Samantha at the World's Fair Part 87

And he agreed to it. He, too, had seen a look of marble determination on my mean, and he da.s.sent press the Vermont question too hard.

So we directed our steps towards the California Buildin'. It is a exact reproduction of the old Monastery of San Diego, and one hundred thousand square feet is the size on't.

It is full of the products of California. Sech fruit and flowers I never see, and don't expect to agin.

The flowers wuz gorgeous, and perfectly beautiful, and I spoze, though I don't really want to twit 'em of it, yet I do spoze they brought every mite of fruit out of California for this occasion. I don't spoze there wuz a orange left there, or a grape, nor anything else in the line of fruit. Mebby there might a been one or two green oranges left, but I doubt it.

And as for canned and dried fruit, I don't spoze there wuz a teacupful left in the hull State.

Why, jest think of the dried prunes it must have took to make that horse that wuz rared up there seven feet from the floor!

And wuzn't that horse a sight to see?--jest as nateral as though he wuz made of flesh instead of fruit.

I hearn, but mebby it come from some of their own folks--but I hearn that California had the best exhibits of all kinds of any of the States.

But I wouldn't want it told from me. I don't want to git thirty or forty States mad as a hen at me; the States are dretful touchy, anyway, in the matter of State Rights and pride.

But the show wuz impressive--dretful.

This house wuz built, I spoze, in honor of Spain, like a old Spanish Mission Buildin'; and up in the towers which rise up on the four corners are belfrys, in which are some of the old Spanish bells, that still ring out and call to prayers, when the good old Fathers that used to hear 'em, and the Injun converts, generations and generations of 'em, have slept so sound that the bells can't wake 'em.

And the bells still swing out over this restless and ambitious generation, and they will swing and echo jest the same when we too have gone to sleep, and sleep sound.

Queer, hain't it, that a little dead lump of metal should outlive the beatin' human heart--the active, outreachin' human life, with its world-wide activities and Heaven-high aspiration?

But so it is; generations and generations are born, live, and die, and the old bells, a-takin' life easy, jest swing on, and ring out jest as sweet and calm and kinder careless at our death as at our birth.

The bells sounded dretful melancholy and heart achin' to me; that day they seemed to be soundin' a requiem clear from California to Jonesville for the good Man who had pa.s.sed away.

Jest as we went down the steps we hearn a bystander a-tellin' another one "that Leland Stanford wuz dead." And I wuz fearful rousted up about it; I felt like death to hear on't; and to think that I never had a chance to tell him what I thought on him. I was fearful agitated, and almost by the side of myself; but jest at that juncture--jest as I sez to Josiah, "I shouldn't felt so bad if I had had a chance to tell him what I thought on him, and encourage him in his n.o.ble doin's, and warn him in one or two things"--jest at that minit, sez Josiah, "I've lost my bandanny handkerchief;" and he told me, "To wait there for him, that he thought that he remembered where he had dropped it--back in a antick room in the back part of the house."

And I thought more'n like as not that wuz the last I should see of him for hours and hours, the crowd wuz so immense and the search wuz so oncertain.

But it wuz a good new handkerchief--red and yeller, with a palm-tree pattern on it--and I couldn't discourage him from huntin' for it.

And jest as he turned to go back, he sez--

"Why, if there hain't Deacon Rogers of Loontown!"

And he advanced onto a good-lookin' man, who wuz a-standin' some distance off.

My pardner put out his hand and stepped forward with a glad face till he got to within three feet of him, and then his gladness died out, and he looked meachin'.

It wuzn't Rogers. And my pardner jest turned on his tracks, and disappeared round the buildin'. A bystander who wuz a-standin' by spoke up and sez:

"That is Governor Markham, of California."

"Why'ee!" sez I, "is that so?" and then the thought come to me that the pityin' Providence that had removed Senator Stanford from my encouragement, and warnin', had throwed this man in my way.

I see in a minit what would be expected of me both by the nation and by my own Gardeen Angel of Duty.

I must encourage him by tellin' him what I thought of the n.o.ble doin's of one of his folks, and I must warn him on a few things, and git him to turn round in his tracks.

So I advanced, and accosted him.

He was a-standin' out a little ways to one side a-lookin' up to the handsome front of the house, and I sez to him, in a voice nearly tremblin' with emotion--

"I have wanted to tell you, Governor Markham, how I feel, and how Josiah feels."

He turned round and looked kinder surprised, but good-natered, and I see then that he wuz a real good-lookin' man, and sez he--"Who is Josiah?"

And I sez, "My own pardner. I am Josiah Allen's Wife."

And as I sez this, bein' very polite, I kinder bowed my head, and he kinder bowed his head too. We appeared real well, both on us.

And sez I, "We feel it dretful, the pa.s.sin' away and expirin' of one of your folks."

And sez he, "You allude to Senator Stanford?"

And I sez, "Yes; when I think of that n.o.ble school of hisen that he has sot up there in your great State--the finest school in the world for poor boys and poor girls, as well as rich ones--when I think what that great educational power is a-goin' to do for the children of this great country, rich and poor, I think on him almost by the side of Christopher Columbus. For if Christopher discovered a new world, Senator Stanford wuz a-takin' the youth of this country into a new realm--a-sailin' 'em out into a new world, and a grander one than they'd any idee on--a-sailin' 'em out on the great ship of his magnificent Charity; and that Ship," sez I, in a kind of a tremblin' voice, "wuz wafted out at first on the sombre wings of a heart-breakin' sorrow; but they grew white," sez I--"they grew silver white as that great Ship sailed on and on.

"And up through the cloudless blue overhead I believe an angel looks down smilin'ly and lovin'ly on what has been done, and what is a-doin'

now--that youth whose tender heart, while he walked with man, wuz so tender and compa.s.sionate to the poor, and so wise to help 'em."

The Governor showed plain in his good-lookin' face how deeply he felt what I said, and I hastened to add--

"I wanted to thank him who is gone for this great and n.o.ble work; and as he has pa.s.sed on beyend this world's praise, or blame, I want to tell you about it, seein' that you're at the head of the family.

"I speak," sez I, "in the name of Jonesville!"

"Whose name?" sez he.

And I sez, "My own native land, Jonesville, nigh to Loontown, seven milds from Zoar."

"Oh!" sez he.

"Yes," sez I, "Jonesville wuz proud of his doin's, and she thinks a sight of California.

"But in one thing she feels bad: she don't want California to make so much wine; she wishes you'd stop it.

"She's proud of your fruit, your flowers, your big trees, and other products, but she wishes you'd stop makin' so much wine. Jonesville wouldn't care if you made a couple of quarts for sickness or jell, but she feels as if she couldn't bear to see you swing out and make so much." Sez I, "Jonesville and I want you to stop makin' it--we want you to like dogs."

And then sez I, in still firmer axents, "It hain't a-settin' a good example to the schoolchildren in Palo Alto and the United States."

He looked real downcasted and sad, some as if he'd never thought on't in that light before.

He didn't really promise me, but I presoom to say that he won't never make another drop.

But his face looked dretful deprested. I see that he felt it deeply to think I had found fault with him.