The county fair wus to be held the next week, at Dover town, sixteen miles from Janesville. And I had two aunts there, Sophrenia Cypher, she that was Sophrenia Burpy, my mother’s own sister, and married to Solomon Cypher’s only brother, and then she that wus, and now is, Samantha Ann Burpy, my mother’s youngest sister. A maiden lady, livin’ on a independent property of her own, with a hired girl, and sound and excellent principles. I wus named after her, and set a sight of store by her. She hain’t an old maid from necessity, far from it, she had chances. I hadn’t visited them for over five years, and never wus to a county fair in my life; and as I lay there on my goose-feather pillow, a seein’ the sun set out and travel gloriously on his tower, I thought to myself how sweet it would be if I and my Josiah could go and do likewise. Could go to Dover town, visit our aunts and attend to the fair. But studyin’ as deep as I had studied on the subject of men’s dispositions, I felt that I must be as wise as a serpent, and harmless as a dove. And so I gently and almost tenderly punched my companion with my elbow, and seys, in awful, affectionate axents: “Josiah!” “What is the matter?” says he, a wakin’ up sudden. “What are you goarin me with your elbow for?” His tone and his demeaner would have strick dismay to the heart of a weaker wemen, but I kep’ right on, and said to him, in still more tender and affectionate axents: “Josiah, you seem to me to be a runnin’ down, I am alarmed about you, Josiah Allen.” “Oh, shaw!” says he, and it was as fractious and worrysome a “shaw,” as I ever heard shawed in my hull life. But I continued on and continued, knowin’ that perseverance was requisit’ and necessary. Says I, “You cannot conceal it from your pardner, Josiah; you are not in one-half so good order as you wus in.” “Wall! what of it? What if I hain’t?” he snapped out awful snappish. Says I, in still more tender tones, “You need a change, Josiah; you ort to go off on a short tower, you and your pardner, Samantha.” “A tower!” Oh! never, never did I, durin’ my life, ever see a tower snapped out as that tower wus. He acted scornful, and overbearin’, and almost haughty about the idee. And some wimmen would have been completely skirt out by his mean, it wus so cold, and threatenin’, and offish. Not so Samantha. No! though his demeaner wus such that I almost despaired of success, still I felt that I would do all that wemen could do, and then if I must give it up, I could have a clear conscience. So inspired, and held up by this resolve, I laid to, and got a breakfast, that exceeded anything that had been seen for months in Jenesville, in the line of breakfes’ses. It affected the widder Doodle dreadfully; she shed tears, she said it was “so beautiful, and reminded her so of Doodle.”