arish praist, anyhow--theres a
good skreed to begin wid, an' so as theres enuff in this part o' me
leter to kaip ye thinkin till dinner, ill just go out an have another
dig in the straim an resoom me pen when i cum bak.

"Wel, mister osten, as i wor saying, ive returned havin got nothin, bad
skran to it, but a few small bits like a thimble, howsumeiver, that
samell pay for sharpnin the tools, i now sit down to resoom me pen, as i
said before i got up, but och! if ye heerd the row the other boys is
goin on wid, yed find it as diffikilt to read this as i do to spel it.
but niver mind, that saim dont mater much, for, as i said before, im
allways kooll.

"Wel--youve no notion what a work we hav wid the goold, bekais, dee see,
weer pikin it up in handfulls, sumtimes wid a nugit, now an again, like
yer fist, an the boys is raither exited, for ov koorse they kant al keep
as kool as me--but let that pas. as I wor sayin, the row is diffinin for
that blakgird Buckywangy is spinin a yarn as long as the mane yard o a
sivinty-fore about wan o' thim spalpeens in the kanible ilands as had
his unkles darters waitin maid, as wor a slaiv, hashed up, wid two litle
boys an a pig, into what hees got the face to call a Irish stu, an it
didnt sit lit on the Kanibles stumick for the raisin they forgot the
pepper--its not aisy to write wid sich blarny ringin' in wans eers--an
the boys larfin too as loud, amost as the nigers yel in the Kanible
islands--be the way, that minds me o purty miss westwood as we met
thair. its mistress osten sheel be by this no doubt, plaiz give her
Larry's best respeks, an its wishin her good luck i am, an the saim to
yersilf.

"Yool be glad to heer that buncos found his wife, he wint away south for
three or fore weeks, an brot her bak wid him, an she hadnt married
nobody in his absence, the its urgin her purty hard they was. shees
patchin a pair o me owld breeches at this minit while I write them
lines, an is uncomon usful wid her needle, capn blathers says he had no
notion before that wimin was so nisisary to man. but hees a dirty owld
bachiler. the traper tawks o laivin us, im sory to say. hees a good
harted man an a rail broth of a boy is big ben, but he dont take kindly
to goold diggin, thats not to say he kant dig. hees made more nor most
of us, an more be token he gave the most of it away to a poor retch of a
feller as kaim hear sik an starvin on his way to sanfransisky. but big
bens heart is in the roky mou