And then the female struck a sort of a graceful attitude and sez, "I am Evangeline Allen Piddock."
You could have knocked me down with a hair-pin, and my poor Josiah wuz also struck almost sensible, and sez he, "Well, we've come!" And the female looked down on him, still holdin' that graceful attitude. But I broke the deadlock that ensued by callin' out from the democrat, I wuz only a little ways off:
"Miss Piddock, let me introduce Josiah to you."
She come forward eagerly and sez with effusion, "Is this Cousin Josiah Allen?" And she shook his hands warmly. "And is this my dear Cousin Samantha?" sez she, approachin' the vehicle and holdin' my hand in both of hers. "Descend from your equipage!" sez she. "Welcome, dear cousins, to Nestle Down!"
"Thank you, Evangeline," sez I, as I slowly backed out of the democrat and alighted down. But my soul wildly questioned me, "Where, where shall we nestle down?" For I couldn't see any place. And after we got our things off and wuz visitin' my soul still kep' up this questionin', "When, when shall I nestle down? And where?" For the outside of the house wuzn't a circumstance to the inside; everything that could be out of place wuz, and everything that could be dirty lived up to its full privileges in that respect. The hired girl, a shiftless critter, I could see, wuz sick with nooraligy, but appeared with a mussy, faded out, calico wrapper and a yeller flannel tied round her face, and inquired what she should git for supper. Evangeline wuz at that minute describing to me a statute she had in her mind to sculp, but she left off and gin the girl some orders, and then kep' on with her talk.
She sez, "My mind revels in the heroic, the romantic,
