condition.’  I looked at her, arter I’d sed it, as skeered as I could be, fur fear she’d fly right at me, fur sayin’ sech a thing.  But she didn’t.  She only colored up awfully and sed, in a fluttered kinder way, ‘what condition, Micah?’ ’Pon condition that you’d merry me, Jinny.’  You may believe that arter I sed that, my heart stood still, better’n a minit.  She didn’t say a word at fust, seemed ruther took by surprise, and then, all of a sudding, she turned her head and looked up inter my face as sarcy as ye ever see anything, and says she, ’Do yeou think I’d ever merry a man with sech a horrid name as Mummychog?’ ‘Is that all the objection you hev, Jinny?’ ses I. Ses she, ‘’Tis the greatest, I know of.’  Then ses I, ’There ain’t no diffikilty, for my name aint Mummychog, and never was.  When I came deown to this kentry, I was a wild, reckless kind of a critter, and I thought I’d take some outlandish name, jest for the joke on it.  I took Mummychog, and they allers called me so.  But my real name is Jones.’  ‘Well, Mr. Jones,’ ses she, lookin’ sarcier than ever, ’I shall expect yeou to hev a sign painted with your real name on it and put up on your store, and yeou must build a new heouse before I merry yeou.’  That sobered me deown a leetle.  I sed, ’But Jinny, I don’t want ye to merry me, unless ye like me.  I’ll build a heouse and gin it tew ye, ef that’s what ye want.  But ye needn’t merry me unless ye like me—­neow remember.’  She looked at me, jest as soon as I sed that, and caught up my big hand inter her little one, and ses she, ’O law, Micah, I’d merry ye ef yer name was Mummychog, and ye needn’t build a heouse, nor nuthin’.  I ken go right to the old place jest as well.  I’d merry ye ef ye hadn’t a cent, for I like ye better’n anybody else in the world, Micah.’  And then she began to cry, and I hushed her up.  And so, neow it’s all settled”.

“Well Micah”, said I, after hearing this account of his courtship of Jenny Campbell, “I congratulate you on your choice; Jenny is a good girl and a pretty one.  But isn’t she rather young?”

“Well, yis.  I thought yeou’d be speakin’ o’ that.  I’m forty year old and she’s abeout eighteen, or so.  Consid’able difference in eour ages.  I told her abeout that t’other day, and she sed, well she didn’t see but I ’peared abeout as young as she did.  She didn’t see much difference.  So ef she’s sahtisfied, I’d oughter be.  But Captin,’ I’ll tell ye, she’s a curus leetle critter as ever ye see.  She has spells of playin’ off all kinds o’ tricks on me and hectorin’ me every way she ken, but the minit she sees me look sober, as ef I felt any way bad, she leaves right off, and comes up and kisses me, and ses she didn’t mean anything by it, and is as good as a kitten”.

Alas! poor Micah!  You see, Miss Adele, he is in the meshes, and there we must leave him for the present.  I have taken pains to give you the above in his own language, as it is so much more graphic than any I could employ.