Samantha at Saratoga [19]
my bonnet and shawl -- or whether it wuz that folks felt cleverer in the afternoon -- or whether it wuz that I had gone to the more discouragin' places in the forenoon, and the better ones in the afternoon -- or whether it wuz that I tackled on the subject in a better way than I had tackled 'em -- whether it wuz for any of these reasons, or all of 'em or somethin' -- anyway my luck turned at noon, 12 M., and all that afternoon I had one triumph after another -- place after place did I collect pound or pounds as the case may be (or collected the promises of 'em, I mean). I did splendid, and wuz prospered perfectly amazing -- and I went home feelin' as happy and proud as a king or a zar. And the next Tuesday evenin' we had the pound party. They concluded to have it to our house. And Thomas Jefferson and Maggie, and Tirzah Ann and Whitefield came home early in the afternoon to help trim the parlor and setin' room with evergreens and everlastin' posies, and fern leaves. They made the room look perfectly beautiful. And they each of 'em, the two childern and their companions, brought home a motto framed in nice plush and gilt frames, which they put up on each side of the settin' room, and left them there as a present to their pa and me. They think a sight of us, the childern do -- and visey versey, and the same. One of 'em wuz worked in gold letters on a red back-ground "Bear Ye One Another's Burdens." And the other wuz "Feed my Lambs." They think a sight on us, the childern do -- they knew them mottoes would highly tickle their pa and me. And they did seem to kinder invigorate up all the folks that come to the party. And they wuz seemingly legions. Why, they come, and they kept a comin'. And it did seem as if every one of 'em had tried to see who could bring the most. Why, they brought enough to keep the Smedleys comfortable all winter long. It wuz a sight to see 'em. It wuz a curious sight, too, to set and watch what some of the folks said and done as they brought their pounds in. I had to be to the table all the time a'most, for I wuz appointed a committee, or a board -- I s'pose it would be more proper to call myself a board, more business like. Wall, I wuz the board appointed to lay the things on -- to see that they wuz all took care of, and put where they couldn't get eat up, or any other casuality happen to 'em. And I declare if some of the queerest lookin' creeters didn't come up to the table and talk to me. There wuz lots of 'em there that I didn't know, folks that come from Zoar, Jim Smedley's old neighborhood. There wuz a long table stretched acrost one end of the settin' room, and I stood behind it some as if I wuz a dry goods merchant or grocery, and some like a preacher. And the women would come up to me and talk. There wuz one woman who got real talkative to me before the evenin' wuz out. She said her home wuz over two miles beyond Zoar. She had a young babe with her, a dark complexioned babe, with a little round black head, that looked some like a cannon ball. She said she had shingled the child that day about eight o'clock in the forenoon; she talked real confidential to me. She said the babe had sights of hair, and she told her husband that day that if he would shingle the babe she would come to the party and if he wouldn't shingle it she wouldn't come. It seemed they had had a altercation on the subject; she wanted it shingled and he didn't. But it seemed that ruther than stay away from the party -- he consented, and shingled it. So they come. They brought a eight pound loaf of maple sugar and two dozen eggs. They did well. Then there wuz another woman who would walk her little girl into the bedroom every few minutes, and wet her hair, and comb it over, and curl it on her fingers. The child had a little blue flannel dress on, with a long plain waist, and a long skirt gethered on full all round. Her hair lay jest as smooth and slick as glass all the time, but five times did she walk her off, and go through with that performance. She brought ten yards of factory cloth, and a good woollen