The Portland daily press., 1875-04-08
4 Spelling Puzzle.

a V'gllant gazetteer, with the sobriquet of
Colonel, who had combated the raillery of
the pebeians and the euphuisms and scbisms of
the vacillating, idiosyncratic, erudte patreians
received, with unparalleled cachinnaton,
challenge to an orthograph:cal competition.
To his transcendent surprise, the proffered
prize was daguerreotypes of Mendelssohn. Kos
clusko, and Rennsselar, or, if the conqreror
preferred, copies of the Septuagint, Apocrypba
and Westminster catechism. He thought,
with debatably admissible egotism of the gra-
tuitous applause of the populace and the APP
pearance of his name in bourgeois the next
day, and his choice was discernible in his hilar
itv, and the hleroglyphican Acknowledgements
which he transmitted to the mbarraSs ed stRpe-
fed gypsy, who left with a rough courtesy.
He changed his apparel, do1ned his Nassau,
Ulster. and his worsted gauntlets. and travelled
toward the trysting-place. He stopped at
druggists to obtain a dose of chloral and o
dozen troches. Here he found physician who
was purchasing dram phal of ipecacuanha
and au ounce of licorice for colicky patient,
who not only had the collie, but rheumatism,
neuralgia, bilious erysipelas and was threaten
ed with hemorrhage, cerebro-spinal meningitis,
pneumonia and hemip.egia.
He met a surveyor and an architect who
were gauging the width of Eighth street for
crisscross trestlework bridge A ferreous der.
rick almost mauled his Uranium, and he bawl-
ed aloud. His clamor brought an ally from a
neighboring alley. who administered draught
of rectied whisky, and teaspoonfu of pare
goric mixed with chloroform. At the same
time this thief with consummate viliany pur-
loined his chronometer and the balance of spe-
Gle in his pockets. He committed this piece of
rascality with impunity, and it was unPunish-
ed, for our punctil GUS friend was harassed and
perplexed at the lateness of the hour.
He next met sibyl, who wore de bege pol
ouaise with cuirass basque, and shirred tab
lier, all elaborately trimmed with bias pleating
and ACKNOWLEDGMENT carried sachel,
portemonnae, and reticule She smilingly Of
fered him tempting bouquet of fuchsias, lilies
mignoaette, aud phlox in a cench-like basin.
But he saw a caterpillar costly ensconed amoHg
the posies and refused the nosegay.
A grocery man tried TO inveigle him into
buying supply of peas, potatoes, celery, cauh-
flower or kerosene but he thought of his EN-.
bezzled funds, and passed on. A Teutonic ten
ant of tenement house, forgetting the tenet
of the law was bastinadoing the soles of an in
corrigibe STRIPPING with a surcingle. The muir
mur of the parental harangue, preceded by
vOlley of virulent imprecatiens, filled the au-
ditory meatus of our friend, and he proceeded
toward the goal. A flaming advertisement OF
recent discoveries of auriferous and argentlfer-
Gus deposits in the argllaceous country of the
Black Hills now caught his eye. He did not
stop to,criticse the italicized statements but he
saw several salable specimens of cinnabar,
more precious than bdellium, onyx, or beryl.
When he reached his destination he was ex-
ceedingly rolled to find that the gnomon of the
dial indicated that he was delinquent. An
ostentatlous pedagogue, with ferule or gayel
in his hand was endeavoring to mystify his
audience with the appellatives that emanated
from his laryDx.
REPUTABLE" ''gossamer," !" ''mediBval," /" ska
leidoscppe," and "mnemouics'' dsmayed some,
and "hymn'' was a plaguey word to the
Colonel, for he spelled it with an Nj" Feeling
symptoms of phthiscky catarrh, he left amid
the ridiculing clapping of hands Of his COM
petitors.