He was
anxious to learn about our Western Territories, which were then
attracting attention in Europe, and a story I told him about Texas
struck him as amusing. When a returning disappointed emigrant from
that State was asked about the then barren country, he said:
"Stranger, all that I have to say about Texas is that if I owned Texas
and h--l, I would sell Texas."
What a change from those early days! Texas has now over four millions
of population and is said to have the soil to produce more cotton than
the whole world did in 1882.
The walk up to the house, when I had the philosopher out at
Pittsburgh, reminded me of another American story of the visitor who
started to come up the garden walk. When he opened the gate a big dog
from the house rushed down upon him. He retreated and closed the
garden gate just in time, the host calling out:
"He won't touch you, you know barking dogs never bite."
"Yes," exclaimed the visitor, tremblingly, "I know that and you know
it, but does the dog know it?"
One day my eldest nephew was seen to open the door quietly and peep in
where we were seated. His mother afterwards asked him why he had done
so and the boy of eleven replied:
"Mamma, I wanted to see the man who wrote in a book that there was no
use studying grammar.
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