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sky did, though that wuz clear blue, lit by a warm sunshine. It wuz Ernest White, and guess who wuz 454 by his side; Iā€™ll tell you, for you never could think who it wuzā€“ā€“it wuz Waitstill Webb. I had thought her face wuz as sweet as it could be in sorrow, but I had never seen it in gladness before. She looked like a sweet white rose just blowed out under the warm sun of a perfect June day.

ā€œErnest White!ā€ sez I, ā€œhow glad I am to see you! And Waitstill Webb! can I believe my eyes?ā€ sez I, ā€œis it you?ā€ And I took both their hands in mine at one time.

ā€œWaitstill Webb!ā€ sez I agin, ā€œis it you?ā€

ā€œNo,ā€ sez Ernest White, ā€œit is Waitstill White.ā€

You could have knocked me down with a hair-pin. I kissed ā€™em both smilinā€™ and weepinā€™, laughinā€™ and cryinā€™, we all on us wuz like three fools, or three wise ones, I dā€™no which. And thatā€™s how I begun to keep Thanksgivinā€™ moreā€™n three days ahead.

They come right into the kitchen and made me keep on with my work, which I did after a little, they takinā€™ holt and helpinā€™ me like two happy children. They stayed most all the forenoon, but had promised to go back to Arvillyā€™s to dinner.

Well! Well! I hadnā€™t been so tickled in matrimonial ways and riz up and routed and dumb foundered since Thomas J. and Maggie Snow got engaged. It seems that Ernest White had gone way out to the Philippines after her, and they wuz married in a little American chapel by a missionary of the M. E. meetinā€™-house.

They wuz goinā€™ right to housekeeping in the widder Poolerā€™s, where he had boarded. The widder had gone to live with her daughter, Mahala, in Michigan, and Ernest White has bought it. It stands in a pretty place near a evergreen grove, just on the edge of Loontown near his people that he loves, and has gin his life work to make better. And, oh, what a sweet love-guarded home Waitstill White is goinā€™ to make for her pardner, and how happy Ernest White is goinā€™ to be with the woman he loves. For besides beinā€™ so congenial and beloved, Waitstill is as good a cook as I ever 455 see, and no matter how much a manā€™s soul soars up to the heavens, whilst his body is on earth he will always appreciate good vittles. Love never did nor never will thrive on a empty stummick. Harmony of soul is delightful, and perfect congeniality is sweet, and so is good yeast emtinā€™ bread if it is made right, kneaded three times, riz in a cool place and baked to a turn. And tender broiled chops and chicken, and hot muffins and fragrant coffee has some the effect on the manly breast of loveā€™s young dream.

Waitstill is a real home lover and homemaker. And it seems that by her advice Ernest White had had alterations in the house made that I approved highly on when I see ā€™em, and they had ordered lots of things to be sent from the city to make it pleasant, all put in first-rate order by the man left in charge, and they invited Josiah and me to take tea with ā€™em the very next eveninā€™ and go to meetinā€™ with ā€™em, which we gladly accepted, seeinā€™ we had got our preparations so fur along; Arvilly wuz goinā€™ to be there they said. And, of course, I invited ā€™em to my Thanksgivinā€™ dinner, which they accepted with the same pleasure that we had theirn.

456 CHAPTER XXXVI

Well, the next day, or ruther that night I begun to make preparations to go to Waitstill Whiteā€™s. I got a early supper that night soā€™s to git to bed early soā€™s to git up in good season; soā€™s to git a early breakfast the next morninā€™, soā€™s to git a early dinner, soā€™s to start in good season for Ernest and Waitstill Whiteā€™s. And I kepā€™ sayinā€™ that over and over the next morninā€™, ā€œErnest and Waitstill Whiteā€™s,ā€ it sounded dretful good to me, dretful.

I sez to Philury, ā€œWe must have dinner early, for we are invited to Ernest and Waitstill Whiteā€™s.ā€

And I sez the same to Josiah. And he sez, ā€œYouā€™ve said that to me a dozen times already.ā€

ā€œWell,ā€ sez I cheerfully, ā€œmebby I shall say it a dozen times more.ā€

I felt well, dretful well in my mind. It had come out just as I had hoped and prayed for, and why shouldnā€™t I feel good.

Well, they greeted us with warm affection. And you donā€™t know how pretty their home looked. It had been fixed up in their absence and Waitstill had put the finishinā€™ touches to it when she come. It wuz a gloomy spot under the Pooler regeem. But Waitstill wuz a true homemaker and could make a barn seem home like, as folks can that have that gift. You often see folks who think, or say they think, that one set of faculties henders another set from workinā€™. But it hainā€™t no such thing. Miss Pooler wuz nothinā€™ but a housekeeper, and as poor a one at that as you would be apt to find in a dayā€™s travel, whilst Waitstill wuz a philanthropist, a missionary, an angel on earth if ever there 457 wuz one, and a homemaker and a home lover added to it, just as the Bible sez: ā€œSeek first the kingdom of heaven and all these things shall be added unto you,ā€ or words to that effect.

The settinā€™-room and parlor that used to seem like a dark-green curtained mausoleum, sacred to the mourninā€™ pieces on the wall, and the hair wreaths of defunct Poolers wuz now the sunshinny hant of Beauty and Cheerfulness. Bay windows bordered with soft-colored glass, and curtained with fleecy white, let the sunshine stream into the pretty, freshly-decorated room, where it seemed to love to stay and shine. A conservatory full of blossoming plants made the settinā€™ and dininā€™-rooms full of cheer and perfume.

One good stout German girl bore willinā€™ly the heaviest burdens of housekeeping, but Waitstill and Love and Good Judgment wuz to the hellum, and the result wuz beautiful. A happier household I donā€™t want to see, a better supper I donā€™t want to eat. Waitstill had some briled chicken, tender and toothsome, some creamed potatoes, fixed just right, light white rolls, yellow sweet butter made from their own Jersey cowā€™s milk, clear amber honey from their own beehives, sliced peaches from their own peach trees (it wuz a late kind, each one rolled up in newspapers, and put in a box in the suller and kepā€™ and purple and white grapes kepā€™ in the same way). Some pound cake made from my own reseet, a noble one that fell onto me from Mother Allen, and improved on by me, and some angel cake, made by Waitstill herself, and as snowy and delicious as if it wuz made by a real angel with wings, some fragrant coffee with rich cream to make it delicious, and chocolate for them that preferred it. A big glass bowl of roses and carnations wuz in the centre, and the table wuz spread with a snowy linen cloth, and sot with beautiful china, white with a gold and pink sprig on it, part of a big quantity sent by his rich folks, who wuz delighted to have him marry such a sweet girl and settle down, and the heavy shininā€™ silver marked ā€œW. W. W.,ā€ lookinā€™ 458 some like a runninā€™ vine, and the glossy linen tablecloths and napkins looking like satin covered with posies, come from the same source, also marked with her initials. Enough, Waitstill told me, to last ā€™em all their lives if they should live to be as old as Methusaler and his wife.

Well, I wuz glad enough to see their prosperity and happiness and when Ernest White sot to his own table by the side of Waitstill White and in a few short, eloquent, heart-felt words asked the Lordā€™s blessing on this new home consecrated to his service, and on his dear friends happily returned home agin, my heart echoed every word and there wuznā€™t a dry eye in my head, not one.

After supper wuz over we sot out to go to the meetinā€™ he had spoke on. It wuz the openinā€™ night of the new library, which wuz in a pretty little buildinā€™ jined onto the meetinā€™-house and only a few minutesā€™ walk from Ernest and Waitstill Whiteā€™s.

There wuz a good, large room for the library filled with good books helpful and inspirinā€™, bought partly by Ernest White and partly by voluntary contributions by his people, a reading-room filled with magazines and newspapers and which with the library wuz to be opened every evening and two afternoons in the weeks. And there wuz a cozy little settinā€™-room and bed-room with a kitchen back out for the librarian. And who do you spoze wuz to be librarian and live here clost to her idol? Oh, shaw! I might just as well told you right out as to have said that; it wuz Arvilly. It wuz congenial work to her and left her plenty of time to go round canvassinā€™ if she wanted to.

We wuz a little late for the meetinā€™, for a man come to see the Elder just as we wuz startinā€™, about marryinā€™ him the next day, and as anybody knows that has to be tended to ā€™tennyrate.

As we drawed nigh the library and meetinā€™-house we see they wuz lighted up in as friendly and pleasant a way as if they wuz two beacons set up to light our footsteps. And 459 as we went in we see a group of happy faced young people gathered round the organ practicinā€™ a piece they wuz learninā€™ for Thanksgivinā€™.

It wuz a sweet song of thankfulness and peace, filled with gratitude for all the blessinā€™s of the year. A sweet song full of love to God and man and that would be apt to inspire the singers and hearers with forbearance, justice, mercy, sane living and thinking. In another part of the hall they wuz practicing some pretty pieces to speak at this celebration, but when Elder White went in they all met him joyfully as a beloved father is met by his children, and they bestowed a loving greeting on Waitstill too.

These young men and women wuz ready to look through the magnifyinā€™ glass of love at any lesson Ernest White should set before them to fit ā€™em for lifeā€™s battle.

The meeting that night wuz a sort of a social, where the young and older folks met to get better acquainted with each other, and had a good time visitinā€™ back and forth and comparinā€™ notes and beinā€™ introduced to Waitstill and the new library. One attracted just about as much attention as the other, both wuz exceedingly interestinā€™ to ā€™em and beloved.

Elder Cross wuz there, he sets store by Ernest White, though he is so different from him. He is good natered and a Christian, I believe, though Arvilly said he would have to be fixed over quite a good deal before he got into the Kingdom.

And I sez, ā€œWell, we all shall, Arvilly.ā€

ā€œErnest White wonā€™t,ā€ sez she, ā€œall they will have to do to him will be to tack on a pair of wings and pin his crown on. Heā€™s a saint on earth now,ā€ sez she.

Well, Elder Cross come up to Arvilly and welcomed her home and said a few words about Ernest Whiteā€™s overwhelminā€™ success, which he considered a mericale, and he couldnā€™t understand it.

ā€œWell, I can understand it,ā€ sez Arvilly, ā€œI have always said that no power could stand before the Church of Christ 460 when it is fully awakened to the enormity of the sin it is encouraging by its indifference and neglect, and bands itself together to fight against it. The saloon votes solid,ā€ sez Arvilly, ā€œthey are faithful to their cause, they are fiery hot with zeal, the church a good many of ā€™em are lukewarm, some like the Laodocians, and some like dish-water ready to be emptied down into the drain. America is ruled by her cities, and they are ruled by the saloon and unrighteous trusts and political bosses. Foreigners from the old world slums flaunt the banner of independence in the face of American womanhood. And the church of God that might remedy the evils lets ā€™em go on.ā€

Sez Elder Cross, ā€œI know well that the saloon is a mighty power for evil, it ruins our youth, soul and body, and I know that Monopoly is the thief that steals the rewards of labor. But I pray, sister Arvilly, I pray without ceasing that the Holy Spirit will come down, and smite these offenders.ā€

Sez Arvilly the dantless one, ā€œYou donā€™t depend on prayer alone in your church services,

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