afternoon. We wish they had been of no value to any one except the owner." And then, in her sprightliest manner, and with every sign of enjoyment, she went on to an item during the reading of which I think we both flushed a little, Solon and I:—
"The United States Is
"Some grammar sharp down East says you must say 'The United States are.' But we guess not. Opinions to that effect prevailed widely to the south of us some years ago, but the contrary was proved, we believe. The United States is, brother, ever since Appomattox, and even the grammar book should testify to its is-ness—to its everlasting and indivisible oneness."
She carried it off so finely that I knew Miss Caroline had recovered from the fatigues of her journey.
"I shall write you an item myself," she exclaimed, and seizing a stubby pencil, she wrote rapidly:—
"A battered and ungrammatical old woman from the valley of Virginia has settled in our midst. She will always believe that the United States are, but she is harmless and otherwise sane."
"Have I caught the style?—have I used 'in our midst' correctly?" she asked Solon. And he protested that her style was faultless but that her matter was grossly misleading.
From this she was presently assuring him, in all pleasantness, that the seed of Cain, descended through Ham, would, by reason of the curse of God, be a
