Josiah iled up the old double harness and washed the democrat off and rubbed it down with shammy skin till it shone like glass. And I prepared a glass can of baked beans brown and crispy, but sweet and rich tastin’ as beans know how to be when well cooked, then I briled two young chickens a light yeller brown, and basted ’em well with melted butter, and had a new quart basin of as good dressin’ as Jonesville ever turned out, and I’ve seen good dressers in my 330 day. And a quart can of beautiful creamed potatoes all ready to warm up, two dozen light white biscuit, a canned strawberry pie, and a dozen sugar cookies reposed side by side in a clean market basket, and by ’em lay peacefully a little can of rich yeller butter and one of brittle cowcumber pickles, and one dozen deviled eggs.
A better lunch wuz never prepared in the precincts of Jonesville.
Oh! and I had some jell too, and cream cheese, and the next mornin’ I made two quarts of coffee all ready to warm up in Sister Meechum’s tent (she had gin permission), and a can of sweet cream to add richness to it, and lump sugar accordin’.
I felt that these wuz extraordinary preparations, but didn’t begrech ’em, part on ’em wuz on Faith’s account. Well, as I say, the preparations wuz all completed the day before exceptin’ the coffee and creamed potatoes, and them wuz accomplised early in the mornin’ while I wuz gittin’ breakfast, and we all sot off triumphant at nine A.M.
It wuz a clear cool mornin’ in lovely autumn. Old Nater hadn’t as you may say finished up her fall job of colorin’ and paintin’, but she wuz all rousted up tendin’ to it. 331
All along the smooth highway leadin’ to the lake, trees and bushes bent over the roadside tinged with crimson and yeller and russet brown, and red, and shaded gold colors mingled with the rich green of the faithful cedars and hemlocks and pines. Sometimes up a high pine tree or ellum a wild ivy had clum and wuz hangin’ on with one hand and wavin’ out to us its banner of gold and crimson as we passed. And fur off the maple forest looked like a vast mass of rose and amber and golden brown, mingled with the deep green of spruces and cedars, and furder off still a blue haze lay over all like a soft veil partly hidin’ and partly revealin’ the glory of the seen. And ever and anon the blue flashin’ waters of the lake could be seen like the soul in a woman’s face, givin’ life and meanin’ to the picture.
Well, anon as we clumb a hill, the hull lake bust out on our vision, it lay spread out broad and beautiful and calm, with the breezes ripplin’ its blue surface into waves, and the sunshine sparkling on its bosom, and down under the hill on a pint of land that stretched out into the water stood the noble grove of trees where the camp meetin’ wuz held. That wuz Piller Pint.
We descended a hill, driv along half a mild or so till we come to a fence and a open pair of bars, 332 in front of which stood two muscular attendants and one on ’em sez, “We take a small fee from them that enter.”
Sez Josiah, lookin’ gloomy, “I spozed religion wuz free.”
“It is free,” sez the man, “but this is only to smooth its way, put up seats and such.”