Sketches New and Old


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chimneys a little, and thus "add to the generous 'coup d'oeil' a soothing  
uniformity of achievement which would allay the excitement naturally  
consequent upon the 'coup d'etat.'" I asked him if he learned to talk  
out of a book, and if I could borrow it anywhere? He smiled pleasantly,  
and said that his manner of speaking was not taught in books, and thatnothing  
but familiarity with lightning could enable a man to handle his  
conversational style with impunity. He then figured up an estimate, and  
said that about eight more rods scattered about my roof would about fix  
me right, and he guessed five hundred feet of stuff would do it; and  
added that the first eight had got a little the start of him, so to  
speak, and used up a mere trifle of material more than he had calculated  
on--a hundred feet or along there. I said I was in a dreadful hurry,  
and I wished we could get this business permanently mapped out, so that I  
could go on with my work. He said, "I could have put up those eight  
rods, and marched off about my business--some men would have done it.  
But no; I said to myself, this man is a stranger to me, and I will die  
before I'll wrong him; there ain't lightning-rods enough on that house,  
and for one I'll never stir out of my tracks till I've done as I would be  
done by, and told him so. Stranger, my duty is accomplished; if the  
recalcitrant and dephlogistic messenger of heaven strikes your--"  
"There, now, there," I said, "put on the other eight--add five hundred  
feet of spiral-twist--do anything and everything you want to do; but calm  
your sufferings, and try to keep your feelings where you can reach them  
with the dictionary. Meanwhile, if we understand each other now, I will  
go to work again."  
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