He wuz alludin’ to his own small weight by the steelyards. But I waved off his speech—I felt quite cool towards him, about as cool as rain-water, and I wouldn’t fall in with his hint and gin him my usual compliment.
Wall, jest as the Infanty and I wuz a-talkin’ back and forth, a woman and a little boy, who had been a-lingerin’ a little behind, come up, and I see in a minute who they wuz; and though I’m bashful by nater—very, yet knowin’ that I had the honor and politeness of my own country and Jonesville to uphold, I advanced towards her in a very admirin’, respectful way.
Yes, I see it wuz the Queen Regent and little Alfonso himself. I wuz tickled, and still hampered, by the duties that devolved onto me, but above all of my emotions riz the thought of how glad I wuz to meet ’em, and how glad they would be afterwards a-thinkin’ it over to think that they had a chance to meet me.
Ulaley didn’t make no move to introduce us. And I see in a minute how it wuz. There wuz the Queen pardnerless and alone, there wuz I with my livin’ pardner; it would roust up too many sad memories to bring us all closter to each other.
But she’d no need to hesitated on that account; I could have told the Queen that though a pardnerless state had its trials, havin’ a pardner brings afflictions also—Heaven knows it duz!
But I see how it wuz, and havin’ the sole glory of Jonesville and America in my eyes, I advanced forwards with quite a lot of dignity and made a deep curchy.
I took holt of each side of my brown alpaca dress and held out the skirt a very little. They wuz good curchys, and I made about three on ’em—two to the Queen Regent and one to Alfonso. I thought one wuz about right for him, considerin’ his age.
I then advanced and held out my hand, and sez I—“I am glad to meet you, Julia, and tell you how well I think on you.” Sez I, “A young woman who has done as well as you have with what you have had to do with deserves to be encouraged, and I’m glad to encourage you.”
She looked awful surprised at my good manners and politeness; she bowed her head in almost dumbfounder, as I could see, and I went on—
“You’ve had a hard time on’t, Julia—real hard. It’s always hard to leave your own folks when you’re married and go and live with his folks, and I presoom you’ve had days when you thought his folks didn’t treat you well—it is nateral. And I presoom he cut up more or less—pardners will. And you, fur away from your own folks, made the cuttin’ up and actin’ seem worse. I persoom you’ve had days when you would have willin’ly swapped off five or six Spanish palaces for one free, onfettered hour beyend the Alps. And you would have willin’ly swapped the most flatterin’ words addressed to you in a strange tongue to listen to the swashin’ waves of the blue Danube, the ripplin’ waves that beat up agin the shores of home—you had a real hard time.