I was int'duced to all of 'em in the parlor, an' putty soon in come one of the fellers an' said somethin' to Mis' Price that meant dinner was ready, an' the girl come up to me an' took holt of my arm.

'You're goin' to take me out,' she says, an' we formed a procession an' marched out to the dinin' room.

'You're to sit by mammer,' she says, showin' me, an' there was my name on a card, sure enough.

Wa'al, sir, that table was a show! I couldn't begin to describe it to ye.

The' was a hull flower garden in the middle, an' a worked tablecloth; four five glasses of all colors an' sizes at ev'ry plate, an' a nosegay, an' five six diff'rent forks an' a lot o' knives, though fer that matter," remarked the speaker, "the' wa'n't but one knife in the lot that amounted to anythin', the rest on 'em wouldn't hold nothin'; an' the' was three four sort of chiney slates with what they call--the--you 'n me----" "Menu," suggested John.
"I guess that's it," said David, "but that wa'n't the way it was spelt.
Wa'al, I set down an' tucked my napkin into my neck, an' though I noticed none o' the rest on 'em seemed to care, I allowed that 't wa'n't _my_ shirt, an' mebbe Price might want to wear it agin 'fore 't was washed." John put his handkerchief over his face and coughed violently.