A Witty Reply

The late Bev. Georg Trask, the temperante and anü-tub;icco leeturer. was one of the extreme men. Uut in one instance he had wit enougli tQ work himself out of a dilemma into wliich his extravagant statements had brought hini. At one time he addressed a large and attentive audience, and among othei tilines, said in his lecture tliat no muu habitually using iobacco and wliisk) could expect to live uuiie tlian five oi' six years after beginning to use them. And so earnest and positive waa hr in li is address, and so at;entivp his andii'iicc, that at ils close he confidenüally ehalie'nged anyrëply, ahdinvited iny qnesLion.s on the subject. After a mement'a fliknoe a man rose and sald : "1 like wl:at you have said, Mr. Tiask, but I woukt like to ask one quesüon. "One of my neighbors is an old man, some seventy-five years old, and he bas deed tobáceo and whiskj - all he coukf get- evet1 bré svas thirty-flve years old. How do you reconcile thi'.t with what you saidi tbat a man uslng botb tobáceo and vvnisUy coulda't live iuol6 tlian live or six years?' Mr. Ttaak was Bomewhaè Btartled and, to gain timo tot collectiüg iiii thoughte, begefta aeking some questions "Howolddid you say the nianwasV' "Soine sevciity-tiivc yc-ars." "And lic Las been using both tobacee and whisky ever since he was tliirty five?" 'Yes, usiug them constantly and fivt lv ." "Wcü vIj;i! Kind of a man is Ik V Does he seem to takt much interest in business oranything iij.a isgoingon?" "Wa'al, ho, I don't íhiiik he cines." "Does he seem to love anybodyi1" "W'a'al, no." "Dees he seem to hate anybody ?" "Xo, 1 don't tiiiuk he does; he seems sorl of indiffeieut to everything1." "Wel!." ssid Mr. Trafik, who by this time bad gathered up liis wits, "your )ld man lias evideutly been dead lor some forty yeai , and the ouly mis;ake yöu've mi..., is that you did nol jury him." Amid th sliouts of laugliter tliat Be upun the answer the audience iioke up, and Mr. Trask was reïeyed.