254 I n Touch with Nature. 



plates. This must be kept track of. It may prove 

 a veritable treasure. But all my care went for 

 naught. An inquisitive old lady, standing near, 

 had seen every action. " What is it ?" she asked ; 

 and the wooden wonder was brought to light. 

 " It's an old-fashioned wooden butter-knife. I've 

 seen 'em afore this. Don't you know, in old times, 

 it wasn't everybody as had silver, and mahogany 

 knives for butter was put on the table for big folks. 

 We folks each used our own knife." All this was 

 dribbled into my willing ears, and have the relic 

 I would at any cost. Time and again I ner- 

 vously turned it over, to be sure that it was still 

 on the table, and so excited another's curiosity. 

 " What is it ?" a second and still older lady asked. 

 " A colonial butter-knife," I promptly replied, with 

 an air of much antiquarian lore. "A butter- 

 knife ! No such thing. My grandfather had one 

 just like this, and it's a pruning-knife. He wouldn't 

 use a steel knife 'cause it poisoned the sap." What 

 next ? Paper-knife, butter-knife, pruning-knife ! 

 At all events, every new name added a dollar to 

 its value, and my anxious thought was what the 

 crowd would say, for now it was in the auctioneer's 



