THE HEN FEVER. 227 



The editor adds, cautiously, " The importers are gentle- 

 men of strict probity and honor, so far as our knowledge 

 extends; but, in these hurrying times, -when the public 

 excitement is up on any kind of stock, a man may import 

 and sell -worthless animals, to a great extent, before a reac- 

 tion can take place." 



Now, this sort of mush and moonshine very soon nau- 

 seated upon the stomachs of "the people," even; who 

 ordinarily can (and will) patiently submit to a vast deal of 

 mummery. But when such palpable bosh as this is placed 

 before them, they are apt to dodge all association with it 

 and its clearly-expressed humbuggery ; and so the tide now 

 very quickly began to turn against the trade. " Brahmas," 

 and " Quittaquong " fowls, and "Mandarin" pigs, proved 

 too threatening a dose for the masses ! They had n't time 

 to spell out the names of such stock — to say nothing of 

 purchasing it, at round figures, and attempting to breed it 

 afterwards. 



What those men imagined they could possibly effect by 

 this sort of ridiculous nonsense, I am unable to conceive of. 

 Yet it was put forth in sober earnest ; and scores of similar 

 advertisements filled the papers, from time to time — each 

 having for its object the continuous gulling of the " dear 

 people," each in its own peculiar way. 



And for years — up to this period — the star-^zing,' 

 wonder-loving, humbug-seeking portion of the community, 



