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Show (xT-yt l rij:: or od sat szv Th Hon. I-afe (Jleaann of Delhi, head helper of Hcnal Clerk Whipple ad dispenser In chief of Ki'publlc.in epellblndora In New York, bad In hla budget of Delaware coiintr wonder on hla laat visit to the Amen Corner t the fifth Avenue hotel nothing that he thought ao murh of aa the Bewe at the cutting down along th headwaters of th Delaware aimie-wher aimie-wher of a willow trie eight feet In diameter whlrh had gone hollow at ' th butt and atood aa menac to nil who might vaaa that war. "And th wonder of that tree waa," I (aid he. "that It bad grown from , Itick raftman cut alxty yeare ago I from willow ire fifty mil" down I th river and uird aa ran to aid , klm on hla homeward trip to Dela- I war county on foot, and whlrh on ' hla arrival I hi re, lie atuck In th rich. oft aoll on the margin of the river. J -There, aa It la well known that Willow cuttlnga will Un, It took root and thrive! and became the niaiuuinth tre Dow no more. Next to Hilly l.eary ' th willow trr beata all for catching , on and thriving," added th Hon. Lata. "Don't I know Itf remarked Col. . Jim Junee, In mournful memory of whom th llabea at th Aquarium till keep th water aalt wltb thir tear. "Don't I know It I And th tannin In wlllowa! It would knock hemlock out of th market for making leather. If there waa only enough willow. wil-low. Let ai trll you eoniolhlng . "There were pickerel In a marahy A pond up In old Htuuhen and trogal Air. my! what froga. "Hut the biggest of Ihea big frog lived In a collection of aloahy boga irher It waa Impossible for anyone to get at them, much to the aggravation of all who went trogglng In that pond, and particularly to Unci HI Bloven. a robust and honest cltlicn who lived sear on aide ot th pond and loved to lather frog. I' "On day he caught h pollywog of amailng alio, which waa just putting on th Unletting touchra to make It a full frog, and aomohow the Idea atruck hi in to take It bom and ice what It would develop Into. He put It In bla prlng. and aa It grew b mad a pet ot It. "It got ao It knew HI aa well aa If j be waa a frog, too, and HI found that i k could teach It trlcka. It under- !tood everything Uncle HI aald. and need to go with him to the pond when t went flogging, bopping along at hi aide Ilk a kangaroo. "Uncle HI uaed In hla frog-Ashing a i piece of red flannol tied to a hook, ; and bla pet frog would alt and watrb him fill It under the nnaea of wild froga and apllt lta moutb from ehoul-ir ehoul-ir to ahouliler when HI would haul en In. Juat aa If It waa laughing at th fun. "On day th frnga out on tho iwanipy boga had been mora aggravating aggra-vating than ever, and Uncle HI and hla pet frog had made thlnga blue around there. In th afternoon Joshua HI had named the frog Joahua aeemcd to be keeping up an unuaual lot ot thinking about aomothlng or other. "Suddenly ha mail a break for th woodshed, where Unci F, alwaya i kept bla lino and hooka with flannel on 'em. Joahua went, humping Into th alied, and pretlr aoon came buinp- ' Ing out again. "II had one of PI a line wound J around bla body, Juat below hla for ! r I Utr !81 found that h could teach It tricks. It'prt. Willi n lunt or (j Btrvamlui; nut tx-hlml, that ouij liavinff tlio hook aiul the rMl flumu'l on tt. I f r wettt botinc- 4 liiK rIopk twn to tho v I!' H'1" & j rubbvr bull Hi cJ out nf a cannon, 5 ftoiiNDd lu (tnJ struck nut tor tho 1 twampj part wliort' the bli? and naHy i . froga lived, and where no man could get. while Unci HI juat atood and Blared after him with bulging eyna and open mouth. "'Joahua gun cratrl' aald he. The atraln hue been too much for Joahua, and be'a loat hla mind!' "And that'a the war It looked, too, but It wasn't ao, aa Uncle HI discovered discov-ered when Jo hua cam Bailing bark by and by, having In tow a frog al-moat al-moat a big aa hlmaelf wltb the flannol flan-nol halted hook In lta Jawl "Joahua had madn up hla mind that he'd had about enough of th aaaa of thoa froga out In th awamp, and had rigged hlmaelf up with a book and I ' ttumplnn around th plae ft rat rat. '1lu, wuin out and rjnahed the flaunel onder th noaea of aome of 'em, booked on and lugged It bom. II brought In twenty nine that after noon. "Thor wor pickerel In that pond. I think I told you. I should aay ther waa I "On day Joahua waa returning from a frogglng excuralon to th awamp, fetching In a prlae, and when It waa half way home Uncle HI aaw a llg aplaah In th water In hla wake, and aaw Joahua glv a tremendoua hump to hlmaelf. II cam right on, though, and lauded hla catch; but bl left leg waa off at th knee. "On of thoae pickerel had faalened on aa much of Joahua aa It could get Into lta mouth and took It along. "Unci Bl waa a handy man, and aa aoon aa he aaw what ailed Joahua b cut a atlck off ot a tre and faalened It on to the frog aa a woodon leg. Th wound healed up. th akin grew down over th wooden leg, and In a few daya Joahua waa atumplng around th place flrat rat. "Ilia awlmmlng daya war over, though, and with them hla uaefulneea aa a frog catcher waa gone, although, unfortunately, Joahua did not think ao hlmaelf, anil on day Unci HI l-moat l-moat fell In a faint when he aaw that frog sealed on a big alab and paddling over toward the awamp, hla frog tackle with him, and hla wooden leg atlcklng out In front ot hlin Ilk a Tetoran of th wars." " 'Homclhln' will happen to that un-compromlaln' un-compromlaln' frog ylt, an re aa aettln' bona!' aald Undo HI, aoon aa ha could catch hla breath. "He waa right. Day after day for a week Uncle HI gated out over th pond toward the awamp, watching for Joahua. but Joshua never came hack. "'I knowtul them aMKravutlu' froga over thcro waa p'laon mean.' aald Undo Un-do HI, nt laat, 'hut who'd 'a' thunk they'd 'a' took advantuge of a crlpploT' "Yrara passed. Thuro came a Mm lit u It wua to the advantage of that part of old Kteuhen that Undo Hl'a pond should he drained, and It waa. "Tho awampa hogs becaino dry land and wero covered with a nice growth of timber. One day Unci Hi waa Uamplug throiiKh It, and he aaw a tree with funny looking object near the tup. "furious to know what It could be. he chopped tho tree. down. Worda c:m't cxpicH tho aHtonlhhuient ot Unelo HI when ho dlaeoveied that the B!ranKo ohjeet mus the 'lu of a tremendoua tre-mendoua fn n, one leg of which waa tnHl to nnd purl of thu top of a brunch of the tree. "Undo SI vn purlei1, hut the minute min-ute It c:inin to h!m thu: tho tree waa a willow and that It had been a willow wil-low treu from nliieh h'l tut tho wooden wood-en leg for JoHhua yeuru before, b!1 was pluln. "'It loat Joxlma.' aald he, 'and hit wooden leg!' "And so It was. The poor frog had got stuck by hla wooden leg In the ailr of t!. awamp that ? b waV died over to rum hla frap'ng- H eoaloa't ntrlcat himself, a"4 Iher he died. Th willow cutting had root Iher. Of coiiraa, and had rn th yeara. lifting Joahua alf l(h tt. I and preserving hi akin wi th taa-i taa-i nln in lta aap. Unci HI bat thought th world of Joahua whll '' and so I alwaya thought It waiiueer th us he put the skin to gpar h tank it horn. He aewed up tin south an used the akin for a M bag lur year. "Wonderful, wonderful, k wllloe1 will take root and thtlf Blmpljr wonderful I" Th Hon. Laf Gleaa eooldnl deny It, and Col. Ed tyj", aeelng ther waa a frog In Col. j.eta'a throat, tent Sharkey, th proud Miter, with a wlrelesa meaaage to Jlniy Gray at th high ball relectory - York Hun. |