Around the World with Josiah Allen's Wife by Marietta Holley (ebook reader android txt) 📖

Well, the next day, or ruther that night I begun to make preparations to go to Waitstill White’s. I got a early supper that night so’s to git to bed early so’s to git up in good season; so’s to git a early breakfast the next mornin’, so’s to git a early dinner, so’s to start in good season for Ernest and Waitstill White’s. And I kep’ sayin’ that over and over the next mornin’, “Ernest and Waitstill White’s,” it sounded dretful good to me, dretful.

I sez to Philury, “We must have dinner early, for we are invited to Ernest and Waitstill White’s.”

And I sez the same to Josiah. And he sez, “You’ve said that to me a dozen times already.”

“Well,” sez I cheerfully, “mebby I shall say it a dozen times more.”

I felt well, dretful well in my mind. It had come out just as I had hoped and prayed for, and why shouldn’t I feel good.

Well, they greeted us with warm affection. And you don’t know how pretty their home looked. It had been fixed up in their absence and Waitstill had put the finishin’ touches to it when she come. It wuz a gloomy spot under the Pooler regeem. But Waitstill wuz a true homemaker and could make a barn seem home like, as folks can that have that gift. You often see folks who think, or say they think, that one set of faculties henders another set from workin’. But it hain’t no such thing. Miss Pooler wuz nothin’ but a housekeeper, and as poor a one at that as you would be apt to find in a day’s travel, whilst Waitstill wuz a philanthropist, a missionary, an angel on earth if ever there 457 wuz one, and a homemaker and a home lover added to it, just as the Bible sez: “Seek first the kingdom of heaven and all these things shall be added unto you,” or words to that effect.

The settin’-room and parlor that used to seem like a dark-green curtained mausoleum, sacred to the mournin’ pieces on the wall, and the hair wreaths of defunct Poolers wuz now the sunshinny hant of Beauty and Cheerfulness. Bay windows bordered with soft-colored glass, and curtained with fleecy white, let the sunshine stream into the pretty, freshly-decorated room, where it seemed to love to stay and shine. A conservatory full of blossoming plants made the settin’ and dinin’-rooms full of cheer and perfume.

One good stout German girl bore willin’ly the heaviest burdens of housekeeping, but Waitstill and Love and Good Judgment wuz to the hellum, and the result wuz beautiful. A happier household I don’t want to see, a better supper I don’t want to eat. Waitstill had some briled chicken, tender and toothsome, some creamed potatoes, fixed just right, light white rolls, yellow sweet butter made from their own Jersey cow’s milk, clear amber honey from their own beehives, sliced peaches from their own peach trees (it wuz a late kind, each one rolled up in newspapers, and put in a box in the suller and kep’ and purple and white grapes kep’ in the same way). Some pound cake made from my own reseet, a noble one that fell onto me from Mother Allen, and improved on by me, and some angel cake, made by Waitstill herself, and as snowy and delicious as if it wuz made by a real angel with wings, some fragrant coffee with rich cream to make it delicious, and chocolate for them that preferred it. A big glass bowl of roses and carnations wuz in the centre, and the table wuz spread with a snowy linen cloth, and sot with beautiful china, white with a gold and pink sprig on it, part of a big quantity sent by his rich folks, who wuz delighted to have him marry such a sweet girl and settle down, and the heavy shinin’ silver marked “W. W. W.,” lookin’ 458 some like a runnin’ vine, and the glossy linen tablecloths and napkins looking like satin covered with posies, come from the same source, also marked with her initials. Enough, Waitstill told me, to last ’em all their lives if they should live to be as old as Methusaler and his wife.

Well, I wuz glad enough to see their prosperity and happiness and when Ernest White sot to his own table by the side of Waitstill White and in a few short, eloquent, heart-felt words asked the Lord’s blessing on this new home consecrated to his service, and on his dear friends happily returned home agin, my heart echoed every word and there wuzn’t a dry eye in my head, not one.

After supper wuz over we sot out to go to the meetin’ he had spoke on. It wuz the openin’ night of the new library, which wuz in a pretty little buildin’ jined onto the meetin’-house and only a few minutes’ walk from Ernest and Waitstill White’s.

There wuz a good, large room for the library filled with good books helpful and inspirin’, bought partly by Ernest White and partly by voluntary contributions by his people, a reading-room filled with magazines and newspapers and which with the library wuz to be opened every evening and two afternoons in the weeks. And there wuz a cozy little settin’-room and bed-room with a kitchen back out for the librarian. And who do you spoze wuz to be librarian and live here clost to her idol? Oh, shaw! I might just as well told you right out as to have said that; it wuz Arvilly. It wuz congenial work to her and left her plenty of time to go round canvassin’ if she wanted to.

We wuz a little late for the meetin’, for a man come to see the Elder just as we wuz startin’, about marryin’ him the next day, and as anybody knows that has to be tended to ’tennyrate.

As we drawed nigh the library and meetin’-house we see they wuz lighted up in as friendly and pleasant a way as if they wuz two beacons set up to light our footsteps. And 459 as we went in we see a group of happy faced young people gathered round the organ practicin’ a piece they wuz learnin’ for Thanksgivin’.

It wuz a sweet song of thankfulness and peace, filled with gratitude for all the blessin’s of the year. A sweet song full of love to God and man and that would be apt to inspire the singers and hearers with forbearance, justice, mercy, sane living and thinking. In another part of the hall they wuz practicing some pretty pieces to speak at this celebration, but when Elder White went in they all met him joyfully as a beloved father is met by his children, and they bestowed a loving greeting on Waitstill too.

These young men and women wuz ready to look through the magnifyin’ glass of love at any lesson Ernest White should set before them to fit ’em for life’s battle.

The meeting that night wuz a sort of a social, where the young and older folks met to get better acquainted with each other, and had a good time visitin’ back and forth and comparin’ notes and bein’ introduced to Waitstill and the new library. One attracted just about as much attention as the other, both wuz exceedingly interestin’ to ’em and beloved.

Elder Cross wuz there, he sets store by Ernest White, though he is so different from him. He is good natered and a Christian, I believe, though Arvilly said he would have to be fixed over quite a good deal before he got into the Kingdom.

And I sez, “Well, we all shall, Arvilly.”

“Ernest White won’t,” sez she, “all they will have to do to him will be to tack on a pair of wings and pin his crown on. He’s a saint on earth now,” sez she.

Well, Elder Cross come up to Arvilly and welcomed her home and said a few words about Ernest White’s overwhelmin’ success, which he considered a mericale, and he couldn’t understand it.

“Well, I can understand it,” sez Arvilly, “I have always said that no power could stand before the Church of Christ 460 when it is fully awakened to the enormity of the sin it is encouraging by its indifference and neglect, and bands itself together to fight against it. The saloon votes solid,” sez Arvilly, “they are faithful to their cause, they are fiery hot with zeal, the church a good many of ’em are lukewarm, some like the Laodocians, and some like dish-water ready to be emptied down into the drain. America is ruled by her cities, and they are ruled by the saloon and unrighteous trusts and political bosses. Foreigners from the old world slums flaunt the banner of independence in the face of American womanhood. And the church of God that might remedy the evils lets ’em go on.”

Sez Elder Cross, “I know well that the saloon is a mighty power for evil, it ruins our youth, soul and body, and I know that Monopoly is the thief that steals the rewards of labor. But I pray, sister Arvilly, I pray without ceasing that the Holy Spirit will come down, and smite these offenders.”

Sez Arvilly the dantless one, “You don’t depend on prayer alone in your church services,