hen came thither a wise man walking, out from outen a land where winds whisper unto crystal waters, tho no waters be there to hear, they having been blewn dry by the

winds’ exceeding whispry.  And this man saith unto The Peopel’s Companien—yea, again hath erstwhile-Greasius been to the Namedrake, for the sake of his image before an e’er more biting foreign review—Wudst thou that I the Wise, O Magnificentte Peopel’s Companien, bring upon thee liberace [lib-ə-rah-chee] from thine hammering fear?

            And The Poepol’s Companian cried, saying, What, thou blustring liar!  Saist thou that I have some fear?  ’Tis a liberace sure that thou shalt here achieve, o man of dust & gust:  liberace from thine swelling head shalt thou achieve, by mine own principol of naturel selexien. 

            And it came to pass that The People’s Companion did naturolly select for the wise man a severance of head; and the head was severanst.  And the Peopel’s Companian said, This was not merder; Yet neither said he what i’twere.

            And The People’s Camponion walkt in sollitude, and scribbd he with his toe upon the sand, scribing,  The Wisest That A Stranger Oughts Profess In Testy Times, Is To Know The Leaf Of The Tginseng And The Brewy Of A Cordial Pot Of Tea.  And the toe was cat upon a shard.  Neither was TP Companion much pleasd with his sandscriptien, for ’twas not muche amazing unto him.  And he despaired, for that his vapours magnifide.  And he sent out and had the sand oild and set ablaze.  And masters of expressien were brought in to teach his toe.

            ow, upon one morn, as the Companien hauntnd the stepfs besiden his empty street, came there an unknowner from the slackland Guzzaw Panoinia-Wooser.  And the unknowner keepeth veild his face, and maketh no provocadiv claim unto despicabol wisdams, rather livd this one a simple fare.  And lo, as TP watcht, the unknowner dray up alongsides him and stoppt to eat strangld rice & rye.

            And after a time saith he unto The Pepul’s Companion, Alas, I have nought for to honor thee, having now devour-ed all my rice & rye and offerd thee none.  What, then, may a mizbol paupfer such as I deliver unto the Lord of Empty Street, I having no possessiens, and no talentia save an undocomented ability to assuage & alleviate fears?  Sure, an exalted Companien, or Hatchet, or Kudtblaid, master genius of facejakery, needeth no such consolasien, no ministrasien,

6

having scant need of the pacci profundi, the profound peace in which I truck.  Hap, then, I will just sing.

            And weird emotiens rollt upon The People’s Companian, and wrackt him, and jerkt urges out & in.  And behold, he break-ed of sudden from all his raft of pathotic denials, crying, Yea, Paladin, thou knowst, I do, I do do anguish me so I do, in such tenacious & abiding fear; ’tis not like me.  Wudst thou, o penniless envy, assign thy talent upon my broken soul, and ushor in relief?

            And the unknowner anserd and said unto him, says, O may I, then?  And The Peapal’s c’Panion said again, Yea.

            Whereupon that man smote The People’s Companien upon his cranium with a tantrum boot, so that he pitcht down dead in the dust of emptistreet, and feard no further in the present plane—which were all, realily, that the unknewn rice-bite had promist.  Of course, the waiting plane of Hell hath old Twohorn Babboo, the worst of bads by most account.  There, ’tis like, The Peopel’s Companion hath occasien to revise his notiens of fear.  (Yet wherefore to specolate, when by-&-by we may see for our selfs?)  And it had been a great fear, inasmuch as the eye of the majestik wretch, it had pickld in its hole from the fear that lay ablanket his brain in life.

            And the bootwackie said, More success.  And he lookt down in feignd silence upon the smitten ruler of men.  (For he despisen the unworldly purity of Silence, and hath perfectnd its worldly perversien.)  Then lifted he up the veilrag that hiden his unknown face, saying, Behold, the very babe of Tody Sorudabiste Castrompohundiss, that did alarm thee, hath indeed fetcht on thy doom.  And he took out some leaves to smoke, and sat and smake them there upon the step besiden Greasius, whose originel name hath return-ed, there in death.

            And as he smake, he the man continu-ed, saying, Am I then that same babe, now grewn me up a rice-and-ryer and come hither for to tag thee?  Nit; nither; gnay.  Noccum, necht.  I am quite some other man, neither any Castrumpohundid atall.  But this I say unto thee thy corpse, That babe hath caus-ed all thy malacudious consternation; and ’tis that very fear hath brought down thy lethol headbooting.  Say.  Inasmuch as I came not tooting Wisdom, turnd I out to sing the wiser song; else ’twere mine own carcass pitcht there agog. 

            And he bandied the head twixt his sandols.  And as the spirit of the smoke reacht him, commenst he to dance upon the body of Greasius, and to downgrade it, that he might savor the inversion of statures twixt king and common cruiser.