"Tubbs rose from the table, and, in doing so, hit his head a smart whack against the ceiling. Before leaving the house he turned to make a last appeal to his wife, who, he could not help seeing, was anxious to have him go.

" 'Won't you own me, Mary?' he asked. 'It isn't my fault that I am so big.'

" 'Own you!' exclaimed his wife. 'I wouldn't own you for a mint of money. You'd eat me out of house and home in less than a week.'

" 'I don't know but I should,' said Mr. Tubbs mournfully. 'I don't see what gives me such an appetite. I'm hungry now.'

" 'Hungry, after you've eaten enough for six!' exclaimed his wife, aghast. 'Well, I never!'

" 'Then you won't let me stay, Mary?'

"With slow and sad strides Thomas Tubbs left the house. The world seemed dark enough to the poor fellow. Not only was he disowned by his wife and children, but he could not tell how he should ever earn enough to keep him alive, with the frightful appetite which he now possessed. 'I don't know,' he thought, 'but the best way is to drown myself at once.' So he walked to the river, but found it was not deep enough to drown him.

"As he emerged from the river uncomfortably wet, he saw a man timidly approaching him. It proved to be the manager of the show.