3 io 
TRAVELS 
“ fo out I lugged the large pally that had the cat baked in it, and 
“ I gave it to the officer, who was fo well pleafed, that he invited 
“ the other peafant and me to take a cup of coffee with him; 
“ and fo we did ; and he gave us a glafs of punch after it, and a 
“ bumper of excellent brandy befides; after which we took our 
“ leave, and went our ways.” 
“ Thus ends the peafant’s tale which he told to his neighbours 
* 
“ of Paldamo, and which I, Vanonen, have put into verfe for the 
“ delight of all that fhall hear it: and I fuppofe I fhall get much 
“ fuch a prefent for my compofition as the firfi commiffary of the 
“ cuftoms had for his civility—one of pufs’s hind legs; for the 
officer eat the other, as you muft next hear. 
“ The commiffary Ritzi, for fo this officer w r as named who had 
“ received this noble prefent, w T as fat down to his fupper, and the 
“ Paldamo-pafly was placed before him. He firfi cut off a flice 
“ of the crufl, which he tafled, and found very refilling and 
“ good: he next pulled out one of the cat’s hind legs. To be 
“ fure he fcratched his mouth with the claws; but that he 
“ thought might be the pike’s teeth, for he fuppofed that the 
•“ pafly had a large jack in it, and the cat’s hind leg before him 
“ was the jole of the jack. At length he opened the pally, but 
<e what was his aflonifhment when he beheld a pally with a baked 
(e cat in it, fkin, fur and all! 
“ He flamped, he raved, he fvvore—and at lafl he broke out 
(t into thefe refiedions—Who could have thought that a peafant 
<c of Paldamo w r ould have prefented. the firfi commiffary of the 
“ cufloms 
