y of it left here, for I have
some doubts about that. Yes, he is an able lead horse, is Abednego; he
is a'most a grand preacher, a good poet, a first chop orator, a
great diplomater, and a top sawyer of a man, in short--he _is_ a
_Socdolager_."

CHAPTER XV. DINING OUT.

My visit to Germany was protracted beyond the period I had originally
designed; and, during my absence, Mr. Slick had been constantly in
company, either "dining out" daily, when in town, or visiting from one
house to another in the country.

I found him in great spirits. He assured me he had many capital stories
to tell me, and that he rather guessed he knew as much of the English,
and a leetle, jist a leetle, grain more, p'raps, than they knew of the
Yankees.

"They are considerable large print are the Bull family," said he; "you
can read them by moonlight. Indeed, their faces ain't onlike the moon
in a gineral way; only one has got a man in it, and the other hain't
always. It tante a bright face; you can look into it without winkin'.
It's a cloudy one here too, especially in November; and most all the
time makes you rather sad and solemncoly. Yes, John is a moony man,
that's a fact, and at the full a little queer sometimes.

"England is a stupid country compared to our'n. _There it no variety
where there it no natur_. You have class variety here, but no
individiality. They are insipid, and call it perlite. The men dress
alike, talk alike, and look as much alike as Providence will let 'em.
The club-houses and the tailors have done a good deal towards this, and
so has whiggism and dissent; for they have destroyed distinctions.

"But this is too deep for me. Ask Minister, he will tell you the cause;
I only tell you the fact.

"Dinin' out here, is both heavy work, and light feedin'. It's monstrous
stupid. One dinner like one rainy day (it's rained ever since I
been here a'most), is like another; one drawin'-room like another
drawin'-room; one peer's entertainment, in a general way, is
like another peer's. The same powdered, liveried, lazy, idle,
good-for-nothin', do-little, stand-in-the-way-of-each-other,
useless sarvants. Same picturs, same plate, same fixin's, same
don't-know-what-to-do-with-your-self-kinder-o'-lookin'-master. Great
folks are like great folks, marchants like marchants, and so on. It's a
pictur, it looks like life, but' it tante. The animal is tamed here; he
is fatter than the wild one, but he hante the spirit.

"You have