I own it eenamost kills me to begin, but the truth will out some time or other; and a feller that aint ashamed to du wrong, must be a snakin shote if he can't pick up courage tu own up tu the truth, like a man. It's a tough job, though, to own that you've been made a darn'd coot, and a leetle wus than that—but all I've got to du is to grin and bear it. I was a tellin you that Miss Sneers gin me an invite to supper. I slicked up and went, nigh about dark, a feelin sort a streaked, I couldn't tell why, and a thinkin of Judy White all the way; that pesky harnsome critter had riled up my feelins so desperately that I raly hadn't known which eend my head was on—but, somehow, as I went along, Judy seemed close by me, with her hand on my arm, kinder holdin me back; and once I was eenamost tempted tu turn back, and never think o' this York gal agin on arth. I swow, I raly believe the tears stood in my eyes when I went up the steps—for I couldn't keep from thinkin of hum all I could du, and it seemed jest as if you and marm were a holdin family prayers, and all for my sake, jest then. I do believe, Par, that the spirits of live folks that love you are as likely agin to haunt a feller when he's in danger as them of dead people. Wal, I rung the door-bell kinder loth, for I hadn't felt very chipper all day, and, somehow, thinkin of hum and sich things gin me a kind of timersome feelin. The buff nigger was on hand in no time. He swung open the door, and stood a bowin and a shakin that etarnal swad of hair till I got clear into the entry-way. I was a goin right up stairs, but the nigger he opened a side door, and says he, "walk in."
"Jest so," sez I, and I went through the door inter a room that was sot off tu kill with all sorts o' notions and foreign fixins. The winders were shut up close, and kivered from top tu bottom with a hull Niagara of red silk. The benches and settees and chairs shone and glistened all around, and overhead was one of them concerns of fire and chink glass, a blazin and flashing round us till it seemed as if the ruff overhead was made of solid gold. The wall were kivered all over with picters—them golden frames was all cirlicued off, and shone out dreadful harnsome, I can tell you. Right under that heap of swinging glass, and jest where the fire felt strongest, there was a table about as large round as marm's cheese tub, and kivered over with a red cloth, all figured off that fell clear to the carpet, and looked sort o' rich, like a pile of winter apples heaped afore a cider mill.
Two or three chaps sot afore the table, larfin and a talkin together, while they kinder tilted back the chairs they sot in, and seemed to make themselves tu hum all over.
I looked around for Miss Sneers, but she wasn't there yit, and the chaps by the table didn't seem tu know that I was standin there, and a lettin off my prime bows all for nothin. But jest as I was a goin to back out, a feller that lay on one of these new-fangled settees that have an arm chair at each eend, and a bench in the middle all cushioned off with red silk, he kinder riz up, and I see it was the chap that waited on Miss Sneers at the theatre the first time I ever saw her. He cum for'ard on seein me, and a lookin eenamost tickled tu death tu think I'd cum. He told the chaps by the table who I was, and they got up tu, and was in a mighty takin about my bein there. I sot down on a chair, and histed one leg top of t'other, and begun tu teeter my right foot sort of independent, and looked about for Miss Sneers. She wasn't there jest then, and I begun to feel rather awkward. But the man that I'd seen with her at the theatre, he sot down close by me, and begin to talk as chipper as if he'd known me a hundred years. I hadn't had a good chance tu look at the feller before in arnest, but now as he sot agin me, I gin him considerable observation. He was a tall, harnsome chap, with hair as thick and black as midnight. His eyes were black tu, and as sharp as darningneedles, but you never could ketch them a lookin at you more'n a minute at a time—they al'ers shied when a feller looked right straight into them. His voice was as soft as a mealy potater, and he kinder slid up to you across the room like a gray cat, and seemed tu be jest about as innocent. He begun tu talk about farming, and the price of produce in York, jest as cozey as git out, and seemed tu be right tu hum on any subject that cum up. The other chaps they jined in' and laid on a considerable soft sodder about my letters in the Express—but they did it slick, I can tell you, smoothed it down nice and ily, till you couldn't jest tell exactly whether it was soft sodder or not.
Arter a few minutes, Miss Sneers she cum in—I felt my heart jump intu my mouth, and the blood bile up over my face, like hot flip when the iron is put in. It seemed tu me, as if she never did look so harnsome afore—her frock was all blue shiny velvet, as bright as a damson plum—that ere round neck so pesky white, hadn't no kiverin on, but a leetle finefied gold chain, and another gold chain was tangled up with the great swad of hair that was twistified up on the nap of her neck. She kinder slid intu the room sort of easy, jest like a trout sailin along the bottom of a brook—her cheeks looked as fresh as a full blown rosy, and her mouth, the darned provokin thing, looked jest like a bunch of ripe strawberries, ready tu drop from the stems.
She kinder bowed tu the chaps that sot by the table, and then cum right up tu where I stood with both her hands out tu once, as if she was tickled all over tu see me agin.
Both them little white hands wasn't more than one handful for me, and I wasn't in no very great hurry tu let go, when I once got a good grip at 'em—she didn't seem tu mind my havin 'em, but sot down right between me and her brother, and there she sot a smilin right intu my eyes and a askin so arnest arter my helth that I couldn't but jest speak, my heart riz so. The critter really seemed tu have took a notion tu you, and marm. She was dreadful arnest tu know if I'd hearn from you, and how you stood the cold weather, and then consarn me! if she didn't ask how Captin Doolittle did, jest as if the old coot had a ben her own Par. By-am-by she bent over, and kinder whispered tu me, and sez she—
"I must go and speak tu the gentlemen there—you make me forget everything but yourself."
With that she gin my fingers a leetle grip and went up tu the table.
"You seem dull," sez she, "supposin you take a game at cards till supper is ready."