“The Kentuckians,” continued my landlord, “are astonishingly mighty people; they are the very first people on earth!”
“Yes, sir.”
“They are immensely great, and wonderfully powerful people; ar’nt they?”
“Yes, sir.”
“They are ten thousand times superior to any nation on earth.”
“How do you like Kentucky?”
“Very well, sir; I travelled through it four years ago.”
“G—d d—n my s—l t——e——l d——n!” roared he. “The Pennsylvanians have not a square mile of land in their state, equal to our poor lands. Bill,” turning now to his neighbour on the left, “Bill has been marked in a mighty fine style. G—d d—n, &c., he blooded like a hog.”
“Yes,” replied the neighbour, “Sam has stabbed exceedingly well, I presume. Bill has to wait four weeks before he may be on his legs again, if he will be at all. G—d d—n! but to tell Isaac, his horse, which he thinks so much of, is a poor beast compared with his—and so to give him the lie. I would have knocked him down, come what might out of it. But Dick and John!”—and now these two fellows broke out into roaring shouts of horse laughter. “How his eyes twinkled, he looked quite as squire Toms, when laying all night over the bottle; I guess he never will be able to set his eyes a-right.”