United States or New Caledonia ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Sez I, "You hain't enjoyin' sech poor health as you did sometimes in Jonesville, be you?" Sez she, "I never wuz so well before in my life!" Sez I, "You've somehow got a different look onto you, Arvilly." Sez I, "Somehow, you look more meller and happy." "I be happy!" sez she. Sez I, "I spoze you are still a-sellin' the same old book, the 'Wild, Wicked, and Warlike Deeds of Man'?"
The natives all seemed to wear their shirts over their pantaloons, hangin' loose, and some on 'em didn't have on any pantaloons, jest the shirt, and some not even that, jest a sash or so tied round about 'em. I despised the sight and sez to Josiah: "They might do as much as Adam did anyway; they might wear some leaves round 'em, there is plenty of fig trees here I spoze."
And I told her "that I didn't spoze there would be a very great congregation in our bedroom, as a general thing in the dead of night, to see whether it wuz becomin' to Josiah and me or not. And, it bein' as dark as Egypt, our complexions wouldn't make a very bad show any way."
After this, and it wuz done quite quick, for not a mouthful wuz eaten, a large, gold tray wuz brought in with a gold pitcher on it and a large napkin, and the Emperor knelt and poured a little water on the old man's foot, and wiped it on the napkin. It wuzn't very dirty, I spoze; his folks had tended to that, and got off the worst of it.
"Then," sez I, "do, do think of other pas and mas and sisters and sweethearts and wives weepin' and wailin' for husbands, sons and brothers slain by this enemy! I spoze," sez I reasonably, "that you think it is an old story and monotonous, but Love is an old story and Grief and Death, but they are jest as true as at the creation and jest as solemn."
Well, the next day but one wuz the big outdoor suffrage meetin'. And we sot off in good season, Hiram feelin' well enough to be left with the hired help. Polly started before we did with some of her college mates, lookin' pretty as a pink with a red rose pinned over a achin' heart, so I spoze, for she loved the young man who wuz out with another girl May-flowering.
The children when they wuz told on't mourned because we did, and on their own account too, for they sot store by her what little they had seen of her for nobody could see her without loving her. As for Arvilly, her ideas on intemperance couldn't be added to or diminished by anything, but she wep' and cried for days. Well, I spoze you all want to know the peticulars.
Three on 'em wuz Baptis'es, and two on 'em had jined our meetin' house, deacons, and the old name clung to 'em we spoze because they wuz such good, stiddy men, and looked up to. Take 'em all together there wuz five deacons.
Wall, I wuz tickled enough for Arvilly, and I made up my mind then and there to give her a good linen table-cloth and a pair of new woollen sheets for a weddin' present, and I subscribed for the "Precious Performances" on the spot. I didn't spoze that I should care much about readin' "The Peaceful, Prosperous, and Precious Performances of Man" But I bought it to help her along.
He'll mebby tell me they wuz ignorant and degraded and wuz better off here than in their own land, but I'll say back to him, "Samuel, Josiah and I would probable be in a better house and more high-toned society if some king or other should steal us and carry us away from our humble farm to their palace. But do you spoze we would enjoy ourselves as well? No indeed!"
Word Of The Day