“There!  Mr. McKenzie, I declare!  You are the most oncommon, oncivil man I ever sot eyes on!”

“Peace, my lady!  I’ll explain.”

“Then do so.”

“You must know, then, that I have a perfect hatred of bandboxes,—­so great, in fact, that if I see one on the walk, I involuntarily raise my foot and kick it.”

“So it appears,” chimed in Mrs:  McKenzie, with a significant hunch of the right shoulder.

“Therefore,—­”

“Well, go on! what you waitin’ for?”

“Therefore, when I saw Arabella’s bandbox in the entry, as I came down, sitting, as it did, directly at the foot of the stairs, I jumped on it, thinking I would come over it that time—­”

“An’ crushed a new spring bonnet, that cost-let me see!”

“No matter!” said Mr. McKenzie; “that will be in the bill.”

Mr. McKenzie, having said thus much, placed his hat on his head and rushed from the house, fearful of another onslaught of “oncommon oncivilities.”

A little shop at the North End,—­seven men seated round said shop,—­a small dog growling at a large cat, a large cat making a noise resembling that produced by root-beer confined in a stone bottle by a cork bound down with a piece of twine.  Reader, imagine you see and hear all this!

[Enter Mr. McKenzie.] “Gentlemen, something must be done to demolish the idea held by the ‘rest of mankind’ that they, the women, cannot exist without owning as personal property an indefinite number of bandboxes.  I therefore propose that we at once organize for the purpose; that a committee be appointed to draft resolutions, and report a name for the confederacy.”

Voted unanimously; whereupon, a committee being appointed, after a short session, reported the following “whereas, etc.”

“Whereas, we, in our perambulations up and down the earth, are frequently, oftentimes, and most always, beset with annoyances of various kinds; and, as the greatest, most perplexing, most troublesome and iniquitous of these, generally assumes the shape of a bandbox, in a bag or out of one; and, whereas, our wives, our daughters, our sisters, and our female acquaintances generally and particularly, manifest a determination to put said boxes in our way, at all times, and under all circumstances, therefore

“Resolved, That-we-wont-stand-it-any-longer!!!

“Resolved, That we form ourselves into a society for the purpose of annihilating this grievous evil, and all bandboxes, of every size and nature.

“Resolved, That this society be known by the name of ’The Bandbox Extermination Association.’”