Josiah Allen's Wife as a P. A. and P. I.: Samantha at the Centennial. / Designed As a Bright and Shining Light, to Pierce the Fogs of Error and Injustice That Surround Society and Josiah, and to Bring More Clearly to View the Path That Leads Straight on to Virtue and Happiness.

by Marietta Holley

“Good gracious!” says I, for it skairt me to think what a narrow chance we had run. Well, finally, he brung in one of hisen, and sot it up in the kitchen, the parlor bein’ full on ’em.

And the fellers kep’ a comin’ and a goin’ at all hours. For a spell, at first, Josiah would come in and talk with ’em, but after a while he got tired out, and when he would see one a comin’, he would start on a run for the barn, and hide, and I would have to stand the brunt of it alone. One feller see Josiah a runnin’ for the barn, and he follered him in, and Josiah dove under the barn, as I found out afterwards. I happened to see him a crawlin’ out after the feller drove off. Josiah come in a shakin’ himself—for he was all covered with straw and feathers—and says he:

AVOIDING A NUISANCE.

“Samantha there has got to be a change.”

“How is there goin’ to be a change?” says I.

“I’ll tell you,” says he, in a whisper—for fear some on ’em was prowlin’ round the house yet—“we will git up before light to-morrow mornin’, and go to Jonesville and buy a organ right out.”

I fell in with the idee, and we started for Jonesville the next mornin’. We got there jest after the break of day, and bought it of the man to the breakfast table. Says Josiah to me afterwards, as we was goin’ down into the village:

“Let’s keep dark about buyin’ one, and see how many of the creeters will be a besettin’ on us to-day.”

So we kep’ still, and there was half a dozen fellers follerin’ us round all the time a most, into stores and groceries and the manty makers, and they would stop us on the sidewalk and argue with us about their organs and pianos. One feller, a tall slim chap, never let Josiah out of his sight a minute; and he follered him when he went after his horse, and walked by the side of the wagon clear down to the store where I was, a arguin’ all the way about his piano. Josiah had bought a number of things and left ’em to the store, and when we got there, there stood the organ man by the side of the things, jest like a watch dog. He knew Josiah would come and git ’em, and he could git the last word with him.