fe didn't sense it, she wuz dumbfoundered
and sot back by the news. And she left my home and board the week before
the weddin'.

They had been married about a year, when Jenette wuz here
a-visitin'--and she asked me in confidence (and it _must_ be kep, it
stands lo reason it must), "if I s'posed that book muslin robe would
make two little dresses?"

And I told her, "Good land! yes, three on 'em," and it did.

She dresses the child beautiful, and I don't know whether she would
want the neighbors to know jest what and when and where she gets the
materials--

It looks some like her and some like Joe--and they both think their eyes
on it--but old Miss Charnick worships it--Wall, though es I said (and I
have eppisoded to a extent that is almost onprecidented and onheard on).

Though Josiah Allen made a excuse of borrowin' a plow (a _plow_, that
time of night) to get away from my arguments on the Conference, and
Submit's kinder skairt face, and so forth, and so on--

He resumed the conversation the next mornin' with more energy than ever.
(He never said nuthin' about the plow, and I never see no sign on it,
and don't believe he got it, or wanted it.)

He resumed the subject, and kep on a-resumin' of it from day to day and
from hour to hour.

He would nearly exhaust the subject at home, and then he would tackle
the wimmen on it at the Methodist Meetin' House, while we Methodist
wimmen wuz to work.

After leavin' me to the meetin' house, Josiah would go on to the
post-office for his daily _World_, and then he would stop on his way
back to give us female wimmen the latest news from the Conference, and
give us his idees on't.

[Illustration: "HE NEVER HAD TIME TO HELP."]

And sometimes he would fairly harrow us to the very bone, with his
dretful imaginins and fears that wimmen would be allowed to overdo
herself, and ruin her health, and strain her mind, by bein' permitted to
set!

Why Submit Tewksbury, and some of the other weaker sisters, would look
fairly wild-eyed for some time after he would go.

He never could stay long. Sometimes we would beset him to stay and do
some little job for us, to help us along with our work, such as liftin'
somethin' or movin' some bench, or the pulpit, or somethin'.

But he never had the time; he always had to hasten home to get to work.
He wuz in a great hurry with his spring's work, and full of care about
that buzz saw mill.

And that wuz how it wuz with every man in the me