right. You see that to the eye of a person of a warm and inflammable nature and in whose self-luminous mind ideas arise that are by no means confined to the material which conception furnishes, but may be-"

"For God's sake!" cried Mark; "if you go at that again you'll drive me mad!"

The general burst of laughter which followed this feeling and halfangry protest made it plain to Mark that Artemus had been set to work on him with malice aforethought and that all present were in the plot and had been amusing themselves at his expense.

Mark was in no amiable mood the remainder of the evening. He said such a thing "might be thought by some to be smart," but he failed to see "where the fun came in."

Artemus Ward gave no thought to money-not enough to take care of it when he had earned it. In the midst of a whirl of speculation on the Comstock and with mines of gold and silver all about him, he envied no one the millions that were being hoisted up to the light of day. He never thought of such a thing as joining in the stock speculations about which all with whom he came in contact were running mad. Had the mines been of copper, iron or coal he would have shown quite as much interest in them. He was wholly interested in the people he found in the mines, and the ordinary miner received as large a share of his attention as did the millionaire owner. Indeed of the two he preferred the miner as being the more picturesque.

At the time Artemus was in Virginia City, he said his peculiar style would soon surfeit the public if he wrote too much. For this reason he said he was going to give the people a rest. "But," he said, "I am taking notes of the queer words and expressions I hear in different regions. These I shall sometimes use in sketches located in those places where heard." He told me that he had one book filled with notes of queer things he picked up among the boatmen about the wharves of the towns on the great lakes. He also contemplated altering his style as regarded spelling, except in letters in which he appeared as the "wax figger" showman. Had he not died at the early age of thirtytwo he would doubtless have worked into stories and sketches much material that he had accumulated.

Although Artemus made no pretension to a knowledge of fine points of art, he frequently made hasty pencil sketches of places and persons that struck his fancy. In a letter he wrote me from Austin, Nevada, he sent me on the back of a programme a sketch of a brush-roofed saloon in which he lectured at Big Creek. That sketch has disappeared, but I still have two small ones made, I think, in New York at the waterfront. I am of the opinion that he made most of his rude pencil drawings as hints for artists in making illustrations for his sketches.

As I said above, he did not take extended notes. He wanted only a few words. "Let me get that," he would say, and down went the expression that had struck him, with the name of the place. For the rest he trusted to his memory. In a few words he was able to give the local color of a place. In leaving Aspinwall it is-"Adios, Americanos!"

On the Panama Railroad-"There are huts all along the route, and half-naked savages gaze patronizingly upon us from their doorways.'

Central America-"The Central American is lazy. The only exercise he ever takes is to occasionally produce a revolution."

Acapulco "The pretty peasant girls peddle necklaces made of

shells."

Arriving at San Francisco it was-"Ki hi-hi ki! Shoolah!"

Stockton-"A vivacious maniac invites me to ride in a chariot drawn by eight lions and a rhinoceros."

Carson City--"I hain't killed a man for over two weeks! What'll yer poison yourself with?"

Virginia City-"Its splendid streets paved with silver."

Artemus Ward was fond of theatricals and theatrical people. His head was full of scraps of plays, which he constantly quoted in a comical way. While in Virginia City he blackened his face one night and appeared as "end man" in a minstrel show that was performing at Naagara Hall on B street. He happened to be acquainted with some of the leading members of the company and good naturedly volunteered in order to help them along. Also he probably wished to see what he could do in that line. He made a good deal of fun, and of a kind that was fresh and droll. Though he appeared among them but once, Artemus gave the company many telling jokes and funny little stories.

Artemus at times contemplated taking to the stage as a comedian, but feared he was too old. He was of the opinion that he ought to have made a beginning when he was about nineteen or twenty years of age. Yet at the time of his visit to the Comstock he thought quite seriously of writing a play for himself; one that could be performed by a small company and in which he would have appeared in his great character of showman. His play would have introduced "Betsy Jane" and other "Baldinsville" folk, also some of the "wax figgers." His show, with the characters he intended using, would undoubtedly have been a success on the stage, as it had been thoroughly advertised throughout the country by his letters and sketches, and would have added new lustre to the career of the gifted humorist.

DAN DE QUILLE. (AMBROSE BIERCE).

WHEN WASHINGTON TOURED NEW ENGLAND

III.

HE TRAVELS FROM SPENCER THROUGH WORCESTER TO WESTON

O

N Oct 23, 1789, the eighth day of his journey from New York, the seat of Government, into "the Eastern States," Washington set out "with the sun," he writes, from Jenks' tavern in Spencer, where he had lodged, taking the road to Worcester.

He was still on the old Bay Path, or Great Post road, which would take him into Boston by way of Worcester, Shrewsbury, Marlboro, Weston, Watertown and Cambridge.

It was far from being the road in those days that it is now, and the grades over the steep hills of Spencer and Leicester must have tried the muscles of the President's stout Virginia bays as they drew his coach. over the rocky way.

But the weather was cool and the horses refreshed by their night's rest and good baiting, and the miles ran off-particularly in going down hill-much faster than they had done in the earlier stages of his journey.

Washington aimed to breakfast at Worcester, and at the line between that town and Leicester "some gentlemen of the town of Worcester" met him to give him greeting.

According to a local newspaper, the Spy, "a number of respectable citizens, about 40," had "paraded before sunrise" on horseback, preparatory to riding to the town line to meet Washington.

They were somewhat at a loss as to how they should address him. The Spy settled this point for himself by referring to his as "His Highness the President-general of the United States."

The place of this meeting, in Cherry Valley, where the road dips down from the high hills of Leicester, is today distinguished more by associations than beauty. A few tenement houses skirt the road, accessories to a nearby mill.

The motor traveler would pass the spot unnoticed, intent upon

the smoky vistas of Worcester in its wide deep valley ahead, were it not for a cheerful and original sign beside the road that fastens his attention by bright colors and bold design.

It is circular, something like the switch signals on a railroad. On one side is lettered: "Worcester-Glad to see you!" On the other is "Worcester, come again!" The Rotary Club's name follows on these salutations to the traveler so appropriately placed at this point of hail and farewell.

A turn in the road brings the great smoky crater of Worcester into full view, its tall chimneys throwing out long banners against the skypennants of prosperity.

No such view greeted Washington, for Worcester was an inconsiderable village in his day. It boasted two or three good taverns, and was a center of farming interests, and of small and struggling manufactures; but its great future as a manufacturing city was undreamed.

Coming down Main street into the village, Washington and his escort passed the square, where, fourteen years before, the Virginia soldier found rest when on his way to Cambridge to take command of the Continental Army, and keeping on a scant half mile, halted before a low, broad old wooden house on the right, before whose pillared front swung a sign bearing the words "United States Arms."

Military honors were paid him here, as we learn from his diary: "Here we were received by a handsome comapny of Militia Artillery in Uniform, who saluted with 13 guns on our entry and departure."

The Spy thus described the salute:

"On notice being given that His Highness was appraching five cannon were fired, for the five New England States; three for the three already in the Union, one for Vermont, which will speedily be admitted, and one as a call to Rhode Island before it be too late."

AT "THE UNITED STATES ARMS.".

The tavern at which Washington halted stands today, and is still used as a public house. If the motorist searching for it asks for the Exchange Hotel, it will be pointed out to him as "the place where Washington stopped."