Samantha at the St. Louis Exposition

kitchen stove and the caldron kettle in the woodhouse, and het water bilin' hot and filled the empty tank, Josiah groani

ld see. When agin that loud angry roar begun in the suller, and agin Ury ketched Philury round the waist, for she wanted to stand her ground, but he yanked her down stairs and half way acrost the

ailed it out, our ranks bein' reinforced anon by the returnin' Ury and Philury, and anon furder by Josiah, Royal, and Jabez. Jabez didn't boast quite so

nd then with a fearful roar the volume of water would mount up and pour into the spare room and drizzle down into the settin' room below, takin' off the plasterin' in spite of our very best efforts to bail it out. Over and over agin wuz the wearisome and soul tuckerin' job carried out, varied every time by Ury ketchin' Philur

very time it would go right the next time, but said it with feathers droopin', so to speak, more humble like a

ied up more'n thirty or forty twelve quart pails. But yet I pitied him. Well, that also thundered and deluged and guyzered out onto the floor accompanied by the drips and d

leg!" And Jabez jawed back again, and Josiah sez, "I'll make you pay heavy damages for this job, and I've as good a

"This is your freedom from labor-two-pails-a-year job! one hundred pails of water have I lugged upstairs to-night if I have a pint! Now," sez he, makin' towards him, "do yo

h the night. In the mornin' a sorry seen greeted us, coldness, discomfort, broken plasterin' and dirt, and no prospect to all appearance of havin' any better times. The only

"Jabez lay awake all night studyin' on it and he knows now where he made the mistake, he pinted

ls, vowed that Jabez should never step his foot into the hous

storm, and a hour won't be much anyway. If we've stood all this

or a jag of maple, I won't see him, I dassent, f

e and tinkered and hammered and pounded and then sa

now like c

ent, for this time the noise wuz so skairful that when Ury ketched Philury round the waist and absc

barn before I remembered myself and regained my faculties, so to spea

victims to the bilin' flood. Well, we let the fire go down agin and cowered over the kitchen stove that day, and agin went shiverin' to bed. That night the weather moderated, and with a low fire in the furnace, and the heat from the kitchen stove, we kep' middlin' warm. We cleaned up the plaster, mopped the floor and wuz comparitively comfortable for three days

e angry loud roar and the water splurgin' out over our heads and drizzlin' down through the laths in the next room. Even as I spoke Rosy come down sta

pale light of a star shinin' out over a wild western tornado. But before I could reply Ury come runnin' down stairs holdin' Philury, faithful critter that he wuz, and Josiah yelled at him: "Do you

bsolutely sure now he knew what ailed it, it wuz the little piece of pipe that led to the tank, it wuz set in the wrong place, it would take about twenty minutes to fix it so it

etin' house, to let Jabez have this sole chance, and I showed this note

m live for when he wuz a babe? She is to the bottom of it, if it hadn't been for her lettin' him live

and fall on him and demolish him in his anger. But all the difference his work made it seemed as if the noise wuz a little louder and the flood more tumultious and rushin' if it could be tumultiouser a

the yard, and wuz I not glad to see the manly form and calm quiet face of Royal Nelson. After he drove his handsome span of grays into the horse ba

in about us wuz mebby not too dear a price to pay for their future happiness. The first thing Royal and Ury did, Josiah helpin' 'em, wuz to take out the furnace and pipes, the hull caboodle on 'em, and then went over to Jonesville and bought a new furnace and got a good r

genial warmth made the place seem almost like Heaven compared to what it had been. The next day a man come and plastered overhead, Ury and Philury helped clean the floors and

y versey went home, Royal carryin' her in his new covered buggy, drawed by them two handsome gray horses. They wuz engaged

kest tribulations. Rosy's and Royal's happiness wuz enough in itself to pay me abundantly for my tribulations. And then my settin' room new plaste

and how I ort to forgit the troubles o

ah Allen. He hadn't mentioned it for days and the children and I wuz full of hope, it wuz

' heard of our afflictions, had let Jabez go on with his work the very next day after he finished here. And the Perpetually Gushing Hot Water Tank wuz

he hot water goin' acrost the room to the kitchen sink as he meant to have it, it jest squirted right up into the air b

cted onto 'em that three of the little children wuz scalded most to-death as they sot on the floor readin' Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress." And Luman, bald-headed, too, the fiery flood descended

of spazzum. He bein' a good man who wouldn't swear, or rare round kep in his feelin's more. The children got over it before he did, bad as they wuz scalded, they screamed and yelled and l

to use both hands, and bein' smart and quick witted, she put the coal scuttle on bottom side up, and though blinded by it and some scalded, she made out to turn the fury of it out through the kitchen winder where it st

ecute Jabez, bein' such a good man, and how I honor him for it, how I honor him for not actin' and swearin'. The doctor may say what he wants to, he wuz noble to be

f inventions. He hired out for a year the very next day after the eppisode, to work for twenty dollars a month on a farm, house rent, wood, and cow furnished. Kellup Wind is goin' to live with

poor mortals! that plant the flowers of their happiness on earthly sile, they mu

n my frame in my warm peaceful settin' room often li

t his tin trunk where he'd carefuly stored away the plans of the St. Jo

an have my mind clear n

dum work has set

waters of disappintment trickled over my hopes and drownded 'em out. Had I got to go through another siege o

st about it than I had ever seen him. For it did seem as if his deep ambitions dammed up for a time by furnaces and Jabezeses, had broke lo

gin: "Mother, it must be

d sez to 'em: "How

"If I spozed I could git him to play on a accordeon, she kinder thought that

is mind offen that plan if you gin him

ould all be the town's talk, and it wou

row knit in deep thought and s

r, the prices them livin' statutes asked Josiah for bein' whitewashed, wuz sunthin' perfectly exorbi

eady to fall. And of course I stood ready and follered it up with eloquent arguments, tenderness and the very best of vittles. Neither on 'em could carried the day alone, but all togethe

a settled melancholy hovered down onto him and draped him like a black mantilly

atnip with a smile on my lip but deep forebodin' in my mind, and the same with thoroughwert. But

n I had ever told from similar occasions. Deacon Henzy loves hard cider and keeps a kag on

ost mouthed as I am. But I will merely say that when they got back their two breaths didn't smell as two deacon's breaths ort to smell. But I

-it hain't best, only simply sayin' that Josiah took an empty pint fruit can with him that mornin' when he went over to the Deacon's to start, and I never inquired what he t

eerfulness or happiness for himself or me, only disappintment and shagrin for I felt if I didn't us

n he would side pork, and agin I felt baffled, and rememberin' the fruit can, a element of guilt also mingled with the baffle. Biled vittles with a bag puddin' which he

ight run to. At last in spite of Josiah's onwillingness I sent for Doctor Bombus. He come and took his wrist

mptoms, all of which Josiah answered snappishly, the examination over, the doctor walked the floor back

ustr

able difficulties but I would recommend a temporary

s in this state gits changes enough, from torrid to zero in twen

ing Josiah's muttering impatience, "I can but recapitulate my former

oning me out into the hall as he did so. And then he

rcumstances that had caused his sickness." But he wuz a Homeopath and believed in takin

you're well wil

make you well w

t he informed me in words more'n two inches long that he could do nothing