THE WELLFLEET OYSTEKMAN. 
87 
They could squirt full ten feet before the wind, as 
appeared by the marks of the drops on the sand. 
‘^Now I am going to ask you a question/’ said the old 
man, “ and I don’t know as you can tell me ; but you are 
a learned man, and I never had any learning, only what 
I got by natur.” — It was in vain that we reminded him 
that he could quote Josephus to our confusion. — “I’ve 
thought, if I ever met a learned man I should like to 
ask him this question. Can you tell me how Axy is 
spelt, and what it means ? Axy,’’ says he ; “ there’s 
a girl over here is named Axy. Now what is it ? What 
does it mean ? Is it Scripture ? I’ve read my Bible 
twenty-five years over and over, and I never came 
across it.” 
“ Did you read it twenty-five years for this object ? ” 
I asked. 
“ Well, how is it spelt? Wife, how is it spelt?” 
She said: “ It is in the Bible; I’ve seen it.” 
“Well, how do you spell it?” 
“ I don’t know. A c h, ach, s e h, seh, — Achseh.” 
“Does that spell Axy? Well, do you know what it 
means ? ” asked he, turning to me. 
“ No,” I replied, “ I never heard the sound before.” 
“ There was a schoolmaster down here once, and they 
asked him what it meant, and he said it had no more 
meaning than a bean-pole.” 
I told him that I held the same opinion with the 
schoolmaster. I had been a schoolmaster myself, and 
had had strange names to deal with. I also heard 
of such names as Zoheth, Beriah, Amaziah, Bethuel, 
and Shearjashub, hereabouts. 
At length the little boy, who had a seat quite in the 
chimney-corner, took off his stockings and shoes, warmed 
