i'HE HKN FEVER. 265 



bred from ? Perhaps I may find myself called upon to apeak 

 more plainly, sir. I hope npt. Who ai-e yon ? I sent for a 

 pedigree, and I want it. / must have it, sir. You will 

 comprehend this, I presume. If you do not, I can en- 

 lighten you further. In haste, 



I smiled at the earnestness of this letter, the more par- 

 ticularly when I reflected that this gentleman always sup- 

 plied to his patrons a thing he called a pedigree, for all the 

 animals he sold — so intricate, conglomerated and lengthy, 

 that no one would ever venture to dispute the authenticity 

 and reliability of the document he sent them. 



I re-read his sharp communication, and I found the sen- 

 tence again, " Who are you ? I sent for a pedigree, and I 

 must have it." And I sat down, at once, and wrote him as 

 follows : 



" Melrose, Mass., 1853. 



" My Dear Sir: 



" Your peppery favor came duly to hand. You say you 

 ' want a pedigree,' and that you ' must have it ; ' and you 

 inquire who 7 am ? I cannot furnish any such history for 

 my fowls, for I. have n't the slightest idea what they are, 

 except that they are bred from my superb imported ' Coehin- 

 OhinaSj' which have so long been pronounced the ' admira- 

 tion of the world. I 



23 



