promised
good pay for his work. And then wuz the time I tackled my pardner on
the subject I had thought over so long. He looked so sort o' mournful
over the hard times Whitfield wuz havin', and Tirzah Ann's and
Delight's enjoyment of poor health, that I thought now wuz the
appinted time for me to onfold this subject to him. This idee wuz that
while Whitfield and Tirzah Ann wuz away up to Maine we should build a
pretty little house for 'em on Shadow Island. "For," sez I, "the
health and life of Tirzah Ann and Delight may hang in the balances,
and if anything will help 'em I believe that dear old Saint Lawrence
will." But Josiah demurred strongly on account of the expense. In fact
I had to use some of my strongest arguments to convince him of the
feasibility of my plans.

One of my arguments wuz that in all probability all our property would
before long descend onto the children, and so why not use some now for
'em, while they wuz sufferin' for the use on't. That wuz one of my
arguments, and my other one wuz, that he couldn't take any of his
property with him. But he had got kinder mad and when I told him in a
solemn tone, "Josiah Allen, you know you can't take any of your
property with you when you die," he snapped out, "I don't know whether
I can or not; it won't be as _you_ say about it."

"Well," sez I, in lofty axents and quotin' Skripter, "there is only
one way you can take your property with you, and that is to send it on
before you. Make friends with the Mammon of your wealth so that when
you fail here it may receive you into a everlastin' habitation. Turn
it into angels of Gratitude and Love that may be waitin' to welcome
you. Do good with your money. Lend to the Lord," sez I.

And Josiah wuz so pudgicky, he snapped out, "I didn't know as the Lord
wanted to borry any money."

But I gin him such a talkin' to that I brung him to a sense of his
sinful talk, and right then while he wuz conscience smut for as much
as seven minutes, I brung him round to the idee of buildin' the house.
But it wuz a gradual bringin'.

Of course he begged and beseeched to build it on Coney Island. Sez
he, "I wouldn't begrech the money but spend it lavish, if the house
sot there. I could go there and spend months and months of perfect
bliss, and learn more there in one day than I could in years in
Jonesville."

"Where would you build it?" sez I in frosty axents.

"Well, the top of one of them tall mountains in Luna Park Serenus