e episodes of a comic nature." And I didn't.

When we had reached our rooms that night my wife turned on me and said
sharply,

"What did you do that for?"

"What did I do what for?"

"What did you tell him that story for?"

"Well, why in thunder shouldn't I tell it to him? What's the matter with
that story anyway?"

She looked at me curiously for a moment, then said,

"Don't you know what you did?"

"No."

"Why that was the same story he had just told you."

* * * * *

E. J. Connelly has got a summer home at Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire. He
also owns several building lots around there. As building lots without
buildings on them do not bring in much cash, Edward was seriously
contemplating building some cottages on the lots, furnishing and renting
them. I met him one evening this fall and asked him how the cottages
were coming on.

"It's all off," he said; "nothing doing in the cottage line for me."

I asked him what had happened to change his mind so suddenly.

"Well, Bill," he said, "you know I am not a chap who goes hunting for
trouble; I'm nervous; I don't like to be troubled with other people's
troubles. This afternoon I was over to Bob Eaton's, and you know he has
got some cottages up at the other end of the lake that he rents,
furnished."

"Yes, I knew that."

"Well," continued Connelly, "while I was over to Bob's this afternoon a
man who has rented one of these cottages came down there. He had left
his cottage and driven twelve miles down to Bob's house to make a kick;
and what do you suppose the kick was?"

"Haven't the least idea."

"There wasn't any nutmeg grater in the cottage. Twelve miles to make a
five-cent kick. And my cottages would be only two hundred feet away. No
landlord business for your Uncle Edward. No, sir."

THE TROUBLES OF THE LAUGH GETTERS

It is a solemn business, this getting laughs for a living. Supposing the
people don't laugh. Then how are you going to live? Take an act that you
have been doing for weeks. Every afternoon and every night the audience
laughs at exactly the same lines; this goes on night after night, week
after week and city after city. Then you go into some city like Toronto
or St. Paul and Hamlet's soliloquy would get as many laughs as you do.
Now what are you going to do? Other players on the bill are getting
laughs right along and you, in the language of the stage, are "dying
standing up."

I have had the