And I whispered back to him to be calm. Sez I, “Do be reasonable; it ain’t logic or religion to expect to be to home and travellin’ abroad at the same time.”
He see it wuzn’t and subsided with a low groan, and begun to nibble agin’ on his food, but his looks wuz mournful, and if I could I would have put on a apron willin’ly and gone down into the kitchen and cooked him a good square meal, but I knew it wouldn’t be thought on, so I kep’ calm.
Well, our bed wuz kinder queer. It wuz quite noble lookin’, four high posts with lace curtains looped up and mosquito nettin’ danglin’ down, and instead of springs a woven cane mattress stretched out lookin’ some like our cane seat chairs. How to git under that canopy and not let in a swarm of mosquitoes wuz what we didn’t know, but we did finally creep under and lay down. It wuz like layin’ on the barn floor, the cane mattress didn’t yield a mite, and Josiah’s low groans mingled with my sithes for quite a spell. Tommy wuz fast asleep in his little bed and so didn’t sense anything. Well, the tegus night passed away, happily I spoze for the attentive mosquitoes who shared the canopy with us, and mebby liked to sample foreign acquaintances, 142 but tegus for us, and we wuz glad when it wuz time to git up.
The first meal of the day wuz brought to our room; chocolate not over good, some bread and some eggs, almost raw, wuz what it consisted of. Josiah, who wanted some lamb chops, baked potatoes and coffee, wuz mad as a hen. “Heavens and earth!” sez he, “why I never sucked eggs when a boy; have I got to come to it in my old age? Raw eggs and chocklate you could cut with a knife. A few years of such food will leave you a widder, Samantha.”
“Well,” sez I, “do let’s make the best of it; when you’re in Rome do as the Romans do.”
“I shan’t suck eggs, for no Romans or for no Phillippine.”
“Eat ’em with your spoon,” sez I, “as you’d ort to.”
“Or with my knife,” sez he. “Did you see them officers last night to the table eatin’ sass with a knife? I should thought they’d cut their mouths open.”
“Well, it is their way here, Josiah. Let’s keep up and look forrerd to goin’ home; that’s the best fruit of travellin’ abroad anyway, unless it is seein’ Tommy so well and hearty.”
Josiah looked at his rosy face and didn’t complain another word. He jest worships Thomas Josiah. Well, after we eat this meal we went out walkin’, Josiah and I and Tommy, and I spoze Carabi went along, too, though we didn’t see him. But then what two folks ever did see each other? Why I never see Josiah, and Josiah never see me, not the real us.