. Stories of a country doctor . on his face, seized his cupof coffee and gulped it at three swallows and risingknocked his chair over and went to the door, paid his BENEVOLENT Designs. 227 six bits, and incontinently bolted for the waiting train. We all laughed and enjoyed his discomfiture and the old lady looked puzzled. A jolly young German, who was my companion, thinking to continue the fun, said : Doctor, do oysters sing ?Oh, yes, I said, they sing beautifully. I dont know of any better and more delightful way in which to spend an afternoon than to take a book and go into M a j . Gsoyster

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. Stories of a country doctor . on his face, seized his cupof coffee and gulped it at three swallows and risingknocked his chair over and went to the door, paid his BENEVOLENT Designs. 227 six bits, and incontinently bolted for the waiting train. We all laughed and enjoyed his discomfiture and the old lady looked puzzled. A jolly young German, who was my companion, thinking to continue the fun, said : Doctor, do oysters sing ?Oh, yes, I said, they sing beautifully. I dont know of any better and more delightful way in which to spend an afternoon than to take a book and go into M a j . Gsoyster or-chard andsit down un-der the oys-ter trees andhear the03sterssing.It is mostsoothingand delight-ful when theold oysters I ALLERS KNOWED THAT OYSTERS GROWED ON S i U g the TREES. young ones to sleep just as darkness comes on. This was to much for the female delegate fromOhio. She broke the bonds of silence at last. Well, now, do tcll.^ / alters knowed oystersgrowed on trees bitt I 7iever tznoiocd that they could sijigbefore, ^. 228 ■ Benevolent Designs. This was too much. Everybody roared in chorus.The old lady knew that she had started the laug-hter, but she didnt know exactly how she had done it. Shejoined in, however, and looked from one to another to catch the point, if possible, and in turning her head, she spurted her bread and coffee through the aperature, made by the absent frontal incisors, all over the youngman from Detroit. But the Phoenix never rose again. He took upa lonely position in one corner of the car and held it tothe end. We approached Canon City on foot from the rail-road station at daylight. There were the mountainslooming up before us with the cleft of the Grand Canon, where the Arkansas river comes out of the mountains, plain to be seen. But there was no town; we couldntsee a single house although there was a level valley andnot an object intervening between us and the GrandCanon. We went a little further and saw one housewhich seemed to be trying to hide