I took sights of comfort at the Indian schools. Seein' on one side the old poor oncivilized way of living, habits and customs; and then to see what education and culture had done and wuz doing for 'em, what swift strides they wuz makin' along the road that leads upwards. And to see 'em workin' away right before us at all the industrial trades, to see inteligence in the eyes that had held savagery, to hear the inteligent conversation in place of gutteral axents, I wuz highly tickled.
And I sez to Josiah and Molly, "I hope Uncle Sam will do well by all the folks he's gardeen over, the Indians, Negroes, Philippinos and all, I believe he means well by the hull on 'em, but he has so much on his hands he don't know which way to turn, and I spoze it will be some time before he gits 'round to do what he wants to for all on 'em, and," sez I, "they had better in the mean time try to git along and do all they can for themselves, it will be best for 'em anyway."
I wuz walkin' along with my Josiah in a quiet part of the grounds, if any of 'em can be called so, 'tennyrate there wuzn't many round when I hearn some workmen passin' along say, "There is the President."
And lookin' round eagerly and anxiously I see a good-lookin' man with eye glasses settin' on a bench readin' a paper. And I knowed to once that it wuz our Teddy, so dear to the heart of them that set store by manliness, fearlessness, bravery, bright badges from Heaven's mint shinin' on the breast of a man faithful to wife, children and country. He didn't look exactly like his pictures, but I knowed pictures didn't always favor their originals, specially in newspapers. I wuz highly tickled to see him, for I had some errents for him, and wanted to advise him for his good, and I advanced with outstretched hand and sez "Mr. President, I am delighted to see you!"
He shook hands and said polite, "You have the advantage of me, mom."
"Yes," sez I, "folks see your face in the papers." I mentioned my name and then went right on to say, "I wanted to tell you the first thing, I hadn't nothin' to do with that slightin' piece about you you probable read in the Jonesville Auger. The Nation knew I had writ for it, and for the Gimlet, and I wuz awful afraid you'd think it wuz me, and be mad at me, but I'm as innocent as a infant babe. Keturah Snyder writ it, and she's been through with trials enough to make her bitter but bein' so mad she sez things she can't prove. Now she thinks you could kep' her from bein' turned out of the Jonesville post-office and you could keep the price of meat down. No use arguin' with her, she sez you had it in your power to squelch some of the Trusts, and didn't do nothin' but talk.
"And that Post-Office scandal, she said she spozed you wuz goin' to make public samples of them stealers, but it all squizzled out, nothin' done about it, only jest talk. And you remember she said in her piece, 'she wuz turned out of the post-office for borryin' five cents from the Government, and bein' backward with another five, ten cents in all, and them post-office clerks in Washington stealin' hundreds of thousands and nothin' done.'" Here Theodore tried to say sunthin', and knowin' he wuz such a fluent talker I wuz bound to git my explanation in before he begun, for I wouldn't interrupted him for the world after he got to goin'.
Sez I, "I wanted you to know jest what reason she had for bein' so mad and writin' it, for I knowed you wouldn't feel so mortified about it. The way on't wuz, she wuz in the Office, and hadn't baked that week owin' to the cat tippin' over her yeast, she's so petickular she won't use boughten, and a hull load of company driv up onexpected at leven forty-five. The baker come and not havin' a cent of change by her, and he refusin' to trust her jest out of meanness, she knowin' she wuz to have some money paid her in the mornin', jest borrowed five cents from Uncle Sam. I don't say it wuz right, she'd better made biscuit, but I say she wuz punished pretty hash for that and two other small things, for bein' half distracted by her cares, she forgot to cancel three letters, the first mistake she'd made in the three years she'd been in office. One wuz a drop letter, so Uncle Sam wuz only out five cents. Well, you know Theodore, that when trials come, they come as Shakespeare said, 'Not as single spiders but hull battles on 'em,' or words to that effect.
"Right on top of that Baker come the Inspector. He discovered the deficit of ten cents, and also that other incident, where I got mixed up in the Jonesville P.O. Scandal. Keturah had to have help in the office once in awhile, and two men wanted to work for her, Nate Yerden and Sam Pendergrast. She didn't like Nate, and she did like Sam, and I don't spoze it made much difference in her feelin's, but Sam kep' sheep and did gin her yarn for a pair of stockin's, and jest out of pure kindness I colored it for her in my indigo dye tub.
"I never thought of committin' any sin, let alone one with such a big name, Misprision of Treason and Maladministration of Justice, I believe he called it. Why, for a spell I thought I should have to be shot up, Josiah wuz skairt to death, and told him he never hearn of such crimes, and sez he, 'I'll bet you can't find 'em in the Velosipeder.'