Those d----d printers make such a mess
of it; I suppose I don't write a very fine hand."
If the gifted Gashwiler had added that he did not write a very
intelligent hand, or a very grammatical hand, and that his spelling was
faulty, he would have been truthful, although the copy and proof before
him might not have borne him out. The near fact was that the speech
was composed and written by one Expectant Dobbs, a poor retainer of
Gashwiler, and the honorable member's labor as a proof-reader was
confined to the introduction of such words as "anarchy," "oligarchy,"
"satrap," "palladium," and "Argus-eyed" in the proof, with little
relevancy as to position or place, and no perceptible effect as to
argument.
The stranger saw all this with his wicked left eye, but continued to
beam mildly with his right. Removing the coat and waistcoat of Gashwiler
from a chair, he drew it towards the table, pushing aside a portly,
loud-ticking watch,--the very image of Gashwiler,--that lay beside him,
and, resting his elbows on the proofs, said:
"Well?"
"Have you anything new?" asked the parliamentary Gashwiler.
Pages:
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116