Page:Behind the scenes, or, Thirty years a slave and four years in the White House.djvu/170

168 "Tote," remarked Mr. Lincoln; "what do you mean by tote?" "Why, massa, to tote um on your back."

"Very definite, my son; I presume when you tote a thing, you carry it. By the way, Sumner," turning to the Senator, "what is the origin of tote?" "Its origin is said to be African. The Latin word totum, from totus, means all—an entire bod—the whole."

"But my young friend here did not mean an entire body, or anything of the kind, when he said he would tote my things for me," interrupted the President. "Very true," continued the Senator. "He used the word tote in the African sense, to carry, to bear. Tote in this sense is defined in our standard dictionaries as a colloquial word of the Southern States, used especially by the negroes." "Then you regard the word as a good one?" "Not elegant, certainly. For myself, I should