"He useter become so absorbed in his favorite pastime, that a feller
man, if he irritated the Filosifer, became small streems _pro temper_,
and were dammed pooty sudden."

"What, you don't mean to say that an Editor swore in them days?" sed I,
interuptin' the old man.

"They occashunly took a hand in that ere biziness, and when they got
onto a fit, could cuss and swear ekal to the beet of us," sed he.

"Wall," sed I, "I thought they was all good moral men, like THEODORE
TILTON & ANNER DICKINSON."

"Oh! no," he replide. "Editors in them days use to fat up on swearin'".

He then resumed, "Farmers throughout the land tride H.G.'s. dammin'
ways.

"They dammed all the streams, and anybody who didn't like their stile of
doin' things got sarved in the same manner. The consequents was, their
was a flood--yes sir, a flood.

"Brooklin, Jarsey and Hoboken ferry-botes was swamped, and the
passengers all drowned.

"To be a corroner them times was money in a feller's pocket, as the
inquest biziness was the best biziness agoin' outside of any
well-organized Ring.