edge.

Eph smiled; but he remembered what would have made him pardon, a
thousand times over, the old man's garrulousness. He remembered who
alone had never failed, once a year, to visit a certain prisoner, at the
cost of a long and tiresome journey, and who had written to that
homesick prisoner kind and cheering letters, and had sent him baskets
of simple dainties for holidays.

Susan bustled about, and made a fire of crackling sticks, and began to
roast the oysters in a way that made a most savory smell. She set the
table, and then sat down at the melodeon, while she was waiting, and
sang a hymn--for she was of a musical turn, and was one of the choir.
Then she jumped up, and took out the steaming oysters, and they all sat
down.

"Well, well, well!" said her father; "these be good! I didn't s'pose you
had any very good oysters in your bed, Ephraim. But there, now--I don'
s'pose I ought to have said that; that wasn't very polite; but what I
meant was--I didn't s'pose you had any that was _real_ good--though I
don' know but that I've said about the same thing, now. Well, anyway,
these be splendid; they're full as good as those cohogs we had t'other
night."

"Quahaugs!" said Susan. "The idea of comparing these oysters with
quahaugs!"

"Well, well! that's so!" said the father. "I didn't say right, did I,
when I said that? Of course, they ain't no comparison--that is--_no_
comparison--why, of course, they _is_ a comparison between everything,
but then, cohogs don' really compare with oysters! That's true!"

And then he paused to eat a few.

He was silent so long at this occupation that they all laughed.

"Well, well!" said he, laying down his fork, and smiling innocently;
"what be you all laughin' at? Not but what I allers like to hev folks
laugh--but then--I didn't see nothin' to laugh at. Still perhaps, they
was suthin' to laugh at that I didn't see; sometimes one man'll be
lookin' down into his plate, all taken up with his vittles, and others
that's lookin' around the room, may see the kittens frolickin', or some
such thing. 'Tain't the fust time I've known all hands to laugh all to
onct, when I didn't see nothin'."

Susan helped him again, and secured another brief respite.

"Ephraim," said he, after awhile, "you ain't skilled to cook oysters
like this, I don' believe. You ought to get married! I was sayin' to
Susan t'other day--well, now, mother, have I said an'thing out o' the
way?--well, I don' s'pose 't