pup is not dissimilar to a crockery crate loosely covered with a wet
sheet. In appetite he is liberal and cosmopolitan, loving a dried
sheepskin as well in proportion to its weight as a kettle of soap.
The village which Mr. Gish honours by his residence has for some
years been kept upon the dizzy verge of financial ruin by the
maintenance of this animal.

The reader will have already surmised that it was this beast which
our hero selected to testify his toleration of his lady friend.
There never was a greater mistake. Mr. Gish merely presented her a
sheaf of assorted angle-worms, neatly bound with a pink ribbon tied
into a simple knot. The dog is an heirloom and will descend to the
Gishes of the next generation, in the direct line of inheritance. A
Cow-County Pleasantry.

About the most ludicrous incident that I remember occurred one day
in an ordinarily solemn village in the cow-counties. A worthy
matron, who had been absent looking after a vagrom cow, returned
home, and pushing against the door found it obstructed by some heavy
substance, which, upon examination, proved to be her husband. He had
been slaughtered by some roving joker, who had wrought upon him with
a pick-handle. To one of his ears was pinned a scrap of greasy
paper, upon which were scrambled the following sentiments in pencil-
tracks:

"The inqulosed boddy is that uv old Burker. Step litely, stranger,
fer yer lize the mortil part uv wat you mus be sum da. Thers arrest
for the weery! If Burker heddenta wurkt agin me fer Corner I
wuddenta bed to sit on him. Ov setch is the kingum of hevvun! You
don't want to moov this boddy til ime summuns to hold a ninquest.