第51章 A DRIVE TO SARATOGA LAKE(4)

your water power, I don't know as it would be wicked to humor you in this and say it to please you.You say the bay horse is the best, so I'll say for jest this once - There! I'll bet the bay one will go the best.""Where is your money?" sez he."It is five dollars for a bet.

You pay five dollars and you have a chance to get back mebby 100."I riz right up in feerful dignity, and the buggy and I sez that one feerful word to him, "Gamblin'!" He sort a quailed.But sez he, "you had better take a five-dollar chance on the bay horse.""No," sez I, with a freezin' coldness, that must have made his ears fairly tingle it wuz so cold, "no I shall not gamble, neither on foot nor on horseback."Then I sot down and I sez in the same lofty tones to Josiah Allen, "Drive on, Josiah, instantly and to once."He too had heerd the fearful word and his princeples too wuz rousted up.He driv right on rapidly, out of the gate and into the highway.But as he druv on fast and almost furius I heerd him murmur words to himself, that accounted for his eager looks while the man wuz dickerin' about the pool.He sez, "It is dumb hard work pumpin' water for so many head of cattle." He thought a pool would come handy, so I see.But it wuz all done and Iwould have done the same thing if it was to do over agin, so Ididn't say nuthin', but kep' a serene silence, and let him drive along in quiet; and anon, I see the turbelence of his feelin's subsided in a measure.

It wuz a gettin' along towards sundown and the air wuz a growin'

cool and balmy, as if it wuz a blowin' over some balm flowers, and we begun to feel quite well in our minds, though the crowd in the road wuz too big for comfert.The crowd of carriages and horses, and vehicles of all kinds, seemed to go in two big full rows or streams, one a goin' down on one side of the road, and the other a goin' up on the other.So the 2 tides swept past each other constantly -- but the bubbles on the tide wuzn't foam but feathers, and bows, and laces, and parasols, and buttons, and diamonds, and etcetry, etcetry, etcetry.

And all of a sudden my Josiah jest turned into a big gate that wuz a standin' wide open and we drove into a beautiful quiet road that went a windin' in under the shadows of the tall grand old trees.He did it without askin' my advice or sayin' a word to me.But I wuzn't sorry.Fur it wuz beautiful in there.It seemed as if we had left small cares and vexations and worryments out there in the road and dust, and took in with us only repose and calmness, and peace, and they wuz a journeyin' along with us on the smooth road under the great trees, a bendin' down on each side on us.And pretty soon we came to a beautiful piece of water crossed by a rustick bridge, and all surrounded by green trees on every side.Then up on the broad road agin, sweepin'

round a curve where we could see a little ways off a great mansion with a wall built high round it as if to shet in the repose and sweet home-life and shet out intrusion, sort a protect it from the too curius glances of a curius generation.Some as I hold my hand up before my face to keep off the too-scorchin' rays of the sun, when I am a lookin' down the western road for my Josiah.

It wuz a good lookin' spot as I ever want to see, sheltered, quiet and lovely.But we left it behind us as we rode onwards, till we came out along another broad piece of the water, and we rode along by the side of it for some time.

Beautiful water with the trees growin' up on every side of it, and their shadows reflected so clearly in the shinin' surface, that they seemed to be trees a growin' downwards, tall grand trees, wavin' branches, goin' down into the water and livin' agin in another world, -- a more beautiful one.

The sun wuz a gettin' low and piles of clouds wuz in the west and all their light wuz reflected in the calm water.And the beautiful soft shadows rested there on that rosy and golden light, some like the shadow of a beautiful and sorrowful memory, a restin' down and reposin' on a divine hope, an infinite sweetness.