第15章 THE CHERITY OF THE JONESVILLIANS(5)

But it wuzn't nothin' only a excuse, for the object has never been found yet that she thought wuz a worthy one.Why, she wouldn't give a cent towards painting the Methodist steeple, and if that haint a high and worthy object, I don't know what is.Why, our steeple is over seventy feet from the ground.But she wouldn't help us a mite -- not a single cent.

Take such folks as them and the object never suits 'em.They won't come right out and tell the truth that they are too stingy and mean to give away a cent, but they will always put the excuse onto the object -- the object don't suit 'em.

Why, I do believe it is the livin' truth that if the angel Gabriel wuz the object, if he wuz in need and we wuz gittin' up a pound party for him -- she would find fault with Gabriel, and wouldn't give him a ounce of provisions.

Yes, I believe it -- I believe they would tost their heads and say, they always had had their thoughts about anybody that tooted so loud -- it might be all right but it didn't look well, and would be apt to make talk.Or they would say that he wuz shiftless and extravagant a loafin' round in the clouds, when he might go to work -- or that he might raise the money himself by selling the feathers offen his wings for down pillers -- or some of the rest of the Gabriel family might help him -- or something, or other -- anyway they would propose some way of gittin' out of givin' a cent to Gabriel.I believe it as much as I believe Ilive and breathe; and so does Josiah.

Wall, Miss Mooney wouldn't give anything because she thought Jane Smedley wuzn't so sick as she thought she wuz; she said "she was spleeny."And I told Miss Mooney that when a woman was sick enough to die, Ithought she ort to be called sick.

But Miss Mooney wouldn't give up, and insisted to the very last that Miss Smedley wuz hypoey and spleeny -- and thought she wuz sicker than she really wuz.And she held her head and her nose up in a very disagreeable and haughty way, and said as I left, that she never could bear to help spleeny people.

Wall, all that forenoon did I traipse through the street and not one cent did I get for the Smedleys, only Miss Gowdey said she would bring a cabbage and Miss Deacon Peedick and Miss Ingledue partly promised a squash apiece.And I mistrusted that they give 'em more to please me than anything else.

Wall, I wuz clean discouraged and beat out, and so I told Josiah.

But he encouraged me some by sayin':

"Wall, I could have told you jest how it would be," and, "You would have done better, Samantha, to have been to home a cookin'

for your own famishin' family." And several more jest such inspirin' remarks as men will give to the females of their families when they are engaged in charitable enterprises.

But I got a good, a very good dinner, and it made me feel some better, and then I haint one to give up to discouragements, anyway.

So I put on a little better dress for after noon, and my best bonnet and shawl, and set sail again after dinner.

And if I ever had a lesson in not givin' up to discouragements in the first place I had it then.For whether it wuz on account of the more dressy look of 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 Itackled 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.