And lots of pictures showin' their strange, melancholy Australian scenery.
And their big trees. Why, one of these trees, they say, is the biggest yet discovered in the World; it is 400 and 80 feet high.
And it wuz here that I see the very queerest thing that I ever did see in my life; it wuz in their collection of strange stuffed birds, and animals which wuz large, and complete, and rangin' from the Emu down to a pure white hummin'-bird.
It wuz here that I see this Thing that Scientists hain't never classified; it is about the size of a beaver—has fur like a seal, eyes like a fish, is web-footed, lays eggs, and hatches its young and lives in the water.
It is called a Platypus—there wuz four on 'em.
Queer creeter as I ever see. No wonder that Scientists furled their spectacles in front of it, and sot down discouraged.
Wall, we hung round there till most night, and Josiah and I went home as tired as two dogs, and tireder. And we both gin in that we hadn't seen nothin' to what we might have seen there; as you may say, we hadn't done any more justice to the contents of that buildin' than we would if we had undertook to count the slate-stuns in our old creek back of our house clear from Jonesville to Zoar—- more'n five miles of clear slate-stun. What could we do to it in one day?
But fatigue and hunger—on Josiah's part, a prancin' team—bore us away, and we went home in pretty good sperits after all, though some late.
Miss Plank had a good supper. We wuz late, but she had kept it warm for us—some briled chicken, and some green peas, and a light nice puddin', and other things accordin'; and Josiah did indeed do justice to it.