Samantha at Saratoga [97]
to wits that are not collected firm and sound, and cemented by strong common sense. The reason why the Roller Coaster don't scatter such folkses wits is supposed to be because, they don't go on to it. Ardelia looked as if her idees wuz scattered to the four pints of the compass. As for Bial, it seemed to me, as if he never had none to scatter. But he spoke out to once, and said, he didn't care to ride on 'em. (Bial Flamburg's strong pint, is his truthfulness, I can't deny that.) Ardelia wouldn't own up but what she enjoyed it dretfully. You know folks are most always so. If they partake of a pleasure and recreation that is doubtful in its effects, they will always say, what a high extreme of enjoyment they enjoyed a partakin' of it. Curius, haint it? Wall, Josiah had been anticipatin' so much enjoyment from the exercise, that I didn't make no move to prevent him from embarkin' on it -- though it looked hazardous and dangerous in the extreme. I looked down on the long valleys, and precipitous heights of the assents and desents, in which my pardner wuz so soon to be assentin' and desentin' and I trembled, and wuz jest about to urge him to forego his diversion, for the sake of his pardner's happiness, but as I turned to expostulate with him, I see the beautiful, joyous, hopeful look on his liniment, and the words fell almost dead on my tongue. I felt that I had ruther suffer in silence than to say one word to mar that bliss. Such is the love of pardners, and such is some of the agonies they suffer silently to save from woundin' the more opposite one. No, I said not a word; but silently sat, and see him makin' his preparations to embark. He see the expression onto my face, and he too wuz touched by it. He never said one word to me about embarkin' too, which I laid to two reasons. One wuz my immovable determination not to embark on the voyage, which I had confided to him before. And the other wuz, the added expenses of the journey if he took his companion with him. No, I felt that he thought it wuz better we should part temporarily than that the expenditure should be doubled. But as the time drew near for him to leave me, I see by his meen that he felt bad about leavin' me. He realized what a companion I had been to him. He realized the safety and repose he had always found at my side and the unknown dangers he wuz a rushin' into. And he got up and silently shook hands with me. He would have kissed me, I make no doubt, if folks hadn't been a standin' by. He then embarked, and with lightnin' speed wuz bore away from me, as he dissapeared down the desent, his few gray hairs waved back, and as he went over the last precipitus hill, I heard him cry out in agonizin' axents, "Samantha! Samantha!" And I rushed forwards to his rescue but so lightnin' quick wuz their movements that I met my companion a comin' back, and I sez, the first thing, "I heard your cry, Josiah! I rushed to save you, my dear pardner." "Yes," sez he, "I spoke out to you, to call your attention to the landscape, over the woods there!" I looked at him in a curious, still sort of a way, and didn't say nothin' only just that look. Why, that man looked all trembly and broke up, but he kep' on. "Yes, it wuz beautiful and inspirin', and I knew you wuz such a case for landscapes, I thought I would call your attention to it." Sez I, coldly, "You wuz skairt, Josiah Allen, and you know it." "Skairt! the idee of me bein' skairt. I wuz callin' your attention to the beauty of the view, over in the woods." "What wuz it?" sez I, still more coldly; for I can't bear deceit, and coverin' up. "Oh, it wuz a house, and a tree, and a barn, and things." "A great seen to scream about," sez I. "It would probable have stood there till you got back, but you couldn't seem to wait." "No, I have noticed that you always wanted to see things to once. I have noticed it in you." "I could most probable have waited till you got back, to see a house and a tree." And in still more -- frigid axents, I added, "Or a barn." And I sez, kinder sarkastikly, "You enjoyed your ride, I s'pose."