set her to singin'.

The idee! of that little skeletin with her skinny lips drawed
back from her shinin' fish teeth, a singin'. The idee on't!

But truly, he wuz destracted and knew not what he did. The
mariner in charge looked destracted. And the bystanders a
standin' by wuz amazed, and horrowfied by the spectacle of his
actin' and behavin'. And I knew not how I should termonate the
seen, and withdraw him away from where he wuz.

But in my destraction and agony of sole, I bethought me of one
meens of quietin' him and as it were terrifyin' him into silence
and be the meens of gettin' on him to leave the seen. I begoned
to Ardelia to come forward and I sez in a whisper to her, "Take
out your pencil and a piece of paper and stand up in front of him
and go to writin' some of your poetry,"

And then I sez agin in tender agents, "Be calm, Josiah."

"And I tell you that I won't be calm! And I tell you," a shakin'
his fist at that pale mariner, "I tell you to bring out -- "

At that very minute he turned his eyes onto Ardelia, who stood
with a kind of a fur-away look in her eyes in front of him with
the paper in her hand, and sez he to me, "What is she doin'?"

"She is composin' some poetry onto you, Josiah Allen," sez I, in
tremblin' axents; for I felt that if that skeme failed, I wuz
undone, for I knew I had no ingredients there to get him a extra