It wuz dedicated to Jupiter at first, and afterwards to the Virgin and the Christian martyrs, afterwards it was dedicated to all the saints.
In speakin’ on this subject, Josiah said: “What a lot of saints they do have in these furren countries,” and says he to me, soto vosy, “I’d kinder like, Samantha, to get that name; Saint Josiah would sound well and uneek in Jonesville.”
But I scorfed at the idee, though knowin’ that he wuz jest as worthy to be called saint as a good many who wuz called by that name.
But Josiah is dretful ambitious. When we wuz lookin’ at the different pictures of the popes in their high hats, sez he:
“How becomin’ such a hat would be to me. I believe 365 I shall be took in one when I get home; I could take Father Allen’s and Father Smith’s old stove-pipe hats and set my best one on top, and then cut out a wooden cross on top; how uneek it would be.”
But I spoze he will forgit it before he gits home––I hope so ’tennyrate.
CHAPTER XXX
The Vatican where the Pope keeps house is the biggest house in the world; its dimensions are one thousand one hundred and fifty-one feet, by seven hundred and sixty-seven feet. And if you want to realize the size of such a buildin’, you jest try to frame it and you’d find out. Why, as I told Josiah, Joel Gowdey is called our best carpenter in Jonesville, but if he should try to plan that buildin’, where would he be? He is a great case to scratch his head in difficulties, Joel is, and I guess he’d be pretty bald before he got through studyin’ on it, much less doin’ the work. It has twenty courts, two hundred staircases, and ’leven thousand rooms. Josiah worried some about it, and sez: