laring him; and this
resentment he expressed by collaring his assailant in turn. The
consequence of this proceeding was a violent struggle, which finally
ended in a close stand-up fight between the male combatants, who shewed
great spirit, although, perhaps, not a great deal of science. John
Anderson, in particular, struck out manfully, and, in a twinkling,
tapped the claret of his antagonist, Tom Callender. Tom, in return, made
some fair attempts at closing up the day-lights of John Anderson, but,
truth compels us to say, without success. The fight now became
general--the wives having quitted their holds of each other, and flown
to the rescue of their respective husbands. They were thus all bundled
together in one indiscriminate and unintelligible melee. One leading
object or purpose, however, was discernible on the part of the female
combatants. This was to get hold of the red nightcaps--each that of her
husband's antagonist; and, after a good deal of scrambling, and
clutching, and punching, they both succeeded in tearing off the
obnoxious head-dress, with each a handful of the unfortunate wearer's
hair along with it. While this was going on, the conflicting, but firmly
united mass of combatants, who were all bundled, or rather locked
together in close and deadly strife, was rolling heavily, sometimes one
way, and sometimes another, sometimes ending with a thud against a
partition, that made the whole house shake, sometimes with a ponderous
lodgment against a door, which, unable to resist the shock, flew open,
and landed the belligerents at their full length on the floor, where
they rolled over one another in a very edifying and picturesque manner.

But this could not continue very long, and neither did it. A
consummation or catastrophe occurred, which suddenly, and at once, put
an end to the affray. In one of those heavy lee-lurches which the
closely united combatants made, they came thundering against the frail
legs of a dresser, which was ingeniously contrived to support two or
three tiers of shelves, which, again, were laden with stoneware, the
pride of Mrs. Anderson's heart, built up with nice and dexterous
contrivance, so as to shew to the greatest advantage. Need we say what
was the consequence of this rude assault on the legs of the
aforementioned dresser, supporting, as it did, this huge superstructure
of shelves and crockery? Scarcely. But we will. Down, then, came the
dresser; and down, as a necessary corol