an
audience of children? I, for one, have no wish to listen to the juvenile
stories of Doctor Johnson. Furthermore, I have come here particularly to-
night to hear Boswell. I want to compare him with Froude. I therefore
protest against--"

"There is a roof to this house-boat," said Doctor Johnson. "If Mr.
Carlyle will retire to the roof with Boswell I have no doubt he can be
accommodated. As for Solomon's interruption, I can afford to pass that
over with the silent contempt it deserves, though I may add with
propriety that I consider his most famous proverbs the most absurd bits
of hack-work I ever encountered; and as for that story about dividing a
baby between two mothers by splitting it in two, it was grossly inhuman
unless the baby was twins. When I was a boy--"

As the Doctor proceeded, Carlyle and Solomon, accompanied by the now
angry Boswell, left the room, and my account of the Story-tellers' Night
must perforce stop; because, though I have never heretofore confessed it,
all my information concerning the house-boat on the Styx has been derived
from the memoranda of Boswell. It may be interesting to the reader to
learn, however, that, according to Boswell's account, the Story-tellers'
Night was never finished; but whether this means that it broke up
immediately afterwards in a riot, or that Doctor Johnson is still at work
detailing his reminiscences, I am not aware, and I cannot at the moment
of writing ascertain, for Boswell, when I have the pleasure of meeting
him, invariably avoids the subject.

CHAPTER XI: AS TO SAURIANS AND OTHERS

It was Noah who spoke.

"I'm glad," he said, "that when I embarked at the time of the heavy rains
that did so much damage in the old days, there weren't any dogs like that
fellow Cerberus about. If I'd had to feed a lot of three-headed beasts
like him the Ark would have run short of provisions inside of ten days."

"That's very likely true," observed Mr. Barnum; "but I must confess, my
dear Noah, that you showed a lamentable lack of the showman's instinct
when you selected the animals you did. A more commonplace lot of beasts
were never gathered together, and while Adam is held responsible for the
introduction of sin into the world, I attribute most of my offences to
none other than yourself."

The members of the club drew their chairs a little closer. The
conversation had opened a trifle spicily, and, furthermore, they had
retained enough of their morta