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Rh "Now I'm going to wind up with something crushing," he stammered out, in reply to an imploring look from Raymond. Turning up his sleeves and untying his neck-handkerchief, as preliminaries, he delivered himself as follows, "I will not detain you long, gentlemen, though I find my ideas are crowding upon me with greater rapidity than I can find language to give them utterance. Australia Felix, like her native gum trees, may be torn by the tempest, shaken by the thunder, blasted by blue lightning, but it's my opinion, that all attempts to check her progress will be vain, whilst we, her sons, continue to respect her laws and enforce obedience to them both by our actions and example." (a laugh, and cheers.) Two or three of his friends now endeavoured to drag him back from the window, but he shook them off, mounted on the wooden balustrade, and swaying himself to and fro, cried, "If any one attempts to touch me I'll throw myself into the arms of my friends below.—Talk! I'll talk with any man alive for £50, not excepting that 'spectable old trump Nailem! Who'll try me—whar's the man?" As no champion appeared upon the lists, Dodge quietly resigned himself into the custody of his friends, with an intimation that he was "quite unaccustomed to public drinking, and that his feelings were beyond expression," which was certainly not the case with his countenance, for that bore most unmistakable characteristics of inebriety.

We regret to have to record it, but the helpless hero was forthwith taken to bed, from which, however, he insisted the sheets should be first drawn, as he could not stand damp. The extreme care he manifested for his health on this particular occasion, considering that he slept as often upon the earth as any where else, could only be accounted for from the peculiarly oblivious state of his mental faculties.

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