We didn’t stay at Saratoga only over one train; but drove through the broad handsome streets, and walked through beautiful Congress Park, and then away to Niagara Falls.
It wuz a bright moonlight night when we stood on the bridge not far from the tarven where we had our sup––dinner. And Dorothy and Miss Meechim wuz almost speechless with awe and admiration, they said “Oh, how sublime! Oh! how grand!” as they see the enormous body of water sweepin’ down that immense distance. The hull waters of the hull chain of Lakes, or inland Seas, sweepin’ down in one great avalanche of water.
I wanted dretfully to go and see the place where the cunning and wisdom of man has set a trap to ketch the power of that great liquid Geni, who has ruled it over his mighty watery kingdom sence the creation, and I spoze always calculated to; throwin’ men about, and drawin’ ’em down into its whirlpool jest like forest leaves or blades of grass.
Who would have dremp chainin’ down that resistless, mighty force and make it bile tea-kettles; and light babys to their trundle beds, and turn coffee mills, and light up meetin’ houses, and draw canal boats and propel long trains of cars. How it roared and took on when the subject wuz first broke to it. But it had to yield, as the twentieth century approached and the millennium drew nigh; men not so very big boned either, but knowin’ quite a lot, jest chained that great roarin’ obstropulous Geni, and has made it do good work. After rulin’ the centuries with a high hand nobody dastin’ to go nigh it, it wuz that powerful and awful in its might and magesty, it has been made to serve, jest as the Bible sez:
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“He that is mightiest amongst you shall be your servant,” or words to that effect.
But it is a sight, I spoze, to see all the performances they had to go through, the hard labor of years and years, to persuade Niagara to do what they had planned for it to do.
But as I say, this great giant is chained by one foot, as it were, and is doin’ good day’s works, and no knowin’ how much more will be put on it to do when the rest of its strength is buckled down to work. All over the great Empire State, mebby, he will have to light the evenin’ lamps, and cook the mornin’ meals, and bring acrost the continent the food he cooks, and turn the mills that grinds the flour to make the bread he toasts, and sow the wheat that makes the flour, and talk for all the millions of people and play their music for them––I d’no what he won’t be made to do, and Josiah don’t, but I spoze it is a sight to see the monster trap they built to hold this great Force. We wanted to go there, but hadn’t time.
But to resoom backwards a spell. Miss Meechim and Dorothy was perfectly awe-struck to see and hear the Falls, and I didn’t wonder.
But I had seen it before with my beloved pardner by my side, and it seemed to me as if Niagara missed him, and its great voice seemed to roar out: “Where is Josiah? Where is Josiah? Why are you here without him? Swish, swash, roar, roar, Where is Josiah? Where? Roar! Where?”
Oh, the emotions I had as I stood there under the cold light of the moon, cold waters rushin’ down into a cold tomb; cold as a frog the hull thing seemed, and full of a infinite desolation. But I knew that if Love had stood there by my side, personified in a small-sized figger, the hull seen would have bloomed rosy. Yes, as I listened to the awestruck, admirin’ axents of the twain with me, them words of the Poet come back to me: “How the light of the hull life dies when love is gone.”
“Oh,” sez Miss Meechim, as we walked back to the 31 tarven, takin’ in the sooveneer store on the way, “oh, what a immense body of water! how tumultous it sweeps down into the abyss below!” I answered mekanically, for I thought of one who wuz also tumultous at times, but after a good meal subsided down into quiet, some as the waters of Niagara did after a spell.
And Dorothy sez, “How the grand triumphal march of the great Lakes, as they hurry onwards towards the ocean, shakes the very earth in their wild haste.”
I sez mekanically, “Yes, indeed!” but my thoughts wuz of one who had often pranced ’round and tromped, and even kicked in his haste, and shook the wood-house floor. Ah, how, how could I forgit him?
And at the sooveneer stores, oh, how I wuz reminded of him there! how he had cautioned me aginst buyin’ in that very spot; how he had stood by me till he had led me forth empty-handed towards the tarven. Ah well, I tried to shake off my gloom, and Tommy waked up soon after our return (Aronette, good little creeter! had stayed right by him), and we all had a good meal, and then embarked on the sleeping car. I laid Tommy out carefully on the top shelf, and covered him up, and then partially ondressed and stretched my own weary frame on my own shelf and tried to woo the embrace of Morphine, but I could not, so I got up and kinder sot, and took out my pad and writ a little more in my letter to my help.
Sez I, “Philury, if Josiah takes cold, steep some lobely and catnip, half and half; if he won’t take it Ury must hold him and you pour it down. Don’t sell yourself short of eggs, Josiah loves ’em and they cost high out of season. Don’t let the neighbors put upon him because I went off and left him. Give my love to Waitstill Webb and Elder White, give it to ’em simeltaneous and together, tell ’em how much I think on ’em both for the good they’re doin’. Tell Arvilly I often think of her and what she has went through and pity her. Give a hen to the widder Gowdey 32 for Christmas. Let Josiah carry it, or no, I guess Ury had better, I am away and folks might talk. The ketch on the outside suller door had better be fixed so it can’t blow open. Josiah’s thickest socks are in the under draw, and the pieces to mend his overhalls in a calico bag behind the clothespress door. Guard that man like the apples in your eyes, Philury, and you’ll be glad bime by. So no more. To be continude.”
Agin I laid down and tried to sleep; in vain, my thoughts, my heart wuz in Jonesville, so I riz up agin as fur as I could and took my handkerchief pin offen the curtain where I had pinned it and looked at it long and sadly. I hadn’t took any picture of Josiah with me, I hadn’t but one and wuz afraid I should lose it. He hain’t been willin’ to be took sence he wuz bald, and I knew that his picture wuz engraved on my heart in deeper lines than any camera or kodak could do it. But I had a handkerchief pin that looked like him, I bought it to the World’s Fair, it wuz took of Columbus. You know Columbus wuz a changeable lookin’ critter in his pictures, if he looked like all on ’em he must have been fitty, and Miss Columbus must have had a hard time to git along with him. This looked like Josiah, only with more hair, but I held my thumb over the top, and I could almost hear Josiah speak. I might have had a lock of his hair to wep’ over, but my devoted love kep’ me from takin’ it; I knew that he couldn’t afford to spare a hair with winter comin’ on. But I felt that I must compose myself, for my restless moves had waked Tommy up. The sullen roar of the wheels underneath me kep’ kinder hunchin’ me up every little while if I forgot myself for a minute, twittin’ me that my pardner had let me go away from him; I almost thought I heard once or twice the echo, Grass Widder! soundin’ out under the crunchin’ roar and rattle of the wheels, but then I turned right over on my shelf and sez in my agony of sperit: Not that––not grass.
And Tommy called down, “What say, grandma?” And 33 I reached up and took holt of his soft, warm little hand and sez: “Go to sleep, Tommy, grandma is here.”
“You said sunthin’ about grass, grandma.”
And I sez, “How green the grass is in the spring, Tommy, under the orchard trees and in the door-yard. How pretty the sun shines on it and the moonlight, and grandpa is there, Tommy, and Peace and Rest and Happiness, and my heart is there, too, Tommy,” and I most sobbed the last words.
And Tommy sez, “Hain’t your heart here too, grandma? You act as if you wuz ’fraid. You said when I prayed jest now that God would watch over us.”
“And he will, Tommy, he will take care of us and of all them I love.” And leanin’ my weary and mournful sperit on that thought, and leanin’ hard, I finally dropped off into