osiah Allen met me all riz up with a new idee.

He had been out to buy a new pair of suspenders, his havin' gin out the
day before; and he come to our room, where I wuz calmly settin'
a-bastin' in some clean cotton lace into the sleeves of my alpaca dress.

And sez he right out abrup, with no preamble, "Samantha, less go down to
the Fair Ground in a whale."

"In a whale?" sez I; "are you a loonatick, or what duz ail you, to try
to make a pair of Jonahses of us at our age?"

"Wall," sez he, "they have 'em here to carry folks down to the Fair, I
know, for I hearn it straight, and I should think we wuz jest the right
age to go as easy as possible, and try experiments."

"Wall," sez I firmly, "I hain't a-goin' to try no such experiment as
that. If the Lord called me to tackle a whale, I would tackle it, but I
hain't had no callin', and I hain't goin' to try to ride out in no
whale."

"I'm a-callin' you," sez he.

"Wall," sez I dryly, "you hain't the Deity--no, indeed, fur from it."

"Wall," sez he, "I'd love to go, Samantha. What a glorious piece of news
to carry back to Jonesville, that we rid out in a whale. In the old
Jonesville meetin'-house now, when Elder Minkley is a-preachin' on
Jonah--and you know he trots him out a dozen times a year as a
warnin'--how you and I could lift up our heads and tost 'em, and how the
necks of the Jonesvillians would be craned round to look at us--we two,
who had rid out in a whale--we had been right there, and knew how it
wuz."

"I don't want to show off," sez I, "and I don't want any necks craned or
tosted on account of my gettin' into a whale and ridin' it;" and then I
sez, "Good land! what won't Chicago do next?"

And I added, "It don't surprise me a mite; it hain't no more of a wonder
than lots of things I have seen here. I might a known if Chicago had sot
its mind on havin' a whale to transport folks to the World's Fair she'd
a done it, but I won't tackle the job."

"There it is," sez he gloomily, "I never make arrangements to
distinguish myself and make a name, but you must break it up. I had
lotted on this, Samantha," sez he.

He looked sad and deprested, and though I was bound not to give in and
go, yet I made some inquiries.

"How many does the whale carry? What makes you think we could both git
into it?"

Sez Josiah, "It carries 5000 at a time."

I felt weak as a cat, jest as I had felt time and agin sence I had come
to Chicago.

"Wall," sez I in weak axent