There were cries of “Go it, Square.”  “Dry up, old boy!” “Propel with the show!” &c., &c.  Tiffles adopted the latter suggestion, and without answering the lawyer’s insinuation, proceeded to point out the natural appearance of the waves, the truthfulness of the distant mountains, the absolute fidelity of the sunrise.  “And here let me answer an objection in advance.  It may be said that this sunrise does not look like a sunrise in Jersey.  Admit it.  Neither do the snakes (sensation)—­neither do the snakes which I am about, to exhibit (increased sensation and Oh! me’s! from the Young Ladies’ Seminary) resemble the familiar green or striped serpent of your own peaceful fields.  Neither do the tigers, which I shall presently have the honor of showing to you (renewed sensation), bear any marked affinity to the serene woodchuck that burrows in your happy hills.  The sunrises and sunsets, the boa constrictors, the tigers, and the other phenomena of Africa, are all immense, gorgeous, and peculiar.  They must be judged by themselves, and not by comparison.  My hearers will be kind enough to bear this in mind, as we go on.”

He then went on to repeat a great many statistics concerning the population and resources of Africa.  He had read up for these facts and figures, under the impression that they would interest the solid portion of his audience.  But he soon found out that he interested nobody (perhaps because the solid portion of audiences is a myth), and finally yielded to general requests of “Push ahead!” “Fire away!” “Start your train!” (the latter from the gentlemanly conductor and friends.)

Tiffles therefore whistled once, and the panorama commenced moving slowly and steadily.  The idiot, the rollers, and the lights, all worked well.

From the Bight of Benin, the voyaging spectators took an excursion up the river.

The uninterrupted stretch of deep blue for water, and light blue for sky, and green for the farther bank, with occasional palm trees looking like long-handled pickaxes, seemed to satisfy them.  At any rate they looked on, and found no fault in words; which both Tiffles and Patching took for an auspicious sign.  Tiffles kept step with his explanations.

His method was this.  When the palm tree came in sight, he would give a minute account of that noble tropical growth, and the many uses to which it and its products could be put.  When a flock of wild ducks appeared sailing majestically on the river, he would entertain his auditors with a circumstantial description of how the natives caught wild ducks.  A boat or hollow log, with a human figure, suggested a reference to the progress which the African had made in marine architecture and the science of navigation.  In this way, Tiffles thought he was beguiling his customers.  Some low sounds, like suppressed hisses, soon convinced him of his error.

“I beg your pardon, Professor,” said a thick-set voice, which he always recognized as coming from C. Skimmerhorn, Esq.; “but it seems to me that this portion of your panorama is a little monotonous.  I presume that in this suggestion, I express the sentiments of my fellow citizens here assembled.”  Cries of “Go on, Square!” “That’s so!” mingled with a vigorous stamping of feet and catcalls from the boys in the background, proved, alas! the truth of the conjecture.