up the cakes; the chambermaid fulls the waterbucket. Substantives are used verbally, and vice versa; as in "Brederin', me prayeh to Go'd me meet yo' een glory! Me ol'; hit may be de las' time yo'll ebber hyeah me prayeh!", and "Sometimes I preach; but my fo'te is songsteh." There arise times of sad necessity when Old Jacob is summoned to bug the beds; and, in ordinary parlance, a quarrel, or violent "falling-out" is not to differ, but a differ: "Wut bin de diffuh? Dey yent bin no diffuh? Den wuffeh 'e gwine? Yo' ent tone 'im out? Den wuffeh 'im gwine? 'Dry so?". So, des' so, or dry so means without modifying, extenuating, or explanatory circumstances; "Dem tiz ez tiz; tek um ez *Says an observer among the Sea Islands: "There is probably no speech which has less inflection, or, indeed, less power of expressing grammatical relation in any way. It is perhaps not too strong to say that the field-hands make no distinction of gender, case, number, tense, or voice. The pronouns are, to be sure, more or less distinguished by the most intelligent. I do not know that I ever heard a real possessive case, but they have begun to develop one of their own. †See note on "jove-to jest." tiz, er don' tek um 't all!" is a negro's exposition of Des' so! The genius is everywhere to simplify, to ease: to conjure by necromantic spell, to bewitch by working of charms, becomes to mek er wuk, (to make a work); which recalls Milton's Comus: "Soon as the potion works;" or the rarer sense of passionate ferment, or trouble. To pitch or to raise a tune, perhaps to improvise a tune or song, is to mek one sing; to accept donations or favours and be grateful for them is simply tek um an' tenky; for economy of utterance without lost significance opportunity does duty for three words, in the maxim, Niggah nebbah tek er chahnce nebbah hahber-tunity! which nearly equals the famous story of the Edistonian, who, when his spirited horse caracolled, “los' 'is equi-le-br-r-ram! 'e come down 'pon de groun'!" Of this nature is the usage of galloping as two words, in the form gallin-up: as 'E spuh 'e hoss, an' come er gallin-up de road to 'des um; and, with amusing confusion of sense and sound, in the use of wash-up for worship: "Wicket mens dem washes-up idols bedout yez;* somer yo' washes-up a Go'd wud no yes, an' kyan' yerry yuh; but I do not wash-up no sich a Go'd; no, muh! I do not wash-em-up; w'en me duh prayeh, muh Lo'd yerry, an' tek muh sin erway! One congregation, Baptist, too, unable to repair their original church building, badly damaged by earthquake, bought an old soapfactory, an' dem is wash-up een de soap-fact'ry sebrul yeahs. Elision of medial r, elimination of final r, introduction of euphonic r; substitution of the mere throat-murmur for i-short, parallelling Warwickshire usage, in mill, bill, pill, fit, fish, etc.; change of e into a in edge, bed, dead, head, leg, beg, and the like; an odd euphonic use of extraneous y and n, in yeye for eye, yez for ears, yiz for is, yully for early yut for earth, nyoung for young, noabout for about, nuse for use; the turning of l into r, as frail for flail; of r into l, as gelt for girth; the transposition of sp to ps, in such words as wasp, waps; hasp, haps; rasp, raps; clasp, claps; the conversion of final se, sh, ze, and ns into ge and nge, as sige for size, rige for rise, 'spige for despise, reinge for reins, chainge for chains, sneege for sneeze, rubbige for rubbish, *Without ears. +With no ears. Yearly was Georgia common usage, 1798: Longstreet's Georgia Scenes, 110 pp. |