And wantin’ to roust him up still further out of his despondency, I sez, “You will enjoy that home better than ever now, for how you will enjoy tellin’ Uncle Smedley all about what you see to-day, Josiah Allen.”
He brightened up; “Yes, Samantha, if I ever live to get home, it will be a treat to tell what we went through, and,” sez he, “won’t Uncle Smedley open his eyes when I tell him of——”
Alas! alas! I had done what I sot out to do. I had lightened my pardner’s gloom, but wearisome wuz the hours I spent a-hearin’ him rehearse what he wuz a-goin’ to tell the Jonesvillians.
Oh, the peticulars, oh, the peticulars! It wuz hard to tread the ground over under the rain of a Martin, but it wuz harder still to hear ’em rehearsed by the voice of a Josiah.
But of course I lived through it, or I wouldn’t be here to tell the tale.
Martin always done the fair thing, so fur as gittin’ good places to stay wuz concerned, and we had a plenty of everything for our comfort, only jest that one thing—rest.
But my onusual common sense learnt me that I mustn’t expect to be to home and on a tower at the same time.
And I felt quite grateful to Martin for invitin’ us to go with him—a good deal of the time I did; and I tried to do my part as well as I could. I kep’ a eye on Adrian, and see that his clothes and feet wuz dry, and see that he learnt his Sunday-school lesson, and see that Alice took her cough medicine every day; and when Martin took it into his head to go off for a day or two, he felt easy about the children, knowin’ my love and care for ’em couldn’t be excelled and gone beyend by anybody. He said it wuz a great care offen his mind, and made him feel at liberty to go and come.
He had to see certain men on business in these different countries where we went, and I presoom he did feel better to know that the children had some one with ’em that loved ’em while he was off milds away for days at a time.
And Alice kep’ a-sayin’ every day that she couldn’t have got along without me anyway. And I presoom I wuz some company for her; anyway, I loved her, and she knew it. You can’t hide sech feelin’s under a bushel.