The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1874-07-31

things out of my dinner basket. The
butter had all melted, so we had to dip
it out with spoon. And lot of water
had washed over the side of the boat, so
my pies, and tarts, and delicate cake,
and cookies, looked awful mixed up.
But no worse than the rest of the COM
pany's did. But we did the best we
could, and began to make preparations
to eat, for the man that owned the boat
said he knew il would rain before night,
by the way the sun scalded. There
wasn't man or woman there but what
the perspiration just poured down their
faces. We was a haggard and melan-
choly lookin' set. There was piece of
woods little ways of, but it was up
quite a rise of ground, and there wasn't
any of us who hadn't the rheumatic
more or less. We made up IA fire on the
sand, though it seemed as if it was hot
enough to steep the tea and coffee as it
was.
After we got the fire started histed
an umbrell, and sat down under it, and
famed myself hard, for / was afraid of
sunstIoke.
Wall, / guess 1 had set there ten
minutes or more, when all OF sudden
l thought where is Josiah hadn't seen
him since we had got there. riz right
up and asked the company, almost
wildly, if they had seen my companion
Josiah. They said, "No, they hadn't. :"
But Celestine Wilkins little girl, who
had come with her grandpa and grand
ma Gowdey, spoke up and says she, 81
seen him agoin' off toward the woods !;
he acted dreadful strange, too, he
seemed to be walkin' off side ways.
Sc Had the sufferin's we had under
gone made him delirious ?" says ] to
myself, and then / started off on the
run toward the woods, and old Miss
Bobbet and Miss Gowdey, and Sister
Minkley and Deacon Dobbins' wife, all
rushed after me. Oh, the agony of
them two or three minutes, my mind so
distracted with forbodin's, and the per-
spiration pourin' down. But all of a
sudden on the edge of the woods we
found him. Miss Gowdey weighed one
hundred pounds less than me, and had
got q little ahead of me. He sat backed
up against tree, III awful cramped
position, with his left leg under him.
He looked dreadful uncomfortable, but
when Miss Gowdey hollered out, ooh,
here You be we have been skairt about
you. What is the matter ?" He smiled
a dretful sick smile, and says he, sob,
/ thought L would come out hero and
mediate spell. 1t was always a real
treat to me to mediate.
Jest then L came up a pantin' for
breath, and as the women all turned to
face me, Josiah scowled at me, and
shook his fist at them four women, and
made the most mysterious motions with
his hands toward 'em. But the minute
they turned around he smiled in sickish
way, and pretended to go to whistlin'.
Says /. What is the matter, Josiah
Allen? What are you off here for ?"
81 am meditatin', Samantha.
Says /, do you just come down
and jine the company this minute, Jo-
siah Allen. You was in awful taken
to come with 'em, and what will they
think to see you act SOP"
The women happened to be lookin'
the otner way for a minute, and he
looked at me as if he would take my
head off, and made the strangest motions
toward EN-, but the minute they looked
at him, he would pretend to smile that
deathly smile.
Says /, "Come, Josiah Allen, we're
goin' to get dinner right away, for we
are afraid it will rain.
"Oh, wall, said he, ca little rain,
more or less, amt goin' to hinder a
man from meditatin'
was wore out, and says /, "Do you
stop meditatin this minute, Josiah AL
len"
Says he, 81 won't stop, Samantha. /
let you have your way good deal of the
time; but when / take it into my head
to mediate, you amt agoin' to break it
up"
Just that minute they called to me
from the shore to come that minute to
find some of my dishes. And we had to
start of. But oh the gloom of my
mind that was added to the lameness of
my body. Them strange motions and
looks of Josiah were on me. Had the
sufferin's of the night added to the trials
of the day made him crazy? L thought
more'n as likely az not had got luny
on my hands for the rest of my days.
And then, oh how the sun did scald
down onto me, and the wind took the
smoke SO into my face, that there wasn't
hardly dry eye in my head. And then
aperfect swarm of yeller wasps lit down
onto our vittles as quick as we laid EN-
down, so so You couldn't touch thing
without running a chance to be stung.
Oh the agony of that time. But L KEEP
to work and when 1 had got dinner
most ready, went back to call Josiah
again. Old Miss Bobbet said she
would go with me, for she thought she
see wild turnip in the woods there,
and her boy Shakespeare had an awful
cold, and she would dig one to give
him. SO we started up the hill again.
He sat in jest the same position, all
huddled up, with his leg under him, as
uncomfortable lookin' creetur as lever
see. But when we both stood in front
of him he pretended to look careless an
happy, and smiled that sick smile.
Says 1, " Come, Josiah Allen dinner
is ready"
''Oh, | haint hungry, says he. "The
table will probably be full. had jest
as leves wait.
Table full !" said L. "You know
jest as well as do that we are eatin' on
the ground. Do you come and eat your
dinner this minute"