Around the World with Josiah Allen's Wife by Marietta Holley (life changing books TXT) š
- Author: Marietta Holley
Book online Ā«Around the World with Josiah Allen's Wife by Marietta Holley (life changing books TXT) šĀ». Author Marietta Holley
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Arvilly openly and often bewailed the loss of the one she loved next to Waitstill Webb; I wuznāt anywhere in Arvillyās affections to what she wuz, though she sets store by me, and Tommy cried himself to sleep many a night talking about her, and wonnerinā where she wuz, and if somebody wuz abusinā her, or if she wuz to the bottom of the ocean. Why, he would rack my mind and pierce my heart so I would have to give him candy to get his mind off; I used pounds in that way, though I knew it wuz hurtful, but didnāt know what to do.
We often thought and spoke of poor Lucia, too, and that poor broken-hearted father who wuz searching through the world for her and would never stop his mournful search till he found her, or till death found him, but our hearts didnāt ache for her as they did for the loss of our own.
Martha wuz a kind, good girl, but she wuznāt Aronette, our dear one, our lost one. She wuz jest a helper doinā her work and earninā her wages, that wuz all, but she was good natured and offered to look after Tommy, and we all went to the Viceroyās reception and garden party and had a real good time.
The palace of the Viceroy is a beautiful structure. It is only two stories high, but each story full and running over with beauty. I dāno but the widder Albertās house goes ahead of this, but it donāt seem as if it could, it donāt seem as if Solomonās or the Queen of Shebaās could look any better. Though of course I never neighbored with Miss Sheba, beinā considerable younger than she, and never got round to visit the widder Albert, though I always wanted to, and spoze I disappointed her that year when I wuz in London, and kepā by business and P. Martin Smythe from visitinā her.
Miss Curzon is a real handsome woman, and always wuz when she was a neighborinā girl, as you may say, in Chicago, but the high position sheās in now has gin nobility to her mean, and the mantilly of dignity she wears sets well on her.
She seemed real glad to see me; she had hearn on me, so she said, and she said she had laughed some when she read my books, and had cried too, and I sez, āI hope you 242 didnāt cry because you felt obleeged to read āem, or somebody made you.ā
And she sez, āNo,ā and she went on furder to say how they had soothed the trials of a relative, aged ninety, and had been a stay and solace to one of her paās great aunts.
And a bystander standinā by come up and introduced himself and said how much my books had done for some relations of his mother-in-law who had read āem in Sing Sing and the Tombs. And after considerable such interestinā and agreeable conversation Miss Curzon branched off and asked me if there wuz any new news at home.
And I sez, āNo; things are goinā in the same old way. Your paās folks are in good health so fur as I know, and the rest of the four hundred are so as to git about, for I hear on āem to horse shows and huntinā foxes acrost the country and playinā tee or tee he.ā
She said, āYes, golf wuz gettinā to be very popular in America.ā And I went on with what little news I could about the most important folks. Sez I:
āMr. and Miss Roosvelt are well, and well thought on. He is a manly man and a gentle gentleman. The sample of goodness, loyalty and common sense they are workinā out there in the White House ort to be copied by all married men and their wives. If they did the divorce lawyers would starve to deathāāor go into some other business.
āI set store by āem both. Theodore tries to quell the big monopolies and look out for the people. Iāve advised him and he has follered my advice more or less. But you canāt do everything in a minute, and the political bosses and the Liquor Power are rulinā things about the same as ever. Big trusts are flourishinā, Capital covered with gold and diamonds is settinā on the bent back of Labor, drivinā the poor critter where they want to, and the Man with the Hoe is hoeinā away jest as usual and donāt get the pay for it heād ort to.ā And here Arvilly broke in (she had been introduced), and sez she, āUncle Sam is girdinā up his lions and 243 stands with a chip on his shoulder ready to step up and take a round with any little republic that donāt want to be benevolently assimilated.ā
But I spoke right up, and sez, āHe is a good-hearted creeter, Uncle Sam is, but needs a adviser time and agin, and not beinā willinā to let wimmen have a word to say, I dāno what will become on him; bime-by mebby heāll see that he had better hearn to me.ā
Jest then we hearn a bystander standinā nigh by us talkinā about the last news from Russia, and I sez to Miss Curzon, āIt is too bad about the war, haināt it?ā And she sez, āYes indeed!ā She felt dretful about it, I could see, and I sez, āSo do I. You and I canāt stop it, Miss Curzon; a few ambitious or quarrelsome or greedy politicians will make a war and then wimmen have to stand it. There haināt nothinā right in it, seeinā they are half of the world, and men couldnāt have got into the world at all if it hadnāt been for wimmen, and then when wimmen has got āem here, and took care on āem till they can run alone, then they go to bossinā her round the first thing and makinā her no end of trouble, makinā wars and things.ā And she said she felt jest so, too. āBut,ā sez I, āexcuse me for introducinā personal and political matters on festive boardsā (we wuz standinā on a kind of a platform built up on the green and velvety grass). Sez I, āI am real glad to see you lookinā so well, and your companion, too.ā She did look handsome as a picter, and handsomer enough sight than some, chromos and such. And seeinā that she had so many to talk to, I withdrawed myself, but as I kinder backed myself off I backed right into Arvilly, who wuz takinā out the āTwin Crimesā out of her work-bag, and I sez, āArvilly, you shall not canvass Miss Curzon to-night.ā
And she sez, āIād like to see you stop me, Josiah Allenās wife, if I set out to do anything.ā She looked real beligerent. But I got her into a corner and appealed to her shiverly and pity, and finally I got her to put her book up in her work-bag. 244 Arvilly is good-hearted if you know how to manage her. I knew Miss Curzon would be tired enough to drop down before we all got away, without being canvassed, if she has got two hundred hired help in the house.
Well, we roamed along through the beautiful walks, sweet with perfume and balmy with flowers, brilliant with innumerable lights, and thronged with a gaily dressed crowd and the air throbbing with entrancing strains of music.
Robert Strong looked noble and handsome that night; I wuz proud to think he belonged to our party. He didnāt need uniforms and ribbons and stars and orders to proclaim his nobility, no more than his City of Justice needed steeples. It shone out of his liniment so everybody could see it. It seemed that he and Mr. Curzon wuz old friends; they talked together like brothers.
Dorothy wuz as sweet as a posy in her pretty pink frock, trimmed with white rosies, and her big, white picture hatāāthe prettiest girl there, I thought; and I believe Robert thought so, tooāāhe acted as if he did. And Miss Meechim wuz in her element. The halls of the noble and gay wuz where her feet loved to linger. And she seemed to look up to me more than ever after she see my long interview with Lady Curzon, as she called her.
Josiah and I returned to our tarven, but the rest of the party wanted to stay some later. We wanted dretfully to go to Benares, and on to Agra soās to see that wonderful monument to Wedded Loveāāthe Taj MahalāāI spoze the most beautiful building in the hull world; and certainly it is rared up to as noble a sentiment; and its being a kind of rareity, too, made me want to see it the worst kind.
But we had loitered so on our travels that we had to hurry up a little in order to arrive at the Paris Exposition the Fourth of JulyāāUnited States day. I felt that I couldnāt bear to git there any later and keep France a-waitinā for us, a-worryinā for fear we wouldnāt git there at all, so we went post-haste from Calcutta to Bombay and from there to 245 Cairo and on to Marseilles; though we laid out to stop long enough in Cairo to take a tower in Jerusalem. Holy Land, wuz I, indeed, to see thee?
We wuz considerable tired when we got to Bombay. The railroads in Injy are not like the Empire Express; though, as we drew near Bombay, the scenery wuz grand; some like our own Sierra Nevadaās.
Only a few milds back from the railroad, tigers, panthers and all sorts of fierce animals wuz to home to callers, but we didnāt try to visit āem. At some places the trees along the road wuz full of monkeys, chatterinā and talkinā in their own language which they understood, so I spoze; and there wuz the most beautiful birds I ever saw. The climate wuz delightful, some like June days in dear Jonesville.
Bombay is on an island, with many bridges connecting it to the mainland. We went to a tarven close to Bombay Bay; the wide verandas full of flowers and singinā birds made it pleasant. We got good things to eat here; oh, how Josiah enjoyed the good roast beef and eggs and bread, most as good as Jonesville bread. Though it seemed kinder queer to me, and I donāt think Miss Meechim and Arvilly enjoyed it at all to have our chamber work done by barelegged men.
I told Josiah that I didnāt know but I ort to have a Ayah or maid whilst I wuz there, and he said with considerable justice that he guessed he could ayah me all that wuz necessary.
And so he could, I didnāt need no other chaperone. But the Bombay ladies never stir out without their Ayah, and ladies donāt go out in the streets much anyway.
The market here in Bombay wuz the finest I ever see; it has a beautiful flower garden and park attached to it, and little rills of clear water run through the stun gutters. Tropical fruit and vegetables of all kinds wuz to be seen here. The native market wimmen didnāt have on any clothes hardly, but made it up in jewelry. Some on āem weighinā out beef to customers would have five or six long gold chains hanging 246 down to their waist. Bombay has a population of about a million, a good many English, some Hindus, Persians, Chinese, Siamese, Turks, and about one-tenth are Parsees, sun-worshippers. They are many of them wealthy and live in beautiful villas a little out of the city; they are very intelligent and firm friends of the English.
The Parsees dress in very rich silks and satin, the men in pantaloons of red or orange and long frocks of gorgeous colored silk; they wear high-pinted black caps, gold chains and rings and look dretful dressy.
Josiah loved their looks dearly, and he sez dreamily, āWhat a show such a costoom would make in Jonesville; no circus ever went through there that would attract so much attention,ā and he added, ātheir idees about the sun haināt so fur out of the way. The sun duz give all the heat and light we have, and it is better to worship that than snakes and bulls.ā
My land! had that man a idee of becominā a Parsee? I sez, āJosiah Allen, be you a Methodist deacon, or be you not? Are you a-backslidinā or haināt you?ā Sez I, āYou had better ask the help of him who made the sun and the earth to keep you from wobblinā.ā
He wuz real huffy and sez, āWell, I say it, and stick to it, that it is better to worship the sun
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