“I’m always good,” sez he, and he snapped out the words real snappish, and loud.
And I sez mildly, “Wall, you needn’t bring the ruff down to prove your goodness.”
And he went on: “I don’t see as they are so pesky good here; I haint seen nothin’ of it.”
“Wall,” sez I, “when I look over Yaddo, and Hilton Park, it makes me reconciled, Josiah, to have men get rich; it makes me willin’, Josiah.”
And he sez (cross), He guessed men would get rich whether I wuz willin’ or not; he guessed they wouldn’t ask me.
“Wall, you needn’t snap my head off, Josiah Allen,” sez I, “because I love to see folks use their wealth to make pleasant places for poor folks to wander round in, and forget their own narrow rocky roads for a spell. It is a noble thing to do, Josiah Allen; they might have built high walls round ’em if they had been a mind to, and locked the gates and shet out all the poor and tired-out ones, But they didn’t, and I am highly tickled at the thought on’t, Josiah Allen.”
“Wall, I don’t shet up our sugar lot, do I? and I have never heerd you say one word a praisin’ me up for that.”
“That is far different, Josiah Allen,” sez I, “there is nothin’ there that can git hurt, only stumps. And you have never laid out a cent of money on it. And they have spent thousands and thousands of dollars; and the poorest little child in Saratoga, if it has beauty-lovin’ eyes, can go in and enjoy these places jest as much as the owners can. And it is a sweet thought to me, Josiah Allen.”
“Oh wall,” sez he, “you have probable said enough about it.”
Now I never care for the last word, some wimmen do, but I never do. But still I wuzn’t goih’ to be shet right eff from talkin’ about these places, and I intimated as much to him, and he said, “Dumb it all! I could talk about ’em all day, if I wanted to, and about Demorist’s Woods too.”