After he got over his seasickness, most the first words he said, and they come right after his “good-by” and partin’ words to me, though some time after—he waked up out of a deep sleep, and the first words he said to me wuz, in middlin’ feeble axents—
“Do you spoze, Samantha, I could git a little biled beef and cabbage, and some pork and beans?”
He had been a-livin’ on water gruel, and the words almost startled me. But I obtained the ingregients with some trouble, and as I bore them in, a large platter full of each, he looked up dretful feeble and languishin’, and sez he—
“Set ’em down by the bed, Samantha, and mebby I could eat a bean, or part of one.”
“Part of one bean” didn’t sound very encouragin’, but I set ’em down, and the next time I see them platters, about ten minutes afterwards, they wuz both clean as though they had been swept and garnished.
And from that minute he gained on’t. My own first hankerin’ after I got better wuz for a biled dinner. Of course, I couldn’t git that, but I exchanged milk porridge for roast pork, and sassige, and cabbage hot slaw the first thing, and felt satisfied and happy with the change.
Curous, hain’t it? If I’d been on land I believe they would a-killed me, but I thrived on the diet.
Wall, I never shall forgit how good the land looked to me as I looked fur forrerds over the heavin’ billows of blue, and see the beautiful green shores of Queenstown a-risin’ up ahead.
Adrian said, “Auntie, is that the Emerald Isle, and are the hills all covered with emeralds, like Alice’s ring?” Sez he, “Mike told me they were.”
Sez I, “Don’t you pay any attention to what Mike sez. The hills are jest covered with soft, green grass that would look enough sight better to me than any jewelled stuns would.”