a pain how long he must have it."

John turned quickly upon his tormentor as he said, "That's the
thirteenth time I have heard you get off that old joke. You
mustn't take him too seriously, Miss Susie," he added, turning to
the girl, who was laughing at George 's suggestion. "You know
what his nickname is, don't you?"

"No, I cannot say that I do," replied Miss Susie.

"Well, we call him Pop."

"Why?" she inquired.

"Because he's the papa of his country. He is named for George
Washington, who is the Father of his Country, but the name
doesn't go very far."

"That's all right," spoke up George. "Up yonder where your
topknot is there's an aching void. I read the other day that
Sydney Smith said 'Nature never built a man more than seven
stories high without leaving the top loft empty'."

"On the contrary," spoke up John, "all the great men have been
those who could look down on the rest of the world."

"Huh!" broke in Grant, "it will do you good to find out how much
of your statement is really true. What do you think of Caesar,
Napoleon, William of Orange, General Grant, Alexander Stephens,
Alexander Hamilton--"