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 attend a bazar for the benefit of the heathen at her boarding place. But, good land! it wuz two or three weeks off, and I wondered if she thought it would take all that time for me to do up my work and git ready. I thought she little knew my faculty in turnin' off work if she did. But then I meditated mebby she thought I would have to fix over my black alpacky dress, or bind my flannel petticoat; anyway, I spozed it wuz all well enough.

I thought I would try to go if I could, and sot down to write her a note, and thought I would write it as near like hers as I could, spozin' hers wuz in the height of fashion. But on runnin' it over in my mind whether I could go or not, I remembered jest in the nick of time that wuz just about the time our old hen turkey would come off; it ort to come off the day before, but might hang fire. She wuz settin' on nineteen eggs under the horse barn, and I wouldn't run the chance of her streakin' off to the swamp with all them young turkeys, party or no party, so, as I didn't want her to git up no false hopes, I wrote:

"Josiah Allen's wife and Josiah presents their compliments to Miss Greene Smythe, and they will be happy to visit her on date mentioned if their old hen turkey hatches at the time it ort to, and they spoze it will.

"Yours truly, "JOSIAH ALLEN'S WIFE."

And then, as I see she had put in a lot of letters on one side to kinder ornament it off, "R. S. V. P."

And I spoze she meant Remember Samantha—V—sunthin' or ruther to my Pardner. I couldn't make out what that V did mean; mebby she meant to hint that my pardner wuz voyalent sometimes. But, good land! I