288 JANUARY 



bunch with bast or soft worsted, and finally every 

 bunch is closely stitched down with the yarn to the 

 bottom and top and sides of the box. They touch 

 each other, but do not overlap, and being firmly 

 fixed and sufficiently moist to keep the life in them 

 for a good many hours, they reach town as fresh as 

 they left the country. 



Yesterday I saw the best arrangement of dried 

 flowers which I have ever beheld, and yet it was 

 done with only three varieties, and those quite com- 

 mon and easy to grow, the whole secret being in 

 its bold arrangement. The large jar which held 

 them was of plain red earthen material, and stand- 

 ing wide rather than high in it were large bunches 

 of cherry lanterns and honesty, each grouped boldly 

 with no suspicion of spottiness, and both connected 

 and softened by sprays of statice mingled through- 

 out. It had been done by a keen lover of flowers, 

 and the result was perfectly good. 



I went down to dinner last night with a newly-local 

 young gentleman who bored me almost to death by 

 talking for an hour or more about shootin' and 

 huntin'. About the time of dessert, however, when 

 he had finished his say and began to cast about in 

 his mind for a topic likely to interest me in return 

 for my kindness in listening to him, he embarked 

 upon the subjects of ethnic distribution and local 

 history, and the following dialogue took place : 



" Interestin' part of the country this, ain't it ? " 



" Very interesting ; but why this part of the 

 country specially ? " 



" Oh, because hist'ry began here, don'tcherknow; 

 early colonists and that sorterthing." 



