“That ain’t it,” remarked Toddie, with the air of a man who felt himself to be unjustly treated. “Is it, Budge?” “Oh, no,” said Budge, “you didn’t read it good a bit; _I’ll_ tell you how it is. Once there was a little boy named Joseph, an’ he had eleven budders—they was _awful_ eleven budders. An’ his papa gave him a new coat, an’ his budders hadn’t nothin’ but their old jackets to wear. An’ one day he was carrying ’em their dinner, an’ they put him in a deep, dark hole, but they didn’t put his nice new coat in—they killed a kid, an’ dipped the coat—just think of doin’ that to a nice new coat—they dipped it in the kid’s blood, an’ made it all bloody.” “All bluggy,” echoed Toddie, with ferocious emphasis. Budge continued:— “But there were some Ishmalites comin’ along that way, and the awful eleven budders took him out of the deep, dark hole, an’ sold him to the Ishmalites, an’ they sold him away down in Egypt. An’ his poor old papa cried, an’ cried, an’ cried, ’cause he thought a big lion ate Joseph up; but he wasn’t ate up a bit; but there wasn’t no post-office nor choo-choos,[6] nor stages in Egypt, an’ there wasn’t any telegraphs, so Joseph couldn’t let his papa know where he was; an’ he got so smart an’ so good that the king of Egypt let him sell all the corn an’ take care of the money; ’an one day some men came to buy some com, an’ Joseph looked at ’em ’an they was his own budders! An’ he scared ’em like everything; _I’d_ have _slapped_ ’em all if _I’d_ been Joseph, but he just scared ’em, an’ then he let ’em know who he was, an’ he kissed ’em an’ he didn’t whip ’em, or make ’em go without their breakfast, or stand in a corner, nor none of them things; an’ then he sent them back for their papa, an’ when he saw his papa comin’, he ran like everything, and gave him a great big hug and a kiss. Joseph was too big to ask him if he’d brought him any candy, but he was awful glad to see him. An’ the king gave Joseph’s papa a nice farm, an’ they all had real good times after that.” [6] Railway cars. “An’ they dipped the coat in the blood, an’ made it all bluggy,” reiterated Toddie. “Uncle Harry,” said Budge, “what do you think _my_ papa would do, if he thought I was all ate up by a lion? I guess he’d cry _awful_, don’t you? Now tell us another story—oh, _I’ll_ tell you—read us ’bout—” ”’Bout Bliaff,” interrupted Toddie. “_You_ tell _me_ about him, Toddie,” said I. “Why,” said Toddie, “Bliaff was a brate bid man, an’ Dave was brate little man, an’ Bliaff said, ‘Come over here, an’ I’ll eat you up,’ an’ Dave said, ‘_I_ ain’t fyaid of you.’ So Dave put five little stones in a sling an’ asked de Lord to help him, an’ let ze sling go bang into bequeen Bliaff’s eyes an’ knocked him down dead, an’ Dave took Bliaff’s sword an’ sworded Bliaff’s head off, an’ made it all bluggy, an’ Bliaff runned away.” This short narration was accompanied by more spirited and unexpected gestures than Mr. Gough ever puts into a long lecture.