4:24 BETWKKN DECKS. 



" What's an Appolyou! 'Tan't a thing, man; he was a human creator'. 

 A God, what singed and fiddled, a thousand ay ! two thousand year 

 ago." 



"And do you call me a God ?" said Bob Wilkins ; "perhaps you 

 mean that this Appolyou was the God of singing." 



' ' Bob, you're as sharp as a needle. Appolyou was the God of music, 

 you know, and singing and music are nigh hand the same thing." 



" I say, Bill !" whispered one of the group on the opposite side of the 

 table, to his immediate neighbour, " Hard-fist's been reading a book !" 



" A strange book to talk about Gods" was the reply. "I thought 

 there was only one." 



" If nobody 11 sing/' said a third, who had hitherto puffed in medita- 

 tive silence, looking alternately at each speaker, "I'll tell you a story j 

 (knocking the ashes out of his pipe,) and it shall be a true story. We've 

 had lately enough friction to last us our life -time. Who wotes for my 

 story ? Those who says ay ! hold up their hands, and those who says 

 no ! keep them down. That's a strait-forred way of doin' business. 

 So ! let us see ! what ! five up, and three down. Carried crim. con. 

 by George !" 



" Slip off!" cried two or three, swilling down the grog, and again 

 looking out for their pipes. 



" Well ! give us the licker. I can't talk till I've just moistened my 

 throat a little." The speaker, whose name was William Duncan, took 

 the readily proffered goblet, and gulped down half a pint, by moderate com- 

 putation. He stopped suddenly, however, in the draught, and breathing 

 hard, said, holding all the time the beverage within an inch of his lips 

 ' Some people thinks, it's just corned into my head, that this here 

 bump was brought into the throat by Adam the man, you know, what 

 was put into a garden, and and had Eve along with him" 



" Ay ! ay ! we know," ejaculated all. 



" Well! some says that the apple that he eat, that Eve gived him, 

 sticked in his throat, and there it has been ever since. What d'ye think ? 

 d'ye think it's likely ?" 



" It was the devil that gived it to Eve, wasn't it," suggested Bob 

 Wilkins. 



" The devil ? no ! doesn't it say in the scripturs, it was a sarpent ?" 



" A sarpent !" cried Bob. " Ho ! ho ! that's a jolly good 'un. I've 

 heard she was persuaded to take it, and whoever heard of a sarpent's 

 having a woice ?" 



The laugh ran mightily against the wight who had mentioned the 

 serpent. 



"Well! that's neither here nor there," interrupted the promised 

 story-teller. " It might have been the devil, or it might have been the 

 sarpent ; at all events, Adam eat the apple, core and all ; and, according 

 to the pop'lar varsion of the story ,paid for it by not having it altogether 

 to disgest. Now, what I wants to know is, whether you think it likely 

 that his eating the apple caused this here bump in the throat ?" 



" Why, look ye here !" returned another, very gravely swaying him- 

 self backwards and forwards in his seat, as if he was labouring to get 

 out something extremely profound, " the devil gave the apple to Eve, 

 and we know the devil's verv wicked : now, if the devil's very wicked, 



