Samantha at Saratoga Part 17

She wouldn't let the wet nurse tech it, for her youngest child, little G. Was.h.i.+ngton Flamm, Jr., wuzn't very healthy, and Miss Flamm thought that mebby the dog might ketch his weakness if the nurse handled it right after she had been nursin' the baby. And then she objected to the nurse, so I hearn, on account of her bein' wet. She wanted to keep the dog dry. I hearn this; I don't know as it wuz so. But I hearn these things long enough before I ever see her. And when I did see her I see that they didn't tell me no lies about her devotion to the dog, for she jest wors.h.i.+ped it, that was plain to be seen.

Wall, she has got a splendid place at Saratoga; a cottage she calls it. I, myself, should call it a house, for it is big as our house and Deacon Pedd.i.c.k'ses and Mr. Bobbett'ses all put together, and I don't know but bigger.

Wall, she invited Josiah and me to drive with her, and so her dog and she stopped for us. (I put the dog first, for truly she seemed to put him forward on every occasion in front of herself, and so did her high-toned relatives, who wuz with her.)

Or I s'pose they wuz her relatives for they sot up straight, and wuz dretful dressed up, and acted awful big-feelin' and never took no notice of Josiah and me, no more than if we hadn't been there. But good land! I didn't care for that. What if they didn't pay any attention to us? But Josiah, on account of his tryin' to be so fas.h.i.+onable, felt it deeply, and he sez to me while Miss Flamm wuz a bendin' down over the dog, a talkin' to him, for truly it wuz tired completely out a barkin' at Josiah, it had barked at him every single minute sense we had started, and she wuz a talkin' earnest to it a tryin' to soothe it, and Josiah whispered to me, "I'll tell you, Samantha, why them fellers feel above me; it is because I haint dressed up in sech a dressy fas.h.i.+on. Let me once have on a suit like their'n, white legs and yellow trimmin's, and big s.h.i.+nin' b.u.t.tons sot on in rows, and white gloves, and rosettes in my hat -- why I could appear in jest as good company as they go in."

Sez I, "You are too old to be dressed up so gay, Josiah Allen.

There is a time for all things. Gay b.u.t.tons and rosettes look well with brown hair and sound teeth, but they ort to gently pa.s.s away when they do. Don't talk any more about it, Josiah, for I tell you plain, you are too old to dress like them, they are young men."

"Wall," he whispered, in deep resolve, "I will have a white rosette in my hat, Samantha. I will go so far, old or not old.

What a sensation it will create in the Jonesville meetin'-house to see me come a walkin' proudly in, with a white rosette in my hat."

"You are goin' to walk into meetin' with your hat on, are you?"

sez I coldly.

"Oh, ketch a feller up. You know what I mean. And don't you think I'll make a show? Won't it create a sensation in Jonesville?"

Sez I: "Most probable it would. But you haint a goin' to wear no bows on your hat at your age, not if I can break it up," sez I.

He looked almost black at me, and sez he, "Don't go too fur, Samantha! I'll own you've been a good wife and mother and all that, but there is a line that you must stop at. You mustn't go too fur. There is some things in which a man must be footloose, and that is in the matter of dress. I shall have a white rosette on my hat, and some big white b.u.t.tons up and down the back of my overcoat! That is my aim, Samantha, and I shall reach it if I walk through goar."

He uttered them fearful words in a loud fierce whisper which made the dog bark at him for more'n ten minutes stiddy, at the top of its voice, and in quick short yelps.

If it had been her young child that wuz yellin' at a visitor in that way and ketchin' holt of him, and tearin' at his clothes, the child would have been consigned to banishment out of the room, and mebby punishment. But it wuzn't her babe and so it remained, and it dug its feet down into the satin and laces and beads of Miss Flamm's dress, and barked to that extent that we couldn't hear ourselves think.

And she called it "sweet little angel," and told it it might "bark its little cunnin' bark." The idee of a angel barkin'; jest think on't. And we endured it as best we could with shakin'

nerves and achin' earpans.

It wuz a curius time. The dog harrowin' our nerve, and snappin'

at Josiah anon, if not oftener, and ketchin' holt of him anywhere, and she a callin' 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 fas.h.i.+onable. 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 pa.s.sed 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 gla.s.s full of it a piece, and then we wandered out of the back door-way, and went down into the pretty; old-fas.h.i.+oned 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 a.s.sociate 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 fas.h.i.+onable 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 s.h.i.+nin' gra.s.ses 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' onfas.h.i.+onable. But down here by the side of the quiet little brook, amongst the cool, green gra.s.ses, 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 ba.s.s-wood board, and some stuns a lyin' in the road, and some deep tall gra.s.s 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 gra.s.s, 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."