I turned to him, and tried to calm the seethin’ waters, but he loudly called for the comb, and for the tresses, and the lookin’ glass. And, askin’ in a wild’ sarcastic way where the song wuz that she sung to mariners? And hollerin’ for him to bring on that rock at that minute, and them mariners, and ordered him to set her to singin’.
The idee! of that little skeletin with her skinny lips drawed back from her shinin’ fish teeth, a singin’. The idee on’t!
But truly, he wuz destracted and knew not what he did. The mariner in charge looked destracted. And the bystanders a standin’ by wuz amazed, and horrowfied by the spectacle of his actin’ and behavin’. And I knew not how I should termonate the seen, and withdraw him away from where he wuz.
But in my destraction and agony of sole, I bethought me of one meens of quietin’ him and as it were terrifyin’ him into silence and be the meens of gettin’ on him to leave the seen. I begoned to Ardelia to come forward and I sez in a whisper to her, “Take out your pencil and a piece of paper and stand up in front of him and go to writin’ some of your poetry,”
And then I sez agin in tender agents, “Be calm, Josiah.”
“And I tell you that I won’t be calm! And I tell you,” a shakin’ his fist at that pale mariner, “I tell you to bring out—“
At that very minute he turned his eyes onto Ardelia, who stood with a kind of a fur-away look in her eyes in front of him with the paper in her hand, and sez he to me, “What is she doin’?”
“She is composin’ some poetry onto you, Josiah Allen,” sez I, in tremblin’ axents; for I felt that if that skeme failed, I wuz undone, for I knew I had no ingredients there to get him a extra good meal. No, I felt that my tried and true weepon wuz fur away, and this wuz my last hope.
But as I thought these thoughts with almost a heatlightnin’ rapidety, I see a change in his liniment. It did not look so thick and dark; it began to look more natural and clear.
And sez he in the same old way I have heerd him say it so many times, “Dumb it all! What duz she want to write poetry on me for? It is time to go home.” And so sayin’, he almost tore us from the seen.