While they stared he went on, making
the most of the good cheer upon which he had so fortunately alighted;
and was soon elbow deep in "pot luck," and greased from the tip of his
nose to the back of his ears.
As the company recovered from their surprise, they began to feel annoyed
at this intrusion. Their uninvited guest, unlike the generality of his
tribe, was somewhat dirty as well as ragged and they had no relish
for such a messmate. Heaping up, therefore, an abundant portion of the
"provant" upon a piece of bark, which served for a dish, they invited
him to confine himself thereto, instead of foraging in the general mess.
He complied with the most accommodating spirit imaginable; and went on
eating and chatting, and laughing and smearing himself, until his whole
countenance shone with grease and good-humor. In the course of his
repast, his attention was caught by the figure of the gastronome, who,
as usual, was gorging himself in dogged silence. A droll cut of the
eye showed either that he knew him of old, or perceived at once his
characteristics. He immediately made him the butt of his pleasantries;
and cracked off two or three good hits, that caused the sluggish dolt
to prick up his ears, and delighted all the company. From this time, the
uninvited guest was taken into favor; his jokes began to be relished;
his careless, free and easy air, to be considered singularly amusing;
and in the end, he was pronounced by the travellers one of the merriest
companions and most entertaining vagabonds they had met with in the
wilderness.
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