The dear old grandpas in their embroidered coats, didn't cast no shadow as they crossed the sunshine that came in through the old-fashioned window panes. No, but with my mind's eye (the best eye I have got, and one that don't wear specks) I see 'em, and I follerd 'em down the narrow, steep stair case, and out into the broad light of 4 P. M., 1886.

Anon, or shortly after, we drove up on a corner of the street jest above where the Fish creek empties into the Hudson, and there, right on a tall high brick block, wuz a tablet, showin' that a tree once stood jest there, under which Burgoyne surrendered. And agin, when I thought of all that he surrendered that day, and all that America and the world gained, my emotions riz up so powerful, that they wuzn't quelled down a mite, by seein' right on the other side of the house wrote down these words, "Drugs, Oils, etc."

No, oil couldn't smooth 'em down, nor drugs drug 'em; they wuz too powerful. And they lasted jest as soarin' and eloquent as ever till we turned down a cross street, and arrove at the place, jest the identical spot where the British stacked their arms (and stacked all their pride, and their ambitious hopes with 'em). It made a high pile.

Wall, from there we went up to a house on a hill, where poor Baroness Riedesel hid with her three little children, amongst the wounded and dyin' officers of the British army, and stayed there three days and three nights, while shots and shells wuz a bombardin' the little house — and not knowin' but some of the shots had gone through her lover husband's heart, before they struck the low ruff over her head.

What do you s'pose she wuz a thinkin' on as she lay hid in that suller all them three days and three nights with her little girls' heads in her lap? Jest the same thoughts that a mother thinks to-day, as she cowers down with the children she loves, to hide from danger; jest the same thoughts that a wife thinks today when her heart is out a facing danger and death, with the man she loves.

She faced danger, and died a hundred deaths in the thought of the danger to them she loved. I see the very splinters that the cruel shells and cannon balls split and tore right over her head. Good honorable splinters and not skairful to look at today, but hard, and piercin', and harrowin' through them days and nights.

Time has trampled over that calash she rode round so much in (I wish I could a seen it); but Time has ground it down into dust. Time's hand, quiet but heavy, rested down on the shinin' heads of the three little girls, and their Pa and Ma, and pushed 'em gently but firmly down out of sight; and all of them savages who used to follow that calash as it rolled onwards, and all their canoes, and war hoops, and snowshoes, etc., etc.

Yes, that calash of Miss Riedesel has rolled away, rolled away years ago, carryin' the three little girls, their Pa and Ma and all the fears, and hopes, and dreads, and joys, and heartaches of that time it has rolled on with 'em all; on, on, down the dusty road of Oblivion, — it has disappeared there round the turn of road, and a cloud of dust comes up into our faces, as we try to follow it. And the Injuns that used to howl round it, have all follered on the trail of that calash, and gone on, on, out of sight. Their canoes have drifted away down the blue Hudson, away off into the mist and the shadows. Curius, haint it?

And there the same hills and valleys lay, calm and placid, there is the same blue sparklin' Hudson. Dretful curius, and sort a heart breakin' to think on't — haint it? Only jest a few more years and we, too, shall go round the turn of the road, out of sight, out of sight, and a cloud of dust will come up and hide us from the faces of them that love us, and them, too, from the eyes of a newer people.

All our hopes, all our ambitious, all our loves, our joys, our sorrows, — all, all will be rolled away or floated away down the river, and the ripples will ripple on jest as happy; the Sunshine will kiss the hills jest as warmly, and lovin'ly; but other eyes will look on 'em, other hearts will throb and burn within 'em at the sight.

Kinder sad to think on, haint it?



XVIII.

THE SOCIAL SCIENCE MEETING.

One day Josiah and me went into a meetin' where they wuz kinder fixin' over the world, sort a repairin' of it, as you may say. Some of the deepest, smartest speeches I ever hearn in my life, I hearn there.

You know it is a middlin' deep subject. But they rose to it. They rose nobly to it. Some wuz for repairin' it one way, and some another — some wanted to kinder tinker it up, and make it over like. Some wanted to tear it to pieces, and build it over new. But they all meant well by the world, and nobody could help respectin' 'em.

I enjoyed them hours there with 'em, jest about as well as it is in my power to enjoy anything. They wuz all on 'em civilized Christian folks and philanthropists of different shades and degrees, all but one. There wuz one heathen there. A Hindoo right from Hindoostan, and I felt kinder sorry for him. A heathen sot right in the midst of them folks of refinement, and culture, who had spent their hull lives a tryin' to fix over the world, and make it good.

This poor little heathen, with a white piller case, or sunthin' wound round his head (I s'pose he hadn't money to buy a hat), and his small black eyes lookin' out kinder side ways from his dark hombly little face, rousted up my pity, and my sympathy. There had been quite a firm speech made against allowin' foreigners on our shores. And this little heathen, in his broken speech, said, It all seemed so funny to him, when everybody wuz foreigners in this country, to think that them that got here first should say they owned it, and send everybody else back. And he said, It seemed funny to him, that the missionarys we sent over to his land to teach them the truth, told them all about this land of Liberty, where everybody wuz free, and everybody could earn a home for themselves, and urged 'em all to come over here, and then when they broke away from all that held 'em in their own land, and came thousands and thousands of milds, to get to this land of freedom and religion,then they wuz sent back agin, and wuzn't allowed to land. It seemed so funny.

And so it did to me. And I said to myself, I wonder if they don't lose all faith in the missionarys, and what they tell them. I wonder if they don't have doubts about the other free country they tell 'em about. The other home they have urged 'em to prepare for, and go to. I wonder if they haint afraid, that when they have left their own country and sailed away for that home of Everlastin' freedom, they will be sent back agin, and not allowed to land.

But it comferted me quite a good deal to meditate on't, that that land didn't have no laws aginst foreign emigration. That its ruler wuz one who held the rights of the lowest, and poorest, and most ignerent of His children, of jest as much account as he did the rights of a king. Thinkses I that poor little head with the piller case on it will be jest as much looked up to, as if it wuz white and had a crown on it. And I felt real glad to think it wuz so.

But I went to every meetin' of 'em, and enjoyed every one of 'em with a deep enjoyment. And I said then, and I say now, for folks that had took such a hefty job as they had, they done well, nobody could do better, and if the world wuzn't improved by their talk it wuz the fault of the world, and not their'n.

And we went to meetin' on Sunday mornin' and night, and hearn good sermons. There's several high big churches at Saratoga, of every denomination, and likely folks belong to the hull on 'em: There is no danger of folks losin' their way to Heaven unless they want to, and they can go on their own favorite paths too, be they blue Presbyterian paths, or Methodist pasters, or by the Baptist boat, or the Episcopalian high way, or the Catholic covered way, or the Unitarian Broadway, or the Shadow road of Spiritualism.

No danger of their losin' their way unless they want to. And I thought to myself as I looked pensively at the different steeples, "What though there might be a good deal of'wranglin', and screechin', and puffin' off steam, at the different stations, as there must always be where so many different routes are a layin' side by side, each with its own different runners, and conductors, and porters, and managers, and blowers, still it must be, that the separate high ways would all end at last in a serener road, where the true wayfarers and the earnest pilgrims would all walk side by side, and forget the very name of the station they sot out from.

I sez as much to my companion, as we wended our way home from one of the meetin's, and he sez, "There haint but one right way, and it is a pity folks can't see it." Sez he a sithin' deep, "Why can't everybody be Methodists?"

We wuz a goin' by the 'Piscopal church then, and he sez a lookin' at it, as if he wuz sorry for it, "What a pity that such likely folks as they be, should believe in such eronious doctrines. Why," sez he, "I have hearn that they believe that the bread at communion is changed into sunthin' else. What a pity that they should believe anything so strange as that is, when there is a good, plain, practical, Christian belief that they might believe in, when they might be Methodists. And the Baptists now," sez he, a glancin' back at their steeple, "why can't they believe that a drop is as good as a fountain? Why do they want to believe in so much water? There haint no need on't. They might be Methodists jest as well as not, and be somebody."

And he walked along pensively and in deep thought, and I a feelin' somewhat tuckered didn't argue with him, and silence rained about us till we got in front of the hall where the Spiritualists hold their meetin's, and we met a few a comin' out on it and then he broke out and acted mad, awful mad and skernful, and sez he angrily, "Them dumb fools believe in supernatural things. They don't have a shadow of reason or common sense to stand on. A man is a fool to gin the least attention to them, or their doin's. Why can't they believe sunthin' sensible? Why can't they jine a church that don't have anything curius in it? Nothin' but plain, common sense facts in it: Why can't they be Methodists?"

"The idee!" sez he, a breakin' out fresh. "The idee of believin' that folks that have gone to the other world can come back agin and appear. Shaw!" sez he, dretful loud and bold. I don't believe I ever heard a louder shaw in my life than that wuz, or more kinder haughty and highheaded.

And then I spoke up, and sez, "Josiah, it is always well, to shaw in the right place, and I am afraid you haint studied on it as much as you ort. I am afraid you haint a shawin' where you ort to."

"Where should I shaw?" sez he, kinder snappish.

"Wall," sez I, "when you condemn other folkses beliefs, you ort to be careful that you haint a condemin' your own belief at the same time. Now my belief is grounded in the Methodist meetin' house like a rock; my faith has cast its ancher there inside of her beliefs and can't be washed round by any waves of opposin' doctrines. But I am one who can't now, nor never could, abide bigotry and intolerance either in a Pope, or a Josiah Allen.

"And when you condemn a belief simply on the ground of its bein' miraculous and beyond your comprehension, Josiah Allen, you had better pause and consider on what the Methodist faith is founded.

"All our orthodox meetin' houses, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, every one on 'em, Josiah Allen, are sot down on a belief, a deathless faith in a miraculous birth, a life of supernatural events, the resurrection of the dead, His appearance after death, a belief in the graves openin' and the dead comin' forth, a belief in three persons inhabitin' one soul, the constant presence and control of spiritual influences, the Holy Ghost, and the spirits of just men. And while you are a leanin' up against that belief, Josiah Allen, and a leanin' heavy, don't shaw at any other belief for the qualities you hold sacred in your own."

He quailed a very little, and I went on.

"If you want to shaw at it, shaw for sunthin' else in it, or else let it entirely alone. If you think it lacks active Christian force, if you think it is not aggressive in its assaults at Sin, if you think it lacks faith in the Divine Head of the church, say so, do; but for mercy's sake try to shaw in the right place."

"Wall," sez he, "they are a low set that follers it up mostly, and you know it." And his head was right up in the air, and he looked very skernful.

But I sez, "Josiah Allen, you are a shawin' agin in the wrong place," sez I. "If what you say is true, remember that 1800 years ago, the same cry wuz riz up by Pharisees, 'He eats with Publicans and sinners.' They would not have a king who came in the guise of the poor, they scerned a spiritual truth that did not sparkle with worldly lustre.

"But it shone on; it lights the souls of humanity to-day. Let us not be afraid, Josiah Allen. Truth is a jewel that cannot be harmed by deepest investigation, by roughest handlin'. It can't be buried, it will shine out of the deepest darkness. What is false will be washed away, what is true will remain. For all this frettin', and chafing, all this turbelence of conflectin' beliefs, opposin' wills, will only polish this jewel. Truth, calm and serene, will endure, will shine, will light up the world."

He begun to look considerable softer in mean, and I continued on: "Josiah Allen, you and I know what we believe the beautiful religion (Methodist Episcopal) that we both love, makes a light in our two souls. But don't let us stand in that light and yell out, that everybody else's light is darkness; that our light is the only one. No, the heavens are over all the earth; the twelve gates of heaven are open and a shinin' down on all sides of us.

"Jonesville meetin' house (Methodist Episcopal) haint the only medium through which the light streams. It is dear to us, Josiah Allen, but let us not think that we must coller everybody and drag 'em into it. And let us not cry out too much at other folkses superstitions, when the rock of our own faith, that comforts us in joy and sorrow, is sot in a sea of supernaturalism.

"You know how that faith comforts our two souls, how it is to us, like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land, but they say, their belief is the same to them, let us not judge them too hardly. No, the twelve gates of heaven are open, Josiah Allen, and a shinin' down onto the earth. We know the light that has streamed into our own souls, but we do not know exactly what rays of radience may have been reflected down into some other lives through some one of those many gates.

"The plate below has to be prepared, before it can ketch the picture and hold it. The light does not strike back the same reflection from every earthly thing. The serene lake mirrors back the light, in a calm flood of glory, the flashin' waterfall breaks it into a thousand dazzlin' sparkles. The dewy petal of the yellow field lily, reflects its own ray of golden light back, so does the dark cone of the pine tree, and the diamond, the opal, the ruby, each tinges the light with its own coloring, but the light is all from above. And they all reflect the light, in their own way for which the Divine skill has prepared them.

"Let us not try to compel the deep blue Ocean waves and the shinin' waterfall, and the lily blow, to reflect back the light, in the same identical manner. No, let the light stream down into high places, and low ones, let the truth shine into dark hearts, and into pure souls. God is light. God is Love. It is His light that shines down out of the twelve gates, and though the ruby, or the amethyst, may color it by their own medium, the light that is reflected, back is the light of Heaven. And Josiah Allen," sez I in a deeper, earnester tone, "let us who know so little ourselves, be patient with other ignerent ones. Let us not be too intolerent, for no intolerence, Josiah Allen is so cruel as that of ignerence, an' stupidity."

Sez Josiah, "I won't believe in anything I can't see, Samantha Allen."

I jest looked round at him witheringly, and sez I, "What have you ever seen, Josiah Allen, I mean that is worth sein'? Haint everything that is worth havin' in life, amongst the unseen? The deathless loves, the aspirations, the deep hopes, and faiths, that live in us and through us, and animate us and keep us alive, — Whose spectacles has ever seen 'em? What are we, all of us human creeters, any way, but little atoms dropped here, Heaven knows why, or how, into the midst of a perfect sea of mystery, and unseen influences. What hand shoved us forwards out of the shadows, and what hand will reach out to us from the shadows and draw us back agin? Have you seen it Josiah Allen? You have felt this great onseen force a movin' you along, but you haint sot your eyes on it.

"What is there above us, below us, about us, but a waste of mystery, a power of onseen influences?.

"You won't believe anything you can't see: — Did you ever see old Gravity, Josiah Allen, or get acquainted with him? Yet his hands hold the worlds together. Who ever see the mysterious sunthin' in the North that draws the ship's compass round? Who ever see that great mysterious hand that is dropped down in the water, sweepin' it back and forth, makin' the tides come in, and the tides go out? Who ever has ketched a glimpse of them majestic fingers, Josiah Allen? Or the lips touched with lightnin', whose whispers reach round the world, and through the Ocean? You haint see 'em, nor I haint, No, Josiah Allen, we don't know much of anything, and we don't know that for certain. We are all on us only poor pupils down in the Earth's school-room, learnin' with difficulty and heart ache the lessons God sets for us.

Tough old Experience gives us many a hard floggin', before we learn the day's lessons. And we find the benches hard, long before sundown. And it makes our hearts ache to see the mates we love droop their too tired heads in sleep, all round us before school is out. But we grind on at our lessons, as best we may. Learnin' a little maybe. Havin' to onlearn a sight, as the pinters move on towards four. Clasping hands with fellow toilers and (hard task) onclaspin' 'em, as they go up above us, or down nearer the foot. Havin' little 'intermissions' of enjoyment, soon over. But we plod on, on, and bimeby — and sometimes we think we do not care how soon — the teacher will say to us, that we can be 'dismissed.' And then we shall drop out of the rank of learners, and the school will go without us, jest as busily, jest as cheerfully, jest as laboriously, jest as sadly. Poor learners at the hard lessons of life. Learnin' out of a book that is held out to us from the shadows by an onseen, inexorable hand. Settin' on hard benches that may fall out from under us at any time. Poor ignerent creeters that we are, would it not be a too arrant folly for us to judge each other hardly, we, all on us, so deplorably ignerent, so weakly helpless?"

Sez Josiah, in earnest axcents, "Le's walk a little faster."

And, in lookin' up, I see that he wuz readin' a advertisement. I ketched sight of a picture ornamentin' of it. It wuz Lydia Pinkham. And as I see that benine face, I found and recovered myself. Truly, I had been a soarin' up, up, fur above Saratoga, Patent Medicines, Josiah Allen, etc., etc.

But when I found myself by the side of Josiah Allen once more, I moved onwards in silence, and soon we found ourselves right by the haven where I desired to be, — our own tried and true boardin' house.

Truly eloquence is tuckerin', very, especially when you are a soarin' and a walkin' at the same time.



XIX.

ST. CHRISTINA'S HOME.

Wall, it wuz that very afternoon, almost immegetly after dinner, that Josiah Allen invited me warmly to go with him to the Roller Coaster. And I compromised the matter by his goin' with us first to St. Christina's Home, and then, I told him, I would proceed with him to the place where he would be. They wuz both on one road, nigh to each other, and he consented after some words.

I felt dretfully interested in this Home, for it is a place where poor little sick children are took to, out of their miserable, stiflin', dirty garrets, and cellars, and kep' and made well and happy in their pleasant, home-like surroundin's. And I thought to myself, as I looked ont on the big grounds surroundin' it, and walked through the clean wide rooms, that the change to these children, brought out of their narrow dark homes of want and woe, into this great sunshiny Home with its clean fresh rooms, its good food, its cheery Christian atmosphere, its broad sunshiny playgrounds, must seem like enterin' Paradise to 'em.

And I thought to myself how thankful I wuz that this pleasant House Beautiful, wuz prepared for the rest and refreshment of the poor little pilgrims, worn out so early in the march of life. And I further thinkses I, "Heaven bless the kind heart that first thought on't, and carried out the heavenly idee."

The children's faces all looked, so happy, and bright, it wuz a treat to see 'em. And the face of the sister who showed us round the rooms looked as calm, and peaceful, and happy, as if her face wuz the sun from which their little lights wuz reflected.

Up amongst the rooms overhead, every one on 'em clean as a pin and sweet and orderly, wuz one room that specially attracted my attention. It wuz a small chapel where the little ones wuz took to learn their prayers and say 'em. It wuzn't a big, barren barn of a room, such as I have often seen in similar places, and which I have always thought must impress the children with a awful sense of the immensity and lonesomeness of space, and the intangebility, and distance of the Great Spirit who inhabiteth Eternity. No, it wuz small, and cozy, and cheerful, like a home. And the stained glass window held a beautiful picture of love and charity, which might well touch the children's hearts, sweetly and unconsciously, with the divine worth of love, and beauty, and goodness.

And I could fancy the dear, little ones kneelin' here, and prayin' "Our Father, who art in Heaven," and feelin' that He wuz indeed their Father, and not a stranger, and that Heaven wuz not fur off from 'em.

And I thought to myself "Never! never! through all their life will they get entirely away from the pure, sweet lessons they learn here."

I enjoyed the hour I spent here with a deep, heart enjoyment, and so did Josiah. Or, that is, I guess he did, though he whispered to me from time to time, or even oftener, as we went through the buildin', that we wuz a devourin' time that we might be spendin' at the Roller Coaster.

Wall, at last, greatly to my pardner's satisfaction, we sot out for the place where he fain would be. On our way there we roamed through another Indian Encampment, a smaller one than that where we had the fearful incident of the Mermaid and Sarah.

No, it wuzn't so big, but it had many innocent diversions and a photograph gallery, and other things for its comfert. And a standin' up a leanin' aginst a tree, by one of the little houses stood a Injun. He wuz one of the last left of his tribe. He seemed to be a lookin' pensively on — and seein' how the land that had belonged to 'em, the happy huntin'-grounds, the springs they believed the Great Spirit had gin to 'em, had all passed away into the bands of another race.

I wuz sorry for that Injun, real sorry. And thinkses I to myself, we feel considerable pert now, and lively, but who knows in another three or four hundred years, but what one of the last of our race, may be a leanin' up aginst some new tree, right in the same spot, a watchin' the old places passed away into other hands, mebby black hands, or some other colored ones; mebby yellow ones, who knows? I don't, nor Josiah don't. But my pardner wuz a hurryin' me on, so I dropped my revery and my umberell in my haste to foller on after his footsteps.

Josiah picked up my umberell, but he couldn't pick up my soarin' emotions for me. No, he haint never been able, to get holt of 'em. But suffice it to say, that soon, preceded by my companion, I found myself a mountin' the nearly precipitus stairs, that led to the Roller Coaster.

And havin' reached the spot, who should we find there but Ardelia Tutt and Bial Flamburg. They had been on the Roller Coaster seven times in succession, and the car. And they wuz now a sittin' down to recooperate their energies, and collect their scattered wits together. The Roller Coaster is very scatterin' to wits that are not collected firm and sound, and cemented by strong common sense.

The reason why the Roller Coaster don't scatter such folkses wits is supposed to be because, they don't go on to it. Ardelia looked as if her idees wuz scattered to the four pints of the compass. As for Bial, it seemed to me, as if he never had none to scatter. But he spoke out to once, and said, he didn't care to ride on 'em. (Bial Flamburg's strong pint, is his truthfulness, I can't deny that.)

Ardelia wouldn't own up but what she enjoyed it dretfully. You know folks are most always so. If they partake of a pleasure and recreation that is doubtful in its effects, they will always say, what a high extreme of enjoyment they enjoyed a partakin' of it. Curius, haint it? Wall, Josiah had been anticipatin' so much enjoyment from the exercise, that I didn't make no move to prevent him from embarkin' on it — though it looked hazardous and dangerous in the extreme.

I looked down on the long valleys, and precipitous heights of the assents and desents, in which my pardner wuz so soon to be assentin' and desentin' and I trembled, and wuz jest about to urge him to forego his diversion, for the sake of his pardner's happiness, but as I turned to expostulate with him, I see the beautiful, joyous, hopeful look on his liniment, and the words fell almost dead on my tongue. I felt that I had ruther suffer in silence than to say one word to mar that bliss.

Such is the love of pardners, and such is some of the agonies they suffer silently to save from woundin' the more opposite one. No, I said not a word; but silently sat, and see him makin' his preparations to embark. He see the expression onto my face, and he too wuz touched by it. He never said one word to me about embarkin' too, which I laid to two reasons. One wuz my immovable determination not to embark on the voyage, which I had confided to him before.

And the other wuz, the added expenses of the journey if he took his companion with him.

No, I felt that he thought it wuz better we should part temporarily than that the expenditure should be doubled. But as the time drew near for him to leave me, I see by his meen that he felt bad about leavin' me. He realized what a companion I had been to him. He realized the safety and repose he had always found at my side and the unknown dangers he wuz a rushin' into.

And he got up and silently shook hands with me. He would have kissed me, I make no doubt, if folks hadn't been a standin' by. He then embarked, and with lightnin' speed wuz bore away from me, as he dissapeared down the desent, his few gray hairs waved back, and as he went over the last precipitus hill, I heard him cry out in agonizin' axents, "Samantha! Samantha!"

And I rushed forwards to his rescue but so lightnin' quick wuz their movements that I met my companion a comin' back, and I sez, the first thing, "I heard your cry, Josiah! I rushed to save you, my dear pardner."

"Yes," sez he, "I spoke out to you, to call your attention to the landscape, over the woods there!"

I looked at him in a curious, still sort of a way, and didn't say nothin' only just that look. Why, that man looked all trembly and broke up, but he kep' on.

"Yes, it wuz beautiful and inspirin', and I knew you wuz such a case for landscapes, I thought I would call your attention to it."

Sez I, coldly, "You wuz skairt, Josiah Allen, and you know it."

"Skairt! the idee of me bein' skairt. I wuz callin' your attention to the beauty of the view, over in the woods."

"What wuz it?" sez I, still more coldly; for I can't bear deceit, and coverin' up.

"Oh, it wuz a house, and a tree, and a barn, and things."

"A great seen to scream about," sez I. "It would probable have stood there till you got back, but you couldn't seem to wait."

"No, I have noticed that you always wanted to see things to once. I have noticed it in you."

"I could most probable have waited till you got back, to see a house and a tree." And in still more — frigid axents, I added, "Or a barn." And I sez, kinder sarkastikly, "You enjoyed your ride, I s'pose."

"Immensely, it wuz perfectly beautiful! So sort a free and soarin' like. It is jest what suits a man."

"You'd better go right over it agin," sez I.

"Yes," sez the man who runs the cars. "You'd better go agin."

"Oh no," sez Josiah.

"Why not?" sez I.

"Why not?" sez the man.

Josiah Allen looked all around the room, and down on the grass, as if trying to find a good reasonable excuse a layin' round loose somewhere, so's he could get holt of it.

"You'd better go," sez I, "I love to see you happy, Josiah Allen."

"Yes, you'd better go," sez the man.

"No!" sez Josiah, still a lookin' round for a excuse, up into the heavens and onto the horizon. And at last his face kinder brightenin' up, as if he had found one: "No, it looks so kinder cloudy, I guess I won't go. I think we shall have rain between now and night." And so we said no more on the subject and sot out homewards.

Ardelia wrote a poem on the occasion, wrote it right there, with rapidity and a lead pencil, and handed it to me, before I left the room. I put it into my pocket and didn't think on it, for some days afterwards.

That night after we got home from the Roller Coaster, I felt dretful sort a down hearted about Abram Gee, I see in that little incident of the day, that Bial, although I couldn't like him, yet I see he had his good qualities, I see how truthful he wuz. And although I love truth — I fairly worship it — yet I felt that if things wuz as he said they wuz, he would more'n probable get Ardelia Tutt, for I know the power of Ambition in her, and I felt that she would risk the chances of happiness, for the name of bein' a Banker's Bride.

So I sat there in deep gloom, and a chocolate colored wrapper, till as late as half past nine o'clock P. M. And I felt that the course of Abram's love wuz not runnin' smooth. No, I felt that it wuz runnin' in a dwindlin' torrent over a rocky bed, and a precipitus one. And I felt that if he wuz with me then and there, if we didn't mingle our tears together we could our sithes, for I sithed, powerful and frequent.

Poor short-sighted creeter that I wuz, a settin' in the shadow, when the sun wuz jest a gettin' ready to shine out onto Abram and reflect off onto my envious heart. Even at that very time the hand of righteous Retribution had slipped its sure noose over Bial Flamburg's neck, and wuz a walkin' him away from Ardelia, away from happiness (oritory).

At that very hour, half past nine P. M., Ardelia Tutt and Abram Gee had met agin, and rosy love and happiness wuz even then a stringin' roses on the chain that wuz to bind 'em together forever.

The way on't wuz: It bein' early when Ardelia got here, Bial proposed to take her out for a drive and she consented. He got a livery horse, and buggy, and they say that the livery man knew jest what sort of a creeter the horse wuz, and knew it wuz liable to break the buggy all to pieces and them to, and he let 'em have it for goin.' But howsumever, whether that is so or not, when they got about five or six milds from Saratoga the horse skeert out of the road, and throwed 'em both out.

It wuz a bank of sand that skeert it, a high bank that wuz piled up by a little hovel that stood by the side of the road. The ground all round the hut wuz too poor to raise anything else but sand, and had raised sights of that.

A man and woman, dretful shabby lookin', wuz a standin' by the door of the hut, and the man had a shovel in his hand, and had been a loadin' sand into a awful big wheelbarrow that wuz a standin' by — seemin'ly ready to carry it acrost the fields, to where some man wuz a mixin' some motar, to lay the foundations of a barn.

Wall, the old man stood a pantin' by the side of the wheelbarrow, as if he had indeed got on too heavy a load. It wuz piled up high. The horse shied, and Ardelia wuz throwed right out onto the bank of sand, Bial by the side of her. And the old man and woman came a runnin' up, and callin' out, "Bial, my son, my son, are you wounded?"

And there it all wuz. Ardelia see the hull on it. The Banker wuz before her, and she wuz a layin' on the bank. And the banker wuz a doin' a heavy business, if anybody doubted it, let 'em take holt and cart a load on it acrost the fields.

Wall, Ardelia wuz jarred fearful, in her heart, her ambition, her pride, and her bones. And as the horse wuz a fleein' far away, and no other conveyance could be found to transport her to the next house (Ardelia wouldn't go into his'n), and night wuz approachin' with rapid strides, the old Banker jest unloaded the load of sand (good old creeter, he would have to load it all over agin), and took Ardelia into the wheelbarrow, and wheeled her over to the next house and unloaded her.

The old Banker told Ardelia that when his neighbor got home he would take her back to Saratoga, which he did. He had been to the village for necessaries, but he turned right round and carried her back to Mr. Pixleyses. And I s'pose Ardelia paid him, mebby as high as 75 cents. As for Bial, he tramped off into the house, and she didn't see him agin, nor didn't want to. Wall, I s'pose it wuz durin' that ride on the wheelbarrow, that Ardelia's ambition quelled to softer emotions. I s'pose so. She never owned it right up to me, but I s'pose so.

Bial Flamburg hadn't lied a word to her. In all her agony she realized that. But she had built a high towerin' structure of ambition on what he said, and it had tottered. And as is natural in times of danger, the heart turns instinctively to its true love, she thought of Abram Gee, she wanted him. And as if in answer to her deep and lovin' thought, who should come out to the buggy to help her out at Mr. Pixleyses gate, but Abram Gee? He had come unexpected, and on the eight o'clock train, and wuz there waitin' for her.

If Bial Flamburg had been with her, he wouldn't have gone a nigh the buggy, but he see it was a old man, and he rushed out. Ardelia couldn't walk a step on her feet (owin' to bein shaken up, in bones and feelin's), and Abram jest took her in his strong lovin' arms and carried her into the house, and she sort a clung round his neck, and seemed tickled enough to see him,

But she wuz dretful shook up and agitated, and it wuzn't till way along in the night some time, that she wuz able to write a poem called, "a lay on a wheelbarrow; or, the fallen one."

Which I thought when I read it, wuz a good name for it, for truly she had fell, and truly she had lay on it. Howsumever, Ardelia wrote that jest because it wuz second nater to write poetry on every identical thing she ever see or did.

She wuz glad enough to get rid of Bial Flamburg, and glad enough to go back to her old love. Abram wuz too manly and tender to say a word to Ardelia that night on the subject nearest to his heart. No, he see she needed rest. But the next day, when they wuz alone together, I s'pose he put the case all before her. All his warm burnin' love for her, all his jealousy, and his wretchedness while she wuz a waverin' between Banks and Bread, how his heart had been checked by the thought that Bial would vault over him, and in the end hold him at a discount.

Why, I s'pose he talked powerful and melted Ardelia's soft little heart till it wuz like the softest kind of dough in his hands. And then he went on tenderly to say, how he needed her, and how she could mould him to her will. I s'pose he talked well, and eloquent, I s'pose so. Anyhow she accepted him right there in full faith and a pink and white cambric dress.

And they came over and told me about it in the afternoon P. M. And I felt well and happy in my mind, and wished 'em joy with a full heart and a willin' mind.

They are both good creeters. And she bein' so soft, and he so kinder hardy and stout-hearted, I believe they will get along firstrate. And when she once let her mind and heart free to think on him, she worships him so openly and unreservedly (though soft), that I don't, believe there is a happier man in the hull country.

Wall, I lay out to give'em a handsome present when they be married, which will be in the fall. Mother Gee (who has got as well as can be expected) is goin' to live with Susan. And I'm glad on't. Mother Gee is a good old female no doubt, but it is resky work to take a new husband to live with, and when you take a mother-in-law too it adds to the resk.

But she is goin' to live with Susan; it is her prefference.

And Abram has done so well, that he has bought another five acres onto his place, and is a goin' to fix his house all over splendid before the weddin' day. And Ardelia is to go right from the altar to her home — it is her own wishes.

She knows enough in her way, Ardelia duz. And she has a wisdom of the heart which sometimes I think, goes fur ahead of the wisdom of the head. And then agin, I think they go well together, wisdom of the head and the heart too. (The times I think this is after readin' her poetry.)

But any way she will make Abram a good soft little wife, lovin' and affectionate always. And good land! he loves her to that extent that it wouldn't make no difference to him if she didn't know enough to come in when it rained. He would fetch her in, drippin' and worship her, damp or dry.



XX.

AN ACCIDENT WITH RESULTS.

Wall, it wuz on the very day before we laid out to leave for home. I wuz a settin' in my room a mendin' up a rip in my pardner's best coat, previous to packin' in his trunk, when all of a sudden Miss Flamm's hired girl came in a cryin', and sez I, "What is the matter?"

And sez she, "Ah! Miss Flamm has sent for you and Mr. Allen to come over there right away. There has been a axident."

"A axident!" sez I.

"Yes," sez she. "The little girl has got hurt, and they don't think she will live. Poor little pretty thing," sez the hired girl, and busted out a cryin' agin.

"How did she get hurt?" sez I, as I laid down the coat, and went to tyin' on my bunnet mekanically.

"Wall, the nurse had her out with the baby and the little boys. And we s'pose she had been drinkin' too much. We all knew she drinked, and she wuzn't in a condition to go out with the children this mornin', and Miss Flamm would have noticed it and kep' 'em in, but the dog wuz sick all night, and Miss Flamm wuz up with it most all night, and she felt wore out this mornin' with her anxtety for the dog, and her want of sleep, and so they went out, and it wuzn' more'n half an hour before it took place. She left the baby carriage and the little boys and girl in a careless place, not knowin' what she wuz about, and they got run over. The baby and the little boys wuzn't hurt much, but they think the little girl will die. Miss Flamm went right into a caniption fit," sez she, "when she wuz brung in."

"It is a pity she hadn't went into one before," sez I very dryly, dry as a chip almost. My axents wuz fairly dusty they wuz so dry. But my feelin's for Miss Flamm moistened up and melted down when I see her, when we went into the room. It didn't take us long for they are still to the tarven, and we met Josiah Allen at the door, so he went with us.

Yes, Miss Flamm felt bad enough, bad enough. She has got a mother's heart after all, down under all the strings and girtins, and laces, and dogs, etc., etc., that have hid it, and surrounded it. Her face wuz jest as white and deathly as the little girl's, and that wuz jest the picture of stillness and death. And I remembered then that I had heard that the little girl wuz her favorite amongst her children, whenever she had any time to notice 'em. She wuz a only daughter and a beauty, besides bein' smart.

The doctor had been there and done what he could, and go gone away. He said there wuz nothin' more to do till she came out of that stuper, if she ever did.

But it looked like death, and there Miss Flamm sot alone with her child, and her conscience. She wuzn't a cryin' but there wuz a look in her eyes, in her set white face that went beyond tears, fur beyond 'em. She gripped holt of my hand with her icy cold ones, and sez she, "Pray for me!" She wuz brung up a Methodist, and knew we wuz the same. My feelin's overcame me as I looked in her face and the child's, both lookin' like dyin' faces, and I sez with the tears a jest runnin' down my cleeks and a layin' my hand tender on her shoulder, "Is there anything I can do for you, you poor little creeter?"

"Pray for me," sez she agin, with her white lips not movin' in a smile, nor a groan.

Now my companion, Josiah Allen, is a class-leader, and though I say it that mebby shouldn't — That man is able in prayer. He prays as if he meant what he said. He don't try to show off in oritory as so many do, or give the Lord information. He never sez, "Oh Lord, thou knowest by the mornin' papers, so and so." No, he prays in simple words for what he wants. And he always seems to feel that somebody is nigh to him, a hearin' him, and if it is best and right, his requests will be granted.

So I motioned for that man to kneel down by the bed and pray, which he did. He wuz to the fore side of the bed, and Miss Flamm and I on the other side. Wall, Josiah commenced his prayer, in a low earnest askin' voice, then all of a sudden he begun to hesitate, waver, and act dretful agitated. And his actions and agitations seemed to last for some time. I thought it wuz his feelin's overcomin' of him, and of course, my hand bein' over my eyes in a respectful, decent way, I didin't see nothin'.

But at last, after what wuz seemingly a great effort, he began to go on as usual agin. About that time I heard sunthin' hit the wall hard on the other side of the room, and I heard a yelp. But then everything wuz still and Josiah Allen made a good prayer. And before it wuz through Miss Flamm laid her head down onto my shoulder, and busted into tears.

And what wuz rooted up and washed away by them tears I don't know, and I don't s'pose anybody duz. Whether vanity, and a mistaken ambition, and the poor empty successes of a fashionable life wuz uprooted and floated away on the awakened, sweepin' tide of a mother's love and remorse; whether the dog floated down that stream, and low necked dresses, and high hazardus slippers, and strings for waists and corsets, and fashion, and folly, and rivalry, and waltzin', and glitter, and buttons, and show; whether they all went down that stream, swept along like bubbles on a heavin' tumultuous tide, I don't know, nor I don't s'pose anybody duz.

But any way, from that day on Miss Flamm has been a different woman. I stayed with her all that night and the next day, she a not leavin' the child's bed for a minute, and we a not gettin' of her to, much as we tried to; eatin' whatever we could make her eat right there by the bedside. And on the 2d day the doctor see a change in the child and she began to roust a little out of that stuper, and in a week's time, she wuz a beginnin' to get well.

We stayed on till she wuz out of danger and then we went home. But I see that she wuz to be trusted with her children after that. She dismissed that nurse, got a good motherly one, who she said would help her take care of the children for the future; only help her, for she should have the oversight of 'em herself, always.

The hired girl told me (Miss Flamm never mentioned it to me), and she wuz glad enough of it, that the dog wuz dead. It died the day the little girl wuz hurt. The hired girl said the doctor had told Miss Flamm, that it couldn't live long. But it wuzn't till we wuz on our way home that I found out one of the last eppisodes in that dog's life. You see, sick as that dog wuz, it wuz bound to bark at my pardner as long as it had a breath left in its body. And Josiah told me in confidence (and it must be kep', it is right that it should be); he said jest after he had knelt down and began to pray he felt that dog climb up onto his heels, and pull at his coat tails, and growl a low mad growl, and naw at 'em.

He tried to nestle round and get it off quietly but no, there it stood right onto Josiah Allen's heels, and hung on, and tugged at them coat-tails, and growled at 'em that low deep growl, and shook 'em, as if determined to worry 'em off. And there my companion wuz. He couldn't show his feelin's in his face; he had got to keep his face all right towards Miss Flamm. And his feelin's was rousted up about her, and he wuz a wantin', and knew he wuz expected, to have his words and manner soothin' and comfortin', and that dog a standin' on his heels and tearin' off his coat-tails.

What to do he didn't know. He couldn't stop his prayer on such a time as this and kill a dog, though he owned up to me that he felt like it, and he couldn't keep still and feel his coat-tails tore off of him, and be growled at, and shook, and pawed at all day. So he said after the dog had gin a most powerful tug, almost a partin' the skirts asunder from his coat, he drew up one foot carefully (still a keepin' his face straight and the prayer agoin') and brung it back sudden and voyalent, and he heard the dog strike aginst the opposite side of the room with one short, sharp yelp, and then silence rained down and he finished the prayer.

But he said, and owned it up to me, that it didn't seem to him so much like a religious exercise, as he could wish. It didn't seem to help his spiritual growth much, if any.

And I sez, "I should think as much," and I sez, "You wuz in a hard place, Josiah Allen."

And he sez, "It wuz the dumbest hard place any one wuz ever in on earth."

And I sez, "I don't know but it wuz." That man wuz to be pitied, and I told him so, and he acted real cheerful and contented at hearin' my mind. He owned up that he had dreaded tellin' me about it, for fear I would upbraid him. But, good land! I would have been a hard hearted creeter if I could upbraid a man for goin' through such a time as that. He said he thought mebby I would think it wuz irreverent or sunthin', the dog's actions, at such a time.

"Wall," sez I, "you didn't choose the actions, did you? It wuzn't nothin' you wanted."

"No," sez he feelin'ly. "Heaven knows I didn't. And I done the best I could," sez he sort a pitiful.

Sez I, "I believe you, Josiah Allen," and sez I warmly, "I don't believe that Alexander, or Cezar, or Grover Cleveland, could have done any better."

He brightened all up at this, he felt dretful well to think I felt with him, and my feelin's wuz all rousted up to think of the sufferin's he had went through, so we felt real well towards each other. Such is some of the comforts and consolations of pardners. Howsumever, the dog died, and I wuz kinder sorry for the dog. I think enough of dogs (as dogs) and always did. Always use 'em dretful well, only it mads me to have 'em put ahead of children, and sot up in front of 'em. I always did and always shall like a dog as a dog.

Wall, they say that when that dog died, Miss Flamm hardly inquired about it, she wuz so took up in gettin' acquainted with her own children. And I s'pose they improved on acquaintance, for they say she is jest devoted to 'em. And she got acquainted with G. Washington too, so they say. He wuz a stiddy, quiet man, and she had got to lookin' on him as her banker and business man. But they say she liked him real well, come to get acquainted with him. He always jest worshipped her, so they are real happy. There wuz always sunthin' kinder good about Miss Flamm.

Thos. J. is a carryin' on another lawsuit for her (more money that descended onto her from her father, or that ort to descend). And he is carryin' it stiddy and safe. It will bring Thomas Jefferson over 900 dollars in money besides fame, a hull lot of fame.

Wall, we sot sail for home in good spirits, and the noon train. And we reached Jonesville with no particular eppisodin' till we got to the Jonesville Depot.

I rather think Ardelia Tutt wrote a poem on the cars goin' home, though I can't say for certain.

She and Abram sot a few seats in front of us, and I thought I see a certain look to the backside of her head that meant poetry. It wuz a kind of a sot look, and riz up like. But I can't say for certain for she didn't have no chance to tell me about it. Abram looked down at her all the time as if he jest worshipped her. And she is a good little creeter, and will make him a happy wife; I don't make no doubt. As I said, the old lady is goin' to live with Susan. They went right on in the train, for Ardelia's home lays beyond Jonesville, and Abram wuz goin' home with her by Deacon Tutt's request. They are willin'.

Wall, we disembarked from the cars, and we found the old mair and the "Democrat" a waitin' for us. Thomas J. wuz a comin' for us, but had spraint his wrist and couldn't drive. Wall, Josia lifted our saddul bags in, and my umbrell, and the band box. But when he went to lift my trunk he faltered. It wuz heavy. I had got relicts from Mount McGregor, from the Battlefield, from the various springs, minerals, stuns, and things, and Josiah couldn't lift it.

What added to the hardness of the job, the handles had broken offen it, and he had to grip hold on it, by the might of his finger nails. It wuz a hard job, and Josiah's face got red and I felt, as well as see, that his temper wuz a risin'. And I sez, instinctively, "Josiah, be calm!" For I knew not what unguarded word he might drop as he vainly tried to grip hold on't, and it eluded his efferts and came down on the ground every time, a carryin' with it, I s'pose, portions of his fingernails, broke off in the fray.

Wall, he wuz a strugglin' with it and with his feelin's, for I kep' on a sayin', "Josiah, do be calm! Do be careful about usin' a profane word so nigh home and at this time of day, and you jest home from a tower."

And he kep' his feelin's nobly under control, and never said a word, only to wonder "what under the High Heavens a woman wanted to lug round a ton of stuns in her trunk for." And anon sayin' that he would be dumbed if he didn't leave it right there on the platform.

Savin' these few slight remarks that man nobly restrained himself, and lugged and lifted till the blood almost gushed through his bald head. And right in the midst of the fray, a porter came up and went to liftin' the trunk in the usual highheaded, haughty way Railroad officials have. But anon a change came over his linement. And as it fell back from his fingers to the platform for the 3d time, he broke out in a torrent of swearin' words dretful to hear.

I felt as if I should sink through the "Democrat". But Josiah listened to the awful words with a warm glow of pleasure and satisfaction a beamin' from his face. I never saw him look more complacent. And as the man moistened his hands and with another frightful burst of profanity histed it into the end of the buggy.

Wall, I gin the man a few warnin' words aginst profanity, and Josiah gin him a quarter for liftin' in the trunk, he said, and we drove off in the meller glow of the summer sunset.

But it wuz duskish before we got to the turn of the road, and considerable dark before we got to the Corners. But we went on tbgough the shadows, a feelin' we could bear 'em, for we wuz together, and we wuz a goin' home.

And pretty soon we got there! The door wuz open, the warm light wuz a streamin' out from doors and windows, and there stood the children!

There they all wuz, all we loved best, a waitin' to welcome us. Love, which is the light of Heaven, wuz a shinin' on their faces, and we had got home.

THE END