pure melody of the immortals, my Josiah and
me. But I am a eppisodin', and to continue and resoom.

Wall, we wuz invited to meet the young female after the lecture wuz
over, to be introduced to her and talk it over.

She wuz the Methodist minister's wive's cousin, and the minister's wife
told me she wuz dretful anxious to get my opinion on the lecture. I
spoze she wanted to get the opinion of one of the first wimmen of the
day. For though I am fur from bein' the one that ort to mention it, I
have heard of such things bein' said about me all round Jonesville, and
as far as Loontown and Shackville. And so, I spoze, she wanted to get
hold of my opinion.

Wall, I wuz introduced to her, and I shook hands with her, and kissed
her on both cheeks, for she is a sweet girl and I liked her looks.

I could see that she was very, VERY sentimental, but she had a sweet,
confidin', innocent look to her, and I give her a good kissin' and I
meant it. When I like a person, I _do_ like 'em, and visy-versey.

But at the same time my likin' for a person mustn't be strong enough to
overthrow my principles. And when she asked me in her sweet axents, "How
I liked her lecture, and if I could see any faults in it?" I leaned up
against Duty, and told her, "I liked it first-rate, but I couldn't agree
with every word of it."

Here Josiah Allen give me a look sharp enough to take my head clear off,
if looks could behead anybody. But they can't.

And I kept right on, calm and serene, and sez I, "It wuz very full of
beautiful idees, as full of 'em as a rose-bush is full of sweetness in
June, but," says I, "if I speak at all I must tell the truth, and I must
say that while your lecture is as sweet and beautiful a effort as I ever
see tackled, full of beautiful thoughts, and eloquence, still I must say
that in my opinion it lacked one thing, it wuzn't mean enough."

"Mean enough?" sez she. "What do you mean?"

"Why," sez I, "I mean, mean temperature, you know, middleinness,
megumness, and whatever you may call it; you go too fur."

She said with a modest look "that she guessed she didn't, she guessed
she didn't go too far."

And Josiah Allen spoke up, cross as a bear, and, sez he, "I know she
didn't. She didn't say a word that wuzn't gospel truth."

Sez I, "Married life is the happiest life in my opinion; that is, when
it is happy. Some hain't happy, but at the same time the happiest of 'em
hain't _all_ happiness."

"It is," sez Josiah (cr