"Oh, now you git out," sez I, when he handed over a hull swad of posies done up in a grist of leaves; "you don't mean to put me off with that ere! why, it aint a flee-bite to what I want. Come now, hunt up a few hollyhocks, and marygolds, and poppies, and if you've got a good smashing hidaranger, purple on one side and yaller on tother, tuck it in the middle." Mr. Hogg he stood a looking right in my eyes with his mouth a little open, as if he didn't know what to make of it. "The season is over for those things," sez he, "and I haint got one in the hot-house." "Wal," sez I, "du the best you can, all things considering, only tuck in the big posies and enough on 'em, for I'm going to give 'em to a sneezer of a harnsome gal--so don't be too sparing." With that M. Hogg sarched out some great red and yaller posies, with some streaming long blue ones a sticking through them, and arter a while he handed over something worth while--a great smashing bunch of posies as big as a bell-squash choked in at the neck. Arter I'd examined the consarn to be sartin that all was shipshape, I made Mr. Hogg a bow and, sez I, "I'm much obliged to you--if ever you come to Weathersfield in the summer time, marm will give you jest as many and be tickled with the chance. She beats all natur at raising these sort of things." He looked at me sort of arnest, but yet he didn't seem to be jest satisfied, and after snapping his thumb across the blade of his jack-knife a minit, he spoke out, but seemed kinder loth. "We generally sell our bokays," sez he, arter haming and hawing a leetle while. "Wal," sez I, "mebby I shall want one some of these days, and then I'll give you a call--but any how I'm obliged to you for the posies all the same." I wanted to offer him a fourpence for the trouble of picking the posies, but he looked so much like a gentleman and a Weathersfield Deacon, I was scared for fear he'd think I wanted to impose on him if I offered money. So I made him another bow, and went off, while he stood a looking arter me as if I'd been stealin a sheep. I have wished since that I'd offered him the fourpence, for he kinder seemed to calculate on something like it. I stopped into a store, and bought a yard of wide yaller ribbon, and arter tying it round my bunch of posies in a double bow not, with great long eends a streaming down, I took the critter in my hand, and cut dirt for the theatre, for it was a gitting nigh on to dark. Your loving son, JONATHAN SLICK. * * * * * LETTER XXII.