And it wuz here that Josiah nudged me, and sez he, “You’ve always throwed it into my face that men don’t think so much of each other as wimmen do; and now,” sez he, “look at them two men—­I’ve watched ’em as long as ten minutes—­a-holdin’ each other’s hands.”

And sure enough, I turned, and I see two good-lookin’ men a-holdin’ each other by the hand as if they loved each other fondly—­

As if they couldn’t bear to leggo.  They wuz first-rate lookin’ men, too, and you could see plain by their liniments how much store they sot by each other.

Wall, Josiah and I wended off and looked at the wax figgers of Lincoln, and the death of Marie Antoinette, and lots of other interestin’ wax statutes; and when we come back, there stood them two men still a-holdin’ each other by the hand; and Josiah whispered agin, “How they love each other! no gabblin’ and gushin’, like wimmen, but jest silent, clost, deep love.”

“But,” I sez, “I believe there is sunthin’ wrong about ’em.  It hain’t nateral for men to stand still so long holt of hands.  I believe they’re in a fit or sunthin’.”

“A fit!” sez he.  “I spoze a woman would have a fit if she had to keep still a minute with another woman in gunshot of her.

“But to satisfy you,” sez he, “I’ll see.”

So he accosted ’em, and sez he, “I will ask the way to Noah’s Ark.”  So he advanced with a polite air, and sez he, “Could either one of you two gentlemen tell me where Noah’s Ark is situated?” Sez he, “Bizer is anxious to see it.”

They didn’t move or stir, and Josiah agin sez, “Do you know where Noah’s Ark is?” and he laid his hand on the arm of one of the men who stood near him.

A Columbian Guard who stood near sez, “Keep your hand offen the wax figger!”

Josiah wuz mortified most to death.  He’d wanted to show off the equality of his sect, and to have man’s love and fidelity proved to be but wax wuz harrowin’.

But he didn’t stay mortified more’n a minute and a half on sech a business.

And the Guard told us where Noah’s Ark wuz.

And Bizer and Josiah wuz all carried away with it.  This wuz in the children’s room, and all the animals are reproduced life size, every one of ’em two and two, jest as they enter the Ark.

We couldn’t hardly tear our two pardners away, Selinda and I couldn’t.

Josiah said, “It wuz so beautiful and interestin’,” and so Bizer said.

But I believe what made them men cling to it so for sech a length of time, they hearn us talk about how we wanted to go into the Bazaar, where there wuz lots of things to sell.

But finally they see they couldn’t hold us back no longer, so we went through that gorgeous place, all full of bronzes, rugs, vases, pipes, and etcetry.

We didn’t stay long here, though, for Bizer and Josiah said that the air wuz that bad they wuz chokin’, and that they couldn’t stan’ it.