第29章 JOSIAH AND SAMANTHA TAKE A LONG WALK(2)

Wall, I wuz jest a thinkin' of this that day after dinner when Josiah proposed a walk, so we sot out.He proposed we should walk through the park, so we did.The air wuz heavenly sweet and that park is one of the most restful and beautiful places this side of Heaven, or so it seemed to us that pleasant afternoon.The music was very soft and sweet that day, sweet with a undertone of sadness, some like a great sorrowful soul in a beautiful body.

The balmy south wind whispered through the branches of the bendin'

trees on the hill where we sot.The light was a shinin' and a siftin' down through the green leaves, in a soft golden haze, and the music seemed to go right up into them shadowy, shinin' pathways of golden misty light, a climbin' up on them shadowy steps of mist and gold, and amber, up, up into the soft depths of the blue overhead - up to the abode of melody and love.

Down the hill in the beautiful little valley, all amongst the fountains and windin' walks and white statutes, and green, green, grass, little children wuz a playin'.Sweet little toddlers, jest able to walk about, and bolder spirits, though small, a trudgin'

about with little canes, and jumpin' round, and havin' a good time.

Little boys and little girls (beautiful creeters, the hull on 'em), for if their faces, every one on 'em, wuzn't jest perfect!

They all had the beauty of childhood and happiness.And crowds of older folks wuz there.And some happy young couples, youths and maidens, wuz a settin' round, and a wanderin' off by themselves, and amongst them we see the form of Ardelia, and a young man by her side.

She wuz a leanin' on the stun railin' that fences in the trout pond.She wuz evidently a lookin' down pensively at the shinin'

dartin' figures of the trout, a movin' round down in the cool waters.

I wuzn't nigh enough to 'em to see really how her companion looked, but even at that distance I recognized a certain air and atmosphere a surroundin' Ardelia that I knew meant poetry.

And Josiah recognized it too, and he sez to me, "We may as well go round the hill and out to the road that way," sez he, (a pointin'

to the way furthest from Ardelia) "and we may as well be a goin'."That man abhors poetry.

Wall, we wandered down into the high way and havin' most the hull afternoon before us, we kinder sauntered round amongst the stores that wuz pretty nigh to where we wuz.There is some likely good lookin' stores kep' by the natives, as they call the stiddy dwellers in Saratoga.Good lookin' respectable stores full of comfort and consolation, for the outer or inner man or woman.(Ispeak it in a mortal sense).

But with the hundred thousand summer dwellers, who flock here with the summer birds, and go out before the swallers go south, there comes lots of summer stores, and summer shops, and picture studios, etc., etc.Like big summer bird's-nests, all full and a runnin' over with summer wealth, to be blowed down by the autumn winds.These shops are full of everything elegant and beautiful and useful.The most gorgeous vases and plaks and chiner ware of every description and color, and books, and jewelry, and rugs, and fans, and parasols, and embroideries, and laces, and etc., etc., etc.

And one shop seemed to be jest full of drops of light, light and sunshine, crystalized in golden, clear, tinted amber.There wuz a young female statute a standin' up in the winder of that store with her hands outstretched and jest a drippin' with the great glowin' amber drops.Some wuz a hangin' over her wings for she was a young flyin' female.And I thought to myself it must be she would fly better with all that golden light a drippin' about her.

Josiah liked her looks first rate.And he liked the looks of some of the pictures extremely.There wuz lots of places all full of pictures.A big collection of water colors, though as Josiah said and well said, How they could get so many colors out of water wuz a mystery to him.

But my choice out of all the pictures I see, wuz a little one called "The Sands of Dee." It wuz "Mary a callin' the cattle home." The cruel treacherus water wuz a risin' about her round bare ankles as she stood there amongst the rushes with her little milk-bucket on her arm.

Her pretty innocent face wuz a lookin' off into the shadows, and the last ray of sunset was a fallin' on her.Maybe it wuz the pity on't that struck so hard as I looked at it, to know that the "cruel, crawli'n foam" wuz so soon to creep over the sweet young face and round limbs.And there seemed to be a shadow of the comin' fate, a sweepin' in on the gray mist behind her.

I stood for some time, and I don't know but longer, a lookin' at it, my Josiah a standin' placidly behind me, a lookin' over my shoulder and enjoyin' of it too, till the price wuz mentioned.

But at that fearful moment, my pardner seized me by the arm, and walked me so voyalently out of that store and down the walk that Idid not find and recover myself till we stood at the entrance to Philey street.

And I wuz so out of breath, by his powerful speed, that she didn't look nateral to me, I hardly recognized Philey.But Josiah hurried me down Philey and wanted to get my mind offen Mary Dee Iknew, for he says as we come under a sign hangin' down over the road, "Horse Exchange," sez he, "What do you say, Samantha, do you spose I could change off the old mair, for a camel or sunthin'?

How would you like a camel to ride?"