Page:Samantha on Children's Rights.djvu/266

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emolyent to apply to 'em. As he helped himself to the third helpin' of nice, tender chicken with accompaniments of creamed potatoes and toast and coffee, good as I can make a most, his mean relaxed and he put on a less madder look, and as he took the fourth slice of some good cake and jelly, his axent wuz almost tender as he sez, "Well, Samantha, my dear, when had we better go down and jine the party?"

"There hain't any party to jine now, but if you feel like it we will go down pretty soon and walk round the grounds and along the lake till the company comes, and," sez I, "if I had mistrusted before I left home that this thing didn't begin till after bedtime, I wouldn't have stirred a step, and wouldn't, anyway, if it hadn't been for that Heathen, but sence we are here we might as well stay and see some of it, and then go home."

"Yes," sez he, "it won't be no worse than watch meetin', anyway."

So this programmy wuz carried out by us. We walked round the grounds, by this time all alive with men and wimmen and waiters runnin' every which way, puttin' up lamps and lanterns and awnin's, and fixin' booths and seats, etc., etc., and I thought to myself how much that Heathen is havin' done for him, and I wondered if he realized it and appreciated it as he ort to.

We walked round till we got tired and then sot down on a bench by the lake shore, and, bein' tired, I d'no but we fell into a drowse, 'tennyrate we rested real good. The gentle swash of the waves on the pebbly beach sounded sort o' soothin' and refreshin', jinin' in as it did with the soft night wind that wuz blowin' in from the west. Pretty soon the sun went down into the lake that looked as if we might walk away on it clear into Glory