ots of times,
but he lives at Ohio. He kin sing awful good. You'd jist ort t' hear him
sing--well, I fergit what th' name of th' piece is but it goes like this:

"'Three dretful groans he heered
And then her ghost appeared
From head t' foot besmeared
Weth purple gore.'"

[Illustration]

"Pa's cousin Stella, dressed up in some of her ma's old clothes fer a
mask ball. Pa drawed in that streak and that printin'. He's a reg'lar
artist and he ain't never had a lesson in his life, neither.

"He calls this pitchure 'Stella as Ajax defyin' th' lightnin'!'"

[Illustration]

"Here's Deacon Samuel Phillips. He married ma's greatuncle Myron's widow,
but I don't know what relation that makes him t' us. He's an awful good
man, but clost. Pa says onct he got an awful jolt t' Chicago, where him
and some other men went t' sell their stock. It seems that after they got
their tradin' done they went down town t' one of them stylish hotels fer
dinner. Deacon hadn't never been in one of them places before and didn't
know nothin' 'bout 'm. There was breaded veal cutlets on th' bill-of-fare
and Deacon liked 'm, so he ordered 'm, along with a lot of other stuff,
without noticin' th' price. Bimeby th' bill come, and it was fer
two-fifty. 'Two-fifty!' the deacon hollers. 'Why Heck! man, I kin buy a
calf fer that money!' he says.

"Turn over."

[Illustration]

"Ma's cousins, Delmer and Beezum Morse. 'Th' Sausage Brothers,' pa calls
'm, 'count of their shape. But they're awful stout, and good rasslers,
both of 'm, 'specially th' littlest one, Delmer. Onct him and Beezum got
t' rasslin' in th' parlor and Delmer throwed Beezum in th' coal box and
broke his rib."

[Illustration]

"That's pa's Aunt Amanda Merritt Burrows. Me and my brother Frank allus
run and hide when we see her comin', 'cause she allus kisses a feller and
wants 'm t' pick her some berries, or somethin'. That's her long suit,
though, as pa says--berries. Pa says she won't be happy in parrydise
without they've got berries there; says he bets there'll be a great old
scramblin' amongst th' angels, too, t' keep from gittin' kissed.

"Turn over."

[Illustration]

"Ed and Charley Peters, pa's cousins down t' Peory. They're th'
stylishest relations we got."

[Illustration]

"Wilbur Peebles, that is. He's ma's cousin. Ain't he got funny hair? One
time he went t' sleep in meetin' and pa took and done up his hair weth
yalluh ribbons off'm cigars. Pa says