Nothing in this narrative of real incidents is at all calculated to reflect on the excellent character of Mr. Smith: and this is because we esteem him very highly and not from any dread of the law; for John Smith is so multitudinous, that one _could_ handle the name with impunity, and not incur any risk of prosecution for libel. What would a court say to an action against a writer for libeling JOHN SMITH, yeoman!—especially when the writer should plead that he never meant _that_ JOHN SMITH, but quite another, unknown to the court. There are those who will shrewdly guess that the hero of the narrative represents the author himself, the chief grounds for such inference being a striking similarity in the number of nether limbs. That, however, should scarcely be taken as conclusive; for, since “this cruel war is over,” there are nearly as many one-legged men in the country as there are JOHN SMITHS! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENTS. ---------------------------- CHAPTER I. THE WAY IT HAPPENED. CHAPTER II. JOHN’S ADVENTURE WITH A CRAZY MAN. CHAPTER III. PROPOSES TO LEAP FROM A THIRD-STORY WINDOW. CHAPTER IV. LOCKED UP CHAPTER V. ACCOMMODATED WITH A “ROOM LOWER DOWN.” CHAPTER VI. THE WAY SMITH GETS BORED.—AN EPISODE. CHAPTER VII. JOHN SMITH’S FRIEND. CHAPTER VIII. JOHN THOUGHT HE WOULD LIKE TO TRAVEL. CHAPTER IX. SEA-SICK.—UGH! CHAPTER X. THE “HUB.” CHAPTER XI. NARROW ESCAPE IN A ROW AT BALTIMORE. CHAPTER XII. HOW SMITH TRAVELED A-FOOT—AND MORE. CHAPTER XIII. ROMANCE IN JOHN SMITH’S “REAL LIFE.” CHAPTER XIV. THE HUDSON. CHAPTER XV. JOHN AT SARATOGA. CHAPTER XVI. THE SAIL-BOAT. CHAPTER XVII. NIAGARA FALLS. CHAPTER XVIII. CAVE OF THE WINDS. CHAPTER XIX. CANADA. CHAPTER XX. COL. JOHN SMITH AT AN HOTEL.