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
But to resoom: Robert Strongās description of this seen made me set more store by Fritz Joseph than I had sot. And I wanted dretfully to meet him and condole with him and congratulate him, but didnāt know as I should have a chance. But to my great satisfaction we wuz all invited to the palace to a big informal reception. I wuz tickled enough.
I spoze it wuz on Robert Strongās account that we wuz invited to the Emperorās palace, though Josiah thought it wuz on his account. Sez he:
āFritz is a educated man and reads about foreign affairs; 405 of course, he has hearn of Jonesville and knows that I am one of its leadinā men, and wield a powerful influence in political and religious circles, and wants to honor me and on my account and to please me, and for various diplomatic reasons he is willinā to receive my pardner.ā
But it wuznāt so, no such thing; it wuz on Robertās account; Robert had been invited there for lunch when he wuz there before, for Miss Meechim had told me onāt over and over. When the evening of the reception come, Miss Meechim wuz in high feather every way. She wore one in her hair that stood up higher than old Hail The Dayās tail feathers, and then her sperits wuz all feathered out, too.
Dorothy looked sweet as a rose just blowed out. She had on a gown of pale-green satin and shiffon, which looked some the color of fresh, delicate leaves, and her sweet face riz up from it and bloomed out like a flower. It wuz a little low in the neck, which wuz white as snow, and so wuz her round arms. A necklace of big pearls wuz round her neck, not much whiter than the warm, soft flesh they rested on, and she carried a big bunch of white orchids. She looked good enough to frame in gold and hang up in anybodyās best parlor, and Robert Strong felt just as I did I knew by his liniment. On such a occasion, I felt my best black silk none too good, and at Dorothyās request I turned down the neck a little in front, mebby a half a finger or so, and wore a piece of lace she gin me over it that come down to my belt. It looked like a cob-web that had ketched in its transparent meshes some voylets and snowdrops. And at her request I did not wear the cameo pin, but a little bunch of posies she fixed for me, fine white posies with a few pale lavender ones. I spoze Dorothy, though she didnāt tell me so, for fear it would make me oneasy and nervious, but I spoze she wuz afraid that some bold thief might rob me of that valuable jewel; she knowed that cameo pin fell onto me from Mother Smith and fell onto her from her ma. This rim of memory sot it round and rendered it valuable aside from its intrinsic 406 worth, which wuz great. Why, I hearn that Grandmother Smith paid as high as seven dollars for it, gin five bushels of dried apples and the rest in money. Tommy stayed to home with Martha.
The guests wuz ushered into a spacious and magnificent room. Innumerable lights flashed from its lofty ceilings and music and flowers brightened the seen. The rich costooms of the ladies and the gorgeous uniforms of the men, representatives of the different countries, richly embroidered in gold and silver, added to the beauty of the panorama. Jewels wuz sparklinā everywhere, and I thought to myself I dāno but Dorothy wuz more fraid than she need be, I dāno; but I might have resked the cameo pin there. For it didnāt seem as if anybody there, man or woman, stood in need of any more ornaments, and if they took it, I should always thought they done it out of pure meanness. For such a profusion of jewelled ornaments I never see, and such dresses, oh, my! I thought even before I met the royal party what would I give if Almina Hagadone could be sot down there with liberty to bring a lot of old newspapers, the Jonesville āAugursesā and āGimletsā and take patterns. Oh, my! wuznāt they grand, though our good Methodist sisters wouldnāt dream of havinā their calico and woosted dresses with such long trains dragginā behind āem or havinā āem low-necked and short sleeves. I could hardly imagine how Sister Gowdey and Sister Henzy would look with their chocolate-colored calicos made without sleeves and dekolitay, as Miss Meechim called it; they would blush to entertain the thought, and so would their pardners.
Francis Joseph, or as I called him in my mind, the good crisp name of Fritz, I found wuz good lookinā and good actinā. Of course, like myself and Josiah, heās gittinā some along in years. And like us, too, he wonāt most probable ever be hung for his beauty. But what of that? Like others lately mentioned, his liniment shows just what kind of a person he has been and is. Honest, honorable, hard-workinā, 407 gittinā up at five oāclock in the morninā, doinā a good dayās work before lots of folks rises up from their goose-feather pillers. Fillinā up the day with duties performed to the best of his ability. Good, solid-lookinā and good-actinā the most of the time, though I spoze that like every human beinā, he has had spells of beinā contrary and actinā, but on the whole a good man, and a well-wisher to his race.
And now in this dretful epock of time, when everything seemed upside down, thrones tottlinā and foundations warpinā, and the roar of battle cominā nigher and nigher on every side, I felt that it wuz a great thing for him that he had the chance to hear some words of encouragement and advice. Yes, I knowed that if ever the Powers wuz in a tight place they wuz now.
I wuz the last one in the line, and so had a chance at him; I shouldnāt have had if Miss Meechim and Arvilly had been follerinā close to my heels. I had said in days gone by that if I ever got holt of one of them Powers I would give āem a piece of my mind that they could patch onto their daily experience, and tremble and wonder at it for the rest of their days. I had been riled up by these Powers a number of times, real provoked and out of patience with āem. But now when I stood in the presence of one of āem I felt different from what I thought I should feel; I pitied āem like a dog. And I showed it. I mistrust my liniment looked pale and excited, though not havinā a lookinā glass present I couldnāt tell for certain, but I know my voice trembled with emotion, for I hearn it myself.
I sez to him how proud and happy I wuz to see him lookinā so well and holdinā his age to such a remarkable degree, and after a few such preliminary politenesses had been tended to, I branched out and told him with my liniment lookinā good and earnest I know, and tears almost standinā in my eyes, I told him the feelinās I felt for the Powers, how mad Iād been at āem in the past, and how them feelinās had turned into pity, for I knowed just what a ticklish place they 408 wuz in and how necessary it wuz for āem to keep a cool head and a wise, religious heart, and then, sez I, āI dāno as that will save you. You Powers have got so hard a job to tackle that it donāt seem to me youāll ever git out of it with hull skins if you donāt use all the caution a elephant duz in crossinā a bridge. Go cautious and carefull and reach out and try every plank before you step onāt.ā
He felt it, I could see he did, he knowed how the ground wuz quakinā under him and the rest of the Powerses. āAnd donāt,ā sez I, ādonāt for mercyās sake! you Powers git to squabblinā amongst yourselves, for if you do you might just as well give up first as last, for you are all lost as sure as fate. Keep your temper above all things,ā sez I. āYouāve got age and experience as well as I have, and it takes such experienced wise heads to manage such a state of affairs, and I dāno even then as we can git along without an awful fuss, things are so muddled up. Mebby youāre the very one to go on and try to straighten out the snarls in the skein of the nationās trials and perplexities, and Iāll do all I can to help you,ā sez I.
He wuz dretful impressed by my eloquence; he acted for all the world just as Mr. Astofeller did. He looked at his watch just as if he wuz anxious to know just the time I said such remarkable things, and I continued on, āSister Henzy,ā sez I, āthinks that the millenium is cominā.ā
āSister Henzy?ā sez he inquirināly.
āYes,ā sez I, āSister Mehala Henzy, sister in the M. E. meetinā-house at Jonesville. She sez that this is the great universal war that is to usher in the thousand years of peace and the cominā of our Lord. She reads Skripter a sight and has explained it out to me and I must say it does look like it. And oh how I do want to be here to see it, but donāt spoze Josiah and I can live a thousand years, no matter how much patent medicine we take, specially as we both have the rumatiz bad, but oh how I would love to.
āBrother Meesick thinks this is goinā to be a war of the 409 yellow races agin the whites. And though it would come tough on Josiah and me to be driv out of house and home and scalped and made slaves on, yet right whilst them yeller races wuz engaged in it if I could think at allāāand of course I donāt know how much the seat of thought is situated in the crown of the head and hair and whether the entire citadel would go with the scalp, but if I could think and keep my conscientiousness as I spoze I should, I should have to give in right then and there that it wuz only justice fur the white races to submit to the revenge of the darker complected, thinkinā what weād done to them.
āJosiah beinā so bald they would probable have to take his head right off, not havinā anything to hang onto while they scalped him, and I should probably foller him soon, as I couldnāt imagine a life Josiahless. But whilst I lived, and even if I wuz sold into captivity, and see Thomas J. and the rest of the children sold into distant countries, and I chained to widder Henzy, drove off west to be slaves to Hole In The Day or Big Thunder, I should have to say amidst my heart breakinā groans and sithes, it is just, it is just, we white folks richly deserve it for our treatment to the darker races.ā
The Emperor felt my talk deeply, I knew by his looks; he looked completely wore out; it wuz from admiration I knowed.
Sez I: āIt is a dretful thing to have all the beasts of the world git mixed up and a-fightinā and chankinā each other up, as they have seemed to, whilst the Powers have sot and looked on. Jest now it looks to me as if the Russian Bear is gittinā the worst onāt and the dragon a-cominā out on top, and the Eagle has done noble work a-shriekinā and fightinā and protectinā her young.
āIt seemed to me and Josiah that the Powers have took things pretty easy and loitered along when their ministers and missionaries wuz chased into a corner and the Boxers ready to take their heads off. It makes a sight of difference in such things whose heads are in danger. If it wuz the 410 Powersā own heads, for instance, there would probable been more hustlinā round.
āBut things are in a dretful state in Russia and Japan and China. It is a great pity I hadnāt knowed what wuz cominā when I wuz there; I could probable done lots of good advisinā the Empress and
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