In a certain
circle no occasion of the sort was considered complete without his
presence There was no such thing as dullness when he was about. His
peculiar wit or his simplicity was brought out at a dinner-party one day
at Dr. Bascom's. There was a large gathering of the leading families of
San Jose and vicinity, and Uncle Joe was there in his jolliest mood.
Mrs. Bascom, whose wit was then the quickest and keenest in all
California, presided, and enough good things were said to have made a
reputation for Sidney Smith or Douglas Jerrold. Mrs. Bascom, herself a
Virginian by extraction, had engaged in a laughing colloquy with Uncle
Joe, who stood near the head of the table waving a bunch of peacock's
feathers to keep off the flies.
"Missus, who is yer kinfolks back dar in Virginny, any way?"
The names of several were mentioned.
"Why, dem's big folks," said Uncle Joe.
"Yes," said she, laughingly; "I belong to the first families of
Virginia."
"I don't know 'bout dat, Missus. I was dar 'fore you was, an' I don't
'long to de fus' families!"
He looked at it from a chronological rather than a genealogical
standpoint, and, strange to say, the familiar phrase had never been
heard by him before.
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