“Prisner at the bar,” sed the Judge, “this yere cort sentenses you to hard laber shuvlin' flames at a tempyrature of 6,000 degrees, for 10,000 yares, durin' all wich time you will sing 'I want to be a angel, And with the editturs stand!' Shurruf, conduct the prisner to furnace number 561, next to Gittoes.” Soon as he'd gone, a cullered gentleman was brot in, and in ansur to there quest-shuns as to his morral standing he sed: “Jedge I knoes I'se a hard cityzen, and I've done gone and sinned purty nigh all the sins wot I know'd of. Steelin' fouls, hookin' nickles outer the contrybushun box, 'propriatin' millyuns wot I'd no legal rite and titel to, gettin' converted at camp meetin' so as I culd mash wun of. them purty sistern, and other offenses too numer-ickel to menshun, but if this yere cort'U giv this nigger a sho, I'll try to leed a dif-frent life.” “Prisner, did you ever tak a noose-paper?” sed the Prosercutin' Turney. “Yes, sar; I'se skribed for the _Christshun Advercate_ for 'bout six yares, and I've payed it up in advanse for most a yare to cum.” “Bobby, my boy,” sed the cort to his rite hand man, “go order the cook, to kill the fatted ram, and prepare a bang up lay out, cos this here cullurd brother is a man, molded after my own hart. Shake, my man,” sed he, shovin his rite boney hand to the cullured feller's, “and after we've feested, and viserted my privat opra house, and taken in the new skellyton bailey at-trackshuns, I'll driv yer thru my subteranean domminyuns, fore you tak the xpress for Skie stashun, and you bet you'll say this here devil aint as bad as he's painted, cos he knoes how to onher a distingushed guest.” Then the seen vanished from my vishun, and I woke up, hollerin with a pane in my programme, and ma had ter get me a dose of brandie and ginger, outer the flask, wot pa carries, when he goes a fishin. CHAPTER XXVIII. AT THE STOCK EXCHANGE.--THE ENGAGEMENT.--FIRE IN THE SHECARGO UNIYUN DEPOT.--A OFFER FROM JAY GOULD. This mornin noose was sorter dull, so the city edittur sent me down to the Stock Exchange for to write up the anticks of the Bulls and Bares. Wen I got down there I guess the annymiles hadn't got round, but there keepers was purty numerous, and made a good deel more noise than they would theirselves. I was showd up to the visters gallary, so as I culd get a good vue of the fite wot was goin on tween the grangers and coalers. The way they do there fitin puts me in mind of wen we use-ter go to skule, cos they chew up a lot of paper, and make spit balls outer it, and then paste each other on the eyes with them. Jay Gould is the name of a littel bit of a feller, he aint much in size, but he's hale columby wen it comes rite down to spit ball fites, cos he pasted old Russel Sage and Vandybilt outer ther boots, hittin fare in the eyes every time.