The camel wuz a-swayin' fearful from side to side, and a-lurchin' forwards and a lurchin' backwards at a dangerous rate. Oh, how dizzy-headed Selinda must have been! How skairt and how dretful her feelin's wuz! Sez I, "Dismount to once, Selinda Dagget." "No," sez she; "Bizer has placed me here, and here I will stay." "You don't know whether you will or not," sez I. "I believe you are a-fallin' off; and," sez I, "I'm 'fraid you'll git killed, Selinda; do git down!" "I fear it too," sez she, and she looked down on me with agony in her mean, and sez she-- "Good-bye, Sister Allen; if we don't meet agin, we both believe in a better country." I wuz all carried away by my emotions, or wouldn't spoke out so; but I sez-- "This country is all right enough, if folks didn't act like fools in it." Sez I, "Do you git down and pull down your bask, and wipe your nose and eyes; you look like fury, Selinda Dagget." "No," sez she; "Bizer wanted me to ride, and I shall die a-pleasin' him. I took vows of obedience onto me at the altar, and if I die here, Sister Allen, tell the female sistern at Jonesville that I died a-keepin' them vows." Sez I, "I'll tell 'em you died a nateral fool;" and sez I agin, "Git down offen that camel, Selinda Dagget, before you fall off." And I kep clost by her, and kinder poked at her with my umbrell, to let her know I hadn't deserted her, and havin' a blind idee that I could hold her up with it if the worst come. Where wuz Bizer durin' this fearful seen? while I wuz a-showin' plain the deathless devotion to my sect--to another one in distress. He wuz all took up with his own feelin's of pride and show. He wuz a-ridin' a donkey, and it wuz a-backin' up and a-actin', and took every mite of his strength and firmness to keep on. He had a tall white hat with a mournin' weed on't, and a long linen duster, and the wind blowed this out some like a balloon. He looked queer; but as soon as he stiddied himself on't he tried his best to reach the side of Selinda--I'll say that for him. But the donkey wuz obstinate, and kep a-backin' up, and Bizer, bein' his legs dragged, kinder walked along with the donkey under him. Occasionally he would set down for a spell, but the most of his journey wuz done a-walkin' afoot. And the crowd see it and cheered. It wuz hard on Bizer. Nothin' but pride and ambition led him into the undertakin', or kep him up through it. As for me, I lost all patience, and my breath, too, and went back to my pardner. And anon or about that time they made their rounds, and come back where Josiah and I stood. I reached up a handkerchief to Selinda as quick as I could, but she couldn't wipe her eyes or tend to her nose until she dismounted, or fix the gapin' kasum at the back of her waist. She greeted me warmly the minit her feet touched terry firmy, as one might who had come out of great peril. She's a good-hearted creeter.