And she wuz knittin’ a african to put over the couch in his room. She had ravelled out a good shawl of her own to git the red for it, so I hearn.
“But,” she sez, “when he comes into his room a little chilly, it will be so nice to throw over his feet, and he always liked that soft, crimson color. He gits cold real easy,” sez she, a-holdin’ up the african and lookin’ real affectionate at it. It wuz a good african.
I asked ’em to come to dinner the next day, and they both demurred at first, sayin’ that it wuz the day for Harry’s long letter to come. He writ ’em long letters twice a week, and they both felt that they wanted to be right there by the post-office so’s to git it the minute it arrove.
Wall, it wuz compromised in this way—I promisin’ that Ury should be at the post-office when the afternoon mail come in and bring it to ’em right to our house. And I mentioned that the old mair could go pretty fast when Ury and Necessity wuz a-drivin’ her; so they consented to come.
And I cooked up dretful good vittles. I don’t think they’re ever than above well fed to home, and I did enjoy a-cookin’ up good, nourishin’ food for ’em with Philury’s help.
I had some good beef soup, two roast chickens, with garden sass of all kinds, cream biscuit, strawberry shortcake and jell, and rich, yellow coffee with cream and loaf sugar in it.
I did well by ’em.
And I had a real good visit with ’em; for I jest as lives spend my time a-hearin’ about Harry as not. I wuz a-knittin’, and of course could hear and knit. And Josiah and Al Faizi (good creeters both on ’em) had jest as lives hear the elder praise up his boy in dead languages as in live ones.
And so they enjoyed themselves real well.
As I say, when the elder would git tired of praisin’ him up in English he would try it in Greek, and when that language got tired out and kinder dead, he would try a healthier, stronger one, so I spoze. He and Al Faizi sot out in the porch some of the time, but I could hear ’em.