THE HEN FEVER. 809 



' Trustees,' and the ' Managers' ? Where is the ' Society ' 

 whose name, 'like linked sweetness long drawn out,' I 

 have n't time to write ? Where is that balance in the 

 IVeasurer's hands,' — and where is that functionary himself 7 

 Did he ever exist at all ? What has become of the premi- 

 ums that were awarded at the last show in Boston ? And 

 when, in the language of the enthusiastic Mr. Snooks (at 

 the Statehouse in 1850), will that Association begin ' to be 

 forever perpetuated,' — eh? 



"I have got on hand three hundred of the Shanghae 

 devils ! What can I do with them ? There is a neighbor 

 of mine (a police-officer), who has got stuck with a lot of 

 ' Cochin ' chickens, which he swears he won't support this 

 winter ; and he has at last advertised them as stolen prop- 

 erty, in the faint hope, I suppose, that some ' green 'un ' 

 will come forward dnd claim them. You can't get rid of 

 these birds ! It is useless to try to sell them ; you ca7t't 

 give them mnay ; nobody will take them. You can't 

 starve them, for they are fierce and dangerous when aggra- 

 vated, and will kick down the strongest store-closet door ; 

 and you can't kill them, for they are tough as rhinocer- 

 oses, and tenacious of life as cats. Ah ! Burnham, I have 

 never forgiven the man who made me a present of my first 

 lot! Do you want what I've got left? Will you take 

 tliem How much shall I pay jou to receive them? 

 Help me out, if you can. 



