230 THE JONATHAN PAPERS 



I said, &quot;Well, Jonathan, anyhow, we re mak 

 ing reminiscences.&quot; 



This remark was, I own, not highly practi 

 cal, but I intended it to be comforting, and if 

 it failed as it clearly did to cheer Jona 

 than, that was not because it lacked wisdom, 

 but because men are so often devoid of im 

 agination save as an adornment of their 

 easy moments. 



Finally the same impersonal voice out of 

 the dark uttered another sentence: &quot;Might 

 row ye cross if ye ve got to go to-night.&quot; 



&quot;How much?&quot; said Jonathan. 



&quot;Guess it s wuth a dollar. Mean night to 

 be out there.&quot; 



We had, between us, forty-seven cents and 

 three street-car tickets, good in the opposite 

 town. All this we meekly offered him, and 

 in the pause that followed I added desper 

 ately, &quot;And we can each take an oar and 

 help.&quot; 



&quot;Wall I 11 take ye.&quot; 



It seemed to me that the voice suggested 

 an accompanying grin, but I had no proof. 



And so we got across. We never saw the 

 face of our boatman, but on the other side we 



