nksgiving turkey Toby ever saw. Behind him
came his fat wife, carrying several dishes, each of which emitted a most
fragrant odor; and as these were placed upon the table the spirits of
the sword swallower seemed to revive, and he smiled pleasantly; while
even the ladies appeared animated by the sight and odor of the good
things which they were to be called upon so soon to pass judgment.

Several times did Mr. and Mrs. Treat bustle in and out from behind the
screen, and each time they made some addition to that which was upon the
table, until Toby began to fear that they would never finish, and the
sword swallower seemed unable to restrain his impatience.

At last the finishing touch had been put to the table, the last dish
placed in position, and then, with a certain kind of grace, which no one
but a man as thin as Mr. Treat could assume, he advanced to the edge of
the platform and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, nothing gives me greater pleasure than to invite
you all, including Mr. Tyler's friend Stubbs, to the bountiful repast
which my Lilly has prepared for--"

At this point Mr. Treat's speech--for it certainly seemed as if he had
commenced to make one--was broken off in a most summary manner. His wife
had come up behind him and, with as much ease as if he had been a child,
lifted him from off the floor and placed him gently in the chair at the
head of the table.

"Come right up and get dinner," she said to her guests. "If you had
waited until Samuel had finished his speech everything on the table
would have been stone cold."

The guests proceeded to obey her kindly command; and it is to be
regretted that the sword swallower had no better manners than to jump
on to the platform with one bound and seat himself at the table with the
most unseemly haste. The others, and more especially Toby, proceeded in
a leisurely and more dignified manner.

A seat had been placed by the side of the one intended for Toby for the
accommodation of Mr. Stubbs, who suffered a napkin to be tied under his
chin, and behaved generally in a manner that gladdened the heart of his
young master.

Mr. Treat cut generous slices from the turkey for each guest, and Mrs.
Treat piled their plates high with all sorts of vegetables, complaining,
after the manner of housewives generally, that the food was not cooked
as she would like to have had it, and declaring that she had had poor
luck with everything that morning, when she firmly believed in