“Miss!” sez he in a overbearin’ axent, “Miss Walker!” He looked as if he thought it wuz a conspiracy hatched up between us to deceive him.

“Yes,” sez I coolly, “Miss Walker, Dr. Mary Walker.”

“Oh!” sez Josiah, in his surprise and relief not offerin’ to bow or shake hands or nothin’.  “Dear Samantha, I’ve hearn on her.”  And he turned and linked his hand in my other arm so for a minute we looked like three twins perambulatin’ along.  In the meantime I introduced Blandina, who looked bewildered and disappointed.

But Dr. Mary Walker remembered a engagement, and to my relief took leave on us.  And I said a few words to Josiah on the danger and cruelty to me of his hasty opinion and suspicion and in the cause of Duty I mentioned the late eppisode of himself and Uncle Sime, and he seemed mortified and apologetic for as many as three minutes.  But it didn’t last, it never duz with his sect.  And we went on to Horticultural Hall, Josiah on the way reluctantly showin’ me the string he had measured the potato with.  He had to take off several quarts offen that pail, jest as I told him he would, and it made him fraxious.

But he lost his shagrin on the way, it wuz buried under the acres of posies and beautiful shrubs and trees through which we wuz passin’.  Every rare posy you ever hearn on wuz there and them you never dremp on, and trees, some beautiful and familiar, and them with strange and beautiful foliage.  Little lakes, where gold and silver fish played and dotted over with the rarest and loveliest water plants and blossoms, shrubs runnin’ over with bloom, why, there wuz acres of jest rosies.  And in the middle of a six-acre rose garden stood a handsome statute of one of my own sect, Flora by name, jest lookin’ down as if she owned the hull on’t, and wuz proud and happy to be there, as well she might—­she’ll never git into such a delightful spot agin, I don’t believe.

And there wuz pleasant walks windin’ round every which way and once in awhile a big tree shadin’ a cozy nook where you could sit down and enjoy the beauty and perfume.  It wuz good to be there, and it seemed as if the hull world had the same mind about comin’ and wuz all there walkin’ about or else settin’ down enjoyin’ themselves.

Horticultural Buildin’ is big enough and full enough to keep folks busy a month.  Right in the centre, in a place as long as from our house clear over to she that wuz Submit Tewksbury’s and I d’no but furder, wuz a display of fruit, all kinds of fruit of every shape and size that grow in every climate from frigid to torrid, and every country from Greenland to Asia, it wuz a sight.  Then there wuz a display of every kind of horticultural machinery and implements, glass housen, aquariums, ferneries, all sorts of ornaments for gardens.

All kinds of small fruits and how to grow ’em, everything relating to the culture of vines, vineyards, wine cellars.  All sorts of ornamental plants and flowers, models of fruit in wax and plaster, baskets and bunches of flowers, conservatories, all flowering plants from every country and the way to grow them.  All sorts of seeds, grass, fruit trees of all kinds, and the best way to prune and plant them.