But at this minute—­and it wuz lucky my eppisode had come to an end, for if there is anything I hate it is to be broke up in eppisodin’—­my Josiah returned.

In front of Horticultural Hall is a flower terrace for out-door exhibits of loveliness, and then in front of that is the beautiful, cool water, and down in the centre of that, below the terrace, and its beauty, and vases, is a boat-landin’.  The water did look dretful good to me after lookin’ at so many gorgeous colors—­more than any rainbow ever boasted of, enough sight—­it did seem good to me to look down into them cool waters; and I sez to my pardner—­

“The water does look dretful good and sort o’ satisfyin’, don’t it, Josiah?”

A bystander a-standin’ by sez, “I guess if you would go into the south pavilion here and look at the display of wine you wouldn’t talk about lookin’ at water; why,” sez he, “to say nothin’ of the display of our own country, the exhibit of wine from France, Italy, Spain, and Germany is enough to set a man half crazy to look at.”

I looked at him coldly—­his nose wuz as red as fire—­and I sez, “I hain’t got no call to look at wine.

[Illustration:  His nose wuz as red as fire.]

“I wouldn’t give a cent a barrel for the best there is there, if I had got to consoom it myself.

“Though,” sez I, reasonably, “I wouldn’t object to havin’ a pint bottle on’t to keep in the house in case of sickness, or to make jell, or sunthin’.

“But I will not go and encourage the makin’ of such quantities as there is there, I will not encourage ’em in makin’ that show.”

He looked mad, and sez he, “I guess they won’t stop their show because you won’t go and see it.”

“Probable not,” sez I; but sez I, real eloquent, “I will hold up my banner afoot or on horseback.”

And then I sez to my husband, with quite a good deal of dignity—­

“Less proceed to the Wooded Island, Josiah Allen.”

But alas! for Josiah’s hope of seein’ sunthin’ plain and simple.  When we got there, that seemed to be the very central garden of the earth for flowers, and beauty, and bloom, and there it wuz that we see the most gorgeous rainbow—­all made of pansies—­glow and dazzlement.

The island contains seventeen acres, and it stands on such a rise of ground, that every buildin’ on the Fair ground can be seen plain.

In the centre of the south end wuz the rose garden, where the choicest and most beautiful roses from all over the world bloom in their glowin’ richness.

When I thought how much store I had sot by one little monthly rose a-growin’ in a old earthen teapot of Mother Allen’s—­and when it wuz all blowed out I had reason to be proud on’t—­

But jest think of seein’ fifty thousand of the choicest roses in the world, all a-blowin’ out at one time.

Why, I had a immense number of emotions.

I thought of the ancient rose gardens we read of, and Solomon’s Songs, and most everything.