THE FRUITS IN CONVENTION. 



last. He was a warm friend to progress in horticulture, and he was 

 fully of the opinion of ''the Jersey Eed-Streak, that things should 

 not come among us, plain republicans, in disguise! How, indeed, 

 4jd we know tiiat these Pears of France were not sent out here 

 under these queer names for the very purpose of corrupting our 

 morals ; or, at least, imposing on us in some way ? He had been 

 settled in a garden for some years, among a pleasant society of trees, 

 when last spring the owner introduced a new Pear from abroad, 

 under the fine name of " Chat bruW. For some tijne the thing 

 put on airs, and talked about its estate and chateau having been 

 destroyed by incendiaries; and it showed a petition for charity. 

 What was his amazement, one day, when the daughter of the pro- 

 prietor came in the garden, to see the contempt with which she 

 turned away from this Pear, and exclaimed, " what oouM have in- 

 duced pa to have brought this 'singed cat'hpre?" Chat hrule, 

 indeed! He bent over the creature and switched her finely the 

 first stormy day. He was for translating all good fruits and damn- 

 ing all bad ones. (At hearing this, certain second-rate Strawber- 

 ries commenced >««iMm5'.) 



The convention grew very excited as the Mazzard sat down. 

 The Muscat Noir Grape looked black in the face ; the Grown Bob 

 Gooseberry threw up his hat ; and the Blood Peach, who had been 

 fiirting with a very worthless fellow — the Fitench soft-shelled Al- 

 mond — turned quite crimson all over. Cries of " order, order," 

 were heard from all sides ; and it was only restored when a Mttle, 

 plump, Dolly- Varden-looking young girl, who was a great favorite 

 in good society^ sprang upon a chair in order to be seen and 

 heard. 



This was the Lady Apple. Her eyes sparkled, and set oflf her 

 brilliant complexion, which was quite dazzlingly fair. It was easy 

 to see that she was a sort of spdiled child among the fruits. 



Mr. Speaker, she said in a very sweet voice, you will indulge 

 me, I am sure, with a very little speech — my maiden speech. I 

 should not have ventured here, but I positively thought it was to 

 have been a private party, and not one of these odious mass meet- 

 ings. I am accustomed to the society of well-bred people, and 

 know something of the polite language of both hemispheres. In- 

 29 " 



