His farm, though small, nevertheless allowed him a plenteous supply of healthy food.

Oh! quoth the Emperor, "Oh, excellent oats! . . . you feed your horses upon ifs and ans. The man that invented ifs and ans certainly made gold of chopped straw! […]

But a negro servant who had been stationed as warden at the door refused to allow the messenger to pass in, saying, 'The gemman can't be disturbed.'

You can skim-coat the piece with spackling comound, following the length of its grain and dragging the knife over the surface at a slight angle so that you fill in only the grain.