_Bias._ Oo, oo, oo! I’m a gone darky! (_The elephant falls, rolls over, and from the debris BIAS and PAT emerge, looking very much frightened._) _Pat._ (_Shaking his fist at SILAS._) More damages, be jabers! (_To HARRY._) I didn’t bargain for this at all. _Bias._ Look--look er here, old gent; I ain’t game, no how. Golly! I’m full ob lead! _Silas._ What’s this? Have I been duped? _Johnny._ Sold again, dad. _Silas._ So, so, you’ve been conspiring against me. There’s no damages, and no elephant. This is your work, Harry Holden. _Harry._ It is, Mr. Somerby. I freely confess my sin. But I did it for a good purpose. ’Tis true there is no elephant, save the imitation I have manufactured for the occasion; but please remember we came very near having one. _Johnny._ Yes, dad, you bid a hundred dollars. _Silas._ I breathe again. You’re right. All this might have been true, had my folly had its way. Thanks to Johnny, I was saved. But you carried the joke a little too far. That gun was loaded. _Johnny._ Only with powder. I left a charge in it last Fourth, for the blamed thing kicked so I was afraid of it. _Silas._ It’s all right. Sally is yours, Harry, and I’ll keep my other promise. I suppose these gentlemen were hired for the occasion. _Pat._ By me sowl, not to be peppered at all, at all. _Bias._ By golly, dat ar charge almost took away my head. _Harry._ So, boys, you got a little more than you bargained for; but I’ll fix that all right. _Silas._ I’ll pay all damages there, glad to get off so easily in my adventure with the elephant. I’ve one request to make. Don’t let this story spread. _Harry._ You can rely upon my silence. _Mrs. S._ Marcy sakes, Silas, it ain’t much to boast on! _Sally._ It shall be a family legend. _Pat._ Be jabers, I wouldn’t blab till I was deaf and dumb! _Bias._ Dis yer pusson can hold his hush. _Silas._ Thank you. And you (_to audience_), can I depend upon you? The old man begins late, but he is bound to reform; and, if you but give your approbation, there is no fear of his backsliding. _Johnny._ I say, dad, hadn’t you better put a postscript to that? _Silas._ Well, what is-- (_JOHNNY whispers to him._) Exactly. There is no fear of his backsliding, unless, at your request, he should some time set out for the purpose of “Seeing the Elephant.” [Illustration] NOTE. _The Elephant._ For this trick a well-known comical diversion can be introduced. Bias and Pat personate the elephant; one represents the fore, the other the hind legs. The two characters bend over, placing themselves one behind the other, as represented in the engraving. A blanket, doubled three or four times, is placed on their backs, with the addition of long cushions, if handy; these serve to form the back of the elephant. Two blankets or shawls are placed over this, the end of one twisted to represent his trunk, the end of the other twisted to represent his tail. Two paper cones enact the tusks, and the elephant is complete.