Samantha at Saratoga by Marietta Holley (online e book reader TXT) 📕

it a angel; and Josiah a lookin’ so voyalent at it, that it seemed almost as if that glance could stun it.

It wuz a curius seen. But truly worse wuz to come, for Miss Flamm in an interval of silence, sez, “We will go first to the Gizer Spring, and then, afterwards, to the Moon.”

Or, that is what I understand her to say. And though I kep’ still, I wuz determined to keep my eyes out, and if I see her goin’ into anything dangerus, I wuz goin’ to reject her overtures to take us. But thinkses I to myself, “We always said I believed we should travel to the stars some time, but I little thought it would be to-day, or that I should go in a buggy.”

Josiah shared my feelin’s I could see, for he whispered to me, “Don’t le’s go, Samantha, it must be dangerus!”

But I whispered back, “Le’s wait, Josiah, and see. We won’t do nothin’ percipitate, but,” sez I, “this is a chance that we most probable never will have ag’in. Don’t le’s be hasty.” We talked these things in secret, while Miss Flamm wuz a bendin’ over, and conversin’ with the dog. For Josiah would ruther have died than not be s’pozed to be “Oh Fay,” as Maggie would say, in everything fashionable. And it has always been my way to wait and see, and count 10, or even 20, before speakin’.

And then Miss Flamin sez sunthin’ about what beautiful fried potatoes you could get there in the moon, and you could always get them, any time you wanted ’em.

And the very next time she went to kissin’ the dog so voyalently as not to notice us, my Josiah whispered to me and sez, “Did you have any idee that wuz what the old man wuz a doin’? I knew he wuz always a settin’ up there in the moon, but it never passed my mind that he wuz a fryin’ potatoes.”

But I sez, “Keep still, Josiah. It is a deep subject, a great undertakin’, and it requires caution and deliberation.”

But he sez,”I haint a goin’, Samantha! Nor I haint a goin’ to let you go. It is dangerus.”

But I kinder nudged him, for she had the dog down on her lap, and was ready to resoom conversation. And about that time we got to the entrance of the spring, and one of her relatives got down and opened the carriage door.

I wondered ag’in that she didn’t introduce us. But I didn’t care if she didn’t. I felt that I wuz jest as good as they wuz, if they wuz so haughty. But Josiah wantin’ to make himself agreeable to ’em (he hankers after gettin’ into high society), he took off his hat and bowed low to ’em, before he got out, and sez he, “I am proud to know you, sir,” and tried to shake hands with him. But the man rejected his overtoors and looked perfectly wooden, and oninterested. A big-feelin’, high-headed creeter. Josiah Allen is as good as he is any day. And I whispered to him and sez, “Don’t demean yourself by tryin’ to force your company onto them any more.”

“Wall,” he whispered back, “I do love to move in high circles.”

Sez I, “Then I shouldn’t think you would be so afraid of the undertakin’ ahead on us. If neighborin’ with the old man in the moon, and eatin’ supper with him, haint movin’ in high circles, then I don’t know what is.”

“But I don’t want to go into anything dangerus,” sez he.

But jest then Miss Flamm.spoke to me, and I moved forward by her side and into a middlin’ big room, and in the middle wuz a great sort of a well like, with the water a bubblin’ up into a clear crystal globe, and a sprayin’ up out of it, in a slender misty sparklin’ spray. It wuz a pretty sight. And we drinked a glass full of it a piece, and then we wandered out of the back door-way, and went down into the pretty; old-fashioned garden back of the house.

Josiah and me and Miss Flamm went. The dog and the two relatives didn’t seem to want to go. The relatives sot up there straight as two sticks, one of ’em holdin’ the dog, and they didn’t even look round at us.

“Felt too big to go with us,” sez Josiah, bitterly, as we went down the steps. “They won’t associate with me.”

“Wall, I wouldn’t care if I wuz in your place, Josiah Allen,” sez I, “you are jest as good as they be, and I know it.”

“You couldn’t make ’em think so, dumb ’em,” sez he.

I liked the looks of it down there. It seems sometimes as if Happiness gets kinder homesick, in the big dusty fashionable places, and so goes back to the wild, green wood, and kinder wanders off, and loafs round, amongst the pine trees, and cool sparklin’ brooks and wild flowers and long shinin’ grasses and slate stuns, and etc., etc.

I don’t believe she likes it half so well up in the big hotel gardens or Courtin’ yards, as she does down there. You see it seems as if Happiness would have to be more dressed up, up there, and girted down, and stiff actin’, and on her good behavior, and afraid of actin’ or lookin’ onfashionable. But down here by the side of the quiet little brook, amongst the cool, green grasses, fur away from diamonds, and satins, and big words, and dogs, and parasols, and so many, many that are a chasin’ of her and a follerin’ of her up, it seemed more as if she loved to get away from it all, and get where she could take her crown off, lay down her septer, onhook her corset, and put on a long loose gown, and lounge round and enjoy herself (metafor).

We had a happy time there. We went over the little rustick bridges which would have been spilte in my eyes if they had been rounded off on the edges, or a mite of paint on ’em. Truly, I felt that I had seen enough of paint and gildin’ to last me through a long life, and it did seem such a treat to me to see a board ag’in, jest a plain rough bass-wood board, and some stuns a lyin’ in the road, and some deep tall grass that you had to sort a wade through.

Miss Flamm seemed to enjoy it some down there, though she spoke of the dog, which she had left up with her relatives.

“3 big-feelin’ ones together,” I whispered to Josiah.

And he sez, “Yes, that dog is a big-feelin’ little cuss-tomer. And if I wuz a chipmunk he couldn’t bark at me no more than he duz.”

And I looked severe at Josiah and sez I, “If you don’t jine your syllables closer together you will see trouble, Josiah Allen. You’ll find yourself swearin’ before you know it.”

“Oh shaw, sez he, “customer haint a swearin’ word; ministers use it. I’ve hearn ’em many a time.”

“Yes,” sez I, “but they don’t draw it out as you did, Josiah Allen.”

“Oh! wall! Folks can’t always speak up pert and quick when they are off on pleasure exertions and have been barked at as long as I have been. But now I’ve got a minutes chance,” sez he, “let me tell you ag’in, don’t you make no arraingments to go to the Moon. It is dangerus, and I won’t go myself, nor let you go.”

“Let,” sez I to myself. “That is rather of a gaulin’ word to me. Won’t let me go.” But then I thought ag’in, and thought how love and tenderness wuz a dictatin’ the term, and I thought to myself, it has a good sound to me, I like the word. I love to hear him say he won’t let me go.

And truly to me it looked hazerdus. But Miss Flamm seemed ready to go on, and onwillin’ly I followed on after her footsteps. But I looked ’round, and said “Good-bye” in my heart, to the fine trees, and cleer, brown waters of the brook, the grass, and the wild flowers, and the sweet peace that wuz over all.

“Good-bye,” sez I. “If I don’t see you ag’in, you’ll find some other lover that will appreciate you, though I am fur away.”

They didn’t answer me back, none on ’em, but I felt that they understood me. The pines whispered sunthin’ to each other, and the brook put its moist lips up to the pebbly shore and whispered sunthin’ to the grasses that bent down to hear it. I don’t know exactly what it wuz, but it wuz sunthin’ friendly I know, for I felt it speak right through the soft, summer sunshine into my heart. They couldn’t exactly tell what they felt towards me, and I couldn’t exactly tell what I felt towards them, yet we understood each other; curi’us, haint it?

Wall, we got into the carriage ag’in, one of her relatives gettin’ down to open the door. They knew what good manners is; I’ll say that for ’em. And Miss Flamm took her dog into her arms seemin’ly glad to get holt of him ag’in, and kissed it several times with a deep love and devotedness. She takes good care of that dog. And what makes it harder for her to handle him is, her dress is so tight, and her sleeves. I s’pose that is why she can’t breathe any better, and what makes her face and hands red, and kinder swelled up. She can’t get her hands to her head to save her, and if a assassin should strike her, she couldn’t raise her arm to ward off the blow if he killed her. I s’pose it worrys her.

And she has to put her bunnet on jest as quick as she gets her petticoats on, for she can’t lift he arms to save her life after she gets her corsets on. She owned up to me once that it made her feel queer to be a walkin’ ’round her room with not much on only her bunnet all trimmed off with high feathers and artificial flowers.

But she said she wuz willing to do anythin’ necessary, and she felt that she must have her waist taper, no matter what stood in the way on’t. She loves the looks of a waist that tapers. That wuz all the fault she found with the Goddus of Liberty enlightenin’ the world in New York Harber. We got to talkin’ about it and she said, “If that Goddus only had corsets on, and sleeves that wuz skin tight, and her overskirt looped back over a bustle, it would be perfect!”

But I told her I liked her looks as well ag’in as she wuz. “Why,” sez I, “How could she lift her torch above her head? And how could she ever enlighten the world, if she wuz so held down by her corsets and sleeves that she couldn’t wave her torch?”

She see in a minute that it couldn’t be done. She owned up that she couldn’t enlighten the world in that condition, but as fur as looks went, it would be perfectly beautiful.

But I don’t think so at all. But, as I say, Miss Flamm has a real hard time on’t, all bard down as she is, and takin’ all the care of that dog, day and night. She is jest devoted to it.

Why jest before we started a little lame girl with a shabby dress, but a face angel sweet, came to the side of the carriage to sell some water lilies. Her face looked patient, and wistful, and she jest held out her flowers silently, and stood with her bare feet on the wet ground and her pretty eyes lookin’ pitifully into our’n. She wanted to sell ’em awfully, I could see. And I should have bought the hull of ’em immegitly, my feelin’s was sech, but onfortionably I had left my port-money in my other pocket, and Josiah said he had left his (mebby he had). But Miss Flamm would have bought ’em in a minute, I knew, the child’s face looked so mournful and appealin’; she would have bought ’em, but she wuz so engrossed by the dog; she wuz a holdin’ him up in front of her a admirin’ and carressin’ of him, so’s she never ketched sight of the lame child.

No body, not the best natured creeter in the world, can see through a dog when it is held clost up to the eye, closer than anything else.

Wall, we drove down to what they called Vichy Spring and there on a pretty pond clost to the springhouse, we see a boat with a bycycle on it, and a boy a ridin’ it.