Martha wuz a kind, good girl, but she wuzn’t Aronette, our dear one, our lost one. She wuz jest a helper doin’ her work and earnin’ her wages, that wuz all, but she was good natured and offered to look after Tommy, and we all went to the Viceroy’s 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 d’no but the widder Albert’s house goes ahead of this, but it don’t seem as if it could, it don’t seem as if Solomon’s or the Queen of Sheba’s could look any better. Though of course I never neighbored with Miss Sheba, bein’ 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 kep’ by business and P. Martin Smythe from visitin’ her.
Miss Curzon is a real handsome woman, and always wuz when she was a neighborin’ girl, as you may say, in Chicago, but the high position she’s 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, “I hope you 242 didn’t cry because you felt obleeged to read ’em, or somebody made you.”
And she sez, “No,” 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 pa’s great aunts.
And a bystander standin’ 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 ’em in Sing Sing and the Tombs. And after considerable such interestin’ and agreeable conversation Miss Curzon branched off and asked me if there wuz any new news at home.
And I sez, “No; things are goin’ in the same old way. Your pa’s 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 ’em to horse shows and huntin’ foxes acrost the country and playin’ tee or tee he.”
She said, “Yes, golf wuz gettin’ to be very popular in America.” And I went on with what little news I could about the most important folks. Sez I:
“Mr. 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 workin’ 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 death––or go into some other business.
“I set store by ’em both. Theodore tries to quell the big monopolies and look out for the people. I’ve advised him and he has follered my advice more or less. But you can’t do everything in a minute, and the political bosses and the Liquor Power are rulin’ things about the same as ever. Big trusts are flourishin’, Capital covered with gold and diamonds is settin’ on the bent back of Labor, drivin’ the poor critter where they want to, and the Man with the Hoe is hoein’ away jest as usual and don’t get the pay for it he’d ort to.” And here Arvilly broke in (she had been introduced), and sez she, “Uncle Sam is girdin’ 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 don’t want to be benevolently assimilated.”