A TRIP THROUGH THE WORLD
I should have went on about him considerable more,—I have such a deep honor and respect, and such a strong (meetin’ house) regard for him—but Josiah looked so restless and worrysome. He haint a jealous hair on the top of his head, (nor a hair of any description) but he worships me so, I s’pose it gauls him to see me praise up any other man; so we moved on and made a short tower into Belgium, and see their laces—I don’t believe there is such splendid laces in the hull world as I see there, and they call ’em Brussels laces; mebby they be, but I don’t believe it; anyway they haint made out of hog’s brussels; that I know; and I told Josiah I knew it, and he said he did, or else they was different from any brussels he ever see—why you never see anything so perfectly fine and beautiful; the very nicest bobinet lace that Mother Smith ever made into a cap border couldn’t compare with the poorest of it. Jest one lace dress cost 7,000 dollars, and I wouldn’t have made it for a cent less for anybody, even if they had found their own brussels. But where under the sun they ever found such brussels is a mystery to me, and to Josiah—we have talked it over lots of times sense.
And then we made a short call in Switzerland. She wasn’t so big or trimmed off inside so much as some of the Nations. Her show cases was quaker color, made up plain, but they looked well. And oh! such watches as I did see there, and such music boxes! There was one elegant lookin’ one that played thirtysix tunes, and Josiah said he’d love to buy it, for he believed if he practiced enough, he could play on it first-rate. That man has a awful good opinion of himself—by spells; says he: “Don’t you believe Samantha, that by tendin’ right to it, and givin’ my mind up to it, I could learn?”
Says I dryly, “If you knew enough to play well on a fannin’ mill, or a grindstun you probably could.”
And then we went back into the Main Aisle, that broad, and glitterin’ highway, full of folks—for as big a crowd as you would see through all the Nations, you would always find a bigger one here, of Yankeys, Turkeys, German, Dutch, Tunicks, Jappaned men and Chinee, of all sizes, and every sex—and sot out for France. And truly if I hadn’t give up bein’ surprised long before, this place would have been the ruination of me. Why, if it hadn’t been for a little episode that took place there, I don’t know but I should be a wanderin’ round there now. It beats all how the French race can look right down through even the useful, and see beauty in it, or make it. You could see everything there, from a necklace worth forty thousand dollars, to a clay pipe; from a little gold bird that sings every half hour by the watch, up to Virgins, and sweet faced Madonnas and saints; and the Shepherds and wise men worshippin’ the infant Christ in a stable, with real straw in the manger, and real hay in the oxen’s rack. But good land! there’s no use tryin’ to tell what was there. I couldn’t do it if I talked my tongue off, so I wont try.
I was a settin’ down in the centre of the room on as soft a lounge as I ever sot on, a lookin’ at the perfectly gorgeous and wonderful display of silks and velvets a displayin’ themselves to me, when a good lookin’ feller and girl come in, and sot down by me, and they was a talkin’ over the things they had seen, and I a mindin’ my own business, when the young feller spoke up, and says he to the girl:
“Have you seen John Rogers goin’ to the Parson, to git married?”
“No,” says she.
“Well,” says he, “you ort to.”
I turned right round and give that young feller a look witherin’ enough to wither him, and says I: “That is a pretty story to tell to wimmen, that you have seen John Rogers goin’ to the Parson to git married.”