A MISCHIEVOUS NEIGHBOR. 209 



the acquaintance of was chained to keep him out of 

 trouble. He was the pet of the proprietor of a to- 

 bacco shop, and before he was chained he took it into 

 his head, one Sunday, to sample the cigars. " My 

 stars ! " said the salesman who told nie of the inci- 

 dent, " you just onghter 'uv seen this shop o' Monday 

 mornin' ! Sech a sight ! Boxes o' Henry Clays upsot 

 over the floor ; the best Havanas all chawed up and 

 spit out — not one or two, but scores o' 'em ; tobacky 

 jars knocked down and smashed ; ' Dill's best ' all 

 dragged outen de boxes, an' de best Carolina mixed 

 sprinkled over the floor like sawdust ; and when I 

 looked aroun', there sot that coon in the corner lickin' 

 his chops kinder apologizin' like, and seemin' to say, 

 ' I had a d 1 of a time yesterday, young feller, try- 

 in' to find somethin' fit to eat '. An' I reckon Pd a 

 worse time that day clearin' up. Since then we kep 

 'im chained. He's young, but he ain't no fool, and 

 he's beggin' now for a lump o' sugar — here, you 

 young rascal ! " — and he gave him one. While my 

 informant talked the coon dodged his head about, 

 turned a few somersaults, clawed at the man's trou- 

 oers, and by other unmistakable means showed that 

 he would relish some kind of a tidbit not in the line 

 of tobacco. 



I made several sketches of him on the spot, the 



results of which appear in these pages. Most of the 

 15 



