embarked, but the air-ship sailed off, the earth receeded, we wuz in
the clouds, anon we passed through a big thunder storm, I wuz almost
lost in thought watchin' sea and ocean when the captain called out:

"The Moon! the Moon!"

And we alighted and got off, I a-thinkin' what and who wuz I to see in
thet place I'd always hankered for. Strange shapes indeed, foreign to
our earth, birds, dragons, animals of most weird shape. Anon I see a
little figger, queer-lookin' as you might spoze. I accosted the little
Moony, my first words bein' not a question of deep historical
research, you would expect a woman with my noble brain would ask,
about that onexplored country. No, my head didn't speak, it wuz my
heart, that gushed forth in a agonized inquiry.

"Have you seen Josiah? Have you seen my beloved pardner? Is he in the
moon?"

His words in reply wuz in moon language, nothin' I ever hearn in
Jonesville or Zoar, and anon he begun to sing in that moony language,
and I see I wuz wastin' time, I must conduct my quest myself.

But oh, the seens I passed through! And oh, the queer moon landscapes!
the queer moony animals and moon creeters I passed! But all in vain,
no Josiah blessed my longin' vision. And with my brain turnin' over
and my heart achin', I agin entered the air-ship and returned to terry
cotta; or mebby I hain't got it right in my agitation, mebby I'd ort
to say visey versey. 'Tennyrate I found myself out in Luny Park agin.

Well, what wuz to be my next move? Fur up a steep hite I see water
pourin' down a deep abyss and a boat full of men and wimmen set out
from the highest peak, shot down the declivity like lightnin' and
dashed 'way out in the water on the other side of the bridge where I
wuz standin'; but my idol wuz not among 'em.

I see a great checker-board raised up, so big it wuz played with human
creeters instead of beans or kernels of corn. But no Josiah wuz there
movin' and jumpin', or bein' jumped as the case might be.

[Illustration: "_A boat full of men and women set out from the highest
peak, shot down the declivity like lightnin' and dashed
'way out on the other side of the bridge._" (_See
page 238_)]

On one side riz up a high mountain full of green shrubs and flowers,
and windin' round and round from the bottom clear to the top, went
cars filled with men and wimmen, boys and girls, up, up, down, down,
as fur as from our house to Betsy Bobbet Slimpsey's; but no Josiah wuz
among the winders u