You would thereby avoid confounding the noble animals before you with
the no less useful, but undeniably less attractive--in an aesthetic
point of view--animals which belong to the bovine race."

He is evidently overcome by my flow of language, and he asks, with a
feeble show of independence: "You ain't hungry, are you?"

I say to myself: "Kind-hearted little fellow. He is grateful for my
reproof, and proposes to reward me with peanuts." So I kindly reply:
"No, my child, I am not hungry; why do you ask?"

"Because," answers the young villain, "I thought you couldn't be, after
having histed in a whole big dictionary."

I turn abruptly to MARGARET and say: "Come, my dear"--(she is my maiden
aunt, and I use the language of affection and respect to her)--"let us
go. This thing is only fit for children. We'll go over to WALLACK'S and
see an old comedy."

She rises reluctantly; but as we emerge into Fourteenth street, she
says: "The CIRCUS is one of the nicest places in town, and I like it a
million times better than I do your stupid old comedies."

The curious circumstance in connection with this remark is, that
MARGARET is nearly always right.

MATADOR.

* * * * *