GOOD-BY, JOE. 59 



overcame his natural serenity, and threw him into 

 the depths of profound amazement. In looking 

 over our remaining stores, which we had taken to 

 camp, Mrs. S. found a couple of cans of corn, 

 which somehow had been overlooked, and sent 

 them in to Joe, by one of the guides, with the re- 

 quest to have them for dinner, ^ow, Joe, although 

 a good cook, and, as we already know, possessed 

 of other valuable characteristics, had in youth re- 

 ceived no book-education, and could neither read 

 nor write ; and though he knew the contents of a 

 can of tomatoes, by the picture of the fruit on the 

 outside, he was in profound ignorance of the con- 

 tents of these. So .in he came to madam to ask 

 for an explanation : but somehow the poor fellow's 

 brain was muddled, and we couldn't make him 

 understand the contents; so we appealed to one 

 of his remaining senses, his eyesight, and opened 

 the cans for him. The consternation depicted on 

 his countenance must have been seen to be appre- 

 ciated ; he drew himself up to his full height, 

 and this exclamation burst from his lips : " Mrs. 

 Steven, my God, it is corn ! " Corn on the 

 ear, and corn in a can, were, to his uneducated 

 mind, as widely separated as a com on the foot 

 from acorn on the oak. 



I have just learned that Joe has left the camp, 



