" Well, dear Mr. PUNCHINELLOW, I was one day readin' of your paper, and I comes onto sumthin' about sumbody, which it was as I spell it, "CHARLES A. DANA," how he was a cuttin' up shines, and how you was a pokin' fun and hard things at him.

Well, it happened thet the fu'st feller he run up against wus LeVere, who wus cumin' forrard fer sumthin', an' fer about a minute thar was one hell ov a fight.

There's sumthin' bloomin' odd takin' place out there in the fog, Captain Carlyle.

I thought the feller wus crazy, till I heerd sumthin' also, an' then, sir, while we wus still a listenin' we both caught sound ov a Spanish oath, spoke as plain as if the buck was aboard.

Why, Colossus, you most of been dosted with sumthin'; yo' plum crazy.

Mary's after a dimint neclas, and my beluvid spous Eliza (that's the carut-heded one lives down by the rivver) will put sumthin' in my food if she don't git a gol watch and chane.