and
unlocking a beaufet which stood at some distance behind him against the
wall, he put the bag into a drawer; then again locking the beaufet he sat
down in the chair, then tilting the chair back upon its hind legs he kept
swaying himself backwards and forwards upon it, his toes sometimes upon
the ground, sometimes mounting until they tapped against the nether side
of the table, surveying me all the time with a queer kind of a side
glance, and occasionally ejecting saliva upon the carpet in the direction
of place where I sat.

"Fine weather, sir," said I, at last, rather tired of being skewed and
spit at in this manner.

"Why yaas," said the figure; "the day is tolerably fine, but I have seen
a finer."

"Well, I don't remember to have seen one," said I; "it is as fine a day
as I have seen during the present season, and finer weather than I have
seen during this season I do not think I ever saw before."

"The weather is fine enough for Britain," said the figure, "but there are
other countries besides Britain."

"Why," said I, "there's the States, 'tis true."

"Ever been in the States, Mr?" said the figure quickly.

"Have I ever been in the States," said I, "have I ever been in the
States?"

"Perhaps you are of the States, Mr; I thought so from the first."

"The States are fine countries," said I.

"I guess they are, Mr."

"It would be no easy matter to whip the States."

"So I should guess, Mr."

"That is, single-handed," said I.

"Single-handed, no nor double-handed either. Let England and France and
the State which they are now trying to whip without being able to do it,
that's Russia, all unite in a union to whip the Union, and if instead of
whipping the States they don't get a whipping themselves, call me a
braying jackass--"

"I see, Mr," said I, "that you are a sensible man, because you speak very
much my own opinion. However, as I am an unprejudiced person, like
yourself, I wish to do justice to other countries--the States are fine
countries--but there are other fine countries in the world. I say
nothing of England; catch me saying anything good of England; but I call
Wales a fine country; gainsay it who may, I call Wales a fine country."

"So it is, Mr."

"I'll go farther," said I; "I wish to do justice to everything: I call
the Welsh a fine language."

"So it is, Mr. Ah, I see you are an unprejudiced man. You don't
understand Welsh, I guess."

"I don't understand Welsh," said I;