I see he wuz fearfully worked up, and all the rest of the afternoon I made errents for him to keep him away from that agent and the workmen. I see he wuz gettin’ completely onstrung. And I, with my own inward apprehensions, wuz in no state to string him up ag’in. So I kep’ him away from them by borrowin’ things I didn’t want of Mrs. Gowdey, and sendin’ home tea I never had to Miss Bobbitses, and etc. etc. Yes, to such depths of deceit will a woman’s devoted love lead her. Wall, about night they got it sot up, and Josiah and I proceeded down-stairs to see it. They had all gone then, for Miss Bobbit had detained Josiah with a long story. She mistrusted sunthin’. Wall, when we went down to see it, it looked queer enough. The furnace wuz so very small, and the big pipes a-leadin’ from it in every direction looked so very big. I don’t know as I can describe it any better than to say it looked like a small teacup sot out in a door-yard, with very big eave-spouts a-runnin’ from it all over the yard. Or as a very small infant of a few weeks of age would look, a-settin’ up with a man’s high hat on, and a pair of number eleven boots. It looked curious, and strange, so strange that I sithed, as I looked at it, and Josiah looked stunted, and he took out his bandanna handkerchief and wiped his forward, without words. Finally he sez, sort o’ dreamily,— “’Most all great inventions and discoveries look strange at first.” And I sez, almost mechanically, “Yes, that is so, Josiah.” And he spoke out ag’in, “Napoleon Boneparte wuz a small man, but what a generel he wuz! What a leader! How fiery he wuz!” And I sez, “Yes,” ag’in. And he sez, a-brightenin’ up in his thoughts, and in delicate defference to me,— “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Wall, the next mornin’ the fire wuz built in the furnace, and, it bein’ hot weather, it heat the house beautifully. It wuz about ninety in the shade, so the furnace heat the house warm, and the agent and men looked triumphant, and ag’in Josiah’s apprehensions rose, and he wondered how he wuz goin’ to get through the winter with it without meltin’ right down in our tracts. But I kep’ cool, or as cool as I could in dog-days, and didn’t say much. Wall, it run along, and run along, the furnace always a-goin’, to dry the plasterin’, and Josiah’s stock of winter coal kep’ a-dwindlin’ down. Whatever else the furnace could do, or couldn’t do, it could devour coal with the best of ’em. Like some folks I have seen, it wuz small in size, but had a immense appetite. Ton after ton vanished like tales that wuz told, into its insatiable mouth (door of furnace). But as the weather wuz still hot, it heat the house beautifully, so Josiah didn’t complain. But he lay awake nights a-worryin’ about the effects of heat. But finally there come on a cold snap, jest as I wuz a-gettin’ the new house cleaned, and carpets put down, and I found there wuzn’t a room I could set down in, it wuz so cold.