Samantha at Saratoga [27]
and at that very minute, we came up nigh enough to see that right back of the glitterin' language overhead, went a long line of big, glowin' stars of glory way up over our heads, and leadin' down a gentle declivity and Josiah sez, "Let's foller on, and see what it will lead us to, Samantha." "Wall," sez I, "light is pretty generally, safe to foller, Josiah Allen." And so we meandered along, keepin' our 2 heads as nigh as we could under that long glitterin' chain of golden drops that wuz high overhead. And on, and on, we follered it dilligently; till for the land's sake! if it didn't lead us to another one of them openwork buildin's, fixed off beautiful, and we could see inside 2 big wells like, with acres of floor seemin'ly on each side of 'em, and crowds of folks a walkin' about and settin' at little tables and most all of 'em a drinkin'. The water they drinked we could see wuz a bubblin' up and a runnin' over all the time, in big round crystal globes. And up, up on a slender pole way up over one of the wells hung another one of them crystal bowls, a bubblin' over with the water and sparklin'. And ag'in Josiah asked me if I thought Beuler land could compare with it? And I told him ag'in kinder sharp, That I wuzn't a thinkin' about Beuler, I didn't know any sech a place or name. I wish he would call things right. Wall, he wuz so dead tired by this time, that we sot sail homewards; that is, my feet wuz tired, and my bones, but my mind seemed more rousted up than common.
VI. SARATOGA BY DAYLIGHT.
Wall, the next mornin' Josiah and me sallied out middlin' early to explore still further the beauties and grandness of Saratoga. I had on a black straw bonnet, a green vail, and a umbrell. I also have my black alpacky, that good moral dress. My dress bein' such a high mission one choked me. It wuz so high in the neck it held my chin up in a most uncomfortable position, but sort a grand and lofty lookin'. My sleeves wuz so long that more'n half the time my hand wuz covered up by 'em and I wuz too honerable to wear 'em for mits; no, in the name of principle I wore 'em for sleeves, good long sleeves, a pattern to other grandmas that I might meet. I felt that when they see me and see what I wuz a doin' and endurin' fur the cause of female dressin' they would pause in their wild career, and cover up their necks and pull their sleeves down. Wall, it haint to be expected that I could walk along carryin' such hefty emotions as I wuz a carryin', and havin' my neck held high and stiddy both by principle and alpacky, and see to every step I wuz a takin'. And, first I knew, right while I was enjoyin' the loftiest of these emotions, I ketched my foot in sunthin', and most fell down. Instinctively (such is the power of love) I put out my hand and clutched at the arm of my pardner. But he too wuz nearly fallin' at the same time. It wuz a narrow chance that we wuz a runnin' from having our prostrate forms a layin' there outstretched on the highway. Instinctively I sez, "Good land!" and Josiah sez -- wall, it is fur from me to tell what he said, but it ended up with these words, "Dumb them dumb sidewalks anyway;" and sez he, "I should think it would pay to have a little less gilt paint and spangles and orniments overhead and a few more solid bricks unless they want more funerals here, dumb 'em!" Sez I,"Be calm! who be you a talkin' about? who do you want to bring down your fearful curses on, Josiah Allen?" "Why, onto the dumb bricks," sez he. He wuz agitated and I said no more. But four times in that first walk, did I descend almost precipitously into declivities amongst the bricks, risin' simultaneously on similar elevations. It wuz a fearful ordeel and I felt it so, but upheld by principle and Josiah, I moved onwards, through what seemed to be 5 great throngs and masses of people, 3 on the ground and 2 hinted up above us on tall pillows. Them immense places overhead long as the streets, wuz kinder scalloped out and trimmed off handsum with railin's, etc. And on it -- oh! what a vast congregation of heads of all sorts and sizes
VI. SARATOGA BY DAYLIGHT.
Wall, the next mornin' Josiah and me sallied out middlin' early to explore still further the beauties and grandness of Saratoga. I had on a black straw bonnet, a green vail, and a umbrell. I also have my black alpacky, that good moral dress. My dress bein' such a high mission one choked me. It wuz so high in the neck it held my chin up in a most uncomfortable position, but sort a grand and lofty lookin'. My sleeves wuz so long that more'n half the time my hand wuz covered up by 'em and I wuz too honerable to wear 'em for mits; no, in the name of principle I wore 'em for sleeves, good long sleeves, a pattern to other grandmas that I might meet. I felt that when they see me and see what I wuz a doin' and endurin' fur the cause of female dressin' they would pause in their wild career, and cover up their necks and pull their sleeves down. Wall, it haint to be expected that I could walk along carryin' such hefty emotions as I wuz a carryin', and havin' my neck held high and stiddy both by principle and alpacky, and see to every step I wuz a takin'. And, first I knew, right while I was enjoyin' the loftiest of these emotions, I ketched my foot in sunthin', and most fell down. Instinctively (such is the power of love) I put out my hand and clutched at the arm of my pardner. But he too wuz nearly fallin' at the same time. It wuz a narrow chance that we wuz a runnin' from having our prostrate forms a layin' there outstretched on the highway. Instinctively I sez, "Good land!" and Josiah sez -- wall, it is fur from me to tell what he said, but it ended up with these words, "Dumb them dumb sidewalks anyway;" and sez he, "I should think it would pay to have a little less gilt paint and spangles and orniments overhead and a few more solid bricks unless they want more funerals here, dumb 'em!" Sez I,"Be calm! who be you a talkin' about? who do you want to bring down your fearful curses on, Josiah Allen?" "Why, onto the dumb bricks," sez he. He wuz agitated and I said no more. But four times in that first walk, did I descend almost precipitously into declivities amongst the bricks, risin' simultaneously on similar elevations. It wuz a fearful ordeel and I felt it so, but upheld by principle and Josiah, I moved onwards, through what seemed to be 5 great throngs and masses of people, 3 on the ground and 2 hinted up above us on tall pillows. Them immense places overhead long as the streets, wuz kinder scalloped out and trimmed off handsum with railin's, etc. And on it -- oh! what a vast congregation of heads of all sorts and sizes