Quote Originally Posted by npcigar View Post
Try using words, you know putting letters together in groups.
He did; he used a common way of shortening phrases/words in English literature. It's similar to a contraction, but instead of combining two words into one with an apostrophe, it shortens one word to a letter or more with the use of an apostrophe (though the apostrophe isn't always needed; see below).

The 's'what = that's what.

"Tis" is a popular example of this, in fact, it became so ubiquitous that people stopped putting the apostrophe for it altogether. Another common one today is 'nother, as in a "whole 'nother deal."

For more on this and other interesting but not oft (oops, I just did it, "oft" is another example) used grammatic idiosyncrasies, consult your basic college level English Grammar.

BTW, welcome; we're sticklers for knowing proper grammar and treating the established community with respect.