“Mark, are you sick? I never saw a man look so haggard and worn and absent-minded. Say something; do!”

Drearily, without enthusiasm, I said: “Punch, brothers, punch with care! Punch in the presence of the passenjare!”

My friend eyed me blankly, looked perplexed, then said,—

“I do not think I get your drift, Mark. There does not seem to be any relevancy in what you have said, certainly nothing sad; and yet—maybe it was the way you said the words—I never heard anything that sounded so pathetic. What is”—

But I heard no more. I was already far away with my pitiless, heart-breaking “blue trip slip for an eight-cent fare, buff trip slip for a six-cent fare, pink trip slip for a three-cent fare; punch in the presence of the passenjare.” I do not know what occurred during the other nine miles. However, all of a sudden Mr. - laid his hand on my shoulder and shouted,—

“Oh, wake up! wake up! wake up! Don’t sleep all day! Here we are at the Tower, man! I have talked myself deaf and dumb and blind, and never got a response. Just look at this magnificent autumn landscape! Look at it! look at it! Feast your eyes on it! You have traveled; you have seen boasted landscapes elsewhere. Come, now, deliver an honest opinion. What do you say to this?”

I sighed wearily, and murmured,—

“A buff trip slip for a six-cent fare, a pink trip slip for a three-cent fare, punch in the presence of the passenjare.”

Rev. Mr. - stood there, very grave, full of concern, apparently, and looked long at me; then he said,—

“Mark, there is something about this that I cannot understand. Those are about the same words you said before; there does not seem to be anything in them, and yet they nearly break my heart when you say them. Punch in the—how is it they go?”

I began at the beginning and repeated all the lines. My friend’s face lighted with interest. He said,—

“Why, what a captivating jingle it is! It is almost music. It flows along so nicely. I have nearly caught the rhymes myself. Say them over just once more, and then I’ll have them, sure.”