jist owin' to how you look at it. I never
caught up to that blamed markit, but I had
the society of the hogs fer two weeks."



Uncle Josh and the Lightning Rod Agent

WALL I s'pose I git buncode offener than any
feller what ever lived in Punkin Centre. A
short time ago we wanted to build a new town
hall, and calculated we'd have a brick
building; and some one sed, "Wall now, if
you'll jist wait 'til Josh Weathersby makes
another trip or two down to New York
thar'll be gold bricks enuff a-layin' 'round
Punkin Centre to build a new town hall."

Wall, one day last summer I wuz a sottin'
out on my back porch, when along cum one
of them thar lightning rod agents. Wall,
he jist cum right up and commenced a-talkin'
at me jist as if he'd bin the town marshal
or a tax assessor, or like he'd known me all
his life. He sed, "My dear sir, I am astonished
at you. I've looked over your entire
premises and I find you haven't got a lightning
rod on any buildin' that you possess.
Why, my dear sir, don't you know you are
flyin' right in the face of Providence? Don't