ttom.

Josiah studied their costoom with happy interest, but a deep shade of
anxiety darkened his mean as they would spread out their wares before
me, and he sez with a axent of tender interest:

"If you knew, Samantha, how much more beautiful you looked to me in
your cameo pin you would never think of appearin' in diamonds and
rubies."

I sez, "I guess I won't buy any nose-rings, Josiah, my nose is pretty
big anyway."

"Yes," he interrupted me eagerly, "they wouldn't be becomin',
Samantha, and be in the way eatin' sweet corn on the ear and such."

There are lots of men carryin' round serpents, and I sez to Josiah,
"Who under the sun would want to buy a snake unless they wuz crazy?"

"Yes," said Josiah, "Eve made a big mistake listenin' to that serpent;
there probable wuzn't but one then, and that's the way they have jest
overrun the garden, her payin' attention and listenin' to it. Females
can't seem to look ahead."

And I sez, "Why didn't Adam do as you always do, Josiah, ketch up a
stick and put an end to it?" I always holler to Josiah if I see a
snake and he makes way with it.

But such talk is onprofitable. But Josiah hadn't a doubt but this was
the Garden of Eden and talked fluent about it.

One odd thing here in Ceylon is that foxes have wings and can fly.
Josiah wanted to get one the worse way; he said that he would
willin'ly carry it home in his arms for the sake of havin' it fly
round over Jonesville, and sez he, "They are so smart, Samantha, they
will git drunk jest as naterally as men do, they would feel to home in
America." And they say they do steal palm wine out of bowls set to
ketch it by the natives and are found under the trees too drunk to git
home, not havin' wives or children willin' to lead 'em home, I spoze,
or accomidatin' policemen.

But I sez, "Don't you try to git the animals in America to drinkin',
Josiah Allen." Sez I, "I should be mortified to death to see the old
mair or Snip staggerin' round as men do, lookin' maudlin and silly; I
should despise the idee of lowerin' the animals down to that state."

"Well, well, I don't spoze I can git one of these foxes anyway, though
I might," sez he dreamily, "git one real drunk and carry it." But I
guess he'll gin it up.

The jungles all round us wuz, I spoze, filled with wild animals.
Elephants, tigers and serpents, big and little, besides monkeys and
more harmless ones. The snake charmers did dretful strange things with
'em, but I di