Summary

Mrs. Fletcher states that she and her husband are not related in any way, so it would be unlikely that her child would have any birth defects. Leota agrees. She then says Mrs. Pike’s favorite part of the show was a group of dwarves. Leota refers to them as “pygmies” (27). Leota then mentions another part of the show: a “petrified man” (27). The man was almost completely paralyzed. Supposedly, every time he ate food, some of the food went to his joints and solidified, thereby slowly paralyzing him. He could move his head slightly, but he could do little else. Leota compares the man to her husband Fred, whom she says is lazy. Another performer in the show was a woman called Lady Evangeline; she supposedly had psychic powers. Lady Evangeline predicted that Mrs. Pike’s husband—who is currently unemployed—would receive some...