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MY DEAR SIR,--

James Russell Lowell

(an' noticin' by your kiver thet you're some dearer than wut you wuz, I

enclose the deffrence) I dunno ez I know Jest how to interdoose this

las' perduction of my mews, ez Parson Wilber allus called 'em, which is

goin' to _be_ the last an' _stay_ the last onless sunthin' pertikler

sh'd interfear which I don't expec' ner I wun't yield tu ef it wuz ez

pressin' ez a deppity Shiriff. Sence Mr. Wilbur's disease I hevn't hed

no one thet could dror out my talons. He ust to kind o' wine me up an'

set the penderlum agoin' an' then somehow I seemed to go on tick as it

wear tell I run down, but the noo minister ain't of the same brewin' nor

I can't seem to git ahold of no kine of huming nater in him but sort of

slide rite off as you du on the eedge of a mow. Minnysteeril natur is

wal enough an' a site better'n most other kines I know on, but the other

sort sech as Welbor hed wuz of the Lord's makin' an' naterally more

wonderfle an' sweet tastin' leastways to me so fur as heerd from. He

used to interdooce 'em smooth ez ile athout sayin' nothin' in pertickler

an' I misdoubt he didn't set so much by the sec'nd Ceres as wut he done

by the Fust, fact, he let on onct thet his mine misgive him of a sort of

fallin' off in spots. He wuz as outspoken as a norwester _he_ wuz, but I

tole him I hoped the fall wuz from so high up thet a feller could ketch

a good many times fust afore comin' bunt onto the ground as I see Jethro