280 THE HISTORY OF 



his carriage. His hen companions were fine, too ; but there 

 was one in particular, that, in company with this bird, I 

 showed at several fairs, where they invariably carried away 

 the first premium, without any question or cavil, as to com- 

 parative beauty and merit. I named them "Napoleon" 

 and the " Empress." 



Their joint weight, when in the best condition, was about 

 twenty- two pounds; and as the "fancy" then raged, they 

 were -really unexceptionable. I "donno" how many chick- 

 ens I have sold by means of the pictures of these birds, but 

 I do know that, unfortunately, this particular hen never 

 laid an egg while I owned her, which was some two years. 

 Still, she was very handsome, as was also her husband ; and 

 I certainly raised a great many fine chickens while they 

 were in my yards. I called them my very best, — and 

 they were, indeed, to look at, — a model pair of iShatiff- 

 haes, as will be seen by a glance at their portraits on the 

 next page. 



But they were singled out for a curious fate. At two or 

 three of our early fairs they had taken the first prizes ) 

 and at one of the exhibitions, finally, there chanced to come 

 along a gentleman who fancied them exceedingly, and who 

 was bound to possess himself Of the best that could be had. 

 JEe had a long purse (though, at the time he bought, prices 

 were not up to the mark they reached subsequently, by a 

 long margin) ; and when he ofiered forty dollars for this 



