I don’t know how much longer I should have kep’ on, for I seemed to feel more and more eloquent every minute—if I hadn’t all of a sudden heerd a little low modest snore right in front of me, and I see sister Minkley was asleep, and that brung my senses back as you may say, and when I took a realizin’ sense of my situation, and see how still the school-house was and everybody a listenin’ to me, I was completely dumbfounded to think I had spoke right out in meetin’ entirely unbeknown to me.
Cornelius Cork the President was a sheddin’ tears, though bein’ a man he tried to conceal ’em by blowin’ his nose and coughin’ considerable hard. But coughin’ couldn’t deceive me; no! the whoopin’ cough couldn’t, not if he had whooped like an Injun’s warwhoop. I see ’em, I had my eye on ’em.
You see he was own cousin to Willie Harris on his mother’s side—Willie’s mother and his, was own sisters. They was old Joe Snyder’ses girls by his first wife.
Cornelius Cork never asked a person to judge on the question, or vote on it, or anything. He jest jumped right up onto his feet, and says he in a real agitated and choked up voice:
“It is decided, that it is wrong to licence intemperance.” And then he coughed again awful hard. And Lawyer Nugent got up and said sunthin’ about adjournin’ the meetin’ till “Sime-die.” Though what Simon he meant, and what ailed Sime, and whether he died or not, I don’t know to this day no more than you do. Howsumever, we all started for home.
TIRZAH ANN AS A WIFE.
Tirzah Ann was to home a visitin’, yesterday. They keep house in part of Brother Minkley’ses house, for this winter. Brother Minkley’ses house is a bigger one than they need, or can furnish, and it is handy for Whitfield on account of its bein’ near to the law office where he learnt his trade. But Whitfield lays out to open a office of his own next summer. Everybody says he will do well, for the lawyer he learnt his trade of, has a awful creek in his back most the hull time. If he is a tryin’ anybody, or a swearin’ anybody,—right when he is a usin’ the biggest words, a tryin’ and a swearin’—he is liable to crumple right down, and be carried out with that creek,—no dependence on him at all; and lawyer Snow has got so rich that he don’t care whether he works at his trade or not; so there seems to be a clear road for Whitfield.
And they are a goin’ to have a house of their own, before long,—though nobody knows a word about it, only jest Tirzah Ann’s pa, and me. I atted Josiah to give Tirzah Ann her portion, now. Says I,—“They are a stiddy, likely, equinomical couple, and wont run through it; why not give ’em a start now, when they need it, as well as to wait till you and I die, and have ’em kinder lookin’ forred and ‘hankerin’ after our shoes,’ as the poet says.” Says I,—“give her her talent now, Josiah, and let her improve on it.” Says I,—“less buy ’em a house, Josiah Allen; they wont run through it, I know they wont.”
I would sejest this to Josiah Allen, every little while; but he hung off. Josiah is close, (but honest.) But I kep’ a sejestin’ and I kep’ a ’swaidin’, and finally he give his consent.