t cold Reality said in her chillin' practical whisper, "It's nothin'
but Gananoque or Clayton," and she went on, "They hain't anything like
the New Jerusalem, either of them."

Alas for us poor mortals! who drive or are driv by the two contendin'
coharts of Imagination, Idealized Fancy and practical Reality. And she
always will have the last word, Reality will, and her voice is loud
and shrill, and it penetrates into the warm, sweet Indian summer air,
where Fancy dwells and where we sometimes visit her for brief
intervals. Too brief! too brief! for cold Reality is always hangin'
round; she is always up and dressed ready to put in her note.

I mentioned the metafor to Josiah and he sez, "Yes, it minds me of the
man who was brought up before the judge by his wife. She complained he
hadn't spoke to her for five years. The judge ast him if that were so,
and he said, 'Yes, that's so.' 'But why,' sez the judge, 'why hain't
you spoke to your wife for five years?' And the man sez, 'Because I
didn't want to interrupt her.'" Josiah declares it is true, but I
believe it is jest a slur on wimmen.

But to resoom. Swiftly, silently we sped on with the islands about us,
the blue sky overhead and the shadow islands below. And innumerable
boats appeared far and near, some with white sails lifted, and
followed below by a white shadow sail, and anon a big steamer would
glide along, loaded down to its gunwale with crowds of gay pleasure
seekers, who would wave their snowy handkerchiefs and salute us, the
steamer backin' 'em with its deep grum voice. Or anon we could see a
big dark barge sailin' along, and Fancy would whisper to us as we
gazed on its mysterious dark sides without a soul in sight:

"It may be the phantom of some old Pirate ship, condemned for its
sins to cruise along forever in strange waters, homesick for its
native seas." But Reality spoke right up jest as she always will and
said it wuz probable some big lake steamer heavy loaded with grain or
some great Canadian boat. And then a new seen of beauty would drift
into our vision and take our minds off and carry 'em away some
distance. Oh, it is no wonder that Faith's soft eyes grew more tender
and luminous.

Josiah felt the beauty of the seen, he felt it deeply, but everybody
knows that beauty affects folks differently, it always seems to
sharpen up my dear companion's appetite, and three cookies in as many
minutes wuz offered up on the shrine of his vivid appreciation,