Samantha at the World's Fair eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 532 pages of information about Samantha at the World's Fair.

Samantha at the World's Fair eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 532 pages of information about Samantha at the World's Fair.

And as hot and beat out as I might be, I would always find that pretty girl a-standin’, cool and fresh, and dretful pretty, by the old bar post, with her orburn hair pushed back from her flushed cheeks, and a look in her deep brown eyes, and on her exquisite lips, that always put me dretfully in mind of somebody, and who it wuz I could not for my life tell.

Josiah used to take a book out of the bookcase, and read.  Not one glance did I ever give, or did I ever let Josiah Allen give to them other rooms that opened out of this, nor into anything or anywhere, only jest that bookcase.  We didn’t abuse our priveleges; no, indeed!

And Josiah would lean back dretful well-feelin’, and thinkin’ in his heart that it wuz his good looks that wuz wanted to embellish the room, and I kep on a wonderin’ inside of myself what made Mr. Freeman so oncommon good to us, till one day he told us sunthin’ that made it plainer to us, and Josiah Allen’s pride had a fall (which, if his pride hadn’t been composed of materials more indestructible than iron or gutty perchy, it would have been broke to pieces long before, so many times and so fur had it fell).

But Mr. Freeman one day showed us a picture of his mother in a little velvet case.  And, sez he to me—­

“You look like her; I saw it the first time I met you.”

And I do declare the picture did look like me, only mebby—­mebby I say, she wuzn’t quite so good-lookin’.

Yes, I did look like his mother.  And then I see the secret of his interest in, and his kindness to me and mine.

And Mr. Freeman wuz raised up in my mind as many as 2 notches, and I don’t know but 3 or 4.  To think that he loved his mother’s memory so well as to be so kind for her sake, for the sake of a fleetin’ likeness, to be so good to another female.

But Josiah Allen looked meachin’.  I gin him a dretful meanin’ look.  I didn’t say nothin’, only jest that look, but it spoke volumes and volumes, and my pardner silently devoured the volumes, and, as I say, looked meachin’ for pretty near a quarter of a hour.

And that is a long time for a man to look smut, and conscience-struck.  It hain’t in ’em to be mortified for any length of time, as is well known by female pardners.

But we kep on a-goin’.  And every single time I went into that beautiful room, whether it wuz broad daylight or lit up by gas, every single time the face of that tall slender girl, a-standin’ there so calm by the crystal brook, would look so natural to me, and so sort o’ familiar, that I almost ketched myself sayin’—­

“Good-evenin’, my dear,” to it, which would have been perfectly ridiculous in me, and the very next thing to worshippin’ a graven image.

And what made it more mysterious to me, and more like a circus (a solemn, high-toned circus), wuz, to ketch ever and anon, and I guess oftener than that, Mr. Freeman’s eyes bent on that pretty young face with a look as if he too recognized her, and wanted to talk to her.  And some, too, he looked as if she wuz dead and buried, and he wuz a-mournin’ deep for her, very deep.

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Samantha at the World's Fair from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.