CONCLUSION. [Chap. 



portunely to answer this purpose ; for the man, 

 that has the good fortune to fall upon a red ea., 

 is entitled to kiss any of the girls that he pleases, 

 and if a girl find a red ear, she must submit 

 to be kissed by some one of the males of the 

 party. So that there is a constant looking out for 

 these red ears, and a laughing and joking upon 

 the circumstances attending the success of the 

 parties who happen to get them. In the case of 

 my corn, however, where the proportion of red 

 ears is greater, ten to one, than it is in the 

 American corn, this amiable regulation must 

 not be adopted ; for it would be a frolic indeed 1 

 there would be nothing but kissing, which is by 

 no means what the farmer would aim at when 

 he assembled his congregation of buskers. 

 Nevertheless, and so it would be found upon 

 experience, the frolic system is a good one : 

 the privilege of kissing might be modified* 

 ^'Modified!" exclaims the bouncing dairy-maid : 

 '' What do you mean by modified I You were 

 young yourself once ! " " Yes, yes ; but lips 

 cannot last for ever.'' Therefore, one might 

 modify in this way : the valuable privilege might 

 be attached to every ten red ears, or something 

 of that sort J otherwise the kissing would cer- 

 tainly be beyond the endurance of mortal lips. 

 At any rate, with whatever risk to the lips, I 

 would have the frolics ; hundreds of thousands 



