And there wuz a display of insects, bees and everything relating to honey and wax.  Silk worms and their work and products, cochineal and all kinds of useful insects and their work, and hurtful insects and methods of destroying them, and so on and so on and so on.  I couldn’t tell all I see if I should try a week, and what we see wuzn’t a drop to a fountain.  The immense buildin’ is divided off into streets and blocks jest like a city, and you might roam through them streets a month and find sunthin’ new and interestin’ every day and hour.

Well, from there we went to Horticultural Hall, or we had started for there when Josiah made a observation about the size of a potato he had seen in Agricultural Hall, that I had to in the cause of Truth and Duty object to, the size he mentioned was a twelve-quart pail, and I said: 

“Josiah, take off a few quarts from that pail.  For the good of your soul take off two quarts anyway.”

“Not a quart!” sez he, “nor a spunful.”

Well, we had words about it, Blandina as usual siding with her uncle, and it ended with their goin’ back with a string, which Josiah produced from his pocket to measure it, I offering to stay by a certain statute till they got back.  And as I stood there lookin’ at the stiddy passin’ crowd and philosophizin’ on it as my nater is, I wuz accosted by a strange lookin’ man, as I took it to be (I say It for reasons named hereafter).

“Josiah Allen’s wife, I am happy to meet you; I knew you at once though it is so long since we met.”  In the meantime it had gripped holt of my hand with fervor.

I drawed back and sez, “Sir!” (I thought it favored that gender most) “Sir, I think you are mistook.”

“Oh, no, you are Josiah Allen’s wife; I am Dr. Mary Walker.”

“Oh!” sez I in a relieved axent, as I returned the warm grasp of her hand, “I am glad to meet you, Mary.”

She’s done some good things in her life, takin’ care of poor wounded soldiers, etc., and I honored her for ’em.  Though I don’t approve of her costoom, as I told her in the conversation that ensued, after we’d talked considerable about the Fair and kindred matters.  For I see as we stood there behavin’ ourselves, curious eyes wuz bent on her and onbecomin’ epithets hurled at her by them who knowed no better.  She seemed oblivious to ’em, but I asked her if she wouldn’t rather wear less noticeable attire.

And she said she cared not for ribald remarks as long as her motives wuz pure.

And I said we could carry pure motives under a headdress of peacock’s feathers standin’ up straight over our foreheads, but wouldn’t it be better to carry ’em under a bunnet?

“No better!” sez she.  “Not a whit.”

“Well, easier?” sez I.  “Wouldn’t it be easier for ourselves and bystanders?”

Sez she, “I care not for Public Opinion!”

“But,” sez I, “as long as we’ve got to live clost neighbor to Public Opinion wouldn’t it be easier for us to fall in with his idees a little on comparatively unimportant things than to keep him riled up all the time?  It seems to me that if folks want to impress their personality on the world it is better to do it by noble deeds and words than by startlin’ costooms.”