Samantha at Saratoga [69]
what wuz a goin' on round 'em. And down it come! And there it wuz put down in the paper, "A mysterious dispensation of Providence." Providence slandered shamefully and I will say so with my last breath. What are mothers made for if it haint to take care of the little ones God gives 'em. What right have they to contoggle themselves up in a way that they can see their children die before 'em, and they not able to put out a hand to save 'em. Why, a savage mother is better than this, a heathen one. And if I had my way, there would be a hull shipload of savages and heathens brought over here to teach and reform our too civilized wimmen. I'd bring 'em over this very summer. Wall, we sot there on the stoop for quite a spell and then we wended our way down to the highway, and as we arrived there my companion proposed that we should take a carriage and go to the Toboggen slide. Sez I, "Not after where we have been today, Josiah Allen." And he sez, "Why not?" And I sez, "It wouldn't look well, after visitin' the folks we have jest now." "Wall," sez he, "they won't speak on't to anybody, if that is what you are afraid on, or sense it themselves." And I see in a minute, he had some sense on his side, though his words shocked me some at first, kinder jarred aginst some sensitive spot in my nater, jest as pardners will sometimes, however devoted they may be to each other. Yet I see he wuz in the right on't. They wouldn't sense anything about it. And as for us, we wuz in the world of the livin' still, and I still owed a livin' duty to my companion, to make him as happy as possible. And so I sez, mildly, "Wall, I don't know as there is anything wrong in slidin' down hill, Josiah. I s'pose I can go with you." "No," sez he, "there haint nothin' wrong about slidin' down hill unless you strike too hard, or tip over, or sunthin'." So he bagoned to a carriage that wuz passin', and we got into it, and sot sail for the Toboggen slide. We passed through the village. (Some say it is a city, but if it is, it is a modest, retirin' one as I ever see; perfectly unassumin', and don't put on a air, not one.) But howsumever, we passed through it, through the rows and rows of summer tarvens and boardin' houses, good-lookin' ones too; past some good-lookin' private houses -- a long tarven and a pretty red brick studio and rows of summer stores, little nests that are filled up summers, and empty winters, then by some more of them monster big tarvens where some of the 200,000 summer visitors who flock here summers, find a restin' place; and then by the large respectable good-lookin' stores and shops of the natives, that stand solid, and to be depended on summer and winter; by churches and halls, and etc., and good-lookin' houses and then some splendid-lookin' houses all standin' back on their grassy lawns behind some trees, and fountains, and flower beds, etc., etc. Better-lookin' houses, I don't want to see nor broader, handsomer streets. And pretty soon fur away to the east you could see through the trees a glimpse of a glorious landscape, a broad lovely view of hill and valley, bounded by blue mountain tops. It was a fair seen - a fair seen. To be perfectly surrounded by beauty where you, wuz, and a lookin' off onto more. There I would fain have lingered, but time and wagons roll stidily onward, and will not brook delay, nor pause for women to soar over seenery. So we rolled onwards through still more beautiful, and quiet pictures. Pictures of quiet woods and bendin' trees, and a country road windin' tranquilly beneath, up and down gentle hills, and anon a longer one, and then at our feet stood the white walls of a convent, with 2 or 3 brothers, a strollin' along in their long black gowns, and crosses, a readin' some books. I don't know what it wuz, what they wuz a readin' out of their books, or a readin' out of their hearts. Mebby sunthin' kinder sad and serene. Mebby it wuz sunthin' about the gay world of human happiness, and human sorrows, they had turned backs to forever. Mebby it wuz about the other world that they had sot out for