The Progress in Shreveport, Louisiana

Old Friend That Wouldn t Stir A Wet Rain Story

A rambling medical tale opens with an old man testing a sliver from his palm leaf, then recounts a lifelong knife companion made by a tramp blacksmith. He shares adventures with the knife including bear, pickerel, and a carved handle, reflecting on luck and loss before noting it is cow time and he must go. Nearby, snippets describe a blind rat from Rickmansworth, an undertaker faced with a bully, a costermonger in trouble, and a reflection on immortal minds as engravings on minds rather than stone.