“I spoze that folks thought from our jawin’ so much that we wuz man and wife; and he a yellin’ out acrost the sleeper and kinder cryin’, and I a hollerin’ back to him to ’shet up and go to sleep!’ It is the last time I will ever try to carry a man to his wife; but I spozed when I started with him, he bein’ a perfessor, he would act different!”
“Well,” sez I, in a kind of a soothin’ tone, “I’m real glad you’ve come, Arvilly; it will make the ship seem more like Jonesville, and I know what you have went through.”
“Well,” sez she, “no other livin’ woman duz unless it is you.” She kep’ on thinkin’ of Josiah, but I waved off that idee; I meant her tribulations in the army. And I sez, “You may as well spend your money travelin’ as in any other way.”
“Yes, I love to travel when I can travel with human creeters, and I might as well spend my money for myself as to leave it for my cousins to fight over, and I can pay my way mostly sellin’ my book; and I’ve left my stuff so it won’t spile.”
“Where is Waitstill Webb?” sez I.
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“Oh, Waitstill has gone back to be a nurse––she’s gone to the Philippines.”
Sez I gladly, “Then we shall see her, Arvilly.”
“Yes,” sez she, “and that wuz one reason that I wanted to go, though she’s acted like a fool, startin’ off agin to help the govermunt. I’ve done my last work for it, and I told her so; I sez, if see the govermunt sinkin’ in a mud hole I wouldn’t lift a finger to help it out. I always wanted to see China and Japan, but never spozed I should.”
“It is a strange Providence, indeed, Arvilly, that has started us both from Jonesville to China. But,” sez I, “let me make you acquainted with the rest of our party,” and I introduced ’em. Josiah wuz embracin’ Tommy and bein’ embraced, and he had seen ’em all but Robert Strong.
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CHAPTER VII
In a few minutes the great ship begun to breathe hard, as if tryin’ to git up strength for the move, and kinder shook itself, and gin a few hoarse yells, and sot off, seemin’ to kinder tremble all over with eagerness to be gone. And so we sot sail, but ship and shore and boundless water all looked beautiful and gay to me. What a change, what a change from the feelin’s I had felt; then the cold spectral moonlight of loneliness rested on shore and Golden Gate, now the bright sun of love and happiness gilded ’em with their glorious rays, and I felt well. Well might Mr. Drummond say, “Love is the greatest thing in the world.” And as I looked on my precious pardner I bethought fondly, no matter how little a man may weigh by the steelyards, or how much a Arvilly may make light on him, if Love is enthroned in his person he towers up bigger than the hull universe. And so, filled with joy radiatin’ from the presence of the best beloved, and under the cloudless sunshine of that glorious day, I set out on my Trip Abroad. Yes, I wuz once more embarked on that great watery world that lays all round us and the continents, and we can’t help ourselves.
And the days follered one another along in Injin file, trampin’ silently and stiddily on, no matter where we be or what we do. So we sailed on and on, the ship dashin’ along at I don’t know how many knots an hour. Probably the knots would be enough if straightened out to make a hull hank of yarn, and mebby more. Part of the time the waves dashin’ high. Mebby the Pacific waves are a little less tumultous and high sweepin’ than the Atlantic, a little more pacific as it were, but they sway out dretful long, and dash up dretful 83 high, bearin’ us along with ’em every time, up and down, down and up, and part of the time our furniture and our stomachs would foller ’em and sway, too, and act. The wind would soar along, chasin’ after us, but never quite ketchin’ us; sometimes abaft, sometimes in the fo’castle, whatever that may be.
And under uz wuz the great silent graveyard, the solemn, green aisles, still and quiet, and no knowin’ how soon we should be there, too, surrounded by the riches of that lost world of them that go down in ships, but not doin’ us any good. Only a board or two and some paint between us and destruction (but then I don’t know as we are seperated any time very fur from danger, earthquakes, tornados and such). And good land! I would tell myself and Josiah, for that matter I’ve known wimmen to fall right out of their chairs and break themselves all up more or less, and fall often back steps and suller stairs and such. But ’tennyrate I felt real riz up as I looked off on the heavin’ billers, and Faith sez to me, “Why should I fear since I sailed with God.” The seas, I am journeying, I told myself with Duty on one side of me and on the other side Josiah, and the sun of Love over all. I got along without any seasickness to speak of, but my pardner suffered ontold agonies––or no, they wuzn’t ontold, he told ’em all to me––yes, indeed!
Tommy “wonnered” what made the big vessel sail on so fast, and what made so much water, where it all come from, and where it wuz all goin’ to. And at night he would lay on his little shelf and “wonner” what the wind wuz sayin’; one night he spoke out kinder in rhyme, sez he: “Grandma, do you know what the wind is sayin?” And I sez:
“No, dear lamb; what is it sayin’?” It has sounded dretful, kinder wild and skairful to me, and so it had to Josiah, I knew by the sithes he had gin. Sez Tommy, it sez:
“Don’t be afraid my little child,
God will take care of you all the while.”
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And I sez, “Thank you, Tommy, you’ve done me good.” And I noticed that Josiah seemed more contented and dropped off to sleep real sweet, though he snored some. Sometimes Tommy would “wonner” what seasickness wuz like, if it wuz any like measles, but didn’t find out, for he wuzn’t sick a day, but wandered about the great ship, happy as a king, making friends everywhere, though Robert Strong remained his chief friend and helper. Dorothy wuz more beautiful than ever it seemed to me, a shadow of paleness over her sweet face peeping out from the white fur of her cunning little pink hood, makin’ her look sweeter than ever. There wuz two or three handsome young men on board who appreciated her beauty, and I spoze the gold setting of her charming youth. But Miss Meechim called on Robert Strong to help protect her, which he did willingly enough, so fur as I could see, by payin’ the most devoted attention to her himself, supplying every real or fancied want, reading to and with her, and walking up and down the deck with her, she leanin’ on his arm in slippery times.
“Dear boy!” said Miss Meechim, “how lovely he is to me. He would much rather spend his time with the men in the smoking and reading room, but he has always been just so; let me express a wish and he flies to execute it. He knows that I wouldn’t have Dorothy marry for all the world, and had it not been for his invaluable help I fear that she would have fallen a prey to some man before this.”
“She is a pretty girl,” sez I, “pretty as a pink rosy.”
“Yes,” sez she, “she is a sweet girl and as good as she is beautiful.”
There wuz the usual variety of people on the ship.––Page 84.
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There was the usual variety of people on the ship. The rich family travelin’ with children and servants and unlimited baggage; the party of school girls with the slim talkative teacher in spectacles, tellin’ ’em all the pints of interest, and stuffin’ ’em with knowledge gradual but constant; the stiddy goin’ business men and the fashionable ones; the married flirt and the newly married bride and husband, sheepish lookin’ but happy; old wimmen and young ones; young men and old ones; the sick passenger confined to his bed, but devourin’ more food than any