Samantha at Saratoga [101]
"Is there anything I can do for you, you poor little creeter?" "Pray for me," sez she agin, with her white lips not movin' in a smile, nor a groan. Now my companion, Josiah Allen, is a class-leader, and though I say it that mebby shouldn't -- That man is able in prayer. He prays as if he meant what he said. He don't try to show off in oritory as so many do, or give the Lord information. He never sez, "Oh Lord, thou knowest by the mornin' papers, so and so." No, he prays in simple words for what he wants. And he always seems to feel that somebody is nigh to him, a hearin' him, and if it is best and right, his requests will be granted. So I motioned for that man to kneel down by the bed and pray, which he did. He wuz to the fore side of the bed, and Miss Flamm and I on the other side. Wall, Josiah commenced his prayer, in a low earnest askin' voice, then all of a sudden he begun to hesitate, waver, and act dretful agitated. And his actions and agitations seemed to last for some time. I thought it wuz his feelin's overcomin' of him, and of course, my hand bein' over my eyes in a respectful, decent way, I didin't see nothin'. But at last, after what wuz seemingly a great effort, he began to go on as usual agin. About that time I heard sunthin' hit the wall hard on the other side of the room, and I heard a yelp. But then everything wuz still and Josiah Allen made a good prayer. And before it wuz through Miss Flamm laid her head down onto my shoulder, and busted into tears. And what wuz rooted up and washed away by them tears I don't know, and I don't s'pose anybody duz. Whether vanity, and a mistaken ambition, and the poor empty successes of a fashionable life wuz uprooted and floated away on the awakened, sweepin' tide of a mother's love and remorse; whether the dog floated down that stream, and low necked dresses, and high hazardus slippers, and strings for waists and corsets, and fashion, and folly, and rivalry, and waltzin', and glitter, and buttons, and show; whether they all went down that stream, swept along like bubbles on a heavin' tumultuous tide, I don't know, nor I don't s'pose anybody duz. But any way, from that day on Miss Flamm has been a different woman. I stayed with her all that night and the next day, she a not leavin' the child's bed for a minute, and we a not gettin' of her to, much as we tried to; eatin' whatever we could make her eat right there by the bedside. And on the 2d day the doctor see a change in the child and she began to roust a little out of that stuper, and in a week's time, she wuz a beginnin' to get well. We stayed on till she wuz out of danger and then we went home. But I see that she wuz to be trusted with her children after that. She dismissed that nurse, got a good motherly one, who she said would help her take care of the children for the future; only help her, for she should have the oversight of 'em herself, always. The hired girl told me (Miss Flamm never mentioned it to me), and she wuz glad enough of it, that the dog wuz dead. It died the day the little girl wuz hurt. The hired girl said the doctor had told Miss Flamm, that it couldn't live long. But it wuzn't till we wuz on our way home that I found out one of the last eppisodes in that dog's life. You see, sick as that dog wuz, it wuz bound to bark at my pardner as long as it had a breath left in its body. And Josiah told me in confidence (and it must be kep', it is right that it should be); he said jest after he had knelt down and began to pray he felt that dog climb up onto his heels, and pull at his coat tails, and growl a low mad growl, and naw at 'em. He tried to nestle round and get it off quietly but no, there it stood right onto Josiah Allen's heels, and hung on, and tugged at them coat-tails, and growled at 'em that low deep growl, and shook 'em, as if determined to worry 'em off. And there my companion wuz. He couldn't show his feelin's in his face; he had got to keep his face all right towards Miss Flamm. And his feelin's was rousted up about her, and he wuz a wantin', and knew he wuz expected,