rest he had took in anything, and I hailed it as a good omen but got
the tie as dark a blue as I dast.

Blandina Teeter, formerly Allen, is a widder with a tall spindlin'
figger pale complected, with big light blue eyes that ruther stand out
of her head, and a tall peaked forehead with light hair combed down
smooth on both sides with scalops made in it by hand. She is good
natered to a fault, you know you can kill yourself on milk porridge, and
though folks don't philosophize on it you can be too good to be
comfortable.

She is a natural lover of mankind, nothin' light in it, jest a deep
meetin' house love. She wuz born that way onbeknown to her I spoze, and
so I d'no as I ort to blame her for her soft ways. I hadn't seen her for
some years and had kinder forgot how soft and squshy she wuz in her
nater, and I declare for't when I got her and Josiah both together, had
marshaled my forces, as you may say before my mind's review, I didn't
know how I wuz goin' to git 'em to St. Louis and back agin hull. It did
seem to me that if I got through all right with Josiah, she wuz that
soft and meller she would spile on my hands anyway.

But she wuz the only one on his side available in the position of second
chaperone to Josiah and so I took my chances.

She had been a widder some years; Teeter had used her shameful, spent
her property and throwed her round considerable, but still she kep' up
her perennial love and passionate adoration of man. And thinkses I it
will work well anyway with her Uncle Josiah, for lovin' all mankind as
she did from infancy to age, I knowed that bein' the only male in the
party she would keep her eye on him.

Blandina wuz more than willin' when I explained matters to her. She said
she felt that men wuz such precious creeters that too much care could
not be took of 'em, and that it would give her the greatest pleasure to
surround her Uncle Josiah with all the care that a most devoted
affection could dictate.

She's an awful clever critter, it hain't good nater that she lacks. But
there is sunthin' wantin' in her, I believe it is common sense.

But we sot out, I with considerable misgivin' at heart, but calm and
cool on the outside, clad as I wuz in dignity and a gray braize delaine
dress and a bunnet of the same color, I also wore my costly cameo pin
fastened in my linen collar. Some gray lisle thread gloves and a rich
Paisley shawl completed my _toot a sembly_.

Blandina had on a soft yellerish