Wall, as I said, we didn't git home till pitch dark, and then I drempt of fish all night, and eels, and alligators, and such. It wuz tegus. [Illustration: I drempt of fish all night.] The next mornin' Josiah Allen met me all riz up with a new idee. He had been out to buy a new pair of suspenders, his havin' gin out the day before; and he come to our room, where I wuz calmly settin' a-bastin' in some clean cotton lace into the sleeves of my alpaca dress. And sez he right out abrup, with no preamble, "Samantha, less go down to the Fair Ground in a whale." "In a whale?" sez I; "are you a loonatick, or what duz ail you, to try to make a pair of Jonahses of us at our age?" "Wall," sez he, "they have 'em here to carry folks down to the Fair, I know, for I hearn it straight, and I should think we wuz jest the right age to go as easy as possible, and try experiments." "Wall," sez I firmly, "I hain't a-goin' to try no such experiment as that. If the Lord called me to tackle a whale, I would tackle it, but I hain't had no callin', and I hain't goin' to try to ride out in no whale." "I'm a-callin' you," sez he. "Wall," sez I dryly, "you hain't the Deity--no, indeed, fur from it." "Wall," sez he, "I'd love to go, Samantha. What a glorious piece of news to carry back to Jonesville, that we rid out in a whale. In the old Jonesville meetin'-house now, when Elder Minkley is a-preachin' on Jonah--and you know he trots him out a dozen times a year as a warnin'--how you and I could lift up our heads and tost 'em, and how the necks of the Jonesvillians would be craned round to look at us--we two, who had rid out in a whale--we had been right there, and knew how it wuz." "I don't want to show off," sez I, "and I don't want any necks craned or tosted on account of my gettin' into a whale and ridin' it;" and then I sez, "Good land! what won't Chicago do next?" And I added, "It don't surprise me a mite; it hain't no more of a wonder than lots of things I have seen here. I might a known if Chicago had sot its mind on havin' a whale to transport folks to the World's Fair she'd a done it, but I won't tackle the job." "There it is," sez he gloomily, "I never make arrangements to distinguish myself and make a name, but you must break it up. I had lotted on this, Samantha," sez he. He looked sad and deprested, and though I was bound not to give in and go, yet I made some inquiries. "How many does the whale carry? What makes you think we could both git into it?" Sez Josiah, "It carries 5000 at a time." I felt weak as a cat, jest as I had felt time and agin sence I had come to Chicago. "Wall," sez I in weak axents, and dumbfoundered, "any whale story I could hear about Chicago wouldn't surprise me a mite." And I wiped my brow on my white linen handkerchief, for though the idee didn't surprise me none, it started the sweat. Sez Josiah, "It is 225 feet long, and has a fountain in it, and a skylight 138 feet long."