year out, like an old faithful friend, never knowing an ache or a pain, no rheumatism, nor any such foolishness as that, but always good-natured and ready to go out of its way to oblige you.  A. man feels like a man when he gets such a thing under him.  Talk about your kings and emperors and millionaires, and all that sort of nonsense!  Which of ’em’s got a leg like that?  Which of ’em kin unscrew his knee-pan, and look at the gum thingamajigs in his calf?  Which of ’em kin leave his leg downstairs in the entry on the hat-rack, and go to bed with only one cold foot?  Why, it’s enough to make one of them monarchs sick to think of such a convenience.  But they can’t help it.  There’s only one man kin buy that leg, and that’s you.  I want you to have it so bad that I’ll deed it to you for fifty dollars down.  Awful, isn’t it.  Just throwing it away:  but take it, take it, if it does make my heart bleed to see it go out of the family.”

“Really, I have no use for such a thing,” said Mr. Brown.

“You can’t think,” urged the stranger, “what a benediction a leg like this is in a family.  When you don’t want to walk with it, it comes into play for the children to ride horsey on; or you kin take it off and stir the fire with it in a way that would depress the spirits of a man with a real leg.  It makes the most efficient potato-masher ever you saw.  Work it from the second joint, and let the knee swing loose; you kin tack carpets perfectly splendid with the heel; and when a cat sees it coming at him from the winder, he just adjourns, sine die, and goes down off the fence screaming.  Now, you’re probably afeared of dogs.  When you see one approaching, you always change your base.  I don’t blame you; I used to be that way before I lost my home-made leg.  But you fix yourself with this artificial extremity, and then what do you care for dogs?  If a million of ’em come at you, what’s the odds?  You merely stand still and smile, and throw out your spare leg, and let ’em chaw, let ’em fool with that as much as they’ve a mind to, and howl and carry on, for you don’t care.  An’ that’s the reason why I say that when I reflect on how imposing you’d be as the owner of such a leg, I feel like saying, that if you insist on offering only a dollar and a half for it, why, take it; it’s yours.  I’m not the kinder man to stand on trifles.  I’ll take it off and wrap it up in paper for you; shall I?”

“I’m sorry,” said Brown, “but the fact is, I have no use for it.  I’ve got two good legs already.  If I ever lose one, why, maybe, then I’ll——­”

“I don’t think you exactly catch my idea on the subject,” said the stranger.  “Now, any man kin have a meat-and-muscle leg; they’re as common as dirt.  It’s disgusting how monotonous people are about such things.  But I take you for a man who wants to be original.  You have style about you.  You go it alone, as it were.  Now, if I had your peculiarities, do you know what I’d do?  I’d get a leg