ght about our looks--we are dum
good-lookin', both on us. I am pretty lookin'," says he, firmly, "though
you hain't willin' to own up to it."

Sez he, "I dare presoom to say, he thought I would be a sort of a
ornament to his rooms--kinder set 'em off. And you look respectable,"
sez he, sort o' lookin' down on me--

"Only you are too fat!" Sez he, "You'd be quite good-lookin' if it
wuzn't for that."

And then we had some words.

And I sez, "It hain't none of our merits that angel looks at; it is his
own goodness."

"Wall, there hain't no use in your callin' him an angel. You never
called me so."

"No, indeed!" sez I; "I never had no occasion, not at all."

And then we had some more words--not many, but jest a few. We worship
each other, and it is known to be so, all over Jonesville, and Loontown,
and Zoar. And I spozed by that time that Chicago wuz a-beginnin' to wake
up to the truth of how much store we sot by each other. But the fairest
spring day is liable to have its little spirts of rain, and they only
make the air sweeter and more refreshin'.

Wall, from that time, every now and then--not enough to abuse his
horsepitality, but enough to let him know that we appreciated his
goodness--when our dry oven become heated up beyend what we could seem
to bear, we went into that cool, delightful room agin, and agin I
feasted my eyes on the lovely pictures on the wall; most of all on that
beautiful sunset scene down by the laughin' stream.

And as hot and beat out as I might be, I would always find that pretty
girl a-standin', cool and fresh, and dretful pretty, by the old bar
post, with her orburn hair pushed back from her flushed cheeks, and a
look in her deep brown eyes, and on her exquisite lips, that always put
me dretfully in mind of somebody, and who it wuz I could not for my life
tell.

Josiah used to take a book out of the bookcase, and read. Not one glance
did I ever give, or did I ever let Josiah Allen give to them other rooms
that opened out of this, nor into anything or anywhere, only jest that
bookcase. We didn't abuse our priveleges; no, indeed!

And Josiah would lean back dretful well-feelin', and thinkin' in his
heart that it wuz his good looks that wuz wanted to embellish the room,
and I kep on a wonderin' inside of myself what made Mr. Freeman so
oncommon good to us, till one day he told us sunthin' that made it
plainer to us, and Josiah Allen's pride had a fall (which, if his pride
hadn't be