in' on a short
tower and see the house, and be a humble witness and admirer of his
glorious triumph (he didn't say these words right out but carried the
idee plain in his linement, and hauty demeanor). Well, I concluded to
go, and Philury bandaged up my lim in soft flannel moistened with
anarky, and packed various bottles of linement, etc., in my portmanty
and Ury took us to the train.

Well I will pass over our voyage to Shadow Island, but in the fullness
of time we arrove there, and stood in front of the cottage. The seen
all round it wuz fair indeed, but the structure looked queer, queer as
a dog. There wuz piazzas and porticos, and ornament piled on ornament
cropped out on every side. It wuz weighted down with cheap little
sawed out peaks and pints, and triangles perforated with holes for
ornaments, but the hull thing looked shiftless, tippin' and lop sided.
I stood lookin' at it in silence for a long time, it looked so queer
that it sort o' stunted and brow beat me, and my first words wuz spoke
as much to my own soul as to my companion, "It looks strange, passin'
strange!"

"Yes," sez Josiah, "hain't it a uneek plan?"

"Yes," sez I, "a uneeker one wuz never seen on this planet." And agin
I seemed to lose myself in strange emotions, it looked so awful, a
kind of or mingled with my indignation and regret.

"Nobody will steal them idees!" sez he proudly.

"No," sez I sadly, "you're safe from that." And I sez, as I looked up
at the queer, lop sided, flighty, vain thing, "It leans over
considerable, Josiah Allen, it is very tippin'."

He looked worried, but sez in a sort of apology way, "I had it lean
over one side on account of havin' rain water dripp offen the eaves,
and have the snow slide off in drifty times. Ruffs have been known to
fall in, and I wanted to ensure Tirzah Ann's havin' a ruff over her
head anyway."

Agin I looked on in solemn or, and sez wonderin'ly, "What will Tirzah
Ann say when she sees it?"

"I don't care," sez he, "what she sez! if she don't like it she can
lump it!"

But I could see that the tippin' sides wuz done through a mistake, and
he wuz tryin' to cover it up with a mantilly of bravado and
boastfulness. I agin kep' silence for quite a spell, and my next
words, so fur as I remember 'em, wuz, "Where is the suller?"

He stood agast and repeated, "The suller!" He looked perfectly
dumb-foundered but wuzn't goin' to give in he made a mistake, it wuz
too mortifyin' to his pride, so