Samantha at Saratoga [43]
wuz blue, some the color of my Josiah's. But alas! I felt that though some comforted and edified by his talk, still, my heart was not there, not there in that double buggy with 2 seats, but wuz afur off with my pardner. I felt that Josiah Allen wuz a carryin' my heart with him wherever he wuz a goin'. Curious, haint it? Now you may set and smile, and talk, and seem to be enjoyin' yourself first-rate, with agreeable personages all around you, and you do enjoy yourself with that part of your nater. But with it all, down deep under the laughs, and the bright words, the comfort you get out of the answerin' laughs, the gay talk, under it all is the steady consciousness that the real self is fur away, the heart, the soul is fur away, held by some creeter whether he be high, or whether he be low, it don't matter -- there your heart is, a goin' towards happiness, or a travellin' towards pain as the case may be -- curious, haint it? Wall, Ezra and Druzilla wanted to go to the Sulphur Springs way beyend Saratoga Lake, and as the Deacon wuz agreeable, and I also, we sot out for it, though, as we all said, it wuz goin' to be a pretty long and tegus journey for a hot day. But we went along the broad, beautiful highway, by the high, handsome gates of the Racing Park, down, down, by handsome houses and shady woods, and fields of bright-colored wild flowers on each side of the road, down to the beautiful lake, acrost it over the long bridge, and then into the long, cool shadows of the bendin' trees that bend over the road on each side, while through the green boughs, jest at our side we could ketch a sight of the blue, peaceful waters, a lyin' calm and beautiful jest by the side of us -- on, on, through the long, sheltered pathway, out into the sunshine for a spell, with peaceful fields a layin' about us, and peaceful cattle a wanderin' over 'em, and then into the shade agin, till at last we see a beautiful mountin', with its head held kinder high, crowned with ferns and hemlocks, and its feet washed by the cool water of the beautiful lake. The shadows of this mountin', tree crowned, lay on the smooth, placid wave, and a white sail boat wuz a comin' round the side on't, and floatin' over the green, crystal branches, and golden shadows. It wuz a fair seen, seen for a moment, and then away we went into the green shadows of the woods again, round a corner, and here we wuz, at the Sulphur Springs. It wuz a quiet peaceful spot. The house looked pleasant, and so did the Landlord, and Landlady, and we dismounted and walked through a long clean hall, and went out onto a back piazza and sot down. And I thought as I sot there, that I would be glad enough to set there, for some time. Everything looked so quiet and serene. The paths leadin' up the hills in different directions, out into the green woods, looked quiet; the pretty, grassy backyard leadin' down to the water side looked green and peaceable, and around all, and beyond all, wuz the glory of the waters. They lay stretched out beautiful and in heavenly calm, and the sun, which wuz low in the West, made a gold path acrost 'em, where it seemed as if one could walk over only a little ways, into Perfect Repose. The Lake somehow looked like a glowin' pavement, it didn't look like water, but it seemed like broad fields of azure and palest lavender, and pinky grey, and pearly white, and every soft and delicate color that water could be crystalized into. And over all lay the glowin', tender sunset skies -- it wuz a fair seen. And even as I looked on in a almost rapped way, the sun come out from behind a soft cloud, and lay on the water like a pillow of fire jest as I dream that pillow did, that went ahead of my old 4 fathers. The rest on 'em seemed to be more intent on the lemonade with 2 straws in 'em. I didn't make no fuss. They are nice, clean folks, I make no doubt. I wouldn't make no fuss and tell on the hired man -- women of the house have enough to worry 'em anyway. But he had dropped some straws into our tumblers, every one on 'em, I dare presume to say they had been a fillin'