THE USES OF THE PAPER BAG.

A First Ward man was told by his wife to bring home a quart of oysters on New Year’s night, to fry for supper.  He drank a few prescriptions of egg nog, and then took a paper bag full of selects and started for home.  He stopped at two or three saloons, and the bag began to melt, and when he left the last saloon the bottom fell out of the bag and the oysters were on the sidewalk.

[Illustration:  SLIPPERY OYSTERS.]

We will leave the man there, gazing upon the wreck, and take the reader to the residence where he is expected.

A red-faced woman is putting the finishing touches to the supper table, and wondering why her husband does not come with the oysters.  Presently a noise as of a lead pencil in the key-hole salutes her ear, and she goes to the and opens it, and finds him taking the pencil out of the key-hole.  Not seeing any oysters, she asks him if he has forgotten the oysters.

“Forgot noth(hic)ing,” says he.

He walks up to the table and asks for a plate, which is given him by the unsuspicious wife.

“Damsaccident you ever(hic)see,” said the truly good man, as he brought his hand out of his overcoat pocket, with four oysters, a little smoking tobacce, and a piece of cigar-stub.

“Slipperysoystersev(hic)er was,” said he, as he run his hands down in the other pocket, bringing up five oysters, a piece of envelope, and a piece of wire that was used as a bail to the pail.

“Got all my pock(hic)ets full,” said he, as he took a large oyster out of his vest pocket.  Then he began to go down in his pants pocket, and finding a hole in it, he said: 

“Six big oys(hic)ters gone down my trousers leg.  S’posi’ll find them in my boot,” and he sat down to pull off his boot, when the lady took the plate of oysters and other stuff into the kitchen and threw them in the swill, and then she put him to bed, and all the time he was trying to tell her how the bag busted just as he was in front of All Saints Ca(hic)thedral.

THE UNIVERSALIST BATH.

Mr. E.H.  Lane is canvassing the city for the Universalist Bath.  We don’t know why it should be called a “Universalist Bath,” as it more nearly resembles a Baptist Bath, as we remember it.  The bath is a queer thing, consisting of an India rubber hop sack, fastened to an immense ox bow.  The ends are placed on to chairs, the water put in, and you get in and hippotamus and take a complete bath from Dan to Beersheba in a tea cup full of water.

KILLING BIG GAME.