These mothers thinkin' what a weak thing a girl's will wuz when drink had drownded out the small self-control they had, and youthful passion and temptation urgin' 'em on, and the company Perkins nachully drawed 'round him.
These mothers whose boys and girls wuz like pieces of their own hearts, and these wives in the grief made recklessness of despair, made a hash vow that they would break up Perkinses saloons or die in the attempt, so they sot on him that night and gin him good drubbin'.
But they couldn't do much, for the police, of course, horrified by their onparalelled and onprovoked crime, hustled the wimmen off to jail, and escorted Perkins home with honor. But to resoom backwards.
I will git up (in fancy) from the steps of Solomon's Temple and go on in.
This is a complete copy of the magnificent temple built by Solomon, the wisest man in the world. Though like all wise men he had his foolish streaks, seven hundred wives is too many for one man to git along with, I should told him so if I had lived neighbor to him. I'd say:
"Mr. Solomon, if you have the name of knowin' so much show your smartness by gittin' rid of six hundred and niney-nine on 'em; keep jest one, pick her out, take your choice, but discharge the rest. Set 'em up in dressmakin' or millionary or sunthin' to git a livin' by, and settle down peaceable with one." Mebby he'd hearn to me and mebby not, men are so sot in their way.
But to resoom. Here we stood in that splendid temple which was the wonder of the world, and see the tabernacle the old Hebrews carried with 'em through the parted waves of the Red Sea and their journeyin's through the wilderness for forty years, led by the pillow of fire.
What feelin's I had as I looked on it and meditated, what riz up feelin's them old four fathers that carried it must have had, and them that follered on, led as they wuz by heavenly light, fed by heavenly food. How could they acted as they did, rambelous often and often, wanderin' from the right road, but still not gittin' away from the Divine care.
And there wuz a picture forty feet long, as long as our barn, showing the old Hebrews encamped before Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Law that rules the world to-day (more or less). Heaven drawin' so nigh to earth that hour that its light fallin' on Moseses face made it too glorious for mortal eyes to look on.
And I'dno but one of them mountains we see wuz where Moses stood after his forty years journey, castin' wishful eyes onto the Promised Land, not bein' able to enter in because of some past error and ignorance. And I thought, as I stood there, how many happy restin' places we plan and toil for and then can't enter in and possess through some past error and mistake caused by ignorance as dense as Moseses ignorance. What a lot of emotions I had thinkin' this, and how on top of another mount the great prophet and law-giver wuz not, for God took him.