And artificial grasshoppers, and crickets, and frogs, and little artificial minney fish made of metal, glass, pearl, and rubber.  Why, if I had seen one of ’em in the brook that runs through our paster, I should have been tempted to have bent a pin, and take some weltin’ cord out of my pocket and go to fishin’ for it.

And if they fooled me, who am often called very wise, what would you think of their foolin’ a fish, who hain’t got any bump of wisdom on their heads?

And then there wuz trollin’ spoons of all kinds and shapes, in all kinds of metal, and trollin’ squids—­I’d never hearn of that name before—­squid! but they had ’em of all kinds; and tackle boxes, and floats, and landin’ nets, and gaff hooks; there is sunthin’ else I never hearn on—­gaff hooks! and snells, and gimps, and spinners.

Why, I’d never hearn on ’em, and Josiah hadn’t either, though he acted dretful knowin’, and put on a face of extreme enjoyment and appreciation.  And he sez, “How a man duz enjoy seein’ such things that he’s ust to and knows all about!”

And I sez, “What do you do with squids, anyway, or gaffs, or snells?”

“Why,” sez he, “I should snell with ’em, and gaff, and squid.  What do you spoze?”

“How do you do it?” sez I.  “How do you snell?”

And then he had to own up that he didn’t know how it wuz done.

Truly it has been said that three questions will floor the biggest philosopher.  But it only took two to take the pride and vainglory out of Josiah Allen.

Wall, the information gathered together here from all parts of the world, and disseminated out to individuals of the collected world, will probable make a great difference in the enjoyment and practical benefit of the fisherman, and tell hard on the fishes of 1894.

Wall, we stayed round here a-lookin’ at ’em different buildin’s till dark, and then we didn’t see a thousandth nor a millionth part of what wuz to be seen there.

And I hain’t half described its wonders and glories as I’d ort to, and one reason is, nobody can describe any of the buildin’s—­no, not if they had the tongue of men and angels.

No, they are too stupendous to describe.

And then, agin, I have had a kind of a feelin’ of delicacy that has kind of held me back—­I have been hampered.

For I have kep such a tight grip holt of my principle all the while I’ve been describin’ it, that it has weakened the grasp of my good right hand on my steel pen.

I knew well how hard, how almost impossible it wuz to talk about fishin’ for any length of time without lyin’.

But I know I have told Josiah time and agin that it wuz possible to do it, if you kep a firm holt of the hellum, and leaned heavy on principle.

I have done it, and I am proud and happy in the thought.

Unless, mebby, I have lied the other way.  Good land!  I didn’t think of that; I wuz so determined to keep within bounds, that I am actually afraid that I’ve lied that way; in order not to tell the fish story too big, I hain’t told it big enough.